Arrive Alive Central Coast Pro

Men's 4 Star WQS Event
Women's 4 Star WQS Event
Soldiers Beach, Norah Head NSW
11 - 16 March 2008

Live Coverage  |  Results/Photos/Videos etc  | Swellnet forecast  | 

Arrive alive Central Coast Pro Officially Launched Ahead of a Highly Anticipated Start to Competition

Surfersvillage Global Surf News, 10 March, 2008 : - - Soldiers Beach, NSW -- Surfing and parliamentary luminary united today to officially launch the Arrive alive Central Coast Pro, ensuring that blistering surfing action will begin tomorrow. Representing the NSW Government, Member for Wyong, The Hon. Mr David Harris officially launched the 4 star rated men’s and women’s World Qualifying Series (WQS) event.

Speaking in front of esteemed guests from the local community and the surfing industry, including multiple women’s ASP world champion Layne Beachley and Motor Accidents Authority of NSW (MAA) Chairman Richard Grellman, Mr Harris could not downplay the support the event provides to the Central Coast.

“I am honoured to officially open the Arrive alive Central Coast Pro,” he said. “The people of the Central Coast are passionate about their beaches and surfing in general. It is a great spectacular for the entire region as a whole.” Mark Windon, CEO of Surfing NSW, also echoed these sentiments and the importance of event.

“The Arrive alive Central Coast Pro is vitally important in giving young Australian surfers the opportunity to compete amongst the best international surfers in the world,” he said Mr Harris was also forthcoming in his support of the flourishing partnership between the Arrive alive Central Coast Pro and the MAA.

“The partnership that the MAA has developed with surfing, in particular their Arrive alive Ambassador Program is creating a very positive message in the community - particularly with youths” he said.

A number of top ranking WQS surfers including Glen Hall (Umina, NSW), Bethany Hamilton (Hawaii), women’s ratings leader and current ASP World Junior Champion Sally Fitzgibbons (Gerroa, NSW) and Blake Thornton (Maroubra, NSW), were also at The Beachcomber Hotel, Toukley for the opening of the event.

Blake Thornton, an Arrive alive ambassador for the event, spoke about his role as an ambassador. “I am very proud to be an ambassador for the Arrive alive initiative,” he said. “The 17 -25 age group is over represented in NSW when in comes to motor accidents and injuries. If I can help one of kid change their behaviour, I feel that I have been successful in my role.”

Contest officials are confident of competition getting underway with a predicted new ENE swell assured to provide surfers with pulsating conditions. Held at Soldiers Beach, Norah Head, the event will commence on Tuesday 11th March and run through to Sunday 16th March 2008.

The Arrive alive Central Coast Pro will see 144 male and 64 female surfers compete for total divisional prize money purses of US$80,000 and US$25,000 respectively, plus valuable early season WQS ratings points. The event will be webcast live at the event website arrivealivepro.com. The event website will feature live scores, heat by heat results, daily news as well as photo and video galleries updated daily.

The Arrive alive Central Coast Pro is proudly supported by the NSW Motor Accidents Authority, Wyong Shire Council, The Beachcomber Hotel, Ocean & Earth, ASP Australasia, Surfing NSW, NBN Television, Central Coast Sun Weekly, Star FM, Australia’s Surfing Life and Greater Toukley Vision.

About Arrive alive
Arrive alive is the NSW Motor Accidents Authority’s (MAA) youth road safety program. The MAA regulates the Compulsory Third Party (CTP) personal injury insurance scheme in NSW (known as Greenslips). The MAA is concerned about the over-representation of young people aged 17 to 25 in road crashes. Young drivers in this age group are at a higher risk of crashing than drivers of older ages for lots of reasons, including their inexperience, attitudes to driving and a tendency towards risk taking behaviour.

The MAA has a major commitment to improving road safety in NSW, and recognises that achieving this requires effective communication with young people about risk taking on the roads. This is where Arrive alive comes in. Arrive alive includes a range of programs that reflect common interest areas for young people. These programs aim to involve young people in activities they enjoy while positively influencing attitudes and behaviours on the roads.  The MAA wants to see young people stay safe on the roads and Arrive alive!

Previous reports:
# 1 : Arrive Alive Central Coast Pro readies for March 11 launch
# 2 : Coming soon
# 3 : Coming soon
# 4 : Coming soon  

www.arrivealivepro.com
www.surfingaustralia.com

More Australasian Surfing News available here
Check the latest Australasian Surf Reports and Forecasts

New! B2B News ASBE-Surf   |  Receive News-Alerts

Arrive Alive Media
Steve Robertson
stever@surfingaustralia.com

Michael Tyrpenou
michael.tyrpenou@gmail.com

WQS Contests - Surfersvillage