Thursday 19 November 2009 – South Africans Brandon Jackson, Rudy Palmboom Jnr. and Damien Fahrenfort were eliminated from the 6-Star Prime rated Reef Hawaiian Pro yesterday, leaving only Royden Bryson and Travis Logie still in contention in the penultimate event on the 2009 ASP World Qualifying Series (WQS) and the first event in the Vans Triple Crown of Surfing.

The event got underway last Thursday on the first day of the 12-day waiting period, with former Capetonian Fahrenfort advancing to the Round of 96 when he placed a comfortable second in his opening encounter held in wind affected 1 to 1.5 metre waves at Haleiwa.

Five consecutive days with strong winds, plenty of rain and small waves saw the event remain on hold until yesterday when the balance of the Round of 128 and the first 14 (of 16) heats in the Round of 96 were run in clean one metre surf.

Palmboom, 21, from the Bluff demonstrated the experience he gained from a great run in the corresponding event last year, easily winning his opening heat to join Fahrenfort in the last 96, along with Jackson (Durban North) and Bryson (Cape Town), both of whom were seeded to start in that round.

Fahrenfort was the first to be ousted, placing third in his heat behind Hawaiian standout Bruce Irons and emerging Brazilian star Alejo Muniz. Jackson could not find a second high-scoring ride to add to his best ride of 5.57 out of 10 and placed fourth. Palmboom suffered a similar fate when, needing a score of 6.10 to finish second and advance, he fell just short with a ride of 5.50 points.

The result is a blow to Jackson’s hopes of qualifying for the elite ASP World Tour for 2010. Rated No. 20 on the WQS going into this event, Jackson now needs a minimum of a semi-final finish at the last event of the 2009 season, the 6-Star Prime rated O’Neill World Cup of Surfing which starts 10 Kms away at Sunset Beach next Tuesday, to have any chance of finishing in the top 15 on the yearend ratings.

Bryson will start his campaign in the Haleiwa event in Heat No.15, the first heat to be run when competition resumes, while Logie (Durban), currently ranked No. 10 on the WQS but as yet not assured of a spot in the top 15 at yearend, gets his challenge underway in Heat No. 3 of the Round of 64.

The waiting period for the Reef Hawaiian Pro runs until Monday 23 November and all the action can be followed on the live webcast at www.triplecrownofsurfing.com where there are also videos of every heat already run. Note that Hawaii is 12 hours behind South Africa, e.g. 8am in Hawaii is 8pm in SA.

REEF HAWAIIAN PRO

Day 2 RESULTS:

Round of 128: Results shown in order of 1st place through 4th. 1st & 2nd advance

H12: Rudy Palmboom (ZAF), Hodei Collazo (EUK), Izuki Tanaka (JPN), Kai Barger (HAW)
H13: Sunny Garcia (HAW), Shaun Ward (USA), Christophe Allary (REU), Danny Fuller
H14: Adam Robertson (AUS), Ola Eleogram (HAW), Dane Gudauskas (USA), Bruno Rodrigues (USA)
H15: Ruben Gonzalez (PRT), Jesse Merle-Jones (HAW), Jack Perry (AUS), Ross Williams (HAW)
H16: Yuri Sodre (BRA), Torrey Meister (HAW), Dylan Graves (PRI), Kamalei Alexander (HAW)

