Fantasy Surfer: 2004 Billabong Pro JBay

Monday, July 12, 2004 (Jeffreys Bay, South Africa) The Billabong Pro is set to commence morning with great waves predicted. The fifth of 12 events on the 2004 Foster’s men’s ASP World Championship Tour (WCT), ‘J-Bay’ follows a months’ break, leaving competitors hungry to be let loose on one of the world’s premier righthand point breaks.

Supertubes, the venue for the 20th edition of what has become Africa’s most prestigious and lucrative surfing tournament, is universally acknowledged as one of the planet’s top 10 high performance waves.

Add the talent of the world’s 45 highest ranked surfers, including reigning two-time world surfing champion Andy Irons (Kauai, HAW) and former six-time world champ and defending Billabong Pro winner Kelly Slater (FL, USA) and you get a sense of the show brewing.

Irons, who only yesterday won the 6-Star rated World Qualifying Series (WQS) event in nearby Durban, is clearly eager to make amends for the previous two years of early losses in South African waters. The Kauaian traveled to J-Bay a week ago to help acclimatize to the cooler temperatures and long righthand walls, using Durban as an added boost to his already daunting competitive instincts.

Together with most of his peers who have also arrived in Jeffreys Bay, Irons used today’s clean 3-4ft walls as a good warm up for the coming event. The 45 WCT campaigners, including South African Greg Emslie, will be joined in the 48-man format by three wildcards who are determined by the Von Zipper Wildcard Trials staged the first day the contest is called on.

The VZ Trials will be contested by South Africans Sean Holmes (Wilderness), J-Bay local Ryan Payne and the 2002 ISA world junior champion and runner-up, Durbanites Warwick Wright and Ricky Basnett respectively, as well as SA juniors Damien Fahrenfort and Jordy Smith.

They will be against four international Billabong team riders in Bede Durbidge (Aus) and Portugal’s Tiago Pires, along with newcomers TJ Barron from Hawaii and Norimasa Ohno – the first Japanese surfer to compete in the event. The top surfer in each of the five man heats, plus the highest scoring second placed competitor, automatically earn a spot in the prestigious Billabong Pro, where they will be matched up against the top three seeds in the first round.

World #7 Kieren Perrow (Byron Bay, AUS) and wife Danielle welcomed the birth of their first son, Tosh, a couple of days ago and thus the natural footer has withdrawn from the tournament. Fellow Australian and former world #2 Shane Powell (Avoca, AUS) has replaced him in the draw, since he narrowly missed out on re-qualification last season as was next in line.

The Billabong Pro boasts an 11-day window, yet only requires four full days of competition to determine a champion in the best possible conditions.

All the action from the Billabong Pro will be streamed live on the Internet at www.billabongpro.com. These productions include three camera angles, live commentary in English, Spanish and Portuguese, up to the minute scoring, replays of rides, a fan club and email messages from around the planet broadcast over the event PA system and the web.

A decision will be made by 7:30am (local time) tomorrow morning, with a fresh swell expected to provide ideal surf for an immediate start.

Upcoming Billabong Pro Round One Heats (1st>Rnd3; 2nd, 3rd>Rnd2)

• H1: Michael Lowe (AUS); Michael Campbell (AUS); Chris Davidson (AUS)
• H2: Luke Egan (AUS); Phillip MacDonald (AUS); Eric Rebiere (FRA)
• H3: Joel Parkinson (AUS); Neco Padaratz (BRA); Greg Emslie (ZFR)
• H4: Taj Burrow (AUS); Tim Curran (USA); Luke Hitchings (AUS)
• H5: Damien Hobgood (USA); Richard Lovett (AUS); Shane Beschen (USA)
• H6: Mark Occhilupo (AUS); Peterson Rosa (BRA); Armando Daltro (BRA)
• H7: Taylor Knox (USA); Sunny Garcia (HAW); Shane Powell (AUS)
• H8: Andy Irons (HAW); Lee Winkler (AUS); 0
• H9: Kelly Slater (USA); Victor Ribas (BRA); 0
• H10: C.J. Hobgood (USA); Pat O'Connell (USA); 0
• H11: Dean Morrison (AUS); Tom Whitaker (AUS); Raoni Monteiro (BRA)
• H12: Nathan Hedge (AUS); Trent Munro (AUS); Bruce Irons (HAW)
• H13: Daniel Wills (AUS); Marcelo Nunes (BRA); Nathan Webster (AUS)
• H14: Jake Paterson (AUS); Cory Lopez (USA); Darren O'Rafferty (AUS)
• H15: Guilherme Herdy (BRA); Kalani Robb (HAW); Troy Brooks (AUS)
• H16: Paulo Moura (BRA); Toby Martin (AUS); Beau Emerton (AUS)