News

Estoril Pro 2009

The six stars WQS stage, Estoril Quiksilver Pro, in Portugal, is to be held between 21 and 26 of April. Some of the best surfers in the world will be battling it out in the famous Cascais waves. Last year, this championship was decisive for local surfers Tiago Pires and Marlon Lipke that managed to qualify for the 2009 ASP World Tour.    
The perfect Estoril Coast waves are going to be the ideal setting for some of the best surfers in the world to embark on the European Leg of the WQS. This year, this championship will be held at the beginning of the season, contrarily to last year's late season event, as a perfect opportunity for the local surfers to set up a good beginning, at home.

One of the most promising juniors in Portugal, Vasco Ribeiro, just signed for Quiksilver and will be awarded a Wildcard to start in the later stages of the event. At 14 years old, he is at present one of the most important faces of Quiksilver Portugal. He will now have the opportunity to surf against some of the best surfers in the world, in a six stars event. The national under 14 and under 18 champion will now test his skills against some of the best, gaining experience.

In the 2008 edition it was in Guincho that the major part of the championship was held. The change of dates is directly related to the expectation that Carcavelos will be a greater factor in the event this year: it was in Carcavelos that surfers had the pleasure of surfing some of the most perfect waves of the circuit last year, while in Guincho they enjoyed some of the biggest.

"It's really important to show the potential of the Estoril coast, the waves we can get pleasure from in this coast line. There are natural resources here and structural development to make this sport grow, every single year. If we take football out of the equation, this is the main sport in Cascais at the moment", stated António D'Orey Capucho, Mayor of Cascais, about the importance of this championship for the Town.

According to António Pedro, from Alfarroba, the company putting together this championship, the changing of dates has more than one reason: "The idea behind it was to concentrate a series of international events at the beginning of the season. And, moreover, April can also be a better time for waves and wind at Carcavelos, where we will put together the main structure."

The 2009 edition will also signal the fact that Quiksilver, the biggest surfing brand in the world, got on board with the Turismo do Estoril and Câmara Municipal de Cascais to be part of this Championship for the next three years, in what is expected to be a fruitful relationship.