Bobby Martinez Claims Billabong Pro Tahiti Over Taj Burrow

TEAHUPOO, Tahiti (Tuesday, May 19, 2009) - Bobby Martinez (USA), 26, has taken out the Billabong Pro Tahiti presented by Air Tahiti Nui, defeating fellow Finalist Taj Burrow (AUS), 30, in clean three-to-five foot (1.5 metre) waves at Teahupoo.

Event No. 3 of 10 on the 2009 ASP World Tour, the Billabong Pro Tahiti survived a marathon waiting period, culminating on the second-to-last available day in improving conditions that peaked for a climactic Final.

Martinez surfed a near-flawless heat, opening up with an impressive 8.73 out of a possible 10 before putting his opponent in a combination situation with a Houdini-esque 9.73 out of a possible 10. Netting the highest heat total of the event, an 18.46 out of a possible 20, Martinez claimed his second Billabong Pro Tahiti and fourth elite tour win, establishing himself as one of the premier tube-riders in the world.

�I feel great and a bit emotional,� Martinez said. �I feel wonderful. I waited for the good ones out there and just got lucky. There weren�t too many waves and I was lucky enough to get a couple of good ones and not fall. Things just seemed to work out for me today. I really don�t know what to say. It feels really special.�

The form surfer of the event, Martinez surfed the majority of his heats on borrowed equipment, having broken most of his surfboards early in the waiting period.

�I actually borrowed a board from Alain Riou (local Tahitian surfer),� Martinez said. �He rides Darren Handley shapes and the board was the same dimensions and pretty much the same board I ride. It was great to find that as yesterday, I was a bit skeptical about today in terms of the conditions and my equipment, but everything worked out perfectly.�

Martinez, who is without a major sponsor at the moment, has rocketed himself from 19th to 7th on the ASP World Tour ratings with today�s win, putting him in excellent position for the remainder of the year.

�I�m not thinking about money right now, but rather I�m thinking about the feelings I have,� Martinez said. �I didn�t start surfing to make money. I started for me, and to win today, you cannot put a price on the feelings I have. I�m really going to let it sink it and enjoy it. It�s a great result, but it�s a long year and anything can happen. Joel (Parkinson) has a great lead, and now that this event is over, my focus goes to the next one.�

Burrow�s efforts in the Final were nothing short of spectacular, collecting an 8.17, a 7.93 and a 7.33, but they were not enough to overtake the Martinez stranglehold on the event.

�I definitely had fun but it was tricky against Bobby (Martinez),� Burrow said. �He had a dream heat. The conditions looked pretty good for your forehand because the judges like seeing you pump on your forehand in the barrel. On your backhand, you just have to park it in the pit and you can�t do much, but Bobby did everything he had to out there and deserved the win. I still had a fun Final, but hard to enjoy out there because I was in a combination situation the whole time.�

Burrow now moves into the No. 2 position on the ASP World Tour ratings, setting the Western Australian up well as he eyes up the next events.

�I�ve had two keepers in terms of results and I�m hungry,� Burrow said. �I�m still kicking and I�m looking to win. The next few events, I feel really strong at and I�m going to do whatever it takes to win. I�m stoked to get a result at Teahupoo, I haven�t done well here in a few years so it sets me up really well for the rest of the year.�

Aritz Aranburu (EUK), 23, former ASP World No. 39, was the �Cinderella Story� at the Billabong Pro Tahiti. Having failed to advance through a heat in the opening two events of the season, the Basque Country�s first ever ASP World Tour competitor stormed past Californian sensation Dane Reynolds (USA), 23, former event winner Damien Hobgood (USA), 29, Australian veteran Tom Whitaker, 29, and reigning nine-time ASP World Champion Kelly Slater (USA), 37, en route to a Semifinals berth.

"I�ve had a tough draw throughout the event, but that�s what has kept me motivated,� Aranburu said. �Coming up against the best guys out there, you need to lift your ability. Beating Kelly (Slater) for me is one of the biggest achievements I�ve ever had. I�ve been looking up to him for so long, and just being on tour with him is an honor. To beat him is a major achievement for me."

The career-best result was halted at the hands of eventual winner Martinez during one of the most exciting heats of the event. Despite coming up short to Martinez (15.23 to the Californian�s 17.17), Aranburu�s equal 3rd place finish boosts the European to 19th on the ASP World Tour ratings.

�Bobby (Martinez) is one of the best out there,� Aranburu said. �I had one good one, but he got two good ones, and that was it. It�s my best result ever and I am stoked. I have lots of confidence going into the next events. I just want to go home and train and try new boards for Brazil and J-Bay. The biggest thing for me is to know that if I can do it once, I can do it twice.�

Michael Campbell (AUS), 35, opened his final day affair with a close win over fellow ASP Dream Tour veteran Taylor Knox (USA), 38, in the Quarterfinals, but the goofy-footer�s precision forehand approach wasn�t enough to overtake a rampaging Burrow in the Semifinals.

�It felt like I was a bit out of rhythm in the Semifinal,� Campbell said. �I wasn�t able to capitalize on the waves I got and Taj (Burrow) posted a couple of really strong scores mid-heat that left me wanting.�

Although falling short of a Finals berth, the journeyman competitor�s equal 3rd place finish boosts him from 29th to 16th on the ASP World Tour ratings.

"This is going to do a lot for my cause,� Campbell said. �I�ve had average results this year and last year too, so a third is pretty special for me. All of the heats have been hard and sometimes the luck goes your way. I�ve had a bit of luck this time around, but I�ve also spent some time here and I know it pretty well. Stoked to get a result and looking forward to the next one."

Joel Parkinson (AUS), 28, suffered an unfortunate Round 3 loss at the Billabong Pro Tahiti, but after two event wins to open the season up, the Gold Coaster remains the frontrunner on this year�s ASP World Tour ratings.

The next stop on the 2009 ASP World Tour will be the Hang Loose Santa Catarina Pro in Brazil from June 27 to July 5, 2009.

Highlights from the Billabong Pro Tahiti presented by Air Tahiti Nui will be available via www.billabongpro.com

For more information, log onto www.aspworldtour.com

BILLABONG PRO TAHITI FINAL RESULTS:
1 � Bobby Martinez (USA) 18.46
2 � Taj Burrow (AUS) 16.10

BILLABONG PRO TAHITI SEMIFINAL RESULTS:
SF 1: Taj Burrow (AUS) 14.86 def. Michael Campbell (AUS) 10.00
SF 2: Bobby Martinez (USA) 17.17 def. Aritz Aranburu (EUK) 15.23

BILLABONG PRO TAHITI QUARTERFINAL RESULTS:
QF 1: Taj Burrow (AUS) 15.33 def. C.J. Hobgood (USA) 14.06
QF 2: Mick Campbell (AUS) 12.84 def. Taylor Knox (USA) 10.17
QF 3: Bobby Martinez (USA) 15.93 def. Adriano de Souza (BRA) 12.67
QF 4: Aritz Aranburu (EUK) 11.66 def. Tom Whitaker (AUS) 10.66

REMAINING BILLABONG PRO TAHITI ROUND 3 RESULTS:
Heat 5: Bobby Martinez (USA) 13.17 def. Andy Irons (HAW) 10.16
Heat 6: Adriano de Souza (BRA) 13.57 def. Jordy Smith (ZAF) 8.67
Heat 7: Aritz Aranburu (EUK) 12.56 def. Damien Hobgood (USA) 9.16
Heat 8: Tom Whitaker (AUS) 9.43 def. Mick Fanning (AUS) 9.40

CURRENT ASP WORLD TOUR TOP 10:
1 � Joel Parkinson (AUS) 3000 points
2 � Taj Burrow (AUS) 2318 points
3 � Mick Fanning (AUS) 2208 points
4 � C.J. Hobgood (USA) 2196 points
5 � Adriano de Souza (BRA) 2174 points
6 � Jordy Smith (ZAF) 2076 points
7 � Bobby Martinez (USA) 2025 points
8 � Tom Whitaker (AUS) 1932 points
9 � Fredrick Patacchia (HAW) 1886 points
10 � Kieren Perrow (AUS) 1742 points
10 � Taylor Knox (USA) 1742 points
10 � Damien Hobgood (USA) 1742 points

Lay Day on Day 1 of the Billabong Pro Tahiti Waiting Period

TEAHUPOO, Tahiti (Thursday, May 8, 2008) Today is the first of an 11-day waiting period for the Billabong Pro Tahiti but the ASP Top 45 and event wildcards will not paddle out for their Round 1 heats today. Contest Director Luke Egan eyed conditions all morning before opting to call things off for the day.

"We had a good look at it and we are opting not to run today, Egan said. I watched it for an hour last night and if it looked like that this morning then I was definitely going to run. Time is on our side with the waiting period so we are going to utilize it fully."

