Tuach, Roett advance to round of 16

Led by an excellent performance by Chelsea Tuach, Barbados’ top two female surfers advanced to the round of 16 when the World Surf League, Barbados Surf Pro, and Live Like Zander Junior Pro continued at the Soup Bowl, Bathsheba today.

Competing in Heat 7 of the women’s division, Tuach posted the best score of the competition so far (15.67) on her way to finishing in first position.

The 27-year-old Tuach posted an incredible score of 9.17, along with a 6.50 to easily clinch the top spot on a day that mostly saw three to four feet waves.

Chelsea Roett, also of Barbados, also advanced to the next round after placing second behind Tuach with a score of 6.77.

Tuach, who won last year’s women’s QS3000 event, was elated with her performance.

“It’s a pretty unbelievable way to start the event off. I feel like, in that first round, you always have a little bit of those nerves and you want to start off strong. The wave came to me and I couldn’t believe how perfectly it set up. I just knew I had to do it justice. I’m stoked we have such an important event here in Barbados. It’s really special and it’s really special for our surfers, and everyone to have such great waves to make that last push before the Challenger Series,” Tuach said after her performance.

Hometown girl Gabriella Gittens just missed out on qualifying for the next round after she finished third in Heat 2 with a score of 4.03.

That heat was won by Ella McCaffray of the USA with a score of 10.83, while Noah Klapp of Germany placed second (8.20) to also book her spot in the next round.

Autumn Hays from the United States of America, also had a good performance, posting the day’s second highest score of 12.83.

“It’s so much fun and definitely a little more tricky than I thought, I couldn’t tell if I was far enough out but once I sat there for a second I just tried to calm my nerves,” Hays said.

It was another rough day for Barbadian surfers competing in the Live Like Zander Junior Pro, as none of them advanced past the first round.

Daniel Banfield (7.30) and Kai St George (5.73) were third and fourth respectively in Heat 2; Rafe Gooding posted a score of 7.24 to finish third in Heat 3; Jayden Hill’s score of 5.40 was only good enough for third in Heat 5, while Tommaso Layson also finished third in Heat 7 with a score of 8.04.

American Taj Lindblad had the highest score of the day in the competition, his 13.06 allowing him to win Heat 1.

Former Live Like Zander Junior Pro victor and Challenger Series threat Kirra Pinkerton of the USA dropped a 7.00 on her powerful forehand to take Heat 3 with a score of 11.67.

The 20-year-old is hoping to qualify for another final at the Soup Bowl.

(RB)