Joel Parkinson emerges triumphant in Round 1 of Quiksilver Pro New York – 2011 ASP World Tour
Australia’s Joel Parkinson clinched an exciting come-from-behind victory at the last minute to defeat Brett Simpson and South Africa’s Travis Logie in the first heat of Quiksilver Pro New York’s Round 1 on Tuesday, September 6, at the Long Beach in New York,
America.
Victory in the first round of the sixth stop of 2011 Association of Surfing Professionals (ASP) World Tour sent Parkinson directly into the third round. Simpson and Logie, who finished in second and third place respectively, were consequently relegated to
Round 2.
The surfing conditions at Long Beach were not too shabby, offering two-to-four foot waves for the competition on its first day. The swell was expected to rise as the day progressed due to Hurricane Katia, a level one storm that was currently patrolling the
US East Coast.
As the first heat of the inaugural Quiksilver Pro New York got underway, it was the local favourite, Simpson, who immediately put his knowledge of the waves to use and locked a good one to pull off a combination of exciting tricks, earning 7.00 points for
the effort. Not quite done yet, he immediately followed it up with another decent wave, adding an additional 6.50 points to his account which took him to a two-wave total of 13.50 points.
For most part of the heat, the American received no serious challenge from his rivals. Logie, who had been exceptionally impressive during Billabong Pro Tahiti last week, was unable to adjust to the conditions well enough and was only able to score 4.67
and 1.90 points off his two best waves out of the total four that he caught during the course of the 30-minute contest.
The 21-year-old Parkinson carried out his hunt for a couple of good waves with a lot of patience. However, he finally made his move in the later stages of the battle, locking a wave to exhibit an impressive string of tricks to earn 7.03 points off it. In
the dying minutes of the heat, he caught yet another wave to collect 6.53 points, taking his heat-total to 13.56 points. The last-minute effort allowed him to replace Simpson as the leader on the scoreboard by a difference of merely 0.06 points, consequently
walking away with victory.
The outcome of the three-man battle qualified Parkinson directly for the third round, while Simpson and Logie were forced into Round 2 for yet another shot to make an extension in their life in the event.
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