by HEATHER-LYNN EVANSON

IT WAS THE TURN of the youngsters when the Barbados Surfing Association's third Surfer Of The Year (SOTY) competition continued on Sunday.

Seven surfers, which included menehunes – newcomers to the water, some of whom have been surfing for less than a year – and Under-12s, took to the water.

The competition was switched from Soup Bowl, Bathsheba, on Saturday, with its big swells and rip, to South Point, Christ Church, to accommodate the young ones, some of whom have been surfing for a year or less.

But the conditions still proved too much for one of the young surfers who eventually bowed out, to the appreciative applause of parents watching from the rocks. The others remained in the water under the watchful eye of an adult surfer.

The big air moves were missing, as were the sweeping cut-backs and speed, but the young ones still managed to get two or three manoeuvres off the waves including a floater performed by Che Allen in the Menehune final.

In the end, it was Dane Mackie who took the medal in the Menehune Division, while the experience of Danny Edghill gave him the edge in the
Under-12 Division.

Final results

Menehunes: 1. Dane Mackie, 2. Jackson DeGruchy, 3. Zander Venezia, 4. Che Allen.

Under-12: 1. Danny Edghill, 2. Dane Mackie, 3. Gavin Fernandes, 4. Che Allen.