Six Previous Winners in 2001 Oxow World Longboard Championships
Jeffreys Bay, South Africa (Tuesday, Aug 7th) The longboard world surfing champions from the past six years will be competing for the 2001 title when the 10th edition of the Oxbow World Longboard Championships start in Jeffreys Bay on Thursday.
The event boasts US$80,000 in prize-money, making it the world’s most lucrative longboard contest. The 48-man field is made up of the previous six world champions, the top eight off Association of Surfing Professionals (ASP) longboard ratings, four wildcards, and 30 qualifiers from two events staged in Portugal and Brazil during July. 1
998 champion Joel Tudor (USA), who won his title in the Canary Islands, is the top seed for this year’s event. Tudor, 25, was also runner-up to 2000 champion Beau Young (Aus) in Brazil last year, when the Australian created history by becoming the first son of a world champion to capture a world title.
His father, the legendary Nat Young, captured five world titles (1966, ’86 and from ’88 to ’90). Young, 26, will be the sixth seed at Jeffreys Bay, behind 1996 champ Bonga Perkins (Haw), three-time runner-up Alex Salazar (Brz), 1999 winner Colin McPhillips (USA), and qualifier Jye Byrnes (Aus). The other two former champions in the event, Hawaiians Dino Miranda (1997) and three time champ Rusty Keaulana (1993 – ’95), are seeded 30th and 39th respectively, since Miranda only competed in one of the two 2001 qualifying events, while Keaulana neither.
South African Jason Ribbink heads the local contingent as ninth seed, and finds himself brimming with confidence after his victory in the Brazilian qualifying event 10 days ago. Ribbink is joined by fellow countrymen Craig Daniel, Matthew Moir and Michael Grendon, all of whom qualified amongst the top 30. The Oxbow World Longboard Championships has a 10-day waiting period from August 9–18, allowing the organisers to select prime conditions at the internationally renowned Jeffreys Bay Point. 33 hours of competition are required to determine the 2001 champion.
The event starts with a traditional Hawaiian Ho’okupuu ceremony, in which the waters of the various competitors’ oceans are mixed to ensure good waves for the tournament. As well as the nations listed above, the event will also feature competitors from Japan, France, Portugal, Great Britain and Tahiti.
To stay abreast of the action log on to www.oxboweb.com or www.aspworldtour.com where there will be live streaming of scores and daily updates of releases and images while the event is running.
2001 Oxbow World Longboard Championships
Top 10 Seeds
1. Joel Tudor (USA) 2. Bonga Perkins (Haw) 3. Alex Salazar (Brz) 4. Colin McPhillips (USA) 5 Jye Byrnes (Aus) 6. Beau Young (Aus) 7. Zack Howard (USA) 8. Duane DeSoto (Haw) 9. Jason Ribbink (SAfr) 10. Marcelo Freitas (Brz)
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