ASSOCIATION OF SURFING PROFESSIONALS (ASP) INTERNATIONAL
Billabong Girls Pro Brazil
Praia da Tiririca, Itacaré, Bahia-Brazil
Aug 21-28, 2006
www.aspworldtour.com and www.billabonggirls.com
COOLANGATA, Australia (June 9, 2006) Event number four on the 2006 ASP Womens World Tour, the Billabong Girls Pro Brazil, will mark the tours triumphant return to South America after a six-year absence.
Running from August 21-28, 2006 and held at the punchy beach break of Praia da Tiririca, the Billabong Girls Pro Brazil will welcome the worlds best women surfers back after a three-month hiatus from top-tier competition.Though this is the eighth time the tour will visit Brazil, this is the first time the event will be held in a location other than Rio de Janeiro.
Brazil is renowned for its enormous and expanding affinity for surfing and surf culture, making this reunion mutually beneficial for both the tour and the Brazilian population.
Many of the surfers, current world number eight Claire Bevilacqua (AUS) among them, are thrilled about the addition.
Adding an event in South America spices the tour up by lending it some of that passionate Latin flavor, Bevilacqua said. Im so excited to surf in Brazil in front of massive crowds and people who love our sport so much.
Read on for a complete list of FAST FACTS on the Billabong Girls Pro Brazil:
WHAT
The Billabong Girls Pro in Brazil is event four on the Association of Surfing Professionals (ASP) Womens World Tour. It is also the first womens World Championship Tour (WCT) event to be held in Brazil since 1999.
The stand-alone womens world tour was separated from the mens in 2001 and currently features eight top tier events around the world.
2006 will be the maiden year of the Billabong Girls Pro in Brazil. The Billabong Girls Pro also incorporates a 5 Star rated World Qualifying Series (WQS) event, held from August 17-20th at the same location.
WHEN
The Billabong Girls Pro 5 Star Rated WQS will run August 17th-20th 2006. The Billabong Girls Pro World Championship Tour event will run from August 21st-28th 2006.
WHERE
Itacaré is located in the cocoa zone of the state of Bahia, south of Salvador, 70 km north of Ilhéus. It is in Itacaré that the Contas River, which comes from the Chapada Diamantina, meets the ocean.
Bahia is in the north of Brazil, approximately a 1.5-hour flight from Sao Paulo. Praia (Beach) da Tiririca is a small beach of about 80m in length with a fresh water stream running directly from the forest into the ocean.
Itacaré is situated in a region of the Bahian coast where the continental shelf shrinks to a mere 8 miles from shore, allowing the arrival of ocean waves on the coast with consistency, good impact and unbeatable force.
Surfing in Brazil is not a pastime but a lifestyle, with passionate spectators flocking to the area to support the best surfers in the world. Surfing is the fifth largest sport in Brazil, a country with a population of over 186 million people.
During the winter, from June to September, Itacaré receives successive cold fronts generating consistent swells between 1-3m (3 to 9 feet). During this time period, rain keeps the temperature around 19 and 24 Celsius degrees (66 to 75 Fahrenheit). In these months, Itacaré becomes an authentic surf city attracting surfers from all over Brazil.
GETTING THERE
The nearest domestic airport to Itacaré is at Ilhéus (IOS) and the closest international one is in Salvador (SSA). It is served by most major international air companies. There are daily flights to Ilhéus from Salvador and São Paulo by the Brazilian companies.
To get there by land, there is a new paved road (BA-001) that directly links Ilhéus to Itacaré following the coastline. The event will provide shuttle bus to athletes and press. At Ilhéus airport, it is possible to rent a car or get a taxi to Itacaré. There are also buses leaving daily from Ilhéus, from 7:00 AM to 7:00 PM. The ticket costs about R$7 and takes 1h 40mins.
WHERE TO STAY
In Itacaré there are many alternatives for lodging, staying at luxurious hotels and resorts, in rooms and bungalows with ocean views and at simpler inns. Another alternative is the variety of houses for rent of diverse sizes. All these locations are very close to the beach by walk, bike or car. The prices per day vary from R$1000 (US$400) to R$ 50 (US$20) at the hotels and around R$20 (US$8) at camps.
NIGHTLIFE
Itacaré has a lot of restaurants and bars serving many kinds of drink and excellent food. All of them are very cheap, around R$ 50 to R$ 15. There are 35 restaurants of typical Bahian food, fish, seafood and classic western food, 12 beach bars serving appetizers, 7 pizza bars, 15 fast food restaurants and 9 night bars with live music, DJs and capoeira shows around the city.
