At the time this was written, four Americans were holding down the top four spots on the ASP World Qualifying Series. That’s something that hasn’t happened in a long, long time. Not to pat ourselves on the back, but when the Macy’s CA Trifecta Surf Series began four years ago the general goal was to help revitalize the mainland competitive surfing scene, and it would appear things are on the up and up.

The 2008 Macy’s CA Trifecta Surf Series boasts a cumulative prize purse of over $245,000. The Trifecta is a three-event series within the Association of Surfing Professionals (ASP) North American Tour that unites California’s premier surfing competitions and provides a coveted title and big cash bonus to the athletes excelling within it’s ranks. The Trifecta has become the most prestigious professional surfing platform in the mainland United States.

California’s premiere surf series begins this year at the Nike 6.0 Lower’s Pro / Oakley Pro Junior (April 29-May 3), at Lower Trestles in San Clemente. It then moves to the Oakley Newport Pro / Oakley Pro Junior (September 16-21) at 56th Street in Newport Beach. The tour then culminates at the O’Neill Cold Water Classic/ Oakley Pro Junior, at Steamer Lane in Santa Cruz (October 21-26) which also serves as the ASP North American Championships.

Now in it’s forth year, the Series will offer $33,333 to the competitor placing first in all three events, or give a cash bonus of $15,000 in cash and prizes to the top three WQS competitors in the ratings. The Trifecta Points Bonus will be given if no single surfer wins all three events. The 2008 series will also include a $10,000 points bonus for the top Oakley Pro Junior competitors. For more info on prizing click here.

Oakley Pro Junior
The Oakley Pro Junior is the Junior element to the Macy’s CA Trifetca Surf, held in conjunction with Nike Surfbout, Oakley NB Pro, and the O’Neill Coldwater Classic. The Oakley Pro Junior draws its ranks from only the very best young surfers in the professional arena.

The Oakley Pro Juniors are Grade-2 rated ASP North America events that offer a $10,000-prize purse at the Nike 6.0 Surfbout and NB Pro presented, and because it serves as the North American Championships, $15,000 is up for grabs at the O’Neill Cold Water Classic. In addition, the 2008 series will offer a $5,000 yearend cash bonus to the top three point leaders on the Macy’s CA Trifecta.

But maybe more noteworthy than any of the cash prizes, the Oakley Pro Junior held in conjunction with the Nike 6.0 Surfbout will serve as the qualifying event for the 2008 Oakley Global Challenge held in Bali this October. Amassing all the Oakley Pro Junior winners from around the world, including Australia, South Africa, Europe, and South America, the Oakley Global Challenge is an opportunity to surf for bragging rights and world domination.

On the domestic side of things, facing off at California’s premier competition venues, the Oakley Pro Junior series provides ASP North American junior competitors an opportunity to earn maximum points towards the 2008 ASP Billabong World Junior Championships. International competitors are more than welcome, they just do not earn points towards their World qualification, but it does provide them with an opportunity to surf against America’s best and vie for the Trifecta prizing. Competitors must be 19-years of age or under as of January 1, 2008.

The draw pits 10 top rated Junior competitors from around the world against the top 20 highest rated North Americans. Qualifying through their results at the 2007 Billabong World Juniors, the two highest rated surfers from Australia, Japan, Africa, Europe, South America and Hawaii will receive seeds into the event to compete against a field of top North Americans. The American surfers are seeded into the events based on their ASP North America Junior Grade results from the previous year.

The Oakley Pro Junior culminates at the 2008 O’Neill Coldwater Classic at world famous Steamer Lane in Santa Cruz with a Championship event. The Oakley Pro Junior ASP North America Championships will decide the final seeding into World Championships in addition to determining the Macy’s California Trifecta Surf Series Junior Champion.

The ASP World Junior Series is a global tour that offers an important competitive arena for emerging professional surfers. The Junior Tour culminates each year with the Billabong World Junior Championships, where the top five surfers from each ASP region compete for the World Junior Title. Past winners include Andy Irons (HAW), Joel Parkinson (AUS), Adriano de Souza (BRA), and Kekoa Bacalso (HAW).

This year, there are 10 scheduled ASP North America events for domestic competitors to accumulate qualification points. Although surfers have 10 opportunities to accumulate points, the highly competitive fields at each Oakley Pro Junior makes it crucial for them to perform at their peak in every heat. Three-quarters of their results will count toward their overall yearend standing, with only the top four surfers receiving a seed into the World Junior Championships. A fifth seed is given to the highest rated junior competitor on the WQS ratings. The Oakley Pro Junior events provide crucial opportunities for the top North American surfers to earn these coveted qualifying points.