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Third placed South Africa bag six medals at ISA World Masters Surfing Championships in El Salvador

admin — Mon, 24 Oct 2011 11:28:01 +0000

El Salvador ISA World Masters Surfing Championships

Punta Roca, La Libertad, El Salvador

October 16 to 23, 2011

The South African Masters surfing team placed third at the 2011 El Salvador ISA World Masters Surfing Championships and also bagged five individual medals, one in each of the age categories contested, at the premier international surfing event for surfers aged 35 and older.

Along with the bronze medal in the team standings, Heather Clark and Chris Knutsen clinched silver in the Women’s Masters and Grand Kahunas divisions respectively, Gary van Wieringen and David Malherbe secured bronze in the Men’s Masters and Kahunas and Andre Malherbe took the copper in the Grand Masters.

USA earned the team gold medal and Eduardo Arena ISA World Team Trophy in their first appearance at the event while Brazil placed second followed by SA, Puerto Rico, 2010 champions Australia and Hawaii.

The predicted increase in swell only produced occasional head-high waves and wave selection became critical in the crumbling 0.5 metre mostly knee to chest high waves at the famous Punta Roca point.

Clark (Port Shepstone) struggled to match the performance of Australia’s Layne Beachley in the conditions and the seven-time ASP Women’s World Champion went on to secure her first ISA Women’s World crown with Clark, the two-time and defending ISA champion, determinedly holding onto second place just ahead of Andrea Lopez (BRA) and Melissa Proud (HAW).

Knutsen (Durban) had no trouble in qualifying for the Grand Final in the Over 55 division earlier in the day and had a fast start in the finale. However, it was Craig Schieber from Puerto Rico, in his first year in the Grand Kahunas, who earned the gold medal with a ride of 6.33 out of 10 on the only head-high wave that came through during the 25 minute heat.

Van Wieringen went from Round 1 to the final of the Men’s Masters undefeated but his heat strategy of waiting for the best waves in the finale didn’t pay off. The Warner Beach local only rode two waves while gold medallist Mark Richardson (AUS) rode six, including an 8.17 and a 7.17 that gave him an overwhelming victory. Former Pipeline Masters champion Carlos Cabrera from Puerto Rio just pipped van Wieringen for the silver medal.

Expectations were high that David Malherbe (Coffee Bay) and younger brother Andre (East London) would better their respective Kahunas and Grand Masters bronze medals from last year.

David came through a difficult repecharge heat to make the Grand Final and went on the build an early lead. The legendary Tom Curren and fellow former World Tour stalwart Jim Hogan (both USA) managed to find longer running waves and grabbed the top two spots with ‘Herbie’ remaining in contention until the final minutes but having to settle for another bronze ahead of Brazilian David Husadel.

Andre staged a magnificent campaign, coming through five consecutive sudden death repecharge rounds to qualify for the Grand Final. But he could only post a pair of four point rides in the finale and will bring home a copper medal after finishing fourth behind four-time gold medallist Juan Ashton (PUR) and the Brazilian pair of Jojo de Olivenca and Fabio Gouveia.

A colourful closing ceremony took place at the podium stage immediately after the last final ended. The dignitaries present were El Salvador Minister of Tourism, Jose Napoleón Duarte; La Libertad Mayor, Carlos Molina; El Salvador Surfing Association President, Saburo Okuzawa; ISA Contest Director Marcos Bukao, and ISA Director General Bob Mignogna.

Final Results – Team Medallists
Gold: USA
Silver: Brazil
Bronze: South Africa
Copper: Puerto Rico

Final results – Women Masters
Gold: Layne Beachley (AUS)
Silver: Heather Clark (RSA)
Bronze: Andrea Lopes (BRA)
Copper: Alissa Cairns (USA)

Final results – Grand Kahunas
Gold: Craig Schieber (CRI)
Silver: Chris Knutsen (RSA)
Bronze: Nick Pearson (AUS)
Copper: Allen Sarlo (USA)

Final Results – Kahunas
Gold: Tom Curren (USA)
Silver: Jim Hogan (USA)
Bronze: David Malherbe (RSA)
Copper: David Husadel (BRA)

9^th – Colin Buitendag (RSA)

Final results - Grand Masters
Gold: Juan Ashton (PUR)
Silver: Jojo de Olivença (BRA)
Bronze: Fabio Gouveia (BRA)
Copper: Andre Malherbe (RSA)

8^th – Kevin O’Brien (RSA)

Final Results – Masters
Gold: Mark Richardson (AUS)
Silver: Carlos Cabrero (PUR)
Bronze: Gary Van Wieringen (RSA)
Copper: Ross Williams (HAW)

15^th – Graeme Field (RSA)

Country Final Standings
1 United States 9396
2 Brazil 9086
3 South Africa 8886
4 Puerto Rico 8618
5 Australia 8480
6 Hawaii 7664
7 Costa Rica 6090
8 Argentina 6016
9 France 5821
10 Peru 5548
11 Venezuela 5363
12 Trinidad & Tobago 5335
13 El Salvador 5230
14 Ecuador 5030
15 Uruguay 3640
16 Mexico 2240
17 Sweden 1905
18 Germany 1680
19 Switzerland 680
20 Panama 500
21 New Zealand 450

The El Salvador ISA World Masters Surfing Championships ended on Sunday and all the results from the event along with photo and video galleries can be found at www.elsalvadorisawmsc.com

Event coverage is also available through the ISA Facebook, Twitter and YouTube accounts.

The SA Team’s preparations and attendance at the 2011 ISA World Masters Championships was made possible thanks to a R150 000 grant from the National Lottery Distribution Trust Fund (NLDTF) and a grant from Sport and Recreation SA.

Team kit has been provided by Quiksilver South Africa.

ENDS

Issued on behalf of:

Surfing South Africa

Robin de Kock

General Manager

C: 082 454 1149

E: surfingsouthafrica@gmail.com

W: www.surfingsouthafrica.co.za

Compiled & Distributed by:

Life’s a Beach Communications

PO Box 48272, Kommetjie 7976, South Africa
Tel:               +27 (0) 21 783 4965
Mobile:         +27 (0) 82 423 1964
Email:           lifesabeach@mweb.co.za

Billabong Pro Junior Champions for 2011 crowned in solid surf at Vic Bay

admin — Sun, 04 Sep 2011 19:20:47 +0000

With only a slight drop in swell from Saturday, the Billabong Pro Junior Finals went down in dramatic fashion in large surf at Vic Bay as the 4-day event culminated late on Sunday afternoon. After yesterday’s cancellation of competition due to massive waves, it was more than fitting that the final day went off in solid 6-8 foot surf with some very committed and valiant surfers taking on the biggest and best that Vic Bay had to throw at them.

First up this morning were the Pro Junior Girls who had been waiting patiently for the past 3 day’s for their chance to surf. And after 3 days of waiting, the girls paddled straight into some of the biggest sets of the day with some getting washed in, while the fortunate few scratched out the back.

