Jessi Miley-Dyer wins 2006 ASP Rookie of the Year, JESSI TURNS SOPHOMORE

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JESSI TURNS SOPHOMORE

Jessi Miley-Dyer wins 2006 ASP Rookie of the Year

By: Press Release

January 24, 2007

On Saturday, February 24, legends Layne Beachley and Kelly Slater will be officially crowned 2006 World Champs at the ASP World Champions' Banquet...but ASP Rookies of the Year, Bobby Martinez and Jessi Miley-Dyer, will stand at their sides, accepting their own honors.

Bobby ended his first year in fifth place on the Men's World Tour -- an impressive feat in itself -- but Jessi actually managed to snag the fourth spot on the Women's World Tour at the year's finish. Her list of achievements started with her win at the inaugural women's Billabong ASP World Junior Championships back in January. From there she took the entire ASP Women's World Qualifying Series plus the final event of the ASP Women's World Tour, the Billabong Pro Maui at Honolua Bay. Not bad for fresh meat; some girls go their entire career on tour without winning a single event. "I'm really happy. All I've ever wanted was to do well on tour and to get rookie of the year is a prestigious honor," she says.

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Jessi, accepting her trophy as the very first winner of the Billabong World Junior Championships in January of 2006. She emerged victorious from a final against this years' winner, Nicola Atherton. PHOTO: ASP/Covered Images/Tostee

"If you look at the list of names who've won it; it's such a great thing. Plus to have won the World Juniors, the 'QS then the last event of the year -- you can't ask for much better than that!"

Part of what made Jessi a shoe-in for Rookie of the Year is the ease and confidence with which she took on her childhood heroes. "To have looked up to girls like Megan, Layne and Rochelle for so long and then to be able to compete against them is a privilege," she says.

"To have looked up to girls like Megan, Layne and Rochelle for so long and then to be able to compete against them is a privilege."

-- Jessi Miley-Dyer

"And then to do well is just a bonus. It's something that
I'm really grateful for: To be on tour and have such an amazing life. I can't believe that I've done so well."

Going into 2007, Jessi's shed the nerves that comes with being a newbie and she's hoping that more success is only a few weeks away when the Roxy Pro on the Gold Coast kicks off the year's ASP Women's World Tour. "When you're the rookie, you make mistakes and I think I've ironed out a lot of them," she says. "I just hope to do well again in 2007 but, most importantly, I want to have fun and appreciate what I've been given: I'm traveling around the globe with a massive group of mates chasing waves. I'm just going to relax and not put so much pressure on myself."

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THREE TIMES THE TITLES (12/10) Jessi wins her first WCT event at the Billabong Pro Maui

YOUNG BLOODS (01/07) Nicola Atherton adds to the Ozzie tally after being crowned 2006 Billabong ASP Women's World Junior Champ