Hurley's Cali Hopefuls Decided

After two months of voting, creativity and a little craziness, the field in Hurley’s Win A Trip To California competition has been narrowed down to the Top Ten.

With the final round now underway and less than a week to go before a finalist is announced, these hopefuls are doing all they can to garner the most votes and catch the eye of the international panel of judges who will make the final decision.The judges are Bob Hurley (Founder of Hurley), Pat O’Connel (Hurley International Team Manager), Evan Slater (Former editor of Surfing Magazine and Hurley’s main media guy), Jason Haynes (General Manager of Hurley Australia) and Liam Wood (Hurley South Africa Team Manager).

The way it works is that of this final ten, the five with the most votes by Tuesday 15th May will be submitted to the judges, who will then decide on an ultimate winner based on the creativity of their entry as well as their popularity in both voting rounds. As it stands at the moment, we reckon Tom Catlin is posing the biggest threat to his opponents thanks to his Tiger Shark, Hurley Bird and Squidman efforts, and now we hear the Sea Point crazy man has shaped a new 5’10 bat-tail fish with artwork which tells the story of his campaign to win this contest.

First place is worth fighting for, as the winner will be getting an all-expenses paid trip to the Hurley US Open of Surfing, VIP treatment among the 600,000 fans expected at the event, and will be cruising with the Hurley International team, touring Hurley/Nike HQ, where he/she will design their own official product. Rad!

So, just who all has made it into the Top Ten?

Chris Rogers – Young Cape Town surf/skate/snow/wake crossover. A true boardrider.

Ed Pienke – Surf store manager from East London who had a sex change in the hopes of winning this comp.

Llewellyn Whitaker- Mossel Bay’s former pro surfer who was exposed to a high dosage of Gamma Rays and mutated into the Hurleynator.

Jake Bester – Cape Town advertising brain who had his wallet stolen by Paris Hilton.James Kuipers – Sports flexibands distributor, sales agent and surfer.

Jasper Eales – Llandudno local, former junior competitor and a finalist in the Hurley Sponsor Me Shoot Out 2009.

Peri van Papendorp – Glen Beach local, advertising copywriter and tiger shark slayer.

Ryan Knyston – Cape Town surfer and professional environment carer. Sports a nifty ‘tache for the good of Hurley.

Thomas Catlin – Tiger shark, Hurley bird, squid man, garage board shaper, shoe company manager, socialite, madman.

Vaughn Kendall – Surfer, outdoorsman and top dog at Latitude Zero, a promotional gifts and printing biz.

If you're keen to get involved, you can check out the profiles at http://www.winahurleytrip.co.za/home/ and vote (once per day) for the entrant you reckon should be heading over to California. The winner will be announced in the Hurley Times South Africa at 12pm next Wednesday...