The four who managed to fight their way through the draw and into the final were Emma Smith (J-Bay), Nicole Pallet (Durban), Heidi Palmboom (Bluff) and Bianca Buitendag (Vic Bay). After an initial slow start, Bianca set the tone for the final with a succession of fluid backhand snaps and despite gallant attempts to match the score by Nicole, Heidi and Emma, Bianca was in a class of her own at a wave she knows so well and powered convincingly through to take the win, and in so doing earning herself R2 500 prize-money and 1 000 valuable PST ratings.

Anyone who witnessed the U12 heats en route to the final will testify to some of the bravest and courageous surfing ever seen in a junior event. In front of many anxious parents and onlookers, the plucky U12’s took to the heavy seas in search of some of the biggest waves they had ridden in their fledging competitive careers.

In between some of the ‘groms’ taking 8ft closeout waves on the head and enduring countless hold down’s, some sensational waves were ridden at least 3 times overhead for the young chargers. In the end, it was the spirited Adin Masencamp from Strand in Cape Town who took the impressive win over Ethan Fletcher (Cape Town), Jose Faulkner (J-Bay) and Jake Elkington (Cape Town) who placed 2nd, 3rd and 4th respectively.

Next up were the U14 Boy’s who must also be commended for braving the gnarly conditions. In a hotly contested final with positions constantly changing, in the end it was Matt McGillivray from P.E who stole the show with a late minute score to pip Steffen Burrows (Strand) into second. Event standout Jordy Maree (Cape Town) took 3rd while a physically drained Adin Masencamp, having surfed in consecutive finals, taking 4th. With some very mature and calculated surfing displayed by all the finalists, it’s safe to say that South African junior surfing has some exciting future talents to look out for.

The U16 Boys division then raised the bar even higher. With a packed Vic Bay boardwalk, the U16 finalists put on a show that many will never forget, and what some, including legendary surf coach Graham Hynes, are calling the finest final they’ve watched in years. Ultimately it was two of South Africa’s brightest surfing talents going blow for blow in the still ‘sizey’ and consistent conditions.

J-Bay’s Dylan Lightfoot picked off the bombs and racked up a 9 and a high 8 point score. KZN South Coaster Slade Prestwich answered right back with a succession of stylish hack’s including one massive roundhouse rail grab carve that looked remarkably similar to those consistently pulled off by Dane Reynolds. Lightfoot, having then taken the lead back again watched in angst as Slade smashed his way to his highest wave score of the day with a 9 point ride courtesy of an under-the-lip 360 rail spin. However, it was just less than the 9.4 score he needed and Dylan secured a memorable victory, much to the delight of the cheering crowd.

With the ocean beginning to settle and rippable conditions prevailing, it came time for the much anticipated finale of the Premier Pro Junior Boy’s division. Umhlanga’s Beyrick De Vries, still fresh off the plane from France was up against rival Nick Godfrey, who had managed to take down St Francis Bay compatriot Dale Staples in their semifinal match-up.

With both surfers being event-standout’s it was always expected to be a nail bitter, and after the first exchange of rides, it looked to be heading that way. However, Beyrick sat slightly wider and lucked into 2 set waves that he milked all the way to the beach and despite the KZN surfer having to endure 2 consecutive ‘run-arounds’ back into the line-up, Godfrey simply wasn’t able to find the mid 7 point score he so badly needed.

And with that, the final buzzer sounded, the crowd erupted and elated top seed Beyrick De Vries was crowned the Billabong Pro Junior Vic Bay Champion for 2011. Having consistently posted huge scores all weekend, charging the heavy surf and wowing the judges with his progressive no holds barred approach, it was a truly deserved win for the quirky 19 year old. Along with the prestigious internationally rated ASP Grade-One win, Beyrick walked away with a $2000 US Dollars in prize-money and 250 ASP ratings points along with a SONY Trick Docking Station which was presented to every finalist across all five divisions.

Billabong Pro Junior Vic Bay
Results

Pro Junior Boys
1. Beyrick de Vries (Umhlanga)                $2000 + Nixon watch + Sony Trick
2. Nick Godfrey (Cape St Francis)           $1000 + Sony Trick
=3. Dale Staples (St Francis Bay)            $550
=3. Dylan Lightfoot (Jeffreys Bay)            $550
=5. Dane Staples (St Francis Bay)           $250
=5. Jarred Veldhuis (Kommetjie)              $250
=5. Matt Pallet (Durban)                            $250
=5. Slade Prestwich (Scottburgh)             $250

Pro Junior Girls
1. Bianca Buitendag (Vic Bay)                 R2500 + Sony Trick + Nixon Watch
2. Nicole Pallet (Durban)                          R1500 + Sony Trick
3. Heidi Palmboom (Bluff)                        R750
4. Emma Smith (J-Bay)                            R500

U16 boys
1. Dylan Lightfoot (Jeffreys Bay)             R1 200 + Sony Trick + Nixon Watch
2. Slade Prestwich (Scottburgh)              R2 000 + Sony Trick
3. Jordan Maree (Kalk Bay)                    R800 + Sony Trick
4. Diran Zakarian (Melkbos)                   R500 + Sony Trick

U14 boys
1. Matt McGillivray (Port Elizabeth)        R1500 + Sony Trick
2. Steffen Burrows (Strand)                    R1000 + Sony Trick
3. Jordan Maree (Kalk Bay)                R600 + Sony Trick
4. Adin Masencamp (Strand)                  R400 + Sony Trick

U12 boys
1. Adin Massencamp (Strand)                R1 500 + Sony Trick
2. Ethan Fletcher (Cape Town)              R750 + Sony Trick
3. Jose Faulkner (J-Bay)                        R500 + Sony Trick
4. Jake Elkington (Cape Town)              R250 + Sony Trick

Von Zipper Air Show
1. Matt Pallet (Durban) R2 000 + VZ Sunnies

The internationally rated Pro Junior men’s event is sanctioned by ASP Africa, the regional office for ASP International, while the Pro Surf Tour (PST) women’s and boy’s events are sanctioned by Surfing South Africa (SSA), the national controlling body for the sport.

