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FESTIVAL STATUS
EVENT: Event is over for 2008. Congratulations winner of the Mark Richards Pro, Brazilian Adriano de Souza and winner of Midori Pro, Stephanie Gilmore.
Organisers wish to thank all the event sponsors and look forward to seeing everyone again in 2009!
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| LOCAL DATE | 10 Sep 2010 |
| LOCAL TIME | 06:57 pm |
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WORLD'S BEST SET FOR SURFEST
CURRENT world number three Jeremy Flores will be the number one seed at the 4-star World Qualifying Series (WQS) Mark Richards Pro to be held at Newcastle's Merewether beach from March 31-April 6.
The 19-year-old Frenchman showed precisely why he was crowned the 2007 Association of Surfing Professional's (ASP) Rookie of the Year during a semi-final match up at the 2008 World Tour season opener on the Gold Coast earlier this month.
Flores, the youngest surfer to ever qualify for the World Tour and only the third Frenchman to do so, went down to eight-time world champion Kelly Slater in the Snapper Rocks semi-final by less than a third of a point.
The top half dozen World Tour surfers to hit the water in the round of 96 at Merewether include American Chris Ward (No.2 seed), Aussie pairing Michael Campbell (No.3 seed) and Adrian Buchan (No. 5 seed), along with Brazilian duo Rodrigo Dornelles (No. 4 seed) and Adriano De Souza (No. 6 seed).
Australian surfers from the elite World Tour who will make it to Merewether include Ben Dunn, Nic Muscroft, Daniel Ross and Jay Thompson.
Adrian 'Ace' Buchan from the Central Coast will be the highest ranked Australian going into the event.
Buchan - once known as "the Grominator" because of his dominance of world junior rankings – boasts a Surfest pedigree, having won events at Newcastle that include U14, U16 and Pro Junior titles.
Event organiser Warren Smith says former world junior champion Buchan and his impressive achievements is what Surfest is all about.
"Here is a kid who has won our junior events and progressed to the world stage," Smith said.
"Ace was a runner up in 2004, when he went down to eight-time world champion Kelly Slater because Slater scored a perfect 10 in the final," Smith said.
Surfest will also see the return of Hawaiian Sunny Garcia, who last surfed at Newcastle in 2001 when he was reigning world champion.
Newcastle doesn't provide fond memories for Garcia – he injured his knee while free surfing before his heat at the then EnergyAustralia Surfest and was forced to undergo knee surgery that put a halt to his ambition of winning the title two years running.
Thirty-eight-year-old Garcia is attempting to win his way back onto the World Tour following a stint in a US prison during 2007 for tax evasion.
Reigning world champion and three -time Surfest winner Mick Fanning has sent his apologies to organisers because he will be on his honeymoon with his soon-to-be wife Karissa.
The Mark Richards Pro has attracted almost 200 surfers from countries including Hawaii, Portugal, Japan, North America, Indonesia, Brazil and Australia.
The women's event – the 6-star Midori Pro – will feature reigning world champion Stephanie Gilmore in a field featuring 78 of the world's best female surfers, including three-time champion of the event, Rebecca Woods from the Central Coast, and reigning world junior champion, Sally Fitzgibbons from the New South Wales south coast.
Aussie women will be slotted into the top four seedings, with Stephanie Gilmore (No.1) , Amee Donohoe (No. 2), Jessi Miley-Dyer (No. 3) and Rebecca Woods (No, 4), while Hawaiian Megan Abubo (5) and South African Roseanne Hodge complete the top half dozen.
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