The largest surfing contest in africa happening in Jeffreys Bay
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iNFOJEFFREYSBAY.com Jeffreys Bay Tourist Information |
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The Billabong
Pro Jeffreys Bay, held from
ASP World Championship Tour (WCT) Billabong Pro Supertubes,
|
Waiting Period 9 to 19 July 2009
ASP
World Tour

Parkinson Claims Billabong Pro Jeffreys Bay
JEFFREYS BAY, South Africa (Wednesday, July 15, 2009) – Joel Parkinson (AUS), 28, has claimed the 2009 Billabong Pro Jeffreys Bay in clean three-to-five foot (1 – 1.5 metre) surf over Damien Hobgood (USA), 30, strengthening his stranglehold on the ASP World Tour ratings lead.
Stop No. 5 of 10 on the 2009 ASP World Tour, the Billabong Pro Jeffreys Bay will go down as one of the finest in history, with the two final days of competition enjoying pumping surf and amazing performances, culminating in today’s exciting finale.
Parkinson wasted no time in the 40-minute Final, smashing an excellent 9.47 out of a possible 10 on his opening wave. The wave exhibited the Australian’s unparalleled mastery of the Jeffreys Bay line-up, a symphony of beautiful forehand arcs and committed barrel riding, taking off from “Boneyards” section at the top of the point and riding well over 200 metres to the eruption of crowds on the beach.
“I knew the waves were dying down towards the end of the day and it was going to be important to get on the board early in Final,” Parkinson said. “I’ve been sitting up the point at Boneyards for most of the event and trying to find the ones that would run all the way down the point – that one was no different. As I stood up I had a really nice line on it and I tried to make the most of it. Turned out to be a crucial part of the heat.”
Today’s win comes 10 years after Parkinson’s inaugural victory at the Billabong Pro Jeffreys Bay, last ascending the winner’s dais in 1999 when he competed as a wildcard.
“Wow – 10 years seems to go by really fast,” Parkinson said. “I’ve enjoyed coming here every year since that first one, and it’s been a pretty incredible trip since then. To bring it together 10 years down the track, it’s a pretty special feeling and all I can say is that it’s a fantastic event and I’ll be coming here as long as I can.”
Throughout the competition, time-and-again, Parkinson proved to be the form surfer, collecting two Perfect 10s (Round 3, Semi-finals) as well as several 9-point plus rides as he deftly advanced through five heats of battle. This victory marks the phenomenal natural-footer’s third ASP Dream Tour win this year alone, strengthening his position as frontrunner in the race for the ASP World Title.
“The conditions for this event were just unbelievable and the surfing speaks for itself,” Parkinson said. “The past two days are a bit of a blur – so many massive scores and barrels from everyone. In terms of the world title, I do my best not to think about it. In the past, I’ve done my head in by wondering how many points behind or ahead of someone I am, and this season, I’ve just focused on the task at hand. I’ve had a good start, but it’s a long year and a lot can happen. I’m looking forward to heading home to see my family and training hard for the next one.”
Unfortunately for Hobgood, inconsistency plagued the back half of his Final clash with Parkinson, and the Floridian was unable to find a rhythm in the challenging conditions. However, today’s Runner-Up finish marks second career result at the venue for Hobgood (the other to Slater in 2003), an impressive feat for a goofy-footer.
“It’s an honour to come here every year,” Hobgood said. “The place is magical and it’s just so beautiful. It’s easy to get distracted by how beautiful it looks when waves are coming down the point. Joel (Parkinson) opened up with that really good wave and at that point, the only thing I could do was pray for an 8-footer to come through. It’s not an easy wave for goofy-footer’s to excel at, but I feel really fortunate to finish in the Final. It’s a great result for me.”
Hobgood’s route to the Final was no easy feat, navigating through a bevy of in-form surfers: Bede Durbidge (AUS), 26, in Round 3, Taylor Knox (USA), 38, in the Quarterfinals, and Dane Reynolds (USA), 23, in the Semi finals. Today’s result bolts Hobgood from 10th to 5th on the ASP World Tour ratings, putting him in excellent position to contest the back half of the season.
