SUNSET BEACH, Oahu/Hawaii (Tuesday, November 24, 2009) – With a decreasing swell on offer and solid surf projected throughout the remainder of the waiting period, event organizers at the Gidget Pro Sunset Beach have called a lay day for competition.

Event No. 7 of 8 on the 2009 ASP Women’s World Tour, the Gidget Pro Sunset Beach holds the dual-importance of potentially crowning the 2009 ASP Women’s World Champion as well as playing the second stop on the Vans Triple Crown of Surfing Series (an ASP Specialty Series).

“The surf is smaller than I’d like and the swell is expected to drop throughout the day,” Randy Rarick, Gidget Pro Contest Director, said. “We’re expecting a big swell to fill in tomorrow and will be back in the morning to assess conditions.”

At present, six surfers remain in contention for the 2009 ASP Women’s World Title:

1 – Stephanie Gilmore (AUS), 21
2 – Silvana Lima (BRA), 25
3 – Sofia Mulanovich (PER), 26
4 – Coco Ho (HAW), 18
5 – Chelsea Hedges (AUS), 26
6 – Melanie Bartels (HAW), 27

Gilmore can secure her third consecutive ASP Women’s World Title at the Gidget Pro Sunset Beach, should she make the Final and the following scenarios unfold.

- If Gilmore wins Sunset, Lima needs a 2nd and Mulanovich is out.
- If Gilmore finishes 2nd at Sunset, Lima needs a 3rd, Mulanovich needs to win and Ho is out.
- If Gilmore finishes 3rd at Sunset, Lima needs a 5th, Mulanovich needs to win and Ho needs to win.
- If Gilmore finishes 4th at Sunset, Lima needs a 7th, Mulanovich needs a 2nd and Ho needs a 2nd.
- If Gilmore finishes 9th, 7th or 5th at Sunset, then Lima, Mulanovich and Ho are all in contention for the crown.

For Hedges and Bartels to remain a part of the mix, they need for Gilmore to falter at the last two events with either a 17th or 13th at Sunset so that they along with Lima, Mulanovich and Ho keep their World Title campaigns alive.

Alana Blanchard (HAW), 19, 2009 ASP Dream Tour rookie, took out the first event in the Vans Triple Crown of Surfing, the Vans Hawaiian Pro (an ASP Specialty Event), but will need two strong results in the remaining two events if she is to requalify for the 2010 ASP Women’s World Tour.

Surfline.com, official forecasters for the Vans Triple Crown, are calling for surf to diminish today before a solid NW swell arrives this evening.

Event organizers will reconvene tomorrow morning at 6:30am to assess conditions for a possible start.

The Gidget Pro Sunset Beach will be webcast LIVE via www.triplecrownofsurfing.com

For more information, log onto www.aspworldtour.com

GIDGET PRO SUNSET BEACH ROUND 1 MATCH-UPS:

Heat 1: Coco Ho (HAW), Sally Fitzgibbons (AUS), Bruna Schmitz (BRA), Laurina McGrath (AUS)
Heat 2: Stephanie Gilmore (AUS), Rebecca Woods (AUS), Jacqueline Silva (BRA), TBA
Heat 3: Melanie Bartels (HAW), Chelsea Hedges (AUS), Jessi Miley-Dyer (AUS), Megan Abubo (HAW)
Heat 4: Silvana Lima (BRA), Rosanne Hodge (ZAF), Samantha Cornish (AUS), TBA
Heat 5: Sofia Mulanovich (PER), Paige Hareb (NZL), Alana Blanchard (HAW), Bethany Hamilton (HAW)

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High-res image available for complimentary download at: (Copy/Paste URL)

http://64.78.18.131/aspnewsphotos/gidget09/gidsun09(cestari).jpg

Visit the Press Room on www.aspworldtour.com for news, images, transcribed athlete interviews and more.

Association of Surfing Professionals (ASP) Media
Dave Prodan
email: dave@aspworldtour.com
USA mobile: +1 949 678 0987

AUS mobile: +61 (0) 400 455 228

Digital Photographs:
High-resolution digital images for newspapers and Internet sites are available through ASP’s photography distributution partner Getty Images. To register for access, log onto http://corporate.gettyimages.com/marketing/editorial_frontdoor/ASP/index.html

——————————————————————————–

About ASP: The Association of Surfing Professionals (ASP) is the governing body of professional surfing. Crowning surfing’s undisputed world champions since 1976, the ASP sanctions the following tours: the ASP World Tour, the ASP Women’s World Tour, the World Qualifying Series (WQS) and the World Longboarding, Junior and Masters Championships. The ASP is dedicated to showcasing the world’s best surfing talent in a variety of progressive formats and has revolutionized the way the world watches surfing via their webcasts. The organization is divided into seven different regions: Africa, Japan, Australasia, Europe, Hawaii, North America, and South America. 

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Association of Surfing Professionals
72-80 Marine Parade
Coolangatta, QLD 4225
Australia

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Thursday 12 November 2009 – The waiting period for surfing’s first US $1 million series of events kicks off in Hawaii later today as 144 men take to the waves in the 6-Star Prime rated Reef Hawaiian Pro, the first of three men’s and three women’s events in the prestigious Vans Triple Crown of Surfing that will crown the 2009 ASP World Champions, decide the men’s ASP World Qualifying Series (WQS) and the qualifiers for the 2010 ASP World Tours.

The first event will get underway at 8pm SA time after Triple Crown Executive Director Randy Rarick made the decision to send the first round of heats out in 1 – 1.5 metre waves at Haleiwa.

Anticipation is at an all-time high after Vans’ announced that they will add $175 000 in Triple-Threat bonuses to the $825 000 in prize-money at stake in the events. $50,000 will be awarded to the men’s Triple Crown series champion, an extra $50,000 for the Billabong Pipeline Masters winner, a $50,000 bonus goes to the ASP World Champion, and a $25,000 bonus to the women’s Triple Crown champion.

The three events in the men’s Triple Crown are the Reef event (Nov 12-23), the O’Neill World Cup of Surfing at Sunset Beach (Nov24-6 Dec), the final event on the WQS, and the Billabong Pipeline Masters at Pipeline (Dec 8-20) that will crown the 2009 ASP World Champion.

The women also start out at Haleiwa with the Vans Hawaiian Pro (Nov 17-23), a specialty event featuring the ASP top 16 plus four rising stars, followed by the inaugural Gidget Pro Sunset Beach, the penultimate event on the 2009 ASP Women’s World Tour, and culminating at the Billabong Pro Maui where the Women’s World Champion will be decided.

Nine South Africans will be involved in the pressure-cooker competitive atmosphere for the finale to the 2009 ASP season, all of them with career changing scenarios at stake as the world’s best surfers take on what are considered the worlds most challenging waves.

Jordy Smith is the best placed of the Saffas, comfortably ensconced at No. 10 on the ASP World Tour rankings. Smith significantly raised his competition game plan in his second year on the Dream Tour after finishing 2008 rated No. 26, just inside the re-qualification cutoff point of No. 27. The 21 year-old Durbanite collected the Triple Crown Rookie of the Year award back in 2006 when he finished runner-up to Andy Irons (HAW) at the Sunset Beach event and he also reached the final there last year, sustaining a knee injury that prevented him from competing at Pipeline.

Smith has elected to recharge his competitive juices rather than compete in the Haleiwa event this year, but will be going all-out to win at Sunset Beach and become the first Saffa to capture an event title in Hawaii since the introduction of the two-tier ranking system in 1992. Then its on to his first event at Pipeline where his initial goal will be to improve his yearend ranking to No. 8 and preferential seeding on the 2010 ASP World Tour, before pushing on to try and finish amongst the Top 5 and earn substantial performance related bonuses from his sponsors.

Fellow World Tour campaigners Greg Emslie (East London) and David Weare (Durban) have opted to miss both the Haleiwa and Sunset Beach events and will be jetting out of SA on 30 November so they can spend a full week practicing at Pipeline rather than competing elsewhere in the lead up to the crucial showdown in the season ending event.

Emslie, who turns 33 the day before he leaves, is right on the re-qualification bubble at No. 31 in rankings. SA’s most successful pro surfer with career prize-money earnings of $607 525 is only 137 points behind the No. 27 spot and while a 17th place finish will be enough to make that up, the East Londoner probably needs 9th place to ensure he secures an unprecedented 10th year at surfing’s highest level of competition.

Weare, 29, faces a bigger hurdle after a tough 2009 season that sees him ranked No. 41 and nearly 700 points shy of re-qualification. The super-fit Durbanite is upbeat about his chances, even though he needs to manoeuvre his way past the world’s best competitors and the top Hawaiian pros with their intimate knowledge of the break and into the final at Pipeline to have a mathematical chance of a top 27 finish.

