Small waves at Itauna put the 2011 Oakley Saquarema Surf Pro International on hold
2011 Oakley Saquarema Surf Pro International, the fourth Association of Surfing Professionals (ASP) event of the year, has been postponed due to unsuitable conditions for surfing at the beach-break of Itauna in Saquarema, a town in the state of Rio de Janeiro,
Brazil.
The Prime event was scheduled to kick off Tuesday, May 24th, with the round of 96, but the event organisers decided to put the event on hold after assessing the conditions and finding the waves to be too small - around one foot - for the surfing
competition.
Talking to a reporter, the contest director, Pedro Muller said, “We made three calls this morning (Tuesday) hoping to get the contest underway even though the forecast said the swell would lose pressure throughout the day. So we decided to wait for better
conditions since the swell forecast shows some improvement for the next couple of days.”
The delay in the start of the contest comes as a real disappointment for the surfing fans, who were anxiously waiting to see their favourite athletes in action. The line-up for the competition consists of 96 surfers and includes half the field of Billabong
Rio Pro, the ASP Men’s World Tour’s third event.
Some of the names to look out for in Saquarema Surf Pro International include Brazil’s Adriano de Souza and Miguel Pupo, America’s Kolohe Andino, French Polynesian Michel Bourez and France’s Jeremy Flores.
De Souza had found himself getting a lot of attention after eliminating America’s legendary surfer, Kelly Slater, during the quarter-final stage at the second stop of the 2011 ASP Men’s World Tour, Rip Curl Pro, at Bells Beach in Victoria, Australia. Not
quite done yet, the 24-year-old Brazilian travelled back home to participate in the third World Tour event, Billabong Rio Pro, where he managed to clinch a victory to get on the number one spot on the ASP World Tour rankings. He is clearly one of the biggest
highlights of the Prime event in Saquarema.
Another Brazilian, Pupo will also be feeling the pressure of crowd’s expectations while competing at home. He emerged victorious in the previous Prime event, Nike Lowers Pro, which went down at Lowers Trestles in California, USA. Facing a relatively tougher
competition than last event, Pupo will have to really give his A- game if he wants to bag another win.
The surfing fans are anticipating intense battles in the Oakley Saquarema Surf Pro International. The event organisers will convene on Wednesday morning to reassess the conditions before making a call.
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