Quiksilver Pro the Kelly Slater factor at Snapper Rocks

Kelly Slater in 2003 event : photo Chang/ASPWorldtour.com

Quiksilver Pro

Presented by Boost Mobile
ASP 2004 World Championship Tour (WCT)
Snapper Rocks, Gold Coast, Australia
2 14 March 2004

Slater a major factor at Snapper Rocks

Surfersvillage Global Surf News, Gold Coast, QLD, Australia (Friday, February 20, 2004) Six-times world surfing champion Kelly Slater (USA) has put his 2003 runner-up placing behind him and has set sights on a 7th world title heading into the Quiksilver Pro presented by Boost Mobile. The opening event on the Foster ´s Association of Surfing Professionals (ASP) men ´s World Championship Tour (WCT) will be staged on the Gold Coast next month from March 2nd to 14th.

The Floridian might not have won last year ´s world title, but the race between Slater and reigning two-time world champion Andy Irons (Kauai, Haw) gave professional surfing one of its most memorable years ever. After a three years absence Slater returned to the winner ´s circle in 2003 posting four WCT victories to turn the ratings race into an epic battle between the sports two heavyweights. The title went right down to the wire and was decided in the final heat of the year at Pipeline, Hawaii. Irons claimed five WCT wins, including the Pipeline decider, to win his second consecutive ASP world crowns.

"It was a good lesson in growing up for me not to win last year," said a philosophical Slater. "It also gave me a look into who was really close to me. The loss hasn ´t given me more motivation (for 2004) but the enjoyment I found doing the tour last year has."

Slater, who can be notoriously late for appointments including some of his WCT heats, found focus on the 2003 tour to present a massive challenge to Iron ´s title defense.

Dean Morrison 2003 event champion : photo Chang/aspworldtour.com

"I took a different approach at how I would go about spending my time and what it meant for me," he explained. "I was much more in control of all aspects of my life last year. When you are ready ahead of time, you are much more prepared and can be in the moment. That means all areas of your life coming together."

Slater will be pitted against fellow Floridian and 2001 world champion C.J. Hobgood (USA), along with a wildcard competitor in the opening round of the Quiksilver Pro presented by Boost Mobile. The recently turned 32-year-old said he was happy to see local Gold Coast surfer Luke Munro receive a wildcard into the event, "But not if he is in my heat."

Both the Quiksilver and Roxy Pro ´s presented by Boost Mobile will commence the 2004 season in what is shaping up to be one of the most exciting years ever on the men ´s and women ´s WCT circuits.

ASP President Wayne "Rabbit" Bartholomew feels both tours will set new standards in competitive surfing commenting, "After an incredible season last year, the WCT is absolutely brimming over with super talent. Obviously Andy and Kelly have set lofty standards, but with Taj (Burrow), Mick (Fanning) and Joel (Parkinson) powering into the top five they will be ready to jump. Bruce Irons is in his rookie year and all the contenders will be watching their backs.

Sophia Mulanovich : photo Chang/aspworldtour.com.

"Chelsea (Georgeson), Sam (Cornish) and Sofia (Mulanovich) have settled into the upper echelons and 2004 it seems likely for the trio to launch their first serious world title bid," he continued. "With Layne (Beachley) being the standard bearer and Keala (Kennelly) dominating the extreme reef venues it ´s shaping up as a classic youth versus the establishment year."

The USD$260,000 Quiksilver Pro presented by Boost Mobile and the opening Women ´s USD$62,000 WCT Roxy Pro presented by boost Mobile will both have a waiting period from March 2nd through to the 14th. The worlds top 45 and top 17 female surfers will descend on the Gold Coast and all fingers will be crossed for a cyclone swell so the now world famous "Super bank" stretching from Snapper Rocks all the way through to Kirra can crank up the action.

Both opening WCT ´s are mobile tournaments, granting organizers access to some of the best surf breaks on the planet. The event will be based at Snapper Rocks; yet can travel from Stradbroke Island in Qld to Ballina, across the New South Wales state border in search of optimum conditions.

Venues such as Snapper Rocks, Greenmount, Kirra and Burleigh will hold priority, with visions of long, right-hand barrels filling competitors ´ minds in the lead up. All spots offer great viewing for spectators to soak up the phenomenal surfing assured to take place.

Crowd at 2003 Roxy Pro : photo Tostee/aspworldtour.com

The Quiksilver Pro and Roxy Pro presented by Boost Mobile Press Launch will be staged on Monday March 1st commencing 9am sharp (Qld time) at Rainbow Bay SLSC at Snapper Rocks on the southern end of the Gold Coast.