On the WQS, Travis Logie justified his decision to fly from Canada to the Canaries by picking up 1 575 points at the Santa Pro last week and consolidating his No. 10 ranking going into the last two events in Hawaii. The 30 year-old Durbanite, who spent four years at ASP’s top table before dropping out at the end of last year, has waged a tenacious campaign on The Grind this year and is well inside the top 15 who will qualify for the 2010 Dream Tour.

Logie has not competed at Haleiwa or Sunset Beach since 2005 but is seeded into the Round 64 in both events this year and, as he only needs to advance through one round of competition to improve his ratings tally, he looks a good bet for a return to the top flight in 2010.

Brandon Jackson, 22, leap-frogged into the No. 15 ratings slot after his outstanding 3rd place in Canada two weeks back, but slipped up when he was ousted in his first heat in Santa Cruz last week and dropped back to No. 20 going into the Hawaiian leg. The talented Durbanite starts in the Round of 96 at Haleiwa and Sunset and needs a semi-final berth in one of the events, or two quarterfinal finishes, to claim a career defining step up onto the World Tour.

Capetonian Royden Bryson, a former two-year campaigner on the ASP World Tour, gave himself a mathematical chance of re-qualifying by emulating Logie with a 17th place finish in the Canaries. The 27 year-old now occupies the No. 29 position and needs a minimum of pair of semifinal results to press for a Top 15 ranking.

Former Capetonian Damien Fahrenfort matched his career best 6-Star Prime event result of 5th place at Santa Cruz last week and he and Rudy Palmboom Jnr. from the Bluff are now just 50 points apart ranked No. 67 and No. 66 respectively. They start their campaigns in the Round of 128 in both events and will be psyched to take full advantage of the bonus 40% increase in ratings points available in the Prime rated events and pushing hard to improve their rakings going into 2010 when the ASP will implement the much vaunted ‘one world ranking’ system that combines WQS and World Tour points.

Last but by no means least, Rosanne Hodge stormed into the top 10 on the ASP Women’s World Tour rankings last week when she followed up her career best 3rd place result in Portugal with a 5th place finish in Peru. The 22 year-old from East London is now No. 9 going into Hawaii and will be looking to consolidate her position in the top 10 to ensure she re-qualifies for a fourth successive season in the highest echelon of women’s surfing.

Hodge will warm-up in the specialty event at Haleiwa before charging at the penultimate event of the year at Sunset Beach and then looking to repeat or better her excellent results in the season ending event in the epic barrels at Honolua Bay on Maui, the only Triple Crown event not run on the North Shore of Oahu.

The race for the ASP Women’s World Title is a four-way battle between reigning and two-time champion Stephanie Gilmore (AUS), who leads the ratings; Brazilian Silvana Lima, who is the only two-time event winner this year; former World champ Sofia Mulanovich, who won the last event in her home country of Peru to move into the No. 3 spot, and 18-year-old Hawaiian, Coco Ho.

The 2009 men’s crown is a straight shootout between Australian buddies Mick Fanning, the 2007 ASP World Champion, and Joel Parkinson, the defending Triple Crown champion, each of whom have won three events this season. Parkinson needs to finish two positions higher than Fanning in the Billabong Pro Pipeline to overtake his compatriot and clinch his first World title.

All the action throughout the six events can be watched via live webcasts at www.aspworldtour.com or www.triplecrownofsurfing.com

The events of the Vans Triple Crown of Surfing
Reef Hawaiian Pro (WQS men) – Haleiwa Ali’i Beach Park, Nov, 12-23
Vans Hawaiian Pro (Specialty women) – Haleiwa Ali’i Beach Park, Nov, 17-23

Gidget Pro Sunset Beach (Women’s World Tour) – Sunset Beach, Nov. 24-Dec. 6
ONeill World Cup of Surfing (WQS men) – Sunset Beach, Nov. 24-Dec. 6

Billabong Pro Maui (Women’s World Tour) – Honolua Bay, Maui, Dec. 8-20
Billabong Pipeline Masters (Men’s World Tour) – Banzai Pipeline, Dec. 8-20

For more information on the ASP Africa members, including profiles and rankings, visit www.aspafrica.com

Ends

The 2009 ASP Men’s World Champion will be decided in the epic waves at Banzai Pipeline in Hawaii

Issued on behalf of:

ASP Africa
Contact: Colin Fitch – Operations Manager
Tel: 021 534 5738
Email: aspafrica@mweb.co.za

Compiled & Distributed by:

Life’s a Beach Communications
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Tel: +27 (0) 21 783 4965
Fax: +27 (0) 86 684 6250
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Email: lifesabeach@mweb.co.za

About ASP:

The Association of Surfing Professionals (ASP) is the governing body of professional surfing. Crowning surfing’s undisputed world champions since 1976, the ASP sanctions the following tours: the ASP World Tour, the ASP Women’s World Tour, the World Qualifying Series (WQS) and the World Longboarding, Junior and Masters Championships. The ASP is dedicated to showcasing the world’s best surfing talent in a variety of progressive formats and has revolutionized the way the world watches surfing via their webcasts. The organization is divided into seven different regions: Africa, Asia, Australasia, Europe, Hawaii, North America, and South America.

LOBITOS, Piura/Peru (Sunday, November 8, 2009) – Sofia Mulanovich (PER), 26, has taken out the Movistar Peru Classic presented by Rip Curl over reigning two-time ASP Women’s World Champion and two-time defending event winner in Peru, Stephanie Gilmore (AUS), 21.

Event No. 5 of 7 on the 2009 ASP Women’s World Tour, the Movistar Peru Classic culminated in offshore three-to-four foot (1 – 1.5 metre) waves at Lobitos today, and delivered all the drama and action the fans had been waiting for.

Mulanovich, who suffered a horrific wipeout yesterday, was a standout in the hard-fought Final, muscling through one section after another on her backhand, to post an impressive 15.00 out of a possible 20. While the lead would seesaw back and forth between the Peruvian and the Australian, it was ultimately Mulanovich who would come away with the win in front of a raucous crowd on the sand.

“It doesn’t even feel real that this is happening right now,” Mulanovich said. “I have wanted to win this event for so long, and have always been disappointed. To do it here, in front of my friends and family and in good waves at Lobitos is a dream come true. Viva Peru!”

The win boosts the former ASP Women’s World Champion (2004) from fourth to third on the 2009 ASP Women’s World Tour ratings and puts her within striking distance of the crown heading into the business end of the season.

“I haven’t had the best season and I was really waiting for a breakout result,” Mulanovich said. “To finally get it at home is really special. I am just so stoked.”

Gilmore’s Runner-Up finish today marks her third of the season, and while missing out on making it three-in-a-row in Peru, the Australian is still pleased with her performance.

“Definitely been pretty consistent with making Finals,” Gilmore said. “Obviously I was looking for another win. But in a way, it is pretty special to see Sofia (Mulanovich) win, like, it is crazy. There are thousands of people on the beach here in the middle of nowhere, it is just phenomenal. To make another Final felt good. I had a lot of fun. It was good to see Sofia up there and not Silvana (Lima) or Coco (Ho), it is going to make the ratings really interesting and it’s keeping things really tight and close between everyone. It is going to be an exciting finish in Hawaii.”

Gilmore retains a slender lead over challengers as she contests for a third, consecutive ASP Women’s World Title, but retains collected frame of mind heading into Hawaii.

“The world title is in your head sometimes,” Gilmore said. “It is just event by event. This event was a good one as everyone was surfing so good and so after a fifth in Portugal, I wanted to come here and perform really well and I put my mind to it and I did it, the title race is hot.”

Sally Fitzgibbons (AUS), 18, 2009 ASP Dream Tour rookie, matched her best result of the year with an equal 3rd at the Movistar Peru Classic. Arguably one of the most in-tune performers at Lobitos, Fitzgibbons lost a nail-biter Semifinal to eventual winner Mulanovich.

“I’m definitely happy with my performance,” Fitzgibbons said. “I have felt good this whole event and it came down really close there at the end. I knew that set was on the horizon and I couldn’t hold on in the end. It would be amazing to make it through to a Final. I will take the third place but it is always nice to be there on the podium and in the Final. I will just keep trying and doing what I am doing and hopefully crack it pretty soon.”

Coco Ho (HAW), 18, 2009 ASP Women’s World Tour rookie and winner of the previous event in Portugal, was a major standout at the Movistar Peru Classic. Ho took down fellow Hawaiian rookie Alana Blanchard (HAW), 19, and stylish natural-footer Rosanne Hodge (ZAF), 22, before falling agonizingly close to Gilmore in the Semifinals.

“It’s always hard having a 9 and waiting for your second score but that’s what surfing with the Champ is all about,” Ho said. “It was frustrating seeing the waves I needed coming in after the heat, but that’s okay. Competing against Steph definitely pushes my surfing and I’m happy with an Equal 3rd.”

