ASSOCIATION OF SURFING PROFESSIONALS (ASP) INTERNATIONAL

Billabong Pro Jeffreys Bay
Stop No 5. of 10 on the 2007 Foster’s ASP World Tour
Jeffreys Bay, South Africa
July 11 -July 22, 2007
	
JEFFREYS BAY, South Africa (Friday, July 20, 2007) –The Billabong Pro Jeffreys
Bay, the 5th event of 10 on the Foster’s ASP World Tour will not run today.
There are two days left in the event waiting period and forecasts indicate that
competition could wrap up tomorrow.

California’s Taylor Knox (USA) will face 1999 Billabong Pro Jeffreys Bay
Champion Joel Parkinson (AUS) in the first heat of Round 4.

“Me versus Parko is a pretty good match up, because he is one of the best
surfers out here,” Knox said. “Really though it is just about me going out
and having a fun and surfing. I’m not in control over what he does and he
doesn’t have any control over what I do, so hopefully it will be just a good
surf off.” 

Knox, and the majority of surfers still in contention for the Billabong Pro
JBay crown, share contest director Mike Parsons’ sentiments about the swell at
Supertubes.

“I think they are making a good decision by waiting, getting us some surf out
there,” Knox said. “I guess Mike made a great decision yesterday afternoon
because it turned out to be pretty bad. Hopefully before dark, we see some good
swell lines coming in. I think it is looking pretty good though. It looks to me
like it is going to be a good five foot and really good direction. I think we
had too much west in the last couple of swells, and we haven’t really had a
straight south yet and that is what these waves need.”

Another call on competition status will be made tomorrow at 7am local time.

Round 4 Billabong Pro Jeffreys Bay Match-Ups:
Heat 1: Joel Parkinson (AUS) vs. Taylor Knox (USA)
Heat 2: Adrian Buchan (AUS) vs. Taj Burrow (AUS)
Heat 3: Daniel Wills (AUS) vs. Travis Logie (ZAF)
Heat 4: Pancho Sullivan (HAW) vs. Mick Fanning (AUS)
Heat 5: Andy Irons (HAW) vs. Fredrick Patacchia (HAW)
Heat 6: Bobby Martinez (USA) vs. Dean Morrison (AUS)
Heat 7: Kelly Slater (USA) vs. Luke Stedman (AUS)
Heat 8: Bede Durbidge (AUS) vs. Adriano de Souza (BRA)

ASSOCIATION OF SURFING PROFESSIONALS (ASP) NORTH AMERICA

Honda U.S. Open of Surfing presented by O’Neill featuring the Lost Pro Junior
Event No. 4 on the 2007 ASP North America Men’s Tour
Event No. 2 on the 2007 ASP North America Women’s Tour
Event No. 6 on the 2007 ASP North America Pro Junior Series (Men)
Event No. 1 on the 2007 ASP North America Men’s Longboard Tour
Huntington Beach, California, United States of America  July 20-29, 2007
 
HUNTINGTON BEACH, California (Thursday, July 19, 2007) – The Honda U.S. Open
of Surfing presented by O’Neill is set to begin this Friday, July 20, and will
usher in 10 days of world class surfing at the hallowed sands of Huntington
Beach spanning the men’s, women’s, junior’s and longboard divisions.

The Association of Surfing Professionals (ASP) World Qualifying Series (WQS)
6-Star men’s and women’s events will play pivotal roles in the qualifying
campaigns of surfers for the Foster’s ASP World Tour and ASP Women’s World
Tour respectively.

Ben Bourgeois (Wrightsville Beach, NC), current No. 8 on the ASP WQS, is having
a stellar season and looks to keep the momentum building with a strong showing
at the Honda U.S. Open before heading overseas.

“It would be great to get a result at home in the U.S.,” Bourgeois said.  “A
win at the U.S. Open would really set the pace as we head into the big European
leg in the upcoming months.”

With dozens of high-rated international events on this season’s ASP WQS,
Bourgeois understands that his spot on next season’s Dream Tour won’t be
secure without another strong result, and hopes that his years of experience at
the venue will procure him a solid place in the ratings.

“It’s hard to say how many points it will take to qualify this season as
there are so many events,” Bourgeois said.  “I think there are still ten more
big events this season so it is still anyone’s game.  I’ve been surfing out
at the Pier since I was a grom and I’ve had good results at the Open in past
years so I’m feeling pretty confident heading into this season’s event.”

Micah Byrne (Huntington Beach, CA), who won the last ASP WQS event held at
Huntington Beach in late March, will lead a massive onslaught of local talent
purged to cause some big upsets as the international field of marquee names
descends upon Huntington Beach.

“The U.S. Open is going to be a lot harder as there is so much international
talent in the event,” Byrne said.	“I think it’s good for everyone though;
the spectators get to watch some of the best surfing in the world and the
surfers get to test their skills against the best.  It’s one of the most
prestigious events to compete in.  With the summertime crowds, the sponsors and
the media all turning up, I think it’s not far off to say that it’s the
biggest and best event in the world.”

The Honda U.S. Open of Surfing presented by O’Neill will also host an ASP WQS
6-Star event for the women, the biggest of the season, and will showcase a
swath of incredible talent from around the globe.

Former ASP Women’s World Champion and defending event champion Sofia
Mulanovich (Lima, PER) will join 12 other elite tour competitors as they do
battle with 60-woman field of talented up-and-comers, local standouts and fiery
veterans.

In addition to the Honda U.S. Open of Surfing men’s and women’s divisions,
the Lost Pro Junior will host an international field of top 20-and-under
professional surfers as they hammer away at the own qualification campaigns for
the prestigious Billabong ASP World Junior Championships next January.

The ASP Grade-2 Pro Junior event will begin Friday, July 20, and run through
the weekend narrowing it down to the final four who will compete in front of
the capacity crowd the following Sunday.

Adam Wickwire (Satellite Beach, FL), current ratings leader on the ASP North
America Pro Junior Series, is the man to beat and will be surfing with
new-found confidence following his Pro Junior victory earlier this month at the
venue.

“I’ve never had a good result in Huntington before the last event so I’m
definitely heading into this event with a lot more confidence,” Wickwire said.
 “This is probably going to be the hardest Pro Junior event of the season
because there are so many good guys here.  There will be lots of really good
surfers both from here and internationally, so if you can get a good result
here, it should set you up for the rest of the year.  This is the make or break
point in the season and it will be full on from here out.”

The Honda U.S. Open of Longboarding will hope to repeat last season’s
incredible event which saw hometown hero Dodger Kremel (Huntington Beach, CA)
take the win.  The event will begin Saturday afternoon and will finish the
following Sunday.

The Trials for the Honda U.S. Open of Surfing presented by O’Neill will begin
Friday, July 20, and will feature 96 surfers vying for eight seeds into the
main event which begins Monday, July 23.

This weekend’s action will go down at dual locations south of the Huntington
Beach Pier.  In addition to the Trials, the Lost Pro Junior and Honda U.S. Open
of Longboarding will narrow their respective fields down to the final four,
which will compete the following Sunday.

Daily updates will be available at www.aspnorthamerica.org,
www.aspworldtour.com and www.usopenofsurfing.com. 

Daily event images will be available to the media.  For more information,
please contact the ASP North America Media Manager.


EVENT SCHEDULE

Friday, July 20, 2007
	South Contest Area:
	7am – 12:20pm: Honda U.S. Open Trials Round 1 (96 surfers remaining) Heats 1
– 16 
	12:20pm – 4pm: Honda U.S. Open Trials Round 2 (64 surfers remaining) Heats 1
– 8 
	HB Pier Contest Area:
	7am – 11:20pm: Lost Pro Junior Round 1 (128 surfers remaining) Heats 1 – 13 
Saturday, July 21, 2007
	South Contest Area:
	8am – 10:40am: Honda U.S. Open Trials Round 2 (64 surfers remaining) Heats 9
– 16
	10:40am – 1:20pm: Honda U.S. Open Trials Round 3 (32 surfers remaining) Heats
1 – 8 
	1:20pm – 2:40pm: U.S. Open of Longboarding Round 1 (56 surfers remaining)
Heats 1 – 4 
	2:40pm – 4pm: U.S. Open of Longboarding Round 2 (48 surfers remaining) Heats
1 – 4 
	HB Pier Contest Area:
	8am – 9am: Lost Pro Junior Round 1 (128 surfers remaining) Heats 14 – 16 
	9am – 2:20pm: Lost Pro Junior Round 2 (96 surfers remaining) Heats 1 – 16
	2:20pm – 4pm: Lost Pro Junior Round 3 (64 surfers remaining) Heats 1 - 6
Sunday, July 22, 2007
	South Contest Area:
	7am – 8:20am: Honda U.S. Open Trials Quarterfinals (16 surfers remaining)
Heats 1 – 4 
	8:20am – 9:40am: U.S. Open of Longboarding Round 2 (48 surfers remaining)
Heats 5 – 8 
	9:40am – 12:20pm: U.S. Open of Longboarding Round 3 (32 surfers remaining)
Heats 1 – 8 
	12:20pm – 1:40pm: U.S. Open of Longboarding Quarterfinals (16 surfers
remaining) Heats 1 – 4 
	1:40pm – 4pm: U.S. Open of Longboarding Semifinals (8 surfers remaining)
Heats 1 – 2 
	HB Pier Contest Area:
	7am – 10:20am: Lost Pro Junior Round 3 (64 surfers remaining) Heats 7 – 16 
	10:20am – 1pm: Lost Pro Junior Round 4 (32 surfers remaining) Heats 1 – 8
	1pm – 2:20pm: Lost Pro Junior Quarterfinals (16 surfers remaining) Heats 1 –
4
	2:20pm – 4pm: Lost Pro Junior Semifinals (8 surfers remaining) Heats 1 – 2 
Monday, July 23, 2007
	7:30am – 4pm: Honda U.S. Open Round 1 (192 surfers remaining) Heats 1 – 24 
Tuesday, July 24, 2007
	7:30am – 4pm: Honda U.S. Open Round 2 (144 surfers remaining) Heats 1 – 24 
Wednesday, July 25, 2007
	7:30am – 9:30am: Women’s U.S. Open of Surfing Round 1 (60 surfers remaining)
Heats 1 – 6 
	9:30am – 1:30pm: Women’s U.S. Open Round 2 (48 surfers remaining) Heats 1 –
12 
	1:30pm – 4pm: Honda U.S. Open Round 3 (96 surfers remaining) Heats 1 – 5 
Thursday, July 26, 2007
	7:30am – 3:30pm: Honda U.S. Open Round 3 (96 surfers remaining) Heats 6 – 24
Friday, July 27, 2007
	7:30am – 12:30pm:  Honda U.S. Open Round 4 (48 surfers remaining) Heats 1 –
12 
	12:30pm – 1:20pm: Honda U.S. Open Round 5 (24 surfers remaining) Heats 1 – 2
	1:20pm – 3:50pm: Women’s U.S. Open Round 3 (24 surfers remaining) Heats 1 –
6 
Saturday, July 28, 2007
	7:30am – 9:10am: Women’s U.S. Open Round 4 (12 surfers remaining) Heats 1 –
4 
	9:10am – 10:50am: Women’s U.S. Open Quarterfinals (8 surfers remaining)
Heats 1 – 4 
	10:50am – 1:20pm: Honda U.S. Open Round 5 (24 surfers remaining) Heats 3 – 8
	1:20pm – 2:10pm: Women’s U.S. Open Semifinals (4 surfers remaining) Heats 1
– 2
	2:10pm – 3pm: Honda U.S. Open Round 6 (16 surfers remaining) Heats 1 – 2 
	3pm – 3:30pm: Women’s U.S. Open Finals 
Sunday, July 29, 2007
	7:30am – 10am: Honda U.S. Open Round 6 (16 surfers remaining) Heats 3 – 8 
	10am – 11:40am: Honda U.S. Open Quarterfinals (8 surfers remaining) Heats 1
– 4 
	11:40am – 12:25pm: Honda U.S. Open Semifinals (4 surfers remaining) Heats 1
– 2
	1:15pm – 1:45pm: Lost Pro Junior Finals
	1:45pm – 2:45pm: U.S. Open of Longboarding Finals
	2:45pm – 3:15pm: Honda U.S. Open Finals

ASSOCIATION OF SURFING PROFESSIONALS (ASP) INTERNATIONAL

Billabong Pro Jeffreys Bay
Stop No 5. of 10 on the 2007 Foster’s ASP World Tour
Jeffreys Bay, South Africa
July 11 -July 22, 2007

JEFFREYS BAY, South Africa (Thursday, July 19, 2007) – After careful
deliberation, Billabong Pro Jeffreys Bay event officials made the call to hold
off competition for the day. Although there are some decent waves coming into
the Supertubes lineup, contest director Mike Parsons is confident that there
will be more contestable conditions later in the week.

The event, the 5th of 10 on the Foster’s ASP World Tour, has three more days
in which to run one full day’s worth of surfing.

One South African, one Brazilian, three Americans, three Hawaiians and seven
Australians remain in contention to win the Billabong Pro JBay crown. Another
call on competition status will be made tomorrow at 7am local time.

Round 4 Billabong Pro Jeffreys Bay Match-Ups:
Heat 1: Joel Parkinson (AUS) vs. Taylor Knox (USA)
Heat 2: Adrian Buchan (AUS) vs. Taj Burrow (AUS)
Heat 3: Daniel Wills (AUS) vs. Travis Logie (ZAF)
Heat 4: Pancho Sullivan (HAW) vs. Mick Fanning (AUS)
Heat 5: Andy Irons (HAW) vs. Fredrick Patacchia (HAW)
Heat 6: Bobby Martinez (USA) vs. Dean Morrison (AUS)
Heat 7: Kelly Slater (USA) vs. Luke Stedman (AUS)
Heat 8: Bede Durbidge (AUS) vs. Adriano de Souza (BRA)

ASSOCIATION OF SURFING PROFESSIONALS (ASP) INTERNATIONAL

Billabong Pro Jeffreys Bay
Stop No 5. of 10 on the 2007 Foster’s ASP World Tour
Jeffreys Bay, South Africa
July 11 -July 22, 2007
	
JEFFREYS BAY, South Africa (Wednesday, July 18, 2007) –Billabong Pro
Jeffrey’s Bay event officials monitored conditions at the contest break of
Supertubes all morning before calling the event off for the day at 11am local
time.

The event, the 5th of 10 on the Foster’s ASP World Tour, has four more days in
which to run one full day’s worth of surfing. Event officials are confident
that there will be enough swell to do so over the coming days.

One South African, one Brazilian, three Americans, three Hawaiians and seven
Australians remain in contention to win the Billabong Pro JBay crown. Another
call on competition status will be made tomorrow at 7am local time.

Round 4 Billabong Pro Jeffreys Bay Match-Ups:
Heat 1: Joel Parkinson (AUS) vs. Taylor Knox (USA)
Heat 2: Adrian Buchan (AUS) vs. Taj Burrow (AUS)
Heat 3: Daniel Wills (AUS) vs. Travis Logie (ZAF)
Heat 4: Pancho Sullivan (HAW) vs. Mick Fanning (AUS)
Heat 5: Andy Irons (HAW) vs. Fredrick Patacchia (HAW)
Heat 6: Bobby Martinez (USA) vs. Dean Morrison (AUS)
Heat 7: Kelly Slater (USA) vs. Luke Stedman (AUS)
Heat 8: Bede Durbidge (AUS) vs. Adriano de Souza (BRA)

ASSOCIATION OF SURFING PROFESSIONALS (ASP) INTERNATIONAL

Billabong Pro Jeffreys Bay
Stop No 5. of 10 on the 2007 Foster’s ASP World Tour
Jeffreys Bay, South Africa
July 11 -July 22, 2007
	
JEFFREYS BAY, South Africa (Tuesday, July 17, 2007) –Foster's ASP World Tour
surfers Bede Durbidge (AUS) and Adriano de Souza (BRA) have advanced to Round 4
of the Billabong Pro Jeffreys Bay after winning their Round 3 heats today. The
last two heats of Round 3 were wrapped up before the event was called off for
the day.

Durbidge beat Brazil's Rodrigo Dornelles 13.84 to 11.17 in their 40-minute
bout. Event officials increased the duration of the heats today to compensate
for inconsistent conditions.

