Taj Burrow : photo Sashima Steve

Billabong Pro Jeffreys Bay

ASP World Tour event # 5
Jeffreys Bay South Africa
9 - 20 July 2008 

Live Coverage  |  Results/Photos/Videos etc

World’s top surfers get Billabong Pro underway with Golf Day    > Francaise ci-dessous

Surfersvillage Global Surf News, 8 July, 2008 : - - Jeffreys Bay -- The inaugural Billabong Pro Golf Day has drawn a host of the world’s best surfers to the Jack Nicklaus St Francis Links today in the lead up to the start of the R2.4 million Billabong Pro, the fifth of 11 stops on the 2008 ASP World Tour, which runs from July 10-20.

Created to raise funds for the Supertubes Foundation and honour 1999 ASP World Champion Mark ‘Occy’ Occhilupo who retired at the end of 2007, the golf day features four-balls that include one of the world’s top 45 ranked surfers.

Occhilupo, along with the likes of current World No. 2 Joel Parkinson (AUS), three time ASP World Champion Andy Irons, his brother Bruce and fellow Hawaiian Fred Patacchia, have all swapped their surfboards for golf clubs for the day and will be attending the dinner and auction of golf and surfing memorabilia this evening.

The fund-raiser will benefit the Supertubes Foundation, a non-profit organisation that keeps the beaches of Jeffreys Bay in a pristine condition and repatriates indigenous plants from building sites, replanting them in the dunes along the water’s edge in the town.

The golf day begins 12 days of non-stop action as the eyes of the surfing world are firmly fixed on the bustling coastal town and home of Supertubes, universally acknowledged as one of the planet’s premier point breaks. In addition to the highest level of surfing competition there is live music, autograph signing sessions with the surf stars and all the razzmatazz that surrounds globally renowned sports events.

The line-up for the Billabong Pro includes eight-time ASP World Champion and runaway ratings leader Kelly Slater (USA), a three-time winner of the event who has won three of the four events so far this year, along with 2007 event champion Taj Burrow and fellow Australians Joel Parkinson and Bede Durbidge, the current No. 2 and No. 3 in the rankings respectively.

Local hopes will be pinned on rookie ASP World Tour campaigner Jordy Smith (Durban) who rocketed into the global spotlight two years ago when claiming third place in the event as a wildcard. Smith, currently ranked No. 19, will be joined by fellow South Africans Travis Logie (Durban), Ricky Basnett (Bluff) and local Eastern Cape standout Royden Bryson (East London).

The main event will be preceded by the VonZipper Trials where 12 contenders will lock horns in a battle for the three available wildcards that enable them test their skills against the top three seeds.

This year’s trialists include eight South African hopefuls taking on four internationals who include Occhilupo, American rising star Granger Larsen and teenage superstars Tamaroa McComb (TAH) and Peterson Crisanto (BRA), the winner and runner-up in the under 16 division of the recent ISA World Junior Championships in France.

All the action will be covered live on the state-of-the-art webcasts which can be found at www.billabongpro.com and feature multiple camera angles, live scoring and expert commentary in English, Portuguese, Spanish and French. The website also carries in-depth news, interviews and images along with the VonZipper ‘Say What?’ competition where viewers can win prizes if their questions for the stars are selected.

The Billabong Pro will also be covered in daily television highlights packages premiering on SuperSport 6 at 10pm each evening and repeated on various channels of SuperSport throughout the following day alongside numerous national news bulletins and plenty of radio and print coverage.

The Billabong Pro Jeffreys Bay runs from July 10-20, an 11 day waiting period during which contest director Mike Parson can select the best possible conditions for the 63 heats required to determine the champion. The contest looks likely to get underway on Thursday morning as ‘ideal’ conditions are forecast for Wednesday with strong Westerly winds and a rising swell that is predicted to produce overhead waves at Supertubes.

About Supertubes Foundation
The mission of the Supertubes Foundation is to rescue endemic and endangered plants from sites being developed, to beautify Jeffreys Bay with rescued plants and to protect the coastal dune area, upgrade beach access and boardwalks as well as to co-ordinate beach cleanups.

Supertubes Foundation is a joint venture between three local surfing clubs which is entirely funded by donations and fundraising through projects initiated by the members and employees of the Foundation. The Foundation has made visual improvements in the Jeffreys Bay area since its inception in 2002.

www.billabongpro.com
www.aspworldtour.com
www.supertubesfoundation.com

Francaise

J-1: Les meilleurs surfeurs mondiaux sur le green!

Surfersvillage Global Surf News, 8 July, 2008 : - - Jeffreys Bay -- Alors que le Billabong Pro, 5e étape des championnats du monde de surf, débutera jeudi matin à Supertubes dans des  conditions  annoncées  «  idéales  »,  les  plus grands surfeurs de la planète se sont  retrouvés  hier  sur  le  green  Jack  Nicklaus  à Saint Francis pour participer au Golf Day. 

Le  Golf  Day  est  une  initiative  créée  pour récolter des fonds pour la fondation Supertubes et pour rendre hommage à Mark Occhilupo alias “Occy”, lcône du Team Billabong, champion du monde ASP en 1999 et retiré du Tour depuis fin 2007. 

Occhilupo  (Aus),  Joel  Parkinson  (Aus),  N°2  mondial actuel, Andy Irons (Haw), triple champion du monde ASP, Bruce Irons (Haw) et Fred Patacchia (Haw) ont troqué  leurs  planches  contre  des  clubs  le  temps  d’une journée avant d’assister à la vente aux enchères organisée pour l’occasion.Tous les fonds récoltés ont été reversés à la fondation Supertubes, une organisation à but non lucratif qui œuvre pour la conservation des plages et des dunes de Jeffrey’s Bay.

C’est  donc  parti  pour 12 jours d’action non-stop ! Toutes les caméras du monde seront  bientôt braquées sur Supertubes, connu pour être l’un des meilleurs Point Break  de  la  planète.  En  marge  de  la compétition de très haut niveau, ajoutez une belle  série  de  concerts live, de séances d’autographes avec les stars du surf et toute l’effervescence engendrée par un événement sportif de renommée mondiale.

Le  line up de ce Billabong Pro réunira Kelly Slater (USA), 8 fois champion du monde  ASP,  3  fois vainqueur de cette épreuve et leader actuel du Tour et les surfeurs du Team Billabong, Taj Burrow (Aus), champion du Billabong Pro Jeffrey’s   Bay   2007,   Joel   Parkinson   (Aus)  et  Andy  Irons  (Haw), respectivement N°2 et N°8 au classement. Retrouvez les images du Billabong Pro Jeffrey’s Bay diffusées en temps réel sur le site www.billabongpro.com avec une multitude d’angles de caméras, les résultats  en  direct  et  les commentaires d’experts en Français, Anglais, Espagnol et  Portugais.

Retrouvez aussi toutes les infos relatives à la compétition, des interviews, des photos et participez au jeux Von Zipper « Say What ? » avec des prix à gagner pour les questions sélectionnées. Plus d’informations à propos de la fondation Supertubes sur supertubesfoundation.com

Previous reports:
# 1 : Eyes of the surfing world fixed on Jeffreys Bay come July
# 2 : South African riders selected for VonZipper wildcard trials
# 3 : Kelly Slater chase resumes at Billabong Pro Jeffreys Bay
# 4 : 'Stop Kelly' is top 5 mantra heading to Billabong Pro JBay 

www.billabongpro.com
www.aspworldtour.com
www.supertubesfoundation.com

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