Images and video, results, heat sheets and news from the Billabong Pro Junior Vic Bay will be available daily at the official contest portal powered by Zigzag www.zigzag.co.za/wpmu/bongjuniorseries as well as www.billabong.com/za

The Billabong Pro Vic Bay is proudly supported by Sony, Von Zipper, Kustom and Nixon and Zigzag Surfing Magazine

\ends

Compiled & Issued on behalf of:

Brendon Kegel – Media and Communications
Billabong South Africa
Tel:                   042 200 2747
Fax:                  042 293 2478
Cell:                  083 799 0110
Email:               brendon.kegel@billabong.co.za

Distributed by:

Life’s a Beach Communications
PO Box 48272, Kommetjie, 7976 South Africa
Tel / Fax:     +27 (0) 21 783 4965
Mobile:        +27 (0) 82 423 1964
Email:          lifesabeach@mweb.co.za

Career best result for Travis Logie at Billabong Pro Tahiti – Jordy Smith retains No. 2 ranking

admin — Tue, 30 Aug 2011 15:48:53 +0000

Durban’s Travis Logie recorded his career best result in an ASP World Title Series event when he placed third in the Billabong Pro Tahiti which was won by reigning and 10-time ASP World Champion Kelly Slater (USA) in classic two metre waves at Teahupoo in French Polynesia yesterday (Monday).

Meanwhile fellow South African Jordy Smith retained his ASP No. 2 ranking despite being eliminated by Logie in a re-run Round 3 heat after Smith suffered a dislocated rib in powerful three metre surf on Sunday.

Logie, 32, ranked No. 44 prior to the event and desperate to make the top 32 cut-off before 15 September that would enable him to compete in the World Title race for the last five events of the year, received a late call-up following the withdrawal of Bobby Martinez (USA).

Encouraged by his wife, Logie flew from Europe, where he was competing in the Star and Prime rated events, to Tahiti, arriving without surfboards and riding, and breaking, several of good friend Alan Riou’s boards as he progressed through the event .

Logie’s fairytale run to the semifinals saw him win his Round 1 heat over fourth seed Jeremy Flores (FRA) and Jadson Andre (BRA) to advance directly to Round 3. There he lost in the injury affected heat against Smith which the ASP decided to re-run and Logie, himself suffering from cuts, bruises and a strained AC shoulder joint resulting from a wipe-out during the heat, won through to Round 4.

Victory over Brett Simpson (USA) and Chris Davidson (AUS) in the three-man ‘demo’ round heat saw Logie skip Round 5 and progress directly to the quarterfinals. On the final day of the event he again defeated Simpson to reach the first semifinal of his five year career in ASP Title Race events, before meeting his match against in form Australian Owen Wright.

“It’s been an unbelievable week for me,” Logie said. “I don’t think it has all sunk in yet. I was in Europe, I barely made it here in time, I’ve been on borrowed equipment, I’ve been banged up on the reef, I had a re-surf with my good mate Jordy (Smith) and I’ve also scored the best result of my career. It’s all happened very fast. So yeah, I’m happy with how everything’s worked out, but would have liked to have made that Final.”

Logie is now ranked No. 34 and right on the cusp of re-qualifying for the elite tour when the ASP mid season rotation is implemented after the Quiksilver Pro New York, surfing’s first event to offer US $1 million in prize-money, which runs from 4-15 September. He will be hoping that the carnage suffered by the top 32 surfers in the phenomenal surf in Tahiti will enable him to get an injury-replacement spot in that event and to force his way into the top 32.

Smith entered Tahiti ranked No. 2 and briefly held the No. 1 spot in the 2011 ASP World Title rankings when the then No. 1, Joel Parkinson (AUS), was eliminated from the event in Round 2. However, the controversial re-run of his Round 3 heat against Logie robbed the 23 year-old, who now lives in Cape Town, of the opportunity to extend his rankings lead and he was ultimately overtaken when Slater won the event.

Smith is reportedly in America for diagnosis on his rib injury. Similar injuries can take four to six weeks to recover which would see him miss the next two events in New York and at Trestles in California during September

Slater, ranked No. 6 before Tahiti, benefited from the early elimination of Parkinson, Smith, Taj Burrow (AUS) and Flores to leapfrog them all into the rankings lead thanks to his haul of 10 000 precious points for the victory.

“It’s one of those weird events where you have to scramble through the early rounds,” Slater said. “Every year at this event, there are few of the top guys that lose in the early rounds and you have to scramble if you want a result here. You have to be in tune with the tides, swell direction and everything to make sure you get those waves that get you the score.”

Today’s win marked Slater’s 47th elite tour victory (out of 67 Finals appearances).

The Billabong Pro Tahiti experienced what is being called the best surf in the 14 year-history of the event. Pristine two metre waves set the scene for Round 1 before huge and unruly waves provided a stiff test for Round 2.

The French Government then issued a Code Red alert for Saturday, keeping all commercial craft in the harbour, which resulted in some of the biggest waves ever seen at Teahupoo being surfed by specialist tow-in teams who had jetted into the South Pacific island specifically for the occasion.

Sunday saw Rounds 3, 4 and 5 being held in what Slater called “…probably the best I’ve ever surfed it – it’s just so big and perfect.” Windless conditions bright sunshine and incredibly hollow two to three metre (6 – 10 foot) waves provided the world’s best competitive surfers with ideal conditions.

The final day was held in still perfect but slightly smaller 2.0 to 2.5 metre waves that continued to pump all day.

Flores, who became just the third surfer at elite tour level to record a perfect heat of 20 points out of a possible 20 on Sunday morning, collected the coveted Andy Irons Award for most committed performance of the event. This is the inaugural year for the award which honours the late Andy irons (HAW), the three-time ASP World Champion and last year’s Billabong Pro Tahiti Champion.

Every ride from the Billabong Pro Tahiti can be viewed at www.billabongpro.com, along with news, images and results from each day’s action, including the tow-in sessions.

BILLABONG PRO TAHITI FINAL RESULTS:
1 – Kelly Slater (USA) 18.43
2 – Owen Wright (AUS) 17.10

BILLABONG PRO TAHITI SEMIFINAL RESULTS:
SF 1: Kelly Slater (USA) 14.50 def. Josh Kerr (AUS) 10.60
SF 2: Owen Wright (AUS) 19.50 def. Travis Logie (ZAF) 14.40

BILLABONG PRO TAHITI QUARTERFINAL RESULTS:
QF 1: Josh Kerr (AUS) 11.94 def. Jeremy Flores (FRA) 11.83
QF 2: Kelly Slater (USA) 17.50 def. Matt Wilkinson (AUS) 6.17
QF 3: Travis Logie (ZAF) 18.07 def. Brett Simpson (USA) 17.14
QF 4: Owen Wright (AUS) 16.74 def. Raoni Monteiro (BRA) 13.10

ASP WORLD TITLE RANKINGS TOP 5 (After Billabong Pro Tahiti)
1. Kelly Slater (USA) 26,950 pts
2. Jordy Smith (ZAF) 26,500 pts
3. Joel Parkinson (AUS) 26,200 pts
4. Adriano de Souza (BRA) 22,750 pts
5. Owen Wright (AUS) 21,900 pts

ENDS

PLEASE NOTE: Broadcast quality and web quality footage of the Billabong Pro Tahiti is available for Media outlets. Contact Life’s a Beach Communications for download details.

