J-Bay Event Set to Begin

2002 BILLABONG PRO JEFFREYS BAY

WORLD CHAMPIONSHIP TOUR (WCT) SURFING EVENT

QUICK FACTS

WHAT: The Billabong Pro, the fifth of 12 events on the 2002 ASP World Championship Tour (WCT), the circuit that determines the annual world surfing champion.

WHEN: Tuesday July 16 to Friday July 26, 2002. The contest requires 33 hours of competition and will be staged in the best available conditions during the 11-day waiting period.

WHERE: Jeffreys Bay, South Africa. The contest is staged at Supertubes, a right-hand point break universally acknowledged as one of the top 10 surfing venues on the planet.

WHO: The event features the top 45 surfers on the 2001 ASP world ratings plus three wildcards. The field includes reigning world champion CJ Hobgood (Florida), 2002 ratings leader Andy Irons (Haw), two-time defending event champ Jake Paterson (Aus) and former winners Mark Occhilupo (1984), Joel Parkinson (1999) and Kelly Slater (1997). Slater, a six-time world champion, has been granted one of the wildcards for every event on the 2002 WCT. South Africans Greg Emslie (EL) and Paul Canning (Dbn) are amongst the top 45.

The injury-enforced withdrawal of Brazilian brothers Flavio and Neco Padaratz have made two additional wildcards available. The four wildcards will go to the top two finishers in each of two heats in the Von Zipper Trials held on the opening day of the event. The VZ Trials will feature four South Africans in Bradley Bricknell (Jeffreys Bay), Sean Holmes (Wilderness) and Durbanites Simon Nicholson and Travis Logie, along with four international competitors in Australians Shaun Cansdell and Bede Durbidge, Che Stang from the USA and Brazilian Danilo Costa.

FORMAT: The first round comprises 16 non-elimination three-man heats. The winner advances directly to round three while second and third places go into round two. From round two onwards, each heat comprises two surfers with the winner advancing to the next round and the loser eliminated from the event, until two remain to contest the final.

STATUS: The Billabong Pro is sanctioned by the Association of Surfing Professionals (ASP), the Australia based organisation that controls professional surfing worldwide. It is the only World Championship Tour (WCT) event to be staged in South Africa annually.

Due to Supertubes being granted Prime status as a venue on the WCT, all ratings points earned at the event will be increased by 20%.

PRIZE-MONEY: The prize purse totals US $250 000 (+/- R2 500 000) with the winner earning $30 000 (+/- R300 000), making it the most lucrative surfing event ever staged on the African continent.

PRODUCTION: The event is produced by Billabong South Africa, the manufacturer and distributor of Billabong apparel and accessories, and ASP International. The Contest Director is Michael "Munga" Barry from Australia.

WEBSITES: Details on the Billabong Pro, including competitor profiles, event history, media releases and live streaming of video footage, images, commentary and scoring are available at the websites www.billabongpro.com and www.aspworldtour.com.