Siargao

Surfersvillage Global Surf News, 8 August, 2006 : – - A relatively untouched tropical paradise in the southeast of the Philippines Archipelago is set to host an international field of world-class surfers for the Quiksilver Open Cloud Nine.  
 
Siargao Island; a jungle-drenched jewel with its virgin beaches and warm clear waters will transform as surfers from Australia, Bali, Japan, South Africa and the USA test their skills against arguably the world’s premier right-hand tubing reef-break, the infamous “Cloud Nine”.
 
At the 12th annual exclusive specialty event held during the Philippine’s typhoon season, the Quiksilver Open Cloud Nine offers a limited round of 32 surfers the chance to compete in one of surfing’s elite arenas.  
 
Scheduled to commence on the 26th September, 2006 and run through to the 1st October, 2006, the unique Quiksilver Open Cloud Nine boasts an astounding USD$11,000 prize purse as well as an exciting second-chance format that will ensure surfers a six-day surfing window for a mere 9 hours of competition surfing. As a result, surfers will be given optimal surfing conditions to test their tube-riding prowess.
 
Due to Cloud Nine’s proximity to the Philippine Deep, big swells from the Pacific Ocean roll in from the second deepest water in the world to create flawless hollow barrelling waves.
 
Last year’s event didn’t disappoint, setting the scene for some of the most memorable competitive surfing ever-seen in the Philippines with Typhoon Lawagon providing competitors with perfect 4-6ft reeling tubes. 2005 event runner-up Josh Fuller (Cabarita, NSW, Australia) described last year’s event as, “the best surfing event I have ever been involved in and the best surf trip I have ever been on.”  
 
Similarly, Dayyan Neve (Manly, Sydney, Aus), who presently leads the arduous 2006 World Qualifying Series (WQS) ratings after his impressive runner-up finish at the Mr Price Pro, South Africa, holds a comparable bond with the notorious break.  “Last year’s event goes down as perhaps my most enjoyable surfing experience,” explained Neve.
 
“It was not only made better by the quality of the waves, but how the event organizers maximized the best conditions for competitors.” “Cloud Nine begins as an A-frame peak, but once it hits the reef it funnels off into one of the world’s supreme right-hand tubes. I can’t wait for September to come around!”  
 
2003 winner and 2004 event runner-up, Mark Mathews (Maroubra, Sydney, Aus) has had a long-standing ‘bittersweet’ relationship with the reeling reef-break of “Cloud Nine”, enjoying a string of emphatic competitive victories at the same time as feeling the wrath of its shallow reef.
 
Mathews was forced to withdraw from last year’s event due to a horrific wipe-out incurred during a free-surfing session at the famed right-hander. The world-renowned charger was just inches away from making yet another deep barrel when a solid 6-ft chunk of raw ocean swell drove him off his board into the shallow reef below, resulting in a broken foot and shattering his dream of claiming yet another win at Cloud Nine.
 
Renowned Balinese surfers Wayan “Betet” Merta, Mustofa Jeksen, and Tipi Jabrik will also travel to the neighbouring Philippines to contest the six-day specialty event and will no push the performance levels of the international field.
 
“The Quiksilver Open Cloud Nine is such a unique event held in an amazing location” stated Brad Cunningham, Marketing and Sales Manager, Quiksilver SE Asia.  “The level of support received from the surfers is a testament to the quality of both the event and the hospitality extended by the people of the Philippines- we are just stoked to be a part of this”.  
 
The ‘Quiksilver Open Cloud Nine” is proudly supported by the Philippines Government of Surigao Del Norte and the Philippines Department of Tourism. 
  
www.quiksilver.com

Source: http://www.globalsurfnews.com/news.asp?Id_news=23203