NORTH NARRABEEN, New South Wales/Australia (Friday, January 7, 2011) – The world’s finest ASP Pro Junior talent has assembled from all corners of the planet at Sydney’s North Narrabeen in preparation to do battle for the prestigious title of ASP World Junior Champion at the World Junior Championships and the event’s waiting period begins tomorrow, January 8, 2011.

The World Junior Championships marks the second and final stop on the inaugural ASP World Junior Tour, with the first event unfolding at the Oakley World Pro Junior in Bali. Australian Jack Freestone (AUS), 18, emerged victorious in Bali and a now leads the field entering North Narrabeen.

Nat Young (USA), 19, current No. 5 on the ASP World Junior Tour, is one American standout who has competed in several Billabong ASP World Junior Championships in North Narrabeen and is out to solidify his promising career with a win in Australia.

“Winning this event would be the biggest accomplishment of my life,” Young said. “It’s all the best juniors in the world, so to win and be the World Junior Champ would be a dream come true.”

Conner Coffin (USA), 17, put on an impressive performance at the Oakley World Pro Junior via his wildcard entry and proved to be a dangerous addition to the event by notching an equal 5th place finish. The powerful natural-footer will be back in a singlet at the Billabong ASP World Junior Championships and feels that entering the events as a wildcard relieves the pressure to perform that several of his fellow competitors are facing.

“Going into Bali, I definitely felt no pressure as a wildcard and I think that it gave me an advantage,” Coffin said. “As a wildcard you surf against the high seeds and they tend to have more pressure on them. I'm going into this event with the same mindset and just hope that I can have a good time and get some fun waves. It's cool that I still have a shot at the title but at this point it's really just one heat at a time. I was really excited to have the opportunity of competing in this year’s worlds and am looking forward to having some good times over here in Australia.”

Other surfers in the Billabong ASP World Junior Championships Draw include defending event champion Maxime Huscenot (FRA), 18, and current ASP World Junior No. 2 Dale Staples (ZAF), 20.

The Billabong ASP World Junior Championships holds a waiting period from January 8 through 16, 2011 and will be webcast LIVE via http://www.billabongpro.com. 

For more information, log onto www.aspworldtour.com