Conditions are forecasted to stay small over the next few days which is good news for at least one surfer defending champion Damien Hobgood (USA). Hobgood suffered an injury freesurfing at Teahupoo a few weeks ago and is still nursing a sore shoulder. The more time he has to heal increases the likelihood he will be able to compete.

Remarkably, its been years since each and every member of the Top 45 have been slated to surf an event injury, personal lives and travel issues often intervene. At this juncture, all elite tour surfers are seeded into the draw. Among them, after spending much of the past two years on the injury list himself, is Timmy Reyes (USA).

"Im definitely back at 100%, Reyes said. I just found my good surfing rhythm within Australia. I felt like I was surfing pretty good over there, I just had a couple of tough breaks but that is what happens when you surf against the worlds top surfers. Im just stoked to be back to 100%, if not better, and I cant wait for the contest to start. Im stoked to be here."

Reyes will meet 2007 ASP Rookie of the Year Jeremy Flores (FRA) and South Africas Travis Logie in Heat 4 of Round 1.

The surfers and event staff enjoyed a traditional Tahitian welcome complete with belly dancing and fire twirling last night. Todays activities will likely include kayaking, fishing, hiking and napping.

Another call on competition status will be made tomorrow, Friday, May 9, at 7am.

The Billabong Pro Tahiti will be webcast LIVE on www.aspworldtour.com and www.billabongpro.com.

Billabong Pro Tahiti Round 1 Match-Ups:
Heat 1: Dean Morrison (AUS), Luke Munro (AUS), Daniel Ross (AUS)
Heat 2: Kai Otton (AUS), Leonardo Neves (BRA), Ricky Basnett (ZAF)
Heat 3: Bobby Martinez (USA), Roy Powers (HAW), Royden Bryson (ZAF)
Heat 4: Jeremy Flores (FRA), Tim Reyes (USA), Travis Logie (ZAF)
Heat 5: Andy Irons (HAW), Ben Dunn (AUS), Tiago Pires (PRT)
Heat 6: Joel Parkinson (AUS), Damien Hobgood (USA), Aritz Aranburu (EUK)
Heat 7: Bede Durbidge (AUS), Dayyan Neve (AUS), Chris Ward (USA)
Heat 8: Kelly Slater (USA), C.J. Hobgood (USA), Manoa Drollet (PYF)
Heat 9: Mick Fanning (AUS), Pancho Sullivan (HAW), Jamie OBrien (HAW)
Heat 10: Taj Burrow (AUS), Tom Whitaker (AUS), Bruno Santos (BRA)
Heat 11: Adrian Buchan (AUS), Jordy Smith (ZAF), Mikael Picon (FRA)
Heat 12: Adriano de Souza (BRA), Jay Thompson (AUS), Heitor Alves (BRA)
Heat 13: Taylor Knox (USA), Kieren Perrow (AUS), Jihad Khodr (BRA)
Heat 14: Luke Stedman (AUS), Rodrigo Dornelles (BRA), Michael Campbell (AUS)
Heat 15: Dane Reynolds (USA), Fredrick Patacchia (HAW), Ben Bourgeois (USA)
Heat 16: Neco Padaratz (BRA), Bruce Irons (HAW), Daniel Wills (AUS)

DAMIEN HOBGOOD TAKES TOP HONORS AT BILLABONG PRO TAHITI

TEAHUPOO, Tahiti (Wednesday, May 16th, 2007) – Damien Hobgood (USA) has been crowned the 2007 Billabong Pro Tahiti Champion after beating Foster's ASP World Tour ratings leader Mick Fanning (AUS) in a last-minute victory in 5 to 7 foot (1.5 – 2 metre) surf at Teahupoo.

Hobgood bowed out of the 2005 Billabong Pro Tahiti Final halfway through after dislocating his shoulder – a circumstance which made his win today that much more meaningful.

"It's insane – I was stoked to have another chance at it," Hobgood said. "I feel that things happen for a reason and I did my best out here in 2005 and came up short. I replayed that wave in my mind a hundred times going, 'I should have tried to stay in that barrel and not come out doggy-door,' but I feel like I can put that out of my mind now."

Hobgood took off on a set wave needing an excellent scoring ride of 8.21 with one minute remaining. Fanning caught the wave behind but came up short in the exchange – Hobgood's 8.60 won him the heat.

"Even though there was only a minute left, I was still holding on and thinking I could do it," Hobgood said. "I was able to just barely pull it off but the heat was so close – Mick put on a great performance."

Hobgood and Fanning met in a Foster's ASP World Tour final in Brazil last year that produced an outcome opposite to today's. Even though Fanning led for the majority of the heat, he was humble in his recognition of Hobgood's accomplishments today.

"There's nothing you can do," Fanning said. "You pray and hope that he falls, but in the same sense, you want to see someone get a good barrel. It's all good. I got him last year in Brazil so he got me back."

Fanning's 2nd place result at the Billabong Pro Tahiti has seen him pull away from the pack on the official ASP World Tour ratings. Having already featured in two out of three finals on this year's Foster's ASP World Tour, Fanning is well and truly in pursuit of his maiden world title. He finished 3rd in the world in 2005 and 2006.

"I always feel comfortable at home (on the Gold Coast) and in Bells," Fanning said. "I never really had a good result here at Teahupoo so I'm stoked to get one and put it towards the World Title. This year, I've had a few results at the start of the year – in the past I've always seemed to do well the second half of the year. "

Fanning peaked in his semifinal against rookie Kai Otton (AUS), earning the only perfect 10.00 wave score of the event. Otton posted the second highest wave score of the event (a 9.90) in his Quarterfinal against Cory Lopez (USA), but lost to Fanning after making a critical priority mistake by giving the ratings leader the wave of the day.

"Mick scored that 10.00 under my priority, but that's what happens, guys get scores underneath priority," Otton said. "I just thought I was a little deep and it didn't look that good but he was in the perfect spot, got really deep and got the 10.00."

Otton has moved to 10th on the Foster's ASP Ratings with this result; right behind French rookie Jeremy Flores who now sits 9th in the world.

"It's unbelievable," Otton said. "I'm having a dream start for a rookie. If I can keep on a roll maybe I can avoid surfing the 'QS."

Joel Parkison (AUS) has moved to fourth on the world ratings after his 3rd place finish today. Parkinson lost to Hobgood in Semifinal 1.

"The set came through and it had this big lump and it came to a peak and went straight to Damien and he got a 9.0 on it," Parkinson said. "I was 10 feet too deep and sometimes that's all it takes. I knew I needed to be patient but it never really happened for me after that. I'm happy with the result though, a 3rd is great."

The next stop on the Foster's ASP World Tour will be event No. 4, the Rip Curl Pro Chile, from June 20 to July 1, 2007.

Visit the media center on www.aspworldtour.com for transcribed athlete interviews, audio downloads, hi-resolution photographs and heat by heat updates for all the Billabong Pro Tahiti action thus far.

BILLABONG PRO TAHITI FINAL RESULTS
FINAL: Damien Hobgood (USA) 16.60 def. Mick Fanning (AUS) 16.20

BILLABONG PRO TAHITI SEMIFINAL RESULTS
SF 1: Damien Hobgood (USA) 18.17 def. Joel Parkinson (AUS) 12.67
SF2: Mick Fanning (AUS) 18.87 def. Kai Otton (USA) 15.33

BILLABONG PRO TAHITI QUARTERFINAL RESULTS
QF 1: Joel Parkinson (AUS) 17.53 def. Andy Irons (HAW) 12.00
QF 2: Damien Hobgood (USA) 17.17 def. Jeremy Flores (FRA) 14.23
QF 3: Mick Fanning (AUS) 16.73 def. Luke Stedman (AUS) 14.33
QF 4: Kai Otton (AUS ) def. Cory Lopez (USA)

Foster's ASP World Tour Ratings after Stop No. 3 of 10, the Billabong Pro Tahiti
1. Mick Fanning 3108 points
2. Taj Burrow 2676 points
3. Damien Hogood 2342 points
4. Joel Parkinson 2340 points
5. Bede Durbidge 2232 points
6. Kelly Slater 2208 points
7. Andy Irons 1989 points
8. Michael Campbell 1932 points
9. Jeremy Flores 1742 points
10. Kai Otton 1701 points

BILLABONG PRO TAHITI CHAMPION TO EMERGE FROM TEAHUPOO TODAY

TEAHUPOO, Tahiti (Wednesday, May 16th, 2007) – An extended Billabong Pro Tahiti waiting period has enabled contest officials to send the eight remaining Foster's ASP World Tour surfers out in four to six foot (one to two metre) and building swell this morning.

The Billabong Pro Tahiti Quarterfinals will begin at 11am local time. The first Quarterfinal will feature three-time ASP World Champion Andy Irons (HAW) and perennial Top 5 surfer Joel Parkinson (AUS).

