ASP Women's Channel

ASP Women's World Tour Adds New Zealand Dream Tour Venue for 2010

TARANAKI, New Zealand (Monday, September 21, 2009) The ASP Womens World Tour will be getting a boost next season with the addition of New Zealands Taranaki region as a dream tour venue.

The Taranaki Womens Surf Festival will host the worlds best female surfers from April 14 18, 2010 along Taranakis Surf Highway 45, with mobile venue options including famed locations such as Fitzroy Beach, Rocky Point, Stent Road and Opunake.

We couldnt be more thrilled to be adding New Zealand to the ASP Womens World Tour schedule, Brodie Carr, ASP Intl CEO, said. The region is ripe with world class waves and its a fantastic opportunity to showcase the talents of our outstanding female athletes.

Paige Hareb (NZL), 19, 2009 ASP Dream Tour rookie and current ASP World No. 3, is New Zealands first female ambassador at surfings elite level of competition, and the addition of another ASP Dream Tour event in her backyard could prove advantageous to the young goofy-footers bid for an ASP Womens World Title.

Im pretty happy about the ASP Womens World Tour coming to my home town in New Zealand next year, Hareb said. I know a lot of the girls have never been before and have wanted to come here for a long time. The surf is really consistent around that time of the year so I cant wait to show the girls what my coast has to offer. Its going to be pretty exciting!

The addition of New Zealand to the ASP Womens World Tour in 2010 is the latest in a string of successes for professional womens surfing, having recently confirmed the Gidget Pro Sunset Beach event for November this year and with the 2010 season shaping up to be one of its best ever.

"This is the first ever World Tour event to be held in New Zealand making this a historic step for both professional surfing and sports in the country," Brooke Farris, ASP Womens World Tour Manager, said. "Its fantastic to see the people of New Zealand putting all their support behind tour rookie Paige Hareb. It will be very exciting to see Paige bring the tour to her local town and perform in front of the masses."

New Zealands Taranaki, for their part, are ecstatic to host the worlds best female surfers next season. In addition to adding an ASP Womens World Tour event to the 2010 schedule, Taranaki will also host an ASP Grade-3 Girls Pro Junior, boasting the richest prize purse on the ASP Australasia Pro Junior Girls Series, AUD $8,000.

Surfing sits at the heart of Taranakis innovation and culture, Stuart Trundle, Chief Executive of Venture Taranaki Trust, said. Were stoked that Taranaki has been ed as the venue to host the New Zealand leg of the ASP Dream Tour next year. This event gives us the opportunity to showcase our world-class athletes, the legendary point breaks they call home, and the innovative surf industry thats grown here.

The next stop on the 2009 ASP Womens World Tour will be the Commonwealth Bank Beachley Classic at Sydneys Northern Beaches from September 30 through October 5, 2009.

For more information, log onto www.aspworldtour.com