Round of 96:
H1: Granger Larsen (HAW), Jarrad Howse (AUS), Nathaniel Curran (USA), Dylan Melamed (HAW)
H2: Bruce Irons (HAW), Alejo Muniz (BRA), Damien Fahrenfort (ZAF), Pablo Paulino (BRA)
H3: Flynn Novak (HAW), Taylor Lincoln (AUS), Brad Ettinger (USA), Drew Courtney (AUS)
H4: Cory Lopez (USA), Jay Thompson (AUS), Dylan Goodale (HAW), Brandon Jackson (ZAF)
H5: James Taipan Wood (AUS), Evan Valiere (AUS), Leonardo Neves (BRA), Luke Munro (AUS)
H6: Joel Centeio (HAW), Nathan Hedge (AUS), Miguel Pupo (BRA), Nic Muscroft (AUS)
H7: Andre Silva (BRA), Marcia Farney (BRA), Jihad Khodr (BRA), Yadin Nicol (BRA)
H8: Tanner Gudauskas (USA), Leigh Sledley (AUS), Luke Campbell (AUS), Raoni Monteiro (BRA)
H9: Nathan Yeomans (USA), Hank Gaskell (USA), Gony Zubrieta (ESP), Heat Joske (AUS)
H10: Alain Riou (PYF), Aritz Aranburu (EUK), Shaun Gossman (AUS), Gavin Gillette (HAW)
H11: Hodei Collazo (EUK), Brian Toth (PRT), Neco Padaratz (BRA), TJ Barron (HAW)
H12: Dion Atkinson (AUS), Marco Polo (BRA), Rudy Palmboom (ZAF), Jason Shibata (HAW)
H13: Sunny Garcia (HAW), Bernardo Miranda (BRA), Ola Eleogram (HAW), Thiago Camaro (BRA)
H14: Clay Marzo (HAW), Tim Reyes (USA), Adam Robertson (AUS), Shaun Ward (USA)

South Africa’s Rosanne Hodge (East London), currently rated No. 9 on the 2009 ASP Women’s World Tour, will also be in action in the event at Haleiwa in the Vans Hawaiian Pro, a specialty event featuring the ASP top 16 ranked females plus four wildcards.

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.

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
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.

Durbanite Brandon Jackson finished third in the 6-Star rated Oakley Cold Water Classic Canada at Tofino on Vancouver Island on Saturday to jump from No. 20 to No. 15 on the ASP World Qualifying Series (WQS) rankings.

Jackson, 22, from Durban North, started the final day by marching past Mark Matthews (AUS) in their quarterfinal encounter but came up short against Jay Thompson (AUS), the first alternate for the 2009 ASP World Tour, in a semifinal match-up held in stormy 1-1.5 metre waves.

“I’m really stoked on the aspect that I got 1800 points out of this result,” Jackson said. “I was hoping to get 1600, it’s a super bonus. To surf all week and not get the win is tough, but I’m really stoked on the outcome.”

The result earned Jackson US $5 000 (approx. R37 000) and 1 875 precious ratings points which replaced the 875 points he was carrying as his seventh best score of the year. The net gain of 1 000 points elevated him into contention for a spot amongst the world’s Top 45 ranked surfers on the 2010 ASP World Tour.

The event produced a fairy-tale finish when local Tofino surfer Peter Devries trounced the world-class lineup of international stars to become the first Canadian to win a WQS event, in the first WQS event to be staged in Canada. Devries started in Round 1 and won every heat bar his Round of 48 match-up, leaving runner-up Jay Thompson in comboland from the 10 minute mark in the final, to collect the US$20 000 winner’s paycheque.

Four 6-Star Prime rated WQS events remain on the 2009 WQS schedule, two of them overlapping this week as events take place simultaneously in the Canary Islands and in Santa Cruz, California, and the final two at Haleiwa and Sunset Beach in Hawaii.

Jackson has opted to compete in the Santa Cruz event at Steamer Lane, the fifth and final leg of the O’Neill Cold Water Classic Series, and will be hoping to continue his rich vein of form in the second half of 2009 to wrap up qualification before the notoriously difficult Hawaiian contests.

Meanwhile fellow Durbanite Travis Logie did not manage to improve his ratings total in Canada, finishing equal 37^th and slipping from No.10 to No. 11 when he was overtaken by Dusty Payne (HAW) in the rankings. Logie has chosen to jet back across Canada and the North Atlantic to compete in the Santa Pro on Lanzarote Island in the Canaries where he hopes the world-class left of San Juan will give him better opportunities to improve his ranking before the Hawaiian leg.

