<strong>Nicolau von Rupp to defend the title against world-class contenders chosen by the fans. Voting period ends on Tuesday.</strong>

CASCAIS (January 7, 2015) – The 4th annual Allianz Perfect Chapter powered by Billabong, the original one-day barrel-oriented surfing competition taking place in Portugal every winter, has announced the 2015 candidate and wildcard list. With a holding period raging from January 15th to March 15th, the event will gather some of the best tube riders in the world at the iconic Carcavelos Beach for a full day of competition in perfect, hollow barrels.

As in the previous editions, the 2015 final contenders will be chosen by the people through an online voting system, as the Perfect Chapter is a special event where participants are selected through public polling. Fans are thus given the opportunity to vote for their favorites (within a list of candidates previously formulated by the event organizers according to tube riding criteria), having the final say at who will actually attend the competition.

Attended by Portuguese surfers only for the past three years, the event organizers have announced a massive upgrade for this year’s event allowing foreigner surfers into its Surfers List as well. Having the candidates organized under three different categories for the past three editions (Competitors, Free Surfers and Soul Surfers), the Allianz Perfect Chapter powered by Billabong is opening up a new voting category in 2015 (International Surfers) featuring non-Portuguese athletes known around the world for their tube riding skills.

With each category to allow a certain amount of votes, the three (3) most voted international surfers by the end of the voting period will be the ones coming to Portugal and having a shot at one of the most desirable surfing titles in Europe.

Also, Allianz Perfect Chapter powered by Billabong is increasing the event prize money in 2015, setting it up to 15,000 euros. This means we will soon be watching some of the best tube riders in the world battling for substantial amounts of money and glory at Carcavelos Beach ― and you hold the final word regarding who the contenders will be.

The Allianz Perfect Chapter powered by Billabong was presented today in a press conference that took place in Cascais, featuring interventions by Rui Costa, the eventorganizer; Carlos Carreiras, the Mayor of Cascais; José Francisco Neves, Allianz Market and Communications manager; Rodrigo Pimentão, Billabong’s Marketing Manager in Portugal; Filipe Falcão, Surfline Project Manager in Europe; and the athletes Frederico Morais, António Silva, Elohe Ali Alvarez and Rodrigo Herédia.

“We’re pleased to announce the internationalization of the event by ensuring the attendance of world famous surfers. In 2015, we take the challenge of matching up the wave quality that we’ve witnessed last February, having full trust on Carcavelos Beach wave potential. I’d like to welcome our long time sponsors for trusting us from the beginning and also our new sponsors for taking up this challenge for years to come”, Rui Costa said.

“The Allianz Perfect Chapter powered by Billabong is the perfect event to show that Allianz is surfers’ insurance company. An event that brings the best surfers and the best non-life insurance company together can only lead to success. It’s an honor to have the chance of associating our brand to such an important event, showing our continuous and growing support to the Portuguese surfing scene”, José Francisco Neves (Allianz) said.
The voting process is already taking place at capituloperfeito.com and will go on until next Tuesday (including), the final results being officially released the day after.

The former World Tour surfer, Tiago Pires, the current World Surfing Junior Champion, Vasco Ribeiro, and the 2013 Triple Crown Rookie of the Year, Frederico Morais, are among the Portuguese surfers up for polling, right next to internationally known barrel masters such as Aritz Aranburu (SP), Bruno Santos (BRA), Cory Lopez (USA), Elohe Ali Alvarez (BRA), Jérôme Sahyoun (MAR), Kiron Jabour (HAW), Maxime Huscenot (FRA), Nathan Edge (AUS), Pedro Vianna “Scooby” (BRA) and Ricardo dos Santos (BRA).

They’ll be all having a chance at joining the wildcards Nic von Rupp, winner of the previous edition, and local surfer Rodrigo Herédia, a former national Champ and a natural born tube rider. One last wildcard is being held by the organization to invite one of the athletes left out by the public, giving the opportunity to one among the less popular surfers to also take part in the competition.

From now on, surfing forecast will be closely monitored by Surfline experts to make sure the event takes place in the best day of the winter (offering the best barreling conditions). The surfers are notified of the event status within only a 72 hours’ notice.

This is a unique opportunity to witness some of the best guys competing at their best. It’s up to you to select the stars of this unforgettable adventure ― go to capituloperfeito.com and vote for your favorite!