Despite missing out on a Final’s berth in Peru, Ho is looking forward to finishing the year at home in Hawaii and the finale of the 2009 ASP Women’s World Tour Rookie of the Year race.

“I’m definitely looking forward to heading home and finishing the season in Hawaii,” Ho said. “Rookie of the Year and a Top 5 finish has always been my goal, but Sally (Fitzgibbons) is right there and it will come down to the wire.”

Highlights from the Movistar Peru Classic are available via www.aspworldtour.com

The next stop on the 2009 ASP Women’s World Tour is the Gidget Pro at Sunset Beach, Hawaii from November 24 through December 6, 2009.

For more information, log onto www.aspworldtour.com

High-res image available for complimentary download at: (Copy/Paste URL)

http://64.78.18.131/aspnewsphotos/peru09/smperuchair09(rowland).jpg

MOVISTAR PERU CLASSIC FINAL RESULTS:

1 – Sofia Mulanovich (PER) 15.00
2 – Stephanie Gilmore (AUS) 14.74

MOVISTAR PERU CLASSIC SEMIFINAL RESULTS:

SF 1: Stephanie Gilmore (AUS) 15.60 def. Coco Ho (HAW) 15.17
SF 2: Sofia Mulanovich (PER) 16.27 def. Sally Fitzgibbons (AUS) 16.20

MOVISTAR PERU CLASSIC QUARTERFINAL RESULTS:

QF 1: Coco Ho (HAW) 14.74 def. Rosanne Hodge (ZAF) 10.16
QF 2: Stephanie Gilmore (AUS) 9.27 def. Paige Hareb (NZL) 6.60
QF 3: Sally Fitzgibbons (AUS) 16.16 def. Silvana Lima (BRA) 6.83
QF 4: Sofia Mulanovich (PER) 10.67 def. Chelsea Hedges (AUS) 10.17

ASP WOMEN’S WORLD TOUR TOP 5 (After Movistar Peru Classic):

1 – Stephanie Gilmore (AUS) 4765 pts
2 – Silvana Lima (BRA) 4188 pts
3 – Sofia Mulanovich (PER) 3891 pts
4 – Coco Ho (HAW) 3679 pts
5 – Chelsea Hedges (AUS) 3043 pts

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Visit the Press Room on www.aspworldtour.com for news, images, transcribed athlete interviews and more.

Association of Surfing Professionals (ASP) Media
Dave Prodan
email: dave@aspworldtour.com
USA mobile: +1 949 678 0987
AUS mobile: +61 (0) 400 455 228

Digital Photographs:
High-resolution digital images for newspapers and Internet sites are available through ASP’s photography distributution partner Getty Images. To register for access, log onto http://corporate.gettyimages.com/marketing/editorial_frontdoor/ASP/index.html

——————————————————————————–

About ASP: The Association of Surfing Professionals (ASP) is the governing body of professional surfing. Crowning surfing’s undisputed world champions since 1976, the ASP sanctions the following tours: the ASP World Tour, the ASP Women’s World Tour, the World Qualifying Series (WQS) and the World Longboarding, Junior and Masters Championships. The ASP is dedicated to showcasing the world’s best surfing talent in a variety of progressive formats and has revolutionized the way the world watches surfing via their webcasts. The organization is divided into seven different regions: Africa, Japan, Australasia, Europe, Hawaii, North America, and South America.

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LOBITOS, Piura/Peru (Monday, November 2, 2009) – The world’s best female surfers are heating up the 2009 ASP Women’s World Tour as Event No. 5 of 7, the Movistar Peru Classic presented by Rip Curl, commences its waiting period tomorrow.

Hot off the heels of two impressive events in Sydney and Portugal, the ASP Top 17 have traversed the Atlantic and are preparing to do battle in Northern Peru’s long lefthanders. Into its third year as an ASP Women’s World Tour event, this year’s Movistar Peru Classic will endeavor to bring the world’s best women’s surfers to the fabled lefthander of Lobitos for the first time ever.

Stephanie Gilmore (AUS), 21, reigning two-time ASP Women’s World Champion and current ASP Women’s World No. 1, will look to claim her third consecutive event win in Peru this season, the stylish natural-footer having been dominant in 2007 and 2008.

“I definitely feel its achievable (winning three years in a row),” Gilmore said. “It’s such a cool event to win, I can’t wait to get started.”

Last year’s Peru victory saw Gilmore vault ahead of former ASP Women’s World Champion (2004) Sofia Mulanovich (PER), 26, in the hunt for the 2008 ASP Women’s World Title, a lead she would not relinquish. While the Australian sits in the No. 1 spot on this year’s ASP Women’s World Tour ratings, she knows how crucial a result this season will be to stay ahead of current ASP Women’s World No. 2, Silvana Lima (BRA), 25.

“Obviously a win at this event would come with some very valuable ratings points,” Gilmore said. “I’ll take as many as I can get right now.”

Coco Ho (HAW), 18, 2009 ASP Dream Tour rookie and current ASP Women’s World No. 3, scored her breakout result last week, claiming the Rip Curl Pro Search in Portugal over former ASP Women’s World Champion (2005) Chelsea Hedges (AUS), 26. Sitting at third on the 2009 ASP Women’s World Tour ratings, Ho is a real contender in challenging Gilmore and Lima for the top spot, but remains focused on achieving ASP Rookie of the Year and the Top 5 rating.

“I am kind of focusing more on the close battle for the Rookie of the Year,” Ho said. I’m just trying to stay on top of my game and not let this victory blow up my head and then I start losing. I just want to stay focused – there is still a long road ahead. I would really like to be Rookie of the Year and to stay Top 5, that would be the year of my life. Sally (Fitzgibbons) and Paige (Hareb) have both been really consistent, but I would have to say Sal is my biggest competition. We are both regular footers and she always pushes me. I always want to go out and surf as well as she did and she does a good job of pumping me up.”

The Movistar Peru Classic presented by Rip Curl will host the ASP Top 17 from November 3 – 8, 2009.

The event will be webcast LIVE via www.aspworldtour.com

For more information, log onto www.aspworldtour.com

High-res image available for complimentary download at: (Copy/Paste URL)

http://64.78.18.131/aspnewsphotos/peru09/sgperu09(cestari).jpg

——————————————————————————–

Visit the Press Room on www.aspworldtour.com for news, images, transcribed athlete interviews and more.

Association of Surfing Professionals (ASP) Media
Dave Prodan
email: dave@aspworldtour.com
USA mobile: +1 949 678 0987

AUS mobile: +61 (0) 400 455 228

Digital Photographs:
High-resolution digital images for newspapers and Internet sites are available through ASP’s photography distributution partner Getty Images. To register for access, log onto http://corporate.gettyimages.com/marketing/editorial_frontdoor/ASP/index.html

——————————————————————————–

About ASP: The Association of Surfing Professionals (ASP) is the governing body of professional surfing. Crowning surfing’s undisputed world champions since 1976, the ASP sanctions the following tours: the ASP World Tour, the ASP Women’s World Tour, the World Qualifying Series (WQS) and the World Longboarding, Junior and Masters Championships. The ASP is dedicated to showcasing the world’s best surfing talent in a variety of progressive formats and has revolutionized the way the world watches surfing via their webcasts. The organization is divided into seven different regions: Africa, Japan, Australasia, Europe, Hawaii, North America, and South America. 

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Association of Surfing Professionals
72-80 Marine Parade
Coolangatta, QLD 4225
Australia

 

South Africa’s Rosanne Hodge matched her career best result on the ASP Women’s World Tour by clinching third place in the Rip Curl Women’s Pro Search event in Portugal yesterday.

Despite finishing third behind rookies Coco Ho (HAW) and Paige Hareb (NZL) in bumpy one metre waves at Belgas in Round 1 on Wednesday, the 22 year-old East Londoner revelled in the cleaner conditions at the same venue yesterday. Hodge started the final day of Stop No. 4 of 7 on the 2009 ASP Women’s World Tour by winning her Round 2 encounter over Megan Abubo (HAW) and Rebecca Woods (AUS).

She then gained some revenge by ousting Hareb in Round 3 and followed that by squeaking past current ASP No. 5 Melanie Bartels (HAW) in the quarters before bowing out to former World champ and eventual event runner-up Chelsea Hedges (AUS) in the semis.

“I’m really very happy with my performance in Portugal,” Hodge said. “It’s been a very important competition for me with the WQS having already finished. I need some good results in the last four events and this event has given me a good start.”

The event was won by Ho, 18, who recorded her maiden World Tour victory by comboing  Hedges in the final to move from No. 5 to No. 3 on the ratings and into contention to clinch what would be an historic World Title in her home surf in December.

