| Tuesday, July 8, 2008 - ASP
World Tour rookie Jordy Smith (ZAF) put the world's best surfers
on notice when he made the semifinals of the 2006 Billabong Pro
Jeffreys Bay as an 18-year-old wildcard.
Halfway through his first year as a member of the ASP Top 45,
the young South African has yet to match or beat that equal 3rd
result. He will head into the July 10-20, 2008 Billabong Pro
waiting period hoping to change that.
"I can't wait for JBay," Smith said. "I've only ever surfed in one
event there but I went there at age 7 for the first time and I
love the wave. It's probably the best wave for me on tour so I
just hoping to get a good result.
Smith is currently rated ASP World No. 19 after finishing 9th on
the Gold Coast of Australia, 33rd in BellsBeach and 17th in
Tahiti and Fiji. A former ASP World Junior Champion who finished
1st on the 2007 ASP World Qualifying Series (WQS), Smith has
yet to enjoy paralleled success at surfing's highest level, the
ASP World Tour.
"I have definitely made a lot of rookie mistakes, but that stuff
I think will come in time," Smith said. "Still, it's been pretty
cool traveling for the first time with some of your heroes that
you looked up to growing up as a kid."
Smith will meet current ASP World No. 3 Adriano de Souza (BRA)
and fellow South African Travis Logie in Heat 3 of Round 1.
The main event will be preceded by the VonZipper Wildcard
Trials which will pit eight of South Africa's rising stars
against four international surfers in three heats The winner of
each heat will earn a wildcard into the main event and the
opportunity to test their skills against the world's best
surfers.
The South African trialists include ASP WQS campaigners Warwick
Wright (Durban) and Damien Fahrenfort, freesurfer and J-Bay
local Shaun Payne and Pro Junior surfers Rudy Palmboom Jr., Klee
Strachan, Chad du Toit, Shaun Joubert and Dale Staples.
The international trialists include 1984 JBay champion and 1999
ASP World Champion Mark Occhilupo (AUS), Tahiti's Tamaroa McComb
and Brazil's Peterson Crisanto. The fourth trialist is yet to be
named.
Billabong Pro Jeffreys Bay Round 1 Match-Ups:
Heat 1: Adrian Buchan (AUS), Roy Powers (HAW), Tiago Pires (PRT)
Heat 2: Bobby Martinez (USA), Jay Thompson (AUS), Ben Bourgeois (USA)
Heat 3: Adriano de Souza (BRA), Jordy Smith (ZAF), Travis Logie (ZAF)
Heat 4: C.J. Hobgood (USA), Ben Dunn (AUS), Jihad Khodr (BRA)
Heat 5: Andy Irons (HAW), Bruce Irons (HAW), Daniel Ross (AUS)
Heat 6: Bede Durbidge (AUS), Damien Hobgood (USA), Ricky Basnett (ZAF)
Heat 7: Joel Parkinson (AUS), Taylor Knox (USA), Nic Muscroft (AUS)
Heat 8: Kelly Slater (USA), Dayyan Neve (AUS), TBD
Heat 9: Mick Fanning (AUS), Dane Reynolds (USA), TBD
Heat 10: Taj Burrow (AUS), Tom Whitaker (AUS), TBD
Heat 11: Jeremy Flores (FRA), Chris Ward (USA), Royden Bryson (ZAF)
Heat 12: Luke Stedman (AUS), Mikael Picon (FRA), Daniel Wills (AUS)
Heat 13: Kai Otton (AUS), Neco Padaratz (BRA), Leonardo Neves (BRA)
Heat 14: Tim Reyes (USA), Fredrick Patacchia (HAW), Heitor Alves (BRA)
Heat 15: Dean Morrison (AUS), Luke Munro (AUS), Rodrigo Dornelles (BRA)
Heat 16: Pancho Sullivan (HAW), Michael Campbell (AUS), Kieren Perrow (AUS) |
BILLABONG PRO JBay 2008