“It was really slow out there and there weren’t many waves,” Durbidge said.
“Rodrigo and I probably got the only two waves with any scoring potential out
there. There was no room for error because if you fell, that was your heat
over. We had really tough conditions and a tough heat and I just got slightly
higher scores on my waves than Rodrigo so that gave me the edge.”

Durbidge will now face Brazilian Adriano de Souza who beat Bruce Irons (HAW)
15.00 to 13.66 in Heat 16.

“I am pretty happy to win over Bruce in this heat and go through to Round 4
where I will surf against Bede Durbidge who is a really really good surfer,”
de Souza said. “He got second place in the first event of the year and put
pressure on all the guys.”

Both surfers had excellent scoring waves  in the 8-point range early in the
heat, but de Souza's last-minute 6.87 trumped Irons' backup score of 5.33.

“I am happy that the contest organizers made the heat 40 minutes,” de Souza
said. “That’s really good for me because I got my last wave at the very end. 
I am so happy to move to Round 4 because I need some points in order to stay on
the Foster's ASP World Tour next year.”

De Souza suffered an injury in the previous Foster's ASP World Tour event in
Chile which forced him to withdraw from the contest. De Souza sits 31st on the
world ratings and is looking for a strong result in Jeffreys Bay. 

“In Chile I had a big cut in my head and I was so unlucky at Bells,” de Souza
said. “At Snapper and Tahiti the conditions in my heat were really bad.
Hopefully I will get a win over Bede, get some points and be on the tour next
year.”

Heat 7 of Round 4 will pit 8X Foster's ASP World Champion Kelly Slater (USA)
against Australia's Luke Stedman. The regular-footed Australian finished ahead
of Slater in their Round 1 heat at JBay in 2003 – Stedman's rookie year on
tour.

“I have beaten him out here before, so it is going to be a great heat,”
Stedman said. “He is one of my favorite surfers and he surfs fantastically
well out here. I won't be changing any of my preparations or my surfing out
here. I feel that what I have done has been working so I am going to stick with
it. I am just hoping that the waves are consistent and fun and I’m sure we
will both have fun out there.” 

Only one full day of competition is needed to complete the 2007 Billabong Pro
Jeffreys Bay. There are five days left in the event waiting period, which
stretches until Sunday, July 22nd, 2007. The next call on competition status
will be made tomorrow at 7am local time.

Visit the media center on www.aspworldtour.com for transcribed athlete
interviews, downloadable wav files, hi-res images, heat by heat updates and
more. 

Round 3 Billabong Pro Jeffreys Bay Results:
Heat 15: Bede Durbidge (AUS) 13.84 def. Rodrigo Dornelles (BRA) 11.17
Heat 16: Adriano de Souza (BRA) 15.00 def. Bruce Irons (HAW) 13.66

Round 4 Billabong Pro Jeffreys Bay Match-Ups:
Heat 1: Joel Parkinson (AUS) vs. Taylor Knox (USA)
Heat 2: Adrian Buchan (AUS) vs. Taj Burrow (AUS)
Heat 3: Daniel Wills (AUS) vs. Travis Logie (ZAF)
Heat 4: Pancho Sullivan (HAW) vs. Mick Fanning (AUS)
Heat 5: Andy Irons (HAW) vs. Fredrick Patacchia (HAW)
Heat 6: Bobby Martinez (USA) vs. Dean Morrison (AUS)
Heat 7: Kelly Slater (USA) vs. Luke Stedman (AUS)
Heat 8: Bede Durbidge (AUS) vs. Adriano de Souza (BRA)

ASSOCIATION OF SURFING PROFESSIONALS (ASP) INTERNATIONAL

Billabong Pro Jeffreys Bay
Stop No 5. of 10 on the 2007 Foster’s ASP World Tour
Jeffreys Bay, South Africa
July 11 -July 22, 2007
	
JEFFREYS BAY, South Africa (Tuesday, July 17, 2007) – The Billabong Pro
Jeffrey’s Bay, stop No. 5 of 10 on the Foster’s ASP World Tour, will kick
into gear at noon local time. Clean three foot (one metre) conditions.

Contest Director Mike Parsons hopes to finish the last two heats of Round 3
before moving into Round 4. Round 3 heats will be 40 minutes long.

Current World No. 5 Joel Parkison (AUS), who will surf against California’s
Taylor Knox (USA) in the first heat of Round 4, is pleased to get things
underway today. Parkinson’s wife will give birth to their second child back
home in Australia any day now.

“It’s been hard and testing but that’s what we do,” Parkinson said. “We
sit and we wait because we want the best waves and sitting here picking the
eyes out of the conditions pays off.”

Bede Durbidge (AUS) will take on Rodrigo Dornelles (BRA) when the hooter blows
at 12pm. Logon to www.aspworldtour.com or www.billabongpro.com to watch it
LIVE!

Remaining Round 3 Billabong Pro Jeffreys Bay Match-Ups:
Heat 15: Bede Durbidge (AUS) vs. Rodrigo Dornelles (BRA)
Heat 16: Bruce Irons (HAW) vs. Adriano de Souza (BRA)

Round 4 Billabong Pro Jeffreys Bay Match-Ups:
Heat 1: Joel Parkinson (AUS) vs. Taylor Knox (USA)
Heat 2: Adrian Buchan (AUS) vs. Taj Burrow (AUS)
Heat 3: Daniel Wills (AUS) vs. Travis Logie (ZAF)
Heat 4: Pancho Sullivan (HAW) vs. Mick Fanning (AUS)
Heat 5: Andy Irons (HAW) vs. Fredrick Patacchia (HAW)
Heat 6: Bobby Martinez (USA) vs. Dean Morrison (AUS)
Heat 7: Kelly Slater (USA) vs. Luke Stedman (AUS)
Heat 8: Winner of Round 3 - Heat 15 vs. Winner of Round 3 - Heat 16

ASSOCIATION OF SURFING PROFESSIONALS (ASP) INTERNATIONAL

Billabong Pro Jeffreys Bay
Stop No 5. of 10 on the 2007 Foster’s ASP World Tour
Jeffreys Bay, South Africa
July 11 -July 22, 2007
	
JEFFREYS BAY, South Africa (Monday, July 16, 2007) – The Billabong Pro
Jeffrey’s Bay, stop No. 5 of 10 on the Foster’s ASP World Tour, will not run
today. Small waves and a forecasted bump in swell later in the week has
prompted event officials to call a lay day today, Monday, July 16, 2007.

Two heats of Round 3 remain. The first features Bede Durbidge (AUS) vs. Rodrigo
Dornelles (BRA), the second Bruce Irons (HAW) vs. Adriano de Souza (BRA).

According to official Billabong Pro Jeffreys Bay surf forecasters Surfline.com,
a new swell looks like it will hit JBay on Wednesday, build throughout the day
and stick around through Thursday morning. Only one full day of competition is
needed to finish the event.

Another call on competition status will be made tomorrow at 7am local time.

Visit the media center on www.aspworldtour.com for transcribed athlete
interviews, downloadable wav files, hi-res images, heat by heat updates and
more.

Remaining Round 3 Billabong Pro Jeffreys Bay Match-Ups:
Heat 15: Bede Durbidge (AUS) vs. Rodrigo Dornelles (BRA)
Heat 16: Bruce Irons (HAW) vs. Adriano de Souza (BRA)

Round 4 Billabong Pro Jeffreys Bay Match-Ups:
Heat 1: Joel Parkinson (AUS) vs. Taylor Knox (USA)
Heat 2: Adrian Buchan (AUS) vs. Taj Burrow (AUS)
Heat 3: Daniel Wills (AUS) vs. Travis Logie (ZAF)
Heat 4: Pancho Sullivan (HAW) vs. Mick Fanning (AUS)
Heat 5: Andy Irons (HAW) vs. Fredrick Patacchia (HAW)
Heat 6: Bobby Martinez (USA) vs. Dean Morrison (AUS)
Heat 7: Kelly Slater (USA) vs. Luke Stedman (AUS)
Heat 8: Winner of Round 3 - Heat 15 vs. Winner of Round 3 - Heat 16

ASSOCIATION OF SURFING PROFESSIONALS (ASP) INTERNATIONAL

Billabong Pro Jeffreys Bay
Stop No 5. of 10 on the 2007 Foster’s ASP World Tour
Jeffreys Bay, South Africa
July 11 -July 22, 2007
	
JEFFREYS BAY, South Africa (Sunday, July 15, 2007) – Eight-time Foster’s ASP
World Champion Kelly Slater (USA) made the most of the meager waves on offer to
advance to Round 4 of the Billabong Pro Jeffreys Bay today. Only five heats of
Round 3 were completed before inconsistent conditions forced officials to put
the remaining two heats of the round on hold.

Slater beat rookie Luke Munro (AUS) 17.00 to 12.33 in Heat13. Munro was given a
small window of opportunity to change the situation but came up short.

“Luke [Munro] most likely could have got ahead of me on his last good ride, he
only needed to better a 4.40, but I did have the advantage with an 8.00,”
Slater said. “He basically just needed to match that and put a little pressure
on me. Had he done that, the last wave I caught would have been more nerve
racking.

Slater scored a 9.00 out of 10.00 points on his last scoring ride. Munro caught
the wave behind Slater’s but needed a combination of excellent scoring rides
to eliminate his friend at that point.

“I knew there were only one-wave sets out there and I took off and I didn’t
look behind to see if there was anything else – I just guessed there
wasn’t,” Slater said. “But then I heard the commentator saying, ‘Oh there
is something behind this,’ ‘Luke is glad he went on this.’ It wasn’t enough
but it is tough surfing against one of your best friends – it is always kind
of bitter sweet.”

Slater will surf against Luke Stedman (AUS) in Round 4.

“Luke [Stedman] is probably the most improved guy on tour over the last couple
of years,” Slater said. “He just ends up always getting on the good waves and
doing the right thing in heats. He is a really tough competitor. He is a guy
you don’t always expect to do as well as his results speak, but if he comes
out firing he’ll put you against the ropes real quick. You have got to be
really careful of a guy like that.”

Stedman beat Mick Campbell (AUS) in a wave starved heat to advance to Round 4.

“Very slow, that was about the heat in general,” Stedman said. “My surfing
was slow too. Only two waves came through and I was fortunate enough to get
them. Mick just had nothing and that was the heat.”

Also advancing today was California’s Bobby Martinez (USA). Martinez was named
2006 ASP Rookie of the Year after tying Mick Fanning (AUS) for the highest-ever
rookie finish last year – 5th in the world. Currently sitting equal 17th after
making the Quarterfinals at the last event in Chile, Martinez appears to be
back on track after a slow start to the year.

“I don’t know why things went how they did last year and things are going the
way they are this year, but maybe that is just the way it is supposed to be for
me,” Martinez said. “It is definitely different – there are sleepless
nights, I’m stressed out… I dream about it because I want to be here next
year. I’m trying my best because I don’t want it to end early. It is
definitely different than last year for me, so it has been pretty difficult.
Everything is a learning curve.”

Martinez will meet Dean Morrison (AUS), who beat Bernardo Miranda (BRA) today,
in Round 4. Fred Patacchia (HAW) eliminated Chris Ward (USA) this afternoon and
will surf against fellow Hawaiian Andy Irons in the next round.

“I think it is going to be fun, we haven’t had a man on man heat since I’ve
been on tour,” Patacchia said. “I think it will be a lot of fun, a lot of
laughs, a lot of serious paddle battles, just for fun, just to do it, and I am
looking forward to it. It is not everyday you get to surf against a world
champion.”

Another call on competition status will be made tomorrow at 7am. The final two
heats of Round 3, eight heats of Round 4, plus the Quarters, Semis and Final
are yet to come.

Visit the media center on www.aspworldtour.com for transcribed athlete
interviews, downloadable wav files, hi-res images, heat by heat updates and
more.

Today’s Round 3 Billabong Pro Jeffreys Bay Results
Heat 10: Frederick Patacchia (HAW) 11.50 def. Chris Ward (USA) 10.17
Heat 11: Bobby Martinez (USA) 15.84 def. Michael Lowe (AUS) 12.67
Heat 12: Dean Morrison (AUS) 15.34 def. Bernardo Miranda (BRA) 11.84
Heat 13: Kelly Slater (USA) 17.00; Luke Munro (AUS) 12.33
Heat 14: Luke Stedman (AUS) 12.50 def. Michael Campbell (AUS) 9.33

Remaining Round 3 Billabong Pro Jeffreys Bay Match-Ups:
Heat 15: Bede Durbidge (AUS) vs. Rodrigo Dornelles (BRA)
Heat 16: Bruce Irons (HAW) vs. Adriano de Souza (BRA)  

Round 4 Billabong Pro Jeffreys Bay Match-Ups:
Heat 1: Joel Parkinson (AUS) vs. Taylor Knox (USA)
Heat 2: Adrian Buchan (AUS) vs. Taj Burrow (AUS)
Heat 3: Daniel Wills (AUS) vs. Travis Logie (ZAF)
Heat 4: Pancho Sullivan (HAW) vs. Mick Fanning (AUS)
Heat 5: Andy Irons (HAW) vs. Fredrick Patacchia (HAW)
Heat 6: Bobby Martinez (USA) vs. Dean Morrison (AUS)
Heat 7: Kelly Slater (USA) vs. Luke Stedman (AUS)
Heat 8: Winner of Round 3 - Heat 15 vs. Winner of Round 3 - Heat 16

ASSOCIATION OF SURFING PROFESSIONALS (ASP) INTERNATIONAL

Roxy ASP Women’s World Longboard Championship (WWLC)
ASP Women’s World Longboard Tour
Côte des Basques, Biarritz, France
July 11-16, 2007

BIARRITZ, France (Sunday, July 15, 2007) – Jennifer Smith (USA) has been
crowned the 2007 ASP Women’s World Longboard Champion, following her victory
in the Roxy ASP WWLC in Biarritz, France this afternoon.

“I feel so blessed to be in the situation I’m in right now,” Smith said. “I
made the final last year and lost, so to come back and make the final again and
take the title is just an incredible feeling.”

Smith attributed her board selection as a big part in both her semifinal and
final victories.

“I rode my heavier board in these offshore conditions,” Smith said. “It
allowed me to get into the waves way earlier than my lighter board. It glides
so well and longboarding is all about the glide.”

Smith was quick to give credit to her opponent in the final, Justine Dupont
(FRA).

“I was really on edge throughout the final,” Smith said. “Justine is such a
good surfer and has been getting really high scores throughout the whole event.
She’s only 15 and I have six years on her. She’s not going anywhere. In six
year’s time, she is going to be absolutely annihilating it.”

Dupont, surfing in her first ever senior professional event, was disappointed
with her surfing in the final but pleased with her performance throughout the
event.

“I didn’t surf well in the final and didn’t deserve to win,” Dupont said.
“But this whole week still feels like a dream. I can’t really believe what
I’ve achieved. It might take a little while to sink in.”

Dupont took out Chelsea Williams (AUS) in their semifinal. After a strong start
by Dupont, Williams was always playing catchup.

“I just couldn’t get going out there,” Williams said. “It was frustrating
as I just couldn’t find the waves. Still, I came 5th last year, and 3rd this
time round, so hopefully next year I’ll go all the way.”

Janna Irons (HAW) lost her semifinal bout to eventual winner Smith. Irons,
cousin to surfing superstars Andy and Bruce, was still happy with her best ever
competitive result.

“I had a really bad surf in the semifinal,” Irons said. “But I’m still so
stoked with the result. And now I’ve won enough money that I won’t have to
work all summer.”

For all the competitors thoughts will now turn to the 2008 Roxy ASP WWLC. For
Jennifer Smith however, the new ASP Women’s World Longboard Champion, she is
soaking up her new status and looking forward to tonight’s celebrations.

“I’m going to go out with all the girl surfers here and run around have a
great time,” Smith said. “We are out to celebrate and party in the streets of
Biarritz.”

Roxy ASP WWLC Final Results
Jennifer Smith (USA) 11.00 def. Justine Dupont (FRA) 11.50

Roxy ASP WWLC Semifinal Results – 1st to Final, 2nd eliminated
Semifinal 1: Justine Dupont (FRA) 11.50 def. Chelsea Williams (AUS) 7.95
Semifinal 2: Jennifer Smith (USA) 11.00 def. Janna Irons (HAW) 9.00

ASSOCIATION OF SURFING PROFESSIONALS (ASP) INTERNATIONAL

Billabong Pro Jeffreys Bay
Stop No 5. of 10 on the 2007 Foster’s ASP World Tour
Jeffreys Bay, South Africa
July 11 -July 22, 2007
	
JEFFREYS BAY, South Africa (Sunday, July 15, 2007) – Billabong Pro Jeffreys
Bay officials are eager to wrap up Round 3 this afternoon and the 35-minute
heats will be underway shortly.