Hodge, in her third year as a full time campaigner at the highest level of women’s surfing, matched her previous best result achieved at the yearend event at Honolua Bay in Hawaii in 2007. This result moves her up one place in the rankings to No. 11 and a scant 7 points behind Jacqueline Silva (BRA) with three events to go before the top 10 ranked surfers automatically qualify for the World Tour the following year.

Hodge’s run in the event must have been watched with mixed feelings by close friend and fellow East Londoner Nikita Robb. Robb, 20, finished No. 9 on the 2009 ASP Women’s World Qualifying Series (WQS) and will qualify for her maiden season on the World Tour provided Ho, Hareb and Wood retain their places in the top 10 in the 2009 rankings.

RIP CURL WOMEN’S PRO SEARCH FINAL RESULTS:

1 – Coco Ho (HAW) 15.83
2 – Chelsea Hedges (AUS) 9.37

RIP CURL WOMEN’S PRO SEARCH SEMIFINALS RESULTS:

SF 1: Chelsea Hedges (AUS) 11.17 def. Rosanne Hodge (ZAF) 5.10
SF 2: Coco Ho (HAW) 14.84 def. Silvana Lima (BRA) 8.66

RIP CURL WOMEN’S PRO SEARCH QUARTERFINALS RESULTS:

QF 1: Rosanne Hodge (ZAF) 8.30 def. Melanie Bartels (HAW) 7.13
QF 2: Chelsea Hedges (AUS) 12.16 def. Stephanie Gilmore (AUS) 11.73
QF 3: Silvana Lima (BRA) 11.67 def. Sally Fitzgibbons (AUS) 9.34
QF 4: Coco Ho (HAW) 15.06 def. Sofia Mulanovich (PER) 9.16

RIP CURL WOMEN’S PRO SEARCH ROUND 3 RESULTS:

Heat 1: Melanie Bartels (HAW) 13.50 def. Bruna Schmitz (BRA) 7.90
Heat 2: Rosanne Hodge (ZAF) 9.74 def. Paige Hareb (NZL) 7.67
Heat 3: Chelsea Hedges (AUS) 17.70 def. Samantha Cornish (AUS) 12.40
Heat 4: Stephanie Gilmore (AUS) 14.83 def. Megan Abubo (HAW) 9.00
Heat 5: Silvana Lima (BRA) 13.40 def. Jessi Miley-Dyer (AUS) 13.13
Heat 6: Sally Fitzgibbons (AUS) 17.67 def. Jacqueline Silva (BRA) 13.07
Heat 7: Coco Ho (HAW) 12.40 def. Amee Donohoe (AUS) 11.23
Heat 8: Sofia Mulanovich (PER) 13.00 def. Alana Blanchard (HAW) 10.30

RIP CURL WOMEN’S PRO SEARCH ROUND 2 RESULTS:

Heat 1: Sofia Mulanovich (PER) 17.00, Alana Blanchard (HAW) 10.17, Pauline Ado (FRA) 8.23
Heat 2: Rosanne Hodge (ZAF) 10.66, Megan Abubo (HAW) 9.33, Rebecca Woods (AUS) 5.57

CURRENT ASP WOMEN’S WORLD TOUR TOP 5 (After RC Pro Women’s Search):

1 – Stephanie Gilmore (AUS) 3793 points
2 – Silvana Lima (BRA) 3636 points
3 – Coco Ho (HAW) 2923 points
4 – Sofia Mulanovich (PER) 2691 points
5 – Melanie Bartels (HAW) 2535 points
11- Rosanne Hodge (East London) 1872 points

++++++++++++++++++

Jordy Smith takes 5^th in Portugal; jumps to No. 10 on World Tour

Jordy Smith posted the second best result of his 2009 ASP World Tour campaign when he reached the quarterfinals to place fifth overall in the Rip Curl Pro Search, the penultimate event of the year, in gaping two to three metre barrelling waves at Supertubos in Perniche, Portugal, on Tuesday.

Smith, 21, in his second year on the ASP Dream Tour, had a semifinal spot wrenched from his grasp when current world No. 4 and eventual event runner-up Bede Durbidge, needing a near perfect 9.67 point ride with two minutes remaining, successfully negotiated his way through a 30 metre curtain of water to be awarded a perfect 10 points by the judges.

Nevertheless, Smith’s haul of US $9 000 (approx. R66 000) and 732 precious ratings points sees the Durbanite handily placed in No. 10 on the rankings going into the last event in Hawaii in December, where he will be competing at Pipeline for the first time.

East London’s Greg Emslie advanced past Aritz Aranburu (EUK) to Round 2 where he was ousted by current ASP No. 9 Damien Hobgood (USA) in a low scoring match-up. His 17^th place finish in Portugal sees Emslie sitting right on the re-qualification ‘bubble’ for the 2010 ASP World Tour going into Hawaii. The 31 year-old needs to repeat his 17^th place at Pipeline to have a chance of forcing his way into the top 27 who re-qualify.

David Weare (Durban) was ousted in Round 1 to post his fifth 33^rd place finish of the year and needs to finish first or second at Pipe to climb from his current rating of No. 41 into a re-qualifying position.

CURRENT ASP WORLD TOUR TOP 10 (Following Rip Curl Pro Search):

1 – Mick Fanning (AUS) 7140 points
2 – Joel Parkinson (AUS) 6772 points
3 – Adriano de Souza (BRA) 6148 points
4 – Bede Durbidge (AUS) 6146 points
5 – C.J. Hobgood (USA) 5748 points
6 – Taj Burrow (AUS) 5524 points
7 – Kelly Slater (USA) 5514 points
8 – Bobby Martinez (USA) 5421 points
9 – Damien Hobgood (USA) 5116 points
10 – Jordy Smith (ZAF) 4828 points

South Africans

31 – Greg Emslie (ZAF) 3095 points
41 – David Weare (ZAF) 2540 points

+++++++++++++++++++++

First round exits for Saffas as Ingelby clinches ASP World Longboard crown

Matthew Moir, (Tokai), Justin Bing (Noordhoek) and Dylan McLeod (Port Elizabeth), the trio of South Africans who competed in the second leg of the 2009 Oxbow World Longboard Tour at Pasta Point in the Maldives, were all eliminated in Round 1 of the 32-man event.

Two-time ISA World champion Moir was ousted by wildcard Remi Arauzo (FRA); Bing, the 2009 SA Open champ was no match for newly crowned ASP World Longboard champion Harley Ingelby (AUS) and 2008 SA champ McLeod tasted defeat at the hands of former multiple ASP World Longboard champ Colin McPhillips (USA).

The event enjoyed excellent 1 – 1.5 metre waves throughout, starting on Monday and culminating yesterday with Kai Sallas (HAW) taking victory over Ingleby in the final. The World Title was decided over two legs with Ingelby winning the first event in Japan earlier this year.

OXBOW WORLD LONGBOARD TOUR MALDIVES RESULTS

FINAL

1 – Kai Sallas (HAW) 15.65
2 – Harley Ingelby (AUS) 14.00

OXBOW ASP WORLD LONGBOARD TOUR MALDIVES SEMIFINALS

SF 1: Kai Sallas (HAW) 14.50 D Ned Snow (HAW) 13.45
SF 2: Harley Ingelby (AUS) 14.80 D Antoine Delpero (FRA) 14.35

ASP Final World Longboard 2009 Ratings

1 – Harley Ingelby (AUS)
2 – Kai Sallas (HAW)
3 – Antoine Delpero (FRA)
4 – Phil Rajzman (BRA)
5 – Bonga Perkins (HAW)

South Africans

15 – Matthew Moir (Tokai)
25 – Dylan McLeod (Port Elizabeth)
35 – Justin Bing (Noordhoek) – one event only.

+++++++++++++++++++++++++

Brandon Jackson last Saffa left in O‘Neill Coldwater Classic Canada

Brandon Jackson is the last South African in the 19 surfers still in contention for the 6-Star rated Oakley Cold Water Classic Canada currently being staged at Tofino on Vancouver Island.

Jackson, 22, from Durban North, came into the event No. 20 on the WQS and needing to finish higher than 25^th to improve his ranking and have the chance to qualify for the 2010 ASP World Tour amongst the Top 15 in the yearend WQS standings. He is already guaranteed of a minimum of 17^th place and will be fully focused on advancing further when he takes on Charley Martin (GLP) and Killian Garland (USA) with the top two in the heat progressing.

Rudy Palmboom (Bluff), 16 year-old Beyrick de Vries (Umhlanga) and current WQS No. 10 Travis Logie (Durban) all reached the last 48 in the event which is billed as the ‘coldest surfing contest in the world’. Canada is Stop No. 4 of five on the O’Neill Cold Water Classic series that has seen events in Tasmania, Scotland and Cape Town and concludes in Santa Cruz, California next month.

Capetonians Sean Holmes, Dave Richards and Damien Fahrenfort were all eliminated in the Round of 96.

