Former world champion Mark Occhilupo will return to competitive surfing next month as part of the inaugural Australian Open event in Sydney. Occhilupo, 45, will end his retirement to compete against the likes of Joel Parkinson, Jordy Smith and Taj Burrows at the ASP-sanctioned event at Manly Beach, which runs from February 11 to 19.
The Australian Open will feature men's, women's and junior pro surfing events, and a bowl-skateboard contest, with Bucky Lasek and Bob Burnquist set to be amongst those competing for $50,000 of prize money.
Organisers are hoping the event will attract more than 100,000 fans to Manly, the host of the first world surfing championships in 1964.
"It's great to have pro surfing back in Sydney again. I remember as a kid there were all these huge contests down at Narrabeen or Manly," world No.2 Parkinson said.
"But the Sydney contests kind of dried up just as I got on tour. It's great to finally have another big contest down there after all this time. I can't wait."
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