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<\/p>\nO’Neill Cold Water Classic
\nEvent No. 9 of 10 on the 2012 ASP World Championship Tour
\nSteamer Lane, Santa Cruz, California\/USA
\nNovember 1 – 11, 2012 <\/p>\n
Field Finalized for O’Neill Cold Water Classic Santa Cruz, Possible Start Tomorrow<\/p>\n
<\/p>\n
Caption: Miguel Pupo (BRA), 20, winner of last year\u2019s ASP Prime rated O\u2019Neill Cold Water Classic, will attempt to defend his title this season.
\nImage Credit: \u00a9 O’Neill<\/p>\n
SANTA CRUZ, California\/USA (Wednesday, October 31, 2012) \u2013 The world\u2019s best surfers have arrived in Santa Cruz, California for the penultimate event of the 2012 ASP World Championship Tour (WCT) season, the O\u2019Neill Cold Water Classic at the iconic Steamer Lane.<\/p>\n
A staple of the ASP\u2019s qualifying circuit, the O\u2019Neill Cold Water Classic has been sanctioned at the elite level of competition this season, celebrating the brand\u2019s 60th anniversary of operations. The event will play a crucial role in both the 2012 ASP World Title Race and the requalification campaigns of the world\u2019s best surfers and could commence as early as tomorrow.Mick Fanning (AUS), 31, current No. 3 on the ASP WCT rankings, has two victories under his belt this season, but suffered two relatively early exits over his European campaign. After recharging his batteries at home following the last event Portugal, the polished natural-footer is out to rebound his ASP World Title hopes at the O\u2019Neill Cold Water Classic.<\/p>\n
\u201cI like to sneak under the radar, but the last couple of events haven\u2019t been the greatest for me,\u201d Fanning said. \u201cIt was great to go home and readjust and refocus. I have a new quiver of boards and I\u2019m excited to be here.\u201d<\/p>\n
Fanning\u2019s appearance at this year\u2019s event marks his first return to Santa Cruz in over a decade and the two-time ASP World Champion (2007, 2009) is excited to take on the challenges brought on by Steamer Lane\u2019s ever-changing conditions.<\/p>\n
\u201cI think it\u2019s great having this event on the schedule this year,\u201d Fanning said. \u201cThe past few years, we\u2019ve had The Search event and you go to new places and it\u2019s great to have a new wave every time and learn the spot as you go through the rounds. This event has been around for a long time, but personally, I haven\u2019t been here since 2000. It\u2019s great to be back and every surfer will be learning, so it\u2019s going to be exciting.\u201d<\/p>\n
Fanning will face Kieren Perrow (AUS), 35, and Dusty Payne (HAW), 23, in Round 1 of competition.<\/p>\n
John John Florence (HAW), 20, current ASP WCT No. 4, has extensive experience in the Steamer Lane lineup despite being one of the youngest competitors in the event. Despite his history with the venue, Florence made it a point to arrive early and reacquaint himself with the break.<\/p>\n
\u201cTo prepare for this contest I arrive a few days early to get used to the cold water,\u201d Florence said. \u201cI\u2019ve been coming here since I was pretty little to surf in the event and Santa Cruz is a cool place. Every year that I come here is a new learning curve for me and that\u2019s why I came here a few days early to get used to it again. To be able to come here and watch everyone adapt to the colder water, and the Lane, it\u2019s not an easy wave to surf, so it\u2019s fun to watch everyone surf it.\u201d<\/p>\n
Florence has drawn Heitor Alves (BRA), 30, and Patrick Gudauskas (USA), 26, in the opening round of competition.<\/p>\n
Miguel Pupo (BRA), 20, winner of last year\u2019s ASP Prime rated O\u2019Neill Cold Water Classic, returns to Steamer Lane as a Sophomore among the world\u2019s best surfers and is ready to defend his title against his fellow ASP WCT competitors.<\/p>\n
\u201cIt\u2019s just great to be back,\u201d Pupo said. \u201cI love this place. Last year was a pretty challenging contest because we had a couple of days at Steamer Lane and a couple of days at Waddell Creek. I\u2019m happy to be back in the water with my booties on.\u201d<\/p>\n
Pupo admitted that the younger surfers may have more recent experience at Steamer Lane via the ASP Prime rated event of the past, but the top level of competition on the ASP WCT will level the playing field.<\/p>\n
\u201cI think it\u2019s good because I\u2019ve been coming here the last four years and the young guys have as well because of the Prime,\u201d Pupo said. \u201cWe kind of have that advantage, but the veterans have surfed here in the past too. Steamer Lane is a tricky wave and they probably know what to expect. Realistically, it\u2019s the top 34 guys in the world, they surf every wave well, so I think it\u2019s even.\u201d<\/p>\n
