<strong>Tiago Pires, Pedro Scooby, Bruno Santos and Cory Lopez to attend the competition </strong>

CASCAIS (February 19, 2015) – The 4th annual Allianz Perfect Chapter powered by Billabong <strong>Opening Ceremony </strong>took place this afternoon in Cascais, Portugal. The Portuguese event is gathering <strong>top-level surfers </strong>in a <strong>tube riding competition </strong>at the iconic <strong>Carcavelos Beach</strong>. First official call is scheduled for <strong>7 am </strong>tomorrow morning.

Attended by Portuguese surfers only for the past three years, the event is opening up to foreigner athletes in 2015, admitting world-class tube riders into its Surfers List. <strong>Pedro Scooby</strong>, <strong>Bruno Santos </strong>and <strong>Cory Lopez </strong>are among the 16 men battling themselves to become the new Perfect Chapter champion, reinforcing the event’s ultimate commitment: <strong>the best surfers on the best waves</strong>.

Portuguese surfers <strong>Nic von Rupp</strong>, <strong>Tiago Pires </strong>and <strong>Marlon Lipke </strong>are also taking part in the competition.

Forecast calls for <strong>good-to-epic conditions </strong>at Carcavelos Beach, setting the ideal scenario to hold a barrel-oriented competition such as Allianz Perfect Chapter powered by Billabong. Expect nothing less than an unforgettable <strong>clash of generations</strong>, with surfers from different countries and surfing backgrounds going head to head in a quest for the perfect wave.

The Opening Ceremony took place in the local Common Hall, attended by event organizer <strong>Rui Costa </strong>and Cascais’ Mayor <strong>Carlos Carreiras</strong>, as well as the 16 Perfect Chapter contenders.

The surfers kicked the ceremony off by pouring a portion of sand from their local beaches into a common jar, setting the countdown clock for what’s expected to be a massive surfing show. There was also a moment of great emotional impact when Ricardo dos Santos’ girlfriend, the Brazilian model <strong>Karoline Esser</strong>, who came all the way to Portugal to participate in the ceremony, poured herself a portion of sand from <strong>Guarda do Embaú </strong>(Ricardo’s local beach) into the athletes jar. Also, event organizers played a <strong>video tribute </strong>in memory of Ricardinho, who was among the most voted surfers under the <em>International Surfers </em>category and is being replaced by countryman and friend <strong>Bruno Santos</strong>.

Surfers will be competing for a <strong>15,000€ </strong>global prize money, plus special awards for the most epic moments of the event (best tube, highest score, worst wipeout and most passionate claim). In addition, the event’s organization is awarding the most committed surfer with a special trophy named after Ricardo dos Santos: the <strong>Rds Commitment Award </strong>is honoring the most vigorous athlete according to commitment and raw courage criteria.

The event will be webcasted live at p<strong>erfect-chapter.com</strong>.

The Allianz Perfect Chapter powered by Billabong is sponsored by Allianz, the Municipality of Cascais, Billabong, Kia, MOCHE and MEO and it’s associated with the media partners RTP, Fuel TV, Jornal i, Mega Hits, SURFPortugal, SurfTotal, Carve, Surf Session and Hardcore.

<strong>HEATS DRAW </strong>

H1: Miguel Blanco, Pedro Scooby, Alex Botelho, Alexandre Ferreira

H2: Tiago Pires, João Guedes, Bruno Santos, Rodrigo Herédia

H3: Nicolau von Rupp, Ruben Gonzalez, João Kopke, Edgar Nozes

H4: Marlon Lipke, Francisco Alves, Cory Lopez, Felipe Jervis Pereira