Joel Parkinson bows out to Taj Burrow in Round 5 of Volcom Fiji Pro – Surfing News
Taj Burrow from Australia put on a superb performance to get the better of his fellow countryperson Joel Parkinson in the second heat of Volcom Fiji Pro’s Round 5 that continued at the primary event site of Cloudbreak in Tavarua, Fiji, on Sunday, June 10.
The victory served to confirm Burrow’s place in the quarter-finals, while bringing the latest stop on the 2012 Association of Surfing Professionals (ASP) World Championship Tour to an early end for his rival in the process.
The surfing conditions at the primary event site turned out to be nothing short of challenging. Even though the open ocean reef pass had high-performance four-to-six foot waves to offer, the wind kept building up to keep majority of the surfing elite on
their back-foot. Both the skills and experience of surfers was being tested as they got pitted against each other. The action was expected to be just as intense as ever, attracting a massive crowd to the primary event site, while an even greater audience watched
the live streaming of the contest on the official site on the internet.
Despite the huge array of skills and massive experience, two of Australia’s most intimidating surfers Burrow and Parkinson found themselves pushed against the edge after failing to clinch victory in their respective Round 4 heats a day earlier at the secondary
event site of Restaurants. Reaching the next stage of the competition was crucial for Parkinson as he needed a got result in order to maintain his No.1 spot on the ASP World Title rankings.
As the second heat of Round 5 got underway, Burrow went to work early in the heat, making his intention obvious. Adjusting exceptionally well to the waves on offer, the Australian phenom moved in position to get his hands on a potent scoring opportunity,
which he cashed for an 8.50. He kept the momentum going to eventually add an additional 7.53 points to his account, thus reaching a heat-total of 16.03 points.
Parkinson got off to a comparatively slow start, but gradually built momentum to post a 7.00 on the score-board. He needed to score big off his second business-wave, but only managed to go for a 6.00, thus finishing with a heat-total of 13.00 points, 3.03
points short of the required score. As a result, he was forced to concede victory to Burrow, sending him through into the quarter-final stage. The failure to make it into the next stage of the competition also put Parkinson’s top positions in the elite tour
rankings under threat.
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