Heats 10 through 16 will run in clean three foot (one metre) waves at
Supertubes today. Eight-time world champion Kelly Slater (USA) will surf
against Foster’s ASP World Tour rookie Luke Munro in Heat 13.

Munro, who is surfing Round 3 for the first time, has a fierce opponent in
Slater. It will be their first man-on-man heat together.

“It’s weird because we went out to dinner last night and were talking and
everything but I woke up this morning and there’s a different feeling in the
air,” Munro said. “There won’t be any talking in the water today.” 

Log on to www.aspworldtour.com and www.billabongpro.com to watch the rest of
Round 3 LIVE!

Remaining Round 3 Billabong Pro Jeffreys Bay Match-Ups:
Heat 10: Chris Ward (USA) vs. Frederick Patacchia (HAW)
Heat 11: Bobby Martinez (USA) vs. Michael Lowe (AUS)
Heat 12: Dean Morrison (AUS) vs. Bernardo Miranda (BRA)
Heat 13: Kelly Slater (USA) vs. Luke Munro (AUS)
Heat 14: Michael Campbell (AUS) vs. Luke Stedman (AUS)
Heat 15: Bede Durbidge (AUS) vs. Rodrigo Dornelles (BRA)
Heat 16: Bruce Irons (HAW) vs. Adriano de Souza (BRA)

ASSOCIATION OF SURFING PROFESSIONALS (ASP) INTERNATIONAL

Roxy ASP Women’s World Longboard Championship (WWLC)
ASP Women’s World Longboard Tour
Côte des Basques, Biarritz, France
July 11-16, 2007

BIARRITZ, France (Sunday, July 15, 2007) – It is set to be a historic day in
women's longboarding as the Roxy ASP WWLC concludes in Biarritz. Only four
surfers remain in the championships with the semifinals and final scheduled for
the afternoon. 

Once again the sun is shining and fun waves are breaking on the great Biarritz
banks guaranteeing some exceptional surfing. 15-year-old Justine Dupont (FRA)
will today be looking to create history by becoming the youngest senior
professional ASP World Champion. To do that she'll first have to overcome in
form Chelsea Williams (AUS) in Semifinal 1.

“I’ve worked so hard to get where I am right now,” Williams said. “And I’m
pretty determined to win the event.”

In the Semifinal 2, Jenni Smith (USA) will be trying to go one better than last
year and take out the world title. Smith has been one of the form surfers of
the whole competition and with her experience from last year’s final is in
with a massive chance of being crowned the 2007 Roxy ASP Women’s Longboard
Champion.

“I’m not even thinking that far ahead just yet,” Smith said. “I had the
disappointment of last year and there’s still two heats to surf. I’m just
going to do my best and hopefully my surfing will look after the rest.”

Smith will surf against Janna Irons (HAW) in the semifinal. Hailing from the
famous extended surfing clan in Kauai and a cousin to superstars Andy and
Bruce, Irons has already exceeded her own expectations.

“I’m so stoked to have even made it this far,” said Irons. “It’s already
my best ever result and now everyone has a chance to win. You never know.”

While it may be hard to top yesterday’s action that featured incredible waves
and culminated in an Evian Expression Session in front of a massive Bastille
Day crowd at Biarritz Grande Plage, with the world championship on the line and
five days of intense action coming down to one 30 minute final, today is all
set up to be a historic day in women’s longboarding. 

Roxy ASP WWLC Semifinal Match Ups – 1st to Final, 2nd eliminated
Semifinal 1: Justine Dupont (FRA) vs. Chelsea Williams (AUS)
Semifinal 2: Jennifer Smith (USA) vs. Janna Irons (HAW)

ASSOCIATION OF SURFING PROFESSIONALS (ASP) INTERNATIONAL

Roxy ASP Women’s World Longboard Championship (WWLC)
ASP Women’s World Longboard Tour
Côte des Basques, Biarritz, France
July 11-16, 2007

BIARRITZ, France (Saturday, July 14, 2007) – Justine Dupont, a 15-year-old
French surfer competing in her first ever professional competition has stormed
into the semifinals of the Roxy ASP WWLC. Dupont dominated her quarterfinal
against Crystal Dzigas (HAW), scoring 15.50 points out a possible 20, the
highest heat score of the day.

I’m so happy, it was like being in heaven, with just two surfers in the water
and good waves,” Dupont said. 

Dupont opened her account with an 8.0 ride and was never threatened throughout
the 25 minute quarterfinal.

“After I rode my first wave, I was just cool and really relaxed.” Dupont
said. “Tonight I will be stressed and excited and maybe not sleep too well.
But tomorrow, I will just do my best. Now everyone left has a chance to win, to
be the world champion.”

Dupont will face Chelsea Williams (AUS) in the first semifinal that is
scheduled to be held tomorrow. Williams overcame Julie Cox (USA) in
Quarterfinal 2. Earlier Cox had caused one of the major upsets of the event
when she eliminated the defending champion and 2006 World Champion Schuyler
McFerran in Round 4.

However Cox couldn’t match the powerful Australian in her quarterfinal.
 
“I definitely prefer a more aggressive and progressive approach to my
surfing,” Williams said. “And I’m quite proud to be the only Australian left
in the event.”

Up against the giant killing Dupont, Williams is not about to alter her
strategy.

“I don’t know much about her, but look, I’ll do my thing and she’ll do her
thing and hopefully the best surfer will win,” Williams said. “I won’t
change my approach, I’ll just keep enjoying myself and do my best to become
the world champion.”

The other semi final sees Jennifer Smith (USA) up against Janna Irons (HAW).
Smith, runner up in last year’s Roxy ASP WWLC, is probably the favourite now
for the title and has been in incredible form. 

“I’m not thinking about the world title, I’m just thinking about the
semifinal,” Smith said. “I was lucky in that quarterfinal to be in the right
position for the big waves and get some big scores.”

Her opponent Janna Irons also isn’t thinking too far ahead.
 
“Whatever happens tomorrow, I’ll be happy,” Irons said. “I’m just so
stoked to get this far. No matter what, I’ll be out tomorrow night with all
the girls enjoying myself.”

The semifinal and final are scheduled for tomorrow morning local time. By
lunchtime we will have a new ASP Women’s World Longboard Champion.

Roxy ASP WWLC Semifinal Match Ups – 1st to Final, 2nd eliminated
Semifinal 1: Justine Dupont (FRA) vs. Chelsea Williams (AUS)
Semifinal 2: Jennifer Smith (USA) vs. Janna Irons (HAW)

Roxy ASP WWLC Round 3 Results – 1st to Round 4, 2nd eliminated
Heat 13: Jennifer Flanigan (USA) 9.40 def. Claire Karabatsos (FRA) 7.55 
Heat 14: Coline Menard (FRA) 9.10 def. Karina Abras (BRA) 8.40
Heat 15: Janna Irons (HAW) 14.50 def. Yuki Suzuki (JPN) 8.25
Heat 16: Kelly Nicely (USA) 7.50 def. Yuko Shimajiri (JPN) 8.25

Roxy ASP WWLC Round 4 Results – 1st to Quarterfinal, 2nd eliminated
Heat 1: Crystal Dzigas (HAW) 9.55 def. Kassia Meador (USA) 9.
Heat 2: Justine Dupont (FRA) 5.80 def. Selby Riddle (AUS) 5.75	
Heat 3: Chelsea Williams (AUS) 10.75 def. Mary Osborne (USA) 7.70
Heat 4: Julie Cox (USA) 12.25 def. Schuyler McFerran (USA) 6.50
Heat 5: Jennifer Smith (USA) 8.35 def. Miku Uemera (HAW) 8.35
Heat 6: Joy Magelssen (HAW) 10.20 def. Leah Dawnson (USA)
Heat 7: Jennifer Flanigan (USA) 7.00 def. Coline Menard (FRA) 7.00
Heat 8: Janna Irons (HAW) 11.50 def. Yuko Shimajiri (JPN) 8.25

Roxy ASP WWLC Quarterfinal Results - 1st to Semifinal, 2nd eliminated
QF1: Justine Dupont (FRA) 15.50 def. Crystal Dzigas (HAW) 7.25	
QF2: Chelsea Williams (AUS) 13.00 def. Julie Cox (USA) 11.75
QF3: Jennifer Smith (USA) 15.25 vs Joy Magelssen (USA) 14.65
QF4: Janna Irons (HAW) 14.50 def Jennifer Flanagan (USA) 8.75

ASSOCIATION OF SURFING PROFESSIONALS (ASP) INTERNATIONAL

Roxy ASP Women’s World Longboard Championship (WWLC)
ASP Women’s World Longboard Tour
Côte des Basques, Biarritz, France
July 11-16, 2007

BIARRITZ, France (Saturday, July 14, 2007) – Almost 50 years to the day that
the first surfer took to the water on this beautiful stretch of the Cote de
Basque, the Roxy ASP WWLC is up and running today in excellent conditions at
Biarritz.

“It’s going to be an awesome day, you can tell,” Jennifer Smith (USA) said.
“The waves are really good and there are so many good surfers competing today,
it’s going to be epic.”

Smith, last year’s runner up, is one of those surfers that will feature later
in the day as organisers hope to complete Round 4. She’ll be aiming to go one
step better in the 2007 Roxy ASP WWLC.

She is not alone in that regard, as the 20 surfers left in the event all have
their minds and bodies focussed on the ultimate prize on offer at this event;
the 2007 ASP Women’s World Longboard title.

“Everyone left here now is thinking about the world title,” said Crystal
Dzigas (HAW). “And as we all get closer, that’s the main focus, that’s what
we are here for.”

Dzigas, who had a great victory in her Round 3 heat yesterday, will face one of
the event favourites Kassia Meador in the first heat of Round 4. That contest
is just a sample of the incredible list of match ups that will feature today in
the Roxy ASP WWLC.

Roxy ASP WWLC Round 3 Match ups – 1st to Round 3, 2nd eliminated
Heat 13: Claire Karabatsos (FRA) vs Jennifer Flanigan (USA)
Heat 14: Coline Menard (FRA) vs Karina Abras (BRA)
Heat 15: Janna Irons (HAW) vs Yuki Suzuki (JPN)
Heat 16: Kelly Nicely (USA) vs Yuko Shimajiri (JPN)

ASSOCIATION OF SURFING PROFESSIONALS (ASP) INTERNATIONAL

Billabong Pro Jeffreys Bay
Stop No 5. of 10 on the 2007 Foster’s ASP World Tour
Jeffreys Bay, South Africa
July 11 -July 22, 2007

JEFFREYS BAY, South Africa (Friday, July 13, 2007) –World No. 1 Mick Fanning
(AUS) dominated day three of the Billabong Pro Jeffreys Bay much the way he’s
commanded Foster’s ASP World Tour competition since winning the event last
year.

Fanning has finished in the quarterfinals or better in each of the 10 elite
tour competitions since that victory, a feat that has positioned him as the
most consistent surfer on tour the past 12 months. His 15.34 to 9.27 win over
wildcard Shaun Payne (ZAF) earned him the second highest combined total of the
19 heats run today – the first, a 16.83, was posted by Joel Parkinson (AUS).

“I am just more relaxed,” Fanning said. “I have been to every event a fair
few times now so I just get comfortable and remember when I have done well in
those events and what worked, you know, that’s all it is – just getting
comfortable.” 

Andy Irons (HAW) comfortably defeated wildcard Warwick Wright (ZAF) but not
before watching Fanning do the same to his wildcard foe the heat prior. 

“I watch what Mick is doing,” Irons said. “I watch his surfing like I used
to watch Kelly’s but I try not to let it affect me too much and I don’t try
to do what they’re doing because I’m not them. I am a different surfer and I
will probably fall or dig rail surfing like them. It definitely motivates me to
try harder in my heats though.”

The elimination of World No. 2 Damien Hobgood yesterday has laid the foundation
for a friendly Irons and Fanning rivalry. Mick Lowe (AUS) had a less friendly
encounter in his Round 2 heat against Phil Macdonald (AUS).

“I saw a shark,” Lowe said. “Phil caught a wave and while the wave was
feathering across from Boneyards, I saw it. It did a U-turn to head back and it
was no dolphin, it had a girth on it. I saw its white belly and I’ve never
seen one before, but I have seen them on the TV and that’s exactly what it
looked like.”

Lowe won his heat but was quick to check to clarify protocol with event staff
once back on safe shores. Taj Burrow (AUS) surfed a few heats later and won as
well, but was definitely on guard given he had a shark sighting of his own in
2003.

“Lowe spotted a shark, claiming it was a great white and we know they are out
there so I was sort of freaked out,” Burrow said. “I think they introduced a
new rule today, if you see a shark, you wave your hands in the air, point at
the water and head in. When the Beach Marshall gave me my singlet and told me
to do that if I saw a shark, I was like ‘what!’ It was pretty freaky. I am
glad I didn’t have to put my hands in the air that heat!”

South Africans Greg Emslie and Travis Logie may be more accustomed to the
sharky conditions than their Foster’s ASP World Tour counterparts, but it was
Logie who looked most at home at today. He beat Emslie in a rather one-sided
affair. 

“Greg is a very good competitor and JBay suits his surfing to a tee, so I knew
I was up against it,” Logie said. “But my boards were going really good and I
was patient waiting for some good ones and didn’t make any mistakes so I think
I surfed a pretty smart heat.”

Logie is the last of seven South Africans who were seeded into the Billabong
Pro Jeffrey’s Bay. He is currently rated equal 9th on the Foster’s ASP World
Tour.

“It is my third year now and I think I am finally starting to feel really
comfortable in the man on man heats and starting to use my priority the right
way,” Logie said. “It has been a good consistent year for me and hopefully I
can move on to bigger things from here.”

Brazilians Rodrigo Dornelles and Bernardo Miranda won their Round 2 bouts and
will surf Round 3 when competition recommences.

Another call on competition status will be made tomorrow at 7am. There are
seven more heats of Round 3 to run in addition to Round 4, the Quarters, Semis
and Final – approximately one and a half days of surfing are required to wrap
up the Billabong Pro Jeffrey’s Bay.

Visit the media center on www.aspworldtour.com for transcribed athlete
interviews, downloadable wav files, hi-res images, heat by heat updates and
more.

Today’s Round 3 Billabong Pro Jeffreys Bay Results:
Heat 1: Joel Parkinson (AUS) 16.83 def. Trent Munro (AUS) 10.90
Heat 2: Taylor Knox (USA) 12.07 def. Ricky Basnett (ZAF) 11.83
Heat 3: Adrian Buchan (AUS) 12.50 def. Jeremy Flores (FRA) 9.00
Heat 4: Taj Burrow (AUS) 13.83 def. Neco Padaratz (BRA) 6.00
Heat 5: Danny Wills (AUS) 14.67 def. Royden Bryson (ZAF) 8.34
Heat 6: Travis Logie (ZAF) 14.33 def. Greg Emslie (ZAF) 10.90
Heat 7: Pancho Sullivan (HAW) 9.33 def. CJ Hobgood (USA) 6.66
Heat 8: Mick Fanning (AUS) 15.34 def. Shaun Payne (ZAF) 9.27
Heat 9: Andy Irons (HAW) def. Warwick Wright (ZAF) 10.33

Remaining Round 3 Billabong Pro Jeffreys Bay Match-Ups:
Heat 10: Chris Ward (USA) vs. Frederick Patacchia (HAW)
Heat 11: Bobby Martinez (USA) vs. Michael Lowe (AUS)
Heat 12: Dean Morrison (AUS) vs. Bernardo Miranda (BRA)
Heat 13: Kelly Slater (USA) vs. Luke Munro (AUS)
Heat 14: Michael Campbell (AUS) vs. Luke Stedman (AUS)
Heat 15: Bede Durbidge (AUS) vs. Rodrigo Dornelles (BRA)
Heat 16: Bruce Irons (HAW) vs. Adriano de Souza (BRA)  

Today’s Round 2 Billabong Pro Jeffreys Bay Results:
Heat 7: Jeremy Flores (FRA) 14.84 def. Troy Brooks (AUS) 11.84
Heat 8: Michael Campbell (AUS) 11.67 def. Mark Occhilupo (AUS) 9.00
Heat 9: Chris Ward (USA) 14.66 def. Shaun Cansdell (AUS) 11.40
Heat 10: Rodrigo Dornelles (BRA) 14.10 def. Ben Dunn (AUS) 11.83
Heat 11: Pancho Sullivan (HAW) 15.66 def. Dayyan Neve (AUS) 11.57
Heat 12: Fredrick Patacchia (HAW) 12.67 def. Victor Ribas (BRA) 6.83
Heat 13: Michael Lowe (AUS) 11.84 def. Phillip MacDonald (AUS) 7.17
Heat 14: Bernardo Miranda (BRA) 13.00 def. Raoni Monteiro (BRA) 12.00
Heat 15: Adrian Buchan (AUS) 14.67 def. Josh Kerr (AUS) 11.40
Heat 16: Ricky Basnett (ZAF) 11.83 def. Leonardo Neves (BRA) 8.83

ASSOCIATION OF SURFING PROFESSIONALS (ASP) INTERNATIONAL

Billabong Pro Jeffreys Bay
Stop No 5. of 10 on the 2007 Foster’s ASP World Tour
Jeffreys Bay, South Africa
July 11 -July 22, 2007

JEFFREYS BAY, South Africa (Saturday, July 14, 2007) –Surfers on the Foster’s
ASP World Tour will enjoy a break today; the remainder of the Billabong Pro
Jeffrey’s Bay Round 3 has been called off for the day.

