The Rip Curl Pro will begin this week at Bells Beach in Australia, and never in the history of the ASP World Tour as the season's second contest been so important, especially for rookies, who for the first time are not afforded the luxury of having a few competitions in which to get their bearings in a different setting and in man-on-man heats.

There are 11 promising newcomers but they've arrived at a time when the elite tour is streamlining its roster from 45 to 32. That change will be made at the halfway point of a 10-competition schedule: after the Billabong Pro Teahupoo in August.

The change will become permanent, meaning that beginning in 2011 the World Tour will boast only 32 surfers and anyone ranked below that at the start of a year cannot contend for the world title.

This rule change is important for all 45 surfers this year because, with one contest already in the books, they have only four remaining to post at least one solid result. Essentially, a surfer will need to make at least one quarterfinal round (equal fifth-place for quarterfinal losers), or advance to the fourth round (ninth place) multiple times to make the cut.

This will be more difficult for rookies early on, and that proved true during the season-opening Quiksilver Pro, when not one rookie advanced beyond the third round.

>So with the impending start of the Rip Curl Pro there's a sense of heightened importance for all but the extreme upper echelon. Surprisingly, this upper upper crust has a new look, perhaps because of inspiration fostered by the rule change. It lacks nine-time world champion Kelly Slaterand last year's champion Mick Fanning, who are equal ninth, and contains Taj Burrow at the top, third-year veteran Jordy Smith in second, and fifth-year veteran Bobby Martinez and third-year veteran Dane Reynolds at equal third.

So the change seems to have livened things up. Most of the surfers support the change. But the timing is unfortunate for this year's rookies, many of whom probably will have to do well in the big qualifying circuit contests to make the 2011 World Tour.

That won't be easy, either, as the World Tour will take only the top 10 from the qualifying
circuit at year's end. That's down from the 15 who used that route to qualify for this year's World Tour.

So expect the rookies to come out blazing at Bells. They know they're better than some World Tour veterans, and that they have to do much better if they intend going to stick around.

Photo: Brett Simpson of Huntington Beach is among 2010 World Tour rookies hoping to make his mark. Credit: Hurley