Michael Picon and Aritz Aranburu return to the new format WQS Tour

The European Surfers of Team Quiksilver, Michael Picon and Aritz Aranburu will return to the WQS (World Qualifying Series) this season.

For Miky Picon, the experienced European pro, this season has two goals: to try to requalify for the elite by taking part in the main WQS events (as he did previously in 2006 and 2008) but also to begin to work professionally at the centre of the Quiksilver group.  As his sponsor and supporter for a long time, Quiksilver has committed to collaborate with Miky in order to make him one of its main ambassadors, to put his great experience and his network to use within the company.

For Aritz Aranburu, the objective is to regain his place in the elite of the ASP World Tour by the end of the season.  The challenge is sizeable as the elite ASP circuits and WQS are changing format in 2010.  In order to make the two tours more competitive, the ASP will tighten the elite Tour to just 32 surfers in the course of the season (after Tahiti).  Consequently, the early events of 2010 will be crucial for Jérémy Florès.  He must place inside the world’s Top 32 before the Tahiti cut off point, in order to challenge at events such as The Quiksilver Pro France, in September, which will only include the Top 32 surfers .

The arrival of best 13 surfers of the WQS in September will again make the events even more competitive and will toughen the process of qualification for the elite Tour the following season.

Maxime Huscenot Takes Out ASP World Junior Championships

Quiksilver Team rider Maxime Huscenot (REU), 17, and Roxy Team rider Laura Enever (AUS), 18, have claimed their respective ASP World Junior Titles, dominating the punchy two-to-three foot (1 metre) waves on offer at North Narrabeen for the final day of the Billabong ASP World Junior Championships fueled by Monster Energy.

 



Huscenot, who received entry into the Billabong ASP World Junior Championships as an ASP International wildcard, wowed spectators and surfers alike today, besting an in-form Jadson Andre (BRA), 19, in the hard-fought Final to claim the ASP World Junior Title.

 



“This is the biggest day of my life and it’s absolutely unbelievable,” Huscenot said. “It feels like I just won a heat, not the ASP World Title – it’s incredible. Jadson (Andre) is an amazing surfer and the whole Brazilian team rips so hard. I cannot believe it is my day. I am at a loss for words.”

 



A relative unknown at the international level prior to this year’s showdown at North Narrabeen, Huscenot bested a bevy of the world’s hottest up-and-coming surfers to take the prestigious title and emphatically announce himself as a force on the world surfing stage. 



 

“I knew I was not a big name coming here,” Huscenot said. “Jadson was the best surfer, doing massive air reverses that I cannot even dream of doing. But I just surfed the best I could and I guess the judges appreciated it. I never dreamed I would be here. I was injured in October and couldn’t surf for a month. But I trained hard and got the wildcard here and once I made it past the fourth round, I knew it was going to be a good event for me. It feels amazing to be the first Frenchman to claim the ASP World Junior Title.”

Jeremy Flores Requalifies for the ASP World Tour 2010.

Frenchman, Jeremy Flores has earned a place on surfings elite World Tour for the 2010 season.  Aged just twenty one, next year will be be a fourth year on the Dream Tour for Flores.  Having regularly placing in the Top 10, Jeremy is reigning ISA World Champion and will be one of only three Europeans to remain amongst the World's Top 45 surfers.  

An ankle injury forced Jeremy to miss the last three events of the 2009 Tour.  Despite this, his earlier results were enough to secure a 25th finish in the rankings, which by the years end allowed automatic qualification for the 2010 season.  
 
Jeremy looks set to return to competition at the first event of the new year, the Quiksilver Pro Gold Coast in Australia.  Last year Jeremy placed ninth in the event, which alongside another his ninth place finish in the Hangloose Pro in Brazil, marked the two key results for his season.

In 2009 there were seven Europeans on tour, this number has now dropped to three.  In 2010 Jeremy will by joined by Portuguese surfer Tiago Pires, who finished the year rated 24th and Michel Bourez from French Polynesia, who finished the year ranked 21st.  

The first event of the 2010 ASP World Tour is the Quiksilver Pro Gold Coast, which is due to run February 27th - March 10th.

Greg Long Wins Quiksilver In Memory of Eddie Aikau

Waimea Bay, HAWAII - Tues. Dec. 8, 2009 - After 25 years with most of those spent waiting, Waimea Bay delivered an event of legendary proportions today at the Quiksilver In Memory of Eddie Aikau, Fueled by Monster Energy. It was 25 years to the day since the first "Eddie" was held and waves of up to 50 feet poured in to Oahu's North Shore as if on cue. With younger brother Clyde still in the lineup, at age 60, joined by the contemporary top guns of big wave riding, a packed arena celebrated every gutsy ride in brilliant sunshine befitting of a tribute to local hero Eddie Aikau.