Fred Patacchia (HAW) will take on Chris Ward (USA) when competition does
resume. The two, who are friends, have never met in man-on-man competition
before.

“I was watching Chris Ward’s heat the other day and he was surfing really
good,” Patacchia said. “We have been hanging out the whole time too, so it is
a bummer that you’ve got a friend in a heat, but at the same time we are all
friends on this tour so you are bound to take one of them out, or they are
bound to take you out, every now and then. It is just the way it goes. I know
Chris is going to be trying his best and I am going to be trying my best at the
same time.”

A day and a half of competition remains to be run and there are eight days left
in the event waiting period. According to official Billabong Pro Jeffreys Bay
forecasters Surfline.com, there is a good chance the event will be back on
tomorrow.

Visit the media center on www.aspworldtour.com for transcribed athlete
interviews, downloadable wav files, hi-res images, heat by heat updates and
more.

Remaining Round 3 Billabong Pro Jeffreys Bay Match-Ups:
Heat 10: Chris Ward (USA) vs. Frederick Patacchia (HAW)
Heat 11: Bobby Martinez (USA) vs. Michael Lowe (AUS)
Heat 12: Dean Morrison (AUS) vs. Bernardo Miranda (BRA)
Heat 13: Kelly Slater (USA) vs. Luke Munro (AUS)
Heat 14: Michael Campbell (AUS) vs. Luke Stedman (AUS)
Heat 15: Bede Durbidge (AUS) vs. Rodrigo Dornelles (BRA)
Heat 16: Bruce Irons (HAW) vs. Adriano de Souza (BRA)  

Yesterday’s Round 3 Billabong Pro Jeffreys Bay Results:
Heat 1: Joel Parkinson (AUS) 16.83 def. Trent Munro (AUS) 10.90
Heat 2: Taylor Knox (USA) 12.07 def. Ricky Basnett (ZAF) 11.83
Heat 3: Adrian Buchan (AUS) 12.50 def. Jeremy Flores (FRA) 9.00
Heat 4: Taj Burrow (AUS) 13.83 def. Neco Padaratz (BRA) 6.00
Heat 5: Danny Wills (AUS) 14.67 def. Royden Bryson (ZAF) 8.34
Heat 6: Travis Logie (ZAF) 14.33 def. Greg Emslie (ZAF) 10.90
Heat 7: Pancho Sullivan (HAW) 9.33 def. CJ Hobgood (USA) 6.66
Heat 8: Mick Fanning (AUS) 15.34 def. Shaun Payne (ZAF) 9.27
Heat 9: Andy Irons (HAW) def. Warwick Wright (ZAF) 10.33

ASSOCIATION OF SURFING PROFESSIONALS (ASP) INTERNATIONAL

Roxy ASP Women’s World Longboard Championship (WWLC)
ASP Women’s World Longboard Tour
Côte des Basques, Biarritz, France
July 11-16, 2007

BIARRITZ, France (Friday, July 13, 2007) –The Roxy ASP WWLC produced a day of
incredible surfing with the event’s big guns and a few “nobodies” cranking
up the heat totals in Biarritz, France. The high scoring was kick-started by a
relatively unknown Justine Dupont (FRA) in Heat 4. The 15-year-old scored a
massive two-wave total of 17.25 out of a possible 20.00.

“This is my first ever senior competition so I’m just so happy to get
through,” Dupont said. “I’m a nobody really and I don’t really know any of
the other girls, expect for some of the French competitors, but I’m really
motivated to achieve as much as possible at the event.”

Dupont’s efforts raised the bar for the more experienced event favourites as
they hit the water. In the following heat, Chelsea Williams (AUS) surfed
incredibly, to beat Claire Dereux (FRA) after posting a 9.00 for one wave.

“I only scored a few 5.00 rides at the start, so I knew I had to pull out the
big moves,” Williams said. “So when I had a nice section I went for a hang
ten and the judges scored it really well.”

Last year’s Roxy ASP WWLC runner up Jenni Smith (USA) also had to pull out the
big moves, as she was surfing against one of the sport’s future stars,
14-year-old Kelia Moniz (HAW).

“I was so stressed about getting taken out of the competition by a grom,”
Smith said. “It was good to take her out, because, guaranteed, she is going to
be a future world champion.”

Smith took out Moniz with a 9.50 ride, the highest individual wave score of the
event so far. 

“Yeah I had the toes on the nose right at the takeoff, then I did a cutback
and a little floater and that was it,” Smith said. “Getting the pinkies over
the nose, that’s the hardest, most critical turn there is and I knew the
judges were scoring it big.”

It was near the end of the day that the judges were really forced to go big,
with an amazingly high scoring heat between Joy Magellsen (HAW) and Lindsay
Steinriede (USA). Magellsen ended up victorious, posting an incredible heat
score of 18.90, the highest of the competition. 

“I didn’t plan to have such a high score, I just went out there to have fun
and it paid off,” Magelssen said. “You take those heats when you can. We were
lucky we just had the prime conditions and the waves were amazing.”

Just after that amazing exchange, the increasing tide led organisers to end the
competition for the day. A building swell is predicted for tomorrow and an
early start should see the remaining four heats of Round 3 and the whole of
Round 4 completed. If today’s scores and surfing are anything to go by, we are
in for another incredible day of longboarding.

Roxy ASP WWLC Round 3 Match ups – 1st to Round 3, 2nd eliminated
Heat 13: Claire Karabatsos (FRA) vs Jennifer Flanigan (USA)
Heat 14: Coline Menard (FRA) vs Karina Abras (BRA)
Heat 15: Janna Irons (HAW) vs Yuki Suzuki (JPN)
Heat 16: Kelly Nicely (USA) vs Yuko Shimajiri (JPN)

Roxy ASP WWLC Round 3 Results – 1st to Round 3, 2nd eliminated
Heat 1: Kassia Meador (USA) 11.50 def. Isabelle Braley (USA) 7.20
Heat 2: Crytsal Dzigas (HAW) 12.50 def. Summer Romero (USA) 12.00
Heat 3: Selby Riddle (AUS) 9.00 def. Kirsty Webster (AUS) 6.65
Heat 4: Justine Dupont (FRA) 17.25 def. Kaitlin McGuire (USA) 12.60 
Heat 5: Chelsea Williams 16.25 (AUS) def. Claire Dereux (FRA) 7.85
Heat 6: Mary Osborne (USA) 13.00 def. Sabrina Olas (BRA) 3.50
Heat 7: Estitxu Estremo (SPN) 8.5 def. Julie Cox (USA) 11.25
Heat 8: Schuyler McFerran (USA) 14.00 def. Emma Neuschwanger (REU) 7.00
Heat 9: Jennifer Smith (USA) 16.50 def. Kelia Moniz (HAW) 11.50
Heat 10: Miku Uemura (HAW) 11.75 def. Cristiana Peres (BRA) 6.25
Heat 11: Joy Magelssen (USA) 18.90 def. Lindsay Steinride (USA) 15.65
Heat 12: Leah Dawnson (USA) 14.15 def. Helene Chaubaud (FRA) 8.25

ASSOCIATION OF SURFING PROFESSIONALS (ASP) INTERNATIONAL

Roxy ASP Women’s World Longboard Championship (WWLC)
ASP Women’s World Longboard Tour
Côte des Basques, Biarritz, France
July 11-16, 2007

BIARRITZ, France (Friday, July 13, 2007) – Round 3 of the Roxy ASP WWLC, the
premier event in women’s longboarding, is all set to run today. Only 32
competitors remain in the competition and today’s heats will once again be
sudden death one-on-one. By the end of the competition only one of these
surfers will be able to call themselves the 2007 ASP Women’s World
Longboarding Champion.

At the moment that title belongs to Schuyler McFerran. The defending champion
surfs in Heat 8 against 16-year-old Emma Neuschwanger from Reunion Island.
McFerran had a quick warm up surf this morning and exited relaxed and excited.

“The waves are small, but really good fun,” McFerran said. “There are so
many good surfers still in the competition, so it looks like it’s going to be
a great day.”

Jenni Smith (USA), who was runner up in last year’s event agreed. “All the
girls are now getting pretty amped. The pressure is building and we’ve scored
excellent conditions. I just can’t wait for my heat,” Smith said.

Yesterday’s great weather and incredible surfing ensured huge crowds lined the
beach here at Biarritz and even more are expected today. The Roxy ASP WWLC also
incorporates a large number of music, art and cultural events as well as
celebrating the 50th anniversary of surfing in the Cote de Basque. 

Roxy ASP WWLC Round 3 Match-Ups – 1st to Round 3, 2nd eliminated
Heat 1: Kassia Meador (USA) vs Isabelle Braley (AUS)
Heat 2: Crystal Dzigas (HAW) vs Summer Romero (USA)
Heat 3: Selby Riddle (AUS) vs Kirsty Webster (AUS)
Heat 4: Kaitlin McGuire (USA) vs Justine Dupont (FRA)
Heat 5: Chelsea Williams (AUS) vs Claire Dereux (FRA)
Heat 6: Mary Osborne (USA) vs Sabrina Olas (BRA)
Heat 7: Estitxu Estremo (SPN) vs Julie Cox (USA)
Heat 8: Schuyler McFerran (USA) vs Emma Neuschwanger (REU)
Heat 9: Jennifer Smith (USA) vs Kelia Moniz
Heat 10: Cristiana Peres (BRA) vs Miku Uemura (HAW)
Heat 11: Joy Magelssen (USA) vs Lindsay Steinride (USA)
Heat 12: Leah Dawnson (USA) vs Helene Chaubaud (FRA) 
Heat 13: Claire Karabatsos (FRA) vs Jennifer Flanigan (USA)
Heat 14: Coline Menard (FRA) vs Karina Abras (BRA)
Heat 15: Janna Irons (HAW) vs Yuki Suzuki (JPN)
Heat 16: Kelly Nicely (USA) vs Yuko Shimajiri (JPN)

ASSOCIATION OF SURFING PROFESSIONALS (ASP) INTERNATIONAL

Billabong Pro Jeffreys Bay
Stop No 5. of 10 on the 2007 Foster’s ASP World Tour
Jeffreys Bay, South Africa
July 11 -July 22, 2007

JEFFREYS BAY, South Africa (Friday, July 13, 2007) –Line after line of swell
saw Billabong Pro Jeffreys Bay officials send Heat 7 of Round 2 out at 7:30am
this morning. French rookie Jeremy Flores and Australia’s Troy Brooks are
featured first.

Heat 8 pits former Billabong Pro JBay Champion Mark Occhilupo (AUS) against
returning veteran Michael Campbell (AUS) – it is sure to be an epic match-up
given the stellar four to six foot (one to two metre) conditions on offer.

Round 2 Heats 1 through 6 were run yesterday afternoon and the remaining 10
heats will be wrapped up today. Early Round 3 competition will begin
immediately after. 

The Billabong Pro JBay is the 5th of 10 stops on the 2007 Foster’s ASP World
Tour.

Visit the media center on www.aspworldtour.com for transcribed athlete
interviews, downloadable wav files, hi-res images, heat by heat updates and
more.

Upcoming Round 2 Match-ups:
Heat 7: Jeremy Flores (FRA) vs. Troy Brooks (AUS)
Heat 8: Michael Campbell (AUS) vs. Mark Occhilupo (AUS)
Heat 9: Chris Ward (USA) vs. Shaun Cansdell (AUS)
Heat 10: Ben Dunn (AUS) vs. Rodrigo Dornelles (BRA)
Heat 11: Pancho Sullivan (HAW) vs. Dayyan Neve (AUS)
Heat 12: Fredrick Patacchia (HAW) vs. Victor Ribas (BRA)
Heat 13: Phillip MacDonald (AUS) vs. Michael Lowe (AUS)
Heat 14: Raoni Monteiro (BRA) vs. Bernardo Miranda (BRA)
Heat 15: Adrian Buchan (AUS) vs. Josh Kerr (AUS)
Heat 16: Ricky Basnett (ZAF) vs. Leonardo Neves (BRA)

ASSOCIATION OF SURFING PROFESSIONALS (ASP) INTERNATIONAL

Billabong Pro Jeffreys Bay
Stop No 5. of 10 on the 2007 Foster’s ASP World Tour
Jeffreys Bay, South Africa
July 11 -July 22, 2007

JEFFREYS BAY, South Africa (Thursday, July 12, 2007) – Two of three Billabong
Pro Jeffrey’s Bay wildcards are through to Round 3 after surviving Round 2
elimination today – Foster’s ASP World No. 2 Damien Hobgood (USA) was among
the top seeds dispatched.

Hobgood lost to local JBay surfer Shaun Payne (ZAF) by less than a point – his
10.50 out of 20.00 point heat total trumped Payne’s 11.33.

“I’ve probably got an advantage since JBay is my homebreak and I get to surf
it whenever it’s good,” Payne said. “I guess that’s why the South African
wildcards always do so well.”

Payne will meet World No. 1 Mick Fanning (AUS) in Round 3.

“Mick smoked me in my last heat,” Payne said. “I fell a lot and got comboed
but I’ll give it another shot in Round 3.”

Warwick Wright (ZAF) eliminated last year’s world No. 8 in Tom Whitaker (AUS)
today.

“Tommy is an unbelievable surfer,” Wright said. “He was lucky and caught a
couple waves, but I got all the good ones so I am super chuffed about it and we
will see what happens in the next round.”

Wright will meet in-form 3X Foster’s ASP World Champion Andy Irons (HAW) in
the next round. Irons won last month’s elite tour event in Chile and Wright
was candid about his strategy against the current World No. 3.

“I don’t know how to prepare for a heat like that,” Wright said. “You’ve
just got to find the best waves I suppose. These guys are the best you know and
it is great to surf against them – I just hope I surf my best.”

Taj Burrow (AUS) surfed his best and was awarded a perfect 10.00 score for his
efforts against wildcard Damien Fahrenfort (ZAF).  Burrow found four separate
cover-up sections on a reeling right-hand wave to nab the score.

“It’s pretty hard to get a 10.00 these days so you know that when you get one
you have earned it, so I am stoked,” Burrow said. “Damien had priority and he
took the first one in the set but the second one looked dreamy and like it was
going to line up for a pipe. Each little section was really nice and looked
like it was getting hollower and hollower – I just snuck out the end.”

Burrow was rated World No. 2 after winning the Foster’s ASP World Tour event
in Bells Beach in April, but dropped two spots to 4th after an early Round 3
exit in Chile last month. Burrow has finished World Title runner-up twice and
is hyper aware of what it takes to go that next step.

“To be in contention for a world title every event from now on has to be a
keeper for me,” Burrow said. “I just want to make a win.”

Neco Padaratz (BRA) scored a 9.33 on a deep barrel to advance through his first
heat this year. The Brazilian was elated and indicated that he is eager to
achieve results akin to those he posted prior to an elite tour suspension for
performance enhancing drugs. 

