Taj Burrow 2004 event champion : photo ASP/Karen

Nova Schin Festival WCT Brazil presented by Billabong

Fosters ASP WCT Mens Event # 10
Santa Catarina, Florianopolis, Brazil
31 October - 9 November 2005

Live Webcast: Scores/Results/Photos/Videos etc

PARKINSON RETURNS TO BOLSTER DRAW AT NOVA SCHIN FESTIVAL, BRAZIL

Surfersvillage Global Surf News, 29 October, 2005 : - -  While the world title showdown between Andy Irons (HAW) and Kelly Slater (USA) will be catching much of the attention at the Nova Schin Festival presented by Billabong in Brazil, Joel Parkinson meanwhile will be hoping to make an impressionable return from injury and be a thorn in the side of the tour front-runners.

Parkinson returns to the Foster’s ASP Men’s World Tour after an injury to his medial ligament in his knee forced him to withdraw from events in Japan, California and France.

His inclusion will bolster the radically depleted field, which, at the time of going to press, has nine withdrawals including injured Australians Taj Burrow (foot), Toby Martin (neck), Troy Brooks (knee) and Lee Winkler (wrist) and also will include Sunny Garcia (HAW), Luke Egan (AUS), Dean Morrison (AUS), Tim Curren (USA) and Shane Beschen (USA).

Taking the place of the withdrawals will be Brazilians Guilherme Herdy, Pablo Paulino, Adriano de Souza, Odirley Coutinho, Guga Arruda, Pedro Henrique, Flavio Costa, Yuri Sodre and Guilherme Ferreira.

 
Joel Parkinson in 2004 event action : photo ASP/Karen

Their inclusion amongst the elite should give the Brazilians valuable experience at the top level and with a passionate home crowd behind them, they will be doing their utmost to spoil the campaigns of their more seasoned rivals.

On top of the replacements will be wildcards Tom Curren (USA), Fabio Gouveia (Brazilian Pro Champion) and Diego Rosa (Santa Catarina, Brazil State Pro Champion).

The full round one draw is available here

After being ranked at number five before his injury Parkinson has slipped back to 14th on the current ratings and will hunting to gain a solid result both here in Brazil and in the last event of the year at Pipeline, Hawaii.

“I’m really happy to be back,” said Parkinson. “I’ve dropped from 5th to 14th which is an obvious setback, so my aim for the next two events is to get back into the top 10.”

 
Andy Irons secured his third World Champion title during
the 2004 event : photo ASP/Karen

His recovery has been relatively speedy since the injury was quite severe, and while feeling solid, Parkinson will be wary of re-damaging the knee in the small, beach-break conditions in Brazil, which can cause stress to the lower body.

“The last few days I’ve gone from about 50 per cent to about 80 and I surfed today and felt unreal, so by the time the event starts I should be close to 100 per cent,” said Parkinson. “But I’ll still be careful. Because the waves in Brazil are smaller you have to create your own speed on the waves and that comes from your leg drive which obviously will place a lot of pressure on my knees.”

Parkinson indicated that he would like to see the race for the Foster’s ASP Men’s World Tour go down to the wire in Hawaii. Slater, in the number one slot on the rankings could potentially tie up the title here and Parkinson joked that he would love to prolong Slater’s celebrations by hopefully knocking him out early (if the draw allows) which will potentially open the door for Irons to claim another victory and keep his title hopes alive.

“Yeah, hopefully I can be a thorn in the side for Kelly,” Parkinson laughed. “I’d love to see the title go down at Pipe!”

Weather forecasts have predicted excellent conditions for the latter half of the upcoming week, continuing the run of incredible luck for the Foster’s ASP Men’s World Tour – now dubbed “The Dream Tour”. Organisers are expecting to begin the first round on Monday morning and could potentially go mobile if wind conditions are unfavourable.

