Event No. 1 of 10 on the 2009 ASP World Tour, the Quiksilver Pro will be held at the Gold Coast’s Snapper Rocks from February 28 through March 11, 2009. The Quiksilver Trials and Roxy Trials will take place on February 27, 2009. Slater, who in past seasons has been reluctant to commit to a full year of competition, has announced his intentions for the Quiksilver Pro Gold Coast and has acknowledged the allure of a possible 10th ASP World Title.

“I commit to where I am,” Slater said. “I’ll be on the Gold Coast for sure. I’m pretty excited about some new equipment and am ready to surf, I think. No. 10 is alluring and is there for the attempt, but I’ll let everyone else worry about the pressure of it as well as I can.”

Despite the Floridian’s dominance on last year’s ASP Dream Tour, Slater admits that the acquisition of ASP World Title No. 10 will be no easy feat, especially considering the hunger and talent of returning ASP Top 45 rippers.

“I’m not sure whether Dane (Reynolds) and Jordy (Smith) will pull straight up to that level to start this year or not, but I know that Parko’s always hungry and Mick (Fanning) goes without saying,” Slater said. “C.J. (Hobgood) got a taste of it last year again and will come out firing for sure.

Taj (Burrow) will be hungry, but I wonder how his focus will be after a couple of really great seasons and not quite the results that his surfing shows all the time – he’s always one of the best at Snapper. Bede (Durbidge) will quietly execute more people and Bobby (Martinez) is going to be the hungriest, starting the year without a main sponsor.”

In addition to the returning stars on this year’s ASP World Tour, a new crop of fresh faces will be joining the best surfers on the planet as they traverse the globe tearing apart the best waves in the world.

“I think Kerr could show some big things, but he was never able to capitalize on a great start the other year and never really backed it up when the time came,” Slater said. “I don’t expect him to make the same mistakes this time. Nathaniel Curran could quietly take a few people out. I’m really interested to see Barca and what he will do.

He’s finally made the tour and I don’t know if people outside of Hawaii know how good he is yet, especially guys on the World Tour. For all of them, it’s a transition from four-man to two-man, and it’s a different field with more experience. Rookies need a good start to get out of tough seeding position as well – the first three events are key to a guy requalifying.”

Mick Fanning (AUS), 27, former ASP World Champion (2007), dropped seven spots to ASP World No. 8 last season, but the ultra-fit natural-footer is recharged and ready for another assault at the ASP World Title.

“Last year, I wasn’t motivated at all really,” Fanning said. “It was a huge learning curve for me with all the extra attention, but I had fun. I also had a hip problem throughout the year so I took a couple of events off to get on top of that. This year, I feel very focused and motivated for a big year. I am healthy and fit and everything else is going really well.”

Fanning will draw on his hometown experience at the Quiksilver Pro Gold Coast, putting his years of experience at the iconic Snapper Rocks to good use.

“It is great to start the year off at my home break,” Fanning said. “I guess it is like when everyone has an event at their home break and you’re comfortable. You know the waves by heart and you sleep in your own bed and drive your own car. There is nothing like it – it’s great. Obviously the Top 5 will always be huge threats but I think Bede (Durbidge) and Joel (Parkinson) have something they really want this year and they are focused on getting it. I think Michel Bourez will be the biggest standout of the rookies.”

Bede Durbidge (AUS), 25, current ASP World No. 2, has improved his standing every year since his elite inception at 2005, and has his eyes set on the ASP World Title in 2009.

“I have had a good steady climb on the ratings so I guess there is only one more spot to go now,” Durbidge said. “It’s always been my goal to win the ASP World Title so I’m in a great spot now to give it a good shot. My preparation has been going really well. It’s so good to have all this time off and work on my fitness and my boards. It’s the longest break we get all year so it’s perfect to build a good fitness and set up for the year ahead.”

“Kelly (Slater) had nearly a perfect season last year,” Durbidge said. “He was in such good form – he was just on at every event. To take Kelly out this year is a big ask, but it is achievable and I feel I’m up to the challenge. I’m just going to focus on all the things I can do to give myself the best chance and hopefully he doesn’t have a season like last year.”

The 2009 ASP Top 45 will kick off this season’s Dream Tour at the Quiksilver Pro Gold Coast, which boasts a waiting period from February 28 – March 11, 2009.

