Josh Mulcoy  : photo Marc Prefontaine

O'Neill Cold Water Classic
Presented by Jeep

ASP 4 Star WQS Mens Event
Steamer Lane, Santa Cruz, Calif.
17 - 22 October 2006

Live Coverage  |  Results/Photos/Videos etc

STEAMER LANE COMES ALIVE FOR DAY FIVE OF THE O'NEILL COLD WATER CLASSIC 
AND THE OAKLEY PRO JUNIOR ASP NORTH AMERICAN CHAMPIONSHIPS

Nathan Yeomans and Nathaniel Curran Battle for the Macy's California Trifecta Surf Series Title

Surfersvillage Global Surf News, 21 October, 2006 : - - Santa Cruz, Calif., -Legendary Steamer Lane was at its best for day five of the O'Neill Cold Water Classic presented by Jeep.  Both the Association of Surfing Professionals (ASP) World Qualifying Series (WQS) four-star event and the Oakley Pro Junior North American Championships narrowed their respective competitor fields down to the final 16.

Local standouts Josh Mulcoy (Santa Cruz, Calif.) and Josh Loya (Santa Cruz, Calif.) kept their 2006 O'Neill Cold Water Classic campaigns on track, advancing into the quarterfinals.  The two surfers qualified for the event via the local trials and are the strong hometown favorites.  "I've surfed seven heats already which is a few more than everyone else," Mulcoy said.  "Steamer's is the kind of wave that if you haven't surfed it much before, you could have a difficult time out there.  The guys who surf here a lot have a big advantage and having all your friends and neighbors show up never hurts either."

Luke Munro (Currumbin, Aus.), currently ranked 11 on the ASP WQS, battled the lumpy morning surf and moved through to the quarterfinals. With the top 15 finishers on this season's ASP WQS qualifying for the prestigious Foster's ASP Men's World Championship Tour in 2007, Munro is in good standing.  "I've had a pretty good year but I haven't qualified for the WCT yet," Munro said.  "A result here would be huge and really give me that confidence I need going into the end of the year."

Nathan Yeomans (San Clemente, Calif.) moved one step closer to clinching the Macy's California Trifecta Surf Series title, advancing through his round of 32 heat.  Should Yeomans finish ahead of remaining Cold Water Classic competitor Nathaniel Curran (Ventura, CA), he will win the 2006 Macy's California Trifecta Surf Series title.  Curran needs to finish second or better in the Cold Water Classic to overtake Yeomans.  The Trifecta, in association with Action Sports Group (ASG) and the ASP, will award the overall points-winner a bonus of $10,000, a second-place bonus of $3,500 and a third-place bonus of $1,500, now that no single competitor has the opportunity to win all three events for the $33,333.  Though Cuizon is out of contention for first place he could still collect part of the prize for second or third place.  The two will meet in Sunday's first quarterfinal heat of the O'Neill Cold Water Classic presented by Jeep.   For more information on the Macy's Trifecta Surf Series visit www.catrifecta06.asglive.com. 

The Oakley Pro Junior ASP North American Championships continued this afternoon with the round of 32.  As the final event of the 2006 ASP North America Pro Junior series, this contest determines who will represent the region in January's ASP World Junior Championships.

Sterling Spencer (Pensacola, Fla.) and Adam Wickwire (Satellite Beach, Fla.), currently ranked fourth and fifth respectively on the ASP North America Pro Junior ratings going into this event, were surprise eliminations from competition today leaving the door open for a possible ratings shift.  The current Pro Junior leader, Eric Geiselman (New Smyrna Beach, Fla.), will surf Sunday in the second quarterfinal heat.

Dion Atkinson (Seaford, Aus.), although eliminated from the O'Neill Cold Water Classic earlier in the day, smashed his opponents with the day's high heat total of an 18.77 out of a possible 20.
"The waves are much better out there this afternoon than they were this morning," Atkinson said.  "I'm pretty disappointed that I didn't advance in the Cold Water Classic, but it's good to go out there and try my luck in the Pro Junior."

The top-four finishers on the ASP North America Pro Junior series, along with Alex Gray (Palos Verdes, Calif.), will gain entry into the ASP World Junior Championships held in Narrabeen, New South Wales, Australia. Gray has already secured his entry by being the highest-ranked North America surfer of the WQS who is of junior age - Gray is currently ranked 43rd. For more information on the Oakley Pro Juniors visit http://surfermag.com/events/oakleyjr06/.

