Small Surf Forces Another Lay Day for Billabong Pro Tahiti

Pictured: Heitor Alves (BRA), 27, was a Round 1 standout, defeating heavily-favored Tahitian Michel Bourez, 23. Alves will battle Jordy Smith (ZAF), 21, when competition resumes. Credit: © ASP/ CI/ ROBERTSON via GETTY IMAGES

TEAHUPOO, Tahiti (Friday, May 15, 2009) – After going on hold all morning to assess conditions, event organizers at the Billabong Pro Tahiti presented by Air Tahiti Nui have called competition off for the day.

Event No. 3 of 10 on the 2009 ASP World Tour, the Billabong Pro Tahiti has completed Round 1 and the opening six heats of Round 2, but today’s small, two-to-three foot (1 metre) conditions were not enough to prompt event organizers into calling competition on.

The next call will be made at 6:30am tomorrow.

Surfline, official forecasters for the Billabong Pro Tahiti, are calling for a moderate SE swell to fill in over the coming days.

When competition resumes, up first will be Taylor Knox (USA), 27, up against Kai Otton (AUS), 29, in Heat 7 of Round 2.

Highlights from yesterday’s Billabong Pro Tahiti presented by Air Tahiti Nui are available at www.billabongpro.com

For more information, log onto www.aspworldtour.com

Check out the billabong surfboard leashes in the store.

Remaining Billabong Pro Tahiti Round 2 Match-ups:

Heat 7: Taylor Knox (USA) vs. Kai Otton (AUS)
Heat 8: Joel Parkinson (AUS) vs. Heiarii Williams (PYF)
Heat 9: Bede Durbidge (AUS) vs. Andy Irons (HAW)
Heat 10: Bobby Martinez (USA) vs. Dayyan Neve (AUS)
Heat 11: Adriano de Souza (BRA) vs. Dustin Barca (HAW)
Heat 12: Jordy Smith (ZAF) vs. Heitor Alves (BRA)
Heat 13: Kelly Slater (USA) vs. Aritz Aranburu (EUK)
Heat 14: Damien Hobgood (USA) vs. Dean Morrison (AUS)
Heat 15: Mick Fanning (AUS) vs. Ben Dunn (AUS)
Heat 16: Tom Whitaker (AUS) vs. Tim Boal (FRA)