Pupo will face Owen Wright (AUS), 22, and Yadin Nicol (AUS), 26, in Round 1 of competition.<\/p>\n
Nat Young (USA), 21, was electric in today\u2019s local trials, stringing together a series of impeccable backhand performances to earn his berth in the main event, marking his first appearance in an ASP WCT.<\/p>\n
\u201cI knew it was going to be tough in the local trials,\u201d Young said. \u201cWe have so many good surfers up here and everyone is capable of doing well and getting big scores. It was a long day and I\u2019m really stoked. I\u2019m against Kelly (Slater), so to be able to surf against my hero at my home break in my first WCT, it\u2019s pretty special.\u201d<\/p>\n
Young joins Jason Collins (USA), 38, as the two wildcards into the O\u2019Neill Cold Water Classic.<\/p>\n
Event organizers will convene tomorrow at 7:15am to assess conditions for a possible 7:45am start.<\/p>\n
Surfline, official forecasters for the O\u2019Neill Cold Water Classic, have called for:<\/p>\n
Fun size WNW swell is on track for the first day of the waiting period, Thursday the 1st, although morning wind conditions look problematic before improving over the afternoon. A slightly larger WNW swell is lining up for the afternoon of the 4th through the 6th along with favorable conditions, if the storm behaves as forecast in the next few days. <\/p>\n
When competition commences, up first will be Julian Wilson (AUS), 23, Alejo Muniz (BRA), 22, and Taylor Knox (USA), 41, in the opening heat of Round 1.<\/p>\n
The O\u2019Neill Coldwater Classic will be webcast LIVE via www.oneill.com\/cwc\/<\/p>\n
For more info, log onto www.aspworldtour.com<\/p>\n
O\u2019NEILL COLD WATER CLASSIC ROUND 1 MATCH-UPS:
\nHeat 1: Julian Wilson (AUS), Alejo Muniz (BRA), Taylor Knox (USA)
\nHeat 2: Adriano de Souza (BRA), Kai Otton (AUS), Jadson Andre (BRA)
\nHeat 3: John John Florence (HAW), Heitor Alves (BRA), Patrick Gudauskas (USA)
\nHeat 4: Mick Fanning (AUS), Kieren Perrow (AUS), Dusty Payne (HAW)
\nHeat 5: Kelly Slater (USA), Kolohe Andino (USA), Nat Young (USA)
\nHeat 6: Joel Parkinson (AUS), Damien Hobgood (USA), Jason Collins (USA)
\nHeat 7: Taj Burrow (AUS), Brett Simpson (USA), Matt Wilkinson (AUS)
\nHeat 8: Gabriel Medina (BRA), Bede Durbidge (AUS), Adam Melling (AUS)
\nHeat 9: Owen Wright (AUS), Miguel Pupo (BRA), Yadin Nicol (AUS)
\nHeat 10: Josh Kerr (AUS), Michel Bourez (PYF), Raoni Monteiro (BRA)
\nHeat 11: Jeremy Flores (FRA), C.J. Hobgood (USA), Travis Logie (ZAF)
\nHeat 12: Jordy Smith (ZAF), Adrian Buchan (AUS), Tiago Pires (PRT)<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
O’Neill Cold Water Classic Event No. 9 of 10 on the 2012 ASP World Championship Tour Steamer Lane, Santa Cruz, California\/USA November 1 – 11, 2012 Field Finalized for O’Neill Cold Water Classic Santa Cruz, Possible Start Tomorrow Caption: Miguel Pupo (BRA), 20, winner of last year\u2019s ASP Prime rated O\u2019Neill Cold Water Classic, will … Continue reading “O’Neill Cold Water Classic Event No. 9 of 10-2012 ASP World Tour-Steamer Lane, Santa Cruz, California”<\/span><\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[25],"tags":[24],"class_list":["post-13995","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-asp-surfing-news","tag-surfing-news-archive"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.saltwater-dreaming.com\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/13995","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.saltwater-dreaming.com\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.saltwater-dreaming.com\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.saltwater-dreaming.com\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.saltwater-dreaming.com\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=13995"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.saltwater-dreaming.com\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/13995\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.saltwater-dreaming.com\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=13995"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.saltwater-dreaming.com\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=13995"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.saltwater-dreaming.com\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=13995"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}