“I haven’t got through a heat this year and am 44th at the moment,” Padaratz
said. “This has never happened in my life before, so I am getting a bit
frustrated with myself. I left the tour here in 2005, and I think I am coming
back to take my next step and this is it. This is a new start. Everything is
getting back to normal.”

The first six heats of Round 2 were completed this afternoon. Seven heats of
Round 1 ran first prior to the second round action. Reigning world champion
Kelly Slater (USA) advanced through the first heat of the day and had this to
say on the now defunct rumors regarding his retirement after the last Foster’s
ASP World Tour event in Chile:

“I’ve been wanting to experiment with equipment and my mind has been
elsewhere with a lot of things this year, so I really haven’t had the focus I
have had the last two years—maybe I will come around though, I am going to
stick with it. I’m happy to be here in Jbay, Trestles has been a good event
for me and I love going to France, so those are the next three. The last two
years came my way and this year has been more of a struggle so far, but its
fine – you’ve got to pay your dues.”

Another call on competition status will be made tomorrow at 7am and with the
current swell forecasted to hang around, competition could commence as early as
7:10.

Visit the media center on www.aspworldtour.com for transcribed athlete
interviews, downloadable wav files, hi-res images, heat by heat updates and
more.

Today Round 1 Billabong Pro Jeffreys Bay Results:
Heat 10: Kelly Slater (USA) 15.17, Warwick Wright (ZAF) 8.83, Chris Ward (USA)
5.20
Heat 11: Travis Logie (ZAF) 15.66, Adrian Buchan (AUS) 15.50, Rodrigo Dornelles
(BRA) 8.40
Heat 12: Dean Morrison (AUS) 11.57, Dayyan Neve (AUS) 11.10, Ricky Bassnett
(ZAF) 8.43
Heat 13: Bruce Irons (HAW) 11.83, Leonardo Neves (BRA) 11.50, Victor Ribas
(BRA) 9.77
Heat 14: Adriano de Souza (BRA) 12.67, Cory Lopez (USA) 11.93, Michael Lowe
(AUS) 7.26
Heat 15: Royden Bryson (ZAF) 14.17, Josh Kerr (AUS) 12.30, Kai Otton (AUS)
11.87
Heat 16: Greg Emslie (ZAF) 13.16, Taylor Knox (USA) 11.83, Bernardo Miranda
(BRA) 6.34

ASSOCIATION OF SURFING PROFESSIONALS (ASP) INTERNATIONAL

Roxy ASP Women’s World Longboard Championship (WWLC)
ASP Women’s World Longboard Tour
Côte des Basques, Biarritz, France
July 11-16, 2007

FAVOURITES SURVIVE SUDDEN DEATH AT ROXY ASP WWLC

BIARRITZ, France (Thursday, July 11, 2007) – The natural world order has been
restored at the Roxy ASP WWLC in Biarritz, with the big guns of the event
prevailing in fun conditions.

The first heat of the day saw last year’s semifinalist and local surfer Claire
Karabatsos take a relaxed approach and progress through the first of the
event’s sudden death, one on one, heats.

“I wasn’t nervous, I was just enjoying the experience,” Karabatsos said.
“My local spot is Biarritz Grande Plage, just around the corner, so I come to
surf here often. I love it. The waves, the backdrop of the mountains. So it was
good to wake up and just go surfing.”

Karabatsos has a simple, uncluttered approach to surfing and doesn’t change it
when she is surfing in competition, even if it is the biggest of the year, like
the Roxy ASP WWLC.

“I’m relaxed, you know –it is easy.” Karabatsos said. “You wait for the
hooter and you just surf and then when the hooter goes again, you stop surfing.
That is all there is to it really.”

This laidback approach proved effective as she overcome Tory Gilkerson (USA) to
advance to Round 3. In contrast in style, if not effect, was another event
favourite Kassia Meador’s progression through to Round 3.

“I was definitely nervous,” Meador said. “Especially surfing against Kelly
Sloan (USA) who I know from back home and who’s definitely beaten me a couple
a times in contests.”

“I was just trying to stay calm and not think too much about it, because I can
get into my head way too easily and once I start thinking about things I can
unravel. Last night I was trying not to worry about it go and watch some live
music and hang out. It was almost better just to get it over with early this
morning and not stress in the corner all day.”

Despite the nerves, Meador surfed as stylishly and as controlled as ever and
easily won her heat.

“I’m stoked I made it,” Meador said, “and I’m looking forward to
tomorrow.”

Another surfer whose performance pushed her into favourite contention was
Chelsea Williams (AUS). The small naturalfooter has had an incredible
competitive run lately, winning the last four professional events she has
entered in Australia, and today kept the run going with the day’s highest heat
score, a 15.75 out of a possible 20.00.

“Yes, I’ve won pretty much everything I’ve gone in lately,” Williams said.
“But the standard over here is much, much higher, the best in the world, so
I’m just taking it heat by heat.”

Williams, whose local wave is the freight train barrels of the Gold Coast’s
Superbank, had to deal with quite different conditions here in Biarritz.
“Yeah, the waves were pretty slow and fat, but at least it was nice and
clean.”

Another surfer forced to adapt to changing conditions to succeed was Miku
Uemura (HAW), whose heat score of 13.00 was too much for her opponent Cristiana
Peres (BRA).

“I was super nervous actually,” said Uemura who hails from a famous Hawaiian
surf family, but also has Japanese citizenship. 

“I’ve just been surfing the Japanese shortboard circuit, so I haven’t ridden
my longboard for a while,” Uemura said. “But I scored that fun wave and it
felt good. I’m so stoked to still be in the competition.”

Halfway through the afternoon a rising high tide forced organisers to postpone
the competition. The last three heats of Round 2 are scheduled to be
recommencing at about 6.00pm local time this evening.

By that stage many of today’s loser’s, eliminated from the premier women’s
longboarding event in the world, will have one eye on the night's festivities.
Brazilian punk pop pranksters CSS are lined up tonight, just one of the many
gigs, art shows and celebrations that are being held in conjunction with the
Roxy Jam.

For the rest of the surfers still involved in the competition, the celebrations
will have to wait. They are still in the running for the Roxy ASP WWLC and with
more waves predicted and all the big guns still in contention, they know both
the pressure and level of surfing is about to be cranked right up.

Roxy ASP WWLC Round 2 Match-Ups – 1st to Round 3, 2nd eliminated
Heat 14: Kirsty Webster (AUS) vs. Myriam Imaz (SPN)
Heat 15: Summer Romero (USA) vs. Gaelle Szymkowiak (FRA)
Heat 16: Angela Bauer (BRA) vs. Helene Chabeaud (FRA)

Roxy ASP WWLC Round 2 Results – 1st to Round 3, 2nd eliminated
Heat 1: Claire Karabatsos (FRA) 10.90 def. Tory Gilkerson (USA) 7.75
Heat 2: Kassia Meador (USA) 12.75 def. Kelly Sloan (USA) 7.20
Heat 3: Janna Irons (HAW) 13.50 def. Malia Fuertes (USA) 6.05
Heat 4: Chelsea Williams (AUS) 15.75 def. Kelly Coward (USA) 7.25
Heat 5: Ashley Lloyd (USA) 11.00 def. Jenni Flanigan (USA) 9.00
Heat 6: Selby Riddle (AUS) 10.15 def. Caroline Angibeaud (FRA) 5.30
Heat 7: Coline Menard (FRA) 13.25 def. Rosie Locke (AUS) 4.75
Heat 8: Melanie Fosse (FRA) 13.50 def. Lindsay Steiniede (USA) 9.75
Heat 9: Claire Dereux (FRA) 14.75 def. Clemence Godinaud (FRA) 8.35. 
Heat 10: Cristiana Pires (BRA) 10.35 def. Hanalei Reponty (TAH) 5.20
Heat 11: Julie Cox (USA) def. Marie Vigne (FRA) inj
Heat 12: Miku Uemura 13.00 (HAW) def. Candice O’Donnell (GBR) 7.25
Heat 13: Karina Abras (BRA) 9.10 def. Nathalie Destandau (FRA) 4.90

ASSOCIATION OF SURFING PROFESSIONALS (ASP) INTERNATIONAL

Billabong Pro Jeffreys Bay
Stop No 5. of 10 on the 2007 Foster’s ASP World Tour
Jeffreys Bay, South Africa
July 11 -July 22, 2007

JEFFREYS BAY, South Africa (Thursday, July 12, 2007) – The remainder of Round
1 of the Billabong Jeffreys Bay will commence at 10am this morning.

Three to four foot (one metre plus) and building swell has ushered the world’s
best out at Supertubes. First up is 8X Foster’s ASP World Champion Kelly
Slater (USA) versus California’s Chris Ward and South African Wildcard Warwick
Wright.

Surfline.com, the official surf forecasting partner of the Billabong Pro
Jeffreys Bay, are indicating that competitiors could be surfing sets as large
as eight to 12 feet (two to three metres) by this afternoon.

Officials will run as many heats as possible today to take full advantage of
the excellent swell on offer.

Logon to www.aspworldtour.com and www.billabongpro.com to watch it LIVE!


Remaining Round 1 Billabong Pro Jeffreys Bay Match-Ups:
Heat 10: Kelly Slater (USA), Chris Ward (USA), Warwick Wright (ZAF)
Heat 11: Travis Logie (ZAF), Adrian Buchan (AUS), Rodrigo Dornelles (BRA)
Heat 12: Dean Morrison (AUS), Ricky Bassnett (ZAF), Dayyan Neve (AUS)
Heat 13: Bruce Irons (HAW), Leonardo Neves (BRA), Victor Ribas (BRA)
Heat 14: Cory Lopez (USA), Adriano de Souza (BRA), Michael Lowe (AUS)
Heat 15: Kai Otton (AUS), Josh Kerr (AUS), Royden Bryson (ZAF)
Heat 16: Taylor Knox (USA), Bernardo Miranda (BRA), Greg Emslie (ZAF)

ASSOCIATION OF SURFING PROFESSIONALS (ASP) INTERNATIONAL

Roxy ASP Women’s World Longboard Championship (WWLC)
ASP Women’s World Longboard Tour
Côte des Basques, Biarritz, France
July 11-16, 2007

SUDDEN DEATH ROUND 2 UNDERWAY AT ROXY ASP WWLC 

BIARRITZ, France (Wednesday, July 12, 2007) – Sunny skies and light winds
greeted competitors, organisers and spectators of the Roxy ASP WWLC this
morning and the call was made to start Round 2 at 8.30am local time. The aim is
to progress through all 16 heats of the sudden death one-on-one Round 2 today. 

There will be time to draw breath as the round’s early heats feature some of
the big guns of the event. In Heat 1, local Biarritz surfer and last year’s
semifinalist, Claire Karabatsos (FRA), is up against the young up-and-comer
Tory Gilkerson (USA). 

Immediately following that heat sees one of the event favourites, Kassia
Meador, surfing against Kelly Sloan (USA). The pressure will be on the
favourites to progress, but with the depth of women’s longboarding at an
all-time high and with a world championship on the line, there will be no easy
heats.

The losers know they will make an early exit from the biggest event in women’s
longboarding and will instead turn their attention to the myriad of concerts,
art shows and cultural events that are associated with the Roxy ASP WWLC. The
winners today, however can at least, for now, keep their eye on the prize of
being crowned the 2007 Roxy ASP Women’s World Longboard Champion. 

Roxy ASP WWLC Round 2 Match-Ups – 1st to Round 3, 2nd eliminated
Heat 1: Claire Karabatsos (FRA) vs. Tory Gilkerson (USA)
Heat 2: Kassia Meador (USA) vs. Kelly Sloan (USA)
Heat 3: Janna Irons (HAW) vs. Malia Fuertes (USA)
Heat 4: Chelsea Williams (AUS) vs. Kelly Coward (USA)
Heat 5: Ashley Lloyd (USA) vs. Jenni Flanigan (USA)
Heat 6: Selby Riddle (AUS) vs. Caroline Angibeaud (USA)
Heat 7: Coline Menard (FRA) vs. Rosie Locke (AUS)
Heat 8: Melanie Fosse ( FRA) vs. Lindsay Steinriede (USA)
Heat 9: Clemence Godinaud (FRA) vs. Claire Dereux (FRA)
Heat 10: Cristiana Pires (BRA) vs. Hanalei Reponty (TAH)
Heat 11: Julie Cox (USA) vs. Marie Vigne (FRA)
Heat 12: Miku Uemura (HAW) vs. Candice O’Donnell (GBR)
Heat 13: Karina Abras (BRA) vs. Nathalie Destandau (FRA)
Heat 14: Kirsty Webster (AUS) vs. Myriam Imaz (SPN)
Heat 15: Summer Romero (USA) vs. Gaelle Szymkowiak (FRA)
Heat 16: Angela Bauer (BRA) vs. Helene Chabeaud (FRA)

ASSOCIATION OF SURFING PROFESSIONALS (ASP) INTERNATIONAL

Billabong Pro Jeffreys Bay
Stop No 5. of 10 on the 2007 Foster’s ASP World Tour
Jeffreys Bay, South Africa
July 11 -July 22, 2007

JEFFREYS BAY, South Africa (Wednesday, July 11, 2007) – Top seeds and former
Billabong Pro Jeffreys Bay champions Joel Parkinson (AUS), Mick Fanning (AUS)
and Andy Irons (USA) each advanced to Round 3 today. Heats 1 through 9 of the
Billabong Pro, the 5th event of 10 on the 2007 Foster’s ASP World Tour, were
run before unfavorable winds saw the event called off for the day.

Parkinson, who won the event as a wildcard in 1999, asserted his intention to
vie for a 2007 title with his commanding Round 1 performance. The current World
No. 5 claimed both the highest heat total and single wave score of the day.  He
posted 16.83 out of 20.00 points after nabbing an early 9.33 to send Pancho
Sullivan (HAW)and Trent Munro (AUS) to Round 2.

“A good set was coming but I didn’t know how many waves were in it,”
Parkinson said. “I barely scratched into the first one and it was really good
but as soon as I went over, the other was better, so it was a bit of a laugh
really. There were only two waves in the set and the second one was better, if
I had the inside, I would have had the first one and Pancho would have got the
second one. I was pretty lucky.”

Current World No. 1 Fanning posted a series of solid scores to easily advance
over French rookie Jeremy Flores (FRA) and local wildcard Shaun Payne (ZAF). 

“It’s pretty inconsistent out there,” Fanning said. “I just wanted to get
one good wave one off the back and consolidate, get that and just control the
heat from there.”

Fanning has had a stellar start to the year, and as the defending and 2002
event champion, is a favorite in Jeffreys Bay. His 2007 World Title campaign is
well and truly on track. 

“The first few events are out the way now and its just time to start building
towards the end of the year,” Fanning said. “Everything is feeling good,
boards are good, so I’m just trying to keep it rolling.”

World No. 3 Irons advanced through the last heat of the day by bettering
Michael Campbell (AUS) and wildcard Damien Fahrenfort (ZAF) in their
low-scoring heat. Irons won last week’s Foster’s ASP World Tour event in
Chile to move to World No. 3 and put himself in title contention – this after
starting the year with an equal 33rd (last place) finish.

“I get two throwaways, so I can get another 33rd and still be alright –
people don’t understand that,” Irons said.  “I want to hush the critics and
all the people who are saying, 'He’s over it' and that I’m not hungry. I’m
as hungry as ever and I want to do well in every contest. Just because I
started with a bad result doesn’t mean it will haunt me for the rest of the
year.”

Unfavorable winds forced Billabong Pro JBay officials to call off competition
early in the afternoon, but not before Heat 10 competitors Kelly Slater (USA),
Chris Ward (USA) and Warick Wright (ZAF) donned jerseys and paddled out. They
were called back in and will surf first when competition resumes.

Rumors surrounding a Slater retirement have been in heavy circulation since the
reigning world champ bowed out of competition in Chile. He has made no official
statements to support such speculation. His presence in JBay is a bonus for
both fans and title contenders alike. 

“You’ve got to have Kelly there,” Irons said. “He is an 8X World Champion
and to have him leave halfway through the year would be disrespectful to the
rest of the guys on tour. I think it is great that he is staying on tour, but
don’t let him fool you. I’m sure he wants to amp up the hype by saying he is
going to retire and this and that, but he is as hungry as ever. He has had a
couple of bad results, but I started with a 33rd, and I am 3rd now, if he gets
a couple of good results he could be back in the Top 3 in no time.”

