ASP Top 17 Release ‘Welcome to the Life'

COOLANGATTA, Australia (Tuesday, June 2, 2009) – While the 2009 ASP Women’s World Tour is currently recharging in a mid-season break, the best female surfers in the world have been keeping busy. Launching today is the Official ASP Women’s World Tour Media Kit, dubbed “Welcome to the Life”, chronicling the 17 unique and beautiful faces that make up professional surfing’s finest.

For over 30 years, the dream of traveling the world and surfing exotic locations has been a reality for the world’s best female surfers as they follow the ASP Women’s World Tour, the most prestigious professional circuit in competitive surfing.

Heralding from all ends of the Earth – Australia, New Zealand, Peru, Brazil, Hawaii and South Africa – the ASP Top 17 is made up of a diverse and dynamic group of girls all looking to etch “ASP Women’s World Champion” next to their name.

Long recognized as a male dominated sport, today’s female surfers are giving their male counterparts a run for their money.

“The young crop this year has created a new era for women’s surfing,” Kelly Slater, reigning nine-time ASP World Champion, said. “They’re younger, faster, more radical surfers, with good looks and great style to match. The girls on the 2009 tour now would challenge most of the guys surfing today – and that’s saying something.”

“I’d like to see more of them in the spotlight,” Slater said. “I don’t think there’s enough emphasis placed upon the enormous and diverse talent of each individual in surfing. This year’s Top 17 are particularly marketable, so it’s time we saw this happen.”

The ASP Top 17 travel year-round, competing in some of the most exotic and desirable venues on the planet. At the end of the season, the surfer who has accumulated the most points throughout the year seizes the prestigious honor of being crowned the ASP Women’s World Champion, a title that brings with it much prestige and adulation, opening doors and opportunities around the world.

Names like Tom Carroll, Tom Curren, Wendy Botha and Lisa Andersen dominated the sport in the 1990s, contributing to the rise of the surf lifestyle industry.

Today, two Australians, Layne Beachley (a record seven-times ASP Women’s World Champion) and reigning ASP Women’s World Champion Stephanie Gilmore, are synonymous with the progression of female surfing. While Beachley cemented herself as an icon within the sport, it is Gilmore leading the next generation of talent, exuding athleticism, vibrancy and femininity.

With two ASP Women’s World Titles and multiple endorsement deals at her helm, Gilmore knows firsthand how fortunate she is to form part of the ASP Top 17.

“The ASP Women’s World tour presents the most exciting, challenging and talented female surfers on the planet, taking the surfing lifestyle on a journey around the world, all with the quest to be crowned ASP Women’s World Champion,” Gilmore said.

Sharing the sentiments and dreams of the best in the world is South American icon and 2004 ASP Women’s World Champion Sofia Mulanovich.

“Being on tour is the most wonderful thing ever,” Mulanovich said. “You get to surf good waves, meet amazing people, experience different cultures and at the same time you do what you love, it is living the dream.”

The ASP Top 17 are dispersed across the globe in preparation for the next chapter in the ASP Women’s World Tour, when the Beachley Classic kicks off in Sydney Australia on September 30, followed by the Rip Curl Pro Search, Somewhere in the North Atlantic on October 26.

For more information, log onto www.aspworldtour.com

HUNTINGTON BEACH, California (Sunday, May 31, 2009) – Young goofy-footer Tanner Gudauskas, 20, has had some time to relax after an impressive run at the 6.0 Lowers Pro in front of his home crowd in San Clemente, California, where he finished fifth overall in mainland America’s first ASP 6-Star PRIME contest, the 6.0 Lowers Pro. Gudauskas launched in to the No. 17 seat on The Grind, finding himself just outside of the qualification bubble at this point in the season. Now the motivated Californian is ready to get back on his competitive horse after the brief sabbatical and is hungry for his first ASP WQS win and a ticket to the ASP World Tour for 2010.

“I am super pumped coming off of a good result at home,” Gudauskas said. “That was a big contest for me. I want to go out there now and prove to myself that I can win one of the big events and put it in the end zone. I think that my brothers and I have been feeding off of each other for the past years and now we are ready to fire it up for the ASP World Tour.”

Since there has been more than a month between the 6.0 Lowers Pro and the next major contest, the SriLanken Airlines Pro at the ideal location of Pasta Point in the Maldives, Gudauskas has been enjoying his down-time while relaxing with friends and family and keeping himself busy by working on his golf game.

