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Last year's Billabong Pro Winner Mick Fanning firing at Jeffreys Bay, South Africa. Billabong Pro (July 15-25 July 2003) www.billabongpro.com Association of Surfing Professionals (ASP) www.aspworldtour.com World Championship Tour (WCT) Press Release Billabong Pro - Fact Sheet Monday July 14, 2003 (Jeffreys Bay, South Africa) WHAT: The Billabong Pro - the sixth of 12 events on the 2003 ASP World Championship Tour (WCT). The circuit determines the annual world surfing champion. WHEN: Tuesday 15 July to Friday 25 July 2003. The contest requires 33 hours of competition and will be staged in the best available conditions during the 11-day waiting period. WHERE: Jeffreys Bay, South Africa. The contest is staged at Supertubes, a right-hand point break universally acknowledged as one of the top 10 surfing venues on the planet. WHO: The event features the top 44 surfers from 2002 ASP world ratings plus four wildcards. The field includes reigning world champion Andy Irons (Hawaii), defending event champion Mick Fanning and former winners Jake Paterson (2000 & 2001), Mark Occhilupo (1984), Joel Parkinson (1999) - all from Australia, and Kelly Slater (Florida), the former six time world surfing champion who won the Billabong Pro in 1997. The wildcards will be allocated to the top two finishers in each of the two Von Zipper Wildcard Trials heats held on the opening day of competition. These will feature four South Africans in Greg Emslie (EL), Sean Holmes (Wilderness) and the ISA world junior champion and runner-up, Durbanites Warwick Wright and Ricky Basnett respectively. They will be up against four international Billabong team riders in Australians Adrian Buchan and Bede Durbidge, Portugal's Tiago Pires and Che Stang from the USA. FORMAT: The first round of the Billabong Pro comprises 16 non-elimination three-man heats. The winner advances directly to round three while second and third places go into round two. From round two onwards, each heat features two surfers with the winner advancing to the next round and the loser eliminated from the event, until two remain to contest the final. The VZ Wildcard Trials comprises two four man heats with the top two in each heat receiving wildcards directly into the Billabong Pro where they will be matched up against the top four seeds in the first round. STATUS: The Billabong Pro is sanctioned by the Association of Surfing Professionals (ASP) - the Australia based organization that controls professional surfing worldwide. It is the only World Championship Tour (WCT) event to be staged in South Africa annually. PRIZE-MONEY: The prize purse totals US$250,000 (+/- R2 million) with the winner earning $30,000 (+/- R240 000), making it the most lucrative surfing event staged on the African continent. PRODUCTION: The event is produced by Billabong South Africa, the manufacturer and distributor of Billabong apparel and accessories, and ASP International. The Contest Director is big wave legend Mike Parsons from California. MEDIA: Media liaison by Life's a Beach Communications. Paul Botha is the communications manager for the event. Complimentary high and low resolution digital images are available daily during the event from ASP World Tour photographer Pierre Tostee at tostee@tostee.com WEBSITES: Details on the Billabong Pro, including competitor profiles, event history, media releases and live streaming of video footage, images, commentary and scoring are available during the event at the website www.billabongpro.com

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