Parko Wins the 2009 Quiksilver Pro

Joel Parkinson (AUS), 27, has won the Quiksilver Pro Gold Coast presented by LG Mobile, defeating fellow finalist Adriano de Souza (BRA), 22, in solid six-to-eight foot (3 metre) surf at Kirra. After a 12-year hiatus, todays action brought the ASP World Tour back to Kirra for the Finals of the Quiksilver Pro Gold Coast. Whilst it was not classic Kirra, the challenging conditions at the historic pointbreak offered churning barrels with massive scoring potential. Parkinson, winner of the Quiksilver Pro Gold Coast in 2002, was fearless from the outset in the hard-fought Final, collecting an excellent 8.83 out of a possible 10 on his opening ride, breaking his board in the process. The hometown favorite would return to the lineup to collect a bevy of high scores, including a 7.50 and an 8.17, before nailing his second perfect 10 of the day, pushing his heat total to an unsurpassable 18.84 out of a possible 20. Parkinson now sits atop the ASP World Tour ratings, in excellent position for his 2009 campaign for the ASP World Title.

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"Record" for Largest Wave Ever Ridden Trivializes Big-Wave Surfing

A return to old-school measuring techniques is in order

Consider two representations of two very big waves, below. The first is a photograph of Mike Parsons at Cortes Bank. The second is a video of Garrett McNamara near Nazare, Portugal. Now take out some measuring tape and make the distance of one foot between your hands. That's the amount, according to the Billabong XXL committee, that McNamara's wave is bigger than Parsons's wave.