Issued on behalf of:

ASP Africa
Contact:            Colin Fitch – Operations Manager
Tel:                   021 534 5738
Email:               colin@aspafrica.com

Compiled & Distributed by:

Life’s a Beach Communications
PO Box 48272, Kommetjie 7976, South Africa
Tel:              +27 (0) 21 783 4965
Fax:             +27 (0) 86 684 6250
Mobile:         +27 (0) 82 423 1964
Email:           lifesabeach@mweb.co.za

About ASP: The Association of Surfing Professionals (ASP) is the recognized world governing body of professional surfing and has been crowning surfing’s undisputed World Champions since 1976. The ASP sanctions and crowns World Champions for the following tours: the ASP World Tour, the ASP Women’s World Tour, ASP World Junior Tour, ASP World Longboard and Masters Championships.
The ASP is dedicated to showcasing the world’s best surfing talent in a variety of progressive formats and has revolutionized the way the world watches surfing via their webcasts and other media platforms. The organization is divided into seven different regions: Africa, Japan, Australasia, Europe, Hawaii, North America, and South America.

Billabong Pro Junior Vic Bay to decide spots on ASP World Junior Tour

admin — Fri, 26 Aug 2011 05:49:27 +0000

South Africa’s best junior surfers aged 20-and-under will be vying for coveted invitations to compete on the 2011 ASP World Junior Tour when the Billabong Pro Junior event is run at Victoria Bay in the Southern Cape next week.

Scheduled for Thursday to Sunday, 1-4 September, the event is the second and final stop on the 2011 ASP Africa Pro Junior Series where the top four surfers in the year-end rankings qualify to take on their peers from around the globe in the three-event World Junior Tour with the winner crowned the ASP World Junior Champion in Sydney, Australia in January 2012.

Competition will be fierce with a total of more than R50 000 in prize-money at stake next weekend of which US $5 000 (approx. R35 000) is on offer in the ASP 1-Star rated Pro Junior men’s event. Nearly R14 000 will be shared by the top four in the SSA sanctioned Pro Junior Women and Under 16, U14 and U12 boy’s Pro Surf Tour (PST) events and an additional R2 000 goes to the winner of the VonZipper Air Show.

And all four finalists in each division, from U12 to Pro Junior, will also receive a limited edition Sony Trik to the value of R2 400.

Beyrick de Vries (Umhlanga) leads the ASP Africa rankings after the first event in Durban in April. De Vries, Slade Prestwich (Scottburgh) in second position and Dylan Lightfoot (Jeffreys Bay) and Michael February (Kommetjie) in equal third, are the front-runners for the ASP World Junior Tour slots.

Dale Staples (St Francis Bay), who finished third on the ASP World Junior Tour rankings in January this year, fellow Billabong team rider Matt Bromley (Kommetjie), David van Zyl (Glenashley) and Matt Pallet (Bergvliet) are ranked equal fifth and need a top performance at Victoria Bay to force their way into contention for one of the four slots available.

The Billabong Pro Junior men’s event will also create history when a trio of Ghanaian surfers – Clement Baidoo and brothers Peter and Emmanuel Ansah – participate in a surfing event in South Africa for the first time.

Vic Bay local Bianca Buitendag (George), winner of the Billabong Pro Junior Women’s World Championships in Australia in January, heads a competitive field in the women’s event at her home break. Buitendag, who has already qualified for the 2011 ASP Pro Junior Tour via her ASP World Women’s Tour ranking, will be up against the likes of Billabong team rider Emma Smith (Jeffreys Bay), Heidi Palmboom (Bluff), Nikita Kekana (Durban) and Inge McLaren (East London).

Josh Smit (Warner Beach) is the top seed in the U16 boy’s, the biggest division of the event, with Dylan Lightfoot (J-Bay), Diran Zakarian (Melkbosstrand) and Brandon Benjamin (Retreat) capable of causing an upset.

Jordan Maree (Tokai) will be up against perennial rivals Matt McGillivray (Port Elizabeth), Adin Masencamp (Strand), Ethan Fletcher (Kommetjie) and Shane Sykes (Salt Rock) in the U14 division while Fletcher and Masencamp will also do battle with brothers Jake and Max Elkington from Cape Town, amongst others, in the U12’s.

The spectacular VonZipper Air Show, where the surfer successfully completing the most innovative aerial manoeuvre pockets the winner-takes-all R2 000 prize-purse, will be staged on the final day.

The customary vibrant social scene at the Billabong Pro Vic Bay event will be substantially upgraded this year when Jeremy Loops, one of Cape Town’s hottest up and coming musical talents, performs live with friends at the Saturday evening Bring-and-Braai in the Caravan Park.

Images, results and news from the Billabong Pro Junior Vic Bay will be available daily at www.billabong.com.

The Billabong Pro Vic Bay is proudly supported by Sony, Von Zipper, Kustom and Nixon.

\ends

Issued on behalf of:

Brendon Kegel – Media and Communications
Billabong South Africa
Tel:                   042 200 2747
Fax:                  042 293 2478
Cell:                  083 799 0110
Email:               brendon.kegel@billabong.co.za

Compiled & Issued by:

Life’s a Beach Communications
PO Box 48272, Kommetjie, 7976 South Africa
Tel / Fax:     +27 (0) 21 783 4965
Mobile:        +27 (0) 82 423 1964
Email:          lifesabeach@mweb.co.za

Travis Logie and Jordy Smith win Round 1 heats at Billabong Pro Tahiti

admin — Sun, 21 Aug 2011 21:09:26 +0000

South African surfers Travis Logie and Jordy Smith won their respective Round 1 heats in the Billabong Pro Tahiti, which started in epic 1.5 to 2 metre waves at Teahupoo on Saturday, to move directly into Round 3 of stop No. 5 of 11 on the 2011 ASP World Title season.

Logie, 32, currently No. 44 on the ASP World Rankings, gained entry into the Billabong Pro Tahiti at the 11th hour with the withdrawal of Bobby Martinez (USA). The Durbanite embarked on a white-knuckle trip from Europe to Tahiti, showing up with less than 10 hours before his heat and without any of his surfboards or equipment.

“I got the call about 24 hours ago from Renato Hickel (ASP World Tour Manager) and got on the next plane from Europe,” Logie said. “I was over there competing in the 6-Star events and opted to take the opportunity in Tahiti. I don’t have any boards or any equipment so I used my good friend Alain Riou’s board his morning and it felt pretty good.”

Logie posted a heat tally of 16.07 (out of 20), the fourth highest of the day, to dispatch Jadson Andre (BRA) and No. 4 seed Jeremy Flores to the cutthroat man-on-man Round 2 heats.

Smith, 23, the current No. 2 on the ASP World Title Rankings, kept his 2011 campaign red-hot today, putting on a commanding backhand performance en route to his Round 1 victory. The Capetonian was enthusiastic with today’s conditions and excited for the swell on the horizon.