Logie will be joined in the Canaries by Durbanites Warwick Wright and Antonio Bortoletto along with Capetonian Royden Bryson, who at No. 31 can still force his way into contention for a top 15 finish if he can reach the final and benefit from the 40% increase in ratings points awarded in 6-Star Prime rated events.

Capetonians Dave Richards and Sean Holmes and Beyrick de Vries (Umhlanga) will start from Round 1 in the Californian event while Rudy Palmboom (Bluff), Damien Fahrenfort (California) and Jordy Smith (Durban) will join Jackson in starting in Round 2. Smith is the No. 2 seed for the event which he won in 2007.

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.

 

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.

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

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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.

Pictured: Jordy Smith throws a sheet of spray at Trestles in 2008 Photo: ASP/ CI / SCHOLTZ via GETTY IMAGES

Dan Redman recorded the best result of the South African campaigners in the San Miguel Zarautz Pro at Zarautz on the Basque coast of Spain when he placed ninth overall in the 5-Star rated, US $120 000 ASP World Qualifying Series (WQS) event on Saturday.

The 25-year-old from Umdloti took advantage of a rare seeding into the Round of 96 to progress through three rounds, reaching the last 16 before being sidelined by eventual winner Gony Zubizarreta from Spain. Redman’s haul of US $2 000 (nearly R16 000) and 1 100 ratings points saw him climb 17 places to No. 69 on the latest WQS ranking list.

Travis Logie (Durban) retained his No. 9 spot on the WQS leaderboard and took another step towards re-qualifying for the 2010 ASP World Tour despite being eliminated in the Round of 48, a result that does not go into his best seven scores.

Royden Bryson (Cape Town) and Brandon Jackson (Durban North) both dropped one spot to Nos. 32 and 34 respectively after also going out in the Round of 48 while Rudy Palmboom Jnr. (Bluff) and Durbanites Warwick Wright, Antonio Bortoletto and Pro Junior Chad du Toit all picked up some prize-money before being ousted in the Round of 96.

The event was won by Zubizarreta, 24, who defeated Blake Thornton (Aus) in the final to the delight of the partisan local crowd. Nathan Yeomans (USA) and Glen Hall (IRL) finished equal third after losing out in the semis.

The next event on the WQS is the 5-Star rated Pantin Pro on the North Coast of Spain starting on Tuesday and running until Sunday. Visit www.aspeurope.com for details of live webcasts, images and news from the event.

ASP World Qualifying Series (WQS) rankings (after Zarautz, event No. 28 of 40)

1 Ross,Daniel AUS 14975
2 Andre,Jadson BRA 14663
3 Wright,Owen AUS 13588
4 Melling,Adam AUS 13026
5 Gudauskas,Patrick USA 12588
6 Wilkinson,Matt AUS 12150
7 Duru,Joan FRA 12050
8 Simpson,Brett USA 11863
9 Logie,Travis ZAF 11851
10 Thornton,Blake AUS 11763

South Africans (minimum 7 events)

32 Bryson,Royden ZAF 8763
34 Jackson,Brandon ZAF 8551
54 Wright,Warwick ZAF 7069
57 Palmboom,Rudy ZAF 7001
69 Redman,Daniel ZAF 6451
82 Fahrenfort,Damien ZAF 6114
86 Bortoletto,Antonio ZAF 6064
105 Basnett,Ricky ZAF 5276
130 Du Toit,Chad ZAF 4538
135 Strachan,Klee ZAF 4406

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

Smith, Emslie and Weare head for Trestles, California as ASP World Tour resumes

Durbanites Jordy Smith and David Weare and East London’s Greg Emslie, SA’s three representatives on the ASP World Tour, will get back to work next weekend at the Hurley Pro Trestles, Event No. 6 of 10 for 2009, which runs at Lower Trestles in San Clemente, California from September 13 – 19.

