O'Neill Cold Water Classic
Presented by Jeep
ASP 4 Star WQS Mens Event
Steamer Lane, Santa Cruz, Calif.
17 - 22 October 2006
Live Coverage | Results/Photos/Videos etc
2006 O'Neill Cold Water Classic To Hold Trial Round For Santa Cruz Locals
Surfersvillage Global Surf News, 13 October, 2006 : - - Santa Cruz, Calif., – The 2006 O’Neill Cold Water Classic presented by Jeep will kick-off six days of world-class surf competition, October 17-22, 2006, with a trial round allowing four Santa Cruz locals a spot in the Association of Surfing Professionals (ASP) four-star World Qualifying Series (WQS) contest. Joining the local standouts will be 160 of the world’s most talented surfers all competing for a share of the $75,000 prize purse.
For nearly 20 years, the O’Neill Cold Water Classic has welcomed some of the world’s best surfing talent to compete at the legendary surf break, but only the Santa Cruz locals experience the cold rugged conditions of Steamer Lane everyday, providing them with a definitive competitive edge. Santa Cruz is also home the O’Neill headquarters and they have worked with event organizers to create four ‘locals only’ heats.
This opportunity allows local surfers, both legend and “grommet,” to compete in a trials round with the hopes of securing a berth into the event. A limited field will compete for one of four coveted slots into the WQS Men's round of 160.
“The addition of the local trials ensures the best surfers in Santa Cruz will compete in the event and give the rest of the field a run for their money.” says Marc Prefontaine, O’Neill marketing manager. “The local knowledge in the line-up definitely plays to the advantage of the Santa Cruz competitors as we’ve seen in previous years.”
The local surfers advancing to the main event will have some very stiff competition with World Championship Tour (WCT) surfers Timmy Reyes (Huntington Beach, CA), Cory Lopez (Indian Rock Beach, FL) and Roy Powers (Hanalei, HI) and WQS top rated surfers Brett Simpson (Huntington Beach, CA), Gabe Kling (St. Augustine FL), Luke Munro (Queensland, AUS) and Dustin Cuizon (Ewa Beach, HI) vying for points at this last ASP North America event.
With very few events on the North American tour, the O’Neill Cold Water Classic plays an important role for American surfers looking to get closer to the WCT.
The Cold Water offers surfers a chance to earn points toward their end-of-year rating before the last few ASP tour events. Event organizers have secured permits at Waddell Creek, located 30 minutes north of Steamer Lane, for use as an alternative contest location to ensure the contest will run should conditions fall short at Steamer Lane.
The O’Neill Cold Water Classic is also the final stop of the Macy’s California Trifecta Surf Series presented by Jeep and will determine the 2006 Trifecta champion. Dustin Cuizon, Nate Yeomans (San Clemente, CA) and Nathaniel Curran (Oxnard, CA) are currently leading the ratings with first and second place separated by only 90 points.
The Trifecta, in association with Action Sports Group (ASG) and the ASP, will award the overall points-winner a bonus of $10,000, a second-place bonus of $3,500 and a third-place bonus of $1,500, now that no single competitor has the opportunity to win all three events for the $33,333.
Touted as Northern California’s premier surfing event, the O’Neill Cold Water Classic will run in conjunction with the Grade 2 Oakley Pro Junior ASP North American Championships with an elite field of 48 competitors vying for part of a $10,000 prize purse.
The Oakley Pro Junior ASP North American Championships at the O’Neill Cold Water Classic presented by Jeep is the final opportunity for North America’s elite junior competitors to advance to the Billabong Junior World Championships in Sydney Australia.
The competition will be fierce as junior competitors chase points towards securing one of four ASP North America seeds into the World Championships. The small field of 48 and competitive draw will ensure an exciting and dramatic finish to the 2006 season.
For the first time in the events history fans will be able to catch all the excitement and drama of this year's contest with streaming video and live scoring starting October 17th at www.oneill.com.