Another call on competition status will be made tomorrow at 7am.

Round 1 Billabong Pro Jeffreys Bay Results:
Heat 1: Luke Stedman (AUS) (12.33), Shaun Cansdell (AUS) (12.33), Tom Whitaker
(AUS) (8.07)
Heat 2: Daniel Wills (AUS) (16.50), Mark Occhilupo (AUS) (11.93), Raoni
Monteiro (BRA) (9.63)
Heat 3: Bobby Martinez (USA) (14.93), Phillip Macdonald (AUS) (10.74), Troy
Brooks (AUS) (9.13)
Heat 4: Bede Durbidge (AUS) (10.50), Fredrick Pattachia (HAW) (9.73), Gabe
Kling (USA) (2.93)
Heat 5: Joel Parkinson (AUS) (16.83), Pancho Sullivan (HAW) (13.83), Trent
Munro (AUS) (6.83)
Heat 6: CJ Hobgood (USA) (12.33), Neco Padaratz (BRA) (12.17), Taj Burrow (AUS)
(11.93)
Heat 7: Luke Munro (AUS) (13.34), Ben Dunn (AUS) (11.27), Damien Hobgood (USA)
(11.17)
Heat 8: Mick Fanning (AUS) (16.00), Jeremy Flores (FRA) (9.27), Shaun Payne
(ZAF) (7.26)
Heat 9: Andy Irons (HAW) (11.20), Damien Fahrenfort (ZAF) (8.07), Michael
Campbell (AUS) (5.66) 

Remaining Round 1 Billabong Pro Jeffreys Bay Match-Ups:
Heat 10: Kelly Slater (USA), Chris Ward (USA), Warwick Wright (ZAF)
Heat 11: Travis Logie (ZAF), Adrian Buchan (AUS), Rodrigo Dornelles (BRA)
Heat 12: Dean Morrison (AUS), Ricky Bassnett (ZAF), Dayyan Neve (AUS)
Heat 13: Bruce Irons (HAW), Leonardo Neves (BRA), Victor Ribas (BRA)
Heat 14: Cory Lopez (USA), Adriano de Souza (BRA), Michael Lowe (AUS)
Heat 15: Kai Otton (AUS), Josh Kerr (AUS), Royden Bryson (ZAF)
Heat 16: Taylor Knox (USA), Bernardo Miranda (BRA), Greg Emslie (ZAF)

ASSOCIATION OF SURFING PROFESSIONALS (ASP) INTERNATIONAL

Roxy ASP Women’s World Longboard Championship (WWLC)
ASP Women’s World Longboard Tour
Côte des Basques, Biarritz, France
July 11-16, 2007

BIARRITZ, France (Wednesday, July 11, 2007) – Looking and feeling right at
home, the defending event champion and current ASP Women’s World Longboard
Champion, Schuyler McFerran (USA), 20, dominated her Round 1 heat at the Roxy
ASP WWLC today.

“I’ve been waiting for so long for this event to start,” McFerran said. “I
was pretty nervous and was so glad when I rode that first clean wave. It was
finally just about surfing and not thinking, which was a relief.”

That first wave netted the world champion a 6.75 out of 10.00, which she backed
up with the highest wave score of the day, an 8.75. Given her results here, it
is no wonder that McFerran feels a real affinity with this section of the
Basque coast and the town of Biarritz.

“When I arrived a couple of days ago it felt like I’d never left,” McFerran
said. “It’s such a cool, funky place with great waves and it felt so good to
be back here and at such a good event. I’m through to the third round now, so
I can relax a little and kick back and enjoy myself.”

McFerran’s two-wave heat score of 15.50 out of a possible 20.00 was only
bettered by Estixu Estremo (SPN) today. The powerful surfer hails from the
Spanish-side of the Basque coast and used local knowledge to post a heat score
of 15.75. Such was her dominance, by the heat’s end the experienced Kassia
Meador, known as the “queen of noseriding” and one of the favorites for the
event, needed a combination of scores to overcome her opponent.

At the opposite end of the spectrum, in terms of both experience and heat
tally, 16-year-old Emma Neuschwanger (REU) overcame a last minute entry and
nerves to progress through Heat 13. Neuschwanger’s mother and little brother
also made the journey from Reunion Island. 


“I was on the alternate list and only found out this morning that I was
surfing,” Nueschwanger said. “This is my first ever senior competition and I
was so nervous, but I am so proud to have won and am very excited about my next
heat.”

Her two-wave tally of 7.75 may have been the lowest winning score of the day,
but it was enough to give her a day off, as organizers plan to run the whole of
Round 2 tomorrow.

The good news is conditions are set to improve in time for the start of the
one-on-one sudden death phase of the competition. Contest organizer, Phillipe
Malvaux, has predicted sunny skies and a new, small, but powerful, swell for
the next couple of days. 
"The forecast looks really good," Malvaux said. "We look like we are going to
be really lucky for the whole event, with clean waves and good winds. It should
be excellent for longboarding."

With 48 of the world’s best women longboarders still in contention for the
Roxy ASP WWLC and this fabulous stretch of the Cote de Basque set to deliver
the goods, the quality of longboarding is ready to go through the roof.

Roxy ASP WWLC Round 2 Match-Ups – 1st to Round 3, 2nd eliminated
Heat 1: Claire Karabatsos (FRA) vs. Tory Gilkerson (USA)
Heat 2: Kassia Meador (USA) vs. Kelly Sloan (USA)
Heat 3: Janna Irons (HAW) vs. Malia Fuertes (USA)
Heat 4: Chelsea Williams (AUS) vs. Kelly Coward (USA)
Heat 5: Ashley Lloyd (USA) vs. Jenni Flanigan (USA)
Heat 6: Selby Riddle (AUS) vs. Caroline Angibeaud (USA)
Heat 7: Coline Menard (FRA) vs. Rosie Locke (AUS)
Heat 8: Melanie Fosse ( FRA) vs. Lindsay Steinriede (USA)
Heat 9: Clemence Godinaud (FRA) vs. Claire Dereux (FRA)
Heat 10: Cristiana Pires (BRA) vs. Hanalei Reponty (TAH)
Heat 11: Julie Cox (USA) vs. Marie Vigne (FRA)
Heat 12: Miku Uemura (HAW) vs. Candice O’Donnell (GBR)
Heat 13: Karina Abras (BRA) vs. Nathalie Destandau (FRA)
Heat 14: Kirsty Webster (AUS) vs. Myriam Imaz (SPN)
Heat 15: Summer Romero (USA) vs. Gaelle Szymkowiak (FRA)
Heat 16: Angela Bauer (BRA) vs. Helene Chabeaud (FRA)


Roxy ASP WWLC Round 1 Results – 1st to Round 3, 2nd and 3rd to Round 2
Round 1: 1st progress to Round 3, 2nd and 3rd to Round 2
Heat 1: Mary Osborne (USA) 12.85, Summer Romero (USA) 10.25, Lindsay Steinriede
(USA) 8.75
Heat 2: Yuki Suzuki (JPN) 12.65, Ashley Lloyd (USA) 11.50, Kirsty Webster (AUS)
7.25. 
Heat 3: Isabelle Braley (AUS) 11.40, Chelsea Williams (AUS) 10.50, Karina Abras
(BRA) 8.75 
Heat 4: Joy Magelssen (HAW) 13.75, Miku Uemura (HAW) 7.00, Rosie Locke (AUS)
6.65
Heat 5: Justine Dupont (FRA) 14.10, Janna Irons (HAW) 11.50, Julie Cox (USA)
10.55 
Heat 6: Estixu Estremo (SPN)15.75, Kassia Meador (USA) 12.25, Caroline
Angibeaud (FRA) 7.75
Heat 7: Kaitlin Maguire (USA) 13.00, Jenni Flannigan (USA) 12.60, Cristiana
Pires (BRA) 5.60
Heat 8: Schuyler McFerran (USA) 15.50, Malia Fuertes (USA) 11.20, Coline Menard
(FRA) 8.00
Heat 9: Jennifer Smith (USA) 12.15, Melanie Fosse (FRA) 9.75, Kelly Coward
(USA) 6.50
Heat 10: Kelia Moniz (HAW) 10.90, Claire Karabatsos (FRA) 7.90, Clemence
Godinaud (FRA) 7.00 
Heat 11: Yuko Shimajiri (JPN) 8.95, Kelly Sloan (USA) 7.00, Tory Gilkerson
(USA) 5.30
Heat 12: Leah Dawson (USA) 11.65, Claire Dereux (FRA) 11.45, Angela Bauer (BRA)
5.95 
Heat 13: Emma Neuschwanger (USA) 7.75, Helene Chabeaud (FRA) 3.90, Hanalei
Reponty (TAH) 3.90
Heat 14: Kelly Nicely (USA)11.25, Gaelle Szymkowiak (FRA) 5.25, Marie Vigne
(FRA) 0.00
Heat 15: Crystal Dzigas (HAW) 13.75, Myriam Imaz (SPN) 8.00, Candice O’Donnell
(GBR) 3.65
Heat 16: Sabrina Olas (BRA) 8.85, Selby Riddle (AUS) 7.35, Nathalie Destandau
(FRA) 4.95

ASSOCIATION OF SURFING PROFESSIONALS (ASP) INTERNATIONAL

Billabong Pro Jeffreys Bay
Stop No 5. of 10 on the 2007 Foster’s ASP World Tour
Jeffreys Bay, South Africa
July 11 -July 22, 2007

ROUND 1 OF THE BILLABONG PRO JBAY UNDERWAY IN SOUTH AFRICA

JEFFREYS BAY, South Africa (Tuesday, July 11, 2007) – The Billabong Pro
Jeffreys Bay, Stop No. 5 of 10 on the Foster’s ASP World Tour, has commenced
in clean three to four foot (one metre plus) conditions today.

Official Round 1 Billabong Pro action hit the water at 10am local time with Tom
Whitaker (AUS), Luke Stedman (AUS), Shaun Cansdell (ZAF) contesting the first
heat of the day.

“Wind permitting we’re hoping to run as many heats as possible today,”
Contest Director Mike Parsons said. “We think we can get pretty deep in the
round, maybe as many as 14 heats if the favorable winds stick around.”

Three Von Zipper Trials heats ran prior to main event with the winner of each
four-man battle earning main event berths. South Africans Shaun Payne, Damien
Fahrenfort and Warwick Wright advanced.

 “I'm very stoked to be in the main event,” Payne said. “I’m just going to
give it my all and see how it goes. I'm keen to see just surf against the guys,
watch them and maybe learn something as well.”

The addition of three local wildcards ups the tally to seven South African
surfers competing in the Billabong Pro.

The event is being webcast LIVE on www.aspworldtour.com and
www.billabongpro.com.

Round 1 Billabong Pro Jeffreys Bay Match-Ups:
Heat 1: Tom Whitaker (AUS), Luke Stedman (AUS), Shaun Cansdell (ZAF)
Heat 2: Daniel Wills (AUS), Raoni Monteiro (BRA), Mark Occhilupo (AUS)
Heat 3: Bobby Martinez (USA), Phillip Macdonald (AUS), Troy Brooks (AUS)
Heat 4: Bede Durbidge (AUS), Fredrick Pattachia (HAW), Gabe Kling (USA)
Heat 5: Joel Parkinson (AUS), Pancho Sullivan (HAW), Trent Munro (AUS)
Heat 6: Taj Burrow (AUS), CJ Hobgood (USA), Neco Padaratz (BRA)
Heat 7: Damien Hobgood (USA), Ben Dunn (AUS), Luke Munro (AUS)
Heat 8: Mick Fanning (AUS), Jeremy Flores (FRA), Shaun Payne (ZAF)
Heat 9: Andy Irons (HAW), Michael Campbell (AUS), Damien Fahrenfort (ZAF)
Heat 10: Kelly Slater (USA), Chris Ward (USA), Warwick Wright (ZAF)
Heat 11: Travis Logie (ZAF), Adrian Buchan (AUS), Rodrigo Dornelles (BRA)
Heat 12: Dean Morrison (AUS), Ricky Bassnett (ZAF), Dayyan Neve (AUS)
Heat 13: Bruce Irons (HAW), Leonardo Neves (BRA), Voctor Ribas (BRA)
Heat 14: Cory Lopez (USA), Adriano de Souza (BRA), Michael Lowe (AUS)
Heat 15: Kai Otton (AUS), Josh Kerr (AUS), Royden Bryson (ZAF)
Heat 16: Taylor Knox (USA), Bernardo Miranda (BRA), Greg Emslie (ZAF)

ASSOCIATION OF SURFING PROFESSIONALS (ASP) INTERNATIONAL

Roxy ASP Women’s World Longboard Championship (WWLC)
ASP Women’s World Longboard Tour
Côte des Basques, Biarritz, France
July 11-16, 2007

THE ROXY ASP WWLC KICKS OFF IN BIARRITZ

BIARRITZ, France (Wednesday, July 11, 2007) – Event organizers have given the
go ahead for the start of Round 1 of the Roxy ASP WWLC at Biarritz. Blustery,
onshore conditions greeted competitors early this morning, however with the
winds predicted to subside and the high tide expected to help an inside
righthand bank, conditions should improve to allow the best surfers in women’s
longboarding to show their style.
Following the same format as events on the elite men’s Foster’s ASP World
Tour, 48 competitors will start off in Round 1 today, surfing in heats of
three. The winners will progress straight into Round 3, while the losers in
today’s heats will get a second chance when they start battling it out in the
sudden death Round 2.
Some of the biggest names in longboarding will be surfing today, with Chelsea
Williams (AUS) featuring in Heat 3, Kassia Meador (USA) in Heat 6 and defending
event champion and the current world titleholder Schuyler McFerran (USA) in
Heat 8. While in Heat 10, last year’s semi finalist Claire Karabatsos (FRA)
will hit the water. 
Karabatsos was born and bred in Biarritz and by the stage she hits the water
you can bet on massive crowds lining the shore at Biarritz to soak up the Roxy
event’s vibe and cheer their local favorite on. 
The surf forecast also predicts improving conditions for the next few days,
where an improved swell, offshore winds and sunny conditions should make it
absolutely ideal for both competitors and spectators alike. 
We have officially started the Roxy ASP WWLC, a week-long surfing festival that
will eventually see the 2007 World’s Women’s Longboard Champ crowned. The
championships will also incorporate music, art, charity and cultural events, as
well celebrating the 50th anniversary of surfing on this spectacular part of
the Basque coast.

Round 1 Match Ups
Heat1: Mary Osborne (USA), Summer Romero (USA), Lindsey Steinriede (USA)
Heat 2: Ashley Lloyd (USA), Kirsty Webster (AUS), Yuki Suzuki (JPN)
Heat 3: Chelsea Williams (AUS), Karina Abras (BRA), Isabelle Braley (AUS)
Heat 4: Joy Magelssen (HAW), Miku Uemura (HAW), Rosie Locke (AUS)
Heat 5: Janna Irons (HAW), Julie Cox (USA), Justine Dupont (FRA)
Heat 6: Kassia Meador (USA), Estitxu Estremo (SPN), Caroline Angibeaud (FRA)
Heat 7: Kaitlin Maguire (USA), Cristiana Pires (BRA), Jenni Flannigan (USA)
Heat 8: Schuyler McFerran (USA), Coline Menard (FRA), Malia Fuertes (USA)
Heat 9: Jennifer Smith (USA), Melanie Fosse (FRA), Kelly Coward (USA)
Heat 10: Claire Karabatsos (FRA), Clemence Godinaud (FRA), Kelia Moniz (HAW)
Heat 11: Kelly Sloan (USA), Yuko Shimajiri (JPN), Tory Gilkerson (USA)
Heat 12: Leah Dawson (USA), Angela Bauer (BRA), Claire Dereux (FRA)
Heat 13: Emma Nueschwanger (REU), Helene Chabeaud (FRA), Hanalei Reponty (TAH)
Heat 14: Kelly Nicely (USA), Gaelle Szymkowiak (FRA), Marie Vigne (FRA)
Heat 15: Crystal Dzigas (HAW), Myriam Imaz (SPN), Candice O’Donnell (GBR)
Heat 16: Selby Riddle (AUS), Nathalie Destandau (FRA), Sabrina Olas (BRA)

ASSOCIATION OF SURFING PROFESSIONALS (ASP) INTERNATIONAL

Billabong Pro Jeffreys Bay
Stop No 5. of 10 on the 2007 Foster’s ASP World Tour
Jeffreys Bay, South Africa
July11 -July 22, 2007

JEFFREYS BAY, South Africa (Tuesday, July 10, 2007) – The Billabong Pro
Jeffreys Bay marks the official midway point on the 2007 Foster’s ASP World
Tour. Stop No. 5 of 10 on this year’s calendar, the event waiting period
begins tomorrow, July 11th, 2007. 

