Junior Tour returns after 7 years with Projunior Porto & Matosinhos
- Joaquim Chaves and Gabriela Dinis lead the list of entries;
- Competition Table published (male and female);
The Projunior Porto & Matosinhos, the inaugural stage of the Junior Tour, will take place on the 30th of April and 1st of May, bringing together the best national surfers up to 20 years old in the most important title of the modality in a phase prior to their senior career.
This is a return of this competition after 7 years of interregnum following the age criteria defined by the World Surf League which, in 2022, returned to under-20 (instead of under-18 as in recent previous editions).
In the competition will be named already consolidated in the MEO Surf League, the first division of national surfing, as is the case of Joaquim Chaves (18 years old) who last year finished in 6th place in the MEO Surf League ranking and is currently occupies the top 5 of the junior European ranking, which will be one of the headliners of this first stage.
Joaquim Chaves, top 6 national Open in 2021 and currently top 5 junior European
“It is a privilege to be able to compete in a U-20 national championship. I never had the opportunity to do it because it hasn’t happened for seven years. This return is, without a doubt, an asset for junior surfing. It is a personal goal to win this championship. I believe it will be a very interesting event, because, in my opinion, Portugal has a very high level in the junior category”.
Highlights Men’s Competition Board:
H1: Vasco Cordeiro vs Guilherme Costa vs Martim Fortes vs Matias Lopes
H2: Francisco Mittermayer x Rodrigo Chaves x Mário Leopoldo x Benjamin D’Orey
On the female side, one of the most prominent names is Gabriela Dinis (17 years old) who is also featured in the European Projunior, where she occupies the 6th place in the ranking and who, in 2021, finished the MEO Surf League as the top 6 nationally.
Highlights Women’s Competition Board:
H2: Constância Simões x Matilde Pinto x Maria Dias x Sofia da Silva
H3: Gabriela Dinis x Teresa Pereira x Beatriz Carvalho x Maria Silva
Projunior Porto & Matosinhos will be co-organized by Onda Pura with the National Association of Surfers and is part of the list of events that make up the Porto and Matosinhos Wave Series 2022.
Marcelo Martins, responsible for Onda Pura Surf Center and Pro Júnior Porto & Matosinhos
“After seven years, the Projunior national championship returns to the North, to the beaches of Porto and Matosinhos. The novelty is that there is a step up to Sub-20, which opens the range of competition to a greater number of young athletes. It is with great pleasure that, in collaboration with ANSurfistas, we again organize this championship, integrating it into the Porto&Matosinhos Wave Series 2022 lineup, and that we welcome the best national junior surfers on our beaches. The weather and sea forecasts could not be better, so we are prepared for a weekend of great emotions”.
The action of Projunior Porto & Matosinhos can be followed through the live scores system at ansurfistas.com.
The Junior Tour has a rich history in national surfing, which in the past has crowned some of the great names in national surfing today, such as Frederico Morais, current Portugal representative on the World Surf League World Tour, Vasco Ribeiro, Teresa Bonvalot or Carolina Mendes. The last edition had been played in 2015 and the champions were Tomás Fernandes and Carolina Mendes.
Junior Tour – Gallery of Champions:
2015 – Tomás Fernandes & Carolina Mendes
2014 – Tomás Fernandes & Teresa Bonvalot
2013 – Francisco Alves & Ana Sarmento
2012 – Francisco Alves & Carina Duarte
2010 – Vasco Ribeiro & Carina Duarte
2009 – Frederico Morais & Francisca Santos
The first stage of the Junior Tour – Projunior Porto&Matosinhos is part of the Porto&Matosinhos Wave Series 2022, an initiative organized by Onda Pura Surf Center, with the collaboration of the municipal councils of Porto and Matosinhos, as well as the Parish Council of Matosinhos and Leça da Palmeira, with the technical support of the National Association of Surfers and the Portuguese Surfing Federation. The event also has the support of Turismo do Porto and Northern Portugal, Goldenergy, 58 Surf, Ramirez, Vitalis, Unilabs, Hospital de Santa Maria – Porto, Edifício Transparente and MEO.
More information at www.ansurfistas.com
Follow us on Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, Youtube and TikTok and see the exclusive content for social networks.
