With the noise of the New Year’s Eve champagne corks still ringing in the ears, the 2012 ASP season has begun with a tremendous event held at Jan Juc, Victoria Australia. The five-day event, which began on Thursday, has been full of the usual thrills and spills, with one or two surprise packages emerging from the competition. With junior action at the core of this event, the next generation of surfers have been donning their wetsuits and engaging in tough competition.

Locals Leading the Way

Local surfer Nikki Van Dijk, who shone throughout the entire event, took the EVO Women’s Pro Junior event title. Van Dijk is becoming known for her smooth style and calm surfing, and both of these trademarks came to the fore in her local tournament. Despite the slow conditions, Van Dijk commented that there were “good waves out there, if you waited.” Of her opponent, Bronte Macaulay, Van Dijk was complementary, acknowledging her ability to amass “good scores.” There was no holding back Van Dijk from the victory, “it feels so good to win an event at home in Victoria.”

Brother and Sister Super team

Nikki Van Dijk’s success in the Women’s junior event came at the same event in which her brother, Joe breezed into the second round of the Championship Moves Pro Junior. In a marked difference to the patient style of his sister, Joe claimed his first round victory by “getting a couple of scores quickly, and as many waves as I could.”