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Competition Currently On Hold
Author: ASP World Tour
Waves are currently 2-3ft (1m) at Victoria’s Bells Beach. A major swell increase is expected, however, so organizers are hopeful it arrives in time for early heats to hit the water this afternoon.
Defending Rip Curl Pro and world champion Andy Irons of Hawaii is one surfer hoping the surf doesn’t arrive, as he’s stuck in Hawaii and is not due to arrive in Australia until Wednesday morning, after losing his passport over the weekend.
If competition does start later today and Irons misses his first round heat, he won’t be eliminated from the competition, though will face a man-on-man knockout heat in Round Two - a less than ideal start to his defense of one of the sport’s most coveted event titles.
The 2003 Rip Curl Pro has a 12-day waiting period, yet only requires four days of competition to decide this year’s champion. While the natural amphitheatre at Bells Beach and the epic waves of the ‘Bowl’ and inside ‘Rincon’ sections will be the main site, the event is fully mobile. If there is no contestable surf at Bells, competition can be moved to the adjacent break at Winki Pop, or to the magical beach breaks of Johanna about two hours drive west of Bells, or the similarly renowned Gunnamatta beach breaks, on the Mornington peninsula, east of Bells.
The Rip Curl Pro would not be possible without the combined efforts of the different groups involved in the event’s staging – Surfing Victoria; The Surf Coast Shire Council; the Victorian Government Department of Tourism, Sport & The Commonwealth Games; and the Association of Surfing Professionals (ASP) – plus the supporting sponsorship of Lifesavers, Ansell, Coca-Cola, Vodka Cruiser, Falls Creek, Fudge & Tooheys.
Upcoming Rip Curl Pro Round One Heats (1st>Rnd 3; 2nd & 3rd>Rnd 2)
H1: Mark Occhilupo (Aus); Shane Powell (Aus); Victor Ribas (Brz)
H2: Kelly Slater (USA); Luke Hitchings (Aus); Chris Davidson (Aus)
H3: Daniel Wills (Aus); Peterson Rosa (Brz); Tom Whittaker (Aus)
H4: Kieren Perrow (Aus); Taylor Knox (USA); Toby Martin (Aus)
H5: Michael Lowe (Aus); Sunny Garcia (Haw); Luke Stedman (Aus)
H6: Mick Fanning (Aus); Michael Campbell (Aus); Tim Curran (USA)
H7: Taj Burrow (Aus); Neco Padaratz (Brz); Danilo Costa (Brz)
H8: Andy Irons (Haw); Dean Morrison (Aus); Nick Muscroft (Aus)
H9: Joel Parkinson (Aus); Pat O’Connell (USA); Adam Robertson (Aus)
H10: Luke Egan (Aus); Jake Paterson (Aus); Jamie O’Brien (Haw)
H11: Shea Lopez (USA); Nathan Webster (Aus); Darren O’Rafferty (Aus)
H12: Cory Lopez (USA); Trent Munro (Aus); Guilherme Herdy (Brz)
H13: Kalani Robb (Haw); Paulo Moura (Brz); Fabio Gouveia (Brz)
H14: Damien Hobgood (USA); Phil MacDonald (Aus); Flavio Padaratz (Brz)
H15: CJ Hobgood (USA); Armando Daltro (Brz); Richard Lovett (Aus)
H16: Shane Dorian (Haw); Lee Winkler (Aus); Nathan Hedge (Aus)
For more information:
Onsite media: +61-(0)-3-5261-5722
Jesse Faen
Media Director, ASP Int'l
jesse@aspworldtour.com
www.aspworldtour.com
Mobile (on-site): +61-407-189-289
ASP Int'l office (Aus): +617-5599-1550
Gary Dunne
Rip Curl Pro Media
gdunne@ripcurl.com.au
Ph: +61-(0)-438-613-327
Digital images will be available free of charge from Pierre Tostee/ASP:
tostee@aspworldtour.com