World No. 2 Damien Hobgood (USA) will take on rookies Ben Dunn (AUS) and Luke
Munro (AUS) in Heat 7 of Round 1, but Hobgood knows that there is a bigger
battle to be fought against World No. 1 Mick Fanning (AUS) and World No. 3 Andy
Irons (HAW), not to mention perennially top-seeded surfers Taj Burrow (AUS),
Joel Parkinson (AUS) and Kelly Slater (USA) who fill ratings slots 4 through 6
respectively.

Hobgood, whose best year-end result was a World No. 4 finish in 2005, finished
7th in the world last year. A win in Tahiti backed-up by a Final berth in Chile
have seen him shoot to world No. 2 where he sandwiched between stiff
competition in Fanning and Irons.

“Those guys are definitely sitting in the driver’s seat but I just want a
shot at it,” Hobgood said. “I’m under the radar but just happy to be in the
mix. I actually prefer flying under the radar.”

Bede Durbidge (AUS), current Foster’s ASP World No. 7, is another dangerous
blip on the radar. The darkhorse featured in the Final of the first event of
the year before backing that result up with two Quarterfinal finishes. An equal
33rd (last place) finish at the last event in Chile saw him slip in the
ratings.

“I had a good start to the year but I didn’t do very well in Chile so that
was a bit of set back for me ratings wise,” Durbidge said. “Coming into JBay
I’m feeling really good though. I’ve come here for the last five years and I
love the wave, it’s similar to the waves at home, so I’ll be looking to get a
good a result here and boost myself back up in the ratings.”

Rookie Royden Bryson is also hoping to capitalize in conditions he’s
comfortable with. He, along with fellow rookies Kai Otton (AUS) and Josh Kerr
(AUS), will contest the barreling right-hand wave known as Supertubes for the
first time when competition commences.

"I'm excited; I've wanted to surf in the Billabong Pro at Jeffreys since I
first watched the contest when I was much younger,” Bryson said. “It's the
only World Tour contest on home soil and you always feel more confident and
positive at home. You just feel more comfortable on the whole.”
 
Bryson is one of four full-time 2007 Foster’s ASP World Tour surfers who hail
from South Africa.  Tour veteran Greg Emslie, third-year competitor Travis
Logie and rookie Ricky Bassnett complete the quartet. There is a strong
possibility that the number of locals surfing in the main event will increase
once the outcome of the Von Zipper Trials is known. 

The 12-man trials event will feature six Von Zipper nominated South Africans
and six international surfers and will be run just prior to the main event. The
South African contingent will include Warwick ‘Wok’ Wright, Damien
Fahrenfort, Shaun Payne, Rudy Palmboom and Klee Strachan, with the final local
trialist still to be named. The international field will include Pablo Paulino
(BRA), Torrey Meister (HAW), Wade Goodall (AUS), Stirling Spencer (USA), Laurie
Towner (AUS) and Tiago Pires (POR). 

A call on competition status will be made tomorrow morning at 7am.

The event will be webcast LIVE on www.aspworldtour.com and
www.billabongpro.com.

Round 1 Billabong Pro Jeffreys Bay Match-Ups:
Heat 1: Tom Whitaker (AUS), Luke Stedman (AUS), Shaun Cansdell (ZAF)
Heat 2: Daniel Wills (AUS), Raoni Monteiro (BRA), Mark Occhilupo (AUS)
Heat 3: Bobby Martinez (USA), Phillip Macdonald (AUS), Troy Brooks (AUS)
Heat 4: Bede Durbidge (AUS), Fredrick Pattachia (HAW), Gabe Kling (USA)
Heat 5: Joel Parkinson (AUS), Pancho Sullivan (HAW), Trent Munro (AUS)
Heat 6: Taj Burrow (AUS), CJ Hobgood (USA), Neco Padaratz (BRA)
Heat 7: Damien Hobgood (USA), Ben Dunn (AUS), Luke Munro (AUS)
Heat 8: Mick Fanning (AUS), Jeremy Flores (FRA), Wildcard
Heat 9: Andy Irons (HAW), Michael Campbell (AUS), Wildcard
Heat 10: Kelly Slater (USA), Chris Ward (USA), Wildcard
Heat 11: Travis Logie (ZAF), Adrian Buchan (AUS), Rodrigo Dornelles (BRA)
Heat 12: Dean Morrison (AUS), Ricky Bassnett (ZAF), Dayyan Neve (AUS)
Heat 13: Bruce Irons (HAW), Leonardo Neves (BRA), Voctor Ribas (BRA)
Heat 14: Cory Lopez (USA), Adriano de Souza (BRA), Michael Lowe (AUS)
Heat 15: Kai Otton (AUS), Josh Kerr (AUS), Royden Bryson (ZAF)
Heat 16: Taylor Knox (USA), Bernardo Miranda (BRA), Greg Emslie (ZAF)

ASSOCIATION OF SURFING PROFESSIONALS (ASP) NORTH AMERICA



Pier Pressure Pro Junior

Event No. 5 on the 2007 ASP North America Pro Junior Series (Men)

Huntington Beach, California, United States of America

July 7-8, 2007



HUNTINGTON BEACH, California (Sunday, July 8, 2007) – Adam Wickwire (Satellite

Beach, FL) scored a sensational victory over fellow finalists Cory Arrambide

(Ventura, CA) and Wesley and Granger Larsen (Lahaina, HI) to claim the

inaugural Pier Pressure Pro Junior in peaky 3’ to 4’ South Swell at

Huntington Beach.



Taking down event No. 5 of 10 on the 2007 Association of Surfing Professionals

(ASP) North America Pro Junior Series, Wickwire’s victory at the ASP Grade-2

Pier Pressure narrowly edges out former ratings-leader, and fellow finalist,

Cory Arrambide for the top spot on the 2007 ASP North America Pro Junior

ratings.



“I’ve just missed out on qualifying for the ASP World Junior Championships

the past two years so to be on top at the halfway point feels amazing,”

Wickwire said.  “I’ve had a few results in past years, but never a victory at

a big event.  The win here at the event is my biggest on the Pro

Junior series to date and hopefully I can keep the momentum building.”



Despite surfing with a buckled board, Wickwire jumped out to an early lead in

the finals utilizing his blazing speed and progressive forehand attack.



“We had a slow start to the final and I was fortunate enough to get a few

scores in the beginning, but I didn’t think I had it won until it was over,”

Wickwire said.  “The funny thing about this board is that I won my last Pro

Junior on it.  It’s a pretty old and buckled Joe Johnson, but having perfect

equipment is so crucial at a spot like Huntington that I had to ride it.”



Wesley and Granger Larsen received the ASP Hawaii regional wildcards into the

 Pier Pressure Pro Junior and surfed through six rounds to earn their

finals berth.  Both surfers garnered the attention of the media and their

fellow competitors as they tore through the weekend conditions en route to the

podium.



“I’ve surfed against Wesley my whole life so it felt just like a free surf

session in the final,” Pier Pressure runner-up Granger said.  “Unfortunately,

the conditions didn’t really offer a lot of big-scoring waves, but I’m stoked

with the result and it’s good practice for when we go back to Hawaii and

compete on our regional Pro Junior Series.”



Last year’s ASP North America Pro Junior Champion Eric Geiselman and younger

brother Evan (New Smyrna Beach, FL) came close to making the final a family

affair before being eliminated in their respective semifinal heats.  Despite

missing out on the finals, both surfers looked in brilliant form throughout the

weekend and their results rocket them into the Top-10 on the current ASP North

America Pro Junior ratings, Eric at No. 3 and Evan at No. 8 respectively.



Competitors on the ASP North America Pro Junior Series will hold onto their six

best results of the ten-event season in hopes of qualifying for one of the five

coveted regional seeds into January’s ASP World Junior Championships (WJCs).

ASP North America will invite the top-4 finishers on the regional Pro Junior

Series as well as the highest placing North American surfer on the World

Qualifying Series (WQS) who is of junior age to compete at the WJCs. 



With past ASP World Junior Champions including the likes of Andy Irons

(Hanalei, HI), Joel Parkinson (Coolangatta, AUS) and Jordy Smith (Durban, ZAF),

the Pier Pressure Pro Junior has played a pivotal role in developing

the superstars of tomorrow.



The next event on the 2007 ASP North America Pro Junior Series will be the ASP

Grade-2 Lost Pro Junior running in conjunction with the Honda U.S. Open of

Surfing in Huntington Beach from July 20-29, 2007.



For more information, log on to http://www.aspnorthamerica.org or

http://www.aspworldtour.com.





RESULTS – DAY 2 PIER PRESSURE PRO JUNIOR (ASP Grade-2 Event)



Round 4: 32 surfers remaining (1st and 2nd advance)

Heat 1: Wesley Larsen (HAW) 15.10, Cory Arrambide (USA) 12.64, Travis Beckmann

(USA) 10.10, Michael Dunphy (USA) 5.36

Heat 2: Kai Barger (HAW) 12.76, Shey Yates (USA) 11.16, Ben Graeff (USA) 9.00,

Jesse Heilman (USA) 9.00

Heat 3: Cody Thompson (USA) 15.50, Nat Young (USA) 13.50, Matt Mohagen (USA)

7.50, Brent Reilly (USA) 5.37

Heat 4: Casey Brown (HAW) 11.00, Eric Geiselman (USA) 9.74, Austin Ford-Smith

(USA) 8.30, Byron Barlett (AUS) 6.50

Heat 5: Evan Geiselman (USA) 12.50, Jason Harris (USA) 11.67, Logan Strook

(USA) 7.80, Nick Rozsa (USA) 5.77

Heat 6: Owen Wright (AUS) 14.16, Wesley Toth (PRI) 10.50, Blake Jones (USA)

6.04, Drew Ventura (USA) 4.47

Heat 7: Granger Larsen (HAW) 16.00, Adam Wickwire (USA) 13.93, Ian Ekberg (USA)

8.63, Kevin Kapsky (USA) 4.83

Heat 8: Andrew Doheny (USA) 13.33, Chris Waring (USA) 9.93, Phillip Goold (USA)

9.66, Tommy Bursian (PRI) 8.73



Quarterfinals: 16 surfers remaining (1st and 2nd advance)

QF 1: Wesley Larsen (USA) 12.17, Cory Arrambide (USA) 11.93, Shey Yates (USA)

9.17, Kai Barger (HAW) 8.10

QF 2: Eric Geiselman (USA) 16.50, Cody Thompson (USA) 11.33, Casey Brown (HAW)

9.47, Nat Young (USA) 7.44

QF 3: Owen Wright (AUS) 13.26, Evan Geiselman (USA) 8.24, Jason Harris (USA)

6.53, Wesley Toth (PRI) 5.93

QF 4: Granger Larsen (HAW) 15.30, Adam Wickwire (USA) 14.37, Chris Waring (USA)

12.53, Andrew Doheny (USA) 12.30



Semifinals: 8 surfers remaining (1st and 2nd advance)

SF 1: Cory Arrambide (USA) 14.33, Wesley Larsen (HAW) 10.60, Eric Geiselman

(USA) 10.23, Cody Thompson (USA) 5.46

SF 2: Granger Larsen (HAW) 11.60, Adam Wickwire (USA) 9.00, Owen Wright (AUS)

8.87, Evan Geiselman (USA) 5.67



Finals

1 – Adam Wickwire (USA) 14.57

2 – Granger Larsen (HAW) 10.70

3 – Wesley Larsen (HAW) 9.04

4 – Cory Arrambide (USA) 9.00



ASP NORTH AMERICA PRO JUNIOR RATINGS AFTER EVENT NO. 5 OF 10

1 – Adam Wickwire (USA)       1353 points

2 – Cory Arrambide (USA)      1346 points

3 – Eric Geiselman (USA)      1210 points

4 – Travis Beckmann (USA)      1152 points

5 – Chris Waring (USA)          1130 points

6 – Blake Jones (USA)          1026 points

7 – Cody Thompson (USA)        953 points

8 – Evan Geiselman (USA)       936 points

9 – Tommy Bursian (PRI)        910 points

10 – Jesse Heilman (USA)       873 points

11 – Ben Graeff (USA)           765 points

12 – Jason Harris (USA)        705 points

13 – Ian Ekberg (USA)           700 points

14 – Dane Ward (USA)           696 points

15 – Eddie Guilbeau (USA)       598 points

ASSOCIATION OF SURFING PROFESSIONALS (ASP) NORTH AMERICA



Pier Pressure Pro Junior

Event No. 5 on the 2007 ASP North America Pro Junior Series (Men)

Huntington Beach, California, United States of America

July 7-8, 2007



HUNTINGTON BEACH, California (Saturday, July 7, 2007) – The Pier

Pressure Pro Junior kicked off this morning in solid 3 to 4 foot South Swell

surf at Huntington Beach Pier for the opening heats of the Round of 80.



Event No. 5 of 10 on this season’s Association of Surfing Professionals (ASP)

North America Pro Junior Series, the Pier Pressure plays a crucial

role in determining which five North American junior surfers will qualify for

the prestigious Billabong ASP World Junior Championships (WJCs) held in

Australia next January.



Despite Huntington Beach’s notorious reputation for allowing local knowledge

to shine through in the oft-trying conditions, it was an international field of

Australians and Hawaiians today that wowed both judges and spectators alike as

the Pier Pressure whittled the field down to 32.



Owen Wright (Culburra Beach, AUS) lead the global charge today as he collected

the event’s highest heat total of a 17.43 out of a possible 20 for his

convincing Round 1 victory.  The powerful goofy-footer wasn’t finished there

as he would go on to grab the highest single-wave score of the day, a 9.00 out

of a possible 10, in his Round 3 heat for a series of blistering backhand

bashes.  The Australian is surfing with unmatched speed and looks to be a

serious threat for the inaugural Pier Pressure Pro Junior Title.



“I’m really surprised by the level of talent over here, especially from the

really young kids,” Wright said.  “Everyone is ripping out there.  I was in

town and hoping to get some practice in for when I go home and compete in the

Pro Juniors there.  The conditions here in Huntington really suit my surfing –

it’s really peaky and shifty, but my boards are feeling good and I’m happy to

be here.  The draw is pretty tough, but I reckon the Australians are going to

give everyone a run.”



Nat Young (Santa Cruz, CA) is one of the youngest competitors competing in the

event at 16, but age did not deter the prodigious goofy-footer from besting his

much older opponents with style, punch and bite..



“I usually surf up a division so competing against older guys doesn’t really

bother me,” Young said.  “This is my second Pro Junior event.  I did one last

year at home at Steamer Lane so I’m much more relaxed here.    I am looking for a

good result at the Pier Pressure to kick start my campaign on the ASP

Pro Junior Series.”



Wesley Larsen (Lahaina, HI) was another standout competitor today, winning each

of his three heats en route to a berth in the Round of 32.  Although looking as

though his luck had run out in Round 3, the progressive goofy-footer stole a

last-minute lefthander into the pier and slashed his way to victory.



“I just barely squeaked through that last one,” Larsen said.  “It’s pretty

exhausting out there with the current.  That was my third heat today so I was

pretty tired at the end there.  I knew I had to come up with a score on the

last one and I’m stoked I did.”



Larsen advanced with a solid island contingent that included his brother

Granger (Lahaina, HI) and Kai Barger (Hookipa, HI) through to the Round of 32.



When Pier Pressure Pro Junior action recommences tomorrow, top ASP

North America junior surfers Cory Arrambide (Ventura, CA), Travis Beckmann

(Vero Beach, FL), Eric and Evan Geiselman (New Smyrna Beach, FL), Chris Waring

(Seal Beach, CA) among others will hit the lineup for the Round of 32,

beginning at 8am.



