outtheremanagement.com.au Professional Sports Management

Monday, 7 February 2005, Rip Curl team junior surfer, Jessi Miley-Dyer took the women's surfing world by storm claiming her first WQS victory in the Copa Movistar Pro in Peru, a 5* women's WQS event.

In good 3 – 5 feet peaks and in front of a massive crowd of around 30,000 people, Jessi dominated the final to beat Jacqueline Silva from Brazil. The win gave Jessi US$4,000 and 2000 vital WQS ratings points and jumped her to the lead of the 2005 WQS ratings!

On her way to victory Jessi defeated three current WCT surfers, including current World Champion, Sophia Mulanovich (PER). She completely dominated her Quarter Final against Heather Clark (Zaf) scoring the highest combined total of the day (18.50 out of 20), in the semi-final she defeated Mulanovich and then claimed victory by defeating Jacqueline Silva (Bra).

Other Australian's to perform well were Rebecca Woods and Ellen Black who both bowed out in the Quarter Finals placing =5th overall and US$850 in prize money.

Jessi will now head back to Australia to compete in the Billabong Pro-Teen on the Gold Coast, which is part of the tough Australasian Pro-Junior tour.

Jessi Miley Dyer wins Balin Pro Junior, 2005!

Rip Curl team surfer Jessi Miley Dyer surfed brilliantly to win the Balin Pro Junior on Sunday 17th January 2005.

Today's win was Jessi’s second in the Balin Pro at Gunnamatta and despite the wild conditions over the past few days, which saw the surf up around 3m for the early rounds of both the men's and women's divisions, Mylie- Dyer says she really likes surfing the notoriously powerful waves here - A stoked Mylie- Dyer said after her win today - " This is my 4th year coming here and I generally do well in these powerful waves - , I feel like I've redeemed myself after a poor start to the season last week where I was eliminated in the quarter finals and I'm looking forward to an awesome event at the Women's WQS Surfing festival later this week at Phillip island!"

Jessi posted a strong 6:00 early ride in the final and backed it up with a solid 5 to easily win ahead of Cronulla's Lindsay Noyes. Noyes has made the final of both events this season, winning the first event and maintains a narrow lead over Mylie Dyer on the Australasian Ratings in what has been an ideal start to her season.

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Ben Dunn shows true champion qualities to win the Globe Jetty Surf Pro in one of surfings memorable battles!

In one of the most exciting, entertaining and high quality finals ever witnessed on the ASP Australasia Pro Tour,Rip Curl team surfer Ben Dunn (Old Barr Beach Taree NSW) today won the Globe Jetty Surf Pro Junior defeating Brazil's Adriano de Souza. The final was an epic clash between two outstanding emerging professional surfers who pushed each other to the limits with the lead changing multiple times and excellent 9 point plus rides being posted by both surfers who have clearly established a rivalry!

Ben Dunn set the scene for this final early as the two surfers jostled for a great opening scoring ride. As a good wave approached the line up and with neither surfer holding priority, it was Dunn's aggressiveness that secured him the wave and after a series of fast fluid powerful backhand bottom to top turns he had clearly won an early psychological and scoring advantage over the Brazilian. Dunn was rewarded with an excellent 8.67 in what was an ideal opening for the Australian.

De Souza realized he required an excellent score to match Dunn as he patiently waited for a wave offering the scope. That wave arrived just as Dunn made it back to the take off point and De Souza wasted no time showing the large beach crowd that he was right up to the task of winning this final. He drove his board through the sections utilizing his incredibly powerful bottom turns and cut backs, extracting every possible opportunity presented on the wave to fit in functional and lightning fast moves and clearly outscored Dunn's opening excellent ride which the judges acknowledged with a 9.10 score!

Both surfers secured reasonable second scoring waves, Dunn with a 5.67 followed by De Souza who again out pointed his opponent to increase his lead with a 6.17. With 6 minutes remaining Dunn knew he required another very good ride to get back into the lead. He found an excellent set wave and attacked each section with full commitment to unleash three excellent bottom to top turn combinations, throwing more spray than his opponent and extracting larger crowd approval - This ride scored 9.87 and the pendulum had swung back in Dunn's favor with the Brazilian now requiring a very big 9.45 to take back the lead.

No one doubted De Souza's capabilities to post such a score, especially under such pressure in a final and on his next and last attempt on a medium sized wave the Brazilian again showed his great qualities "milking" the wave for all it offered, posting an excellent 8.17 which was an exceptional attempt on a wave that simply didn't offer the scope to score the required 9.45. De Souza verbally cursed the waves and was obviously disappointed to lose this final Dunn.

In contrast Dunn was elated with his victory today and explained his determination today was fired up by the recent international domination over the past two weeks by saying " With South African's and Brazilian's in the semi finals I didn't want them in the final so I was fired up all the way! I know how good De Souza is and the only way to win at this level is to score excellent rides so there was never any intention but to score around the 9 point mark and in excess of an 18 point total - and that's how it panned out!"

What began as a day of frustration for all at the Globe Jetty Surf Pro, with a flat ocean forcing the event to go on hold until midday, turned into a worthy finish for such a great event with the swell, as anticipated increasing up to 1.25m for the final and allowing the surfers to finish off with such a great final.

It was the perfect introduction to the new man on man format for Australasian ASP events, allowing surfers to compete in what is clearly the fairest and most competitive way.

Not much has been mentioned about today's semi finals which were unfortunately overshadowed by such a great final - South Africa's Jordy Smith and Central Coast's Matt Wilkinson finished equal 3rd to secure great starts to this years series.

The scene is set for the ASP Australasian Tour with eight events through Victoria, NSW, Qld and NZ in the coming two months, beginning this Friday with the Balin Pro Junior on Victoria's East Coast!

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Phil Macdonald, 2nd Place , Triple Crown of Surfing in Hawaii.

Ocean and Earth No 1. team rider Phil Macdonald from Sydney, NSW finished 2nd in the prestigious Triple Crown of Surfing in Hawaii last week.

