TEAHUPOO, Tahiti (Tuesday, May 12, 2009) – Small surf in the three-to-four foot (1 metre) range and less-than-ideal winds prompted event organizers at the Billabong Pro Tahiti presented by Air Tahiti Nui to call competition off for the day. Event No. 3 of 10 on the 2009 ASP World Tour, the Billabong Pro Tahiti completed the opening 14 heats of Round 1....
Event No. 3 of 10 on the 2009 ASP World Tour, the Billabong Pro Tahiti completed the opening 14 heats of Round 1 last Saturday, but has since held off in hopes of improved conditions.
“We thought the swell would have filled in by now but it hasn’t hit yet so we’ve called competition off for today,” Luke Egan, Billabong Pro Tahiti Contest Director, said. “We’re monitoring some swell energy that could be filling in over the next few days so we’ll be back tomorrow to make another call.”
Event organizers will reconvene tomorrow morning at 6:30am to assess conditions for a possible 7:30am start.
When competition resumes, up first will be Heitor Alves (BRA), 27, against 2009 ASP Dream Tour rookie Michel Bourez (PYF), 23, in Heat 15 of Round 1.
Surfline, official forecasters for the Billabong Pro Tahiti, are calling for a moderate WSW swell to fill throughout today with favorable winds, followed by another WSW swell from Thursday through the weekend.
Highlights from Day 1’s Billabong Pro Tahiti presented by Air Tahiti Nui are available at www.billabongpro.com
For more information, log onto www.aspworldtour.com
REMAINING BILLABONG PRO TAHITI ROUND 1 MATCH-UPS:
Heat 15: Heitor Alves (BRA) vs. Michel Bourez (PYF)
Heat 16: Roy Powers (HAW) vs. Mick Campbell (AUS)
BILLABONG PRO TAHITI ROUND 2 MATCH-UPS:
Heat 1: C.J. Hobgood (USA) vs. Phillip MacDonald (AUS)
Heat 2: Jeremy Flores (FRA) vs. Jay Thompson (AUS)
Heat 3: Kieren Perrow (AUS) vs. TBA
Heat 4: Taj Burrow (AUS) vs. Marlon Lipke (DEU)
Heat 5: Fredrick Patacchia (HAW) vs. Josh Kerr (AUS)
Heat 6: Adrian Buchan (AUS) vs. TBA
Heat 7: Taylor Knox (USA) vs. Kai Otton (AUS)
Heat 8: Joel Parkinson (AUS) vs. Heiarii Williams (PYF)
Heat 9: Bede Durbidge (AUS) vs. Andy Irons (HAW)
Heat 10: Bobby Martinez (USA) vs. TBA
Heat 11: Adriano de Souza (BRA) vs. Dustin Barca (HAW)
Heat 12: Jordy Smith (ZAF) vs. TBA
Heat 13: Kelly Slater (USA) vs. Aritz Aranburu (EUK)
Heat 14: Damien Hobgood (USA) vs. Dean Morrison (AUS)
Heat 15: Mick Fanning (AUS) vs. Ben Dunn (AUS)
Heat 16: Tom Whitaker (AUS) vs. Tim Boal (FRA)
