Estoril Billabong Girls 2009: Women’s Surfing Festival On The Estoril Coast, Portugal.
The Estoril Billabong Girls will be taking place from the 1st to the 3rd of May, on Carcavelos and Guincho beaches. With a six-star rating and $35,000 of prize money (€28,000), this is one of the most anticipated events of this year’s women’s World Qualifying Series.
The Estoril Billabong Girls is the first of only two events worldwide with the top classification on this year’s WQS.
Following the Women’s World Tour, which awards the world title, with eight events in some of the best spots in the world and contested only by the 17 best athletes worldwide, comes the World Qualifying Series (WQS), the tour providing a way into this elite group.
With competitions scattered all over the world, and with ratings ranging from one to six stars, two with the top classification have been confirmed in 2009. The first is Estoril Billabong Girls and the other is the famous US Open in the United States, in August. The ASP is also trying for a third equally important stage, at the end of the year, in Hawaii, that has not been 100% confirmed yet.
These competitions are the most important in the WQS this year, since a good result in these events practically guarantees a ticket to the World Tour.
This was what happened in 2008 to the 30-year-old Brazilian surfer Jacqueline Silva (former world vice-champion), who won a competition in Portugal for the first time and earned herself a place in the final Top 5 on the WQS. This guaranteed her re-qualification for this year’s world elite.
It was an epic final against Rebecca Woods (Australia), also one of the Top 17 surfers. The two surfers enthralled hundreds of spectators standing on the sand along the waterline as they watched the last heat of the contest, applauding and spurring on the competitors, who excelled themselves on a difficult sea with really heavy waves.
This year, with practically all the world’s best surfers confirmed for the Estoril Billabong Girls, there promises to be just as much or even more excitement! Let’s hope the winner is also carried on people’s shoulders from the water to the podium, like last time.
According to the organisers, the Estoril Billabong Girls represents not only one of the most important stages on the women’s professional surfing tour, but also the possibility of paying tribute to women’s relationship with the sea for three days in fringe activities and with lots of music.
Estoril Billabong Girls is a RockSisters event, sponsored by Turismo do Estoril, Cascais Municipal Council, Billabong, Fuel TV, Mega FM, Kia Motors, Ericeira Surf Shop, VonZipper, Kustom, Dakine, NSP, Jardins Sintra, Análise Global, Girlz Magazine, Gente Jovem.
The Estoril Billabong Girls will be taking place from the 1st to the 3rd of May, on Carcavelos and Guincho beaches. With a six-star rating and $35,000 of prize money (€28,000), this is one of the most anticipated events of this year’s women’s World Qualifying Series.
The Estoril Billabong Girls is the first of only two events worldwide with the top classification on this year’s WQS.
Following the Women’s World Tour, which awards the world title, with eight events in some of the best spots in the world and contested only by the 17 best athletes worldwide, comes the World Qualifying Series (WQS), the tour providing a way into this elite group.
With competitions scattered all over the world, and with ratings ranging from one to six stars, two with the top classification have been confirmed in 2009. The first is Estoril Billabong Girls and the other is the famous US Open in the United States, in August. The ASP is also trying for a third equally important stage, at the end of the year, in Hawaii, that has not been 100% confirmed yet.
These competitions are the most important in the WQS this year, since a good result in these events practically guarantees a ticket to the World Tour.
This was what happened in 2008 to the 30-year-old Brazilian surfer Jacqueline Silva (former world vice-champion), who won a competition in Portugal for the first time and earned herself a place in the final Top 5 on the WQS. This guaranteed her re-qualification for this year’s world elite.
It was an epic final against Rebecca Woods (Australia), also one of the Top 17 surfers. The two surfers enthralled hundreds of spectators standing on the sand along the waterline as they watched the last heat of the contest, applauding and spurring on the competitors, who excelled themselves on a difficult sea with really heavy waves.
This year, with practically all the world’s best surfers confirmed for the Estoril Billabong Girls, there promises to be just as much or even more excitement! Let’s hope the winner is also carried on people’s shoulders from the water to the podium, like last time.
According to the organisers, the Estoril Billabong Girls represents not only one of the most important stages on the women’s professional surfing tour, but also the possibility of paying tribute to women’s relationship with the sea for three days in fringe activities and with lots of music.
Estoril Billabong Girls is a RockSisters event, sponsored by Turismo do Estoril, Cascais Municipal Council, Billabong, Fuel TV, Mega FM, Kia Motors, Ericeira Surf Shop, VonZipper, Kustom, Dakine, NSP, Jardins Sintra, Análise Global, Girlz Magazine, Gente Jovem.
