If you spent the last few days ignoring friends and family to watch the Quik Pro Snapper contest like me, you may have noticed the awesome little Quik ads featuring their a-team riders. You may have even commented to your imaginary friends that they are so well shot, like they came straight out of a movie. Well that's because they did silly! Quik has been working on a new film called MOMENTS and those ads are little snippets from the movie. You can watch the whole thing below and holy shit is this thing impressive.

The ASP's new reality is just beginning to sink in for the majority surfers in town for the Nike 6.0 Lowers Pro.

Back in October, headlines warned surfers of the ASP's decision to cut the world tour roster from 45 surfers to 32 midway through this season. And the axe is now looming large with just two World Tour events left before heads roll. Naturally, the pending cut is garnering most of the media's attention.

But it's only half the story.

What slipped under the headlines was the ASP's promise to finally address significant structural changes to the entire ranking system during the January 2010 off season. Chief among them was solving the "one world ranking" concept they'd tossed aside a year earlier.

And solve it they did.

After weeks of stressful debate during the January break, the ASP brass finally emerged from their hidden bunker with changes in hand -- the most dramatic ever made.

Yet there was hardly any fanfare -- no screaming headlines -- just a new tour schedule that separated events into three tiers: World Tour at the top, Prime in the middle, and Star Series at the bottom. Each level provides precious ratings points toward the newly announced "ASP World Ranking."

The World Ranking is a list that includes surfers at every tier, including the elite World Tour surfers. While the World Ranking is playing a similar role to the WQS this year, its full impact comes in 2011, when it becomes the only ranking that matters.


In 2011, elite World Tour eligibility becomes far more fleeting than it is today, because the roster will be refreshed several times per year (word is three or four times, but has yet to be decided) using the most up to date list of the Top 32 based on the new World Rankings.

In order to qualify or remain eligible to surf in the elite World Tour events -- events that ultimately decide the title -- a surfer will have to perform, because losing early -- at any level -- is severely punished with the new point system. If an elite World Tour surfer starts his season with back-to-back 33rd place finishes, unless he's been keeping his ranking up via the second tier Prime events he's certain to miss the next cut.

That said, he can just as easily climb back into the Top 32 via the Prime events and 6 Stars, and find his way back to the elite level before the next one.

"We'll see guys fall off the World Tour after the first cut and claw there way back on later that same year, and vice versa," says Ian Cairns, who founded the ASP in 1983. "What it ultimately means is if you're not performing there's absolutely no job security in pro surfing anymore -- which is how it should be."

Cairns is quick to point out the positives of this new system. "The best young talent will be fast-tracked to the top," he insist. "If Julian Wilson goes on a hot streak he won't have to toil in the minor leagues for three years. He can get up to that elite level in a hurry, because the hottest guys -- the guys who perform -- go straight to the top. So each level will be much more competitive and exciting. This event is proof of that."

In fact, Julian Wilson seems ready to rush the door opening in front of him next year. After winning his Round of 96 heat Wednesday afternoon he told beach reporter Jodie Nelson, "I'm all about getting on that horse as quickly as possible," referring to his elite World Tour ambitions.

The points available to him at the Nike 6.0 Lowers Pro (one of nine Prime events on this year's schedule) hold up nicely next to the points handed out at elite World Tour events. Saturday's winner will earn as many World Ranking points as an equal third place finish would net at an elite event like Bells, Snapper or Teahupoo. See breakdown.

The reality of that breakdown is modifying the travel itineraries of the world's best surfers, who are showing up in droves to compete in events like the the 6.0 at Lowers -- not just because they may want to, but because they have to.

More than 30 of the Top 45 showed up at Margaret River last month for the Drug Aware Pro, including Mick Fanning, Taj Burrow and Joel Parkinson. And 35 of the Top 45 are here at Trestles, including Dane Reynolds, Jordy Smith and Bobby Martinez. The big winner of all this, of course, is the fan who gets to see more of his favorite surfer.