Phil made his intentions clear from the start that he was to be a serious triple crown contender when he placed 2nd in the 6 Star WQS Vans Hawaiian Pro. In the second event, the 6 Star WQS O’Neill World Cup of surfing Phil finished in 5th place which put him in 1st place on the Triple Crown ratings coming into the last event.

In the final event, the Rip Curl Pro WCT at Pipeline only 3 surfers could win the Triple Crown including Sunny Garica, Bruce Irons and Phil. After a few tense days of competition all 3 surfers had advanced to the quarter finals. In his controversial quarter final the judges failed to recognise a drop-in by Pancho Sullivan on Phil resulting in Phil finishing in 3rd place. Sunny and Bruce progressed in the heats through to the final with Sunny finishing 2nd and Bruce 4th.

Phil’s brilliant performance in the last 3 events in Hawaii capped of a great year which saw him finish in 17th position on the 2004 WCT ratings. The tour now has a well deserved break before returning to the Gold Coast on March 1st for the Quiksilver Pro.

For further information on Phil log onto his website at www.outtheremanagement.com.au

Final Triple Crown ratings

1 Garcia,Sunny HAW 2664
2 MacDonald,Phil AUS 2304
3 Irons,Bruce HAW 2088
4 Irons,Andy HAW 1968
5 Robb,Kalani HAW 1956
6 Moura,Paulo BRA 1944
7 Parkinson,Joel AUS 1854
8 O'Brien,Jamie HAW 1776
9 Padaratz,Neco BRA 1680
10 Occhilupo,Mark AUS 1572

Triple Crown of Surfing

For more than two decades, the Vans Triple Crown is surfing's ultimate endurance test. The three-event series which includes the top-dollar ASP events at Haleiwa, Sunset and Pipeline requires a surfer's entire skill set.

In the world of pro surfing, there are two titles to strive for: the ultimate is to be crowned world champion, and close behind is the title of Vans Triple Crown of Surfing champion. Every surfer knows that without having proven one's worth in Hawaii's giant winter waves, success is hollow.

The grand-daddy of the Vans Triple Crown of Surfing is the Rip Curl Pro Pipeline Masters, which celebrates 34 years this winter. Inaugurated in 1971, the Pipeline Masters joined company in 1983 with the World Cup at Sunset Beach (now known as the O'Neill World Cup of Surfing) and the Vans Hawaiian Pro at Haleiwa. Former world champion surfer Fred Hemmings saw the opportunity in '83 to showcase the unsurpassed quality and size of Oahu's North Shore winter waves and through his vision, the 'Triple Crown of Surfing' was born.

It was an ingenious concept - bring together the world's best surfers in the world's best and biggest waves and find the surfer who performs the best over all three events. Versatility, strength, skill, and fearlessness would determine the surfer who could perform consistently well over all three events and he would be deemed the Vans Triple Crown of Surfing champion.

"The concept was to focus attention on three of the world's most prominent surfing competitions held in unquestionably the most competitive and awesome surfing venue anywhere," explains Triple Crown of Surfing Founder Fred Hemmings. "Catching an eight-to-ten foot wave at the Pipeline certainly demands different skills than riding a 15-foot wave at Sunset. The Triple Crown represents the ultimate surfer's challenge and is the true measure of a professional." (www.triplecrownofsurfing.com)

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Ben Dunn wins the prestigious Hot Buttered/Ocean and Earth Pro Junior.

Sunday, 10th October 2004, Ben Dunn from Old Bar, NSW won Australia’s most famous and lucrative junior surf event, the prestigious Hot Buttered/Ocean and Earth Pro Junior, at Narrabeen Beach.

In small 1 metre waves Ben surfed brilliantly to win the event and add his name to the trophy alongside the illustrious list of surfers including Tom Carroll, Mark Occhilupo, Kelly Slater, Mick Fanning, Luke Egan, Gary ‘Kong’ Elkerton, Barton Lynch and Taj Burrow.

The current world junior champion showed the large crowd why he is regarded as one of the best juniors in the world with a near almost perfect display of new age surfing which saw him win the event and take home $6000 AUD.

After the final an elated Ben said, “I’m really happy to win this event. The conditions were pretty tricky out there but my surfing has felt good all week. I have never really done well in this event so to come away with a win is fantastic. There was plenty of incentives to win this event including having my name alongside some of the other guys that have won it. All those guys went on to do really well on the WCT and that is my aim.”

The Hot Buttered / Ocean & Earth Pro Junior is the original and longest running junior event in the world. It started back in 1977 and the event carries Australia’s richest junior first place prize money of $6000.00 AUD, with a total prize pool of $20,300. Past winners of the event have all gone on to become extremely successful surfers on the world arena which will be no exception for Ben.

Ben’s next stop is Brazil for his last WQS event of the year before then heading off to Hawaii for the end of the season. For further information on Ben log onto his website at www.outtheremanagement.com.au.

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Rebecca Woods wins Billabong Pro Teen at Bells Beach and takes out the 2004 junior series.

Saturday, 2 October 2004, Rebecca Woods from Copacabana, NSW, has capped off a brilliant year of competitive surfing by winning the Billabong Girls Pro-Teen Series at Jan Juc beach and by doing so claiming her second ASP Australasian Junior Title.

In clean 1 meter waves, Rebecca showed why she has been dominating the 2004 junior tour after trailing for much of the 25 minute final she scored a 6.75 in the last few minutes to grab the lead and eventually win the event.

After the final Rebecca said, "Confidence wise, winning the junior series is really good," said Woods. "Even to beat these girls coming up is good because I remember getting beaten in every heat by girls who were older than me, so I guess it's just paying your dues.

"It's about time that I actually made it through my semi down at Bells because I think it's about the last three or four in a row that I got knocked out just before the final," she said. "Dad said I'm not coming this year because I'm always bad luck when I come down, so I came down by myself just to see how I would go and I managed to finally win it and get over the cold water."

Rebecca now heads to America to compete in two 4 Star WQS events. The recent 5 Star WQS Nokia/Lacanau Pro winner is looking for one good result to cement her position in the 2005 World Championship Tour.