“It’s been great to have a break from the comps for a little while,” Gudauskas said. “It’s like a ying and yang combo that works perfectly for the life of a WQS surfer. Sometimes you just crave jersey time and getting the score at the end of the heats and other times you just want to go surf and have fun with friends and family back in San Clemente and I’ve been playing golf. The surf has been flat so we have been playing a lot of golf. We are still hacking it up, but the course in San Clemente is really fun and more geared towards ner golf. Now we are back and frothed for Maldives, running little mock heats with the brothers and Nathan Yeomans and just getting the twitch back for Maldives.”

The youngest of the Gudauskas trio is able to utilize the unique support group of his older twin brothers and fulltime travel partners Patrick and Dane to keep on his toes and stay mentally poised for the next event. Traveling with his family also helps Tanner bring a few of the comforts of home along with him while he battles it out on the ASP WQS.

“It’s a great traveling team,” Gudauskas said. “Sometimes it’s the difference of two months on the road and not being burned out, or just an easy two week travel and having a blast. Either way, we just try to have a good time wherever we go with the situations that we find ourselves in. It’s easy now because we all have things that get on each other’s nerves, so we just know when it’s coming and try to avoid it.”

The prodigious talent is out to continue his hunt for a spot on the ASP Dream Tour at the SriLanken Airlines Pro, where he hopes to take advantage of the roping lefthanders on offer at Pasta Point to blast another keeper result in to his 2009 score line.

“I couldn’t be happier about going back to the Maldives,” Gudauskas said. “I have been there twice for the contest and once for a free-surf trip. For myself, I couldn’t think of a more fun wave. Goofy-foots love going frontside and it’s a machine with how perfect it is. You can do any maneuver you can think of and it’s a super-fun contest to be a part of and watch because everyone is pushing their own limits. I can’t wait. We take off in about a week and I know the boys and I from here in town are ready to put it in the ring and leave it all on the floor.”

You can follow Tanner Gudauskas throughout The SriLanken Airlines Pro when the even runs from June 8-14, 2009. Log on to www.aspworldtour.com to catch all of the action.

For Tanner Gudauskas’ full profile log on to www.aspnorthamerica.org

TRIGG POINT, Western Australia (Sunday, May 31, 2009) – Owen Wright (Lennox Head, NSW) today claimed his fourth consecutive ASP Australasia Pro Junior victory today, with a convincing win at the ASP Grade-4 Chill Pro Junior at Trigg Point, Western Australia. The $6000 winner’s cheque means that Wright has now won more prize money than any other surfer in the history of the ASP Australasia Pro Junior Series.

At just 19 years of age, Wright now sits clearly on top of the ASP Australasia Pro Junior ratings, as well as holding down the No. 3 spot on the ASP World Qualifying Series (WQS) ratings.

The best surf of the event was saved for the Finals, where clean two feet waves allowed for some true high performance surfing, with all finalists stepping up to the challenge.

Wright’s scores in the 30 minute Final against Noah Lane (Rainbow Beach, QLD) reflect his total dominance of the three day event. He locked in a 9.50 ride in the opening minutes which set him up for the rest of the Final. He went on to score a back up 8.90 to finish with a combined total of 18.40 from a possible 20, the highest total for the entire event.

Wright’s razor sharp forehand attack was perfectly suited to the long lefthanders on offer, with his smooth style and trademark aerial manoeuvrers causing an eruption of applause from the crowds at Trigg Point. Wright was pushed by a determined Lane who persisted with a counter-attack and scored a combined total of 16.50 from a possible 20.

“I was stoked with the waves we had in the final,” Wright said. “We couldn’t have asked for much more. I was a bit worried that the surf was going to be small, especially after three weeks of pumping waves in Bali, but it turned out to be a great Final.”

In the women’s event, local girl Felicity Palmateer (Hillarys, WA) caused an upset to claim her first ASP Pro Junior win. Palmateer defeated event favourite Laura Enever (Narrabeen, NSW) in the Semifinals and carried the momentum with her into the finals, where she defeated Angela Keighran (Mullaway, NSW). Palmateer nearly doubled the score of her rival in the finals, racking up a combined score of 14.25 out of a possible 20, Keighran didn’t look as comfortable at Palmateer’s home break, scoring a combined total of only 7.75.

After the great success of the 2009 Chill Pro Junior at Trigg Point, major sponsor Brownes Chill have solidified their commitment to junior surfing in WA, supporting a range of events over the course of the next two years.

Surfing WA Event Manager Justin Majeks said, “It’s great to have Chill on board for a long-term partnership, the brand is a great fit with surfing and their support is much appreciated. It’s important for WA to have an ASP sanctioned Pro Junior event and we’re all looking forward to an even bigger and better Chill Pro Junior in 2010.”

