By Press Team - Published on 5th August 2008

HALEIWA, OAHU, HAWAII - AUGUST 1, 2008 - Xcel team rider Nathaniel Curran
has won the Honda U.S. Open of Surfing this past weekend. Curran's exciting
victory catapults him to first place atop the ASP World Qualifying Series
(WQS) ratings, and is a huge boost towards a prestigious qualification for
the 2009 ASP World Tour.

Nathaniel Curran "I'm super stoked to be the new WQS
number one," Curran told the ASP after the biggest win of his career to
date. "It's tough because there are so many good guys. I'm just trying to
focus on each heat and take it one contest at a time - I think all of the
training and staying focused is paying off."

Curran's training and focus undoubtedly helped him defeat a 192-man field at
the Honda U.S. Open, a 6-Star ASP event at Huntington Beach Pier
(California) - the largest WQS event held in North America and the
most-attended contest in pro surfing today.

The final day of the U.S. Open saw Curran win a grueling four total heats,
with the final showdown in one- to three-foot surf against Tim Boal of
France. Curran overcame the deteriorating conditions with smart wave
selection to come away with the U.S. Open title.

"I was giving it everything I had - we surfed so many heats today," Curran
continued to the ASP. "Tim Boal did an awesome job and I'm just stoked with
the win."

It was a stellar contest for the Xcel team, as Gabe Kling took third in the
event, his highest WQS result of the year. Kling proved that a 3-month break
from competition for medical reasons hadn't slowed him down, as he beat
tough competition from Jordy Smith, Nathan Yeomans, and Shaun Cansdell. The
result puts Kling, who was on the ASP World Tour in 2007, firmly in the hunt
to re-qualify for the World Tour in 2009.

"It feels great to finally be healthy enough to compete and do well," Kling
told Xcel. "I feel like I've gotten a lot of momentum going into a crucial
[contest-heavy] part of the year, and I'm just psyched to be back and to get
a result."

Watch for Curran and Kling as they head to Japan for the 6-Star Billabong
Pro Tahara.