World Surfing Championship for Kelly Slater and Quiksilver

Dominating five of the eight competitions in the season, the athlete in the Quiksilver team has accumulated enough points to win the 2008 title, even though there are still two competitions in the Association of Surfing Professionals (ASP) Tour.

This ninth triumph by Kelly Slater comes 16 years after his first in 1992 and confirms what many people are already saying: it was the best season of his 18-year career and has reconfirmed him as the most victorious surfer of all times.

Talking about what surfing means to him, Slater said 'the awards repay me for the considerable work and commitment I've put into surfing all my life and they encourage me to give my best at all times.'

After winning the competition that opened the 2008 season at the Quiksilver Pro Gold Coast in Australia, Slater went on to win the six subsequent competitions with 32 sets out of 35 up to the Quiksilver Pro France last week, when he came in second. Kelly arrived in Mundaka Sunday as the probable world champion. All he needed was ninth position to finish the climb to the ninth world title.

Kelly said about the 2008 season: 'I've had a marvelous year and it was great to be awarded in this way. A great year when many positive things have happened to me at this point in the tour.'

When asked if he would go on surfing, Slater replied: "Always. Surfing is a constant challenge. I'm sure I'll still be improving even when I'm eighty. It's my life and it will never end."