“This is definitely my best result of the year and moving up to 5th puts me in good position for the back half of the season,” Hobgood said. “I opened up with a pretty good result on the Goldy before having some average outings in the last three. Today’s finish definitely gives me a lot of confidence heading into the next few events, and I’m looking forward to the next one.”
Dane Reynolds (USA), 2008 ASP World Tour Rookie of the Year, lost a wave-starved Semifinal to eventual Runner-Up Hobgood, but impressively stamped his authority on today’s proceedings, besting 2009 ASP Dream Tour rookie Michel Bourez (PYF), 23, in the opening heat of the day before taking down giant-slaying wildcard Sean Holmes (ZAF), 31, with the highest-scoring heat total of the event, a 19.20 out of a possible 20. The feat included an incredibly long barrel punctuated with a high-risk floater for his second Perfect 10 of the event, as well as executing a mind-blowing fin-throw: exploding through the lip, grabbing rail and landing in reverse before pulling his board around to recover.
“It was a bit of a bummer to have things die down like that after the Quarterfinals,” Reynolds said. “I’m still happy to be here though. The waves were so much fun that it didn’t even really feel like a contest. (On that 10) There were a couple of moments when I didn't think I was going to make it. It was really difficult to navigate, but I punched through and was stoked. I also got to do a pretty big turn in the Quarters, and I kind of wanted to do one of those this whole event, but didn't have a lot of opportunities – when you're on a wave like that one though, you start gaining some confidence and I just tried to do a big turn. Worked out pretty well.”
Today’s equal 3rd place finish is not only a personal best for the young Californian, but rockets Reynolds up from No. 34 to No. 20 on the ASP World Tour ratings, a major relief following three, consecutive equal 33rds prior to the Billabong Pro Jeffreys Bay.
“This event was obviously a welcome change in my year so far,” Reynolds said. “I didn’t have a good start to the season and came here a bit more motivated to compete. But then I started out pretty slow with some board problems and stuff, so I don’t know. I don’t do well when I think about what I need in heats and that, so I just go out to surf. This result takes a bit of pressure off in terms of ratings and stuff so hopefully I can get a few more before the year is done.”
Kai Otton (AUS), 29, was another goofy-footer to bust through Jeffreys Bay’s challenging walls on his backhand, besting Dean Morrison (AUS), 28, in the Quarterfinals before going down in a tit-for-tat shootout with eventual winner Parkinson in the Semifinals. Otton’s equal 3rd place finish bumps him from 27th to 19th on the ASP World Tour ratings.
“I came to Jeffreys really trying to focus on getting a result here,” Otton said. “For me, that means not thinking in heats, and just surfing, so that seemed to work out pretty well. It can be a difficult wave for goofy-footer’s to do well at, but I really think the size helped throughout the event. It allowed us to open up a bit more as it wasn’t breaking really fast on the bricks. I’m looking forward to heading home and training hard for the next event.”
Kelly Slater (USA), 37, reigning nine-time ASP World Champion and past four-time winner of the Billabong Pro Jeffreys Bay, fell to compatriot Knox in their Round 3 bout this morning. Starting the year with three uncharacteristic 17th place finishes, Slater rebounded with a win in Brazil last week, and was poised to threaten the current tour frontrunners with a strong showing in South Africa. However, today’s equal 9th place finish and current ASP World No. 8 rating make a potential charge for an unprecedented 10th ASP World Title much more challenging for the Floridian.
“I’m going to probably have to win three straight now to get back in this thing,” Slater said. “If you do the numbers, I think before this contest, Parko (Joel Parkinson) was ten heats ahead of me, and if I want to contend, I need to catch up. That obviously wasn’t happening for me today.”
The next stop on the 2009 ASP World Tour will be the Hurley Pro Trestles in Southern California from September 13 – 19, 2009.
