Foster's ASP World Tour 2007 Event Guide

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To compete at the highest levels of surfing, a surfer really must be the best of the best. After slogging it out through the WQS (World Qualifing Series), surfers advance to the WCT where they'll follow the circuit of events around the world's best surf spots. The surfer with the most points at the end of the year wins the World Title. The ASP governs the world tour of surfing and has timed these events to kick off at the best time of year for each surf spot to give the optimal conditions for the world's best surfers to compete in. So here is the event-by-event map guide for the Foster's ASP World Tour 2007.

1. Quiksilver Pro - Feb 27-Mar 10 Gold Coast, Qld, Australia - The Superbank hosts the first event on the WCT calendar. Here's a little about the surf itself... Superbank formed around 2002 when sand pumped from the nearby Tweed Rivermouth started filling in the gaps between Snapper Rocks, Rainbow bay, Green Point and Kirra to form one long sand bank - 10 second tube rides are commonplace. Swell is consistent and the water is warm when the event starts and thousands come to watch it live! All 3 of the “Cooly Kids“ , Joel Parkinson, Mick Fanning and Dean Morrison, have won the event. Go to the Quik Pro Gold Coast website to watch the event LIVE, get all the photos, videos and results.

2. Rip Curl Pro - Apr 3-13 Bells Beach, Vic, Australia - Bells has a long and illustrious history in surf competitions. Its been the stomping ground of many of surfing's greats and the home surf spot of Rip Curl itself. Open to the ocean, versitile spot that is famous all over the world. Bells will pick up almost any swell and produce long, powerful open walls that go for 150m. Go to the Rip Curl Pro website to watch the event LIVE, get all the photos, videos and results.

3. Billabong Pro Teahupoo - May 4-14 Teahupoo, Taiarapu, Tahiti - Teahupoo (pro. “Cho-poo”) is super hollow, thicker and gets insanely big. First made its mark on the 90's surf scene ridden by Mick Stewart, Ben Severson and Brock Little et al. Teahupoo has become thee most feared surf spot on the WCT tour for good reason - sadly several pro + am surfers have been badly hurt or lost their lives here. Go to the Billabong Pro Tahiti website to watch the event LIVE, get all the photos, videos and results.

4. Rip Curl Pro Search - June 20-July 1 Somewhere in Chile - The ASP granted Rip Curl a roaming event, so the event could be held anywhere in the world. The pro's are just told what country to fly to at the start of the year and they'll not know until they get there what it'll be! In 2006 it was an epic Mexican pointbreak, in 2007 its somewhere in Chile! Stay tuned to Rip Curl's website for more info at the time. Go to the Rip Curl Search website to watch the event LIVE, get all the photos, videos and results.

5. Billabong Pro - July 11-22 Jeffreys Bay, South Africa - Jeffreys Bay is a classic right hand point made up of about 7 distinct spots to form a complex of waves winding their way down a mile of long, curving lava reef and sand. Insane! J-Bay was featured in the surf cult classic film “Endless Summer” and hosts the annual Billabong Pro Jbay usually mid July. Go to the Billabong Pro Jbay website to watch the event LIVE, get all the photos, videos and results.

6. Boost Mobile Pro of Surf presented by Hurley - Sept 11-15 Trestles, California, USA - The intense pecking order of this extra-busy surf spot is put aside for a few days in September. Typically the event receives warm sunshine and rippable waves at Lower Trestles, sometimes over 6ft and offering 300-500m rides. The event site is located in San Onofre State Park which is one of Southern Cal’s last remaining stretches of undeveloped coastline. In the 2006 event, Aussie Bede Durbidge upset an in form Kelly Slater to win the event. By 2007, sponsor Boost Mobile will have sponsored the event for the 7th consecutive year. Go to the Boost Mobile Pro website to watch the event LIVE, get all the photos, videos and results.

7. Quiksilver Pro France - Sept 21-30 South West Coast, France - A mobile event, the Quik Pro France can move up and down the French beaches to whereever is best. Right on the doorstep of Quiksilver's Euro HQ, waves in Hossegor are touted as one of the best beach breaks in Europe. European surfers competing at this event like Mikey Picon and Jeremy Flores usually do well on their home beaches. Go to the Quik Pro France website to watch the event LIVE, get all the photos, videos and results.

8. Billabong Pro Mundaka - Oct 1-14 Mundaka, Basque - The Jewel in the crown of Europe's surfing. A long, rifling lefthander at Mundaka's rivermouth which all but disappeared in 2005 due to local sand dredging. The sand bottom gives the wave a picture-perfect barrel when it is on. It'll handle up to a meaty 10ft. One of the pro's favorite waves and each year according to custom, the winner of the Billabong Pro at Mundaka is thrown into the harbour! Go to the Billabong Pro Mundaka website to watch the event LIVE, get all the photos, videos and results.

9. Nova Schin Festival Pro - Oct 30-Nov 7 Santa Catarina, Brazil - The Nova Schin Festival is Brazil's only WCT event and you'll see more bikini shots then surf shots at this event as hordes of Brazilians pack the beach at Santa Catarina to go nuts supporting the Brazilian surfers competing. The event site is located in the mostly nice and friendly Santa Catalina. Waves can get epic this time of year although waves haven't been epic in the last two years of competition. Go to the Nova Schin Pro Brazil website to watch the event LIVE, get all the photos, videos and results.

10. Billabong Pipeline Masters - Dec 8-20 Pipeline, Oahu, Hawaii - This is the king of all surf spots, it breaks big and hard! The Pipeline Masters is the last event of the year and is quite often where the champion will be crowned, coming right down to the last heat of the event. Pipeline has much surfing history behind it (otherwise called Banzai), it breaks close to the beach over a shallow reef and is close Ehukai Beach Park. Pipe is the hollowest, biggest barrel on the North Shore, always extremely crowded and always dangerous; capable of taking the lives of seasoned professional surfers like Malik Joyeux in 2005. Go to the Billabong Pipeline Masters website to watch the event LIVE, get all the photos, videos and results.

Some interesting facts about the WCT 2007 compiled at the start of the season:

• The ASP, Association of Surfing Professionals, have been governing the surf championships since 1976.
• Billabong is the most notable sponsor on the 2007 Foster's World Tour sponsoring 4/10 events: Teahupoo, Jbay, Mundaka and Pipeline.
• Each WCT contest hosts an Expression Session where the surfers get to go nuts trying risky manuovers to win a bunch of money. The most expressive move, best aerial, best tube ride gets the prizes.
• The world famous surfer Kelly Slater has competed in top-level ASP events for 15 years, has won 33 WCT events and has been crowned World Champion 8 times! Slater was the first to score two perfect rides for a flawless 20 out of 20 on the two-wave scoring system.
• Slater has also done a few cameo's on Baywatch, has his own Playstation surfing game and does the voice of a penguin in the film “Surf's Up!”
• The elite of the surfing professionals is called the Top 44 although most years there are actually more surfers on tour to make up numbers of injured surfers.

Check out our article on the TOP 50 SURF SPOTS IN THE WORLD.