Americans Top World Tour Surfers in ASP WQS 6-Star Events
October 20, 2008
PRESS RELEASE
HUNTINGTON BEACH, California (Sunday, October 19, 2008) Gabe Kling (St.
Augustine, FL), 28, Nathan Yeomans (San Clemente, CA), 27, and Brett Simpson
(Huntington Beach, FL), 23, each earned equal fifth place finishes in
Association of Surfing Professionals (ASP) World Qualifying Series (WQS)
6-Star events this week. Kling¹s standout performance at the La Santa Surf
Pro, an ASP WQS 6-Star Prime event in the Canary Islands, launched him from
No. 15 to No. 9 on the ratings, while Yeomans¹ result nets him the No. 24
spot. Simpson competed on the other side of the Atlantic Ocean in the
Meresia Surf International in Brazil, where his performance sets him in the
No. 23 position.
Action is heating up as the ASP WQS season is slowly coming to a close. All
top competitors are attempting to solidify their slot for the 2009 ASP Dream
Tour, while other standout ASP WQS warriors sitting just outside the
qualification bubble are trying to make an end of the season push to find
their way into next year¹s top 45.
Kling¹s result allowed him to drop a significantly lower score in his score
line, launching the talented Floridian within the top 10 on the ASP WQS for
the first time this year. The Quarterfinals berth earned by Kling in Europe
significantly increases his chances at qualification for the 2009 ASP World
Tour. Kling, who was a member of the ASP World Tour in 2007, had a potential
taste of things to come when he competed in the Quiksilver Pro France last
month and has been a standout on the ASP WQS since his appearance in the
elite event.
³The WQS can get kind of monotonous,² Kling said. ³Surfing similar
beachbreaks week in week out against the same people - so getting to surf a
World Tour event with the best surfers and no pressure was great! Even
though the waves were a lot like the OEQS it was still a great reminder of
where I want to be. It definitely helps to see those guys surf in person and
it was a really fun week.²
Kling was in the bottom half of the top 100 on the ASP WQS at the halfway
point in the season and has been climbing the ladder since his notable
performance at the Honda U.S. Open. Kling used the momentum built up
throughout the second half of the season in the La Santa Surf Pro to top
current ASP World Tour campaigner Jay Thompson (Burleigh Heads, AUS), 26,
and ASP WQS No. 5 David Weare (La Lucia, ZAF), 28, on the way to the
Quarterfinals. The explosive regular-footer claims he constantly changes his
approach throughout the year and the changes he¹s made throughout this year
have moved him in a positive direction.
³It has been such a long, weird year for me that I think my approach to the
contests has changed quite a few times throughout the year,² Kling said.
³Every time I lose I try to learn something and change my approach a bit or
at least work some head games on myself to get siked for the next one.²
Despite Kling¹s current top 10 position, the former ASP World Tour surfer
has not had an ideal season. Kling struggled through injuries and illness
throughout the first half of the year and is looking to finish his season on
a much more positive note.
³There have been more contests then ever on the OEQS and there are still a
few more which is wild,² Kling said. ³Getting pneumonia in Western Australia
feels like it was years ago now. I am just really stoked to still be in the
hunt after all that and I¹m going all out and hoping for the best.²
Yeomans¹ fifth place finish in the La Santa Surf Pro did not help his cause
as much as it did for Kling, but he is still well within striking distance
of a highly desired top fifteen position on the grind before year¹s end.
Yeomans topped current ASP World Tour surfer Leonardo Neves (Saquarema,
BRA), 28, on the way to his fifth place result.
While many of the top ASP WQS surfers were in Europe, there was also an
important ASP 6-Star event running in Brazil. Simpson was the top performer
for Americans in that event, taking home a fifth place finish against the
Brazilian entourage at the Mereisa Surf International in Itajai, Brazil.
Simpson eliminated dream tour surfer Jihad Khodr (Curitiba City, BRA), 24,
with a near-perfect 9.33 out of 10 point score with a good barrel-ride to
eliminate the powerful Brazilian.
"I was lucky to get a good barrel and a high score at the beginning of the
heat, then I got another good wave and the other guys couldn¹t find too
much,² Simpson said.
Simpson is also in contention for a slot on next year¹s world tour and is
looking to find his way into a qualifying position in the few events
remaining this year.
"I¹m trying not to think too much about it, but this has always been my
major goal in recent years,² Simpson said. ³I have been very close a few
times and now I am going with everything and with all of my energy in the
final events of the year."
This week will be another action packed week on the ASP WQS, with three
contests running simultaneously. There will be the ASP WQS 4-Star O¹Neill
Cold Water Classic in Santa Cruz, California, while two 6-Stars, the Estoril
Coast Pro in Carcavelos, Portugal and the Onbongo Pro Surfing in Ubatuba,
Brazil will also offer up valuable ratings points for ASP WQS surfers.
To access the events¹ LIVE webcasts or for other ASP related info, log on to
www.aspworldtour.com or www.aspnorthamerica.org
ASP WQS Top 20:
Curran,Nathaniel USA 1 13200
Davidson,Chris AUS 2 12525
Boal,Tim FRA 3 11888
Courtney,Drew AUS 4 11600
Weare,David ZAF 5 11450
Gudauskas,Patrick USA 6 11438
Kerr,Josh AUS 7 11325
Emslie,Greg ZAF 8 11188
Kling,Gabe USA 9 11163
MacDonald,Phillip AUS 10 11075
Muscroft,Nic AUS 10 11075
Lipke,Marlon DEU 12 10950
Bourez,Michel PYF 13 10900
Barca,Dustin HAW 14 10826
Pires,Tiago PRT 15 10750
Nicol,Yadin AUS 16 10675
Khodr,Jihad BRA 17 10575
Romao,Simao BRA 18 10500
Bettero,Hizunome BRA 19 10375
Henrique,Pedro BRA 20 10263
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