PRIZEMONEY
US$67,500 total. 1st place receives US$10,000 and 1,200 WCT points.
FORMAT
Six three-woman non-elimination round one heats, with 1st and 2nd progressing to Rd 3. Third placed surfer in round two is eliminated. Round three onwards feature woman-on-woman elimination heats.
FIELD
The Billabong Girls Pro Brazil will feature the worlds top 17 full-time female touring professional surfers. A full list of all the WCT womens profiles are available on www.aspworldtour.com.
FAVORITES
WCT Ratings Leader Melanie Redman-Carr (AUS): Melanie Redman-Carr may be soft-spoken, but her surfing speaks volumes. And it approaches downright deafening when the swell jacks up to be double overhead. Redman-Carr really comes into her own in the powerful swells in Hawaii and Fiji, courtesy of hours logged in surfing heavy West Australian waters back home. But don’t underestimate her any conditions, this veteran has a decades worth of top tour experience to draw from
So far in 2006, Redman-Carr has won three from three events on the ASP Womens World Tour, currently holding a staggering 900-point lead over her closest rival Layne Beachley (AUS). Seemingly destined to make 2006 her world title year, the usual favorites will have to stop the unsponsored Redman-Carr at the Billabong Girls Pro Brazil before the title is stitched up.
Defending World Champion Chelsea Georgeson (AUS): Chelsea Georgeson, the always grinning goofy-footer from the Gold Coast of Australia was destined to become a world champion from a young age. And in 2005 her destiny became a reality. Her amazing attitude, athletic prowess and glaring passion for her chosen profession are just a few reasons why Mrs. Georgeson is more than deserving of the sport’s highest honor.
“Chels” might emanate an easy-going grace and carefree attitude, but theres nothing laid back about the focus, drive and talent she exudes in the lineup. Morphing from the gifted grom who caught the eye of four-time world champion Lisa Andersen while she was scratching into shorebeaks at Avalon in Sydney, to female surfings newest superstar, 22-year-old Georgesons domination of the sport has only just begun.
The Brazilian Rookie Silvana Lima: At 22, this progressive regular-foot from Sao Paulo, Brazil is being touted a serious world title threat, and for good reason. Announcing her arrival with a staggering victory at the 2005 Body Glove Surfabout at Trestles in California, Lima linked together enough results to find herself sitting at number six on the World Qualifying Series at year’s end – a feat that has found her on the 2006 ASP Women’s World Tour.
Despite inexperience at the elite level, Silvana scored a perfect 10 on her first-ever top tour wave as a wildcard at the Billabong Pro Maui last December. Boasting an aggressive style of surfing on par with the power and speed of most men, watch Silvana to score big once she gains experience in the big league.
HISTORY OF THE ASP WOMENS WORLD TOUR IN BRAZIL
1977: Waimea Pro – Ipanema, Rio de Janeiro, Brazil [Winner: Margo Oberg (AUS) / Prize Money: US$1,500]
1992: Alternativa Surf International – Barra da Tijuca, Rio de Janeiro, Brazil [Winner: Wendy Botha (ZAF) / Prize Money: US$20,00]
1993: Alternativa Surf International – Barra da Tijuca, Rio de Janeiro, [Winner: Neridah Falconer / Prize Money: US$25,000]
1994: Alternativa Surf International – Barra da Tijuca, Rio de Janeiro, Brazil [Winner: Pauline Menczer (AUS) / Prize Money: US$25,000]
1997: Kaiser Summer Surf – Barra da Tijuca, Rio de Janeiro, Brazil [Winner: Pauline Menczer (AUS) / Prize Money: US$30,000]
1998: Marathon Surf International – Barra da Tijuca, Rio de Janeiro, Brazil [Winner: Pauline Menczer (AUS) / Prize Money: US$40,000]
1999: Marathon Surf International – Barra da Tijuca, Rio de Janeiro, Brazil [Winner: Andrea Lopes (BRA) / Prize Money: US$30,000]
2006: Billabong Girls Pro Brazil, Praia da Tiririca, Itacare, Bahia, Brazil, [Winner: TBD / Prize Money: US$67,500]
LIVE WEBCAST
On www.aspworldtour.com and www.billabongpro.com each day of the event featuring various camera angles, highlights and replays, weather and scoring information, direct viewer interaction, celebrity guests, interviews and more.