“I’ve been here most of the day and I’ve just been psyching to get out there,” Smith said. “It’s so much fun – just perfect, blue barrels. I’m so happy to be here in Tahiti and the forecast looks pretty amazing. We’ll see how it pans out.”

Smith’s two wave tally of 15.36 was the ninth best of the day and enough to relegate trials winner and wildcard Ricardo dos Santos (BRA) and Raoni Monteiro (BRA) to Round 2.

American CJ Hobgood, the 2001 ASP World Champion and 2004 Tahiti event winner, was the top scorer of Round 1, racking up a near perfect score of 9.87 (out of 10) before adding a 9.50 for a heat total of 19.37 to defeat current ASP World Title Race No. 1 Joel Parkinson and fellow Australian Adam Melling.

Kelly Slater (USA), 39, reigning and 10-time ASP World Champion, was at his usual polished best, remaining patient to score a winning wave on the buzzer against opponents Dan Ross (AUS) and dangerous local wildcard Heiarii Williams (PYF).

Surfline, official forecasters for the Billabong Pro Tahiti, predict plenty of swell for the next week. A medium SSW swell will maintain through the weekend to be followed by another medium size South swell for early next week. A major swell event is forecast for 25 & 26 August with potential for even more swell by the 28th.

Event organizers will reconvene on Sunday morning at 6:30am (6.30pm South African time) to assess conditions for a possible 7:30am start (7.30pm in SA).

When competition resumes, the opening heat of elimination Round 2 will feature Jeremy Flores (FRA) versus Heiarii Williams (PYF).

All the action from the Billabong Pro Tahiti can be followed live on www.billabongpro.com. Tahiti is situated at GMT -10, i.e. 12 hours behind South Africa. 8am in Tahiti is 8pm in SA.

BILLABONG PRO TAHITI ROUND 1 RESULTS:
Heat 1: Cory Lopez (USA) 12.83, Adrian Buchan (AUS) 11.47, Chris Davidson (AUS) 4.67
Heat 2: Fredrick Patacchia (HAW) 15.83, Matt Wilkinson (AUS) 14.73, Taj Burrow (AUS) 13.27
Heat 3: Travis Logie (ZAF) 16.07, Jadson Andre (BRA) 14.40, Jeremy Flores (FRA) 11.73
Heat 4: Mick Fanning (AUS) 15.23, Gabe Kling (USA) 13.97, Tiago Pires (PRT) 7.97
Heat 5: Jordy Smith (ZAF) 15.36, Ricardo dos Santos (BRA) 14.47, Raoni Monteiro (BRA) 8.47
Heat 6: Kelly Slater (USA) 13.96, Daniel Ross (AUS) 13.07, Heiarii Williams (PYF) 10.47
Heat 7: Kai Otton (AUS) 11.47, Heitor Alves (BRA) 10.53, Owen Wright (AUS) 10.33
Heat 8: C.J. Hobgood (USA) 19.38, Joel Parkinson (AUS) 15.60, Adam Melling (AUS) 10.33
Heat 9: Taylor Knox (USA) 12.90, Alejo Muniz (BRA) 12.53, Bede Durbidge (AUS) 11.10
Heat 10: Damien Hobgood (USA) 13.73, Patrick Gudauskas (USA) 13.10, Brett Simpson (USA) 8.83
Heat 11: Dusty Payne (HAW) 16.76, Kieren Perrow (AUS) 15.63, Michel Bourez (PYF) 15.17
Heat 12: Julian Wilson (AUS) 16.50, Josh Kerr (AUS) 15.84, Adriano de Souza (BRA) 10.27

BILLABONG PRO TAHITI ROUND 2 MATCH-UPS:
Heat 1: Jeremy Flores (FRA) vs. Heiarii Williams (PYF)
Heat 2: Taj Burrow (AUS) vs. Ricardo dos Santos (BRA)
Heat 3: Adrian Buchan (AUS) vs. Gabe Kling (USA)
Heat 4: Owen Wright (AUS) vs. Adam Melling (AUS)
Heat 5: Joel Parkinson (AUS) vs. Brett Simpson (USA)
Heat 6: Bede Durbidge (AUS) vs. Josh Kerr (AUS)
Heat 7: Michel Bourez (PYF) vs. Daniel Ross (AUS)
Heat 8: Adriano de Souza (BRA) vs. Raoni Monteiro (BRA)
Heat 9: Kieren Perrow (AUS) vs. Tiago Pires (PRT)
Heat 10: Patrick Gudauskas (USA) vs. Jadson Andre (BRA)
Heat 11: Alejo Muniz (BRA) vs. Matt Wilkinson (AUS)
Heat 12: Heitor Alves (BRA) vs. Chris Davidson (AUS)

ENDS

Issued on behalf of:

ASP Africa
Contact:            Colin Fitch – Operations Manager
Tel:                   021 534 5738
Email:               colin@aspafrica.com

Compiled & Distributed by:

Back to back Billabong Pro J-Bay titles for Jordy Smith

admin — Sun, 24 Jul 2011 20:57:25 +0000

Billabong Pro J-Bay
Stop No 4 of 11 on the 2011 ASP World Tour
Supertubes, Jeffreys Bay, South Africa
14-24 July 2011

South African surfing sensation Jordy Smith clinched his second consecutive Billabong Pro J-Bay title when he beat Australian Mick Fanning in a tense final held in testing 1.5 metre waves and strong onshore winds at Supertubes in Jeffreys Bay today.

Smith, who looked in championship winning form ever since posting the highest scores of Round 1 last Friday, made full use of his many years of experience at Jeffreys Bay to tame the ‘victory at sea’ conditions and employed his exciting arsenal of progressive and aerial manoeuvres to rack up rides of 8.60 and 7.0 for a heat-winning total of 15.60 out of 20 in the final.

“It’s been an incredible week for me,” Smith said. “All the support of the people at Jeffreys Bay, Garth (Tarlow), Steve (Smith), my girlfriend Lyndall (Jarvis), my mom and dad and everyone else. It’s been a really special week for me and I’m so happy right now.”

The 23-year-old Durbanite who now lives in Cape Town pocketed US $75 000 for the victory and earned 10 000 priceless rankings points which moved him from fifth to second on the ASP World Title Race rankings behind Joel Parkinson (AUS), overtaking Adriano de Souza (BRA), Kelly Slater (USA) and Taj Burrow (AUS) in the process

“Mick (Fanning) has surfed amazing all week,” Smith said. “He’s always an inspiration and he’s right there with everyone in the hunt for the title. Today’s a huge win for me. Last year it was very emotional. To back it up this year just feels really, really good. It’s huge for my confidence and I’m looking forward to the rest of the year.”

Smith also collected the Nixon WTA award of a custom built Nixon watch valued at $10 000 for scoring the highest heat total at the event of 18.30 out of 20 in his Round 5 win over Bede Durbidge (AUS).

