Locals sparkle on day one of the Chiko Sunshine Coast Pro

Sunshine Coast, Queensland, Saturday 25th May, 2013: A forecasted southerly swell made a push into the Sunshine Coast overnight and greeted competitors of the Chiko Sunshine Coast Pro with highly-contestable 2-2.5m waves for the opening day of competition. The rising swell made for back-to-back action-packed heats with some of Queensland’s best surfers vying for the coveted Sunshine Coast Pro title and crucial Queensland Championship Circuit (QCC) points. After dashing from the ASP Quiksilver Saquarema Prime event in Brazil to defend his title, the Sunshine Coast’s Nathan “Hog” Hedge made his intentions known with a win in his opening heat, scoring a combined-wave total of 14.40 (out of a possible 20) to best fellow Sunshine Coast surfers, Kai Hing, Nic Jones and Ryan Campbell respectively. “It took me five flights to get home and I only landed at 10 O’clock this morning,” said Hedge, who was clearly unphased by the jetlag. “It was just great to finally be at home and have the chance to defend my title. I think after a good night’s rest I will be back firing on all cyclinders tomorrow,” he continued. Hedge and Hing both advance through to the next round of 32 and will face off tomorrow in their campaign for a win on home turf. They’ll first have to get past Burleigh Heads’ Thomas Woods, 21, who also advanced through the first two rounds of today’s competition and will be looking to take the winner’s trophy and ratings points home to the Gold Coast, prior to the final event of the QCC to be held at his home break of Burleigh Heads. TV Feeds from today’s action will be availible this afternoon. Based on competitors’ best three-of-four results, the series’ top two athletes will get the chance to compete against the world’s best surfers at the 2014 ASP World Tour Quiksilver Pro Trials. To ensure the QCC‘s top two Under 18 athletes are performing at their optimum, Surfing Queensland in conjunction with Surfing Australia will provide two-days of training at the world-class Hurley Surfing Australia High Performance Centre. The 2013 QCC boasts a stellar AUD$30,000 prize-pool, with an extra AUD$500 randomly awarded to four competitors who compete in all four events. The QCC Series CHIKO MP Classic: April 20-21 5-Star / $10,000 CHIKO Alley Classic: May 11-12 3-Star / $6,000 CHIKO Sunshine Coast Pro: May 25-26 3-Star / $6,000 CHIKO Burleigh Classic: June 15-16 4-Star / $8,000 Spectators and competitors are encouraged to interact via Instagram under the Hashtag #scpro Competitors and spectators can call the Surfing Queensland Event Hotline after 6:30am each morning of competition for a confirmed start time and location Ph# (07) 30306388 Stay tuned to www.surfingqueensland.com for news, photos and updates relating to the event. ‘Like’ Surfing Queensland on Facebook www.facebook.com/surfingqueenslandinc for event updates, photos and more. ‘Follow’ Surfing Queensland on Instagram: @surfingqueenslandinc #SQLD Nathan Hedge (Buderim, QLD) will be looking to defened his title tomorrow on the final day of the Chiko Sunshine Coast Pro. Photo Credit: Whitmore/Surfing Queensland ]]>