On Sunday October 22, Amp'd Mobile will broadcast the semi-final and final rounds of the O'Neill Cold Water Classic presented by Jeep and the Oakley Pro Junior live to Amp'd Mobile phones. Please visit www.ampd.com for more information.
Once again FUEL TV, the action sports lifestyle network, will telecast the O'Neill Coldwater Classic for dates and air times visit www.fuel.tv. The O'Neill Cold Water Classic is also supported by Oakley, Coors, Plantronics, Pentax, Surfer Magazine, Surfing Magazine,and ASP North America. Check out the O'Neill Cold Water Classic and all of the Macy's California Trifecta Surf Series surf breaks at www.WaveWatch.com. For more information on the Macy's Trifecta Surf Series visit www.catrifecta06.asglive.com.
Previous reports:
# 1 : O'Neill Cold Water Classic contest attracting top surfers
# 2 : Coming soon
# 3 : Coming soon
# 4 : Coming soon
About O'Neill
O'Neill is the world's original surf brand. The family-owned and operated company distributes its products to 85 countries, including more than 2,000 specialty wetsuit and clothing retailers in the U.S. Consumer information is available at www.oneill.com.
About the Jeep Brand
The Jeep brand's 65-year history of legendary capability has made it synonymous with freedom, adventure, mastery and authenticity. In 2006, the Jeep brand continues to deliver on its promise to provide rugged, versatile, innovative four-wheel drive vehicles with the recently introduced Jeep Wrangler, four-door Jeep Wrangler Unlimited, Jeep Compass and Jeep Patriot.
This expansion of the Jeep brand grows its showroom from three to seven sport-utility vehicles following last year's introduction of the Jeep Commander. The other two Jeep vehicles are the Jeep Grand Cherokee and Jeep Liberty.
About PRIMEDIA'S Action Sports Group
Reaching more than two million enthusiasts, PRIMEDIA's ASG is the dominant force in the action sports and adventure sports arenas. In addition to SURFER, the ASG publishes leading lifestyle publications such as Surfing, Snowboarder, Skateboarder, Bike, Powder, Climbing and Canoe & Kayak. PRIMEDIA's ASG delivers a cutting-edge network of online properties, events and television programming. Learn more online at: www.actionsportsgroup.net About Macy's West Macy's West, a division of Federated headquartered in San Francisco, operates 174 stores in seven states and Guam, with annual sales of more than four billion. At Macy's we are committed to supporting the communities where we live and work. In 2005, we raised and donated nearly $14 million in community support through our fundraising efforts.
About Oakley Inc.
Oakley, Inc. designs, manufactures and distributes high-performance sunglasses, prescription lenses and frames, goggles and technology-enabled eyewear that utilize the company's High Definition Optics(R) (HDO(R)), a collective platform of patented technologies that offer unbeatable optical performance. The company also produces technical and active apparel, footwear and accessories. Trailing-12-month net sales through December 31, 2005 totaled US $648.1 million. Oakley, Inc. press releases, SEC filings and the company's annual report are available at investor.oakley.com.
About the Association of Surfing Professionals The Association of Surfing Professionals (ASP) is the governing body of professional surfing. Crowning surfing's undisputed world champions since 1976, the ASP sanctions the following tours: the Foster's ASP Men's World Tour (WCT), the ASP Women's World Tour, the World Qualifying Series (WQS) and the World Longboarding, Junior and Masters Championships. The ASP is dedicated to showcasing the world's best surfing talent in a variety of progressive formats and has revolutionized the way the world watches surfing via their webcasts. The organization is divided into seven different regions: Africa, Asia, Australasia, Europe, Hawaii, North America, and South America. These regions manage all their respective domestic affairs under the guidance of ASP International, which is located on the Gold Coast of Australia. ASP International and ASP North America are committed to the progression of surfing and are dedicated to continuing excellent relationships with their surfers, event operators, sponsors and media. For more information log onto www.aspworldtour.com or www.aspnorthamerica.org
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Michelle Prescott
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