Ivah Wilmot

The conditions were good with 2’-3’ waves and intermittent showers. The event got off to a late start with 21 junior surfers registering for the event, fourteen under 16 surfers and seven under 18 surfers. 

The under 16 division was run first. With 4 rounds of competition narrowing the field to the top four performers, Ivah Wilmot, Ackeam Taylor, Oshane Usher and Shama Beckford. With 1000 points on the line for first place the youngsters paddled out under the watchful eyes of the judging panel. 

The horn sounded and the final was on. Thirty waves were ridden by the contestants in the 20 minute heat. Ivah opened up with a blistering wave where he executed 5 scoring manoeuvres earning the highest wave score of the heat. Ackeam and Oshane mounted concerted attacks on Ivah’s lead with impressive rides of their own which got the north coast spectators into frenzy.

Ivah responded with another high scoring ride which opened up a bit of daylight between himself and the rest of the field. They all had more rides but failed to get the high point score necessary to overtake Ivah and by the final count down the writing was on the wall. Ivah finished in first, Ackeam second Oshane third and Shama fourth. 

Their point haul from the final was added to their point total from the two previous events in the series and Ivah Wilmot was declared the overall 2008 National Under 16 Junior Champion. 

Final ‘08 Series U16 Standings 

Next up were the under 18 boys. Two semi final heats were run to reduce the seven man field to the top four performers to display their prowess for the scrutiny of the judges in attendance. Ackeam Phillips, Shane Simmonds, Michael Panton and Gawayne Gallimore then paddled out for the 20 minute final. The hirn sounded for the start of the heat and the surfers got busy.

They rode 28 waves between them with Ackeam, Shane and Michael having the best time of it. Gawayne was struggling in the very challenging surf which required a very technical approach to garner high scores. The lead changed hands several times before the final horn sounded.

Ackeam Taylor