Smith goes into the event rated No. 10 in the world and has the talent to advance deep into the draw. Acknowledged as one of the new-age icons of progressive surfing, along with the likes of American Dane Reynolds, Smith advanced to Round 4 as a rookie in 2008 before being induced into paddling for a wave by the wily Taj Burrow (AUS) who used the switch in priority to snag the heat winning ride.

In 2007 the then 19-year-old Durbanite won a wildcard into the event and went on to eliminate Joel Parkinson (AUS) and three-time world champion Andy Irons (HAW) on his way to another Round 4 finish. Smith’s incredible repertoire of gravity defying manoeuvres are tailor-made for the high performance surf at Trestles while his improved understanding of the strategies required to win man-on-man heats now make him a formidable opponent.

Emslie too has a pair of Round 4 results at Trestles and his proven ability in right breaking point waves could see him improve on his best result of 17th this year. Weare, who finished 33rd at Trestles during his injury-ravaged 2007 campaign on the World Tour, will be expecting to better the string of 33rd places he has posted at the previous three events this year..

Parkinson, the 2004 Trestles champ, currently heads the ASP World Tour rankings after winning three of the first five events and holds a substantial 1 404 point lead over CJ Hobgood (USA). But nine-time ASP World Champion Kelly Slater is the man they all have to beat at the famed Californian break. Slater has been in the final for the last five years, winning three times, including the last two.

The Hurley Pro Trestles will host the world’s top 45 plus wildcards Brett Simpson (USA), 24, winner of July’s WQS 6-Star Hurley U.S. Open in Huntington Beach, former ASP World No. 2 Rob Machado (USA), 36, and reigning ASP World Junior Champion Kai Barger (HAW), 19.

The event starts on Sunday 13 September and will be covered live via a comprehensive webcast available at www.hurley.com/hurleypro/

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

Rosanne Hodge back in action on ASP Women’s World Tour at end of the month

Rosanne Hodge, in her third season as SA’s lone presence on the ASP Women’s World Tour, will be back in action at the Commonwealth Bank Beachley Classic at Dee Why in Sydney, Australia from September 30 – 5 October.

The East Londoner will be itching to pull on a contest vest again at the most lucrative event on the women’s tour after a five month break since the last event at Bells Beach. She will be determined to improve on the pair of ninth place finishes that see her ranked equal 13th and outside the top 10 who automatically re-qualify for the 2010 tour.

Two-time and reigning ASP Women’s World Champion Stephanie Gilmore (AUS) heads the ratings after winning the opening event in her home surf on the Gold Coast, followed by Bells winner Silvana Lima (Brazil). The world’s top 17 females will be joined by wildcard and defending event champion Tyler Wright (AUS) who became the youngest winner of an ASP World Tour event at age 14 last year, and seven-time world champion and event founder Layne Beachley (AUS), 37.

For further information visit www.aspworldtour.com

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

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.

Pictured: Travis Logie clinched second place at the Sooruz Lacanau Pro in France on Sunday Photo: Aquashot / ASP Europe

Sooruz Lacanau Pro

ASP World Qualifying Series (WQS) 6-Star Men’s Event
Lacanau Ocean – France

August 17-23, 2009

Travis Logie climbs to No. 9 on ASP World Qualifying Series after runner-up finish in France

Durbanite Travis Logie climbed from No. 12 to No. 9 on the ASP World Qualifying Series (WQS) when he finished runner-up to French local Joan Duru, 20, in the final of the 6-Star rated, R1.1 million Sooruz Lacanau Pro at Lacanau Ocean on the Bay of Biscay coast of France on Sunday.

Competing in excellent 1 to 1.5 metre waves, Logie was on fire on the final day, defeating WQS No. 13 Austin Ware (USA) in their quarterfinal encounter with the event’s second highest heat total of 18.24 out of 20 before taking out No. 5 Patrick Gudauskas (USA) in the semis to reach the final.