Irons won the Billabong Pro Tahiti in 2002. Parkison's Quarterfinal berth and guaranteed equal 5th finish today will surpasses his best ever result at Teahupoo – an equal ninth result in 2005.

Damien Hobgood (USA), who will take on French rookie Jeremy Flores in Quarterfinal 2, featured in the 2005 Billabong Pro Final. Like Teahupoo trophy owners Irons and 2001 winner Cory Lopez, Hobgood has enjoyed more success at the venue than many of today's other Quarterfinalists who are either rookies or posting personal bests.

Current Foster's ASP World Tour No. 1 Mick Fanning (AUS) made his way to Tahiti weeks prior to the event to log some practice time at Teahupoo. Like Parkinson, Fanning had failed to advance out of Round 4 at the Billabong Pro Tahiti prior to 2007.

Fanning will meet Luke Stedman (AUS) in Quarterfinal 3 and walk away from the Billabong Pro Tahiti 1st on the ASP ratings regardless of his result today.

Lopez will meet Kai Otton (AUS), the second of two Foster's ASP World Tour rookies still in contention, in Quarterfinal 4.

All the Billabong Pro Tahiti action will be webcast LIVE on www.aspworldtour.com and www.billabongpro.com.

Visit the media center on www.aspworldtour.com for transcribed athlete interviews, audio downloads, hi-resolution photographs and heat by heat updates for all the Billabong Pro Tahiti action thus far.

BILLABONG PRO TAHITI QUARTERFINAL MATCH-UPS:
QF 1: Joel Parkinson (AUS) vs. Andy Irons (HAW)
QF 2: Damien Hobgood (USA) vs. Jeremy Flores (FRA)
QF 3: Mick Fanning (AUS) vs. Luke Stedman (AUS)
QF 4: Cory Lopez (USA) vs. Kai Otton (AUS)

TIME ZONES FOR 11AM TAHITI:
Los Angeles: 11am in Tahiti is 2pm in Los Angeles
Honolulu: 11am in Tahiti is 11am in Honolulu
Sydney: 11am in Tahiti is 7am in Sydney
Perth: 11am in Tahiti is 5am in Perth
Tokyo: 11am in Tahiti is 6am in Tokyo
Paris: 11am in Tahiti is 11pm in Paris
Jerusalem: 11am in Tahiti is 11pm in Jerusalem
Johannesburg: 11am in Tahiti is 11pm in Johannesburg
London: 11am in Tahiti is 10 pm in London
Buenos Aires: 11am in Tahiti is 6pm in Buenos Aires
Santiago: 11am in Tahiti is 5pm in Santiago
New York: 11am in Tahiti is 5am in New York

FINAL DAY OF BILLABONG PRO TAHITI COMPETITION TOMORROW

TEAHUPOO, Tahiti (Tuesday, May 15th, 2007) – The eight remaining Foster's ASP World Tour surfers contesting the Billabong Pro Tahiti will not compete today, Tuesday, May 17, 2007.

An extension of the event waiting period was enacted yesterday to expand the Billabong Pro Tahiti contest window until tomorrow, Wednesday, May 16, when a new swell is forecasted to arrive.

"We'll be checking the surf for a call tomorrow at 7am," Contest Director Luke Egan said. "If there are waves, the boys could potentially be out there by 7:30am, but all reports at this point have us looking to make a second call at 10am for a possible 11am start. We only have seven heats to run and we're looking to have them completed in the best possible conditions."

Official Billabong Pro Tahiti forecasters at Surfline have called for the swell to begin pulsing throughout today with it picking up substantially on tomorrow.

The next call for the Billabong Pro Tahiti will be made tomorrow morning at 7am for a potential 7:30am start.

All the Billabong Pro Tahiti action will be webcast LIVE on www.aspworldtour.com and www.billabongpro.com.

Visit the media center on www.aspworldtour.com for transcribed athlete interviews, audio downloads, hi-resolution photographs and heat by heat updates for all the Billabong Pro Tahiti action thus far.

BILLABONG PRO TAHITI QUARTERFINAL MATCH-UPS:
QF 1: Joel Parkinson (AUS) vs. Andy Irons (HAW)
QF 2: Damien Hobgood (USA) vs. Jeremy Flores (FRA)
QF 3: Mick Fanning (AUS) vs. Luke Stedman (AUS)
QF 4: Cory Lopez (USA) vs. Kai Otton (AUS)

TIME ZONES FOR 11AM TAHITI:
Los Angeles: 11am in Tahiti is 2pm in Los Angeles
Honolulu: 11am in Tahiti is 11am in Honolulu
Sydney: 11am in Tahiti is 7am in Sydney
Perth: 11am in Tahiti is 5am in Perth
Tokyo: 11am in Tahiti is 6am in Tokyo
Paris: 11am in Tahiti is 11pm in Paris
Jerusalem: 11am in Tahiti is 11pm in Jerusalem
Johannesburg: 11am in Tahiti is 11pm in Johannesburg
London: 11am in Tahiti is 10 pm in London
Buenos Aires: 11am in Tahiti is 6pm in Buenos Aires
Santiago: 11am in Tahiti is 5pm in Santiago
New York: 11am in Tahiti is 5am in New York

BILLABONG PRO TAHITI WAITING PERIOD EXTENDED; SWELL ON THE WAY

TEAHUPOO, Tahiti (Monday, May 14th, 2007) – For only the second time in professional surfing history, the Association of Surfing Professionals, the surfers and Billabong have activated an extension of a Foster's ASP World Tour event waiting period.

Citing better swell on the horizon, the Billabong Pro Tahiti has been called off for the day and the competition window will now stretch to Wednesday, May 16, 2007. Only seven heats, roughly three and a half hours of surfing, remain.

"It's a historic day for surfing and I am really appreciative to the ASP for granting the extension," Contest Director Luke Egan said. "I couldn't be more proud of the opportunities presented and the attitudes of the remaining competitors, the ASP and the event sponsors."

Current swell forecasts sent by Surfline.com indicate that conditions will improve immensely by Wednesday afternoon.

"Our latest swell models show that a sizable swell is due to fill in over the course of the next few days and it looks like we could be running the final day of competition on Wednesday," Egan said. "That being said, we will still be back tomorrow morning for a 7am call to assess the conditions to see if the swell is filling in early."

Less than ideal conditions today, the last day of the original Billabong Pro Tahiti waiting period, prompted officials to explore an ASP rule which has not been enacted since its conception nearly a decade ago.

"The ASP rule was created due to a precedent set during the 1996 Billabong Pro in Jeffreys Bay when we had flat conditions and it was impossible to run the event," ASP World Tour Manager Renato Hickel said. "We had no option but to extend the waiting period until the forecast predicted that waves would be coming. It was then voted on at board level and became a rule at ASP. Since then, we have never used the rule."

Because there were no conflicts on the Foster's ASP World Tour calendar and the ASP always endeavors to put the world's best surfers in the world's best waves, it looks as if the Quarters, Semis and Final of the Billabong Pro will wrap up in excellent waves at Tehupoo later this week.

"This year, due to the cancellation of the Fiji event, we have the luxury of using this rule," Hickel said. "We are down to the Quarterfinals at the Billabong Pro Tahiti and the ruling was voted on by the remaining eight guys," Hickel said. "Although there were a few 'ifs and buts,' it was ultimately decided by all the surfers that we would wait and stay the extra two days if need be."

Cory Lopez (USA), 2001 Billabong Pro Tahiti Champion, is one of the remaining quarterfinalists keen to wait around for the swell to fill in.

"I really want to wait for the bigger waves," Lopez said. "If Wednesday is as good as they're saying, we can make this a really classic event and have some really good waves – maybe it will go down in history as one of the best 'Chopes contests ever. I definitely want that and I know the guys at Billabong want that. I definitely want this to go down as a big wave event and I want history to show that."

The remaining eight quarterfinalists include Joel Parkinson (AUS), Andy Irons (HAW), Damien Hobgood (USA), Jeremy Flores (FRA), Mick Fanning (AUS), Luke Stedman (AUS), Cory Lopez (USA) and Kai Otton (AUS).

Official Billabong Pro Tahiti forecasters at Surfline have called for the swell to drop throughout the day before a new swell begins to pulse in over the next couple of days with it picking up substantially on Wednesday, May 16, 2007.

The next call for the Billabong Pro Tahiti will be made tomorrow morning at 7:00 for a potential 7:30 start. All the Billabong Pro Tahiti action will be webcast LIVE on www.aspworldtour.com and www.billabongpro.com.

