The Air Tahiti Nui VonZipper Trials begins on Monday, as up and coming surfers play off for the chance to rub shoulders with the likes of ASP World Tour number one Jordy Smith in next week's Billabong Pro main event.
Thirty-two international surfers have flown in to compete at Teahupo’o and will fight it out against an additional 32 local invitees for just two wildcard spots in the Billabong Pro, Tahiti – the fifth stop on the ASP World Tour.
Local hero Manoa Drollet, a two-time Air Tahiti Nui trials winner, is the recipient of the third Billabong Pro wildcard and has been allocated a main event seed in the first round. Drollet could face off against either world number one Jordy Smith (ZAF), Taj Burrow (AUS) or Kelly Slater (USA).
The Air Tahiti Nui VonZipper Trials champions have a habit of putting a dent in the title aspirations of their higher-ranked rivals – most notably in 2007 when relative unknown Brazilian Bruno Santos and local wildcard Drollet went all the way to the final, finishing first and second respectively.
Waves as high as 10 feet (3 metres) broke throughout the day on Sunday allowing dozens of international arrivals to practice ahead of the Trials and organisers are confident of similar conditions when the 64-man invitational tournament gets underway on Monday.
The Trials take place between August 16-19, while the Billabong Pro, Tahiti, runs from August 23-September 3.
For more information about the Billabong Pro, visit www.aspworldtour.com
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