Currently in 3rd positon on the WQS ratings a final place berth will see Rebecca jump straight from the juniors onto the world arena.

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Shaun Cansdell and Laurie Towner sign with Billabong surfboards

Shaun Cansdell from Mullaway, NSW and Laurie Towner from Angourie, NSW have signed with Billabong surfboards.

Upon signing Billabong’s team manager Bruce Lee said, "Billabong is pleased to announce that our new range of surfboards, which will be designed and shaped by master craftsman and fine surfer Jason Stevenson plus two of the world's best surfer/shapers in Dylan Longbottom and Stuart Darcy, have contracted the services of two of our top-shelf team surfers in Shaun Cansdell and Laurie Towner.

Shaun & Laurie will be looking to score some decent results on these new designs as they both move rapidly along the career path stepping stones in their respective competitive campaigns on the ASP WQS circuit and the ASP Aust. junior men’s circuit.

These two young men have joined Billabong's WCT surfer, Luke Egan, as the only sponsored Billabong Surfboard team surfers.

Billabong Surfboards are available to buy at selected surf shops. Check out the cool new range catalogue at these stores".

Shaun is regarded as one of the best surfers in the world. Currently in 44th position on the WQS Shaun is looking strong to achieve a position in the WCT alongside his peers within the next two years.

Laurie is one of the exciting new developers in Australasian Pro junior surfing. At age 16, Laurie has already established himself as a strong competitor on the ASP junior series. Growing up at Angourie, Laurie has had the opportunity to mix it amongst some of Australia's finest surfers including the likes of Navrin Fox, Jeremy Walters, and 2003 Australasian Junior Champion Dan Ross.

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Mitchell Coleborn signs with Dakine

Mitchell is one of Australia’s top junior surfers. The powerful goofy footer from Maroochydore is starting to make a big name for himself and has turned many heads in the industry. Realising Mitchell’s potential was Craig Durant from DAKINE who quickly signed Mitchell to the team.

Craig said on signing “We are really pleased to be able to add Mitch to our team. He is definitely one of the top young surfers around, and we think he has great things ahead of him. We look forward to helping him achieve his goals and being part of his successful future.

Mitch joins Shaun Cansdell, Mike Hayes, Harrison Roach, Danny Sheather and Matt 'tiny' Thompson on our local surf team”.

Upon signing Mitchell said “I am really happy to join the DAKINE team. The tail pads are the best in the world and I look forward to developing a long term relationship with them”.
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Dan Ross Billboard light-box at Sydney Airport

2003 ASP Junior Champion Dan Ross will again be in the lime light with a massive billboard picture of him at Sydney Airport.

The billboard is a picture of Dan pulling into a big barrel at the Box, WA. The company responsible for the billboard is Dan’s sunglass sponsor Odyssey 20/20. Odyssey signed Dan to the team at the start of the year as their No.1 team rider.

Odyssey 20/20 entered the surfing market last year and has already signed up some of Australia’s hottest up and coming stars including Rebecca Woods and Jarrod Howse. To check out Odyssey’s latest range log onto www.odyssey2020.com

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Phil Macdonald voted most under-rated surfer.

Congratulations to Phil Macdonald on winning the most under – rated surfer award at the 7TH annual 2004 ASL peer poll awards.

Phil was typically low-key when given the good news from ASL. “Oh Yeah, That’s pretty cool,” he said. The coveted most under –rated title has previously been held by WCT surfers Luke Hitchings and Ritchie Lovett.

Last year Phil finished the 2003 WCT season in 13th position. Some of his better results include a couple of ninths, a second at France and beating Kelly Slater on several occasions including in the Pipe Masters Final where Phil finished 3rd.

The Peer Poll Awards are highly anticipated each year, where it gives surfers a unique opportunity to rate each other on who’s hot, who’s the ‘next big thing’, and where the best competitions are.

Now in its seventh year, the ASL Ball is renowned for bringing the sports’ surfing stars, industry reps and media together for one of the premiere events on the surf scene’s calendar.
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Ben Dunn tackles his first WCT.

World Junior Champion surfer Ben Dunn tackled the world's best surfers in the 32nd annual Rip Curl Pro at Bells Beach. (April 6 – 14)

The 18-year-old from Old Bar, on the NSW North Coast, was granted a wildcard entry into the prestigious event after winning last year's Under-18 ISA World Junior Title in South Africa.

In his round 1 heat Ben finished 3rd against current world champion Andy Irons and Brazilian Victor Ribas. In round two Ben was against fellow Rip Curl team rider Kieren Perow. Ben put on a brilliant display of surfing and eventually won the heat. Final scores were Ben (15.17), Kieren (14.77). In round 3 Ben lost to Andy Irons and finished the event in 17th position.

This year Ben is focusing on the junior series and is competing in selected WQS events. Starting each WQS event with no seed Ben has already made the round of 96 twice.

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Ben Dunn signs with Red Bull

Australian and World Junior Champion Ben Dunn has signed a 1-year deal with energy drink Red Bull.

Ben joins the exclusive Red Bull team of some of the best surfers in the world including 2*world champion Andy Irons.

Red Bull Team manager Anthony Macdonald said “The signing of Ben Dunn to the Red Bull surf team has further strengthened
our already amazing team. We are excited about his future within surfing and welcome him to our world wide family".

Upon signing Ben said “I’m really stoked to be with Red Bull. Their product’s and image is unreal. I’m looking forward to a long and successful relationship with them”.

During his short competitive career Ben has stamped himself as one of the best junior surfers in the world. His impressive and long list of accolades include 2nd place 2003 ASP Australasian Junior circuit, 2003 ISA World Champion and 3*Australian Title Champion.

This year Ben is focusing on wining the Australasian junior series. Currently in 4th position and with 2 events remaining Ben is looking strong to achieve his goals.

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Lee Winkler signs with Gotcha.

One of Australia’s most respected WCT surfer’s Lee Winkler has signed a 3-year deal with Gotcha Australia.