Fanning, a former two-time World and J-Bay champion, led the final with an excellent 8.0 point ride early on and was briefly out in front again at the halfway point, but could not produce the 7.61 point ride he needed to overtake Smith once the South African had snatched the lead back with an innovative ‘double-grab’ aerial with 12 minutes remaining.

The Australian, who takes home $30 000 and 8 000 points that sees him leapfrog from No. 8 to No. 4 on the rankings, was full of praise for Smith in his runners-up speech, before showering the winner with champagne. He also echoed the feelings of all of the world’s best surfers when he wished the late Andy Irons, a former three-time ASP World Champion, a happy birthday and sent his greetings to Irons’ family in Hawaii.

Smith started the final day in rampant form, powering his way to convincing victories over experienced former double J-Bay runner-up Damien Hobgood (USA) in the quarterfinals and then leaving Adrian Buchan (AUS) needing to replace both his scores to come within striking distance of winning their semi-final match-up.

Fanning meanwhile combo’d compatriot Josh Kerr in their quarterfinal encounter before coming out on top in a titanic semifinal battle with close friend and fellow Aussie Joel Parkinson where Fanning snatched victory with an incredible near-perfect 9.80 point ride, the highest scoring ride on the final day of competition.

With his equal third place finish here Parkinson heads the rankings in the hunt for the 2011 ASP World Title, but the perennial title contender remains cautious regarding the remainder of the season.

“I don’t really think about that yet,” Parkinson said. “It’s only the fourth event of the year and I’ve been in this position before. I’m happy with my surfing and my boards and I’ll keep my eyes on the next heat.”

The 2011 Billabong Pro J-Bay will make the history books for Smith’s second consecutive win and the phenomenal standard of surfing on the penultimate day when a perfect 10 point ride and a number of other high-flying and modernistic moves were performed and recorded in the planet’s premier high performance waves at Supertubes in Jeffreys Bay.

The final day’s proceedings started with a moving tribute to the late Andy Irons, a former three-time ASP World Champion, the 2004 Billabong Pro J-Bay champion and long-time Billabong team rider who passed away earlier this year and would have celebrated his birthday today.

All the action from the Billabong Pro J-Bay, including results, images and video-on-demand footage of every heat is available via www.billabongpro.com.

Further information on the event can be found at the Facebook fan page Billabong South Africa or on twitter @BillabongSA.

A daily 15 minute TV highlights package from the event will be broadcast on the channels of SuperSport with the premiere at 19h45 and multiple repeats. Check your TV schedule for updated broadcast times.

The Billabong Pro J-Bay 2011 was proudly presented by South Africa’s adventure province Eastern Cape Parks and Tourism Agency and further supported by Carling Black Label, Monster Energy, Coca Cola, Amarok, Vida e Caffe, Tavcor, VonZipper and Nixon.

BILLABONG PRO JEFFREYS BAY FINAL RESULTS:
1 – Jordy Smith (ZAF) 15.60
2 – Mick Fanning (AUS) 14.83

BILLABONG PRO JEFFREYS BAY SEMIFINAL RESULTS:
SF 1: Jordy Smith (ZAF) 17.46 def. Adrian Buchan (AUS) 11.87
SF 2: Mick Fanning (AUS) 17.47 def. Joel Parkinson (AUS) 11.93

BILLABONG PRO JEFFREYS BAY QUARTERFINAL RESULTS:
QF 1: Jordy Smith (ZAF) 15.10 def. Damien Hobgood (USA) 8.94
QF 2: Adrian Buchan (AUS) 16.77 def. Julian Wilson (AUS) 14.90
QF 3: Joel Parkinson (AUS) 16.83 def. Alejo Muniz (BRA) 8.16
QF 4: Mick Fanning (AUS) 15.40 def. Josh Kerr (AUS) 5.43

ASP WORLD TITLE TOP 10 (After Billabong Pro Jeffreys Bay):
1. Joel Parkinson (AUS) 25700 pts
2. Jordy Smith (ZAF) 24750 pts
3. Adriano de Souza (BRA) 22250 pts
4. Mick Fanning (AUS) 19500 pts
5. Taj Burrow (AUS) 18250 pts
6. Kelly Slater (USA) 16950 pts
7. Michel Bourez (PYF) 16000
8. Bede Durbidge (AUS) 15000
9. Josh Kerr (AUS) 13900 pts
9. Owen Wright (AUS) 13900 pts

ENDS

Compiled and issued by:

Jordy Smith’s take on defending the Billabong Pro J-Bay title in Webisode 4

admin — Tue, 12 Jul 2011 22:26:01 +0000

Jordy Smith’s fairytale win at the Billabong Pro J-Bay in 2010 was the stuff of legends.

It was the SA surfing sensation’s maiden ASP World Tour event victory, becoming the first South African since Shaun Tomson in the 1980’s to win such an event. He did it in his home surf, the win occurred on Nelson Mandela’s birthday – a day of huge significance to South Africa – a Jordy survived several clutch moments en route to the final thanks to his brilliant, confident, cutting edge surfing and his never-say-die competitive approach.

Along the way he won the crowd, he won the event and he ended the day the No. 1 ranked surfer in the world.

By the time the 2010 ASP Men’s Tour wrapped up in December Jordy was sitting pretty at number two in the world. Rated second to the one and only Kelly Slater.

Later this week Jordy will paddle out to defend his Billabong Pro J-Bay crown and his legions of fans and admirers will be there – online and on the beach – to cheer him on.

This, the fourth of six Webisodes to be released on www.billabongpro.com in the lead up to the event features Jordy’s take on his home event – what it felt like to win last year and why he feels totally at ease, arriving in J-Bay with the support of a nation behind him.

The Billabong Pro J-Bay 2011 is scheduled for 14-24 July in the fabled waves of Supertubes in Jeffreys Bay. It is stop No. 4 of 11 on the ASP World Tour, the series of events that determines the annual ASP World Surfing Champion. The field comprises the world’s top 34 ranked professional surfers along with two wildcards. All the action will be webcast live via www.billabongpro.com.

The Billabong Pro J-Bay 2011 is proudly presented by South Africa’s adventure province Eastern Cape Parks and Tourism Agency and further supported by Carling Black Label, Monster Energy, Coca Cola, Amarok, Vida e Caffe, Tavcor, VonZipper and Nixon.

To upload the video, made available rights free to media, simply visit the links below:

Vimeo:
Link: http://vimeo.com/26247241

Embed code: http://player.vimeo.com/video/26247241?title=0&byline=0&portrait=0” width=”510″ height=”287″ frameborder=”0″>

Download webisodes: https://www.filesanywhere.com/fs/v.aspx?v=8a6c688860646e76ae6d
Webisode 1: 245mb
Webisode 2: 159mb
Webisode 3: 143mb
Webisode 4: 277mb

\ends

Issued on behalf of:

Billabong South Africa
Contact: Brendon Kegel
Telephone: +27 (0) 42 200 2747
Email: brendon.kegel@billabong.co.za

Compiled and issued by:

Team SA finish seventh at Billabong ISA World Surfing Games in Panama

admin — Sat, 02 Jul 2011 22:00:13 +0000

South Africa finished in seventh place out of the 27 nations at the 2011 Billabong ISA World Surfing Games in Panama which was completed in inconsistent one metre waves at Playa Venao, five hours drive west of Panama City on the Pacific coast of Panama yesterday (Saturday).