In attendance, reigning world champion Andy Irons, six times world champion Kelly Slater, WCT tour rookie Bruce Irons, defending event champion Dean Morrison, six times world champion and defending event champion Layne Beachley, former four times world champion Lisa Andersen, Chelsea Georgeson, Sam Cornish, Trudy Todd plus more.

Sri Chinmoy Marathon Team articles - more articles

Nearly every runner has had the experience of blisters - who really wants to befriend them, but what can you do when they show up? In my years of running I had to deal a lot with liquid filled bubbles on my feet, especially when I embarked into the ultra-running world.

If you run a 10 km race or a Marathon and you get these little or large beasts, you can endure them, rest afterwards and give them time to heal; but once you have embarked into ultra-running, you have to find a way to run on blisters. Some people are very fortunate and they hardly get any blisters, while others are smart and take care of their feet. I had to learn it the hard way; much can be done with prevention. (We discussed how to avoid blisters here.)

Dealing with blisters

The main way of dealing with blisters is draining it, disinfecting it, and dressing it.

Draining: I personally like to pop the blister with a needle and then squeeze it. Pulling the needle with a thread through your blister to drain it is also a very popular solution.

Disinfecting: The traditional way is to use iodine for disinfection, but I prefer tea tree oil. It is natural, is very strong, it dries the blister, plus has a tremendous effect on pus. A blister that is filled with yellow-white liquid is a serious problem, and tea tree oil reacts with pus and heals it. One disadvantage from the oil is its smell, that is very intense and not everybody likes it. Lavender can also be used with the additional benefit of faster healing of the skin and a very pleasant smell. Again there is DMSO cream, a very strong disinfectant that also helps the healing process.

During the 3100 Mile Race in 2017, I had quite a lot of blisters - fortunately I had a helper, Horst, who knows everything there is to know about treating them! Here he is using a combination of ribwort and paper tape.

Dressing:
1) Second Skin: a rather ambivalent solution as far as I am concerned. If it is just for a day it is fine, but if the race goes on for days, it slows down the healing process considerably. Since the broken blister is always kept wet with the second skin, it can hardly heal. If you do use it, it should be fixed with paper tape.

2) Instead of second skin I have also used paper tape, or ribwort and paper tape. Ribwort grows as a weed pretty much everywhere, even in urban areas. You pluck it fresh, wash it and put it with the smooth side on the skin, after a few hours you can change it. This herb is also anti-inflamatory.

3) Special blister sticking-plasters are getting more and more popular. You cut the skin from the blister and stick the plaster on top of it. You keep it on the blister until the skin is healed. Again from my personal experience, I would not recommend it for a multi-day race, since it can create heat through friction and even worsen the problem.

4) If the blister is really painful and not too big, you can cut a hole into a soft material and fix it to your foot with paper tape, placing the hole over the blister (see picture). This might stop the blister from rubbing against the shoe, as the pressure is now on the adjoining areas.

5) Sheep wool is very useful as an extra cushion on top of the paper tape, to take pressure and friction away from the blister. It is also usefull for hot spots or areas where there is pressure in your shoe.

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Shin splint is a very common injury among ultra runners. At the beginning it may be only recognizable through pain and a slight red spot, mostly starting from the ankle and moving slowly up the shin-bone. However, as it develops the intensity of the pain as well as the coloring increases. In an advanced state also a swelling of the area arises.

In my running career I myself had the pleasure to enjoy a shin splint twice. Especially at a multi-day race, you have to react quickly once you detect the first signs, otherwise there will be no next running day: very soon, the skin gets irritated, separates further from the bone and fluid enters between bone and skin. Then the bone is unprotected and a exhaustion fracture can take place.

The following measures have proved to be good for me and many friends of mine.

Changing your running style If the irritation is still very new, start immediately to change the running style, so as to change the stress on the foot. In every case, shin splints are connected to an overload of the shin-bone muscle.
Implement backward walking Walking backwards from time to time stretches the shin-bone muscle and helps to relax the stressed muscle.
Bioplasma A combination of "Schüssler" salts, that contain important information for the cells.
White cabbage Now you will probably smile, but many people swear by white cabbage to prevent inflammations. It can be eaten or also be applied directly on the affected area. To apply on the area, take one or two leaves of the white cabbage and flatten them (A rolling pin is good if you have it, to help the cells break up a bit), then you place the leaves on the spot and bandage it. Change the leaves every 6 hours. When I had a shin splint during a 3100 mile race, I put this method successfully to work and after 4 days I could run normally again.
One possible way to tape the shins

Taping If the shin splint gets worse, it is advisable to tape it, so that the ankle will be limited in its movement and the stress will be reduced.
Inflammation inhibiting lotions
Massage the liquid out If there is already an accumulation of liquid, then it must be massaged out regularly, or the skin cannot grow on the bone.
Socks The band of the socks should not be to narrow, otherwise the liquid can stall.andage/tape