Surfs up at Manly for the 2012 Australian Open of Surfing, February 11-19

The waves get serious from this weekend at Sydney’s Manly Beach as it plays host to the six star ASP sanctioned Australian Open of Surfing event. Crazy weather, loud music and serious surfing and skating combine to make the ideal men’s weekend out.Surfers from around the world descend on the famous Manly Beach from tomorrow. Those men taking part include Joel Parkinson, Taj Burrow, Jordi Smith, Miguel Pupo and Owen Wright, who EFTM spoke to recently. On the much prettier women’s side you can check out the wave carving talents of Paige Hareb, Alana Blanchard, Tyler Wright, Sage Erickson and more. The Australian Open of Surfing is officially part of the World Qualifying Series and the top eight men and top six women will score points towards their World Qualifying Series account which could land them in the golden ASP World Tour if they are not already part of it. The winner will take home a cool $25,000.

If surfing is not quite your thing, perhaps skating can seal the deal? Top male skaters Grant Taylor, Jack Fardell, Bucky Lasek and Renton Miller will all be hitting the custom built half pipe on the beach to show off some moves in front of the crowds. But if you’re still not convinced, there is one last major draw card… serious sound. The Living End, Children Collide, Sneaky Sound System and more will be hitting the beach to pump out some grooves to the background noise of crashing waves.

In brief: Awesome surfers going for prize money of up to $25,000, amazing skaters looking to win from a total prize pool of $50,000, and great tunes. And it’s free. That last bit in itself is a pretty good  reason to just head down to Manly if you’re in Sydney and catch a glimpse.

Web: Australian Open of Surfing