Sydney, 13 March 2010 – A host of local celebrities joined Kelly Slater, Taj Burrow and Mick Fanning at Bondi today for the second day of the Boost Mobile SurfSho, presented by Samsung. They were mobbed by fans hoping to catch a glimpse of the surfing heroes and celebrities as they entered the water to compete in the Celebrity Surf Challenge.
Local celebrities including boxer Danny Green, tv presenters Jason Dundas and Mike Whitney and Bondi Vet Dr Chris Brown, were teamed up with a stellar list of Australian surfing talent to compete for a $5,000 donation to charity. Thousands of spectators watched on as Kelly Slater, Rodd Kerr, Tyler Wright and Luci Taffs took out the celebrity challenge, winning $5,000 in prize money to their chosen charity The Smile Train, which provides free cleft surgery for children in developing countries.
Surfing Australia CEO Andrew Stark commented on the thousand-strong crowd saying, “Fantastic to have a big surf event here at Bondi – the crowds here today indicate how important it is to run an international surf event in Australia’s biggest city that not only produces outstanding world professional surfers but also has an abundance of excellent surf beaches.”
Today’s action saw 32 of Australia’s best aerial surfers competing in the open trials for four wildcard spots in tomorrow’s final. Sydney-sider Alex Chacon from Avalon impressed the judges with his highflying maneuvers netting an excellent score of 8.33 (out of a possible 10) to beat Asher Wales (6.83), Garrett Parkes (5.83) and Ben Godwin (4.33).
Chacon, Wales, Godwin and wildcard Cooper Chapman will now face Slater, Fanning, Burrow and Owen Wright – the winner of the last Boost Mobile SurfSho – in tomorrow’s final– all chasing $25,000 first prize.
The Boost Mobile SurfSho continues tomorrow kicking off at 8am with the Wheel Rounds – a unique format in which a wheel is spun at the start of each heat, determining which tricks the surfers must perform. B, O, O, S, T letters are awarded to each successful maneuver and the six highest scored surfers who spell ‘BOOST’ go into the final.
Event spokesperson John Shimooka said, “The Boost Mobile SurfSho is designed to be a competition that everyone on the beach can enjoy, regardless of their surfing knowledge. We chose the wheel format so that spectators know what the surfers are supposed to be doing out there and can judge along with the panel whether they’ve achieved the trick.”
Tomorrow’s action will also include a jet-ski tow in expression session assisting the surfers get the biggest air possible and a free live concert from 3.30pm featuring The Villianares and The Sundance Kids.
Key media opportunities for tomorrow’s action are outlined on the following page.
SUNDAY 14 MARCH
What: SurfSho finals and winner presentations
WHEN:
- 8.00am – 12.10pm – Boost SurfSho wheel rounds
- 12.15pm – 1.15pm – Jetski tow in expression session
- 2.15pm – 2.45pm – Finals
- 2.45pm – 3.00pm – Winner’s presentation and interviews
WHERE: Boost Mobile SurfSho event site, South end of Bondi Beach.