When all was said and done, it was California's Greg Long, 26, (San Clemente) who made a late charge in the final heat of the day to claim the $55,000 winner's purse. Long committed to an unbelievable never-say-die attack, securing all four of his top scores - several of them death-defying and one of them a perfect 100-point ride, in macking 40- to 50-foot waves. It was the high point of his career to-date - pretty incredible given that he only rode Waimea for the first time this week.

"I'm so happy just to be here, invited into the biggest event of big waves in the world with all my heroes, I'm so excited," said Long.

"It's a dream come true for me. Riding big waves is my passion and I've been following The Eddie since I knew exactly what it was, I was probably 12-years-old just getting into surfing. Since then, I've had every single poster from Brock Little to Bruce Irons on my wall. I look to those guys for inspiration and to be standing up here with Sunny (Garcia) and Kelly Slater is a dream come true for me. I never would have thought that this is my first year surfing the event and to come away with a victory is really a childhood dream become real.

"I'm still standing here in awe and I want to go check the scores to make sure someone isn't going to come here and take this away.

"It really is about the wave and celebrating the ocean. It's what we do: go out there and ride big waves. The respect and camaraderie in the lineup you don't find in too many places in the world, and this event really encapsulates everything that's great about surfing: the friendships you make in the water and looking out for one another."

The Monster Drop Award, for the most hellacious-but-successful takeoff of the contest, went to Chile's Ramon Navarro, who also finished fifth overall. This is his first time as an invitee into the event. Navarro's winning wave was one of the last of the competition; a huge, seemingly endless drop on his backhand, followed by a detonation of whitewater that he emerged from and then stuck with all the way to the beach. He earned a perfect 100 points.

Navarro first came in 2004 to surf Waimea with an invitation from good friend and fellow contestant today, Kohl Christensen. He baked empanadas and sold them to pay his rent and learn the ropes. Today was pay day. Navarro won $10,000 for the Monster Drop Award, and $2,000 for fifth place. It was a great result for someone who almost didn't surf today after his pregnant wife was accidentally injured on the beach.

"This is a dream for me," said Navarro. "I want to say thank you to Kohl Christensen, Dusty Middleton and all the crew because those are the guys that invited me here and taught me how to surf The Bay. I appreciate everything from these guys."

Nine-time world champion Kelly Slater (Florida, USA), who won here back in January of 2002, placed second after leading the score board from the first second heat of the day. Long turned the tables on him in the final hour of competition. All Slater could do was look on in as much disbelief as the frenzied crowd who were at that point ready to celebrate with anyone. Slater earned $10,000. Third was Hawaii's Sunny Garcia, earning $3,000. Fourth was defending Eddie champion Bruce Irons (Kauai), $3,000.

Navarro's buddy Christensen can lay claim to the most devastating wipeout of the day that remains burned in every mind here today. He also posted several solid scores, but a wipeout like his is as unforgettable as a win.

The call to wait for today and the ensuing result was mind-boggling, especially since many were questioning not running yesterday in 40-foot surf. By afternoon, all concerned were stunned that 79-year-old contest director and big wave icon George Downing had kept his cool so well and timed it perfectly for a second peak in swell energy. The past 48 hours of massive surf is the largest sustained episode to hit the Hawaiian Islands in 40 years.

From the moment the event was declared "on" at dawn, to the final gut-wrenching wipeouts that came with the peaking swell of afternoon, the air was filled with salt spray and adrenaline. Not a square foot of sand or lava rock was empty as a capacity crowd of over 50,000 packed the natural amphitheater of Waimea Bay to experience the pairing of Mother Nature and the men who ride her mountainous surf.

The insane wipeouts that dropped like dominoes, the hairball air drops and perfect scores, the 28 surfers of the event who put their lives on the line in honor of Aikau today - it all made for the greatest day of the Quiksilver In Memory of Eddie Aikau's history.

Waimea Bay's best known big-wave rider and first life-guard, Eddie Aikau, was smiling down on his successors today. Along with the surfers, he would have admired Hawaiian Water Patrol for keeping the lineup and the surfers safe all day yesterday and today. There is no greater collection of guardian angels of the sea than the lifeguards of the North Shore.

Everyone came out in support of Hawaii's big wave gift to the world, including football: The Sheraton Hawaii Bowl, along with the Hawaii Tourism Authority and the Oahu Visitors Bureau came together with support that enabled highlights of the day to reach all four corners of the globe.

Mahalo to Hawaii's Oceanic Cable, who along with the Vans Triple Crown of Surfing took today's action live, all day, throughout the Hawaiian Islands.