See www.oneill.com/cwc/canada for more information and live scoring

+++++++++++++++++++++

For more information on the ASP Africa members, including profiles and rankings, visit www.aspafrica.com

Ends

Issued on behalf of:

ASP Africa
Contact:            Colin Fitch – Operations Manager
Tel:                   021 534 5738
Email:               aspafrica@mweb.co.za

Compiled & Distributed by:

Life’s a Beach Communications
PO Box 48272, Kommetjie 7976, South Africa
Tel:              +27 (0) 21 783 4965
Fax:             +27 (0) 86 684 6250
Mobile:         +27 (0) 82 423 1964
Email:           lifesabeach@mweb.co.za

About ASP:
The Association of Surfing Professionals (ASP) is the governing body of professional surfing. Crowning surfing’s undisputed world champions since 1976, the ASP sanctions the following tours: the ASP World Tour, the ASP Women’s World Tour, the World Qualifying Series (WQS) and the World Longboarding, Junior and Masters Championships. The ASP is dedicated to showcasing the world’s best surfing talent in a variety of progressive formats and has revolutionized the way the world watches surfing via their webcasts. The organization is divided into seven different regions: Africa, Asia, Australasia, Europe, Hawaii, North America, and South America.

BELGAS, Peniche/Portugal (Thursday, October 29, 2009) – Coco Ho (HAW), 18, 2009 ASP Dream Tour rookie, collected her inaugural victory on the ASP Women’s World Tour today, taking out the Rip Curl Women’s Pro Search over former ASP Women’s World Champion (2005) Chelsea Hedges (AUS), 26, in punchy two-to-three foot (1 metre) surf at Belgas.

Event No. 4 of 7 on the 2009 ASP Women’s World Tour, the Rip Curl Women’s Pro Search saw some of the best conditions of the year at the backup venue of Belgas, and throughout the two days of competition, it was the youngster Ho who proved most adept at navigating the hollow beachbreak peaks.

Ho exercised excellent judgment in the Final, patiently waiting while her elder opponent kept herself busy. With conditions deteriorating, the young Hawaiian let loose with a barrage of backhand hits on the dumpy lefthanders, collecting a 7.50 and an 8.33 to combo Hedges and take the win.

“I knew Chelsea (Hedges) would be dangerous on the left after seeing her this morning getting those barrels,” Ho said. “This afternoon it turned into a more rippable wave and it was hard on the forehand, but I was lucky to get the waves I did.”

With this win, Ho moves from 5th to 3rd on the ASP Women’s World Tour rankings and announces herself as a major force heading into the final three events of the year.

“It feels so good to be on top,” Ho said. “I’m trying not to think about too much. I love my trophy. When I started the year, I set a goal to make Quarterfinals or better at every event in order finish Top 5 by the end of the year, and I’m doing my best to accomplish that.”

For Hedges, today’s return to form marks the first time the inspiring goofy-footer has seen a Finals’ berth since 2007, and moves her from 8th to 6th on the 2009 ASP Women’s World Tour ratings. Her dominance in the earlier rounds of the Rip Curl Women’s Pro Search cannot be overlooked as she consistently dominated the playful pits of Belgas, even eliminating reigning two-time ASP Women’s World Champion and current ASP Women’s World No. 1, Stephanie Gilmore (AUS), 21, in the Quarterfinals.

“It was close but no cigar,” Hedges said. “It feels good to be back on the podium. It’s my best result this year. I came into the event forgetting about world titles and just wanted to improve on my results. Coco (Ho) was ripping and she got the better waves out there this afternoon. I am happy with my 2nd and I will work on that from here.”

The former ASP Women’s World Champion took a sabbatical from competition in 2008 to give birth to a daughter, Meika, and was given the ASP Women’s World Tour wildcard to compete this season. Today’s Runner-Up finish is Hedges’s best of the season, and she’ll be a major threat in the final three events of the season.

“This year, I was kind of questioning my ability a bit at the first event with these young girls like Coco (Ho) and Sally (Fitzgibbons),” Hedges said. “They are surfing so good and it really pushes my surfing and makes me look at what I am doing. It felt really good to take out Steph (Gilmore). She is the best out there in my opinion, her surfing still has that little edge. I still feel that, come the end of the year, she is going to be the one to beat.”

Rosanne Hodge (ZAF), 22, was the surprise juggernaut of the event, claiming three heats today before falling to eventual Runner-Up Hedges in the Semifinals. Despite missing out on a Final’s berth, Hodge took some major scalps in the Rip Curl Women’s Pro Search and moved from 12th to 11th on 2009 ASP Women’s World Tour.

“I’m really very happy with my performance in Portugal,” Hodge said. “It’s been a very important competition for me with the WQS having already finished. I need some good results in the last four events and this event has given me a good start.”

Silvana Lima (BRA), 25, current ASP Women’s World No. 2, was in impressive form throughout the final day of competition, edging past Jessi Miley-Dyer (AUS), 23, before dispatching of Sally Fitzgibbons (AUS), 18, in the Quarterfinals. Although failing to advance past eventual winner Ho, Lima’s Semifinal finish moved her even closer to Gilmore in the race for the 2009 ASP Women’s World Title.

“For sure I am happy with making the Semis here,” Lima said. “The conditions got pretty tough towards the end, but I’m happy with my result and looking forward to the next event. I saw Steph (Gilmore) lose to Chelsea (Hedges) but it doesn’t change the way I surf. I just surf my heat. Steph is an amazing surfer and competing against her this year is great. She is so powerful and it’s so good for surfing. This year I’m a lot more focused and I think that’s why I am doing better.”

The next stop on the 2009 ASP Women’s World Tour will be the Movistar Peru Classic presented by Rip Curl from November 3 through 8, 2009 at Lobitos in Northern Peru.

The ASP Top 17 will be traversing the Atlantic en route to South America in the next couple of days to contest the long, lefthand points of Peru.

Highlights from the Rip Curl Women’s Pro Search will be available via http://live.ripcurl.com

Rip Curl Women’s Pro Search online media center is available at http://www.box.net/shared/o3avphdb6z
High-res image available for complimentary download at: (Copy/Paste URL)
http://64.78.18.131/aspnewsphotos/rcsearch09/chrcsearchvic09(cestari).jpg

For more information, log onto www.aspworldtour.com

RIP CURL WOMEN’S PRO SEARCH FINAL RESULTS:

1 – Coco Ho (HAW) 15.83
2 – Chelsea Hedges (AUS) 9.37

RIP CURL WOMEN’S PRO SEARCH SEMIFINALS RESULTS:

SF 1: Chelsea Hedges (AUS) 11.17 def. Rosanne Hodge (ZAF) 5.10
SF 2: Coco Ho (HAW) 14.84 def. Silvana Lima (BRA) 8.66

RIP CURL WOMEN’S PRO SEARCH QUARTERFINALS RESULTS:

QF 1: Rosanne Hodge (ZAF) 8.30 def. Melanie Bartels (HAW) 7.13
QF 2: Chelsea Hedges (AUS) 12.16 def. Stephanie Gilmore (AUS) 11.73
QF 3: Silvana Lima (BRA) 11.67 def. Sally Fitzgibbons (AUS) 9.34
QF 4: Coco Ho (HAW) 15.06 def. Sofia Mulanovich (PER) 9.16

RIP CURL WOMEN’S PRO SEARCH ROUND 3 RESULTS:

Heat 1: Melanie Bartels (HAW) 13.50 def. Bruna Schmitz (BRA) 7.90
Heat 2: Rosanne Hodge (ZAF) 9.74 def. Paige Hareb (NZL) 7.67
Heat 3: Chelsea Hedges (AUS) 17.70 def. Samantha Cornish (AUS) 12.40
Heat 4: Stephanie Gilmore (AUS) 14.83 def. Megan Abubo (HAW) 9.00
Heat 5: Silvana Lima (BRA) 13.40 def. Jessi Miley-Dyer (AUS) 13.13
Heat 6: Sally Fitzgibbons (AUS) 17.67 def. Jacqueline Silva (BRA) 13.07
Heat 7: Coco Ho (HAW) 12.40 def. Amee Donohoe (AUS) 11.23
Heat 8: Sofia Mulanovich (PER) 13.00 def. Alana Blanchard (HAW) 10.30

RIP CURL WOMEN’S PRO SEARCH ROUND 2 RESULTS:

Heat 1: Sofia Mulanovich (PER) 17.00, Alana Blanchard (HAW) 10.17, Pauline Ado (FRA) 8.23
Heat 2: Rosanne Hodge (ZAF) 10.66, Megan Abubo (HAW) 9.33, Rebecca Woods (AUS) 5.57

CURRENT ASP WOMEN’S WORLD TOUR TOP 5 (After RC Pro Women’s Search):

1 – Stephanie Gilmore (AUS) 3793 points
2 – Silvana Lima (BRA) 3636 points
3 – Coco Ho (HAW) 2923 points
4 – Sofia Mulanovich (PER) 2691 points
5 – Melanie Bartels (HAW) 2535 points

——————————————————————————–

Visit the Press Room on www.aspworldtour.com for news, images, transcribed athlete interviews and more.