Despite Logie briefly holding the lead, it was Duru who found the better waves in the final and his combination of vertical manoeuvres and confident tube-riding saw the Frenchman triumph with a tally of 16.47 to 15.30 to claim his maiden WQS event victory.

“I was very happy with the way I surfed and I just didn’t get any of the better waves during the final,” Logie said. “Joan (Duru) really surfed a smart heat and got the best waves and he had been surfing good all event so congratulations to him. It’s a great result and that requalification is always at the back of my mind.”

The result earned Logie US $10 000 (approx. R80 000) and 2 188 ratings points which replaced the 875 points for the lowest of his seven counting scores, boosting his chances of requalifying for the ASP World Tour, the top-tier of competitive surfing, where Logie was a fixture for four years, from 2005 to 2008, before failing to requalify at the end of last year.

He needs to maintain his position in the top 15 in the WQS through four more 6-Star and four 6-Star Prime rated events to automatically qualify for the 2010 ASP Dream Tour.

Logie was one of five South Africans to reach the last 48 at Lacanau, but the only one to advance to the last 24 when Rudy Palmboom Jnr. (Bluff) and Durbanites Brandon Jackson,  Antonio Bortoletto and David Weare were eliminated by placing third or fourth in their respective four-man heats.

The next event on the WQS schedule is the inaugural Azores Island Pro, a 6-Star rated event in the islands off the coast of Portugal starting tomorrow (Tuesday) and running until Sunday 30 August.

SOORUZ LACANAU PRO FINAL
1^st, Joan Duru (FRA), 16.47 pts
2^nd, Travis Logie (ZAF), 15.30 pts

SOORUZ LACANAU PRO SEMIFINALS
Heat 1: Travis Logie (ZAF) 14.60 pts Def. Patrick Gudauskas (USA) 10.76 pts
Heat 2: Joan Duru (FRA) 11.17 pts Def. Matt Wilkinson (AUS) 10.03 pts

SOORUZ LACANAU PRO QUARTERFINALS
Heat 1: Patrick Gudauskas (USA) 15.43 pts Def. Leonardo Neves (BRA) 7.50 pts
Heat 2: Travis Logie (ZAF) 18.24 pts Def. Austin Ware (USA) 10.00 pts
Heat 3: Joan Duru (FRA) 13.24 pts Def. Brian Toth (PRI) 9.76 pts
Heat 4: Matt Wilkinson (AUS) 14.04 pts Def. Adam Melling (AUS) 11.66 pts

ASP World Qualifying Series ratings

(After Lacanau, event # 26 of 42)

1          Ross,Daniel               AUS    14975
2          Andre,Jadson            BRA    13350
3          Wright,Owen              AUS    12838
4          Melling,Adam            AUS    12801
5          Gudauskas,Patrick   USA    12513
6          Wilkinson,Matt           AUS    12150
7          Duru,Joan                  FRA    12050
8          Simpson,Brett           USA    11863
9          Logie,Travis             ZAF     11326
10        Thornton,Blake          AUS    10826

South Africans (Top 150)

34        Jackson,Brandon      ZAF     8238
48        Wright,Warwick         ZAF     7069
49        Palmboom,Rudy       ZAF     7001
74        Fahrenfort,Damien    ZAF     6114
79        Redman,Daniel         ZAF     5976
92        Basnett,Ricky            ZAF     5276
126     Strachan,Klee            ZAF     4406

For further 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.

Pictured: Travis Logie in action on his way to 5th place and 2 275 points in the Quiksilver Pro Durban at Ansteys in April Photo: Ewing / Quiksilver

Travis Logie heads SA contingent on ASP World Qualifying SeriesTravis Logie continues to head the South African challenge on the ASP World Qualifying Series (WQS) after placing ninth in the 5-Star rated Relentless Boardmasters in Newquay, England, last Friday.

