Brazil Stop on ASP Tour Kicks Off

Nov 05 2006 / Brazil Want to know more about the Nova Schin Festival in Brazil. We've got you covered.

Event Name: Nova Schin Festival, presented by Billabong

Status: The Nova Schin Festival, presented by Billabong is number 10 of eleven stops on the 2006 Association of Surfing Professionals (ASP), Foster’s ASP Men's World Tour and South America’s sole top tour event. The Foster's ASP Men's World Tour crowns the men’s professional surfing world champion.

Location: The Nova Schin Festival, presented by Billabong will be staged in
Imbituba a punchy beach break offering left and right breaking waves. It is open to swell and regularly serves up quality waves.

Field: The Nova Schin Festival, presented by Billabong will feature the world’s top male full-time touring professional surfers and along with event wildcards will comprise a total field of 48.

Duration: A total of four full days of competition is required to finalize the event but the tournament has a waiting period so as to capture the best possible conditions from October 30 through to November 15.

Format: 16 x three man non-elimination round one heats (1st>rnd 3, 2nd & 3rd>rnd 2). Round two onwards feature man-on-man elimination heats.

Ratings points: The winner receives 1200 Foster's ASP Men's World Tour ratings points.

Defending Champion: Damien Hobgood (USA) will be back to defend his crown after having a solid 2006 season. The likeable goofyfooter from Florida has claimed one win this year in Fiji and will be looking to finish with another victory here at Imbituba. He is currently ranked 7 in the world.

Contest Director: Recently retired Flavio Padaratz is the most successful surfer to emerge from Brazil. His list of triumphs since he joined the ASP in 1988 includes three Top 10 finishes on surfing's elite tour and two World Qualifying Series titles (1992 and '99).

Billabong Events: Billabong is a strong supporter of the Fosters ASP Men's World Tour, sponsoring several events on the calendar: the Billabong Pro Tahiti, Billabong Pro Jeffreys Bay (South Africa), Billabong Pro Mundaka (Euskadi), Billabong Pro Maui (Hawaii, ASP Women’s World Tour final event) and the Billabong World Junior Championships, Men and Women (Australia).

Live webcast: via www.aspworldtour.com