Upgraded ASP WQS 5-Star O’Neill SI Pro Set to Kick Off 2008 Qualifying Season SEBASTIAN INLET, Florida (Friday, December 28, 2007) – The O’Neill SI Pro presented by Ron Jon is gearing up to commence the 2008 Association of Surfing Professionals (ASP) World Qualifying Series (WQS) at Sebastian Inlet, Florida from Jan. 4-11, 2008.
The freshly-upgraded ASP WQS 5-Star event will be the first qualifying event of the season, allowing competitors to kick start their respective qualification campaigns in the hunt for on of the highly-coveted seeds on the ASP World Tour.
C.J. Hobgood (Melbourne Beach, FL), reigning ASP North America Men’s Champ and defending O’Neill SI Pro Champ, will look to repeat last year’s sensational win at the familiar break and begin his 2008 assault with a bang
“I feel really good both surf and health wise,” Hobgood said. “I always start wondering at this point if we’re going to have waves for the event. As far as ’07 goes, I’m glad it’s over. I’ve grown in so many areas of my surfing and I’m really looking to apply myself full on in 2008.”
The new upgrade, from an ASP WQS 4-Star to and ASP WQS 5-Star event, will enhance the importance of the O’Neill SI Pro for surfers looking to qualify for the ASP World Tour in 2009. Competing on both the ASP WQS and ASP World Tour, Hobgood understands the upgrade will bring stiffer competition to the event, but will use his years of experience at Sebastian Inlet to his advantage.
“I think that domestically, all the guys that that normally compete will be here as well as an influx of more international and domestic surfers because of the upgraded rating,” Hobgood said. “I’m just really excited to defend my title and be around all my friends and crew that I don’t get to see that much. Having grown up surfing Sebastian, local knowledge is definitely a factor and the major threats will be guys like Damien (Hobgood), Ben Bourgeois and Gabe Kling.”
In addition to all the action going down at the O’Neill SI Pro, competitors will get a chance to showcase their aerial antics during the Red Bull Tow-At on Saturday, Jan. 5 from 11:30am to 2:30pm.
While the event is still seven days from the start, Surfline, the official forecasters for the O’Neill SI Pro, have called for a possible cold front with north-to-northeast winds which could produce sizeable peaks at Sebastian Inlet.
The O’Neill SI Pro presented by Ron Jon will be webcast LIVE via www.go211.com
Competition will begin with the Round of 192 hitting the water on Friday, Jan. 5, 2008.