PRAIA DE SANTA BARBARA, Sao Miguel/Azores Islands (Monday, September 24, 2012) - The last event on the 2012 ASP Europe and International schedule, the ASP 6-Star Women’s SATA Airlines Azores Pro will start this Thursday, September 27 and offer one last chance to a handful of talented women surfers to grab their share of the precious ranking points on offer and try to secure one of six coveted spots on next year’s ASP Women’s World Championship Tour.
Following the two previous competitions in Pantin and Estoril that saw major changes happen to the potential Top 6 qualifiers, the SATA Airlines Azores Pro will play a tremendous role in determining next year’s Elite with potentially 14 different surfers able to make the Top 6 at this stage.
With her recent win strike in California and Pantin, Sage Erickson (USA) has secured the number one spot on the ASP Women’s World Tour rankings and will not be detroned in Azores. Bianca Buitendag (ZAF), one of the most consistent surfers all-year has also gained a sufficient lead on her opponents to be guaranteed her spot at the end of the season. All European eyes will be turning to France’s Alizé Arnaud and Pauline Ado who are both in the hot seats and will need a strong finish in Azores, along with freshly crowned Estoril champion Justine Dupont (FRA) who could virtually keep her spot on the WCT next year if everything went her way in Sao Miguel.
The iconic beachbreak of Praia de Santa Bárbara has demonstrated with the Men’s recently, the potential of high performance waves on offer in Azores and if conditions come together for the girls we could see an amazing showdown unfold in beautiful conditions to decide who will join the 2013 elite Top 17.
The ASP 6-Star Women’s SATA Airlines Azores Pro is scheduled from September 27-30, 2012 in Sao Miguel, Azores Islands. For all results, photos, video highlights, press releases and LIVE webcast, log on to azores.aspeurope.com.
The SATA Airlines Azores Pro is organized by DAAZ Eventos and USBA (União de Surfistas e Bodyboarders dos Açores) with the support of the following event partners: SATA Airlines, do Turismo dos Açores, Câmara Municipal da Ribeira Grande, Sumol, Moche, and the participation of Hotel Vip Executive Açores, FUEL TV as official TV Channel, RFM, RTP, Jornal i, Surf Total, Surf Portugal and ONFIRE..
