SUPERTUBOS, Peniche/Portugal (Friday, October 8, 2010) -Small surf and inclement weather have forced event organizers to call a lay day for both the Rip Curl Pro Portugal and the Rip Curl Women’s Pro Portugal.

Event No. 8 of 10 on the 2010 ASP World Tour, the Rip Curl Portugal has yet to commence competition, but with plenty of swell systems projected throughout the waiting period, it will only be a matter of time before the world’s best surfers hit the water.

“After assessing the conditions at Supertubos, Belgas and Lagido, we’ve decided to call competition off for the day,” Rich Porta, ASP International Head Judge, said. “There’s not much on offer today and we’re expecting a severe storm system to move in throughout the day. We’ll be back tomorrow morning to assess the conditions and make another call.”

The Rip Curl Women’s Pro Portugal, Stop No. 6 of 8 on the 2010 ASP Women’s World Tour, ran a marathon day yesterday at the secondary backup venue of Lagido.

Highlights from the Rip Curl Pro Portugal are available via http://live.ripcurl.com

Magicseaweed, official forecasters for the Rip Curl Pro Portugal, are calling for a massive swell system to move into the region in the next 48 hours, with seas up to 20 feet (7 metres).

Event organizers will reconvene tomorrow morning at 8am to assess conditions for a possible 8:30am start.

For more information, log onto www.aspworldtour.com

RIP CURL PRO PORTUGAL MEN’S ROUND 1 MATCH-UPS:
Heat 1: Adriano de Souza (BRA), Taylor Knox (USA), Luke Munro (AUS)
Heat 2: Dane Reynolds (USA), Jeremy Flores (FRA), Dean Morrison (AUS)
Heat 3: Taj Burrow (AUS), Brett Simpson (USA), Travis Logie (ZAF)
Heat 4: Jordy Smith (ZAF), Adam Melling (AUS), Gabe Kling (USA)
Heat 5: Mick Fanning (AUS), Daniel Ross (AUS), Marlon Lipke (DEU)
Heat 6: Kelly Slater (USA), Tom Whitaker (AUS), Bruno Santos (BRA)
Heat 7: Adrian Buchan (AUS), Tiago Pires (PRT), Matt Wilkinson (AUS)
Heat 8: Owen Wright (AUS), Chris Davidson (AUS), Roy Powers (HAW)
Heat 9: C.J. Hobgood (USA), Kieren Perrow (AUS), Dusty Payne (HAW)
Heat 10: Damien Hobgood (USA), Fredrick Patacchia (HAW), Luke Stedman (AUS)
Heat 11: Michel Bourez (PYF), Bobby Martinez (USA), Kai Otton (AUS)
Heat 12: Andy Irons (HAW), Jadson Andre (BRA), Patrick Gudauskas (USA)

RIP CURL WOMEN’S PRO PORTUGAL QUARTERFINAL MATCH-UPS:
QF 1: Sofia Mulanovich (PER) vs. Chelsea Hedges (AUS)
QF 2:Paige Hareb (NZL) vs. Stephanie Gilmore (AUS)
QF 3:Sally Fitzgibbons (AUS) vs. Carissa Moore (HAW)
QF 4:Claire Bevilacqua (AUS) vs. Silvana Lima (BRA)