Association of Surfing Professionals (ASP) Media
Dave Prodan
email: dave@aspworldtour.com
USA mobile: +1 949 678 0987
AUS mobile: +61 (0) 400 455 228

EVENT MEDIA

Rip Curl International Media Manager
Dane Sharp
AUS mobile: +61 439 300 391
email: dsharp@ripcurl.com.au

Rip Curl Europe
Men’s Event Media Manager
Marie Pascale Delanne
EUR mobile: +33 (0) 6 99 65 04 59
email: mdelanne@ripcurl-europe.com

Women’s Event Media Manager
Julie Pollet
EUR mobile: +33 (0) 6 99 92 24 21
email: jpollet@ripcurl-europe.com

Digital Photographs:
High-resolution digital images for newspapers and Internet sites are available through ASP’s photography distributution partner Getty Images. To register for access, log onto http://corporate.gettyimages.com/marketing/editorial_frontdoor/ASP/index.html

——————————————————————————–

About ASP: The Association of Surfing Professionals (ASP) is the governing body of professional surfing. Crowning surfing’s undisputed world champions since 1976, the ASP sanctions the following tours: the ASP World Tour, the ASP Women’s World Tour, the World Qualifying Series (WQS) and the World Longboarding, Junior and Masters Championships. The ASP is dedicated to showcasing the world’s best surfing talent in a variety of progressive formats and has revolutionized the way the world watches surfing via their webcasts. The organization is divided into seven different regions: Africa, Japan, Australasia, Europe, Hawaii, North America, and South America.

Nikita Robb in contention for ASP Women’s World Tour qualification
Royden Bryson gets 5th in Rio de Janeiro : Jumps to No. 29 on WQS
Chad du Toit and Sarah Baum clinches 2009 ASP Africa Pro Junior titles

Nikita Robb in contention for ASP Women’s World Tour qualification 

Tuesday 13 October 2009 – Nikita Robb moved into contention for a spot on the 2010 ASP Women’s World Tour after finishing fifth in the Rio Surf Pro International presented by Oakley and climbing four positions to 9^th place overall on the yearend ASP Women’s World Qualifying Series rankings.

Robb, 20, battled the tough onshore conditions in the final women’s WQS event of the year at Leblon in Rio de Janeiro, progressing through two rounds before bowing out in the Round of 12. The East Londoner collected 1 500 ratings points, her second best result of the year, and faces a two month wait to see whether she will become just the third South Africa woman, after Heather Clark and Rosanne Hodge, to qualify for the top tier of ASP competition since the introduction of the two-tiered ranking system in 1992.

As the ratings stand right now Robb is three places outside the top six on the yearend WQS leaderboard who, along with the top 10 on the 2009 yearend World Tour ratings, will automatically qualify for the 2010 Women’s World Tour. However, three of the WQS top six – Coco Ho (HAW), Rebecca Woods (AUS) and Paige Hareb (NZL) – are currently ranked 5^th, 6^th and 7^th on the World Tour and if they maintain their places in the top 10 over the remaining four events, then Robb will be awarded a slot for amongst the world’s top 16 female surfers on the ASP World Tour next year.

The four events still to be run are in Portugal (Oct 26-30), Peru (Nov 3-8), Sunset Beach, Hawaii (Nov24-6 Dec) and Honolua Bay, Hawaii (Dec 8-20) and you can bet your house on the fact that Robb will be following every minute of those events and willing Ho, Woods and Hareb on every step of the way.

Bianca Buitendag, the 15-year-old prodigy from George, was the only other SA girl to advance from Round 1 in Rio while Rosanne Hodge (EL) and the Kommetjie duo of Tarryn Chudleigh and Tanika Hoffman were first round casualties. The event was won by Jessi Miley-Dyer who defeated fellow Australian Laura Enever in the final.

WOMEN’S RIO SURF PRO INTERNATIONAL pres. by Oakley

FINAL
Winner – Jessi Miley-Dyer (AUS) with 8,33 and 6,00 – US$ 4.000 and 2.500 points
Runner-up – Laura Enever (AUS) with 4,17 and 2,67 – US$ 2.000 and 2.100 points

WOMEN’S SEMIFINALS  – 3^rd place – US$ 1.700 and 1.800 points:
1: Laura Enever (AUS) 11.66 x 9.27 Lee Ann Curren (FRA)
2: Jessi Miley-Dyer (AUS) 8.50 x 3.90 Bethany Hamilton (HAW)

WOMEN’S QUARTER-FINALS – 5th place – US$ 900 and 1.600 points:
1: Lee Ann Curren (FRA) 9.33 x 7.74 Airini Mason (NZL)
2: Laura Enever (AUS) 8.33 x 4.07 Tais de Almeida (BRA)
3: Bethany Hamilton (HAW) 12.10 x 10.10 Claire Bevilacqua (AUS)
4: Jessi Miley-Dyer (AUS) 8.66 x 6.03 Paige Hareb (NZL)

2009 FINAL WOMEN’S WQS RANKING  – 8 events:
01: Coco Ho (HAW) – 8.740 points
02: Jessi Miley-Dyer (AUS) – 8.720
03: Carissa Moore (HAW) – 7.980
04: Paige Hareb (NZL) – 7.840
05: Rebecca Woods (AUS) – 7.540
06: Claire Bevilacqua (AUS) – 7.400
07: Lee Ann Curren (FRA) – 7.240
08: Bruna Schmitz (BRA) – 7.000
09: Nikita Robb (ZAF) – 6.900

South Africans (more than 1 event)
15        Hodge,Rosanne      ZAF    6620 points
29        Buitendag,Bianca    ZAF    4720
33        Chudleigh,Tarryn    ZAF    4380
56        Smith,Tammy Lee   ZAF    2430
63        Hoffman,Tanika       ZAF    2000

++++++++++++++++++++++++

Royden Bryson gets 5^th in Rio de Janeiro : Jumps to No. 29 on WQS

Royden Bryson was the top placed Saffa in the 6-Star rated Rio Surf International pres. by Oakley, winning four consecutive heats before being ousted in the quarterfinals for equal 5^th place overall. The former East Londoner who now lives in Cape Town when not campaigning on the WQS pocketed US $2 850 (approx. R21 000) and 1 625 points which saw him jump from No. 35 to No. 29 in the rankings and just 1 614 points outside the top 15 who will qualify for the 2010 ASP World Tour.

Brandon Jackson continued his late season roll, building on his career best finish of 3^rd in the Local Motion Pro in Brazil the previous week to finish equal 13^th in Rio and move up one spot to No. 20. This leaves the second year WQS charger from Durban North a slender 720 points off the No. 15 slot with five major WQS events still to be run, two of which have overlapping dates.

Meanwhile Travis Logie maintained his No.10 spot on the WQS leaderboard by placing 17^th and 37^th in the two events in Brazil. The Durbanite whose relentless charge to re-qualify for the ASP World Tour, where he spent the 2005-2008 seasons, has already competed in 17 WQS events this year, the most by any of the Saffas.

Logie and Bryson will be racking up the air miles in the next month, heading for the inaugural 6-Star rated O’Neill Coldwater Classic in Vancouver on the Pacific coast of Canada from October 25-31 before jetting back across the continent and the North Atlantic to the 6-Star Prime rated Santa Pro in the Canaries from Nov 2-8 and then heading halfway round the world to Hawaii for the two 6-Star Prime rated events at Haleiwa and Sunset Beach (Nov 12-23 and Nov 24-Dec 6) where the 2009 WQS yearend rankings will be finalised.

The pair will be joined by Jackson, Rudy Palmboom (Bluff), Damien Fahrenfort (California), Sean Holmes (Cape Town) and Dave Richards (Kommetjie) in Canada while Antonio Bortoletto is the only other Saffa in the Canaries event.

