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ASSOCIATION OF SURFING PROFESSIONALS (ASP) NORTH AMERICA

O’NEILL COLD WATER CLASSIC
Steamer Lane, Santa Cruz, California
October 17-22, 2006

DION ATKINSON IS OAKLEY PRO JUNIOR CHAMPION – ASP NORTH AMERICA SURFERS DECIDED FOR ASP WORLD JUNIOR CHAMPIONSHIPS

SANTA CRUZ, Calif. (Sunday, October 22, 2006) – Dion Atkinson (Seaford, Aus.) took down the Oakley Pro Junior today in clean six-foot surf at Steamer Lane in Santa Cruz, California.

The Association of Surfing Professionals (ASP) Grade-Two event was the final contest of the 2006 ASP North America Pro Junior series serving as the National Championships.

Atkinson, who was a standout in the O’Neill Cold Water Classic before being eliminated, went absolutely mad in the Oakley Pro Junior final. After opening with a solid wave, Atkinson waited nearly 15 minutes before striking again. The big Australian tore into an overhead set wave with searing carves netting him a 9.33 out of a possible 10 to takeover the lead.

“I got that first one under my belt and I kind of sat for a bit,” Atkinson said. “Alex (Gray) really took over about midway through the heat and I knew I had to wait for a good one to really open up on. I’m a little bigger guy so these waves suit me a bit better.”

Atkinson, who finished third in the ASP Australasia Pro Junior series, will meet up against some of his fellow competitors in next January’s Billabong ASP World Junior Championships.

“The level of competition is really high here – it’s just as high as Australia,” Atkinson said. “Winning here has given me a really good confidence boost and I’m looking forward to seeing everyone again at Narrabeen (ASP World Junior Championships).”

Alex Gray (Palos Verdes, Calif.) surfed extremely well in the finals holding the lead for the majority of the heat before Atkinson took over relegating Gray to second.

“Congratulations go out to Dion (Atkinson) – he’s been absolutely ripping all week,” Gray said. “That’s what is so cool about this event is that there is a huge international contingent really pushing the rest of us out there. It’s been an amazing event.”

As the final event of the 2006 ASP North America Pro Junior series, the Oakley Pro Junior ASP North American Championships proved critical in the ratings race for the highly-coveted five seeds into the prestigious ASP World Junior Championships.

Eric Geiselman (New Smyrna Beach, Calif.) clinched the 2006 ASP Pro Junior series today finishing third in the Oakley Pro Junior finals.

“I’m super psyched to finish strong at this event as I wanted to stay as consistent as I could this season,” Geiselman said. “I’m really looking forward to the ASP World Juniors. I’m off to Hawaii next and then I go home so I’ll be getting my boards ready with my dad and doing a bit of training for Australia.”

Joining Geiselman in the ASP North America hunt for the ASP World Junior title next January will be Dylan Graves (Isabella, Pri.), Nick Rozsa (Oxnard, Calif.), Sterling Spencer (Pensacola, Fla.) and Alex Gray (Palos Verdes, Calif.) – Gray double qualified by finishing third on the ASP North America Pro Junior ratings and by being the highest-rated North America surfer on the ASP WQS who is of junior age.

Joining the five guys will be Sage Erickson (Ojai, Calif.) and Erica Hosseini (Newport Beach, Calif.) representing the ASP North America girls at the ASP World Junior Championships.

The Billabong ASP World Junior Championships will take place January 1 – 7, 2006, at North Narrabeen Beach in New South Wales, Australia. Five surfers from each of the seven ASP Regions (Australasia, Europe, North America, Japan, Africa, Hawaii and South America) will converge at the high-performance beachbreak to compete for $60,000 worth of prize money and a chance to be crowned the ASP World Junior Champion.

Past ASP World Junior Champions include three-time ASP World Champ Andy Irons (Hanelei, Haw.), Australian phenomenon Joel Parkinson (Coolangatta, Aus.) and 2005 ASP WQS Champion Adriano de Souza (São Paulo, Bra.). In addition to the prestige of being crowned ASP World Junior Champion and the prize money, the finalists at the ASP World Junior Championships will both be awarded wildcards into the high-rated ASP WQS events for 2007.

The 2006 ASP North America Pro Junior season has come to a close, but be sure to watch our representatives battle the world at Billabong ASP World Junior Championships at North Narrabeen in New South Wales Australia starting January 1st. Catch all the action at www.aspworldtour.com.

For further information, log onto www.aspnorthamerica.org.

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