The eight person team collected one medal, a copper for placing fourth in the Aloha Cup event. The two South Africans in contentions for medals going into the final day, Nikita Robb in the Women’s division and Matthew Moir in the Longboards, were both eliminated before reaching their respective finals.

Robb was ousted in a wave starved Repecharge Round 7 heat where she placed fourth to finish equal eighth overall in the event, contributing 1 056 points to SA’s team total.

Moir, a two-time former ISA World Longboard Champion (2006 & 2008) had cruised through the Qualifying stream but slipped to fourth place in Round 5, one step away from the Grand Final. Dropping into the Repecharge Final, where he had a second chance to qualify for the final four and a medal, Moir came agonisingly short of the top two result required to qualify for the Grand Final, placing third in the heat for overall 5th place in the event and a haul of 1 220 team points.

These results combined with Argentina’s Santiago Muniz’s surprise victory in the Men’s division saw Team SA drop one place to seventh in the final rankings for the event.

Team Australia clinched the team gold medal for the first time in three years, providing five of the 12 individual medallists who earned two silvers, two bronzes and a copper. Brazil grabbed the runners-up team silver medal with France taking bronze and Argentina the copper.

Having contributed several of the highest individual wave and heat tallies during the seven-day event, Muniz was a worthy Men’s champion. Just 1.33 points separated first from fourth with Australia’s former ISA champion Mick Campbell taking the silver, 18 year-old South African born Thomas Woods (AUS) taking bronze and Ian Gouveia (BRA) the copper.

France’s Canelle Bulard wrote her name into the ISA history books by becoming the first surfer to hold both the Junior and Open titles simultaneously when she won the Women’s division by defeating 2004 World and ISA champion Sofia Mulanovich (PER) and Australians Jessi Miley-Dyer and Dimity Stoyle, who finished in that order in the final.

Tony Silvagni secured Team USA’s first Longboard gold in 15 years by overcoming the challenge of Harley Ingleby (AUS), Piccolo Clemente (PER) and Antoine Delpero (FRA).

Panama’s President, Ricardo Martinelli, and Tourism Minister, Salomón Shamah, were guests of honour at the closing ceremony and medal presentation where Martinelli thanked everybody and invited the world to Panama to surf and enjoy its excellent waves.

All the results from the 2011 Billabong ISA World Surfing Games, along with images and video footage of the action, can be found at www.billabongisawsg.com

The preparation, training and travel costs for the South African team were made possible by a grant from Sport and Recreation South Africa (SRSA). Skullcandy and Power Balance added their support to the team.

Surfing South Africa (SSA) is recognised by the South African Sports Confederation and Olympic Committee (SASCOC), Sport and Recreation South Africa (SRSA) and the International Surfing Association (ISA) as the governing body for the sport in South Africa. The International Surfing Association (ISA) is recognised by the International Olympic Committee and is the governing body for World Surfing.

2011 Billabong ISA World Surfing Games
Playa Venao, Panama

Results

Final Team Standings
Gold: Australia – 15,000 points
Silver: Brazil – 12,132 points
Bronze: France – 11,816 points
Copper: Argentina – 11,312 points

7th – South Africa – 10 008 points

Men Medalists
Gold: Santiago Muñiz (ARG)
Silver: Mick Campbell (AUS)
Bronze: Thomas Woods (AUS)
Copper: Ian Gouveia (BRA)

South Africans
16. Klee Strachan
25. Gavin Roberts
25. Llewellyn Whittaker
37. Matt Bromley

Women Medalists
Gold: Cannelle Bulard (FRA)
Silver: Sofía Mulanovich (PER)
Bronze: Jessi Miley-Dyer (AUS)
Copper: Dimity Stoyle (AUS)

South Africans
8. Nikita Robb
9. Tanika Hoffman

Longboard Medalists
Gold: Tony Silvagni (USA)
Silver: Harley Ingleby (AUS)
Bronze: Piccolo Clemente (PER)
Copper: Antoine Delpero (FRA)

South Africans
5. Matthew Moir
9. Justin Bing

Team points
1. Australia – 15 000
2. Brazil – 12 132
3. France – 11 816
4. Argentina – 11 312
5. Peru – 10 930
6. Venezuela – 10 342
7. South Africa – 10 008
8. Usa – 9 679
9. New Zealand – 7 816
10-Ecuador – 7 740
11. Costa Rica – 7 696
12. Tahiti – 7 575
13. Mexico – 6 618
14. Puerto Rico – 6 606
15. Uruguay – 6 466
16. Panama – 6 126
17. El salvador – 5 568
18. Switzerland – 5 328
19. Guatemala – 4 595
20. Japan – 4 080
21. Nicaragua – 3 516
22. Chile – 2 832
23. Israel – 2 436
24. Colombia – 1 920
25. Jamaica – 1 440
26. Canada – 1 296
27. Ireland – 540

/ENDS

Issued on behalf of:

Surfing South Africa
Contact: Robin de Kock – General Manager
Cell:  082 454 1149
Email:  surfingsouthafrica@gmail.com
Web:   www.surfingsouthafrica.co.za
Compiled & Distributed by:

Llewellyn Whittaker stars in great start for Team SA at Billabong ISA World Surfing Games in Panama

admin — Mon, 27 Jun 2011 00:43:04 +0000

Team captain Llewellyn Whittaker led Team South African to a great start on the opening day of the annual 2011 Billabong ISA World Surfing Games which got underway in tricky one metre waves at Playa Venao on the Pacific Ocean coast of Panama on Sunday.

Whittaker posted the highest heat tally in the Open Men’s division as all eight team members finished either first or second in their respective opening encounters to advance to Round 2 of the Qualifying stream in the double-elimination format used at the event.

Only Australia, Brazil and New Zealand from the 27 countries contesting the event matched SA’s clean sweep on a day when 173 registered surfers in the Open Men, Women and Longboard divisions competed in a full day of action at two surfing venues located 250 metres apart.

Whittaker, from Southern Cape, registered scores of 7.17 and an excellent 8.67, both out of 10, for a heat total of 15.84 out 0f 20, leaving his three opponents, including multiple South America champion Magnum Martinez (VEN), needing to improve on both their counting rides to overtake him.

“Our team arrived five days before the contest, and we had a lot of time to practice on these waves,” said Whittaker. “We are feeling very comfortable surfing here in Playa Venao. The level of competition is extremely high – you have the best surfers from every country at this event – but for those 20 minutes you have to believe you will get through your heat.”