Lee has graced the surfing spotlight for years and has achieved some fantastic results including a 17th on the 2002 WCT ratings. This year with the support of Gotcha Australia Lee is looking to improve his 2002 rating.

Upon signing Lee said, “ I am really happy to join the Gotcha Team. They are a great bunch of people and i look forward to working close with them over the next few years”.

Dallas Halford from Gotcha Australia said “We are very excited about having a surfer of Lee's calibre riding for the Gotcha label and are looking forward to having fantastic representation on the WCT circuit for the 2004 season".

Dallas continued, "Lee will feature heavily in all Gotcha marketing and we believe will be perfectly suited to the Gotcha "pure surf" image. We wish Lee all the best in competing on tour this year and look forward to a strong long term partnership for the future”.

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Dan Ross signs with Odyssey 20/20

2003 Australasian junior champion, Dan Ross has signed with Australia’s newest sunglass company Odyssey 20/20. Dan joined the new brand in late February to represent their sunglasses worldwide.

Dan join’s the already winning team of some of the best surfers in the world, including junior female surfing star Rebecca Woods and WQS surfer Jarrod Howse. Dan will be Odyssey’s number 1 surfer and will be featuring in their new ad campaign, which will be launched later this month.

Dan won the 2003 Australasian junior series after an electrifying year of competition that include victories in the Jetty surf pro junior, Billabong pro teen Burleigh heads and the OE/HB pro junior. This year Dan will be embarking on his first full year on the global WQS circuit and has his sights set on a top 100 end of year rating.

Upon signing Dan said, “ I am really stoked to join the Odyssey team. They are really cool guys and the product is insane! Check them out!”

Guy Leech, Co Founder / Sales Manager said " we are really excited to have signed Dan to the team. As a company we wanted to sign him because he has a great act & has belief in our product!”

Jim Lazarides, Creative Director said “Odyssey in extremely happy to have Dan on the team. Odyssey will be working close with Dan’s major sponsor Salomon to ensure Dan achieves his full potential. Odyssey will be a sub sponsor of the 6 Star WQS Margaret River event and intend to inject funds to keep this as a 6 star and possibly a WCT for the future.”

For further information on Odyssey please contact Jim or Guy on 02 9907 6511 or sales@odyssey2020.com.

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Laurie Towner re-signs with Reef

One of the exciting new developers in Australasian Pro junior surfing, Laurie Towner has re-signed with Reef for another 3 years.

At age 16, Laurie has already established himself as a strong competitor on the ASP junior series. Growing up at Angourie, Laurie has had the opportunity to mix it amongst some of Australia's finest surfers including the likes of Navrin Fox, Jeremy Walters, and 2003 Australasian Junior Champion Dan Ross.

This year Laurie is focusing on competing on the 2004 junior series and has his sights set on the top 20. Currently sponsored by Billabong, Reef, and Von Zipper, Laurie is set to take the next few years by storm.
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Rebecca Woods Odyssey 20/20

Current junior ratings leader Rebecca Woods, has signed with sunglass company Odyssey 20/20. Rebecca will represent Odyssey worldwide and will be an integral part of Odyssey’s global communication package!

Rebecca and her father met with Odyssey in late February to sign the deal. Upon meeting and signing , Rebecca said “ I feel as if Odyssey is a company that will help me achieve my goals. They really know what they are doing and the sunglasses are unreal”.

Guy Leech, Co Founder / Sales Manager said, "It is great to have the leading junior female on board. We feel Rebecca has a huge future in the sport. Odyssey is an Australian company and it is our goal to support rising Australian surfers".

Rebecca is set for a big year on the WQS in 2004. Her WCT qualification campaign is already off to a good start after her semi final berth in the 4 Star Roxy Pro at Phillip Island. Currently in 5th position on the WQS ratings, Rebecca is looking strong to achieve her WCT goals.

Last year Rebecca focused on both the junior series and the WQS. She finished 2nd on the junior ratings and 20th on the WQS ratings. This year Rebecca is only competing in selected junior events while her main focus is on WQS.

Rebecca was just recently granted the Wild Card for the WCT Billabong Pro in Teachpoo.Last year she defeated Layne Beachly in their round 2 clash.

For further information on Odyssey please contact Jim or Guy on 02 9907 6511 or sales@odyssey2020.com.

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Shaun Cansdell signs with Dakine

Shaun Cansdell from Mullaway NSW has signed a 3-year deal with Dakine International. The deal includes surfing accessories and Shaun will also be developing his own Pro Model tail grip.

Shaun said upon signing “Dakine makes the best grip I have used and I am stoked to be a part of their awesome team”

Craig Durrant sales/marketing manager said "We are really stoked to have Shaun on the Dakine team. He is a great fit for Dakine given his ability and potential, and complements the rest of the team which includes the Irons brothers, Pancho, Shea and many more".

We look forward to an exciting career from Shaun and to working closely with him on future Dakine surf products

Shaun is renowned as one of the World’s best junior surfers. This year he is focusing on the WQS and a top 80 end of year rating.

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Mitchell Coleborn wins Sunshine Coast junior sports star of the year award.

31st January 2004. Mitchell Colebron was awarded the Junior Sports Star of the Year award at the Hyatt Regency Coolum. Dressed in a black tuxedo Mitchell collected the prestigious prize for his achievements in surfing including a bronze medal at the ISA world junior championships in South Africa. Mitch, who was part of the Australian team, won every heat he contested on his way to the final.

The Suncorp Sunshine Coast Sports Award recognises local junior and senior sporting heroes through Queensland's longest running and richest regional sporting competition. Annual winners are chosen from the pool of both senior and junior monthly prize recipients. Award recipients have been some of Australia's most successful sports people, including tennis star Pat Rafter.

Mitchell is one of Australia’s top junior surfers. The powerful goofy footer from Maroochydore has always been able to back up his precocious ability with outstanding contest results. At only 16, Mitchel surfs with a style and level of maturity only seen in the higher ranks of surfing.

This year Mitchell is focusing on the Australian junior series and has his goals set on a top 15 finish.