"It's really just starting to sink in for a lot of these guys...what this all means," says Cairns. "The bummer for guys like Brett Simpson and Dusty Payne is you couldn't have picked a worse year to be a rookie. It only buys you about a half season of protection this year. But next year it only gets worse -- for everyone. The next cut will always be right around the corner."

Most of the big boys rebounded today at the Billabong Pro in Brazil as conditions improved for Round Two.
Kelly Slater, Taj Burrow and Mick Fanning all survived their loser's round forays after being defeated on Saturday in Round One. Slater (below) looked solid vs. Brazilian wild card Messias Felix.

But three-time world champion Andy Irons wasn't so lucky. His world tour comeback has been lackluster so far. Now three events in Irons' competitive career is officially on life support. Andy has two more events to get his act together. A very solid result in South Africa or Tahiti to keep his career afloat.

Luckily, Andy has two months to get into fighting shape, because frankly, he's still looking a bit soft in the middle, and his surfing isn't nearly as threatening as a result. A dead giveaway of this is his heavy reliance on the layback snap of late. The layback snap -- while at times flashy -- is a lazy maneuver. It takes far less effort than a full-body wrap around. It's the move you push out when you're out of energy. Andy's batteries still need charging.

Much of the story in Round Two was the horrific rookie slaughtering. Dusty Payne, Brett Simpson and Nate Yeomans were among the victims. But Owen Wright and both Tanner and Patrick Gudauskas advance straight into Round Three after their strong performances in Round One on Saturday.

As is usually the case heading into Round Three, there are some solid fight cards on the schedule. Here are a few I think could get interesting...

Parko vs. Matt Wilko -
Parko's lit his first heat up, surfing smoothly and with a hunger we haven't seen yet this year. But Wilko is looking to get some traction here. He's dangerous in these conditions. This is no walk in the Park for Parko.

Damien vs. Jadson Andre -
Two very dynamic goofygooters. Damien's been having a rough go of late, and Andre -- who has a healthy bag of tricks -- is also on his home turf. This one will get interesting.

Adriano vs. Pat Gudang -
The more I think about it, the more I realize these guys have very similar approaches. Adriano is the defending champion, but Pat has proven that he's not easily intimidated...and he'll be looking for launch pads.

Dane vs. Kekoa -
On paper you wouldn't think this would be close -- especially in Brazil. But Kekoa never looks like a major threat on paper even though he almost always is. The guy throws some serious power into his turns. Dane will have to take to the air to get past him.

Bede vs. Owen Wright -
This is a battle of the machines. Mr. Wright is in desperate need of his first good result and some momentum. But Bede is a notorious giant killer. Nobody's going to roll over in this one.

Freddy vs. Jeremy -
Two of the guys who're always lurking just below the headlines even while putting in some very solid performances. They're well matched in the bag-of-tricks department.

Kelly vs. Tanner Gudang -
Another one that isn't close on paper...But keep this in mind: Historically, Slater has more problems with rookies and wild cards than he does title contenders. Gudauskas will have plenty of motivation -- the problem is it could just be too much. Surfers tend to abandon their game plans against Slater, when they should be thinking more like Rocky Balboa in the original. In other words, just go the distance and make it respectable.

Jordy vs. Ben Dunn -
Jordy seems to be playing the game well right now. Speed is the key for him against Dunn in Brazil conditions though, so board selection will be key. Smith gets confused by equipment choices. That's why this one could surprise.

Taylor vs Tiago -
Tiago can never be taken lightly. And Taylor will never take anything off of his heavy turns -- even here. This will be a tough match for Knox. Though he's from Portugal, Tiago has some serious fans in Brazil.

