Coming Soon, The Greatest Show on Surf!
posted by Terry McKenna on 21st June 2008
Less than one week away from what will be the Greatest Show on Surf
This was the comment that IBA General manager Terry McKenna proudly started with during a radio interview on a Sydney Metropolitan radio station today.
"It will be like Crusty Demons of the surf, truly death-defying and jaw dropping to watch as a spectator"
The hundred or so hopefuls lining up in the Number 6 Brett Young Memorial Trials will all be vying for one of twelve spots up for grabs in the main event of what most believe to be the best and most challenging event on the planet.
Cronulla Point will be the focal point for three days of non-stop action as riders from over 7 countries battle it out in the toughest eliminations that the sport has to offer.
"A spot in the main event can be a career starter" said McKenna. "One good result here can catapult you to stardom:.
Along with the hoards of spectators on the point, the whole world will be watching the web-cast and potential sponsors will be able to see just who has the skills needed to dominate a beast like Shark Island.
Some of Australia's best riders will be contesting the trials including current ratings leader Mitch Rawlins (Qld) Ryan Hardy (WA) Dave Winchester (NSW) & Chad Jackson (WA).
They will take on the best trialists in the world including Rui Ferreira (Portugal) Charlie Chaplet (France), Adam Morley (South Africa) & Ivan Hernandez (Canary Islands)
Some absorbing battles will be fought so they can join the IBA Top 16 and 4 wild cards in a 32 man main draw. The main event waiting period is July 1st – 20th and organizers will wait for the best conditions possible to stage the final two days of competition.
Swellnet are one of Australia's best surf reporting website and forecaster Ben Matson will be working closely to monitor conditions in the 20 day window.
Ben has been scanning the charts for next weekends potential.
"It's probably a little far off to be truly accurate but it does seem like we will see a fairly strong winter progression across the South Eastern section of the country which means plenty of Southerly swell for the trails. The Island likes SE swells but this should still be ok and the winds look to be favourable as well".
Long term Ben says that this time of year traditionally has a great reputation for big waves.
"If we look back to this time last year we had six fairly deep Tasman & East Coast lows that generated some really big stuff for the Sydney region. We are actually just starting to see another similar pattern develop over the last week. We saw a very large swell last week and another coming this weekend".
"The charts are certainly tilting in our favour for a fairly solid swell event but whether these swells coincide with the right tides is yet to be seen. The tides are obviously a very big factor at Shark Island but with Tasman lows starting to fire up I am confident that we should see some pretty great waves"
Competitors that have yet to enter the trials are reminded that entries close next Tuesday and any entry received after that date will not be guaranteed of a start in the contest.
All competitors will receive a pair of Human Shoes, a long sleeve contest Tee Shirt and a SIC lanyard.
The No 6 Brett Young Memorial Trials are starting at 8am on Friday June 27th at Cronulla Point.
See the live webcast of the main event at
www.ibatour.com/webcast 1627 views
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