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Laurie Towner re-signs with Billabong.

Up and coming junior surfer Laurie Towner has re-signed with his sponsor Billabong for another 3 years.

Laurie is one of the exciting new developers in Australasian Pro junior surfing.

Growing up at Angourie, Laurie has had the opportunity to mix it amongst some of Australia's finest surfers including the likes of Navrin Fox, Jeremy Walters, and 2003 Australasian Junior Champion Dan Ross.

At age 16, Laurie has already established himself as a strong competitor on the ASP junior series. Last year Laurie competed on the 2003 junior series with some solid results. He went on his first trip to the Mentawai’s and featured in his first video, Stepping Stones.

This year Laurie has left School to focus on competing on the 2004 junior series and has his sights set on the top 20. Currently in 13th position Laurie is looking like he easily attain his goals.

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Phil Macdonald finishes 13th on the 2003 WCT ratings.

Ocean and Earth team rider Phil Macdonald capped of a brilliantly year to finish 13th in the world after his final berth placing in Hawaii.

Riding out a successful year, following two final berths one in the Quiksilver Pro in France and one in Xbox Pipe Masters in Hawaii, the ever growing in confidence Macdonald stamped himself amongst the world’s top 16.

After a consistent start to the year with a couple of 9th place finishes Phil stepped it up a notch at the Quiksilver pro in France where he finished second to Andy Irons in the final. The following week in the Billabong Pro at Mundaka, Phil pined Andy back by knocking him out of the event in the first Round! Phil finished the event in 9th position.

For the last two events of the season Phil headed to Hawaii. In the Xbox Gerry Lopez Pipeline Masters, Phil finished in 3rd position beating Kelly Slater and helping Andy towards his 2nd World Title. While also in Hawaii Phil and Margo helped pull an unconscious body border to the shore. Once on Shore Phil and Margo gave him CPR but he never regain consciousness.

This year Phil has his sights set on a top 10 WCT rating. Gauging from his lat year performances Phil should easily obtain his goals.

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Trent Munro re-signs with O'Neill International

Current WCT #25 Trent Munro, has re-signed with O’Neill International for a lucrative 3- year deal.

The powerhouse surfer from Scotts Head, NSW, had an amazing 2003 on the WQS with wins in the 5 Star O’Neill Deep Blue Open, 6 Star Lacanau Pro and the 6 Star Rip Curl Pro, Hossegor. Trent finished 2nd on 2003 WQS ratings.

This year Trent has his sights set on a top 10 WCT rating. After just finishing a two-month rest and training period he is ready to attack the first WCT event on the Gold coast in three weeks.

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Phil Macdonald joins the Tooheys Extra Dry team.

Ocean and Earth team rider and current No.13 in the World Phil Macdonald has joined the Tooheys Extra Dry Team.

The deal involves Phil having to act exclusively as ambassador of LNA’s “Tooheys Extra Dry” beer product at the 3 Australian WQS events, use his best efforts to consume LNA beers while in public, go to Tracks parties, surf in the Tooheys Extra Dry expressions sessions, promotional work and other duties.

Phil will join Toby Martin and Trudy Todd as the new Tooheys Team. Look out for them at the first WQS event in Maroubra 15 -21 March.

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JESSI MILEY-DYER WINS JETTY SURF PRO JUNIOR

Current world ISA junior surfing champion Jessi Miley-Dyer used a near perfect 9 point ride to dominate the final of the Jetty Surf Pro Junior Girls event staged in waves up to two metres at Bells Beach, Victoria today. The Sydney surfer easily defeated Kingscliffs Stephanie Gilmore, NSW Central Coast’s Rebecca Woods and NSW’s Nicola Atherton in the opening 2004 ASP Australasian Junior Girls event.

In excellent conditions, Miley-Dyer again demonstrated her outstanding potential by making the final a very one sided affair. Her final score of 16.17 out of a possible 20 left her three opponents in need of a two scoring wave combination on the final siren.

The 18-year-old put the result beyond doubt at the half way point when one of the larger set waves came through the line up. Despite being out of position for the wave and two of her opponents on the inside in position, luck went Miley Dyer way when her rivals opted not to take off. So without hesitation Miley-Dyer launched herself into the wave, surviving the late take off then performed a series of high scoring moves to be rewarded with an outstanding 9 point ride.

Elated with her winning start to the season Miley- Dyer said "I love it here at Bells, I've been competing here since I was really young and I seem to always do well. The Jetty Pro is a really important event on our pro tour in Australia and it's the best way to start the season. I was lucky to get that 9 point ride and really surprised when the other girls left it for me - when it happened I just grabbed the opportunity!"

The brilliant start to the season has seen Miley-Dyer take over a 400 point lead from Gilmore on the junior girls ranking by winning the highest rated event on the nation-wide circuit. The Coogee competitor received 3000 crucial points and $5000 in prize-money.

Last year Miley-Dyer won the Australian and World Junior Championships and her present dominance over her highly rated rivals has many believing she'll be Australia's next emerging open professional surfing hope.

Second place today again went to Gilmore who has had a run of seconds to Miley - Dyer. A year younger than Miley-Dyer, Gilmore displays all the characteristics to also be an exciting future talent and along with Central Coast surfer Rebecca Woods who finished in third place today, these three talented girls have created a healthy rivalry that will most likely see all three as strong world surfers in the present and coming seasons.

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Shaun Cansdell re-signs with Billabong.

Recently crowned World No. 2 junior surfer and free surfing super freak, Shaun Cansdell has re-signed with his long-term sponsor Billabong for another 3 years.

Shaun has been sponsored by Billabong since the age of 13. Since then he has gone from strength to strength to now be regarded as one of the best junior surfers in the world.

Shaun recently placed second in the Billabong world junior championships in Narrabeen. Shaun had an incredible competitive year in 2003 including a maiden WQS win at the 2 Star WQS O’Neill Belmar Pro, New Jersey, America and a finish 4th on the Australasian Pro junior circuit.

