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09/08/2006:// Australian Layne Beachley’s role in bringing an ASP Women’s World Tour event back to her hometown of Sydney has proven she’s as effective in the boardroom as she is on a surfboard.
The six-time ASP world champion recently secured global fashion brand Havaianas as the naming sponsor for her October event.
The now officially dubbed Havaianas Beachley Classic is the richest women’s tournament in the 30-year history of female professional.
Beachley said she is relieved to have gained the backing of the Brazilian-based footwear sponsor for Sydney’s first stand-alone women’s surfing event in over a decade.
“We are thrilled to have Havaianas come onboard,” she said. “We are grateful that Havaianas jumped at the opportunity of being associated with such an iconic event.”
“We got this event off the ground thanks to the NSW Government but with this new sponsorship we will be able to showcase Sydney’s surfing lifestyle onto the world arena in the best possible way”
Amelia Maribondo, Director of Havaianas Australia, said, “We’re very excited to be part of such an important event on the women’s surfing circuit and one that will give Sydney-siders a real opportunity to participate in many activities.”
Currently ranked second in the world and looking to claim a seventh world title, Beachley is sure to assert an all-out assault at the ASP Women’s World Tour tournament in Manly – the beach where she honed her own amazing surfing talent.
“Naturally I will be pulling out all stops to win the Havaianas Beachley Classic but I feel like I have already won on some level,” Beachley said. “I now fully appreciate the amount of work that goes into putting on a first class ASP Women’s World Tour event.”
“The business side of things has severely reduced the amount of time I get to spend in the water but it is also a very rewarding experience. I am looking forward to seeing Manly Beach turn it on in early October.”
ASP President and 1978 world champion Wayne Rabbit Bartholomew is also excited about the elite women’s surfing tour returning to Sydney.
"I am absolutely stoked to see ASP Women's World Tour surfing return to Sydney with the Havaianas Beachley Classic,” he said. “With the inspiration of six-time World Champion Layne Beachley, this event will be huge for the growth of women’s surfing.”
“It heralds a triumphant return to Sydney's famed Manly Beach, ushers in a new prize money threshold and already has received expressions of interest from US based television companies eager to cover the event,” Bartholomew said. “This is a real credit to Layne – as a leader of the sport and Manly icon this effort befits her multi-layered role in the sport."
Sanctioned by the Association of Surfing Professionals (ASP), the event will run from 9 October to 15 October and feature the world’s top 17 ranked female surfers plus a wildcard. Manly Beach will serve as the event’s headquarters, but the event is a mobile one with the option to travel from Freshwater to Long Reef along Sydney’s northern beaches depending on wave conditions.
Reigning world champion Chelsea Georgeson and current ratings leader Melanie Redman-Carr will head a field of contenders hailing from the USA, Brazil, Hawaii, Peru, South Africa and Australia.
Former world champions Pam Burridge and Pauline Menczer are expected to compete in a 16-woman trials event that will determine the winner of a wildcard berth into the main event.
[Carissa Moore (in yellow) receiving the winner's prize]
[The number of high-rated Australian surf competitions are set to increase]
[Pablo Gutierrez winner of the Superbock Pro]
Hawaiian Carissa Moore won the Roxy Pro Junior surfing in her first ever contest in France
ASP International has announce the inception of their fourth regional branch, ASP Australasia
Twenty-six-year-old Pablo Guitierrez took top honours in the Superbock Pro in Portugal after defeating fellow Portugeuse surfer Eduardo Fernandes in the final
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