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MARGARET RIVER, Western Australia/Australia (Friday, March 19, 2001) – Huge surf provided ideal conditions as the world’s top surfers charged the 3 to 4m (12 feet plus) waves at Margaret River today.

Local favourite and current Association of Surfing Professionals (ASP) World No. 1 surfer Taj Burrow lead the charge by easily winning both his round of 24 and round of 16 heats to advance through to tomorrow’s quarter finals where he will face fellow WA surfer Yadin Nicol.

It’s seriously big out there this morning  said an excited Burrow after the heat win.

The largest sets are closing out the bay and we had to really had to communicate with the Jet Ski water patrol and avoid some of those sets – I concentrated on surfing the  smaller 10 feet  sets, which worked well for me.

Big wave surfers were in their element today.

Late in the day C.J. Hobgood dominated the break scoring both the day’s highest scoring ride of a 9.17 along with the day’s highest heat tally of 17.17 in his big win over Heitor Alves from Brazil.

I love it out there it’s really like surfing in Hawaii and there’s so much wave face to work with said the 2001 World Champion.

I’m excited about tomorrow with clean offshore winds and excellent conditions   it should be a great day to finish.

Shortly after current World Champion Mick Fanning was eliminated from the event going down to a rampaging Josh Kerr who controlled the heat early when he scored an excellent 8 point ride on a solid wave and performed some critical vertical moves to win the heat by 2.36 points   14.93 Kerr to Fanning on 12.57.

That’s the first time I’ve beaten Mick in a man-on man heat so that’s a notch in the belt said Kerr.

I saw Mick fall on his last wave and knew I had a chance to take the heat   I felt good on that last ride, three strong turns in these conditions and I was confident I’d nailed the score and that’s how it turned out  said Kerr.

Adrian Buchan won the closest duel of the day defeating Vic Muscroft in a heat that saw the lead change multiple times. Buchan’s last ride in the final 30 seconds when requiring a 6.4 wave score and registering a 6.8 saw him take the heat to advance to quarter final three tomorrow.

The final two heats of the day, with strong winds and consistent solid sets were won by Corey Lopez (USA) and Sunny Garcia (Hawaii) and they will face off in tomorrow’s 4th quarter final.

Contest Director Mike McAuliffe, an experienced Margaret River surfer, adjusted the event schedule maximising the men’s division on the peak of this swell and at this stage is aiming to complete the Men’s final of the Drug Aware Pro presented by Rusty around midday tomorrow with the Women’s scheduled for Sunday.

The swell has peaked today and will slowly but I expect it to remain quite solid to 2m and with ideal winds the weekend’s looking really good   if anything, tomorrow’s conditions will be ideal for super high performance surfing which will be fantastic for the large crowds we’re expecting here.

Tomorrow’s Quarter finals:
Quarterfinal 1: Taj Burrow V Yadin Nicol
Quarterfinal 2: C.J. Hobgood V Bede Durbidge
Quarterfinal 3: Josh Kerr V Adrian Buchan
Quarterfinal 4: Corey Lopez V Sunny Garcia

Follow the event live via www.drugawarepro.com or www.aspworldtour.com

MARGARET RIVER, Western Australia/Australia (Thursday, March 18, 2010) – Taj Burrow has edged into the Round of 24 of the Association of Surfing Professionals 6-star prime rated Drug Aware Pro at Margaret River, narrowly avoiding elimination with a high scoring wave in the last minute of his heat. Needing a score of 6.78 to progress, Burrow found a nice right hander that allowed him to get in three big manoeuvres, ending the wave on dry reef. The judges rated the wave a score of 7.93, shooting Taj to first in his heat and through to the next round.

With such a quality field surfing at the Drug Aware Pro this year, Burrow expected a tough heat.

I knew it would be a tough heat. I was up against three other elite ASP World Tour surfers and Rossy and Thompson know the Margs break really well. They are also used to surfing the four man heat format. They were smashing me out there, they just kept getting the waves.

Fresh out of the water, Burrow was buzzing.

We knew out in the water that it was a really close heat. The commentators kept calling out the scores so I was definitely looking for a late scoring wave. When that wave came I knew I had to let loose. I made the first two snaps and I worked the wave right through and ended up close in on the reef and got a bit cut up. I knew I had an 8 scoring wave so it was definitely worth it.

Burrow moves through to the Round of 24 which will at 7am local time tomorrow. The fore is for a very large swell with offshore winds and the expectations are rising amongst the quality field.

Tomorrow is going to be big, said Burrow. When the waves get to that size at Margs the right is pretty much out of bounds. There will be some really big s tomorrow It’s going to be fun.

But the big news from the morning heats was the elimination of ASP World Number 2 Joel Parkinson. Surfing in the final heat of the Round of 96, Parkinson was chasing a late wave to proceed through to the next round. Needing only a 4.47 ride, Parkinson found the set wave only seconds too late and stayed in third place in his heat with a total of 9.90 points, only 0.23 points behind second placed Chris Ward. Another Australian Dayyan Neve won the heat with a score of 11.40.

Parkinson was philosophical about his early elimination after the heat saying,

I don’t surf WQS events with four surfers in a heat very often and I was really lost and out of sync out there today My preparation and mindset is all about the ASP world tour and that’s basically man-on-man two man heats and you surf those heats completely different four surfers in a heat is a different world getting the waves is a huge fight and these guys are like animals out there fighting for survival and I couldn’t adjust today.

Other stand-outs today included interntional surfers C J Hobgood (USA), Raoni Monterio (Brazil) and Sunny Garcia (Hawaii).

Expectations are for the Men’s competition to continue into tomorrow with very large surf and perfect conditions fore. The Women are now scheduled to continue on Saturday around the Men’s Finals.

