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WEDNESDAY 03 May, 2006
TEAHUPOO, TAHITI
BILLABONG PRO TAHITI
4-16 MAY
EVENT #3 ON THE 2006 ASSOCIATION OF SURFING PROFESSIONALS (ASP) WOMEN'S WORLD TOUR
Live on www.billabongpro.com or www.aspworldtour.com
WORLD'S BEST WOMEN SURFERS RECONVENE AT BILLABONG PRO TAHITI
Only days after negotiating Fiji's critically shallow reefs, the world's top 17 female surfers have reconvened at the Billabong Pro Tahiti to take on Teahupoo – the wave widely regarded as the most treacherous on tour.
The third of eight events on this year's Association of Surfing Professionals (ASP) Women's World Tour, the Billabong Pro shares a 13-day waiting period with the Foster's ASP Men's World Tour and runs from May 4-13, 2006.
Roughly two days of competition are needed to complete the women's division, with four days of surfing required to finish the men's.
Reigning world champion Chelsea Georgeson's (AUS) victory over Melanie Redman-Carr (AUS) in the 2005 Billabong Pro final jump-started the campaign, which saw her win four of nine events last year and ultimately a world title.
Georgeson will be looking to again halt Redman-Carr, who has won the first two events of the year and made the Billabong Pro Tahiti final twice before, if she hopes to defend either title.
Thirty-year-old Redman-Carr hadn't won an ASP Women's World Tour event since 2001 prior to this season, but victories on the Gold Coast of Australia and in Fiji have found the West Australian holding down a commanding ratings lead as she goes to Tahiti.
"After seeing all the girls' barrel riding styles in Fiji, I'm really excited to get out there at Teahupoo where the barrels are bigger," Redman-Carr said. "It's a barrel-riding contest, it all comes down to who gets in and who is coming out. It's really all about the wave, you can give 100 per cent and still get beaten if you don't find the right barrel."
The women of the ASP World Tour have been finding themselves in said barrels since 1999, with Keala Kennelly (HAW) earning Teahupoo titles three times in the event's seven year history. Kennelly also made history here last year when she became the first female in history to be towed into the massive tube by jetski.
Unfortunately, Kennelly is currently exploring with medical teams what could be fractured vertebrae in her back courtesy of a wipeout in Fiji last week. At this juncture, Kennelly is still slated to surf.
The Billabong Pro Tahiti will begin on May 4th, all the action can be viewed live via the Internet on www.aspworldtour.com or www.billabongpro.com.
Full results can also be viewed via the above websites.
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