Visit the media center on www.aspworldtour.com for transcribed athlete interviews, audio downloads, hi-resolution photographs and heat by heat updates from yesterday's Billabong Pro Tahiti action

BILLABONG PRO TAHITI QUARTERFINAL MATCH-UPS:
QF 1: Joel Parkinson (AUS) vs. Andy Irons (HAW)
QF 2: Damien Hobgood (USA) vs. Jeremy Flores (FRA)
QF 3: Mick Fanning (AUS) vs. Luke Stedman (AUS)
QF 4: Cory Lopez (USA) vs. Kai Otton (AUS)

SLATER AND BURROW MAKE ROUND 4 EXITS AT BILLABONG PRO

TEAHUPOO, Tahiti (Sunday, May 13, 2007) –French rookie Jeremy Flores eliminated reigning and eight-time ASP World Champion Kelly Slater (USA) in Round 4 of the Billabong Pro Tahiti today.

That upset, along with 2001 Billabong Pro Tahiti Champion Cory Lopez's (USA) elimination of current equal Foster's ASP World Tour No. 1 Taj Burrow (AUS), headlined a full day of action which unfolded in clean, three-foot (one metre) waves at Teahupoo.

Flores, who earned his Foster's ASP World Tour berth after finishing first on the 2006 ASP World Qualifying Series (WQS), took the lead halfway through their 35-minute heat and held it until the horn blew.

"I'm happy, it's definitely a dream come true to beat the best surfer in the world," Flores said. "I feel really confident in these waves, where I'm from the waves are exactly the same so I know these waves perfect. If there was one place I could beat Kelly it was today, in these waves."

Slater failed to put a heat together, catching five waves to Flores' three and earning a heat total of just 10.87 – uncharacteristic given his ability to post perfect 10.00 rides on a regular basis.

"I've always surfed pretty well against Slater," Flores said. "He's always surfed better and beaten me, but I've always surfed well and felt good against him. I guess today I might have been a little smarter on my wave selection. I was patient and waited for the good ones and that might have been the difference."

Lopez and Burrow's Round 4 clash was the highest scoring heat of the Billabong Pro Tahiti thus far, with Lopez barely edging out the current world No. 1 17.66 to 17.50.

"Taj started off with a really good wave and I knew I had to do something special," Lopez said. "I didn't have priority, but I saw this wave swinging wide of him and I just paddled as hard as I could for position. I got a really nice little barrel, kind of over the foam ball for a little bit and just came out to make the tube and I got my score. I was so stoked because I knew I had made the heat."

Also eliminated in a close heat today was current world No. 3 Bede Durbidge (AUS). Durbidge lost to rookie Kai Otton in somewhat inconsistent surf the last heat of the day.

"It's really funny that me and Bede had a heat like that because on the Goldy, we had the same round and this big storm came through and we wanted to call it off - we couldn't even see each other," Otton said. "It's kind of ironic that we had another heat that went well over halfway through without either one of us taking off. We both got a couple – same scores on one wave and it was just up to the other wave that I got a little barrel on."

Mick Fanning (AUS) who came into the event sharing Burrow's World No. 1 rating is also through to the Quarterfinals. With Burrow, Durbidge and Slater out, Fanning stands to increase his ratings lead.

The surfer still competing in the Billabong Pro Tahiti nearest to Fanning on the ratings is current world No. 5 Joel Parkinson (AUS). Parkinson will meet former event and world champion Andy Irons (HAW) in the next round.

"I live to fight another day and now I meet Parko in the Quarterfinals," Irons said. "We are staying together so it should be pretty interesting. If the waves stay small it could be pretty heavy because we're actually using the same board and I don't who is going to get it but I may have to hide it. It's actually JS's board, our shaper's, who made it for himself from a copy of one of my boards that Parko got here. I don't know what the rules are on that, we may have to check the rule book on that one. Hopefully it gets bigger and then we won't have to deal with that and we can deal with real 12-foot Teahupoo instead."

Just seven heats of Billabong Pro Tahiti competition remain. A call on event proceedings will be made tomorrow morning at 7:00 local time. All the Billabong Pro Tahiti action will be webcast LIVE on www.aspworldtour.com and www.billabongpro.com.

Visit the media center on www.aspworldtour.com for transcribed athlete interviews, audio downloads, hi-resolution photographs and heat by heat updates.

Billabong Pro Quarterfinal Match-Ups:
Heat 1: Joel Parkinson (AUS) vs. Andy Irons (HAW)
Heat 2: Damien Hobgood (USA) vs. Jeremy Flores (FRA)
Heat 3: Mick Fanning (AUS) vs. Luke Stedman (AUS)
Heat 4: Cory Lopez (USA) vs. Kai Otton (AUS)

Billabong Pro Tahiti Round 4 Results:
Heat 1: Joel Parkinson (AUS) 15.00 def. Michael Campbell (AUS) 11.24
Heat 2: Andy Irons (HAW) 14.44 def. Pancho Sullivan (HAW) 13.93
Heat 3: Damien Hobgood (USA) 15.17 def. Adrian Buchan (AUS) 13.00
Heat 4: Jeremy Flores (FRA) 13.57 def. Kelly Slater (USA) 10.87
Heat 5: Mick Fanning (AUS) 14.87 def. Chris Ward (USA) 3.83
Heat 6: Luke Stedman (AUS) 11.40 def. Bernardo Miranda (BRA) 6.17
Heat 7: Cory Lopez (USA) 17.66 def. Taj Burrow (AUS) 17.50
Heat 8: Kai Otton (AUS) 13.77 def. Bede Durbidge (AUS) 13.27

Billabong Pro Tahiti Round 3 Results - Heats 8-16:
Heat 8: Kelly Slater (USA) 15.17 def. Gabe Kling (USA) 9.50
Heat 9: Mick Fanning (AUS) 15.43 def. Troy Brooks (AUS) 13.77
Heat 10: Chris Ward (USA) 15.40 def. Dean Morrison (AUS) 15.30
Heat 11: Bernardo Miranda (BRA) 16.33 def. Tom Whitaker (AUS) 4.83
Heat 12: Luke Stedman (AUS) 16.66 def. Bobby Martinez (USA) 13.27
Heat 13: Taj Burrow (AUS) 17.20 def. Victor Ribas (BRA) 9.57
Heat 14: Cory Lopez (USA) 16.53 def. Taylor Knox (USA) 1.84
Heat 15: Bede Durbidge (AUS) 15.93 def. Rodrigo Dornelles (AUS) 14.94
Heat 16: Kai Otton (AUS) 15.96 def. Daniel Wills (AUS) 15.17

BILLABONG PRO TAHITI BACK ON IN IMPROVED CONDITIONS

TEAHUPOO, Tahiti (Sunday, May 13th, 2007) – The Billabong Pro Tahiti will be back in the water this morning with the remaining nine heats of Round 3 before taking on the eight heats of Round 4.

While the surf has remained in the similar size of 3 to 4 feet (one metre), the conditions have become much more consistent, offering competitors more opportunities to showcase the talents.

"We are planning to run through 17 heats of competition today," Acting Foster's ASP World Tour Head Judge Dave Shipley said. "The conditions have picked up, and barring anything extreme happening, we should be able to complete Round 3 and Round 4."

Reigning and eight-time Foster's ASP World Champion Kelly Slater (USA) will face '07 World Tour rookie Gabe Kling (USA) in the opening heat of the day. Also to come in Round 3 will be current ratings leaders on the Foster's ASP World Tour Mick Fanning (AUS) and Taj Burrow (AUS) as well as defending Billabong Pro Tahiti Champion Bobby Martinez (USA).

Heat 8 of Round 3 will hit the water at 7:30am local time.

All the Billabong Pro Tahiti action will be webcast LIVE on www.aspworldtour.com and www.billabongpro.com.

REMAINING BILLABONG PRO ROUND 3 MATCH-UPS:
Heat 8: Kelly Slater (USA) vs. Gabe Kling (USA)
Heat 9: Mick Fanning (AUS) vs. Troy Brooks (AUS)
Heat 10: Dean Morrison (AUS) vs. Chris Ward (USA)
Heat 11: Tom Whitaker (AUS) vs. Bernardo Miranda (BRA)
Heat 12: Bobby Martinez (USA) vs. Luke Stedman (AUS)
Heat 13: Taj Burrow (AUS) vs. Victor Ribas (BRA)
Heat 14: Taylor Knox (USA) vs. Cory Lopes (USA)
Heat 15: Bede Durbidge (AUS) vs. Rodrigo Dornelles (BRA)
Heat 16: Daniel Wills (AUS) vs. Kai Otton (AUS)

KNOWN BILLABONG PRO TAHITI ROUND 4 HEATS:
Heat 1: Joel Parkinson (AUS) vs. Michael Campbell (AUS)
Heat 2: Pancho Sullivan (HAW) vs. Andy Irons (HAW)
Heat 3: Damien Hobgood (USA) vs, Adrian Buchan (AUS)
Heat 4: Jeremy Flores (FRA) vs. Winner of Round 3 Heat 8

PARKINSON AND IRONS THROUGH TO ROUND 4 OF THE BILLABONG PRO TAHITI

TEAHUPOO, Tahiti (Saturday, May 12th, 2007) – Following the completion of Round 2 this morning, the Billabong Pro Tahiti ran through the first seven heats of Round 3 with some of the most dynamic action of the event going down in the pulsing 3 to 4 foot (one metre) lefthanders at Teahupoo.