Roxy clothing has taken green to heart.  Whether we’re catching waves or catching the lift, the planet is our playground, worthy of our appreciation and our protection.  Roxy’s new green print products are made with earth-friendly materials which may include materials like organic cotton, fleece made from recycled bottles, and recycled hardware- sustainable resources that will flaunt your eco style, not cramp it.  Being eco sensitive is a little more expensive, but it saves the kind of green that counts.  Look for the greenprint on all kinds of Roxy products this season. 

Check out Roxy’s ECO-CIRCLE products, these items are recycled and recyclable polyester by Tejin Fiber Limited, the only factory able to recycle polyester indefinitely, thanks to Eco-circle.

You can return your old garments so that we could recycle them in polyester raw material again.  To know where to send your old garments, please check on www.roxy-eco.com

Roxy South Africa are once again off to Mozambique, to the fabled break of Ponto Do Oro, for the Roxy Invitational 2009. The perfect right hand point break of Ponto will be the arena for the 10 best female surfers in the country to cut loose on the best day during the waiting period 4-11 May 09.

This year there is a new initiative to enable all surfers the possibility of entering the event. Go to the event website roxy.co.za/invitational and if you think you deserve to be a part of this prestigious crew, then this is your opportunity to state your case and put yourself before the selectors. Entries close 27 February 09.

This is the third year of this successful and popular event, and the 12 open slots are possibly some of the most coveted contest slots in the country. With a R10,000 first prize in the mix, women surfers get themselves into a bit of a frenzy trying to get into the event. The official Roxy Invitational website will be updated with the invited surfers profiles mid-March 09. The website also offers 2008 event pics, video and event news.

The Roxy Invitational is presented by Saltwater Girl Magazine, in association with Virgin Mobile and Resolution. * Please note that this is an invitational event and participation is by invite only. Contestants are selected by Roxy in its entire discretion and Roxy’s decision shall be final. All of Roxy’s rights are reserved.

About Saltwater Girl
Saltwater GIRL is a refreshing alternative to mainstream media offerings, targeting the independent free-thinking teenage girl who strives to be anything but ordinary. With strong roots in surf and beach culture, SWG is right at home in the Mozambican sand with some of SA’s top female surfers for a week of fun, sun, surf and mischief.
 

Jeanzunltd are happy to present the new spring summer collection of Quiksilver t-shirts.
Quiksilver have designed a huge selection of awesome tee’s from screen-line basics to wicked polo tops. Check out Quiksilver’s awesome range organic of t-shirts,  Made from 100% organic cotton which are guaranteed pesticide and chemical free.  Quiksilver’s organic cotton comes from Turkey and India.
All organic cotton producers are labelled by control union certifications.  Controls are done from the fields to appropriate transformers, cotton origin and converting fabric process are guaranteed.  Quiksilver’s production of organic cotton in 2008 was an amazing 140 tons.

Quiksilver t-shirts are of the highest quality and built to last wash and wear.  Look good and feel great in this seasons 2009 Quiksilver t-shirts.
Team your Quiksilver tee with a pair of stylish Quiksilver jeans, or throw on with a pair of cool walk shorts and a pair of Quiksilver flip flops for a cool summer look..

 Just minutes into Valentine’s day, the pink 60-foot sailing yacht that is Sam Davies’s Roxy was yesterday third to cross the finish line of an epic Vendee Globe solo round the world race.

There were 30 to 50 boats out to greet the first of the non-French competitors, the first of two women competitors, one of only 11 of the 30 starters last November.

It had taken her 95d 4h 39m 1s and she had travelled 27,470 miles through some of the worst that nature can throw at those who take up the challenge and she was as exuberant as ever. “I never thought I might finish in third place, not at all, not at all. I was king of hoping to make the top 10. This really is a dream come true.”

The dream was also put on hold as the 34-year old Cambridge engineering graduate has to pace the dock in Les Sables d’Olonne for two days to see if fourth-placed Marc Guillemot can finish in the 50 hours of additional time compensation he was awarded for standing by Yann Elies while waiting, leg painfully broken, to be rescued by the Australian Navy.

Davies was also diverted and Elies was on hand to greet her, as was Britain’s Mike Golding, who was dismasted just hours after taking the lead. But, for the moment, Davies could celebrate. “It was really all such fun,” she said. Maybe that is just my way of getting through the hard moments, trying to find the positive side of everything and use that energy to battle through the tough times. “I enjoyed every single day of this race. It does not feel like 97 days. It went really quickly.”