Highlights from the Billabong Pro Jeffreys Bay will be available at www.billabongpro.com
For more information, log onto www.aspworldtour.com
Billabong Pro Jeffreys Bay content can also be found on your mobile phone. Anyone with a 3G or GPRS enabled phone can log onto asptogo.com from their mobile browser. Content is updated real time as per the webcast - event status, results, live scores, news, photos and video highlights along with ASP World Tour ratings tables.
All Africa Volunteers Surf Development J Bay
Support the efforts of All Africa Volunteers in Jeffreys Bay by donating any unwanted boards and suits to the community surf development project. This equipment is needed to be used for teaching street children and other disadvantaged children to surf.
The world’s top 45 ranked professional surfers will be heading for the renowned waves of Jeffreys Bay in July for the 24th edition of the Billabong Pro, Stop No.5 of 10 on the 2009 Association of Surfing Professionals (ASP) World Tour and the first South African surfing event to make a concerted effort to reduce its impact on climate change.
Supertubes, the 300 meter stretch of coastline universally acknowledged as one of the planet’s top 10 high performance surf breaks, will again be the venue for what has become Africa’s most prestigious and lucrative surfing tournament.
Scheduled for 9-19 July, the 11-day window period allows organizers to select the best possible conditions to guarantee spectacular action during the three days of competition required to determine the champion.
Billabong is taking another step on its environmental sustainability journey by utilizing the immense interest in the event to heighten awareness of local and global surf communities to the challenge of climate change, and how we all need to become part of the solution
"At the 2009 Billabong Pro it’s not just the waves at Supers that will be green, we will be making sure our event is too,” says Peter Nicholson, Marketing Manager for Billabong South Africa. “Together with our partners Cleaner Climate we’ve calculated our carbon footprint and have identified and implemented numerous green initiatives to reduce the environmental impact of the event.”
These initiatives include using renewable energy, biodegradable food and beverage containers and paper not plastic bags along with waste and wetsuit recycling. The remaining emissions will be offset using Kyoto compliant carbon credits to ensure that the 2009 Billabong Pro is a low carbon, climate friendly event.
The stellar field for the 2009 event is headed by current ASP No. 1 Joel Parkinson (AUS) who has raced into a significant ratings lead by winning two of the three season-opening ASP World Tour events. With a style that seems made for Supers, Parkinson has been a standout at J-Bay since winning the Billabong Pro as a wildcard in 1999 and always looks forward to the event.
“I always look forward to J-Bay,” Parkinson said recently. “There is such a good vibe surrounding the contest and on our lay days we can enjoy so many different activities. You never get bored in South Africa and when Supers is on, there is no other place I would rather be in July!”
Other hot contenders include nine-time ASP World Champion and defending Billabong Pro champion, Kelly Slater (USA), the only surfer to have his name etched on the perpetual trophy four times; current ASP No. 2 and 2007 event winner Taj Burrow (AUS); two-time J-Bay champ and 2007 ASP World Champion Mick Fanning (AUS) and South African surf star Jordy Smith (Durban).
Jordy, who cut a swathe through the top seeds on his way to the semifinals as a wildcard in 2006 and reached the last 16 last year in his first year as a full-time member of the Top 45, will be joined in the event by fellow South Africans Greg Emslie (East London), twice a semifinalist, and David Weare (Durban) whose innovative surfing is tailor-made for Supers.
The 48 man field comprises the 45 World Tour campaigners plus three wildcards who are determined by the Von Zipper Wildcard Trials. Staged on the morning of the first day the contest runs, the VZ Trials feature six top SA surfers, five rising international stars and the winner of the Xcel Supertubes Shootout, an event that will run for first time in June featuring 16 J-Bay locals and acknowledged Supertubes experts.
The winner of each of the three four-man heats in the VZ Trials receives a wildcard into the Billabong Pro and the opportunity to test their skills against the world’s best at Supers.