Event No. 3 on the Foster's ASP World Tour, the Billabong Pro Tahiti, plays a crucial role in shaping this season's world title race. Today's action saw frontrunners Joel Parkinson (AUS) and Andy Irons (HAW) both remain in contention with Kelly Slater (USA), Taj Burrow (AUS), Mick Fanning (AUS) and Bede Durbidge (AUS) slated to compete tomorrow.

Parkinson, who is currently rated 5th on the Foster's ASP World Tour, survived the heat of the day, going blow for blow against fellow Australian Shaun Cansdell. Following strong opening rides from Cansdell, Parkinson kept himself in the hunt by securing a 7.40 before turning the heat upside down with the event high single-wave score of a 9.83 out of a possible 10.00.

"I was really lucky to get that wave because at the halfway point I thought my Teahupoo event was over," Parkinson said. "I was sitting around for so long that I thought my heat was over but then there was a little pulse and each wave got bigger and bigger. I managed to get two scores out of the pulse. Sometimes you never know what will happen in the last 15 minutes of a heat."

Irons, former three-time Foster's ASP World Champion and 2002 Billabong Pro Tahiti Champion, escaped a near-elimination of his own today as he faced off against natural-footer Trent Munro (AUS). With the heat lead exchanging several times, Irons massacred a bowling lefthander in the dying minutes to pull ahead of Munro.

"It was a really slow heat," Irons said. "It was really close at the end, I needed a 5.8 and I got a 6.8 so it wasn't a walkthrough by any means. I wanted to make the heat and I want to do well in the contest but at that point I was almost looking forward to going home; Trent almost axed me."

Irons will now face fellow Hawaiian Pancho Sullivan in his upcoming Round 4 heat.

"That's pretty wild, me and Pancho, two big boys," Irons said. "I guess it's a pretty even playing field. He was one of my favorite surfers growing up so it will be fun to surf against him. I've never surfed against him man on man so I'm looking forward to it. Hopefully we get some six foot and real hollow waves and we can really get into it."

Jeremy Flores (FRA) capped off today's action by posting a convincing win over fellow young gun Adriano de Souza (BRA). The duo, who both entered into their Foster's ASP World Tour careers after winning their respective World Qualifying Series (WQS) seasons (de Souza in 2005, Flores in 2006), were one of the more anticipated matches of the day. Despite de Souza opening with a solid wave, Flores quickly took command of the heat with his committed full-rail approach.

"I've been surfing against Adriano for so long – since we were 13," Flores said. "He's beaten me so many times and I've beaten him many times as well. It's nice to beat him again."

Flores now faces the potential of drawing reigning and eight-time Foster's ASP World Champion Kelly Slater in Round 4.

"I've surfed against Kelly a lot," Flores said. "I've always surfed pretty good against him, but you have to surf really good against him. The waves are pretty small so I'm just going to try my best and keep going."

When Billabong Pro Tahiti Round 3 action resumes, Heat 8 will feature reigning and eight-time Foster's ASP World Champion Kelly Slater (USA) squaring off against rookie Floridian Gabe Kling (USA).

Visit the media center on www.aspworldtour.com for transcribed athlete interviews, audio downloads, hi-resolution photographs and heat by heat updates.

Another call on competition status will be made tomorrow morning at 7:00 for a potential 7:30 starts. All the Billabong Pro Tahiti action will be webcast LIVE on www.aspworldtour.com and www.billabongpro.com.

BILLABONG PRO TAHITI ROUND 3 RESULTS – HEATS 1 – 7:
Heat 1: Joel Parkinson (AUS) 17.23 def. Shaun Cansdell (AUS) 16.93
Heat 2: Michael Campbell (AUS) 11.57 def. Ricky Basnett (ZAF) 5.83
Heat 3: Pancho Sullivan (HAW) 13.43 def. Travis Logie (ZAF) 12.93
Heat 4: Andy Irons (HAW) 14.70 def. Trent Munro (AUS) 14.07
Heat 5: Damien Hobgood (USA) 12.33 def. Dayyan Neve (AUS) 6.56
Heat 6: Adrian Buchan (AUS) 15.37 def. Bruce Irons (HAW) 12.63
Heat 7: Jeremy Flores (FRA) 15.00 def. Adriano de Souza (BRA) 13.10

BILLABONG PRO ROUND 2 RESULTS – HEATS 9 – 16:
Heat 9: Trent Munro (AUS) 13.90 def. Raoni Monteiro (BRA) 12.67
Heat 10: Shaun Cansdell (AUS) 16.66 def. Frederick Patacchia (HAW) 7.50
Heat 11: Greg Emslie (ZAF) 12.40 def. Rodrigo Dornelles (BRA)11.50
Heat 12: Dayyan Neve (AUS) 13.67 def. Leonardo Neves (BRA) 6.77
Heat 13: Adrian Buchan (AUS) 15.00 def. Josh Kerr (AUS) 11.77
Heat 14: Cory Lopez (USA) 14.84 def. Mark Occhilupo (AUS) 10.87
Heat 15: Luke Stedman (AUS) 16.00 def. C.J. Hobgood (USA) 14.13
Heat 16: Kai Otton (AUS) 12.83 def. Michael Lowe (AUS) 11.00

REMAINING BILLABONG PRO ROUND 3 MATCH-UPS:
Heat 8: Kelly Slater (USA) vs. Gabe Kling (USA)
Heat 9: Mick Fanning (AUS) vs. Troy Brooks (AUS)
Heat 10: Dean Morrison (AUS) vs. Chris Ward (USA)
Heat 11: Tom Whitaker (AUS) vs. Bernardo Miranda (BRA)
Heat 12: Bobby Martinez (USA) vs. Luke Stedman (AUS)
Heat 13: Taj Burrow (AUS) vs. Victor Ribas (BRA)
Heat 14: Taylor Knox (USA) vs. Cory Lopes (USA)
Heat 15: Bede Durbidge (AUS) vs. Rodrigo Dornelles (BRA)
Heat 16: Daniel Wills (AUS) vs. Kai Otton (AUS)

BILLABONG PRO TAHITI ROUND 2 BACK IN THE WATER

TEAHUPOO, Tahiti (Saturday, May 12th, 2007) – Heats 9 through 16 of Round 2 of the Billabong Pro Tahiti will hit the water this morning at 8am in 3 foot (one metre) waves at Teahupoo.

Stop No. 3 of 10 of the Foster's ASP World Tour, the Billabong Pro Tahiti, has entered into its ninth day of the waiting period and following the completion of the first half of Round 2 yesterday, event organizers have opted run the remaining eight heats this morning before assessing the conditions for a possible start on Round 3.

A slew of high-powered heats await us today including Heat 10 where last season's Billabong Pro Tahiti runner-up Fred Patacchia (HAW) will face lethal goofy-foot Australian Shaun Cansdell, and Heat 14 where former Billabong Pro Tahiti champions Cory Lopez (USA) and Mark Occhilupo (AUS) will square off.

All the Billabong Pro Tahiti action will be webcast LIVE on www.aspworldtour.com and www.billabongpro.com.

REMAINING BILLABONG PRO TAHITI ROUND 2 MATCH-UPS:
Heat 9: Raoni Monteiro (BRA) vs. Trent Munro (AUS)
Heat 10: Frederick Patacchia (HAW) vs. Shaun Cansdell (AUS)
Heat 11: Greg Emslie (ZAF) vs. Rodrigo Dornelles (BRA)
Heat 12: Leonardo Neves (BRA) vs. Dayyan Neve (AUS)
Heat 13: Josh Kerr (AUS) vs. Adrian Buchan (AUS)
Heat 14: Cory Lopez (USA) vs. Mark Occhilupo (AUS)
Heat 15: C.J. Hobgood (USA) vs. Luke Stedman (AUS)
Heat 16: Kai Otton (AUS) vs. Michael Lowe (AUS)

WILDCARDS ELIMINATED IN BILLABONG PRO TAHITI ROUND 2

TEAHUPOO, Tahiti (Friday, May 11, 2007) –Foster's ASP World Tour surfers relegated to the first eight heats of Round 2 donned Billabong Pro Tahiti jerseys for the first time in a week today, Friday, May 11, 2007.

Teahupoo, a wave where wildcards typically do well, proved more suited to Foster's 45 competitors this afternoon with top-seeded surfers eliminating each of the four event wildcards in the three foot (one metre) waves on offer.

Damien Hobgood's (USA) convincing elimination of local wildcard Hira Teriinatoofa (PYF) earned him a Round 3 berth and the highest heat total of the day – a 17.36 out of 20.00.

