Rip Curl Pro Stamina Begins April 16

The ASP 3-Star Rip Curl Pro Stamina will be held for the second year straight in Mar del Plata from April 16th to April 20th. This contest will be the first Men's Qualifying Series event of the ASP South America Surf Series and will have the attendance of important national and international figures and challenging conditions in the cold waters of Playa Grande.

There are just three weeks to go until we can once again enjoy the best and bigger surfing competition in our country with the ASP 3-Star Rip Curl Pro Stamina. With each passing day, new top surfers confirmed their presence in the event that promises to be superior to the already very good 2013. More than 110 people registered so far (full quota expected: 112), at least 20 are ASP QS top rated which is something vital for a tournament that will award U$S 55,000 in prizes and 750 points for their ranking.

Heitor Alves, current ASP World No. 29 and former World Championship Tour surfer is the leader of the Brazilian´s contingent, followed by Ian Gouveia at No. 40. David do Carmo, who finished in 3rd place last year at Mar del Plata, jumped in quality to be crowned the 2013 Brazilian champion and now surprises us with his ranking of 16th place. Tomas Hermes, winner of the Portugal´s Prime in 2013, emerges as candidate like Jihad Khodr, the last winner here. Paulo Moura, Matheus Navarro (2º in Mar del Plata in 2013), Hizunome Bettero, Halley Batista, Marco Fernandez y Flavio Nakagima will try to surprise everyone and will fight for the trophy, like the Chilean Guillermo Satt.

United States will have three important participants such as Taylor Clark, ASP North America Pro Junior Series Champion Jake Halstead, and the Hawaiian Mitsui. Europe will be represented by the Basque Country's Ethan Egiguren and Paul Distinguin, from France. The South African David Van Zyl is someone to pay attention to and the Japanese Shun Murakami will show his unique style. From Australia's cradle of surfers, there will be four participants, commanded by former WCT surfer Nathan Hedge. The main Argentine competitors will be Lele Usuna, No. 62, and Santiago Muñiz, No. 63, who have both performed brilliantly against the best in recent tournaments. The National Army will be completed with Lucas Santamaría, Marcelo Rodriguez (semifinalists in 2013) and the eternal Martin Passeri, among others.

The event will last five days and it´s going to be more than competitions and surf. The night Expression Session will be amazing, with the competitors surfing with just the light of the lightning tower.

Two news sports are going to be showcased throughout the contest. The first of them is the Flyboard, a discipline that consists in using a jet ski that lets you propel through hoses, under water and up to 12 meters high. The other is the Slickeline, which is a balancing activity that uses a tape attached to two fixed points for doing tricks.

There will also be skate demos, live DJs, concerts, parties and a Fan Zone with sponsor's tents to the public. Each day the Rip Curl Pro Stamina becomes more attractive