And the action doesn’t stop there! The inaugural Occy Grom Comp, the second of three events on the Billabong Junior Series for surfers aged 16 and younger, will be run at Jeffreys Bay in conjunction with the Billabong Pro. The waiting period extends from 9-15 July and the juniors will take to the surf on days that are not used by the ASP World Tour contest.
All the action will be covered via web casts featuring live scoring, video footage with multiple camera angles, slow-motion replays, video on demand highlights of previous heats and interviews accompanied by a choice of expert commentary in English, Spanish. Portuguese and French.
The eyes of the surfing world will be firmly fixed on Jeffreys Bay from 9-19 July as hundreds of thousands of surf fans worldwide log millions of page impressions while following the fortunes of their favorite surfers on www.billabongpro.com around the clock.
For those attending the Billabong Pro there is also the legendary party atmosphere in J-Bay throughout the event. The details of the live music shows and other entertainment functions are currently being compiled. Watch this space.
Compiled by:
Life's a Beach Communications
Past Jeffreys Bay Champions:
1981 Shaun Tomson (SA) Beach Hotel Classic
1982 Greg Day (Aus) Country Feeling Surf Classic
1983 David Barr (USA) Country Feeling Surf Classic
1984 Mark Occhilupo (Aus) Country Feeling Surf Classic
1985 No event
1986 No event
1987 Grant Myrdal (SA) Billabong/Country Feeling Surf Classic
1988 Mike Burness (SA) Billabong/Country Feeling Surf Classic
1989 Justin Strong (SA) Billabong/Country Feeling Surf Classic
1990 Marcus Brabant (Aus) Billabong/Country Feeling Surf Classic
1991 Luke Egan (Aus) Dream Sequence
1991 Pierre Tostee (SA) Billabong/Country Feeling Surf Classic
1992 Seth Hulley (SA) Billabong/Country Feeling Surf Classic
1993 Munga Barry (Aus) Billabong/Country Feeling Surf Classic (WQS)
1994 Justin Strong (SA) Billabong/Country Feeling Surf Classic (WQS)
1995 Seth Hulley (SA) Billabong/Country Feeling Surf Classic (WQS)
1995 Kelly Slater (USA) Billabong Challenge
1996 Shane Thorne (SA) Billabong/Country Feeling Surf Classic (WQS)
1996 Kelly Slater (USA) CSI / Billabong Pro (WCT)
1997 Jevon Le Roux (SA) Billabong/Country Feeling Surf Classic (WQS)
1998 Munga Barry (Aus) Billabong /MSF Pro (WCT)
1999 Joel Parkinson (Aus) Billabong /MSF Pro (WCT)
2000 Jake Paterson (Aus) Billabong /MSF Pro (WCT)
2001 Jake Paterson Aus) Billabong Pro (WCT)
2002 Mick Fanning (Aus) Billabong Pro (WCT)
2003 Kelly Slater (USA) Billabong Pro (WCT)
2004 Andy Irons (Haw) Billabong Pro (WCT)
2005 Kelly Slater (USA) Billabong Pro (WCT)
2006 Kelly Slater (USA) Billabong Pro (WCT)
2007 Mick Fanning (Aus) Billabong Pro (WCT)
2008 Kelly Slater (USA) Billabong Pro (WCT)
Mark
Occhilupo:
Twenty-one
years
ago as
an 18
year old
‘Occy’
redefined
back
hand
surfing
with his
victory
over
Hans
Hedeman
(Haw) at
J-Bay in
1984. A
world
class
field
contested
the
tournament
including
then
world
champion
Tom
Carroll
(Aus),
Shaun
Tomson (Sth
Africa)
and
Michael
Ho
(Haw).
At 39
‘Occy’
will be
the
oldest
competitor
in this
year’s
WCT
tournament.
Cheron
Kraak:
Regarded
as the
unofficial
Mayoress
of
J-Bay,
Cheron
is the
Billabong
South
Africa
licensee
and
owner of
Country
Feeling.