Contest Director Mike Parsons threw the back end of the Top 45 into the water for Round One of the Billabong Pro today, having chosen the new one-and-done format to make the most of the clean 3-foot lineup that materialized at Supertubes. With only an average size swell approaching Jeffreys Bay in the contest window, competitors battled not only each other, but J-Bay's speedy wind tunnels and ferocious rocks that always threaten skin and fin when it's small. Thanks to some friendly winds and a healthy dose of sand wedged between the rock fingers there were some pretty incredible barrels to be had. As night fell on J-Bay, Parsons managed to also complete two heats of Round Two.


Nathaniel Curran put in his best performance of the season against Jay "Bottle" Thompson in Round One. He looked sharp in the unforgiving speed sections. Curran has a tough road ahead, though, as he's up against the red-hot Adriano De Souza next. Photo: ASP/CI/ Cestari via Getty Images


Opening day proved to be a successful one for most of the American contingent. Even Nathaniel Curran and Dane Reynolds moved into the next round, which is worth celebrating since both of them are having such shocking seasons. Timmy Reyes and Chris Ward backed the young Californians up with convincing wins over wild cards Devyn Mattheys and Torrey Meister, and then late in the day, as Round Two got underway, C.J. Hobgood kept his roll going by defeating Michael Picon with some incredible backside tuberiding, where he put his Heisman Trophy stance to work.

While the U.S. mainlanders suffered no casualties today the Hawaiians weren't so lucky. While Kekoa Becalso and Roy Powers both advanced Dustin Barca had the unfortunate luck of drawing perennial J-Bay powerhouse Sean Holmes, who by now should be considered the world's most dangerous wild card. Holmes, who is always a giant killer at J-Bay, looked silky smooth against Barca. Sadly, Barca was surfing strong, indeed well enough to beat anyone else in the round except Holmes, so this loss hurts. With Holmes moving forward into Round Two world number four Taj Burrow will be losing sleep tonight, as he's next on the menu for Holmes.

The other painful loss belonged to Fred Patacchia, who, according to his blog, has been itching to get things moving in Jeffreys Bay. In his Round Two match against a very furry Kai Otton Freddy was never able locate his rhythm. Otton, meanwhile, weaved through one of the longest, cleanest barrels of the day on his backhand, which sent Freddy packing.

If you happen to be up late tonight you'll definately want to be tuning in for the highly anticipated Occy vs. Curren duel. Occy had the entire lineup in stitches today during a warm up session. When Curren went flying down the line past Occy, the Occ yelled, "Bring it on!" The boys loved it. Even Curren's son, who was sitting right there, had a good laugh. The clash certainly seems to be fueling some old cold war patriotism, as the Top 45 are passionately choosing sides. Slater is said to be commenting the dual, which should make it even more interesting.

Here's what's on tap tonight if you feel like pulling a late one..

OCCY vs. Curren (TBA, but could go first thing.)

REMAINING BILLABONG PRO JEFFREYS BAY ROUND 2 MATCH-UPS:
Heat 3: Jeremy Flores (FRA) vs. Dean Morrison (AUS)
Heat 4: Adriano de Souza (BRA) vs. Nathaniel Curran (USA)
Heat 5: Bobby Martinez (USA) vs. Roy Powers (HAW)
Heat 6: Tom Whitaker (AUS) vs. Ben Dunn (AUS)
Heat 7: Kieren Perrow (AUS) vs. Kekoa Bacalso (HAW)
Heat 8: Joel Parkinson (AUS) vs. Heath Joske (AUS)
Heat 9: Taj Burrow (AUS) vs. Sean Holmes (ZAF)
Heat 10: Mick Campbell (AUS) vs. Tim Reyes (USA)
Heat 11: Mick Fanning (AUS) vs. Michel Bourez (PYF)
Heat 12: Jordy Smith (ZAF) vs. Dane Reynolds (USA)
Heat 13: Kelly Slater (USA) vs. Nic Muscroft (AUS)
Heat 14: Taylor Knox (USA) vs. Chris Ward (USA)
Heat 15: Bede Durbidge (AUS) vs. Greg Emslie (ZAF)
Heat 16: Damien Hobgood (USA) vs. Chris Davidson (AUS)