Kelly Slater (2004 action) could secure his 7th World Champion title in this event
photo : ASPWorldtour/Karen

Fast Facts about the Nova Schin Festival presented by Billabong

Status: The Nova Schin Festival, presented by Billabong is number 10 of 11 stops on the 2005 Foster’s ASP Men’s World Tour. It is South America’s sole World Championship Tour event.

Location: The Nova Schin Festival, presented by Billabong will be staged in Florianopolis, Brazil. The event is mobile in the State of Santa Catarina and is predominantly held in fun beach-breaks with gorgeous locals, warm weather and passionate crowds.

The event's headquarters are at Joaquina Beach, a beach break with a headland that, with the right swell, can hold lefts from two to three metres (six to 10 feet). There is also a "peak" in the middle of the beach. The other prime spot is Praia da Vila (Vila Beach), in Imbituba, south of Florianopolis. Vila Beach hosted the 2003 final and the last three days of the 2004 event. Conditions there can be compared to a reef break as the beach is very short with two small islands on either side. The beach holds a sand bar that never shifts. Rights and lefts are available but the right is the preferred wave.
 
Field: The Nova Schin Festival presented by Billabong will feature the world’s top male full-time touring professional surfers and along with event wildcards will comprise a total field of 48.

Expect beautiful spectators : photo ASP/Karen

Duration: A total of four full days of competition is required to finalize the event but the tournament has an 11-day waiting period for the best possible conditions from 31 October through to 9 November.

Format: 16 x three man non-elimination round one heats (1st>rnd 3, 2nd & 3rd>rnd 2). Round two onwards feature man-on-man elimination heats

Prizemoney: Total prizemoney for the Nova Schin Festival, presented by Billabong is $US270,000. The winner receives $US30000 and 1200 World Championship points.
 
Defending Champion: Current world number six, Taj Burrow (AUS) has been forced to withdraw due to injury.

Previous Champions: 2004 Taj Burrow (AUS) 2003 Kelly Slater (USA).

World Champion Andy Irons: Hawaiian Andy Irons clinched his third consecutive world title at the Brazilian event last year. Following the shock elimination of title contender Joel Parkinson (AUS) in round three of the Nova Schin Festival 2004 at Imbituba, the Kauaian’s massive ratings lead became untouchable.

Expect beautiful scenary : photo ASP/Karen

The crowd: The local crowd is regarded as the most vocal and passionate on the tour.

Wildcards: Wildcards will also include Tom Curren (USA), Fabio Gouveia (Brazilian Pro Champion) and Diego Rosa (Santa Catarina, Brazil State Pro Champion).

Contest Director: Recently retired Flavio Padaratz is the most successful surfer to emerge from Brazil. His list of triumphs since he joined the ASP tour in 1988 includes three Top 10 finishes on the Foster’s ASP Men’s World Tour and two ASP World Qualifying Series titles (1992 and '99).

Billabong Pro Events: Billabong is a strong supporter of the Fosters ASP Men’s World Tour. It hosts the Billabong Pro Tahiti, Billabong Pro Jeffreys Bay (South Africa), Billabong Pro Mundaka (Euskadi – note: this event was cancelled in 2005), Billabong Pro Maui (Hawaii, Women’s WCT final event) and the Billabong World Junior Championships, Men and Women (Australia).
 
Live webcast: via www.aspworldtour.com
 
Supporting Sponsors: The Nova Schin Festival, presented by Billabong is supported by the Schincariol Group, the State Government of Santa Catarina and Tropical Brazil.

Nova Schin Festival, presented by Billabong draw and results are at www.aspworldtour.com

Previous reports:
# 1 : World title showdown expected at Brazil wct: Burrow out
# 2 : Coming soon
# 3 : Coming soon
# 4 : Coming soon
  

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BILLABONG
Simon Barratt
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OR
Mandy McKinnon
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ASP INTERNATIONAL:
Wayne Dart
darty@aspworldtour.com

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