Albany pair impress in rescheduled round

Albany pair Evie Dupuy and Pemba Spargo have performed strongly in the second round of the WA Junior Surfing Titles, reaching their respective finals at the event, which was moved to Trigg Beach.

Originally set down for Mandurah, the round was moved to Trigg because of a shark sighting but the relocation failed to halt the form of Dupuy and Spargo as they made their way through to the final of the under-18 junior girls’ and under-16 cadet girls’ divisions respectively.

Dupuy, fresh from claiming round 1 of the series, was locked in a terrific battle in the four-person final and finished with a combined total of 8.76 out of 20 to place third behind Emma Cattlin (12.74) and Coral Durant (8.9).

The result, however, keeps Dupuy alive in the race for the coveted State title, sitting in second place 60 points adrift of Cattlin heading into the final round next month.

Spargo, too, impressed with her effort in the under-16 girls’ final, scoring 9.8 in the difficult conditions to finish third behind Cattlin (13.06) and Arrabelle Gibson (10.67).

Cattlin wrapped up the under-16 crown in the process, but Spargo sits in fourth place and can move up to second in the last round.

Albany’s Holly Minter also impressed, making the semifinals of the under-16s, and is in sixth place in the State rankings.

Local surf coach Adrian Shepherd praised the teenagers for their efforts in the challenging conditions.

“It was a shame it got moved from Mandurah because it was pumping down there,” he said.

“The waves were good on Saturday but deteriorated on Sunday.

“Both Pemba and Evie surfed extremely well.

“They are both at the top of their game and can beat any of the girls on the State scene.”

The third and final round of the WA series will be in Geraldton on July 15 and 16, when the remaining State titles will be decided and also the make-up of the WA team to contest the national shortboard titles.