The Association of Surfing Professional (ASP) 6-Star Burton Toyota Pro kicked-off at Merewether in Newcastle, Australia, on Monday, February 18, 2013, delivering the much-expected thrill and intensity that was expected of the large competition field.
With both seasoned and emerging talent from around the globe converging to the event site to put their skills and passion on display, the crowd in attendance knew that they are in for a treat.
The opening day of the competition saw two-to-three foot waves gracing the primary event site, setting up a nice stage for the surfers to let loose.
Since the event carries a 6-Star rating, it has put on plenty of coveted ASP ranking points on offer, something that the surfers would be determined to get their hands on since it is the key to competing in the biggest stage in surfing, the ASP World Championship
Tour.
One of the day’s impressive performer Oney Anwar from Indonesia did not take his opening day success for granted.
Despite putting on a victorious performing in the Round of 144 (Round 1), the 19-year-old emerging talent understands that it is only the beginning of a long and hard road, which will only continue to get tougher as the competition progresses. This is why
he should remain focused and prepare himself to hold his own in the next round, which will be seeing the entry of some really big and formidable names such as defending ASP World Champion Joel Parkinson from Australia.
“Sure that was a great heat, fun waves and opportunities to do aerials but this is a 6-Star event and the next round will be harder and I must surf better – these are high quality events with so many great surfers and I need to keep surfing better and better”
said Anwar.“I’m focusing on all the big events this year in Australia, Europe and Mexico and it’s all about improving my rating this year – events like this one carry big points and it’s definitely important to me.”
Other young surfers were nothing short of exquisite on day 1 of Burton Toyota Pro either. Argentina’s Santiago Muniz, Portugal’s Frederico Morais, New Zealand’s Matt-Lewis Hewitt, his compatriot Billy Stairmand, Japan’s Nobuyuki Osawa and Brazil’s Caio Ibelli
are just a few of the talented youngsters that managed to go through into the second round after claiming victory in their Round 1heat.
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