Davies joins the same roll of honour which is headed in Britain by Ellen MacArthur, who was second in 2001. And she should be joined over the next few days by Dee Caffari, still lying sixth yesterday, who will have sailed solo round the world in both directions.

In between them is Brian Thompson, who was catching Guillemot fast as the Frenchman nursed his yacht through the final 250 miles trying to avoid capsize after his yacht lost its keel. Still with 2,000 miles to go is Steve White, who can look forward to finish eighth in the 10-year old Toe in the Water, which he financed himself by mortgaging his house.

Revenge at last for Emirates Team New Zealand over their old rivals Alinghi, the Swiss holders of the America’s Cup, had local fans cheering on the final day of the Louis Vuitton Pacific Series in Auckland. The last time these two met on these waters in 2003 the Kiwis were thrashed 0-5 and their prized America’s Cup was carried off triumphantly to Europe.

Then the black boat from down under won through the Louis Vuitton America’s Cup challenger elimination series in 2007 to meet Alinghi, now defenders, in Valencia only to go down 2-5. Back home in matched boats they beat an Alinghi that had refused to race them in the earlier stages by 3-1 and even the chilly drizzle could not snuff out a glow all over the Viaduct Basin. A little pride and self-esteem had been restored. “I guess it was all my fault,” said Alinghi’s American helmsman Ed baird after being out played by TNZ’s Dean Barker. “We were just a little behind the curve all day.” And in a gracious gesture his skipper Brad Butterworth added: “It’s just been fantastic. It’s what we want to see more of.”

If it felt chilly in what is meant to be a southern hemisphere summer, it felt relatively warm in what can be a fierce Chinese winter as the Volvo round the world race fleet lined up in Qingdao for the start of the fifth leg, a record 12,300-miler to Rio de Janeiro. At first there were four of the original eight starters, but Spain’s Telefonica Blue pulled out just minutes before the start after hitting an underwater hazard.

He expects repairs to take at least 24 hours but a fifth team, Sweden’s Ericsson 3, arrived only hours later after finishing a repair interrupted leg four with just seven crew, and was organising a turnround, picking up three new crew and setting off in pursuit.

The overall leader, Ericsson 4, has seen its margin increased by three points as second-placed Telefonica Blue has taken a three-point penalty for replacing its rudders. But T Blue skipper Bouwe Bekking has recovered from a lower back injury, Kenny Read, skipper of third-placed Puma, is back at the helm after trying to mangle his left hand forefinger, and double Olympic medallist Ian Walker has set himself a target of lifting the Irish-backed Green Dragon up to third overall.

Jeanzunltd.com is excited to share with our customers the new spring summer 2009 Roxy accessories collection.

We have a massive range of Roxy bags, Roxy rucksacks and back packs, Roxy beach bags and Roxy handbags.

Look at our stunning range of Roxy belts, Roxy purses and wallets, Roxy caps and amazing new selection of awesome Roxy luggage.

Sassy bohemian prints allow you to tie the whole collection together, so should you decide to purchase a Roxy beach bag chances are we have a beautiful Roxy Purse and Roxy bikini to match.

Love Roxy luggage? Then check out this seasons sassy designs, retro flower prints are the vibe this season and will guarantee you stand out from the dull crowd!!!

So get the look this season and grab yourself some essential Roxy accessories and be a Roxy beach babe this summer……
http://www.jeanzunltd.com/sections/0/424/bags

Roxy skiers and snowboarders find success at Winter X Games

The Winter X Games XIII was held at the Aspen resort of Buttermilk Mountain last week. The Winter X Games is an extreme winter sports event held in the USA every year.

Roxy team snowboarder, Torah Bright, won the women’s snowboard superpipe, a title she also took in 2007, while fellow Roxy team member, Sarah Burke, won a third consecutive Winter X Games gold in the women’s ski superpipe.

Torah, who wears a Gold Signature Roxy Bright Edition jacket, set a Winter X Games record for the highest female superpipe score during the elimination round with 97.33 out of 100. This was only a whisker away from the men’s record of 97.34 which was scored by Shaun White.

Sarah Burke, who also rides for Roxy, took her title with the last run of the night. She scored 93.33 out of 100.

Burke, from Ontario, Canada, has been campaigning for equal Winter X Games prize money for men and women over the last few years. This was finally the case during this year’s games, which also saw the arrival of the women’s freeskiing slopestyle event – something else that Burke has been pushing for.

The entire games were televised on ESPN and ABC.