Pro surfing has had some good rivalries in its brief thirty year history, but none have rallied nations against each other more than the Tom Curren vs. Mark Occhilupo clashes in the early-to-mid 80's. At the time, Curren was the firt American hopeful for a world title in well over a decade, and the day he jumped onto the world tour in 1982 he was percieved as a true threat to Australian dominance. As the son of a big wave pioneer, and student of Australian 'Free Riders' Ian Cairns and Peter Townend, Curren represented a new breed of American performer ready to break free of the repressive 70's surfing that rendered Californian surfing obsolete. The Australians, meanwhile, led by Mark Richards, Rabbit Bartholomew, Cheyne Horan and Tom Carroll, had been ruling since the mid 70's, yet they weren't exactly sure what their response to Curren was going to be, until a young Mark Occhilupo bursts onto the scene in 1983.

For the next several years, the clashes between Curren and Occy helped propel the fledgling sport forward, breathing life into a emboldened surf industry in the United States. Curren and Occy met in epic clashes in the Op Pro in Huntington Beach, as well as the famous semifinals battle at Bells Beach in 1985, where Curren won his first world title. But sadly, the two never had the opportunity to face each other at Jeffreys Bay, arguably the sport's most renowned race track. Curren had boycotted South African events for much of his career, while Occy lit the wave on fire in smaller events like the Country Feeling Classic from the first moment he set foot in the tiny town. Occy considers J-Bay a second home now. Curren was a late bloomer there. His first real visit came in 1993. Being raised in pointbreaks, there was little doubt he would take to the wave. And he sure did.

That the great Curren and Occy clash at Jeffreys Bay never happened is one of surfing's greatest wrongs, and one Billabong has set out to remedy this year by inviting the two legends down there for what is arguably the most long-awaited showdown in surf history. "The second they brought it up to me I started doing sit ups every day," said Curren, who was spotted last week down at Trestles sneaking in some training sessions at the NSSA Nationals, where his kids were competing. Curren is off to Jeffreys with his entire family. The Billabong Pro waiting period begins Thursday the 9th, with a decent looking swell due to arrive on Monday.