"I'm just really stoked I made that heat," Hobgood said. "I think we sat there for 20-minutes, and since I had a couple of scores, I was praying it would just go flat. I knew going into the heat that it didn't matter if it was big or small, Hira was going to be competing really well and I was going to have to step it up."

Teriinatoofa advanced to the quarterfinals before being beaten by eventual runner-up Fred Patacchia last year. Hobgood finished runner-up to reigning ASP World Champion Kelly Slater (USA) in the 2005 Billabong Pro Tahiti final.

Current World No. 1 Taj Burrow (AUS) credited today's smaller surf as an ally in his defeat of Tahitian wildcard Manoa Drollet (PYF) in Heat 1.

"The bigger it gets the better Manoa gets," Burrow said. "He's lethal when it gets big so I'd have to say I had an advantage at this size. I rode a good little short board I had a mate fly over the other day, so right now, I'd say that was a good decision!"

Burrow, who is currently tied with Mick Fanning (AUS) as Foster's ASP World Tour ratings leader, insisted that he is concentrating on his own movements, not Fanning's.

Fanning avoided Round 2 sudden death with his victory over Raoni Monteiro (BRA) and Anthony Walsh (HAW) on Day 1.

"It doesn't bother me at all that Mick made his first heat and I didn't because it's early days in the year and early days in the event and you have to take it heat by heat," Burrow said. "I'm thinking about every heat I surf in, not whether Mick gets to skip a round or not – that really doesn't phase me much. It wouldn't bother me if I were to drop down to No. 2 on the ratings because it's a long year and I've got time to get a few keepers, a few results, and I'm planning on winning events. I'm not too concerned about staying No. 1 – I just want to be No. 1 at the end when it matters."

Bede Durbidge (AUS), who sits just behind Fanning and Burrow in the ratings, also advanced today – his Round 2 clash with Hawaiian Anthony Walsh his first against a wildcard given his recently elevated top-seed status.

"That was the first time I've surfed against a wildcard on the World Tour and Anthony is an amazing barrel rider." Durbidge said. "I saw him in the trials and he was unbelievable, I couldn't believe how well he was surfing. Luckily today was tiny and there were hardly any barrels, but it was still a tough heat. You've got to just keep getting through every heat if you want to stay in the Top 5 because you know those guys are going to make their heats – I just want to keep the momentum going."

Victor Ribas (BRA) relegated Phil Macdonald (AUS) to the loser's round with an outstanding 9.67 wave score – the highest of the event thus far – in the final heat of the day. Ribas' Round 2 win was critical considering he's started the year off with two last place finishes.

"I've already have two bad results," Ribas said. "The count this year is going to drop your two lowest results and I need to do better than 33rds. At this time of the tour, the third contest, I have to get out of the 33rds and get good results and think about the rest of the year. I cannot make mistakes anymore."

Ribas, along with Troy Brooks (AUS) were the only two lower-seeded surfers to cause upsets today. Brooks beat Ben Dunn (AUS), who despite being a rookie, came into the Billabong Pro Tahiti World No. 6 after starting the year with semi and quarterfinal finishes.

Brooks' heat win today was his first of the 2007 Foster's ASP World Tour season.

"It almost felt like I won a contest there as it's the first heat of the year I've gotten through," Brooks said. "I've sprouted a few grey hairs there as it was a pretty frustrating heat but I'm happy I've come out on top."

Elite tour returnee Mick Campbell (AUS) and fellow Aussies Tom Whitaker and Danny Wills also won their heats today.

Eight heats of Round 2 remain and a 7:00 call for a possible 7:30 start will be made tomorrow morning.

ROUND 2 BILLABONG PRO TAHITI RESULTS:
Heat 1: Taj Burrow (AUS) 15.03 def. Manoa Drollet (PYF) 8.00
Heat 2: Bede Durbidge (AUS) 15.17 def. Anthony Walsh (AUS)7.20
Heat 3: Tom Whitaker (AUS) 15.27 def. Bruno Santos (BRA) 3.83
Heat 4: Damien Hobgood (USA) 17.36 def. Hira Teriinatoofa (PYF) 12.00
Heat 5: Daniel Wills 13.83 (AUS) def. Luke Munro (AUS) 9.17
Heat 6: Michael Campbell 16.67 (AUS) def. Neco Padaratz (BRA) 12.77
Heat 7: Troy Brooks (AUS) 10.66 def. Ben Dunn (AUS) 9.80
Heat 8: Victor Ribas 16.34 (BRA) def. Phillip Macdonald (AUS) 12.74

REMAINING ROUND 2 BILLABONG PRO TAHITI MATCH-UPS:
Heat 9: Raoni Monteiro (BRA) vs. Trent Munro (AUS)
Heat 10: Frederick Patacchia (HAW) vs. Shaun Cansdell (AUS)
Heat 11: Greg Emslie (ZAF) vs. Rodrigo Dornelles (BRA)
Heat 12: Leonardo Neves (BRA) vs. Dayyan Neve (AUS)
Heat 13: Josh Kerr (AUS) vs. Adrian Buchan (AUS)
Heat 14: Cory Lopez (USA) vs. Mark Occhilupo (AUS)
Heat 15: C.J. Hobgood (USA) vs. Luke Stedman (AUS)
Heat 16: Kai Otton (AUS) vs. Michael Lowe (AUS)

BILLABONG PRO TAHITI ROUND 2 HITS THE WATER AT 11AM

TEAHUPOO, Tahiti (Friday, May 11th, 2007) – Round 2 of the Billabong Pro Tahiti will be hitting the water this morning at 11am in glassy 3 to 4 foot (one metre) surf at Teahupoo.

"We were potentially looking at an 8am start this morning but because of a Tahitian canoe race that passed by the line up between 9am and 10am today, we decided to assess the conditions at 10:30am for an 11am start," Event Director Luke Egan said.

"Had this morning's conditions been onshore then we would have run no problem, but since it's glassy, we decided not to risk having to cancel a heat midway through. We may end up sacrificing a few heats by day's end, but it looks like we'll still have a full day's worth of competition ahead of us."

Event No. 3 on the 2007 Foster's ASP World Tour, the Billabong Pro Tahiti, will waste no time getting straight into the world title drama as the opening heat of Round 2 features current ratings leader Taj Burrow (AUS) up against lethal Tahitian wildcard Manoa Drollet (PYF).

Heats will run 35 minutes today with event organizers aiming to finish eight heats today, potentially 10 condition and daylight permitting.

All the Billabong Pro Tahiti action will be webcast LIVE on www.aspworldtour.com and www.billabongpro.com.

ROUND 2 BILLABONG PRO TAHITI MATCH-UPS:
Heat 1: Taj Burrow (AUS) vs. Manoa Drollet (PYF)
Heat 2: Bede Durbidge (AUS) vs. Anthony Walsh (AUS)
Heat 3: Tom Whitaker (AUS) vs. Bruno Santos (BRA)
Heat 4: Damien Hobgood (USA) vs. Hira Teriinatoofa (PYF)
Heat 5: Daniel Wills (AUS) vs. Luke Munro (AUS)
Heat 6: Michael Campbell (AUS) vs. Neco Padaratz (BRA)
Heat 7: Ben Dunn (AUS) vs. Troy Brooks (AUS)
Heat 8: Phillip Macdonald (AUS) vs. Victor Ribas (BRA)
Heat 9: Raoni Monteiro (BRA) vs. Trent Munro (AUS)
Heat 10: Frederick Patacchia (HAW) vs. Shaun Cansdell (AUS)
Heat 11: Greg Emslie (ZAF) vs. Rodrigo Dornelles (BRA)
Heat 12: Leonardo Neves (BRA) vs. Dayyan Neve (AUS)
Heat 13: Josh Kerr (AUS) vs. Adrian Buchan (AUS)
Heat 14: Cory Lopez (USA) vs. Mark Occhilupo (AUS)
Heat 15: C.J. Hobgood (USA) vs. Luke Stedman (AUS)
Heat 16: Kai Otton (AUS) vs. Michael Lowe (AUS)

NO SURF FOR THE BILLABONG PRO TAHITI TODAY

TEAHUPOO, Tahiti (Thursday, May 10th, 2007) – Surfers and event organizers at the Billabong Pro Tahiti awoke this morning to similar conditions with surf in the 1 to 3 foot (0.3-0.9 metre) range which prompted them to call the event off for the day.

Event No. 3 on the 2007 Foster's ASP World Tour, the Billabong Pro Tahiti carries a substantial amount of weight in regards to the race for this year's World Title. Frontrunner Mick Fanning (AUS) has already advanced through to Round 3 while fellow Australian, with whom Fanning also shares the ratings lead, Taj Burrow will have to slug it out in Round 2 when competition resumes.

Official Billabong Pro Tahiti forecasters at Surfline are calling for a slight bump from the south/southwest this evening allowing the ASP Foster's 45 to don the competition jerseys as early as tomorrow.

