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Bluetorch Pro
World's Largest Surf Contest
Huntington Beach, CA, July 19-23, 2000
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• Scedule of Events
• Round 1 Results & Photos
• Round 2 Results & Photos
• Round 3 Results & Photos
• Round 4 Results & Photos
• Bluetorch Pro Men's Final Results
* Layne Beachley Crowned Champion of the Women's Elleven Pro
Additional Coverage: Bluetorch.com
HUNTINGTON BEACH, Calif. - The world's largest consumer showcase for the sport, lifestyle and industry of surfing
returns to the Huntington Beach Pier, July 19 to 23.
The $168,100 Bluetorch Pro, July 19 to 23, is the first
competition on the 2000 World Championship Tour (WCT) to take place in Southern California and features the world's
top 44 male and 15 female surfers in a grueling "sudden death" format. Staged at one of the world's best spectator
venues, this "Super Bowl" of surfing will have a direct impact on the sport's world champions, ultimately
determined at Hawaii's North Shore in December.
The site of numerous classic surf showdowns over the years,
Huntington Beach has become a platform to stardom for many of surfing's elite. Top male competitors battling for their
place in the record books and $135,600 in overall prizes ($15,000 first place) include reigning world champion Mark
Occhilupo (Australia), tour leader Sunny Garcia (Hawaii), Shane Beschen (San Clemente), Taylor Knox (Carslbad), Tim
Curran (Ventura) and twins C.J. and Damien Hobgood (Florida). Four-time world champion Lisa Andersen (Florida) and reigning
champion Layne Beachley (Australia) headline the elleven
Women's Pro field vying for $32,500 ($6,000 first place).
Unlike earlier tour stops at reef breaks in Tahiti and
Fiji, the Bluetorch Pro's playing field is ever changing. While the 400,000 spectators (over two weeks) are treated
to extremely creative, high performance surfing, the Pacific Ocean's variable swells, winds and tides combined with Huntington
Beach's unique bottom topography lead to challenging conditions for the surfers. Among other obstacles, competitors must
factor offshore sandbars, underwater channels, Southern Hemisphere swells, northwest winds and a huge concrete pier
into their contest strategy.
Sanctioned by the Association of Surfing Professionals (ASP),
the Bluetorch Pro will launch a two-week festival that concludes with the Second Annual Panasonic ShockWave
Beach Games Presented by Excite, July 24 to 30. This event, which attracts world-class athletes from across the globe,
is anchored by the six-star World Qualifying Series (WQS)-rated Panasonic ShockWave U.S. Open of Surfing and features wakeboarding,
inline skating, BMX biking, motocross and skateboarding along with live musical performances and a beach exposition.
The entire Bluetorch Pro and Panasonic ShockWave Beach
Games Presented by Excite will be Web cast live on Bluetorch.com, an interactive, action sports web portal, while FOX Sports
Net will air more than 30 hours of original, delayed programming on Bluetorch TV. "The Bluetorch Pro and Panasonic ShockWave
Beach Games Presented by Excite are the culmination of years of hard work and recent advances in technology," said
Event Director Ian Cairns. "By pairing live internet broadcasting with mainland America's marquee surf events
and other action sports, the entire world will be able to follow the developments at Huntington Beach."
Broadband Interactive Group's Bluetorch brings the excitement
of skateboarding, surfing, snowboarding, bodyboarding, wakeboarding, inline skating, motocross and BMX to more than 50 million
participants and fans of action sports, using every popular medium. Bluetorch offers daily programming on Fox Sports
Net, four print magazines, Internet content (streaming videos, daily updates, hot photos and much more) as well as major
live events. Bluetorch is committed to core sports - informing participants and fans and letting them express themselves
across multiple media. The Bluetorch experience is available at www.bluetorch.com.
Competition at the Bluetorch Pro and Panasonic ShockWave
Beach Games Presented by Excite runs daily from 7 a.m. to 4 p.m. July 19 - 30 at the Huntington Beach Pier. More than
400,000 spectators are anticipated over the two weeks. Parking is available at the city parking structure located one block
in from Main Street and Pacific Coast Highway.
For more information and a live Webcast from this event please visit Bluetorch.com.
Looking for more surfing Web resources?
Visit GravityDex.
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