TEENAGE BARBADIAN SURFER Lewis St John has been awarded a four-year pro contract worth thousands of dollars with Oakley, the popular sports clothes, equipment and sun glasses line.
St John's mother, Estelle St John, gave news this week of the lucrative deal, which will become effective in December for the former Foundation student, who reigned supreme at last month's New Edgewater Soup Bowl Pro Classic at Bathsheba.
As part of the new contract, St John, who has been sponsored by Rip Curl for the past two years, will receive euro3 000 worth of surfing clothes and another euro3 000 to purchase
surf boards.
"I think this is not bad for a 16-year-old," his mother told WEEKEND SPORT. "He will have all of his trips looked after. There is a budget of euro6 000 and he will receive a bonus if he does well in contests."
She said that Yann Martin, coach and European team manager of Oakley came to Barbados to coach Lewis and immediately recognised his potential.
"His current contract with Rip Curl is ending in December and Oakley will be taking over for the next four years to his Pro Junior age of 20.
"He will be going to Australia to be coached and trained and to watch all the junior competitions in Australia in January and February, next year," she said.
"When the Pro Juniors start back in April, he will participate in a few events in Australia," she added.
The young surfing sensation captured both the Junior and Men's Open titles at the recent classic.
A grandson of former Barbados Prime Minister, the late Sir Harold St John, Lewis was also featured in the July edition of the popular magazine, Surf Europe.
At last month's Soup Bowl contest, he dethroned Jamaica's Makka Pro champion, Johnathan Reece and beat out the likes of Guadeloupe's junior surfer Thibault Brenoel and former national surfing champion, Mark Holder.
He also created waves in contests in France, Spain, Portugal and the Canary Islands during the summer months of July and August on the Associated Surfing Professionals (ASP) tour.
No comments:
Post a Comment