For all results and news from the weekend check out www.chillprojunior.com

TRIGG POINT, Western Australia (Saturday, May 30, 2009) – Ideal conditions continued into Day 2 of the Chill Pro Junior at Trigg Beach, Western Australia. With the swell remaining at one-to-two foot (1 metre), competitors made the most of the quality beachbreaks on offer and put on a show for the packed car park at Trigg Point.

Preliminary heats this morning were highlighted by the performances of Matt Baldock (Margaret River, WA), Noah Lane (Rainbow Beach, QLD) Davey Cathels (Narrabeen, NSW), Perth Standlick (Bondi, NSW), Chris Friend (Alexander Headland, QLD) and Jack Freestone (Coolangatta, QLD), who all won their Round 2 heats with ease.

No one could match the intensity of Davey Cathels who surfed the morning’s best heat and was rewarded with a combined total of 15.50 out of a possible 20. Cathels, who is currently ranked third on the ASP Australasia Pro Junior Series, looks to be on track for a Finals appearance.

“The waves were slighty smaller than yesterday, but I managed to grab a few runners which I could open up on,” Cathels said.

He’ll have his work cut out for him when he meets Jordi Watson (Currarong, NSW), Cahill Bell-Warren (Bells Beach, VIC) and Regan Fredricks (Cabarita, NSW) in one of the standout heats of Round 4 which will run first thing tomorrow.

Dean Bowen (Gerroa, NSW) won his Round 3 heat and confirmed his intentions of taking out his first ASP Pro Junior event for 2009. Bowen amassed a total of 13.25 to claim victory over Jesse Adam (Newle, NSW) who finished with a total of 13.20. The close encounter was what Bowen was looking for leading into the business end of the competition.

“It was a tough heat, there were a few good sets and Jesse and I were the only ones to find them,” Bowen said. “I’m feeling pretty comfortable out there and cant wait to surf again tomorrow.”

In the women’s event, the Quarterfinals were completed with local WA surfers Felicity Palmateer (Hillarys) and Laura Macaulay (Gracetown) both making it through to the Semifinals. Joining the West Australians will be Laura Enever (Narrabeen, NSW) and Angela Keighran (Mullaway, NSW) who both survived close quarter final encounters.

With the swell expected to increase tomorrow the projection is looking promising leading into the Finals.

The Chill Pro Junior presented by the City of Stirling will continue tomorrow, Sunday 31st May at Trigg Point. Be sure to check the live action online at www.chillprojunior.com

 TRIGG POINT, Western Australia (Friday, May 29, 2009) – Day 1 of the Association of Surfing Professionals (ASP) Grade-4 Chill Pro Junior commenced today at Trigg Point, Western Australia. Despite initial concerns over the size of the surf and some inconsistency, competitors were greeted with clean one-to-two foot (1 metre) quality right and lefthand waves which gave them ample opportunity to impress with some polished displays of surfing.

No. 1 seed, Owen Wright (Lennox Head, NSW)m asserted his authority with a convincing win in his opening heat. Wright opened his campaign with the typical flair and style that has him currently holding down first place on the ASP Australasia Pro Junior ratings. His wave ion and devastating forehand attack were enough to see him rewarded with the morning’s highest scoring wave, a 8.55 out of a possible 10. He went on to secure a back up 7.25 ride to finish with a combined total of 15.80 out of 20.

“The waves were pretty fun, although they were sort of slow at the start of the heat,” Wright said. “I managed to pick off a few good ones and get a few turns in so Im pretty happy.”

Owen joined Dean Bowen (Gerroa, NSW) to take some time out to have a chat with local students attending learn to surf classes at Trigg beach. Arguably two of the best juniors in the world, Wright and Bowen still found the time to sign some autographs for admiring fans.

It was a day of mixed fortunes for the Wrights, with eldest of the two sisters Kirby progressing through to the next round. However, defending champion of the event Tyler Wright was eliminated by Angela Keighran (Mullaway, NSW) and Bronte Macaulay (Gracetown, WA) in her Round 1 heat.

Although Kirby scored an impressive 8.00 point ride in her heat, she had to settle for second behind Felicity Palmateer (Hillarys) who used her local knowledge to earn a win at her home beach.

West Aussies Jethro Hedstrom (Margaret River) and the Macaulay sisters, Laura and Bronte (Gracetown) also stepped up to the challenge and posted wins in their opening heats.

Other surfers to set the pace early on Day 1 included Max Ashyford (Matraville, NSW), who scored an 8.33 ride (out of a possible 10) for a series of forehand re-entries, which threw huge fans of spray. Ashyford will face Dean Bowen (NSW), Brad King (NSW) and Brad Edgar (NSW) when his round two heat hits the water later today.

The Chill Pro Junior presented by the City of Stirling will continue, Saturday 30th May at Trigg Point, WA and will run until Sunday 31st May, 2009.