This year Shaun is focusing on the WQS. Due to his second place finishing in the world junior championships Shaun won wild cards into every 5 and 6 star event for the year. Gauging from Shaun’s current form he is destined for big things in 2004.

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Daniel Ross signs with Salomon for 5 more years

Salomon and Out there Management are very pleased to be able to officially announce the re-signing of 20 year old Yamba local, Daniel Ross current ASP Australian Pro Junior Surfing Champion.

It has been a little over two years since Dan joined the Salomon family. During this time he not only has developed into one of the best junior surfers in the world, he has learnt a huge amount about developing very technical surfing equipment.

Salomon’s development mantra is PROS – PROCESS – PRODUCT. There is very little development before the recruitment of a Professional Team. Dan has fitted well into this process and delivers very important testing and development feedback on a daily basis.

The first 2 years of very hard work from the S-Team and Development Teams have flown by and ended on a great high. Dan winning the 2003 ASP Australasian Pro Junior Tour was a very nice reward for all involved.

The successful relationship between Salomon and Dan was important to keep strong and continue. We are all very happy to officially announce that Dan will be representing Salomon for the next 5 years.

Dan will be surfing boards shaped using S Core Technology, he will be wearing Salomon clothing, footwear and wetsuits, Dan will travel well with our bags and back packs.

Dan has set himself some very clear goals over the next 5 years and with the financial and equipment support of Salomon he has a very realistic shot at achieving his main goal – ASP World Champion.

Dan had the following things to say:

On signing his contract - “I'm so stoked to have the support of such a cool & innovative company.”

On boards shaped with S Core Technology - “I really love surfing, the future technology and having input in the designing of SCore boards.”

The future – “I see the backing of Salomon & SCore boards as being a major part of the future goals I have set myself.”

For more information on Daniel Ross please contact Out There Management on info@outtheremanagement.com.au and Dan’s web-page can be found at www.outtheremanagement.com.au

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Ben Dunn re-signs with rip curl.

2003 ISA World Champion Ben Dunn has re-singed a lucrative 3 - year deal with sponsor Rip Curl.

After months of reviewing all options made available to him by his management company Ben decided to stay with his long time sponsor Rip Curl.

During his time with Rip Curl Ben has stamped himself as one of the best junior surfers in the world. His impressive and long list of accolades include 2nd place 2003 ASP Australasian Junior circuit, 2003 ISA World Champion and 3*Australian Title Champion.

The lucrative deal includes Rip Curl clothing and accessories, shoes and eye wear. Ben is extremely stoked to be a part of the Rip Curl team and looks forward to a successful relationship.

Log onto Out There Management's website to view all Ben's information.

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Phil Macdonald finishes 13th on the 2003 WCT ratings.

Ocean and Earth team rider Phil Macdonald capped of a brilliantly year to finish 13th in the world after his final berth placing in Hawaii.

After a consistent start to the year with a couple of 9th place finishes Phil stepped it up a notch at the Quiksilver pro in France where he finished second to Andy Irons in the final. The following week in the Billabong Pro at Mundaka, Phil pined Andy back by knocking him out of the event in the first Round! Phil finished the event in 9th position.

For the last two events of the season Phil headed to Hawaii. In the Xbox Gerry Lopez Pipeline Masters, Phil finished in 3rd position beating Kelly Slater and helping Andy towards his 2nd World Title.

This year Phil has his sights set on a top 10 WCT rating. Gauging from his lat year performances Phil should easily obtain his goals.

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Phil MacDonald helps pull dead Body Boader from surf in Hawaii.

30th November , Phil Macdoald, WCT surfer, helped pull a body boarder from the surf. Phil recalls the incident -

It was early morning logs, and Kieran Perrow, Ace Buchan, Trent Munro and Wink, plus a hand full of body boarders were out there.

It had been raining a lot and the water was brown. There was some really good barrels, KP was charging like crazy, and the waves were like eight feet maybe bigger, but real thick, and hard to make. I got washed down the end section when I saw a body boarder take a big one and straighten out. Next thing I saw was a body board floating on the inside and i thought the guy just broke his leg rope.

Next thing I saw Margo and the guys in the billabong house running along the shoreline, and two young Aussie body boards, start screaming as they grabbed the guys board. I started paddling straight to them, and when I got there the two body boarders, had grabbed the guy who was still attached to his board.

Straight away I new he was in bad shape, as he wasn’t breathing and was totally unconscious. The waves were quite heavy and by now we were in front of rocks. The body boarders then held on to him and rode a wave in front of the rocks. I followed, chucked my board, and then climbed up the rocks to be meet by Margo and some other guys. We then had to pull him up a ledge and across the rocks, but waves kept smashing us. Finally we got him to the beach, and straight away begin CPR, with Margo giving him mouth to mouth and myself and another pumping his heart.

He was not responding at all, with no pulse, no breathing and his eyes seemed rolled back in his head. The CPR continued till the fire department rocked up shortly after and took over. His neck had huge bruises all over it, and I think he hit one of the large rocks out crops underwater, either getting knocked out or maybe injuring his neck. I heard later on the news he was pronounced dead at the scene. He was a 23 year old from Argentina. RIP.

Jessi Miley-dyer to feature in National Australia day campaign.

The National Australia Day committee has chosen Jessi Miley -Dyer to be one of 6 Australians to feature in their advertising campaign for Australia day.

A series of full page advertisements will be running in national Newspapers from the 10th to 26th January 2004.The creative concept is based on Australians making an "affirmation" of what Australia/Australians mean to them.

The background to the Affirmation is that it is derived from the Australian Citizenship Pledge and is usually said at official events on days of national significance (Australia Day, Harmony Day, Anzac Day etc.). It is intended as an affirmation of the values that are important to Australians and which make our society.

Great black and white portrait shots of famous Australians, not-so-famous-but-extraordinary Australians, heroic Australians, sporty Australians will feature in the Ads. Jessi will also be giving a speech on Australia day in Sydney.

Jessi also featured on the Today show, Tuesday the 10th Decemebr. Part of the Ripcurl girls learn to surf, Jessi spoke with Sammy Lucas on the beaches of Manly.