Follow the event live via www.drugawarepro.com or www.aspworldtour.com

BELLS BEACH, Victoria/Australia (Thursday, March 18, 2010) – The Rip Curl Pro Bells Beach presented by Snickers is preparing for the greatest assemblage of surfing talent in history to descend upon the tiny Victorian hamlet of Torquay, as the world’s best surfers look to lay waste to the pristine righthanders of the region.

Mick Fannin, Bells Beach. photo (c) ASP/CI/CESTARI

Event No. 2 of 10 on the 2010 ASP World Tour, the Rip Curl Pro Bells Beach is the highly-anticipated follows up to an exciting season opener, and with 15 ASP World Titles represented amongst the ASP Top 45, this year’s event promises to be a showdown for the ages, running from March 30 through April 10, 2010.

Mick Fanning (AUS), 28, reigning two-time ASP World Champion, is the running favourite this season following a sensational assault on the back half of 2009. However, after an uncharacteristic Equal 9th place finish at the opening event of the season on the Gold Coast, the Australian natural-footer will look to rebound at the upcoming Rip Curl Pro Bells Beach.

“It was a disappointing start because I expect a lot of myself on the Gold Coast,” Fanning said. “I was happy with the way I was surfing. I just had a heat where I failed to lock in a solid second score. I felt really strong going into the first event but sometimes that’s not enough. Every year, the standard of surfing on tour gets better. I got beaten by Kai Otton, one of the most solid competitors there is, so there’s no shame in that. Now I’ve got to now focus at getting back on track at Bells.”

A former event winner at Bells Beach (as a wildcard in 2001), and now a two-time ASP World Champion, Fanning understands that expectations upon him are different in 2010, but with over a decade of competitive experience at the venue under his belt, the 28-year-old will be looking to consolidate amidst familiar surroundings.

“There’s definitely more pressure mainly because of the media focus and expectations people have but I’ve been in this position before and I feel like I’m now better equipped mentally to deal with those pressures now,” Fanning said. “I’ve been going to Bells and competing there since I was 16-years old. I’m really comfortable with the wave and I feel my surfing suits the spot. Hopefully we get some solid clean swells.”

Before Fanning can lay claim to this season’s Rip Curl “Bell”, he’ll have to contend with the greatest assemblage of surfing talent in the history of the sport.

“There are a number of guys on tour that have a style that really suits Bells,” Fanning said. “None more so than former winners Kelly Slater and Joel Parkinson. If I had to throw another name out it would be Jordy Smith – he’s lethal on a righthand pointbreak and coming off a second place finish in the first event, I got a feeling he’ll be one to watch.”

Taj Burrow (AUS), 31, current ASP World No. 1 and former winner at the Rip Curl Pro Bells Beach (2007), has been in unstoppable form since December, claiming three victories in three attempts at Pipeline, Burleigh Heads and Snapper Rocks.

“I haven’t actually changed my approach that much at all,” Burrow said. “The training I’ve been doing hasn’t changed one bit. I’m just feeling really confident at the moment and not putting too much pressure on myself. I always do my best when I’m actually excited to surf a heat, so I’ve just been trying to replicate how I feel when I go free surfing.”

Burrow’s newfound consistency has several pundits alluring to the possibility of a maiden ASP World Title clinching, but the progressive icon is cautious when considering 2010’s outcome.

“It’s too early in the year for pressure,” Burrow said. “The first few events are always about getting into competing again and finding some momentum. I’m not feeling any pressure at all. Bells is a hard wave to surf at times – it changes a lot with the tide. You could be surfing six foot bowl or three foot Rincon on the same day. I’ve always really liked surfing Bells – it is a wave with a lot of open face to play around with and the atmosphere with the crowd is unbelievable. Ringing the Bell in 2007 was something I had always wanted to do.”

Andy Irons (HAW), 31, former three-time ASP World Champion, has returned to full-time competition following a sabbatical in 2009. Finishing Equal 17th on the Gold Coast, the ferocious Hawaiian has gotten a taste for the new blood on tour and is prepared to do battle at Bells Beach.

“The surfing has really progressed,” Irons said. “The new generation of kids on tour surf amazing. I’m stoked to be back in with the mix that’s for sure.”

A former back-to-back winner at the Rip Curl Pro Bells Beach (2002, 2003), Irons re-defined progressive surfing at the famed break earlier in the decade, and will look to invoke a return to form in 2010.

“I’m working on getting my boards dialed,” Irons said. “I ordered a couple of Simon Andersons and his boards have done well with me at Bells in the previous years. I have won at Johanna and at Bells Bowl before – they are both really fun powerful waves. The bowl at low tide is super rippable. Hopefully we have good swell. I’m really looking forward to surfing the event.”

The Rip Curl Pro Bells Beach pres. By Snickers will be web LIVE via www.live.ripcurl.com

The Rip Curl Women’s Pro Bells Beach presented by Ford Fiesta, featuring the ASP Top 17, will run in conjunction with the Rip Curl Pro from March 30 through April 5, 2010.

For more information, log onto www.aspworldtour.com

ASP WORLD TOUR TOP 5 (Heading Into Rip Curl Pro Bells Beach):
1 – Taj Burrow (AUS) 10000 pts
2 – Jordy Smith (ZAF) 8000 pts
3 – Bobby Martinez (USA) 6500 pts
3 – Dane Reynolds (USA) 6500 pts
5 – Joel Parkinson (AUS) 5250 pts
5 – Bede Durbidge (AUS) 5250 pts
5 – Adriano de Souza (BRA) 5250 pts
5 – Kai Otton (AUS) 5250 pts