Gold Coast, Australia, is the place to be right now as the top surfing talent, both male and female, has already arrived there to begin their respective campaigns for the 2013 Association of Surfing Professionals (ASP) World Title.
With the men’s Quiksilver Pro and Roxy Pro all set to kick-off at the high-acclaimed surfing spot of Snapper Rocks this Saturday, March 2, the fans of the sport would surely have begun to make their guesses as to who would walk away victorious from the Australian
stop of the tour.
In the men’s field, reigning ASP World Champion Joel Parkinson is a clear favourite because of his familiarity with the conditions, the immense amount of talent and a formidable form, something that he made quite evident during the Burton Toyota Pro at the
Merewether Beach last week.
The 31-year-old Australian may be feeling a lot of pressure as he is head into his first-ever title defence, but it seems that the title is not the only thing on his mind right now.
“It’s good to have the monkey off my back,” Parkinson said. “My philosophy last year was to enjoy it and I really did and I’m looking forward to this year, and this event in particular. I’ve had to do a lot of stuff outside of surfing since I won the ASP
World Title, so this event will be like a holiday for me. I get to get back to what I love and that’s surfing and competing.”
Parkinson went on to add that the locals will not be enjoying a great deal of advantage in the opening event of the 2013 ASP World Championship Tour, since the event is expected to move between Rainbow and Kitta instead of running at Snapper Rocks.
Whether the likes of 11-time ASP World Champion Kelly Slater and formidable young-guns such as Hawaii’s John John Florence and Brazil’s Gabriel Medina are able to capitalise on this is something that only time will tell.
One thing is for certain though; Parkinson will come at his competitors real hard.
The elite female surfers will also begin their campaign for the most prestigious honours in the sport on Saturday.
Stephanie Gilmore, reigning five-time ASP Women’s World Champion, had won Roxy Pro last year and gone on to win the World Title in the end.
The 25-year-old Australian would surely be hoping to put on an authoritative performance at Snapper Rocks this year as well and then build on the head-start to eventually hold on to her throne.
Her compatriot and last year’s runner-up Sally Fitzgibbons is expected to give nothing less than her 100 percent at Roxy Pro either. After barely missing out on the title a number of times already, she is likely to push herself even harder than usual to
try and go the distance this year.
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