Courtney is second seed

Umina surfer Drew Courtney has been named the number two seed for the Association of Surfing Professional's World Qualifying Series Pro surf competition at Merewether from March 9.

Currently ranked 27th in the ASP world tour ratings, Courtney will join surfers from Australia, Hawaii, the USA, Mexico, Japan, Portugal, New Zealand, South Africa and Brazil to battle it out for US$85,000 in prize money on offer.

The six-day competition has signed 99 competitors including Old Bar local Ben Dunn who has been dubbed as the event's number one seed.

Other well-known surfers who have committed to the Pro include 2003 Surfest winner Dayyan Neve, Phillip MacDonald, Clint Kimmins and Nathan Webster.

Following on from 2009 when Surfest became the first contest in pro-surfing to use two competitor heats for almost the complete contest schedule, the Surfest will again feature man-on-man heats once the field is narrowed down to 64 surfers.

While two competitors per heat have been a long established format on the ASP World Tour, other surfing events have previously limited their use to finals.

Press release, 14 Feb 2010 Paul Scott, Surfers Village