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By Press Release:

ASSOCIATION OF SURFING PROFESSIONALS (ASP) INTERNATIONAL

EVENT #9 ON THE 2006 FOSTER'S ASSOCIATION OF SURFING PROFESSIONALS (ASP) MEN'S WORLD TOUR

Billabong Pro Mundaka
(October 2 – 14)

See the event LIVE on www.aspworldtour.com or www.billabongpro.com

SWELL ON THE WAY FOR BILLABONG PRO MUNDAKA

Mick Fanning & Pancho Sullivan check out the online swell charts with a fair amount of optimism. Picture credit ASP Tostee

MUNDAKA, Basque Country, Northern Spain (Wednesday, October 11, 2006) – As small waves have plagued the magical left hand wave that is Mundaka, organisers of the Billabong Pro have, after a long wait, deemed today to be another lay day.

However, it is forecast that a new swell is on its way and the first signs of that should begin to show late this afternoon. It is anticipated that by tomorrow the location will once again be firing at its best.

“The surf will pick back up out of the west north west over the second half of the week, thanks to successive lows moving toward the Bay of Biscay,” said forecasters www.surfline.com

“The swell won’t be from an ideal swell angle which will limit the size, but surf in the chest-shoulder-head high range is looking likely over the course of the better tides on Thursday. We could even see some larger sets sneak in from time to time, especially if the storm can move a little further north over the next 24 hours.”

With the forecast looking promising, competitors are beginning to get anxious as the event draws toward the business end.

With all the Foster’s ASP Men’s World Tour title contenders moving through to round four it’s expected that the drama surrounding this year’s Billabong Pro Mundaka will be at an all time high.

Those in contention include Kelly Slater (USA) (who can wrap up an eighth world crown with a win here), plus Taj Burrow (AUS), Andy Irons (HAW), Mick Fanning (AUS) and Joel Parkinson (AUS).

Looking at the draw and the potential matchups in later rounds there won’t be an easy run for anyone.

If both surfers overcome their round four foes, Fanning and Parkinson could meet in quarterfinal one, from there the winner could potentially meet Slater in the semi, and then of cause must go on to win the final.

On the other side of the draw Burrow and Irons have the opportunity to cancel each other out of the race as they potentially could meet in second semi final.

Whichever way it is viewed all have their work cut out for them.

Throw into the mix the swag of surfers who, although aren’t in world title contention but are dead eager to thwart any of the frontrunner’s campaigns, and you have a script for an enthralling show.

Organisers will view reconvene tomorrow at 9am to assess conditions and tides permitting will send out the remaining heats of round three.

There is just over a full day required to complete the event, with 18 heats, including the final, in total remaining.

Stay tuned to www.billabongpro.com or www.aspworldtour.com for all the updates and to watch every heat LIVE!

Remaining round three heats:
Heat 14: Greg Emslie (ZAF) vs Adriano de Souza (BRA)
Heat 15: Damien Hobgood (USA) vs Mikael Picon (FRA)
Heat 16: Dean Morrison (AUS) vs Michael Lowe (AUS)

Round four heat draw so far: (1st to Quarterfinals 2nd receives equal 9th place and 600 ratings points)

Heat 1: Joel Parkinson (AUS) vs Bruce Irons (HAW)
Heat 2: Victor Ribas (BRA) vs Mick Fanning (AUS)
Heat 3: Pancho Sullivan (HAW) vs Tom Whitaker (AUS)
Heat 4: Cory Lopez (USA) vs Kelly Slater (USA)
Heat 5: Andy Irons (HAW) vs Trent Munro (AUS)
Heat 6: Bobby Martinez (USA) vs Phil MacDonald (AUS)
Heat 7: Taj Burrow (AUS) vs TBC
Heat 8: TBC

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