Mitchell Coleborn re-signs with Volcom

Up and coming junior star Mitchell Coleborn from Maroochydore has re-signed with Volcom for another 3 years.

Volcom has been Mitchell’s main sponsor since he was spotted 3 years ago at the OE/HB event with no sponsorship.

Volcom team manager Joel Spillane said, “ We are really stoked to have Mitchel re-sign, and consolidate his relationship with Volcom. We are looking forward to a very successful journey ahead together”.

This year Mitchell competed in selected ASP junior series events. He achieved some fantastic results including a 5th at the Brothers Neilson Pro junior on the Gold Coast. In August this year Mitchel proved to the surfing world that he is destined to be a top junior when he finished 3rd in the U/16 Quiksilver ISA World Junior surfing Championships in Durban, South Africa.

Mitchell also featured in his first double page Volcom advertisement. And also featured in an Etnies Ad.(see media gallery). This is a great achievement and proves the confidence and support Mitchell sponsors have in his ability.

Shaun Cansdell signs with JS surfboards and D’Light surf shop.

Surfing super freak, Shaun Cansdell, has signed a 3-year deal with JS surfboards.

After the signing JS said, “JS boards is stoked to have signed Shaun Cansdell for the next 3yrs.We are confident of seeing Shaun achieve his position in the world surfing arena along side fellow team riders Dean Morrison and Luke Egan.

Shaun also re-signed for another 3 year's with D’Light surf shop based in Japan.

Shaun had an incredible year in 2003. He won his first WQS event, the 2 Star WQS O’Neill Belmar Pro, New Jeresy, America. The following week he returned home to win the NRG/Element pro junior. Shaun finished the junior ratings in 4th place and is looking forward to the Billabong world junior championships in early January.

Ben Dunn And Jesse Miley-Dyer win Quiksilver Australian Grommet Titles.

Friday December 5th, 2003 (Nth Stradbroke Island, QLD) 17-year-old Ben Dunn (Old Barr, NSW) has capped off his final year as a junior in a sensational way with another victory in the Quiksilver Australian Grommet Titles. The win gives Dunn an unprecedented winning record of national and world junior titles.

Clean off shore 4ft (1.3m) surf was on offer. Hollow right and left breaking waves ran along the pristine sandbars of North Stradbroke Island's Point Lookout.

In the 25-minute U/18 Boys final, Ben Dunn surfed a patient match and steadily improved his standing before nailing victory on his last ride for an 8.5 score. His trademark vertical backhand re entries used to full effect. Former U/16 World Grommet Champion James Wood (Lennox Head, NSW), gave a valiant effort, going right to the wire with Dunn but fell on a crucial wave in the final minutes. Dunn emerging the victor on 16 pts while Woods placed second on 15.00pts with the top single wave score of 9.0 showing his level of surfing in the final.

"This was the hardest junior event for me." Dunn said, exiting the water after the final, "All four of us in the final were from the NSW team and I really had to work hard for this win. Woodsy only needed a 7 towards the end there so we got into a bit of a paddle battle and then he fell on his last wave that he may have got a good score on so I'm pretty stoked it worked out for me."

"This win gives me a lot of confidence for attacking the pro junior series and WQS. It's my third Aussie Titles and my third Aussie team so I'm just stoked." Dunn added.

Michael Spencer (Central Coast, NSW) surfed a great event to finish third on 14.97pts and Wade Goodall (Sunshine Coast, NSW) in fourth on 11.40pts.

All four finalists will represent Australian at the ISA Quiksilver World Titles in Tahiti next year.

The Roxy U/18 Girls was one of the most exciting match ups of the event with Jesse Miley-Dyer emerging the winner at the final siren. The lead changed several times throughout the encounter with Nicola Atherton setting the pace with a blistering 9.5 mid way through the final for executing five backhand vertical re-entries. Minutes later Miley-Dyer answered back by taking off on a huge set wave, smashing the wave to pieces and riding even further down the beach.

Final results at the siren; Miley Dyer first on 18.33pts, Stephanie Gilmore (Kingscliff, NSW) second on 15.90pts, Nicola Atherton (NSW) third on 15.53 pts and Rebecca Oakley (NSW) on 10.83 pts.

Exiting the water after her heat Miley-Dyer said that she knew it was going to be a close final with Stephanie Gilmore, "Stephanie was surfing great so that was a real close heat." Miley-Dyer said.

"I had no idea I was going to score a 10 out there. Rebecca was on the inside as I was paddling for the wave and she just missed it. I swung around at the last second took off and the wave walled up the whole way. I picked off the right waves I guess. My goal was just to make the Aussie team so this win is a bonus. This is such a great feeling."

Lee Winkler places equal 5th in Brasil WCT.

4.11.03, Lee Winkler, from Coffs Harbour secured his best WCT result this year with an equal 5th placing at the Nova Schin Festival, WCT Brasil.

Lee surf brilliantly all event beating Cory Lopez and Michael Lowe on his way to the quarter - finals against Kelly Slater. Against Slater Lee rose to the occasion with some great rides, but his opponent turned on the magic with the top scores of the event.

"It was good to get this far, but of course I had to draw someone like him," reasoned Winkler. "At J-Bay (SAfr) he got a 10 and a 9.5 against me, so I wasn't expecting any less and he went out there and did the same thing pretty much. He waxed me, but it was a good experience and I'm not so over-awed by him anymore. It wasn't my day out there though, it was his."

For Lee, the result marked his best of the season and moved into 31st position on the ratings. The tour now’s move to Hawaii where last year Lee achieved his best results a 2nd place at sunset and an equal 5th at pipeline. Gauging from last years end of season results, Lee will be looking to better his final 2002 rating of 17th.

One of Australia's most respected surfers, Lee has graced the surfing spotlight for years. With an amazing WCT performance late last year Lee has cemented his position amongst the world's elite.

Lee is currently available for sponsorship options in 2004.To sponsor this amazing surfer contact Out There Management for further information.

Log onto Wink's website to check out his latest information

Blowing the lid.

