Quiksilver Pro Durban
Presented by Virgin Mobile

ASP 6 Star Prime Mens WQS event
New Pier (mobile) Durban
20 - 26 April 2009

Live Coverage  |  Results/Photos/Videos etc

Jordy Smith withdraws entry from Quiksilver Pro Durban

Surfersvillage Global Surf News, 31 March, 2009 : - - Durban -- Durban's Jordy Smith, currently rated number ninth in the world on the elite Association of Surfing Professionals (ASP) World Championship Tour (WCT), has withdrawn his entry from the 2009 Quiksilver Pro Durban, set to take place at New Pier between 17 and 26 April, due to commitments to his sponsors to shoot a movie in the Mentawai Islands off Indonesia that clashes with the Quiksilver Pro Durban's dates.

Fresh off a win this past weekend in the O'Neill Cold Water Classic Tasmania, a six star World Qualifying Series (WQS) event, Smith was being heralded as one of the favourites in the Quiksilver Pro Durban, a six star prime WQS event with US$145,000 in prize money. A runner-up in 2007, Smith is still in Australia preparing for the next event on the WCT calendar.

He was hungry to improve on his second place result and take home one of professional surfing's most sort-after titles and has made his disappointment at not being able to compete in front of his home crowd and at his local surf spot known.

"Jordy is really disappointed that he will be missing the Quiksilver Pro Durban," said his mother Luellen Smith from their family home in Durban today, "but the opportunity to shoot this film in the Mentawais is an incredible one for him and he was faced with a tough decision. Jordy loves surfing all the Durban contests because he always has so much support on the beach and knows the waves between the piers so well. Between his various WCT, WQS and sponsorship commitments, Jordy's schedule is really full and sadly in the end something has to give."

But Smith's withdrawal certainly doesn't mean an end to the hopes for the local supporters as the depth in South African surfing talent is immense and there is a host of local surfers with the talent and desire to take home the title. World Tour stalwart and former ISA World Champion Travis Logie (Durban North) is fresh off a win in the Mark Richards Pro, a 2 Star WQS recently event held in Newcastle, Australia, and is hungry to requalify for the 2010 WCT Dream Tour after a knee injury last year saw him relegated back to the WQS after four years on the WCT.

Similarly defending champion and fellow New Pier local Davey Weare (Umhlanga Rocks) will be looking to make it two in a row. Last year's win provided Weare with the springboard he needed to qualify for the 2009 WCT.

"Winning the 2008 Quiksilver Pro Durban was awesome, by far the highlight of my career," says Weare, "and having my friends and family there with me made it that much more rewarding. The WQS is brutal, especially now with so many big events on the calendar. You really need to perform in the major events to have a shot at qualifying, and winning the Quiksilver Pro Durban was crucial in my qualification bid and was the stepping stone for the rest of my year."

The Quiksilver Pro Durban's Six Star Prime rating makes it one of the richest events on the WQS, both in terms of prize money and ratings points, and has attracted a host of ambitious and talented surfers, both local and international.

Among them are local surfers Daniel Redman (Umdloti) and Brandon Jackson (Durban North), both of which have been awarded Virgin Mobile Wild Cards into the event that will provide them with a decent seeding from which to launch their assault. Other surfers who will be a threat include 2009 WCT member Greg Emslie (East London) and 2008 WCT surfers Royden Bryson (Cape Town) and Ricky Basnett (Bluff).
 
Leading the international charge will be current WCT number nine Jihad Khodr (Brazil), while fellow WCT campaigners Ben Dunn (Australia) and Drew Courtney (USA) will also be looking to secure a good result. Other threats will be current WQS number two Jean da Silva (Brazil), former world champion Sunny Garcia (Hawaii) and 2008 Quiksilver Pro Durban runner-up Austin Ware (Australia).
 
But the surfer that most people will have their eyes on is 21 year old Australian Julian Wilson who hails from Queensland's Sunshine Coast and has been hailed as one of the biggest names of the future. He is already a star of several big surf films and his graceful style and flamboyant aerial maneuvers have made him one of the most popular and respected surfers in the world. Wilson will also be a Virgin Mobile Wildcard along with South Africans Redman and Jackson, and his resulting higher seeding will provide him the perfect platform for a high placing.
 
The 2009 Quiksilver Pro Durban is scheduled to take place at New Pier, Durban, but due to the unreliability of the surf conditions the event organisers have made arrangements to move the contest out to Ansteys Beach on the Bluff if the need arises. The total prize money for the event is US$145,000 with the winner walking away with US$20,000 and, more importantly, 3500 WQS ratings points.
 
Two other exciting aspects of the Quiksilver Pro Durban will be the incorporation of the Quiksilver Pro Junior and the Komunity Project Future Stars events. The Quiksilver Pro Junior is an ASP Grade 2 Junior event that will see some of the world's top junior surfers competing for US$10,000 in prize money and ratings points that will count towards the crowning of the 2009 ASP World Junior Champion.

The Komunity Project Future Stars event will showcase the progress that is being made in the transformation of the sport of surfing in South Africa and is due to take place on Friday 17 April. Eight junior surfers will be selected from Surfing South Africa's transformation and development program and flown in to Durban where they will be accommodated by Komunity Project. These surfers will then compete against each other in an exclusive surf-off giving them the opportunity to win a wildcard into the Quiksilver Pro Junior as well as a one year sponsorship from Komunity Project.
 
Keeping in line with the latest technological developments, the Quiksilver Pro Durban will include a live webcast on www.quikprodurban.com that will attract a host of viewers from around the world. The webcast will feature live footage and score updates in real time, and will be punctuated by commentary from some of world surfing's most respected voices, among them 1989 World Champion and former Durban local Martin Potter.

Previous reports:
# 1 : All eyes on New Pier for Quiksilver Pro Durban by Virgin
# 2 : Coming soon
# 3 : Coming soon
# 4 : Coming soon  

www.aspworldtour.com
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