Mulanovich/Georgeson battle for world title this w/end

Sofia Mulanovich & Chelsea Georgeson : photo courtesy Roxy

ASP WCT Womens Event
Haleiwa Ali'i Beach Park, North Shore, Oahu
12 - 23 November 2005

Live Webcast - Scores/Results/Photos/Videos etc

THE DREAMS OF TWO GIRLS COME TO REALITY AT THE ROXY PRO HAWAII

Sofia Mulanovich and Chelsea Georgeson to Battle for World Title Commencing this Weekend

Surfersvillage Global Surf News, 10 November, 2005 : - - Two teenage surfing competitors who became best friends and dreamt of becoming world champions are now vying for the ASP (Association of Surfing Professionals) World Title at the Roxy Pro in Hawaii, starting Saturday 12 November.

Peruvian Sofia Mulanovich (from the town of Punta Hermosa, just south of Lima) is defending her crown, which she won at the Roxy Pro Hawaii last year by placing runner-up, but her best friend, Australian Chelsea Georgeson (from the town of Tweed Heads, NSW, near the Queensland Gold
Coast) is determined to win her first world title.

The pair has dominated this year's World Championship Tour, winning five of the seven events held so far, with Mulanovich winning three and Georgeson claiming two.  Only two events remain in Hawaii to decide the title and the Roxy Pro could prove to be the clincher.

The US$65,000 Roxy Pro Hawaii will be held over a competition window from November 12 -24, and it requires two to three days to complete in the best conditions available.

Hawaiian Megan Abubo and Australian Layne Beachley, a former six-time world champion, are still outside chances for the world title, but both Mulanovich and Georgeson would have to falter badly in the final two events to allow them an opening.

Sofia Mulanovich : photo ASPWorldtour/Tostee

Mulanovich is holding the ratings lead with 5,820 points, while Georgeson is second on 5,592 points; Abubo is third on 4,320 points and Beachley fourth on 4,308 points. A win is worth 1,200 points and US$10,000 prizemoney.

To ensure that either one of them will be holding the world title trophy aloft, Mulanovich and Georgeson have been in serious training, with meticulous preparation. Haleiwa is a challenging break that ranges in size from two to 12 feet-plus (half to four metres-plus).

It is predominantly a righthander, breaking to the right as a surfer paddles into the wave. As a natural-footer (left foot forward on her
surfboard) Mulanovich is on her forehand, while Georgeson will be on her backhand. But if the surf is small, the break can become a lefthander.

The parallel rise of Mulanovich and Georgeson is uncanny.  Both competed around the world on the junior circuit and they immediately formed a bond and friendly rivalry. As young teenagers they both dreamed of challenging each other for the world professional surfing title.

Both are 22 years old, with Mulanovich being slightly older (born 24 June 1983) while Georgeson has just turned 22 (born 15 October 1983).

Both come from the Southern Hemisphere, though from vastly different cultures and backgrounds. Both list each other as their favourite surfers, along with champions Kelly Slater and Lisa Andersen.

Chelsea Georgeson : photo ASPWorldtour/Tostee

And both are sponsored by the same company - Roxy - the most successful women's surfing brand in the world and the sponsor of the Roxy Pro Hawaii. Georgeson was the first to qualify for the elite World Championship Tour in 2002 - but Mulanovich only just missed the cut in the qualifying rounds.

But with a determination that has become her trademark, Mulanovich qualified the following year, to make the first-tier WCT in 2003. She finished seventh to be awarded ASP Rookie of the Year and then rose to become number one in 2004 - the first South American world professional surfing champion, and a national hero in her home country of Peru.

Georgeson finished her rookie year at number eight, and has risen steadily to be fourth in 2003 and third in 2004. She is now only 228 points behind Mulanovich on the ratings.

The Roxy Pro Hawaii is the fourth Roxy Pro this year with events also in Australia (on Queensland's Gold Coast), Fiji (Tavarua and Namotu
Islands) and the United Kingdom (Perranporth, England). Mulanovich has a good strike record in the Roxy contests this year, winning both the Fijian event in April and the UK event in May.

Mulanovich also has a great record at Haleiwa.  Besides her runner-up placing in the Roxy Pro Hawaii last year to clinch her maiden world title, she also won the event in 2003.

Georgeson is hoping to claim her first Roxy Pro title on this year's tour and double celebrate her recent engagement to Australian Jason Hedges, while Mulanovich will be striving for back-to-back world titles.

The Roxy Pro Hawaii also marks the 50th anniversary of women's competitive surfing with the first women's international surfing competition being held in 1955 as part of the Makaha International on Oahu's West Side.

For more information and the live webcast of the Roxy Pro Hawaii, please visit: www.roxy.com/roxypro 

Previous reports:
# 1 : Roxy Pro Hawaii celebrates 50 yrs of womens contests
# 2 : Coming soon
# 3 : Coming soon
# 4 : Coming soon  

 
For more information about the Roxy Pro Hawaii, please visit http://www.roxy.com/roxypro

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For further information, please contact:

Kirk Willcox
Quiksilver International
kirk.willcox@quiksilver.com.au

Monica Paull
Roxy
monica.paull@quiksilver.com

Jodi Young
Ocean Promotion
oceanpromotion@hawaii.rr.com

The Rose Group
Andrea Tagliareni / Whitney Ashley / Elana Weiss
Andrea@therosegrp.com / Whitney@therosegrp.com / Elana@therosegrp.com
 
JJ
Quiksilver Australasia 
quiksilver.com
roxy.com
jj@qsilver.com.au

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