San Clemente, CA, -- The 6.0 Lowers Pro wrapped over the weekend at Lower Trestles, with Hawaii's Fred Patacchia, 28, taking out defending champion Ben Bourgeois, 30, of North Carolina, in glassy 4-foot walls. For Patacchia, this 6-star PRIME WQS event served as a nice exercise. Though the ASP World Tour star has very little need to surf qualifying events this year (he's in little danger of missing the world tour cut in his current number four position) Patacchia took the opportunity of a break in his schedule to sharpen his blade in preparation for The Hurley Pro, the ASP's only stop in Mainland U.S., which takes place right back here at Trestles in September. "It's a good warm up," says Patacchia. "I just want to stay in contest mode. I'm having a fairly decent year this year so I just want to keep it going."

For Bourgeois, who fell off the ASP World Tour last year, this was a solid step back to the big leagues should he decide he wants that. But the 30-year-old California transplant is busy working on a handful of other surf related projects this year, and getting back to the top, while certainly tempting, doesn't seem to be his first priority. "I'm doing a boat trip to Panama later this year, and just cruising at home in Carlsbad."

So the real drama at Lowers was down in the trenches of the WQS rankings, among those trying to break through for the first time to the next level. There were a number of Americans hoping to make the most of the huge points on offer at this 6-star PRIME event.

Dusty Payne entered Lowers in the number 16 slot' The young
Hawiian is hoping to stay on the incredible roll he's been enjoying ever since
taking out last year' s Oakley Pro Junior Global Challenge in Bali.

Nate Yeomans, one of San Clemente's native sons, entered the Lower's event ranked 21, while Dane and Tanner Gudauskas, two more San Clemente standouts, entered ranked 33^rd and 35^th respectively.

Yeomans has been enjoying plenty of success in WQS events of late. He became the first WQS surfer ever to threepeat at last year's Oakley Newport Pro. But unfortunately, none of those wins netted Yeamans many points, since they were only 2-Star events. He earned just 500 points for each of those 2-Star victories. In 6-Star PRIME events surfers who finish = 97th earn 525 points. That illustrates just how important these events are, and why Americans have been begging for an event of this weight on mainland shores for years. This was the first ever 6-Star PRIME event in California.

"It's about time," says Bourgeois, last year's winner. "I'm really stoked Nike stepped in and turned this into an event that really matters this year. This is one of the best venues you can possibly have for a contest, so it should be."

Another U.S. hopeful looking for a solid result was Brett Simpson of Huntington Beach. Simpson narrowly missed the world tour cutoff last year, something he's desperately trying to avoid this season. Entering the event ranked 4th on the WQS, it was so far so good. But Simpson had the unfortunate luck of running into super freaks Dane Reynolds and Rob Machado in Round of 48. Though his = 37th finish was a setback, the results on the rankings don't reflect it yet. He remains in the Top 5 for now, but the foundation he'd built up has weakened.

Tanner Gudauskas and Dusty Payne, on the other hand, capitalized. Both advance all the way to the quarterfinals before being eliminated by world tour stars Tim Boal and Patacchia respectively. Gudauskas now finds himself rounding out the Top 10 on the WQS, while Payne is clawing even higher, all the way to number 7 in the rankings.

Of course, Yeomans performance was the real justice served at Lowers. By beating stalwarts like Rob Machado and C.J. Hobgood en route to his semifinals appearance, he delivered when he had to. His equal 3rd place finish netted him 2625 points, rocketing him all the way into the number 6 slot on the WQS rankings.

Post Lowers Pro, there are now three Americans in the Top 10, with Patrick Gudauskas and Austin Ware playing back up to them in the Top 20. While the season ahead is long, the American hopefuls can (and should) be content with their defense of the home front. Consider this battle won.