Day one of the Chiko MP Classic gets underway in pumping surf at Duranbah Beach

Gold Coast, Queensland, Saturday 20th April, 2013: Surfers were greeted with excellent 1.5 – 2m waves for the opening day of the first event of the Chiko Queensland Championship Circuit (QCC), the MP Classic, in honour of the late Michael Peterson. Local favourite, Mitch Parkinson (Coolangatta, QLD) paddled out in heat one of the event and proceeded to impress judges and spectators with a series of critical turns and a long tube to take victory and advance through to the second round. Valla Beach’s Heath Joske put on a powerful display of rail surfing in his round one heat to advance, along with Lennox Head’s Stuart Kennedy, who advanced after dominating his heat on a futuristic surfboard. 1978 World Champion, Wayne ‘Rabbit’ Bartholomew (Snapper Rocks, QLD) managed to hold off his younger counterparts in his opening heat, advancing through to round two alongside heat winner, and fellow Snapper Rocks Surfrider, Mitch Crews. Conditions for day two of the Chiko MP Classic are expected to be bigger and better, setting a dramatic backdrop for the finals of the first QCC event. The Chiko MP Classic’s $10,000 prize purse attracts some of the best surfers from all over Queensland, and more recently, a host of international talent to looking to measure their skills against some of the best Boardriders in the world. The 2013 QCC series boasts a stellar AUD$30,000 prize-pool, with an extra AUD$500 randomly awarded to four competitors who compete in all four events. Based on competitors’ best three-of-four results, the series’ top two athletes will once again get the chance to compete against the world’s best surfers at the 2014 ASP World Championship Tour Quiksilver Pro Trials, Snapper Rocks. To ensure the QCC‘s top two under 18 athletes are performing at their optimum for the Quiksilver Pro Trials, Surfing Queensland in conjunction with Surfing Australia will provide two-days of training at the world-class Hurley Surfing Australia High Performance Centre.]]>