The only
female
senior
surf
industry
owner
operator
in the
world,
Cheron
employs
more
than 200
people
and runs
the
biggest
business
in
town.
Respected
and
loved by
surfers
and the
surf
industry
alike,
Cheron
was
voted
Eastern
Cape
Woman of
Distinction
last
year and
also
received
the ASP
International
Cultural
Award
for 2004
in
recognition
of the
contribution
the
Billabong
Pro
J-Bay
makes to
the
World
Tour.
Cheron
started
the Surf
Classic
in the
early
1980’s
and it
has gone
on to
become
the most
prestigious
and
longest
running
event on
the
South
African
coastline,
with
2005
seeing
the 21st
edition
and the
winner’s
names
representing
a Who’s
Who of
international
and
South
African
surfing.
The
Wave:
For over
forty
years
J-Bay
has
lured
surfers
from
across
the
globe to
the
legendary
break of
‘Supertubes’
and its
ruler
straight
hollow
cylinders.
The
multiple
sections
of the
lengthy
wave
grant
its
deserved
reputation
as one
of the
world’s
best
right
hand
point
breaks.
Despite
freezing
winds
and
chilly
water
when the
Bay
becomes
stacked
to the
horizon
with
corduroy-like
swell
lines
the
elements
become a
minor
factor
to
surfers.
The
break
relies
on a
long,
curving
lava
reef
that
begins
as a
jagged
south-facing
outcrop
and
continues
for at
least a
mile
down the
inside
edge of
the bay.
Gaps in
the reef
line are
supplanted
by sand
flow
from
beaches
to the
west,
occasionally
altering
the
character
of some
of the
sections.
From the
top,
J-Bay
consists
of
Magnatubes,
a peaky
right
and
semi-left,
more
exposed
to swell
than
most of
the
stretch,
yet
never
linking
to the
major
lineup,
instead
fizzling
into a
small
sandy
bay
between
it and
the next
section;
Boneyards,
a quick
hollow
right
reef
that
predominates
on
smaller
days and
an
occasional
left,
begins
to close
out
toward
the
start of
J-Bay's
splendid
premier
section;
Supertubes,
an aptly
named
long
slabby
powerful
wall,
drawing
larger
swell
energy
from the
upper
reefs
and
funneling
it for
around
200
yards,
letting
the
skilled
surfer
dictate
the
terms of
a ride
without
ever
seeming
weak or
unchallenging;
Impossibles,
often
also
aptly
named, a
series
of
shallow
lava
beds
with
long
deepwater
holes
interrupting
the
wave,
except
during
times of
unusual
sand
buildup
when the
whole
150-yard
section
can
become
an
extended
barrel;
Tubes,
where
the wave
begins
to slow
and ease
into the
final
connected
section
of wave;
the
Point, a
mellow,
playful
wall
flowing
down
into a
final
closeout
across
weed-softened
reef and
Albatross,
farther
across
the bay,
which is
another
piece of
reef
featuring
a quick
right.
Some
diehard
J-Bay
surfers
claim
that
Albatross
operates
as the
end
section
on rare
giant
days.
Billabong
Pro Live
webcast:
via
www.billabongpro.com
each day
of the
event
utilizing
live
coverage
in
English
and
Portuguese,
with the
event
websites
in
English,
Portuguese,
Spanish
and
French.
Various
camera
angles,
highlights
and
replays,
weather
and
scoring
information,
direct
viewer
interaction,
celebrity
guests,
interviews
and more
are
apart of
the
daily
webcast
program.
Legendary
South
African
surfer
and 1977
world
champion
Shaun
Tomson
will
join the
commentary
team
that
includes
Contest
Director
Mike
Parsons
and the
affable
G.T.
Support the efforts of All Africa Volunteers in Jeffreys Bay by donating any unwanted boards and suits to the community surf development project. This equipment is needed to be used for teaching street children and other disadvantaged children to surf.
You can contact them
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