FUEL TV will air a one-hour highlight show in the United States: 6:30pm PT/9:30pm ET on Friday, December 11, 2009. The show will re-air several times over the weekend.

The Quiksilver In Memory of Eddie Aikau, Fueled by Monster Energy, is the only ASP sanctioned big wave event in the world.

Quiksilver In Memory of Eddie Aikau: Ceremony Points to Event

Waimea Bay, HAWAII, December 4, 2009 --- In statements fitting of the 25th anniversary of The Quiksilver In Memory of Eddie Aikau, fueled by Monster Energy, Contest Director George Downing and Aikau's brother Clyde stunned the gathered audience today when they announced that the event would run within the week. All forecasts point towards one of the largest swells to hit Hawaii in decades. The Quiksilver In Memory of Eddie Aikau is an ASP specialty sanctioned event.

"Seven, eight or nine," said Downing to an initially bewildered crowd. "It's gonna happen one of those days." Downing was referring to Monday, December 7, or Tuesday the 8th or Wednesday the 9th.

Today's ceremony was an overwhelming tribute, complete with the original Hokule'a voyaging canoe in Waimea Bay in the midst of a 15- to 18-foot swell. The Hokule'a is a symbol of great Hawaiian pride; a traditional double-hulled vessel that represents the original Polynesian voyage to the Hawaiian islands. It is also the same boat from which Aikau paddled for assistance in 1978, never to be seen again. Hokule'a had capsized in heavy seas in the Moloka'i Channel, injuring crew, en-route to Tahiti.

Clyde Aikau, winner of the 1987 Quiksilver In Memory of Eddie Aikau, today led the paddle-out of this year's official Invitees and Alternates. Instead of gracing the lineup as they usually do, they circled the Hokule'a and paid respects to Aikau, joined by some of Eddie's original crewmates on the vessel he loved so dearly.

"Hokule'a and Eddie were all about perpetuating the Hawaiian spirit," said Kahu Billy Mitchell. "The Hokule'a keeps our culture alive, and Eddie reminds us how."

Clyde is ready to ride on what he expects to be the swell of a lifetime: "Knowing that it's probably gonna go, 90%, Monday or Tuesday, everybody's real jacked, including yours truly. I really think it's going to be a big one, probably the biggest waves ever for the event. I've surfed all the big waves that have come through here - '74, '69, and this one on Monday or Tuesday should be even bigger than that. If you're not 101% gas for the day, let somebody else surf."

Hawaii's Mark Healey spoke for a psyched up younger crew of Invitees who are amping to surf The Bay. For many it will be their first time. The last time the event ran was in December 2004.

"I've been surfing the Bay big since I was 17," said Healey, "Right now, my group of friends who ride big waves that are in this event, they're really good at forecasting, guys like Greg long have never been wrong and don't usually go out on a limb on things, but he's like 'it's on I'm coming over.' It's an emotional rollercoaster. I see the big storm on the charts on the internet."

Surfers ended the day by collecting their silver memorial Big Wave board trophies and were gifted with custom one-of-a-kind 25th Anniversary Eddie Aikau Diamond Dobby Deluxe™ competitor boardshorts. Sign up for mobile text alerts to know which day The Eddie will go at quiksilver.com/Eddie.

The Quiksilver In Memory of Eddie Aikau, fueled by Monster Energy, will take place on one day when waves exceed the 20-foot minimum threshold and Invitees contend for the $98K prize purse and Monster Drop award.

Monster Energy will be presenting the Monster Drop Specialty Award for the surfer who makes the most critical drop and rides out of it during the event. The judges will determine the winner the day of the competition and will present the chosen surfer with a unique Monster Drop Specialty Award Trophy.

Held in honor of the legendary Hawaiian waterman, Eddie Aikau, The Quiksilver in Memory of Eddie Aikau, fueled by Monster Energy, gathers the most skillful and dynamic big-wave surfers from around the globe. It is the world's longest running and most prestigious big-wave invitational and is the only one sanctioned by the Association of Surfing Professionals (ASP), the governing body of professional surfing.

The universal appeal and strength of "The Eddie" is a testament to the human spirit it honors and that we all seek to connect with: a life lived with passion, dedicated with meaning, and exited from heroically. Just 31 when he lost his life in an attempt to save others, Aikau has physically been gone now for as long as he was here. But far from being forgotten, his life story is now woven into the fabric of Hawaii.

The Eddie has only run seven times in the past 24 years. You don't want to miss it when the Bay calls the momentous day. Go to Quiksilver.com/Eddie for swell updates, happenings from the North Shore, and to sign up for text alerts, to make sure you're the first to know when the Bay calls the day!