XCEL Wetsuits team rider Gabe Kling has qualified for the 2007 World Championship Tour (WCT), the most sought after tour in competitive surfing today.

Kling earns his spot on the 2007 WCT by finishing 12th among the top 15 surfers who competed on the men’s 2006 World Qualifying Series (WQS). He joins the ranks of the top 45 professional male surfers across the globe and will compete in the 12 annual WCT events for the elusive 2007 Association of Surfing Professionals (ASP) World Title.

Hailing from Saint Augustine, Florida, Kling, 26, a regular-foot known for his explosive style and seamless flow, is “really amped” for his upcoming WCT debut. “I can’t decide what I’m looking forward to the most, because there are so many great waves,” Kling tells XCEL, “and I can’t wait to get started. Now that [qualification] is official, I can look toward next year!”

Kling had two incredible runs in Brazil earlier this year, beginning the season with a strong WQS rating after finishing 24th in 2005. “My goal was to wrap [WCT qualification] up early,” Kling says. The strategy worked, as he finished second in both the Hang Loose Pro at Fernando de Noronha (a 5-Star WQS contest) and the 6-Star Costão Pro Floripa just days later, where Kling scored a perfect 10 in the waves of Santinho’s Beach.

The grueling WQS circuit averages over 40 competitions each season.

“I didn’t want to need too much coming to Hawaii, where the late-season contests are probably the hardest events of the year,” Kling remembers. The final WQS event of 2006 and the last competition appearance this year for Kling, the O’Neill World Cup of Surfing, concluded recently at Sunset Beach.

Watch as Kling looks to make a big impact on the 2007 WCT.

To learn more about Gabe Kling and all the XCEL team riders, log on to http://xcelwetsuits.com.

Images by Bielmann/yoursurfshot.com