 

After the completion of 22 of the 42 stops on The Grind, as the gruelling WQS is known, Logie occupies No. 12 position in the rankings and given the 30-year-old Durbanite’s previous record in the European events, he looks well placed to regain his place amongst the world’s top 45 ranked surfers on the 2010 ASP World Tour.

Logie spent four years on the Dream Tour before failing to re-qualify at the end of 2008 but has shown he still has the ability and determination to succeed at the highest level of competition surfing by winning an event in Australia earlier this year and subsequently posting consistently high finishes in major WQS events.

He will be targeting the back to back 6-Star rated events scheduled for Lacanau, France, and the Azores Island off the coast of Portugal later in August before consecutive 6 Stars in Brazil – Guaruja and Rio de Janeiro – in September / October before the final flurry of 6-Star Prime rated events, which carry a bonus 40% increase in ratings points, in the Canaries and California (overlapping) and two in Hawaii – Haleiwa and Sunset Beach.

Logie has competed in 12 WQS events this year, the most by any of the 65 ASP Africa members in the WQS rankings, accumulating 10 013 points at an average of 1 430 per event for his best seven results to date. He will be looking to improve on his lowest scores of 875, 1 100 and 1 125 in the upcoming events to maintain a position in the top 15 on the yearend WQS ratings and automatically qualify for the following year’s ASP World Tour.

ASP Africa champion for 2009, Royden Bryson who, like Logie, dropped off the ASP World Tour at the end of last year, is the next highest placed Saffa in the latest rankings. The former East Londoner relocated to Cape Town a couple of years back and is currently No. 35 with 7 951 points but has three low scores of under 1 000 to improve upon.

Close behind Bryson is Brandon Jackson (Durban North) with 7 738 points in 37^th spot while Durban’s Warwick Wright is the only other Saffa currently in the top 50 at No. 46 with 7 069 points.

Australia’s Daniel Ross, another who failed to re-qualify for the Dream Tour this year, has had a phenomenal year on the WQS, breaking the record set by Jordy Smith (Durban) in winning the 2007 WQS title by amassing 14 975 points at an average of 2 139 per event to assure his place at the top table of competitive surfing in 2010.

Ross is followed in the current rankings by Jadson Andre (Brazil), winner of the 6-Star Prime rated Quiksilver Pro Durban in April, Australians Adam Melling and Owen Wright, who is ranked fourth despite having only competed in six events, and recent Hurley US Open winner Brett Simpson (USA).

Patrick Gudauskas (USA), Matt Wilkinson and fellow Australian Blake Thornton, winner of the O’Neill Coldwater Classic in Cape Town in June, Tanner Gudauskas (USA), winner of the Mr Price Pro Ballito in July, and Joan Duru (FRA) round out the current WQS top 10.

ASP World Qualifying Series

Ratings after Relentless Boardmasters in Newquay (Stop No. 22 of 42)

1        Ross,Daniel                     AUS    14975
2        Andre,Jadson               BRA    13350
3        Melling,Adam               AUS    12051
4       Wright,Owen                  AUS    11963
5       Simpson,Brett               USA    11863
6       Gudauskas,Patrick      USA    11513
7       Wilkinson,Matt            AUS    11500
8       Thornton,Blake            AUS    10713
9       Gudauskas,Tanner      USA    10700
10     Duru,Joan                     FRA    10675

South Africans (Top 150)

12        Logie,Travis                ZAF     10013
35        Bryson,Royden          ZAF     7951
37        Jackson,Brandon      ZAF     7738
46        Wright,Warwick         ZAF     7069
52        Palmboom,Rudy        ZAF     6689
69        Fahrenfort,Damien   ZAF     6114
78        Redman,Daniel           ZAF     5726
86        Basnett,Ricky              ZAF     5276
87        Bortoletto,Antonio  ZAF     5220
115     Strachan,Klee               ZAF     4406
150     Holmes,Sean                ZAF     3338

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.