Day 2 of the 2007 SCION Jenks Pro started off the same as the day prior with sub par conditions during the morning tide. The trail rounds went down in 2-3 ft shore break. With a full moon tide contest organizer Jason Bitzer opted to postpone the final rounds until after the mid day event promotion held in front of the SCION/USBA vehicle, Verizon wireless and Bodyglove Bodyboard booths. Which had over 1000 frothing fans grabbing gear from the riders that SCION had provided. With a start time of 1pm the beach crowd had filled in to 15,000 plus for the third day in a row. With a late restart the event only had a window of five hours to run all divisions. The dropping tide had made for a very similar situation as the day before, but with light winds rather then offshores. In the quarterfinals names such as Jonah & Jacob Romero (Maui), Jeremy Wright (CA) and Jenks pro vet Jeff Hubbard had made the most of the conditions that were slowly starting to improve. Due to a sand build up near the Jenks Inlet Beach the riders had to adjust to a dangerous shore break rather then it’s normal wave formation. Many small injuries had occurred when attempting to land their maneuvers such as David Philips sprained ankle and Steve Jackson’s lacerated head from the sharp bottom filled with shells. In the semi finals Javier Baez consistently hit ars’s and big rolls with 6x World Champ Guilherme Tamega (BRZ) following suit with big clean maneuvers. To add to this list of solid performances, Dave Hubbard (HI) took to the air with handle-incorporated inverts , taking him over the edge and passing through to the finals. Drew Erickson (CA) came through combo maneuvers and clean surfing, which got him a spot in the finals as well. Joining them where Jeff Hubbard and Javier Baez who both had continued luck with solid performances in their semi final heats. When it became time for the men’s pro final the tide had fully moved out and had just turned back to an incoming tide. This made for 3ft groomed conditions in which current world and USBA champ Jeff Hubbard was able to use to take away the Jenks Pro title from last years winner Javier Baez. All riders in the final surfed well but it was Jeff and Javier who where at center stage once again. This was Jeff’s third Jenks Pro and he was hungry as he had been award second place two years in a row, narrowly being beat by former world champ Damien King (AUS) in 2005 and Javier (Puerto Rico) in 2006. When Jeff was asked about his win and thoughts on the event he said ” The Jenks Pro is amazing, we have had contestable conditions three years in a row with last year being the best event in US history, finally winning the event after receiving second place two years in a row is just awesome as I was starting to think I was doomed to second place at Jenks forever. He went on to thank the sponsors and tell the fans to come check out next weeks The SCION NYBB pro in Long Island!

The Women’s Pro Final was held between Men’s Pro finals and the start of the Drop Knee Pro division. All women surfed well with constant air rolls and solid barrels from Shea Lidon. However another changing of the guard went down as Luz Grande 2006 Jenks Pro runner up took the title away from Roberta Bitzer current USBA Champ and 2007 tour leader. As she accepted her award she finally got the chance to show off her Puerto Rican pride with the flag she carries at each USBA event.

The Drop Knee pro had some of the best conditions of the day as the sun had started to set. The Quarter and Semi final saw many standard names ripping like Dan Worley, Riley Dutro, Brian Steorh and many others. When the final was held the sunlight had almost left the beach for good as Kingsley Uaiwa (Maui), Dan Worley (FL),Willy Petrovick (Big Island) and USBA DK champ Dave Hubbard (HI) hit the water. The Judges had said this was one of the most interesting finals to be apart of as Dave Hubbard pulled into the barrel of the event coming out hands in the air and right in to a heavy snap/turn sending him on the 1st place podium once again. Dave’s DK dominance is something this tour was expecting since its inception. Only a few riders can challenge the Hubbard’s these days and we thank them for making the USBA one of the most competitive tours in the world!

The USBA and its riders would like to thank SCION for once again making this event happen. Also Verizon Wireless and Bodyglove bodyboards for the continued support of the Jenks Pro and the USBA tour, with their amazing interactive beach set up!

Thanks also goes out to the thousands of USBA fans for supporting another amazing year.

USBA STAFF

Official Website
www.usbatour.org
www.usbamag.com

web cast and re broadcast
www.usbamag.com/webcast

–
Jason Bitzer
Operations Manager
USBA TOUR
GRAVITYS FLAW PRODUCTIONS
364 Auwinala Rd.
Kailua HI 96734

Office/Fax 732-528-0621
Cell:808-255-8671