RIO SURF PRO INTERNATIONAL pres. by OAKLEY

FINAL
Champion: Simao Romao (BRA) 16.16 points with 9.33 and 6.83 scores
Runner-up: Bernardo Miranda (BRA) 10.94 points with 6.27 and 4.67 scores

SEMI-FINALS
Heat 1: Bernardo Miranda (BRA) 15.84 def. Rodrigo Dornelles (BRA) 10.93
Heat 2: Simao Romao (BRA) 13.76 def. Brett Simpson (USA) 13.00

QUARTER-FINALS
Heat 1: Rodrigo Dornelles (BRA) 12.90 def. Royden Bryson (ZAF) 11.60
Heat 2: Bernardo Miranda (BRA) 18.14 def. Miguel Pupo (BRA) 14.94
Heat 3: Brett Simpson (USA) 12.00 def. Brent Dorrington (AUS) 11.60
Heat 4: Simao Romao (BRA) 17.23 def. Patrick Gudauskas (USA) 8.00

2009 WQS RANKING – after 32 events:

01: Daniel Ross (AUS) – 14.975 points
02: Jadson Andre (BRA) – 14.813
03: Owen Wright (AUS) – 14.338
04: Patrick Gudauskas (USA) – 13.876
05: Adam Melling (AUS) – 13.026
06: Brett Simpson (USA) – 12.600
07: Matt Wilkinson (AUS) – 12.150
08: Joan Duru (FRA) – 12.050
09: Blake Thornton (AUS) – 11.925
10: Travis Logie (ZAF) – 11.851

South Africans (top 150)
20        Jackson,Brandon     ZAF    10431
29        Bryson,Royden         ZAF    9538
52        Wright,Warwick        ZAF    7550
62        Bortoletto,Antonio    ZAF    7101
66        Palmboom,Rudy      ZAF    7001
83        Redman,Daniel       ZAF    6451
94        Fahrenfort,Damien  ZAF    6114
105     Basnett,Ricky           ZAF    5551
141     Du Toit,Chad            ZAF    4663
146     Strachan,Klee          ZAF    4406

++++++++++++++++++++++++

Chad du Toit and Sarah Baum clinch 2009 ASP Africa Pro Junior titles

Chad du Toit and Sarah Baum clinched the 2009 ASP Africa Pro Junior titles when they each placed third in their respective divisions at the final Billabong Junior Series event at Herold’s Bay in September.

The consistent du Toit, 19, from the Berea in Durban, finished third in all four events on the 2009 schedule and faced a nail-biting wait after being eliminated in the semis of the final event. Defending ASP Africa champ Klee Strachan (Winkelspruit) was up against Beyrick de Vries (Umhlanga) in the final and needed the win to become the first back-to-back champ but fell on his last wave handing the title to du Toit.

Casey Grant (Scottburgh), who had led the ratings after winning the first event of the year, was eliminated in the quarters at Herold’s Bay but had enough points to claim second spot on the rankings as Strachan took third and de Vries’ victory saw the 16-year-old grab fourth place overall.

Baum had a less stressful triumph after winning the first of the two ASP Africa Pro Junior women’s events and despite being ousted in the semis at Herold’s Bay, the 15-year-old from Athlone Park secured a comfortable 260 point series win over Chantelle Rautenbach (Melkbosstrand) with Kirsty Delport (Durban) in third.

Du Toit, Grant, Strachan and de Vries received the four coveted invitations to the Billabong ASP World Junior Championships in Sydney, Australia, in January and will be joined by Kyle Lane (Umhlanga) who is the highest WQS ranked ASP Africa Pro Junior not in the top four in the local standings.

Baum will represent ASP Africa at the ASP World Junior Champs for the second successive year along with Nikita Robb, SA’s highest WQS ranked Pro Junior woman.

2009 ASP Africa Pro Junior Men (best 3 of 4 events)
1          Du Toit, Chad           Durban                      3285
2          Grant, Casey             Scottburgh                3190
3          Strachan, Klee         Winkelspruit              3120
4          De Vries, Beyrick     Umhlanga Rocks     3000
5          Gibbens, Brendon   Kommetjie                 2900
6          Lane, Kyle                 Umhlanga Rocks     2860
7          Joubert, Shaun        Mossel Bay               2850
8          Staples, Dale              St Francis Bay          2580
9          Leppan, Chris           Umhlanga Rocks     2415
10        Bromley, Matthew    Kommetjie                 2230

2009 ASP Africa Pro Junior Women (2 events)
1          Baum, Sarah                         Athlone Park             1730
2          Rautenbach, Chantelle    Melkbosstrand          1470
3          Delport, Kirsty                   Durban                      1405
4          Palmboom, Heidi              Bluff                           1285
5          Hoffman, Tanika                Kommetjie                 1230

+++++++++++++++++++++ 

For more information on the ASP Africa members, including profiles and rankings, visit www.aspafrica.com

Ends

Issued on behalf of:

ASP Africa
Contact:            Colin Fitch – Operations Manager
Tel:                   021 534 5738
Email:               aspafrica@mweb.co.za

Compiled & Distributed by:
 
Life’s a Beach Communications
PO Box 48272, Kommetjie 7976, South Africa
Tel:              +27 (0) 21 783 4965
Fax:             +27 (0) 86 684 6250
Mobile:         +27 (0) 82 423 1964
Email:           lifesabeach@mweb.co.za

About ASP:

The Association of Surfing Professionals (ASP) is the governing body of professional surfing. Crowning surfing’s undisputed world champions since 1976, the ASP sanctions the following tours: the ASP World Tour, the ASP Women’s World Tour, the World Qualifying Series (WQS) and the World Longboarding, Junior and Masters Championships. The ASP is dedicated to showcasing the world’s best surfing talent in a variety of progressive formats and has revolutionized the way the world watches surfing via their webcasts. The organization is divided into seven different regions: Africa, Asia, Australasia, Europe, Hawaii, North America, and South America.

 

DEE WHY, New South Wales (Sunday, October 4, 2009) – Silvana Lima (BRA), 24, won the Commonwealth Bank Beachley Classic this afternoon over reigning two-time ASP Women’s World Champion and current ASP Women’s World No. 1 Stephanie Gilmore (AUS), 21, in stormy three-to-five foot (1.5 metre) conditions at Dee Why in an action packed Final, marking back-to-back wins for the hungry Brazilian after claiming the Rip Curl Pro Bells Beach.

Gilmore jumped out to an early lead in the sea-saw battle for the 2009 Commonwealth Bank Beachley Classic title, but Lima fought back throughout the heat, collecting a 7.77 and eventually securing the win with an 8.83 for a lengthy forehand barrel to post the highest heat total of the event, an impressive 16.60 out of 20, en route to her first victory at the event after three consecutive Final appearances.

“I can’t believe it,” Lima said. “I’ve been in the Final in this event three times and I finally won. I was feeling really confident. The waves here today were like the waves in Brazil and I’m always surfing in these conditions. The final was really good. Steph (Gilmore) got some good waves too and I was able to get two good ones.”

The back-to-back ASP Women’s World Tour wins secured by the hungry Brazilian have significantly tightened the ratings for this year’s ASP Women’s World Title and although Gilmore still holds on to the ratings lead, Lima is following closely in the No. 2 position.

“I’m definitely looking at the title, but it’s too early,” Lima said “There are still four contests left this year, so there is more work for everyone, but I feel so much more confident after my first win at Bells.”

Gilmore was in devastating form throughout the entire Commonwealth Bank Beachley Classic, blasting some of the event’s top scores with a committed forehand attack on the steep Dee Why right-handers, but was unable to top Lima in the Final.

“To come back after such a long break and still make the Final, I’m pretty happy with that,” Gilmore said. “Silvana (Lima) beat me at Bells and her confidence is through the roof at the moment, so my challenge is to step it up another level. I did it in the Semifinals, but maybe I peaked too early.”

Gilmore, who fell to Lima in the Final at the last stop on the ASP Women’s World Tour, knows claiming this year’s ASP Women’s World Title will be no easy task and is preparing for the next four stops scheduled on the 2009 calendar.

“It’s definitely game on,” Gilmore said. “There are four events left and everyone is really fired up and off to Portugal, Peru and Hawaii, so I can’t think of a better way to finish off the tour.”

Sofia Mulanovich (PER), 26, was also on fire throughout the entire event, topping 2005 ASP Women’s World Champion Chelsea Hedges (AUS), 25, en route to her third place finish, but could not find a solid score in her Semifinal heat against eventual Commonwealth Bank Beachley Classic winner, Lima.

“I couldn’t really find a rhythm in that last heat,” Mulanovich said. “I couldn’t land a turn, but it’s alright. I guess I was a bit nervous and the waves didn’t come my way, but it’s the same conditions for everyone. I’ll just look at where things went wrong and use that for next time.”

Mulanovich, who was the 2004 ASP Women’s World Champion, has now notched back-to-back third place results, leaving her in third overall on the ratings, but as a former champion, the Peruvian natural-footer knows she’ll need to win events this year if she is to claim another ASP Women’s World title.

“Silvana got me at Bells too,” Mulanovich said. “It’s the same result. A third-place is a good result and I need to work a little more on the mental side of things, but I know that, so that’s what I’m going to do. A third is good, but you need to win events to win the title. I’m still towards the top of the ratings and I’m just going to go from there.”

