And Just Like That The WQS Picks Up Again There's no rest for the weary, especially for those surfers on the ASP World Qualifying Series (WQS). That's because shortly after the finish of the 2007 WQS season at the O'neill World Cup Of Surfing just a couple of weeks ago, the 2008 season is already ready to pick up with the O'neill Sebastien Inlet Pro, which begins January 4th. The O'neill SI Pro, taking place at Sebastien Inlet, Florida (duh), is the biggest and most prestigious surfing contest on the US East Coast as well as being one of the top 3 events on mainland meaning the event will be packed with tons of quality surfers. Not only that, there's also the fact that the opening event for the 2008 WQS season has raised the stakes by upgrading to a 5 star WQS event (from a previous 4 star ranking), meaning that in some way if you're looking to qualify for the 2009 season you've probably got to be there, which in turn means tons more quality surfers including CJ Hobgood who's not only there to spoil the fun for the up-and-comers (he's already qualified for the 2008 and is most likely gonna qualify for 2009 off the strength of his WCT showing) but also there to defend his 2007 O'neill SI Pro title. As mentioned the waiting period for the event will start on January 4th (running until January 11th) with 192 scheduled competitors ready to take to the WQS points (as well as the $110,000 purse) like desperate retail scavengers at a post-Christmas sale (sorry just got back from T.J. Maxx). For more on the upcoming O'neill Sebastien Inlet Pro check out the official ASP release here. Publish Date: Sat, 29 Dec 2007 18:23:00 EST Read more...