Sports Alive

An incredible field of Australasia's top 20 year and under surfers will head to Manly Beach from 20-23 September for the Aloha Hornet Pro Junior.

This is the NSW biggest professional junior surfing event and has attracted a quality field including Davey Cathels (pictured) who has had a big year recently winning his round two heat at Wollongong.

This will be the second last event of the 2007 Australasian Pro Junior Series and with ratings positions crucial to deciding Australia's qualifiers into the ASP World Pro Junior Championships next January, its essential to the chances of almost all the top 15 rated surfers on the circuit who can still qualify by finishing in the top four on season ratings.

As a seven star event the Aloha Hornet also delivers the biggest rating points of all Pro Junior events in NSW.

Sunshine Coast surfer Mitch Coleborn goes in as favourite and number one seed. The incredibly powerful and stylish goofy foot surfer has had an amazing season and a win in the Aloha Hornet would seal his season ratings title and make him the biggest ever season winner of what is regarded the toughest Pro Junior circuit in the world. Previous ratings winners include Jake Paterson, Danny Wills, Adrian Buchan, Nathan Webster, Kieren Perrow, Luke Munro and Ben Dunn who have all gone on to become elite world tour surfers.

Coleborn outlined his strategy, "I've had a great year and have really been focusing on qualifying for the ASP World Pro Junior Titles the whole way. I won't change that focus, the other stuff can happen but really I'm just concentrating on each event and trying not to think about the number of wins and overall titles."

Northern Beaches surfers will be prominent at the Aloha Hornet including wildcard entrants Max Brockman (Nth Steyne) and Ben Hamilton (Queenscliff).

Brockman relishes the opportunity to take on the best 20 years and under surfers on his home beach, �Its great Aloha gave the wildcards to local surfers and I'm looking forward to the challenge. This is my first full year on the junior series and its been a great learning experience as you surf against strong opposition every time you hit the water. Hopefully I can pull a result and finish inside the top 100."

Event Director Adam Hennessey commented, "Manly is one of the most famous venues in the world, with its natural amphitheatre allowing the crowd to get close to the action and now we've upgraded to a 7 star event there is even more importance on the results with a number of surfers vying for a spot in the world title side."

Other top chances include locals Nick Riley (Queenscliff), Alex Chacon (Avalon) and Davey Cathels (Nth Narrabeen) and highly rated surfers Jayke Sharpe and Heath Joske (Coffs Harbour) and Queensland surfers Julian Wilson and Brendan Leckie.

Arrive alive is proud to be a major sponsor of this event and sees it as a great way to send messages to young surfers and surfing fans. It's a potentially life saving message -

Drinking.....Drugs....Driving can wipe-out your licence and much more... Don't risk it and you'll Arrive Alive!