Competitors on the ASP North America Pro Junior Series will hold onto their six

best results of the ten-event season in hopes of qualifying for one of the five

coveted regional seeds into January’s ASP World Junior Championships.  ASP

North America will invite the top-4 finishers on the regional Pro Junior Series

as well as the highest placing North American surfer on the World Qualifying

Series (WQS) who is of junior age to compete at the WJCs. 



With past ASP World Junior Champions including the likes of Andy Irons

(Hanalei, HI), Joel Parkinson (Coolangatta, AUS) and Jordy Smith (Durban, ZAF),

Nike’s first venture into the professional surfing world with the Pier

Pressure will surely have an impact on the future of state-of-the-art surfing.



Tomorrow’s event will be webcast LIVE at

http://www.surfingthemag.com/events/nike-pier-pressure/07/live.html.



For more information, log on to http://www.aspnorthamerica.org or

http://www.nike6pierpressure.com.



LIVE WEBCAST BEGINS AT 8AM LOCAL TIME

5am in Honolulu on Sunday, July 8, 2007

10am in Houston on Sunday, July 8, 2007

11am in Santiago/New York on Sunday, July 8, 2007

4pm in London on Sunday, July 8, 2007

5pm in Paris/Johannesburg on Sunday, July 8, 2007

11pm in Perth on Sunday, July 8, 2007

1am in Sydney on Monday, July 9, 2007

12am in Tokyo on Monday, July 9, 2007



SCHEDULE – DAY 2 PIER PRESSURE PRO JUNIOR (ASP Grade-2 Event)

8:00am – 10:40am     Round 4 (round of 32)           Heats 1 – 8

10:40am – 12:00pm     Quarterfinals               Heats 1 – 4

12:00pm – 12:50pm     Semifinals               Heats 1 – 2

12:50pm – 1:20pm     Specialty Heat

1:20pm – 1:50pm      Finals



RESULTS – DAY 1 PIER PRESSURE PRO JUNIOR (ASP Grade-2 Event)



Round 1: 80 surfers remaining (1st and 2nd advance)

Heat 1: Wesley Larsen (HAW) 14.83, Fisher Heverly (USA) 9.83, Andrew Bennett

(USA) 6.73, Jordan Ginter (USA) 3.00

Heat 2: Kai Barger (HAW) 11.66, Brad Hagglund (USA) 11.33, Tyler Stanaland

(USA) 9.83, TJ Mortellero (USA) 4.30

Heat 3: Nick Suhaldonick (USA) 10.70, Byron Barlett (AUS) 10.50, Dillon Perillo

(USA) 8.07, Nate Zoler (USA) 6.14

Heat 4: Bruno Rodrigues (BRA) 10.83, Kelsey Strickland (USA) 10.06, Quinn

McCrystal (USA) 9.50, Oliver Kurtz (USA) 9.40

Heat 5: Thomas Petriken (USA) 5.97, Michael Payton (USA) 5.83, Ryan Burch (USA)

5.44, Brighton Brandenburg (USA) 5.84

Heat 6: Owen Wright (AUS) 17.43, Colton Larson (USA) 8.90, Matt Pagan (USA)

7.80, Alex McDonell (USA) 5.30

Heat 7: Granger Larsen (HAW) 13.83, Matt Chellemi (USA) 8.67, Brett Barley

(USA) 7.63, Sebastian Moreno (USA) 5.40

Heat 8: Gabe Garcia (USA) 10.50, Corey Landvogt (USA) 8.17, Dewey Cunnison

(USA) 7.67, Hunter Lysaught (USA) 5.84



Round 2: 64 surfers remaining (1st and 2nd advance)

Heat 1: Wesley Larsen (HAW) 10.67, Balaram Stack (USA) 8.23, Eric Templeton

(USA) 7.83, Brad Hagglund (USA) 7.06

Heat 2: Kai Barger (HAW) 16.23, Shey Yates (USA) 12.60, Fisher Heverly (USA)

8.57, Tayler Brothers (USA) 7.70

Heat 3: Nat Young (USA) 14.84, Austin Smith-Ford (USA) 9.60, Nick Suhaldonick

(USA) 9.10, Kelsey Strickland (AUS) 5.80

Heat 4: Riley Metcalf (USA) 12.67, Byron Barlett (AUS) 12.33, Bruno Rodrigues

(BRA) 10.96, Jensen Callaway (USA) 8.70

Heat 5: Kyle Kennelly (USA) 10.10, Thomas Petriken (USA) 9.00, Colton Larson

(USA) 8.80, Daniel Shea (USA) 7.40

Heat 6: Owen Wright (AUS) 12.84, Nick Rupp (USA) 9.90, Nick Bland (USA) 9.33,

Michael Payton (USA) 7.90

Heat 7: Jonathan Leaf (USA) 10.32, Granger Larsen (HAW) 9.94, Chad Compton

(USA) 9.27, Corey Landvogt (USA) 4.83

Heat 8: Gabe Garcia (USA) 13.40, Matt Chellemi (USA) 11.66, Hunter Heverly

(USA) 9.93, Chris Eaves (USA) 5.03



Round 3: 48 surfers remaining (1st and 2nd advance)

Heat 1: Wesley Larsen (HAW) 11.67, Shey Yates (USA) 10.24, Scott Hammonds (USA)

9.16, Brady McKenzie (USA) 7.90

Heat 2: Kai Barger (HAW) 11.67, Michael Dunphy (USA) 7.20, Jamie Parkhurst

(USA) 6.63, Balaram Stack (USA) 6.26

Heat 3: Nat Young (USA) 14.17, Byron Barlett (AUS) 12.87, Shane Murray (USA)

9.00, Colin Schildhauer (USA) 8.33

Heat 4: Austin Smith-Ford (USA) 13.73, Brent Reilly (USA) 10.76, Koa Smith

(HAW) 9.26, Riley Metcalf (USA) 9.10

Heat 5: Logan Strook (USA) 13.44, Drew Ventura (USA) 11.50, Kyle Kennelly (USA)

10.00, Nick Rupp (USA) 4.67

Heat 6: Owen Wright (AUS) 15.50, Jason Harris (USA) 12.17, Evan Thompson (USA)

9.60, Thomas Petriken (USA) 3.43

Heat 7: Kevin Kapsky (USA) 16.66, Phillip Goold (USA) 9.20, Jonathan Leaf (USA)

8.83, Matt Chellemi (USA) 6.57

Heat 8: Andrew Doheny (USA) 12.83, Granger Larsen (HAW) 9.83, Gabe Garcia (USA)

7.70, Patrick Cahill (USA) 6.57

ASSOCIATION OF SURFING PROFESSIONALS (ASP) INTERNATIONAL

Billabong Pro Jeffreys Bay
Stop No 5. of 10 on the 2007 Foster’s ASP World Tour
Jeffreys Bay, South Africa
July11 -July 22, 2007

BILLABONG PRO JBAY UP NEXT ON FOSTER’S ASP WORLD TOUR
8X World Champion Kelly Slater Still Slated to Compete

JEFFREYS BAY, South Africa (Friday, July 6, 2007) – Just a week after
negotiating Chile’s chilly waters, the Foster’s ASP World Tour’s Top 45 are
again readying themselves for battle – this time at the majestic venue of
‘Supertubes’ for the Billabong Pro Jeffreys Bay in South Africa.

Stop No. 5 of 10 on the 2007 Foster’s ASP World Tour, the Billabong Pro
Jeffreys Bay boasts a July 11-22 waiting period and requires four full days of
competition to crown a champion. 

World No. 1 Mick Fanning (AUS) along with past world champions Andy Irons (HAW)
and Kelly Slater (USA) have dominated proceedings at the barreling right-hand
pointbreak for the last half-decade. Each is in the hunt to do so again in
2007.

Last year’s champion Fanning is warmed up and ready to defend his title after
finishing equal 3rd in Chile. Like his elite tour counterparts, Fanning will be
better acclimated to the cold-water conditions heading into South Africa – in
recent years the tour stop immediately preceding the Billabong Pro Jeffreys Bay
was Fiji.

“JBay will feel like a bath,” Fanning said. “It won’t be so bloody cold.
Usually we go there and it’s the coldest stop on tour, but after Chile, it
will probably be a little bit different.”

The natural-footed (left-foot forward) surfer kicked off the most consistent
12-months of his career with his second victory in JBay last year –his first
win came as a rookie in 2002. Fanning hasn’t finished worse than equal 5th in
a Foster’s ASP World Tour event since.

“JBay is always really fun and I heard the banks are really good so it could
be an insane year,” Fanning said. “I’m stoked to go and surf some more
rights instead of all these lefts.”

Andy Irons jumped to World No. 3 with his win in Chile last week. When asked
where he’d been in terms of the Foster’s ASP World Title race in recent
months, Irons was quick to quip: “No where, I’ve been here the whole time.
Game on!”

Reigning Foster’s ASP World Champion Slater, who won the Billabong Pro JBay in
2005, 2003 and 1996, has acknowledged that he’ll need to get down to business
after his Round 4 elimination in Chile.

“I think at this point, it’s not feeling like a World Title year for me so
far – short of winning J-Bay and Trestles…” Slater said. “They’ve both
been two of my best events and I would expect that if I could get something
going, it will be in those next two events.”

Joel Parkinson (AUS) is also in need of a big result to stay in title
contention. Parkinson currently sits 5th on the Foster’s ASP World Tour
ratings, and after finishing runner-up to the world title in 2002 and 2004,
knows that time is of the essence if he hopes to mount a full-fledge assault. 

“It is time for me to really get a solid final finish if I want the title,”
Parkinson said, “I will be really going for it at Jbay.” 

Parkinson won the event as a 19-year-old wildcard in 1999. 

“It has been my favorite spot on tour ever since I was a kid – I love going
there,” Parkinson said. “Win or lose you always have a great time there.”

The event will be webcast LIVE on www.aspworldtour.com and
www.billabongpro.com.

PAST WORLD TOUR RATED JEFFREY’S BAY CHAMPIONS 
2006: Mick Fanning (AUS)
2005: Kelly Slater (USA)
2004: Andy Irons (HAW)
2003: Kelly Slater (USA)
2002: Mick Fanning (AUS)
2001: Jake Paterson (AUS)
2000: Jake Paterson (AUS)
1999: Joel Parkinson (AUS)
1998: Munga Barry (AUS)
1996: Kelly Slater (USA)
1984: Mark Occhilupo (AUS)

ASSOCIATION OF SURFING PROFESSIONALS (ASP) NORTH AMERICA

Nike 6.0 Pier Pressure Pro Junior
Event No. 5 on the 2007 ASP North America Pro Junior Series (Men)
Huntington Beach, California, United States of America
July 7-8, 2007

HUNTINGTON BEACH, California (Thursday, July 5, 2007) – The Pier
Pressure Pro Junior is to be webcast live July 7 – 8 at
Live scoring, instant replays, play-by-play, color
commentary and exclusive video content streaming live to your home will be just
a few of the highlights featured on the webcast.
 
SURFER Magazine’s editor, Chris Mauro, and legendary surf announcer, Dave
Stanfield, will anchor the webcast. “I love working on commentating on these
things because you really get a glimpse into the future,” said Mauro. “It’s
better than an amateur contest because there’s more at stake. It’s like a
preview of what’s to come.”
 
As an Association of Surfing Professional (ASP) North America Grade-2 Pro
Junior event, the Pier Pressure Pro Junior has announced a field of 80
competitors, including current ASP North America Pro Junior points leader Cory
Arrambide (Ventura, CA), who will begin his run for the Pier Pressure title
from the round of 32. The young goofy-footer will be keen to scalp a title at
the Pier Pressure as he’s yet to win an event this season.
 
Wavewatch.com is forecasting a good round of swell for July 7-8th. Saturday
will have a peaking mix of S and SW swells (170-180 and 205-220) along with a
touch of background WNW energy. The contest will have surf consistently in the
waist-shoulder high range while pulling in some occasional head high and
overhead sets. The bigger waves will be on the walled/racy side but expect the
medium sized sets to be fun -- particularly as we move into the tide push. We
will have a mild costal eddy on tap for Saturday so look for some light S-SW
onshore winds in the morning and building WNW winds 10+ knots for the
afternoon.

Sunday will see the mix of swells hold through the day with similar sizes to
Saturday (waist-head high+). The costal eddy continues for Sunday but may be a
little cleaner in the morning. Look for light/variable winds early, then
increasing onshore flow for the afternoon.  Make sure to check the forecasts at
www.wavewatch.com for daily updates.
 
Pier Pressure is an ASP-sanctioned event supported by Jack’s
Surfboards, Surfer Magazine, Surfing Magazine and WaveWatch.com

ASSOCIATION OF SURFING PROFESSIONALS (ASP) INTERNATIONAL

Roxy ASP Women’s World Longboard Championship (WWLC)
ASP Women’s World Longboard Tour 
Côte des Basques, Biarritz, France 
July 11-16, 2007

WORLD’S BEST WOMEN LONGBOARDERS HEAD TO BIARRITZ FOR THE ROXY ASP WWLC
 
BIARRITZ, France (Thursday, July 5, 2007) – With less than a week remaining to
the start of the Roxy ASP Women’s World Longboard Championship (WWLC), the
best women longboarders are beginning to converge on the beautiful French town
of Biarritz.

Commencing next Wednesday July 11, 2007, 48 surfers will compete for the
ultimate prize in women’s longboarding – the ASP Women’s World Longboard
Title. The international field sees surfers from as far a field as Japan,
Tahiti, USA, Australia, Brazil and Hawaii battling it out with local European
hopes from Spain, Great Britain and, of course, France.

Local hopes will be resting on Biarritz surfer and four-time European longboard
champion Claire Karabatsos (FRA). In last year’s event Karabatsos had a
remarkable run, advancing through to the semifinals where she was defeated by
the eventual winner Schuyler McFerran (USA). This year Karabatsos aims to use
last year’s experience to go one step better. 

“Last year I was just happy to see so many girls riding so many waves so well
with different styles,” Karabatsos said. “I got a lot of inspiration from the
amazing level of surfing. Hopefully it will be even better this year and I will
have even more success.”

Biarritz born and bred, Karabatsos was also quick to point out the natural
beauty and great waves that can be expected at the Roxy event. 

“It is such a great place to hold the world championships,” Karabatsos said.
“The beautiful scenery, the blue ocean, the green countryside, the incredible
waves, the mountains, France, Spain… I hope it will always stay here and I
hope people agree with me!”

One person who will definitely not be arguing is defending ASP Women’s World
Longboard Champion McFerran. At last year’s event the 19-year-old was a
surprise winner, using a mix of incredible nose riding and smooth radical turns
to defeat some of her more experienced competitors. It’s no wonder then that
she is looking forward to next week.

“I can't wait for the Roxy WWLC to start,” McFerran said just before leaving
for France from her Californian home. “Last year I had such a good time! The
whole event that Roxy put on is so much fun. It's very well run and they make
us feel special with all of the little extras that they put on. The Jacuzzi on
the beach, the big screen with the live video, the catering, the art show... it
was all amazing. And on top of all of that, the waves are fun and you get to
eat amazing gelato everyday. I've never been to a contest like it.”

Obviously though, it’s not all about the hot tubs and ice cream and McFerran
will be under more pressure as the defending champion, especially from some of
the competition favorites like last year’s finalist Jenni Smith (USA), veteran
stylist Belen Connelly (HAW), perennial contender Kassia Meador (USA) and
Basque hopeful Estitxu Estremo (SPN).

Although aware of her status as both defending and world champion, McFerran,
showing experience beyond her years, is not about to let the added expectation
affect her surfing. 

“I do feel a certain amount of pressure to perform, but it's mostly from
myself,” McFerran said. “I'm just going to keep my head on straight and give
it my best and not let it get to me. All the girls are surfing so well that you
can't discount anyone. In every heat you have to give it your best.”

In addition to the World Title, this year’s event will be run in conjunction
with the 50th anniversary of surfing’s first appearance in Europe – which
first occurred at Côte des Basques the site that now proudly plays host to the
Roxy Jam Biarritz every year.

The Roxy ASP WWLC will incorporate a number of free public events, including
concerts, art exhibitions, initiatives and workshops as way of celebrating the
strong surfing culture in this part of the world.

The weeklong event runs from July 11-18 and promises to be an amazing surfing
festival, showcasing the best women longboard surfers from all corners of the
globe and the beautiful waves and coastline of Biarritz as well.