When action recommences, Round 2 of the Billabong Pro Tahiti will feature a bevy of highly-anticipated bouts including the match-up between fiery veterans Michael Campbell (AUS) and Neco Padaratz (BRA).

While no Billabong Pro Tahiti action will go down today, be sure to check out all the highlights from Day 1 at www.billabongpro.com.

FLAT CONDITIONS CONTINUE AT BILLABONG PRO TAHITI

TEAHUPOO, Tahiti (Wednesday, May 9, 2007) – While the Billabong Pro Tahiti will not run again today, Wednesday, May 9, it appears as if larger than expected conditions could materialize for the third of 10 events on the Foster's ASP World Tour this weekend.

According to Surfline.com, the official surf forecasters of the Billabong Pro Tahiti: "There's no change in the short term forecast, with just small S to SSW energy over the next couple of days, but another modest bump of SW swell will fill in over the second half of the week. It looks like we'll get slightly larger SW swell for the weekend, with still a chance for more solid surf on the last day of the waiting period."

The waiting period stretches to Monday, May 14, 2007 and three days of competition are needed to finish the event. Round 1 ran on the first day of the waiting period, Friday, May 4 – Round 2 onward remains.

When competition does continue, Heat 14 of Round 2 will feature two former event winners, Cory Lopez (USA) and Mark Occhilupo (AUS). Occhilupo won the Billabong Pro Tahiti in 1999 –its inaugural year on the elite tour calendar; Lopez won in 2001.

Another call on competition status will be made tomorrow morning at 7am.

In the interim, be sure to check out all the highlights from Day 1 of the Billabong Pro Tahiti at www.billabongpro.com.

BILLABONG PRO TAHITI CALLED OFF FOR TODAY

TEAHUPOO, Tahiti (Tuesday, May 8th, 2007) – No change is swell since yesterday has forced event organizers to call another lay day for the Billabong Pro Tahiti.

Surf in the 1 to 3 foot (0.3-0.9 metre) range is dribbling down the point and surfers and event organizers alike are waiting for more optimal conditions to begin the Round 2 action.

Official forecasters for the Billabong Pro Tahiti at Surfline are calling for a slight bump from the south/southwest on Thursday evening for a possible start on Friday or Saturday morning.

When action recommences, Round 2 of the Billabong Pro Tahiti will feature the current ratings leader on the Foster's ASP World Tour, Taj Burrow (AUS), square off against lethal Tahitian wildcard Manoa Drollet.

In the mean time, be sure to check out all the highlights from Day 1 of the Billabong Pro Tahiti at www.billabongpro.com.

NO ROUND 2 BILLABONG PRO TAHITI TODAY

TEAHUPOO, Tahiti (Monday, May 7, 2007) – Competition at the Billabong Pro Tahiti will remain idle today, Monday, May 7, but when the main event resumes, the first heat of Round 2 will prove pivotal for equal world No. 1 Taj Burrow (AUS) and local wildcard Manoa Drollet (PYF).

The two will meet in Heat 1 of Round 2 once conditions at Teahupoo improve. The winner will enjoy a Round 3 berth, the loser will be eliminated from competition entirely.

Burrow has his eye on a maiden ASP World Title after starting the year strong with a semifinal showing on the Gold Coast of Australia and a subsequent win in Bells Beach, Australia. Drollet will carry the cumbersome weight of local hopes on his shoulders when he paddles out.

Current swell forecasts indicate that the Billabong Pro Tahiti could remain on standby for the next couple of days as conditions appear most promising at the concluding end of the waiting period ending Monday, May 14, 2006. Three full days of competition are required to complete the contest.

In the interim, be sure to check out all the highlights from Day 1 of the Billabong Pro Tahiti at www.billabongpro.com.

LAY DAY CALLED FOR BILLABONG PRO TAHITI DAY 3

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

TEAHUPOO, Tahiti (Sunday, May 6th, 2007) – Event organizers at the Billabong Pro Tahiti have called another lay day today as a result of the continued small conditions.

"Today is Sunday and we're looking at similar conditions to yesterday – about 2 to 3 feet and very inconsistent," Acting ASP World Tour Head Judge Dave Shipley said. "We've called the competition off for today in hopes of something better coming later in the week. At present, it looks like we'll be getting some swell out of the south/southwest for the 11th through the 14th. It's not going to be the best size, but a much better direction. We will still convene each morning to assess the conditions for a possible start."

When action recommences, Round 2 of the Billabong Pro Tahiti will begin the man-on-man elimination heats with some of the premier names in the ASP Foster's 45 doing battle with local standouts.

In the interim, be sure to check out all the highlights from Day 1 of the Billabong Pro Tahiti at www.billabongpro.com.

BILLABONG PRO TAHITI DAY 2 CALLED OFF

TEAHUPOO, Tahiti (Saturday, May 5th, 2007) – Event organizers at the Billabong Pro Tahiti have called a lay day today due to the decrease in swell since yesterday.

"The surf is pretty small this morning and we've opted to call the competition off for the day," Acting ASP World Tour Head Judge Dave Shipley said. "It looks like the swell is supposed to continue to decrease throughout the week and we could potentially be getting swell from a better direction sometime late next week. That being said, you never know what will happen and we'll be back here every morning to make the call."

When action recommences, Round 2 of the Billabong Pro Tahiti will begin the man-on-man elimination heats with some of the premier names in the ASP Foster's 45 doing battle with local standouts.

In the interim, be sure to check out all the highlights from the Air Tahiti Nui Von Zipper Trials and Day 1 of the Billabong Pro Tahiti at www.billabongpro.com.

When the swell picks up, the Billabong Pro Tahiti will be webcast LIVE on www.aspworldtour.com and www.billabongpro.com.

ROUND 2 BILLABONG PRO TAHITI MATCH-UPS:
Heat 1: Taj Burrow (AUS) vs. Manoa Drollet (PYF)
Heat 2: Bede Durbidge (AUS) vs. Anthony Walsh (AUS)
Heat 3: Tom Whitaker (AUS) vs. Bruno Santos (BRA)
Heat 4: Damien Hobgood (USA) vs. Hira Teriinatoofa (PYF)
Heat 5: Daniel Wills (AUS) vs. Luke Munro (AUS)
Heat 6: Michael Campbell (AUS) vs. Neco Padaratz (BRA)
Heat 7: Ben Dunn (AUS) vs. Troy Brooks (AUS)
Heat 8: Phillip Macdonald (AUS) vs. Victor Ribas (BRA)
Heat 9: Raoni Monteiro (BRA) vs. Trent Munro (AUS)
Heat 10: Frederick Patacchia (HAW) vs. Shaun Cansdell (AUS)
Heat 11: Greg Emslie (ZAF) vs. Rodrigo Dornelles (BRA)
Heat 12: Leonardo Neves (BRA) vs. Dayyan Neve (AUS)
Heat 13: Josh Kerr (AUS) vs. Adrian Buchan (AUS)
Heat 14: Cory Lopez (USA) vs. Mark Occhilupo (AUS)
Heat 15: C.J. Hobgood (USA) vs. Luke Stedman (AUS)
Heat 16: Kai Otton (AUS) vs. Michael Lowe (AUS)

FLORES SENDS BURROW TO ROUND 2 OF BILLABONG PRO - OTHER TOP SEEDS ADVANCE

TEAHUPOO, Tahiti (Friday, May 4th, 2007) – All but one of the biggest names in pro surfing made it through their Round 1 Billabong Pro Tahiti heats today. Perennial favorites Kelly Slater (USA), Andy Irons (HAW), Mick Fanning (AUS) and Joel Parkinson (AUS) advanced to Round 3. Taj Burrow (AUS) who sits current equal No. 1 on the Foster's ASP World Tour ratings aside Fanning was not so lucky.

Burrow, who drew Teahupoo specialist and Billabong Pro Tahiti wildcard Bruno Santos (PYF) and French rookie Jeremy Flores, finished second in the three man heat and will now have to negotiate Round 2 to stay in contention for a Billabong Pro crown.

Flores, a Foster's ASP World Tour rookie, won the heat – his first ever at the dredging left reef break. He also tied Dean Morrison (AUS) for the third highest heat total of the event thus far.

"It felt good, definitely, to surf in my first heat here and to win it," Flores said. "I couldn't wish for better. When I saw the heat I had I was like, 'Whoa, it's going to be tough one,' but I think this is a wave where anyone can beat anyone."

Flores is Europe's only representative on the Foster's ASP World Tour. He finished first on the World Qualifying Series (WQS) to earn his elite tour spot and currently sits 14th on the ratings after finishing 9th on the Gold Coast and 17th at Bells Beach.

"I'm still learning; I'm only 18," Flores said. "I did okay in the first comp but I got a little unlucky since the start of the year. I had problems with missing waves on the Gold Coast and I got really sick in Bells so hopefully I can keep on a roll and everything stays normal this event."