Coming out in Jan'04, Australian Surfing life magazine will be featuring a 10 -12 page article on Hot Tuna. The article will be an investigation into the purchse of Hot Tuna by a a big corporation and the unethical dealings the surfers had with the new owners.

In the wake of the successful Billabong share market float, and the strong performance of the surf industry globally, the Federation Group expressed delight at their acquisition of the surf brand.

The surfers in question, WCT competitors Lee Winkler, Mick Campbell and Melanie Redman-Carr, and WQS campaigners Drew Courtney and Mitchell Ross, have all incurred serious financial strain that has made simply getting to events, let alone competing, a real struggle.

To check out the full story get the ASL magazine on stands 10th December.

Jessi awarded Ben Lexcen scholarship and selected for Australian day ambassador

Jeesi Miley Dyer has been awarded the Ben Lexcen sport scholarship from the University of NSW.

The University of New South Wales prides itself as a centre for academic excellence. Likewise the UNSW Sports Association encourages academic excellence through a scholarships program.

Associated with these sports scholarships, the UNSW Sports Association has established a mentoring program to assist elite athletes with academic studies and aide in career decisions.

The UNSW Sports Association is offering 20 Ben Lexcen Sport Scholarships. The new sports scholarships are jointly funded by the Sports Association, its sporting clubs and the University.

The scholarship is worth $5000 per year, and some include additional in-kind sponsorship. Previous sports scholarship winners include the NRL's Craig Wing and Olympian and Commonwealth Games gold medallist Jane Saville.

Next year Jessi’s main focus is on the junior series and qualifying for the WCT. However she will be discussing with the university plans to be able study 1 course by correspondence per year. Jessi’s has just completed her HSC and is interested in studying either Law or Arts.

The same week Jessi was also informed that she was selected to be an Australian day ambassador. The role requires Jessi to give a speech at a selected location in Sydney on January 26, 2004.

Log onto Jessi's website to check out all her latest information.

Phil gets 2nd in the Quiksilver Pro , France.

October 11, 2003 (Hossegor, France)Phil Macdonald finished second in the Quiksilver Pro France behind Andy Irons. The US$250,000 World Championship Tournament (WCT) commenced with the first two quarterfinals this morning, before competition went on hold during the midday lower tide. When conditions again turned on, remaining quarterfinals, the semi finals and then the grand finale climaxed in front of thousands of spectators. Two Evian Expression Sessions were also held.

"I'm really happy for Phil right now too," Said Andy. "He's a great surfer a good friend of mine, and it's a great result for him. After he beat Kelly I would have been happy with a second, but of course I wanted to win."

MacDonald was a dark horse throughout the 40-minute clash, despite being in his first WCT final. The 24-year-old played the patience game he perfected in the semi finals against six-time world champ Kelly Slater (FL, USA), and it almost paid off again. He trailed by a huge combination of scores for the first half, but then locked in an 8.4 to be within a possible one-wave recovery. Unfortunately he wasn't able to find the 9.66 needed, and had to settle with runner-up position and US$16,000.

"Yeah, I'm stoked," said MacDonald. "The waves were good, but after Andy's first couple of rides I was playing catch-up the whole time. I just didn't get the waves, but it's an unreal result. Congratulations to Andy. He's a true champion.

"A second is a good confidence booster," he continued. "I beat a couple of pretty good guys along the way, so I was stoked to be in the final. It would have been good to take it, but there's always next week."

In the next event the Billabong Pro at Mundaka Phil got his revenge and beat Andy in their first round clash and knocked him out of the event. Phil is currently in 21st position on the WCT ratings and with two events to go he looks strong for a top 16 finish.

03.10.03 Ben Dunn wins Billabong Pro Teen Series event at Bells Beach and takes out Billabong Pro teen Series.

Old Bars Ben Dunn (NSW) stamped himself as one of the best 17-year-old surfers in the world with an emphatic victory at the Billabong Pro-Teen Series event held at Bells Beach. Ben’s win sore him finish the ratings in second place only 300 points behind Daniel Ross.

Ben scored a possible 18.35 out of 20 and dominated the four-man final in solid two metre conditions. Ben’s close association with the famous surf break was apparent. “I first surfed down here when I was 11. I really think the waves suits my style as I grew up on a similar type of wave. I really love the place,” said Dunn.

His win was made even more special by the fact that he still has three years left in the junior series and he was surfing with a plaster cast due to a broken wrist. A five thousand dollar cheque from events sponsors Billabong should help ease the pain. Dunn defeated last year’s Australasian circuit winner and defending event champion Luke Munro (Gold Coast), Nick Coghlan (Manly) and Shaun Cansdell (Mullaway, NSW).

After winning the event Ben said, “ I am really stoked about winning because the final ratings were so close. I could have finished anywhere from 4th to 2nd. I knew that all Shaun had to do was beat me by 1 place and Clint by 3 and I would have not come 2nd. I thought Shaun would have definitely beat me so I am even more happier that I have won this event.”

When asked about finishing only 300 points behind the winner Ben added “I thought Dan was a lot more points ahead of me so to finish so close to winning gives me added confidence for next years Junior series”.

Ben’s brilliant victory also saw him win the Billabong Junior Series. The winner of the Billabong series is decided from the 5 Billabong series events held throughout the year.

03.10.03 Daniel Ross crowned 2003 ASP junior champion.

Despite an early round exit in this year’s last pro junior event, the Billabong Pro-Teen Series event held at Bells Beach, Yamba’s Daniel Ross was crowned the 2003 ASP Australasian junior champion.

After finishing 4th in his round of 32 heat Dan had to wait anxiously as his closest rival to the crown Jarrod Sullivan had to progress through the round of 32 heat to win the series. Fortunately for Dan, Jarrod was beaten in his heat and an ecstatic Dan was crowned ASP Junior champion.

"I was diappointed yesterday," said a relieved Ross. "But luckily the results went my way. I made a great start to the year but then had a pretty bad knee injury. I’m stoked to win. I was what I set out to do at the start of the year."

Dan added “After leading nearly all year I would