The O'Neill Cold Water Classic presented by Jeep and the Oakley Pro Junior ASP North American Championships will both finish tomorrow capping off the 2006 ASP North America season as well as the Macy's California Trifecta Surf Series presented by Jeep.  Contest schedule and location updates will be available at the O'Neill Cold Water Classic hotline (831) 479-5577.  

For the first time in the events history fans will be able to catch all the excitement and drama of this year's contest with a live webcast at www.oneill.com.

On Sunday October 22, Amp'd Mobile will broadcast the semi-final and final rounds of the O'Neill Cold Water Classic presented by Jeep and the Oakley Pro Junior live to Amp'd Mobile phones.  Please visit www.ampd.com for more information.

Once again FUEL TV, the action sports lifestyle network, will telecast the O'Neill Coldwater Classic presented by Jeep for dates and air times visit www.fuel.tv.  The O'Neill Cold Water Classic presented by Jeep is also supported by Oakley, Coors, Plantronics, Pentax, Surfer Magazine, Surfing Magazine and ASP North America.  Check out the O'Neill Cold Water Classic presented by Jeep and all of the Macy's California Trifecta Surf Series presented by Jeep surf breaks at www.WaveWatch.com.

Previous reports:
# 1 : O'Neill Cold Water Classic contest attracting top surfers
# 2 : The O'Neill Cold Water Classic holds SC local trial round
# 3 : Locals dominate Day 1 of the O'Neill Coldwater Classic
# 4 : Competition intensifies at the O'Neill Coldwater Classic
# 5 : Big guns go down on day 3 of O'Neill Cold Water Classic
# 6 : Big drama at business end of O'Neill Cold Water Classic

About O'Neill
O'Neill is the world's original surf brand.  The family-owned and operated company distributes its products to 85 countries, including more than 2,000 specialty wetsuit and clothing retailers in the U.S.  Consumer information is available at www.oneill.com.

About the Jeep Brand
The Jeep brand's 65-year history of legendary capability has made it synonymous with freedom, adventure, mastery and authenticity. In 2006, the Jeep brand continues to deliver on its promise to provide rugged, versatile, innovative four-wheel drive vehicles with the recently introduced Jeep Wrangler, four-door Jeep Wrangler Unlimited, Jeep Compass and Jeep Patriot.

This expansion of the Jeep brand grows its showroom from three to seven sport-utility vehicles following last year's introduction of the Jeep Commander. The other two Jeep vehicles are the Jeep Grand Cherokee and Jeep Liberty.

About PRIMEDIA'S Action Sports Group
Reaching more than two million enthusiasts, PRIMEDIA's ASG is the dominant force in the action sports and adventure sports arenas. In addition to SURFER, the ASG publishes leading lifestyle publications such as Surfing, Snowboarder, Skateboarder, Bike, Powder, Climbing and Canoe & Kayak. PRIMEDIA's ASG delivers a cutting-edge network of online properties, events and television programming.  Learn more online at: www.actionsportsgroup.net About Macy's West Macy's West, a division of Federated headquartered in San Francisco, operates 174 stores in  seven states and Guam, with annual sales of more than four billion. At Macy's we are committed to supporting the communities where we live and work.  In 2005, we raised and donated nearly $14 million in community support through our fundraising efforts.

About Oakley Inc.
Oakley, Inc. designs, manufactures and distributes high-performance sunglasses, prescription lenses and frames, goggles and technology-enabled eyewear that utilize the company's High Definition Optics(R) (HDO(R)), a collective platform of patented technologies that offer unbeatable optical performance. The company also produces technical and active apparel, footwear and accessories. Trailing-12-month net sales through December 31, 2005 totaled US $648.1 million. Oakley, Inc. press releases, SEC filings and the company's annual report are available at investor.oakley.com.

About the Association of Surfing Professionals The Association of Surfing Professionals (ASP) is the governing body of professional surfing.  Crowning surfing's undisputed world champions since 1976, the ASP sanctions the following tours: the Foster's ASP Men's World Tour (WCT), the ASP Women's World Tour, the World Qualifying Series (WQS) and the World Longboarding, Junior and Masters Championships. The ASP is dedicated to showcasing the world's best surfing talent in a variety of progressive formats and has revolutionized the way the world watches surfing via their webcasts. The organization is divided into seven different regions: Africa, Asia, Australasia, Europe, Hawaii, North America, and South America.  These regions manage all their respective domestic affairs under the guidance of ASP International, which is located on the Gold Coast of Australia.  ASP International and ASP North America are committed to the progression of surfing and are dedicated to continuing excellent relationships with their surfers, event operators, sponsors and media.  For more information log onto www.aspworldtour.com or www.aspnorthamerica.org

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Dave Prodan

WQS Contests - Surfersvillage