Young'uns To Watch In 2012; Owen Wright, Gabriel Medina & John John Florence

 Having been the standout fresh faced young'un of the 2011 World Championship Tour, I think it's fairly safe to say that Owen Wright, if he avoids illness and injury, will definitely have a solid shot at taking the title throughout the final quarter of this Olympiad. Owen's edge seems to come not only from his arsenal of explosively futuristic manoeuvres, associated with the 'Lost Atlas Lads'- clocking up plenty of over the lip air miles during his heats and finals; but from the ability to harness such manoeuvres and appropriately tie them together in a heat winning formula, systematically out performing any competitor that stands in his way. It's the element of control, knowing exactly when and where to strike, how far to push, and how deep to go that makes Owen so successfully safe. Such control, to me, is what separates him from the other free-surfing wizards of the world- Dane, Ando, Dion. This makes Owen ruthlessly dangerous in any heat draw, regardless of who, where or what the conditions may be. We all saw him go head to head with Kelly over the last year and not so much as flinch, not even an inch... sure enough, he nailed it in New York.

  'They', the surfing gods, talk about Mick Fanning's 18 month run leading into his first, 2007, World Title win. There was a great deal of emphasis placed on the way in which Mick had begun his winning title campaign half way through 2006, having solid performances at each stage throughout the back end of the year. This allowed Mick to get the ball rolling 6 months prior to his victorious '07 campaign, something that Owen seems to have done in 2011. With a 1st, 2 x 2nd, 2 x 9th and 2 x 13th finishes in his final 7 stages of 2011, bettered only by one other surfer on tour- and we all know who that is, Owen  looks to have set himself up high, ready to charge down the line to victory in 2012. A very strong candidate for CT Champ this year. Let's hope so.

When most people hear the words, 'pre-pubescent' and 'Brazilian', I'm pretty sure Gabriel Medina is the last thing that pops into their minds- bloody wrong'uns! Why's this? you ask... not as exciting? you say... rubbish! Frankly, to be frank, that little Brazilian hotshot had the world in awe throughout a selection of heats and stages last year. With 2 event wins, (Hossegor and San Fran.) and a brilliant set of score cards, Medina has also set himself up very well to lead the 'Brazo Boys' to world domination in 2012.

And finally, with an absolute storming finish to the 2011 Tour, winning his first Vans Triple Crown in an array of condo's- big-ass, wooly Sunset, small punt-able Haleiwa and cranking pristine Pipe, the local boy John John Florence will surely be taking a lot of confidence, flying the Hawaiian flag high for the up and coming year.