Projunior Portimão will take place on the 8th and 9th of March at Praia da Rocha, in what will be the inaugural stage of the Junior Tour 2025, a national circuit that defines the national under-20 male and female champions.
The best Portuguese juniors will thus begin the race for the national men’s and women’s titles in the south of the country. This is a competition made up of four stops, which also includes Porto and Matosinhos (3 and 4 May), Aveiro (21 and 22 June) and Santa Cruz (26 and 27 July).
In 2025, Maria Salgado will defend the title she won last year, while on the men’s side, there is certainty that there will be a new champion after Martim Nunes won the last three editions of the Junior Tour. Current European Junior Champion Francisco Ordonhas is one of the young Portuguese surfing talents who will lead the attack on the legacy left open by Martim Nunes.
Francisco Ordonhas, European Junior Champion 2024
“My expectations are high for another year of the Junior Tour. It’s a really fun circuit to do and I think it’s a great championship to give us rhythm for international championships. It’s a circuit that we have to make the most of. It’s always good to compete in the south of the country, as it’s been a while since we’ve done that. It will be great to return to the Algarve and I anticipate a great championship.”
Maria Salgado, 2024 Junior National Champion
“My expectations for this season are high and I want to have as much fun as possible, including on the Junior Tour. I feel very happy to compete in Portimão. I’ve surfed in Portimão on a few occasions and the waves are good, which makes me excited about this competition.”
The new generation of surfers from the south of the country will have the opportunity to compete in front of their home crowd and try to take advantage of the local knowledge of the waves at Praia da Rocha. Among them will be Sienna Rodrigues, 12 years old, and João Bernardino, 14 years old, who will be the wildcards for this Projunior Portimão.
Highlights Round 1 – Men
Heat 5: Tiago Stock x Joaquim Trindade x Manuel Costa x Jarko Kreuzeder
Heat 10: Manuel Pirujinho x Jaime Veselko x Manuel Madruga x Luca Perini
Heat 11: Salvador Vala x Salvador Dias x Lucas Silva x João Maria Mendonça
Highlights Round 1 – Women
Heat 3: Maria Salgado x Teresa Pereira x Suri Rodrigues x Sienna Rodrigues
Heat 4: Lua Escudeiro x Constância Simões x Violeta Coucelo x Ana Mel
In addition to awarding national titles, the Junior Tour functions as a competition training platform for junior surfers to gain experience and improve their talent before entering the senior career in the fight for affirmation at national and international levels.
Junior Tour – Gallery of Champions
2024 – Martim Nunes & Maria Salgado
2023 – Martim Nunes & Gabriela Dinis
2022 – Martim Nunes & Érica Máximo
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 importance and success of the Junior Tour, which follows the age standards of the World Surf League, is clearly evident in some names that are part of the list of champions and today lead Portuguese surfing, such as Frederico Morais, Vasco Ribeiro, Tomás Fernandes, Teresa Bonvalot and Carolina Mendes, among others. Martim Nunes and Maria Salgado are the current national champions in the category.
Projunior Portimão will be co-organized by Portimão Surf Clube and the National Association of Surfers and is part of the list of events that are part of Portimão Surfest 2025.
Francisco Canelas – Organization Portimão Surf Fest and Projunior Portimão
“I am very proud of my city and of Algarve surfing, as for the first time Praia da Rocha, in Portimão, will host a competition on the national under-20 surfing circuit. I was an international competitor and I know perfectly well how important it is to compete at home. Fortunately, we have several Algarve surfers who can win this championship and this is a sign that surfing in the Algarve continues to be a reference in Portugal. The consistency of waves between November and April in Portimão is enormous. February was a fantastic month with great waves and on the 8th and 9th of March the forecast is that we will have waves as there are two big waves coming in this week. This event is part of Portimão Surfest 2025, an event that includes Projunior Portimão, a world adapted surfing championship and our local event Arade Clássico. This Festival was only possible thanks to the support of Portimão City Council and, in advance, I would like to thank you very much for your trust. Portimão will finally be on the national and world surfing map. We hope to come back next year even stronger.”
All the action at Projunior Portimão can be followed via a live streaming system on ansurfistas.com, as well as on other institutional platforms of the National Surfers Association.
Integrated in the Pormião Surfest 2025, the first stage of the Junior Tour is organized by Portimão Surf Clube and the National Association of Surfers, with the collaboration of Portimão City Council and technical support from the Portuguese Surfing Federation.
Toda a ação do Projunior Portimão poderá ser acompanhada através de sistema de livescores em ansurfistas.com, assim como nas demais plataformas institucionais da Associação Nacional de Surfistas.
Always confirm with the concert hall or promoter the conditions of access, confirmation of the date or time, ticket place of sale, price, and availability.
Follow us on Facebook, Instagram, Youtube, and TikTok and see the exclusive content for social networks.
