the portimonense Francis Duarte will represent Portugal in the Surf Junior World Championships – ISA World Junior Championship, to be held in Oceanside, San Diego, California between 11 and 18 October. The 18-year-old Algarve surfer was summoned for the first time to a competition and will "give everything" to return to Portugal with a good performance.
Francisco Duarte spoke with the Sul Informação and explained that “he was in Lanzarote the day the call came out. We were already waiting for him to leave that day, he was traveling with my colleagues. It was only at the end of the day that I received the email and it was with great emotion that I received the news. I've been doing internships with the Portuguese Surfing Federation for years, and I had missed some calls, either because the internship didn't go well, or because of anxiety, but this time it was good», he said.
In a competition that will have surfers from all over the world, Francisco Duarte guarantees that he will give his best and prioritizes the classification by teams above a good individual performance.
«More than the individual title, the most important thing is the team classification. Portugal will compete with great surfing nations, like the United States, Australia, or South Africa. I want to get to California, surf well, without pressure, in order to present my best surf. Sometimes you get further, when we go phase by phase. I will do my best and these are my expectations», he added.
Francisco Duarte did not set specific goals for the championship and guarantees that "I would only return to Portugal disillusioned if I felt that I didn't give my best".
In addition to representing Portugal, Francisco Duarte will also represent Algarve surfing, as he is the only surfer in the region who is part of the selection for this important championship. «I feel enormous pride in representing Portugal and, even more, being the only representative of the Algarve in the call».
Despite not living in the Algarve since the age of 15, when he moved to Lisbon to be able to evolve further in surfing, Francisco Duarte does not forget the region and the city where he was born «I have daily contact with my parents and friends. I came to live in Lisbon, but I keep in touch with the Algarve».
It was not because of the lack of waves that Francisco Duarte left the Algarve, which «has excellent conditions for surfing, in terms of waves, but the professionals who work in the area, namely coaches, still need to develop a little. There is great potential for growth, but they are on the right path», he concluded.
Portugal will be represented at the ISA World Junior Championship by Mariana Garcia and Teresa Bonvalot in women's U-16s, and Teresa Bonvalot and Mariana Assis will compete in women's U-18s. In the men's U-16s, Francisco Almeida, João Moreira, Salvador Couto and Vasco Mónica will be in the competition, while in the men's U-18s Luís Perloiro, Jácome Correia and Guilherme Fonseca are the colleagues of Francisco Duarte.
See Francisco Duarte “in action” in Indonesia on a training internship with the Professional Surf Academy (APS).
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