Crystal Cylinder
Byron Shire’s Soli Bailey beat Lennox Head’s Stuart Kennedy in his first heat at the World Cup at Sunset Beach.
Bailey won the heat while Kennedy was eliminated from the event in third place.
Soli put in a solid performance in round three of the draw where the top seeds make their appearance, and was leading the heat at the halfway mark, but needed to up the ante with his performance in the latter stages.
In the end he was overtaken by some more critical surfing from his competitors in the final minutes and bowed out of his last heat for 2016 in fourth place, which means it will be back to the QS grind in 2017.
At only 21 years old Soli has built up an excellent resume of achievements and will now be hoping to put all that experience to work in 2017, which may be a make- or-break year for him after two years of knocking on the door of the ‘Dream Tour’.
Although Byron Bay is represented on tour by recent resident Matt Wilkinson there hasn’t been a born-and bred-local surfer representing the Bay since Kieren Perrow retired in 2013.
Kieren is now considered one of the most important people in the sport of professional surfing. He qualified for the world tour in 2002 and surprised pundits by finishing in seventh position and earning the ASP Rookie of the Year award.
He gained a reputation as one of the most articulate and intelligent individuals on the pro tour (he deferred an architecture degree at university to chase the tour) and also the reputation as one of the sport’s most fearless riders.
Kieren claimed his biggest win at the 2011 Pipeline Masters, defeating Joel Parkinson in the final. In 2014 following his retirement as a competitor after a nasty shoulder injury that kept him out of the water for months, Perrow took on the newly created position of ASP commissioner for the revamped world tour.
The Encyclopedia of Surfing states: ‘Perrow was one of the most important components of the transition from the old ASP to the new WSL’.
‘He provided peace of mind to surfers, old owners, new owners and financial supporters alike, legitimising the acquisition to all parties, nursing its transition period and ultimately the establishment of the WSL’.
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