The surfer who stands to benefit most from Burrow's possible Round 2 elimination is Fanning who has owned the ratings lead from the start of the year but has been forced to share it since the Bells Beach event wrapped up in mid-April.

Fanning failed to find a barrel in his 30-minute heat, a rare occurrence given the nature of the wave, and exited the water unsure of whether or not he'd earned the score he needed to overcome Aussie wildcard Anthony Walsh. He text messaged his mother to find out.

"I'm 6,000 miles away and I'm waiting for a text from my Mum to either say, 'Well done,' or 'You idiot!' luckily it was, 'Well done!'" Fanning said. "I knew it was going to be close, I only needed a 2.0 or a 3.0 or something, and I got a good little wave but I only got to do turns on it – I didn't get a barrel the entire heat. Anthony had a 7.00 and I didn't have anything so it was basically a five-minute heat."

The highest scoring wave and heat score of the day (a 9.50 and an 18.17 respectively) went to current eight-time ASP world champ Slater. Slater won the contest in 2000, 2003 and 2005 but bowed out of the event in the semifinal last year after suffering a repeat rib injury.

He left his opponents Phil Macdonald (AUS) and wildcard Mano Drollet (PYF) needing a combination of scores to catch him today.

"It's kind of a real wind-swelly sort of swell – it's got a little east in it so it's coming deep from the reef and there were some good ones," Slater said. "My plan was to start up there and get a couple but I ended up swing wide and getting my first one, a 9.5, that sort of set the pace. Manoa passed up another one, a got an 8 something and that was sort of it – there wasn't much left out there for those guys."

Slater will enjoy a break between now and when Round 3 hits the water – depending on how the wildcards fare in Round 2, it is likely he will meet one of the Tahitian specialists once again.

"Obviously the wildcards surf their way through the qualifying event to get here but getting out into these heats is a little bit of a different story – guys don't make the same mistakes on this tour as they do in the qualifying events," Slater said. "The pressure definitely steps up a notch for those guys and they are generally the best surfers at breaks like here and Pipeline. The wildcards that come through are the guys you want to beat and you beat them early on and you feel like you can win the event. To get one over on Manoa early on feels good, but he'll probably have a mid-range high seed in Round 2, and if he can beat him I'll have Mano again."

The day's other stand-out performer was Pancho Sullivan of Hawaii. The second-year tourer, who amassed the days second highest heat total after Slater, had a disappointing South Pacific leg last year, but looks to be bettering those results in 2007.

"Obviously last year, I got a 33rd here and then in Fiji so it wasn't a good run through the hollow lefts that I was hoping for," Sullivan said. "But Tahiti is so similar to Hawaii that I love coming here. The intensity of the waves and the power of the ocean are really similar and it's so laid back – the people are just amazing. Obviously we all wish it was the big, heavy Chopes that we're all used to seeing, but with the limited waiting period, we have to get this day under our belt in order to wait and hope for bigger swells to come."

Brazilians Adriano de Souza and Bernardo Miranda won their respective heats, as did South African's Travis Logie and rookie Ricky Basnett. Californian's also fared well with Bobby Martinez (USA), Chris Ward (USA) and Taylor Knox (USA) each advancing.

There is a chance that Teahupoo may be swell deprived for the next few days, but a call will be made tomorrow morning at 7am to see if Round 2 of the Billabong Pro Tahiti will run.

ROUND 1 BILLABONG PRO TEAHUPOO RESULTS:
Heat 1: Bobby Martinez (USA) 14.00, Trent Munro (AUS) 6.23, Cory Lopez (USA) 4.23
Heat 2: Bruce Irons (HAW) 11.84, Victor Ribas (BRA) 8.22, Josh Kerr (AUS) 7.63
Heat 3: Chris Ward (USA) 12.84, Damien Hobgood (USA) 10.66, Troy Brooks (AUS) 7.34
Heat 4: Adriano de Souza (BRA) 12.33, Tom Whitaker (AUS) 5.96, Neco Padaratz (BRA) 2.60
Heat 5: Gabe Kling (USA) 8.87, Leonardo Neves (BRA) 7.70, Bede Durbidge (AUS) 6.83
Heat 6: Joel Parkinson (AUS) 13.16, Luke Munro (AUS) 8.36, Greg Emslie (ZAF) 7.17
Heat 7: Andy Irons (HAW) 12.50, Hira Teriinatoofa (PYF) 9.67, Fredrick Patacchia (HAW) 6.90
Heat 8: Kelly Slater (USA) 18.17, Manoa Drollet (PYF) 12.50, Phillip Macdonald (AUS) 9.66
Heat 9: Mick Fanning (AUS) 10.44, Anthony Walsh (AUS) 7.67, Raoni Monteiro (BRA) 2.47
Heat 10: Jeremy Flores (FRA) 15.67, Taj Burrow (AUS) 8.50, Bruno Santos (BRA) 5.93
Heat 11: Pancho Sullivan (HAW) 15.93, Shaun Cansdell (AUS) 14.90, Daniel Wills (AUS) 9.50
Heat 12: Ricky Basnett (ZAF) 8.27, Rodrigo Dornelles (BRA) 6.80, Michael Campbell (AUS) 6.26
Heat 13: Bernardo Miranda (BRA) 12.57, C.J. Hobgood (USA) 10.17, Ben Dunn (AUS) 9.14
Heat 14: Travis Logie (ZAF) 13.70, Kai Otton (AUS) 9.80, Dayyan Neve (AUS) 1.30
Heat 15: Taylor Knox (USA) 8.92, Adrian Buchan (AUS) 3.90, Michael Lowe (AUS) 1.44
Heat 16: Dean Morrison (AUS) 15.67, Mark Occhilupo (AUS) 14.33, Luke Stedman (AUS) 9.10

BILLABONG PRO TAHITI TO HIT TEAHUPOO AT 8AM

TEAHUPOO, Tahiti (Friday, May 4th, 2007) – Round 1 of the Billabong Pro Tahiti will kick off today, day one of the 11-day event waiting period, at Teahupoo Reef this morning. Three to five foot (one to one half metre) barrels will house the Foster's ASP World Tour surfers from 8am onwards.

The action will ignite from the very first heat with two former event winners, defending champion Bobby Martinez (USA) and 2001 Billabong Pro Tahiti winner Cory Lopez (USA), going up against Aussie injury replacement Trent Munro. Munro has replaced a recovering Timmy Reyes (USA) in each of the three events on tour so far in 2007.

Due to a last minute withdrawal from rookie Royden Bryson (ZAF) who encountered Visa issues en route to Tahiti, the 48-man draw was reseeded last night. The reshuffling of seeds has set up a scorching Heat 7 battle between 2002 Billabong Pro Tahiti winner Andy Irons (HAW), last year's runner-up Fred Pattachia (HAW) and local specialist and event wildcard Hira Teriinatoofa (PYF).

Logon to www.aspworldtour.com and www.billabongpro.com to watch it all LIVE!

ROUND 1 BILLABONG PRO TEAHUPOO MATCH-UPS:
Heat 1: Bobby Martinez (USA), Cory Lopez (USA), Trent Munro (AUS)
Heat 2: Bruce Irons (HAW), Josh Kerr (AUS), Victor Ribas (BRA)
Heat 3: Damien Hobgood (USA), Chris Ward (USA), Troy Brooks (AUS)
Heat 4: Tom Whitaker (AUS), Adriano de Souza (BRA), Neco Padaratz (BRA)
Heat 5: Bede Durbidge (AUS), Leonardo Neves (BRA), Gabe Kling (USA)
Heat 6: Joel Parkinson (AUS), Greg Emslie (ZAF), Luke Munro (AUS)
Heat 7: Andy Irons (HAW), Fredrick Patacchia (HAW), Hira Teriinatoofa (PYF)
Heat 8: Kelly Slater (USA), Phillip Macdonald (AUS), Manoa Drollet (PYF)
Heat 9: Mick Fanning (AUS), Raoni Monteiro (BRA), Anthony Walsh (AUS)
Heat 10: Taj Burrow (AUS), Jeremy Flores (FRA), Bruno Santos (BRA)
Heat 11: Daniel Wills (AUS), Pancho Sullivan (HAW), Shaun Cansdell (AUS)
Heat 12: Michael Campbell (AUS), Ricky Basnett (ZAF), Rodrigo Dornelles (BRA)
Heat 13: Ben Dunn (AUS), C.J. Hobgood (USA), Bernardo Miranda (BRA)
Heat 14: Travis Logie (ZAF), Kai Otton (AUS), Dayyan Neve (AUS)
Heat 15: Taylor Knox (USA), Michael Lowe (AUS), Adrian Buchan (AUS)
Heat 16: Dean Morrison (AUS), Luke Stedman (AUS), Mark Occhilupo (AUS)