Hobgood and Parkinson make it through to the quarter-finals at Volcom Fiji Pro – Surfing news
America’s C.J. Hobgood and Australia’s Joel Parkinson successfully reached the Volcom Fiji Pro quarter-finals after emerging triumphant in their respective Round 4 heats that took place at the main event venue of Cloudbreak in Tavarua, Fiji, on Tuesday,
June 11, 2013.
Even though there was no pressure of elimination hanging over the heads of the surfers, there was still plenty of motivation for to push hard, as a success in Round 4 meant qualification into the quarter-finals without having to surf another heat.
The latest day of the fourth stop on the 2013 Association of Surfing Professionals (ASP) World Championship Tour continued in six-to-eight foot waves, creating a nice and exciting stage for the world’s top surfers to showcase their skills and talent on.
The third heat of Round 4 pitted Hobgood, 2001 ASP World Champion, against Australia’s Josh Kerr and his fellow countryperson Mick Fanning, former two-time ASP World Champion.
None of the three surfers looked very comfortable in the waves that were on offer and continued to struggle throughout the course of the battle to find themselves a couple of big scores.
Hobgood, however, managed to get to a decisive heat-total of 12.07 points after scoring a 6.20 and 5.87 off his top-two waves.
Kerr and Fanning only managed to register a heat-total of 11.83 and 9.77 points respectively, which consequently resulted in their relegation to the fifth round.
The final heat of Round 4 saw Parkinson, reigning ASP World Champion, against young American talent, namely Kolohe Andino and Nat Young.
The Australian surfer clearly enjoyed a huge advantage over his rivals in terms of experience, but he seemed to be well aware of the fact that both the American surfers are immensely capable and have the potential downing even the best on their day.
Keeping that in mind, Parkinson went on a rampage from the get-go, aggressively hunting for opportunities to convert into big scores.
His efforts awarded him with a near-perfect 9.87 off his first business-wave, which he later backed up with an impressive 8.27-point ride. The two-wave total of 18.14 points held him in the lead until the end to see him through to victory.
“The waves are so good that it felt like a crime to come in,” Parkinson said. “It was one of those heats you hope to get where the conditions just seemed like it turned on. That was a dream heat, we actually missed some of the good waves. Cloudbreak is the
best left in the world. I love Tahiti, but with how fast you can go and get barrels and do turns and everything, to me, it’s the best left in the world.”
Both Andino and Young were forced to take a trip to the fifth round after finishing with a heat-total of 15.07 and 8.07 points respectively.
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