As the talent level of America’s bright up-and-comers has shot through the roof in recent years, the Oakley Pro Junior series has arrived as the premier forum to showcase their abilities and hone their competitive aptitude. The idea for the Oakley Pro Junior series came to fruition four years ago, and the concept was simple:

Give American surfers the same competitive opportunities as other surf-centric countries around the world. Since its inception, the series has grown into 2 Pro Juniors in the U.S., which include the Association of Surfing Professionals (ASP) Grade 4 Oakley Pro Junior at Lower Trestles, California and the ASP Grade 3 North American Junior Championships at Steamer Lane in Santa Cruz, Calif.

The initial concept for the Oakley Pro Junior series took root when event organizers saw young, domestic surfers facing competitive challenges not just from their peers in America, but from increasingly savvy opponents the world over. It’s out of the necessity for a domestic outlet that the Oakley Pro Junior Series has blossomed into much, much more. Building on that original model, in addition to these American-based events, the series has been expanded to now include the Oakley Pro Junior events in such locations as South Africa, Brazil, France, Australia, Japan and Bali.

As the best from each of these talent-rich zones will compete in these events, besides just bragging rights, they’ll also be vying for a birth in the granddaddy of them all—the Oakley World Pro Junior, stop two of ASP’s Junior World Championship Tour.  Come October, the Oakley World Pro Junior will be held in the wave-rich hotbed that is Bali. With a 10-day waiting period to work with, and only four days of actual competition, Bali’s multitude of world-class waves will undoubtedly be on offer throughout the event. By the end of it all an Oakley Pro Junior world champion will be named, but more important than that, all of the surfers involved will have gained a wealth of international experience that’s bound to prepare them for the World Qualifying Series, and ultimately the World Championship Tour.