Mackie shines in Panama

Barbadian surfer Dane Mackie riding a wave during the world junior championships in Panama. (GP)

Tue, May 08, 2012 - 12:03 AM

Barbadian surfer Dane Mackie was one of the shinning lights at recent junior world championships in Panama.

Dane Mackie finished 33rd in the world rankings in the Under-16 division out of a field of 64 of the best surfers in the world.

He took top spot in the first round and advanced easily to the second round of the main round where he was forced into a repechage.

Mackie advanced through the next two rounds, placing second in both heats, but was knocked out in the repecharge of the fourth round after placing third.

He also competed in the Under-18 Division but due to a conflict of heats with the Under-16 division, missed his first heat of the main round which sent him straight to the repechage in the first round.

He won his first heat, placed second in second repechage in round two and was eliminated in round 3.

Overall, Mackie gained 320 points – the most by a Barbadian.

The ISA World Junior Championship brings together the best Under-18 surfers from around the world to compete for individual and team glory.

More than 300 surfers competed in three divisions – Boys Under-18, Boys Under-16 and Girls Under-18 – over the course of eight days of competition at Playa Veno, located on the Pacific Ocean side of the country.

Barbados finished 16th out of 31 nations with a total score of 1,915 points ahead of Panama, Ecuador and Puerto Rico among others. (HG/PR)