Some excellent surf in the three-foot (one meter) range made the second day of the ASP WQS 6-Star Sooruz Lacanau Pro an exciting show of progressive surfing, the good quality sand bank delivering fun launching ramps for today’s competitors. With Round 1 coming to an end and the first couple of heats of Round 2 being completed by day’s end, it was a day of high performance surfing with reigning ASP World Junior Champion Kai Barger (Maui, HAW), 19, dominating proceedings.
Barger, who won his maiden ASP World Junior title last January in Australia, showed he was more than ready to compete against the world’s best surfers, the Maui resident posting an impressive 17.64 point heat score including a near perfect 9.27 point ride.
“It was a pretty tricky heat and I wasn’t confident when it started,” Barger said. “Then I got a first wave that was good enough, the second was better and the third even better so I had a lot of fun in the end. I got a bit lucky to get the first one and I was super stoked wave after wave so I just tried to stay out of trouble and any interference.”
Barger, who has been awarded a wildcard by the Association of Surfing Professionals (ASP) to start in Round 2 of every major ASP World Qualifying Series (WQS) events this year thanks to his world crown, was surfing his first heat at Lacanau today and came up with fantastic surfing.
“I was really nervous and I thought I was going to lose actually,” Barger said. “It’s great to have that opportunity to enter the events along with the top seeds and it gives me a year of practice amongst the WQS. With the points I will have at the end of this year I will be able to do the whole tour next year. I haven’t had any good results, actually haven’t made it past Round 3 at any of the big events so far.”
Barger’s performance left all his peers amazed and cheering the Hawaiian on every of his flying maneuvers, taking off in perfect new-school skateboarding-like style to land several air-reverse maneuvers. Following the final heat of Round 1, where Barger and Thiago Camarao (BRA) offered the best show of the thus far, was event top seed Tim Boal (Anglet, FRA), 25, the Frenchman opening Round 2 of competition.