Melanie Bartels (HAW), 27, was a standout performer throughout the event’s entirety, ousting an international field of competitors including Rebecca Woods (AUS), 25, and Rosanne Hodge (ZAF), 22, on the way to her Semifinals berth. The talented Hawaiian struggled to find a solid score in her battle against Gilmore, bowing out of the Commonwealth Bank Beachley Classic with a third place finish.

“I just wasn’t in rhythm out there and I couldn’t find anything,” Bartels said. “It’s tough out there, but I’m stoked that I made the Semifinals, it’s a good result, but I just wanted to surf well, I wanted to put on a good performance and I don’t feel like I did that, but that’s how it goes.”

For Commonwealth Bank Beachley Classic photos, results and highlights log on to www.beachleyclassic.com

Pictured: Silvana Lima (BRA), 24, won the commonwealth Bank Beachley Classic over Stephanie Gilmore (AUS), 21, marking back-to-back ASP Women’s World Tour wins for the current ASP Women’s World No. 2.

The next stop on the ASP Women’s World Tour will be the Rip Curl Search in Peniche, Portugal, which holds a waiting period from October 26 through 30, 2009.

For additional ASP information log on to www.aspworldtour.com

Commonwealth Bank Beachley Classic Final:
1- Silvana Lima (BRA) 16.60
2- Stephanie Gilmore (AUS) 12.67

Commonwealth Bank Beachley Classic Semifinals Results:
Heat 1: Stephanie Gilmore (AUS) 15.17 def. Melanie Bartels (HAW) 6.87
Heat 2: Silvana Lima (BRA)10.60 def. Sofia Mulanovich (PER) 5.40

Commonwealth Bank Beachley Classic Quarterfinals Results:
Heat 1: Melanie Bartels (HAW) 6.35 def. Rebecca Woods (AUS) 5.97
Heat 2: Stephanie Gilmore (AUS) 15.54 def. Coco Ho (HAW) 8.80
Heat 3: Silvana Lima (BRA) 12.57 def. Jacqueline Silva (BRA) 9.00
Heat 4: Sofia Mulanovich (PER) 12.86 def. Chelsea Hedges (AUS) 8.10

ASP Women’s World Tour Ratings After Commonwealth Bank Beachley Classic:
1 – Stephanie Gilmore (AUS) 3241 points
2 – Silvana Lima (BRA) 2880
3 – Sofia Mulanovich (PER) 2139
4 – Melanie Bartels (HAW) 1983
5 – Coco Ho (HAW) 1723
6 – Rebecca Woods (AUS) 1711
7 – Paige Hareb (NZL) 1704
8 – Chelsea Hedges (AUS) 1519
8 – Jacqueline Silva (BRA) 1519
10 – Sally Fitzgibbons (AUS) 1512
11 – Samantha Cornish (AUS) 1308
12 – Rosanne Hodge (ZAF) 1116
12 – Alana Blanchard (HAW) 1116
14 – Bruna Schmitz (BRA) 1110
15 – Amee Donohoe (AUS) 918
16 – Layne Beachley (AUS) 756
16 – Jessi Miley-Dyer (AUS) 756

Visit the Press Room on www.aspworldtour.com for news, images, transcribed athlete interviews and more.

Association of Surfing Professionals (ASP) Media Contacts
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Commonwealth Bank Beachley Classic Media Contact:
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+61(0) 417 07 9941 Mobile

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Digital Photographs:
High-resolution digital images for newspapers and Internet sites are available through ASP’s photography distributution partner Getty Images. To register for access, log onto http://corporate.gettyimages.com/marketing/editorial_frontdoor/ASP/index.html

About ASP: The Association of Surfing Professionals (ASP) is the governing body of professional surfing. Crowning surfing’s undisputed world champions since 1976, the ASP sanctions the following tours: the ASP World Tour, the ASP Women’s World Tour, the World Qualifying Series (WQS) and the World Longboarding, Junior and Masters Championships. The ASP is dedicated to showcasing the world’s best surfing talent in a variety of progressive formats and has revolutionized the way the world watches surfing via their webcasts. The organization is divided into seven different regions: Africa, Japan, Australasia, Europe, Hawaii, North America, and South America.

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Pictured: Stephanie Gilmore (AUS), 21, reigning two-time ASP Women’s World Champion and current ASP World No. 1, will look to further cement her ratings’ lead at the upcoming Commonwealth Bank Beachley Classic. Credit: © ASP/ CI/ ROBERTSON via GETTY IMAGES

DEE WHY, New South Wales (Monday, August 31, 2009) – After a lengthy mid-season break, the world’s best female surfers are re-igniting with the Commonwealth Bank Beachley Classic, Event No. 3 of 7 on the 2009 ASP Women’s World Tour, running at Sydney’s Dee Why Point from September 30 through October 5, 2009.

Stephanie Gilmore (AUS), 21, reigning two-time ASP Women’s World Champion and current ASP Women’s World No. 1, will look to further cement her ratings’ lead as she hunts down a third, consecutive ASP Women’s World Title, but will first need to refocus following the five-month break.

“Throughout the break I have enjoyed a fair bit of downtime,” Gilmore said. “I’ve been exploring California, seeing the sights, filming for my sponsors and taking pleasure in a few surf trips here and there. In the last few weeks I have really started to focus on the recommencement of the ASP Women’s World Tour and I am looking forward to putting the contest vest on and racking up another win.”

For the first time in the event’s four-year history, the Commonwealth Beachley Classic will move venue’s from the beachbreaks of Manly to the nearby pointbreak of Dee Why, a move that Gilmore believes will be to her advantage.

“I just got back from some great pointbreaks where the paddles were long and hard, so I feel fit and ready to tackle whatever current comes my way at Dee Why,” Gilmore said. “I am ready to slot into some backdoor action at the Point, lets hope it turns on.”

A two-time past winner at the event (2006, 2007), Gilmore’s bid for a three-peat was demolished early on in 2008, and the young Australian knows that the competition will be even fiercer at this season’s incarnation of the Commonwealth Bank Beachley Classic.

“With five rookies on tour this year it is like we have a whole lot of wildcards,” Gilmore said. “Sure, wildcards are hard, but that is just a part of the challenge. If you want to win the event you have to push past all of the other 17 surfers. Layne Beachley will be tough. But saying that, all the girls will be a threat at this year’s event. After such a long break, it will be interesting to see how everyone comes back.”

Tyler Wright (AUS), 15, defending Beachley Classic winner and the youngest ever winner of an elite ASP Women’s World Tour event, holds the added prestige of having taken out Gilmore at last season’s event. The two Australians will certainly meet again in 2009, having been paired up against one another in Round 1 of competition.

“I’m not really sure how to manage my nerves against someone like Steph (Gilmore),” Wright said. “I guess I just get so excited to surf against her that I forget about that stuff. The ASP Women’s World Tour has five new rookies this season so the event is going to be harder than ever, but I’m looking forward to it.”

Despite returning as event champion, Wright still feels little pressure competing on the world’s stage at such a young age and hopes experiences of the last season will only serve to make her a stronger competitor.

“I’ve only just turned 15 so I still have nothing to lose and everything to gain,” Wright said. “I still have a lot to learn and having another opportunity like this is unbelievable. Since last year, I’ve grown at least a centimeter so hopefully I have a bit more power behind my turns.”

Gilmore and Wright will take on the world’s best female surfers including current ASP Women’s World No. 2 Silvana Lima (BRA), 24, former seven-time ASP Women’s World Champion Layne Beachley (AUS), 37, at the Commonwealth Bank Beachley Classic.

For more information, log onto www.aspworldtour.com

Vision opportunity
CBA Executive General Manager Local Business Banking, Symon Brewis-Weston and Layne Beachley will be available for a pic opp at Dee Why beach.

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Visit the Press Room on www.aspworldtour.com for news, images, transcribed athlete interviews and more.

Association of Surfing Professionals (ASP) Media
Dave Prodan
email: dave@aspworldtour.com
USA mobile: +1 949 678 0987
AUS mobile: +61 (0) 400 455 228

EVENT MEDIA
Mandy McKinnon
email: mandy.mckinnon@bigpond.com
AUS mobile: +61 (0) 417 079 941

Digital Photographs:
High-resolution digital images for newspapers and Internet sites are available through ASP’s photography distributution partner Getty Images. To register for access, log onto http://corporate.gettyimages.com/marketing/editorial_frontdoor/ASP/index.html

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About ASP: The Association of Surfing Professionals (ASP) is the governing body of professional surfing. Crowning surfing’s undisputed world champions since 1976, the ASP sanctions the following tours: the ASP World Tour, the ASP Women’s World Tour, the World Qualifying Series (WQS) and the World Longboarding, Junior and Masters Championships. The ASP is dedicated to showcasing the world’s best surfing talent in a variety of progressive formats and has revolutionized the way the world watches surfing via their webcasts. The organization is divided into seven different regions: Africa, Japan, Australasia, Europe, Hawaii, North America, and South America.