Billabong Pro (July 17-27)

Association of Surfing Professionals (ASP)
other World Championship Tour (WCT)

Event Postponed Due To Inconsistent Surf

Jeffreys Bay, South Africa (Tuesday, July 17th) The Billabong Pro was postponed this morning due to inconsistent conditions at 'Supertubes'. Clean 3-4 foot (1.3m) waves graced the lineup sporadically, but with the notorious north/west 'Devil' wind blowing slightly and a dramatic swell increase expected in coming days, organizers opted to wait for more ideal surf before starting round one.

Two-time (1993 & '98) event champion and other contest director Michael 'Munga' Barry (Aus) made the decision at 7:30am this morning, together with head judge Perry Hatchett (Aus). With plenty of swell predicted during the
11-day waiting period, the other Billabong Pro looks set to enjoy more classic 'J-Bay' lineups and the exceptional surfing this prompts. "It looks like there will be a 6m south to south/west swell arriving tomorrow afternoon, or by Thursday (the 19th)," explained Barry. "So we should see great 6 foot (2m) conditions. It might drop a bit on Friday, but then there's a new swell following that. All indications are really good."

A decision will be made each morning as to the day's schedule, with a release following shortly afterward.

Swell warnings set pulses racing in Jeffreys Bay

Warnings of a huge swell in excess of six metres (20ft) in height along the Southern Cape coastline has the world's best surfers waxing their surfboards in anticipation of classic conditions at Jeffreys Bay for the Billabong Pro.

With four metre ocean swells predicted for Wednesday and Saturday and a 6.5 metre swell warning issued for Thursday, the organisers decided to postpone the start of the R2 million ASP World Championship Tour (WCT) event today in expectation of classic conditions later in the week. "It looks like there will be a 6 metre south to south/west swell arriving tomorrow afternoon, or by Thursday (the 19th)," said Michael "Munga" Barry the Australian contest director while making the decision not to start the event today. "We should see at least 6 foot (2 metre) at Supertubes (the venue for the contest). It might drop a bit on Friday, but then there's a new swell following that. All indications are really good," added the former two-time Jeffreys Bay event champion.

Most of the 48 contestants enjoyed some practice alongside a small pod of dolphins in the glassy one metre inconsistent waves and perfect weather at 'Supers' today. A call on whether to start the event will be made at 7.30 am each morning.
Stay abreast of the action at the Billabong Pro by logging on to www.billabongpro.com where there will be live streaming of scores, images and commentary. For the latest conditions call the Billabong Pro Hotline at +27 (0) 42 293 2402

Upcoming Round One Heats of the Billabong Pro
H1: Shane Powell (Aus); Kieren Perrow (Aus); Marcelo Nunes (Brz)
H2: Peterson Rosa (Brz); Neco Padaratz (Brz); Shane Beschen (USA)
H3: Shane Dorian (Haw); Jake Paterson (Aus); Shawn Sutton (Haw)
H4: Luke Egan (Aus); Luke Hitchings (Aus); Russell Winter (GB)
H5: Andy Irons (Haw); Joel Parkinson (Aus); Chris Davidson (Aus)
H6: Flavio Padaratz (Brz); Kalani Robb (Haw); Mark Bannister (Aus)
H7: Mark Occhilupo (Aus); Fabio Gouveia (Brz); Beau Emerton (Aus)
H8: CJ Hobgood (USA); Taylor Knox (USA); Brad Bricknell (SAfr)
H9: Sunny Garcia (Haw); Trent Munro (Aus); Tiago Pires (Port)
H10: Cory Lopez (USA); Nathan Hedge (Aus); Simon Nicholson (SAfr)
H11: Daniel Wills (Aus); Renan Rocha (Brz); Sasha Stocker (Aus)
H12: Richard Lovett (Aus); Taj Burrow (Aus); Ben Bourgeois (USA)
H13: Shea Lopez (USA); Armando Daltro (Brz); Greg Emslie (SAfr)
Hsnow: Paul Canning (SAfr); Pat O'Connell (USA); Rodrigo Dornelles (Brz)
Hsurf: Nathan Webster (Aus); Michael Lowe (Aus); Joca Junior (Brz)
H16: Michael Campbell (Aus); Damien Hobgood (USA); Paulo Moura (Brz)

Day 1 | Day 2 | Day 3 | Finals >>

<< Back

Further Information:

Log onto www.billabongpro.com or www.aspworldtour.com SURF @ www.boarding.nethttp://www.boarding.net