The balance of SA’s men’s Open Men’s squad each finished second to Venezuelan opponents in their Round 1 match-ups with Gavin Roberts (SKZN) just four hundredths of a point behind Francisco Bellorin, Matt Bromley (WP) less than half a point short of Rafael Pereira and Klee Strachan (SKZN) just over a point adrift of Justin Mujica.

Former World Tour campaigner Nikita Robb (Border) posted the second highest heat tally – 14.67 – of the Open Women’s division to easily win her match-up and progress to Round 2 while teammate Tanika Hoffman (WP) was less than a point behind heat winner Dominic Barona from Ecuador and over four points ahead of the third placed competitor.

Team SA’s two longboard surfers, two-time ISA World Champion Matthew Moir and fellow WP competitor Justin Bing, both racked up comprehensive Round 1 victories with Moir’s 15.06 point heat total second only to the 15.66 awarded to Tony Silvagni (AUS) in the longboard division.

The 2011 Billabong ISA World Surfing Games runs until Saturday July 2 and all the action will be webcast live at www.billabongisawsg.com starting at 8am (3pm South African time) daily.

Schedule for Monday 27 June:

Podium 1 (will be webcast live)
Open Men Qualifying Round 2 (SA’s Whittaker, Bromley, Strachan & Roberts)
Longboard Qualifying Round 2 (SA’s Moir & Bing)
Open Men Qualifying Round 3 (TBC)
Podium 2 (will have scores online)
Women Qualifying Round 2 (SA’s Robb & Hoffman)
Open Men Repecharge Round 1
Longboard Repecharge Round 1
Women Repecharge Round 1

The 2011 Billabong ISA World Surfing Games were officially opened on Saturday when nearly 275 competitors and officials from the 27 national teams participated in the Parade of Nations through the streets of nearby Pedasi showing their country’s colours and cultural traditions. Thousands of locals lined the streets to welcome the athletes in traditional handcrafted dresses and headdresses adorned with gold jewellery as a sign of joy, celebration, love and respect.

As the entire entourage gathered at the stage in the town’s main plaza, the traditional ISA Sands of the World Ceremony began. Representatives from every National Team brought sand from their country’s beaches up to the stage, where they were mixed together in a glass bowl. The perennial ritual signifies the union of nations, beliefs and races through surfing and the Olympic spirit this event embraces.

The official opening of the event was made by Panamanian Tourism Department Minister, Salomón Shamah who said, “On behalf of the ISA and its President, Fernando Aguerre, it is my pleasure and greatest honour to declare this 2011 Billabong ISA World Surfing Games officially open!”

Issued on behalf of:

Surfing South Africa
Contact: Robin de Kock – General Manager
Cell:  082 454 1149
Email:  surfingsouthafrica@gmail.com
Web:   www.surfingsouthafrica.co.za
Compiled & Distributed by:

Sarah Baum surfs into ASP Women’s World Tour contention + ASP Africa News

admin — Wed, 08 Jun 2011 23:56:43 +0000

Sarah Baum used her patented forehand attack and full repertoire of progressive manoeuvres to clinch an outstanding third place finish in the ASP 6-Star Swatch Girls Pro France at Hossegor last Friday.

The result rocketed the 17 year-old from Warner Beach up to No. 7 on the latest ASP Women’s World Rankings and into contention for a spot on the 2011 ASP Women’s World Title Race. The Top 6 on the World Rankings at the end of each year join the Top 10 from the ASP World Title Race Rankings to contest all the events on following year’s World Title Race, the series of contests that determine the annual ASP Women’s World Champion.

With three of the women ranked above Baum already well-placed to re-qualify via their World Title Race Rankings, the SA teenager is in fact currently fourth in line for one of the six qualifying spots with three Star series events still to be run in 2011.

Starting the Swatch event in the Round of 48, Baum posted a number of excellent performances including recording the highest scoring ride of Day 2 of the event on Friday – 8.75 out of a possible 10 – and winning a tightly contested quarterfinal over elite tour member Alana Blanchard (HAW). In the semifinals Baum was ousted by eventual runner-up Sage Erikson (USA), pocketing US $2 000 and 2 080 rankings points for third place.

“I am super stoked with a third here,” Baum said. “I didn’t expect to get this far in the event. Last year I made it to the Round of 12 and I am really pleased to beat that. It is my best result for sure. All the girls are ripping and it is a great feeling to be part of it. I am heading down to Estoril on Tuesday and I am now looking towards that contest.”

The Swatch event was won by current ASP World No. 2 Sally Fitzgibbons (AUS). Other South African girls in the event included Nikita Robb (East London, 19th), Bianca Buitendag (Victoria Bay, 19th), Rosanne Hodge (EL, 25th), Tarryn Chudleigh (Kommetjie, 37th) along with Fay Zoetmulder (Port Elizabeth) and Tanika Hoffman (Kom) who placed equal 49th.

The entire SA girls’ contingent has travelled to Portugal for the ASP 6-Star Estoril Surf and Music Billabong Girls 2011 which runs from Friday to Sunday, 10-12 June. The final two events on the 2011 ASP Women’s World Tour rankings, both 6-Star rated, will be run in Spain and on the Azores Islands in September.

Swatch Girls Pro France Final Result
Sally Fitzgibbons (AUS) 16.00 Def. Sage Erickson (USA) 9.70

Swatch Girls Pro France Semi-Final Results
Heat 1: Sally Fitzgibbons (AUS) 15.67 Def. Courtney Conlogue (USA) 15.00
Heat 2: Sage Erickson (USA) 10.77 Def. Sarah Baum (ZAF) 4.67

Swatch Girls Pro France Quarter-Final Results
Heat 1: Courtney Conlogue (USA) 10.25 Def. Justine Dupont (FRA) 7.15
Heat 2: Sally Fitzgibbons (AUS) 12.00 Def. Paige Hareb (NZL) 8.90
Heat 3: Sage Erickson (USA) 8.00 Def. Suelen Naraisa (BRA) 7.20
Heat 4: Sarah Baum (ZAF) 14.25 Def. Alana Blanchard (HAW) 8.40

ASP Women’s World Tour Rankings (After event #4 – Swatch Girls Pro France)
1 Conlogue,Courtney USA 8220
2 Erickson,Sage USA 6080
3 Fitzgibbons,Sally AUS 5580
4 Hareb,Paige   NZL 4680
5 Woods,Rebecca AUS 4183
6 Ho,Coco   HAW 3880
7 Baum,Sarah ZAF 3423
8 Ado,Pauline  FRA 3160

South Africans
17 Robb,Nikita ZAF 2143
22 Buitendag,Bianca ZAF 1843
37 Hodge,Rosanne ZAF 1170
37 Chudleigh,Tarryn ZAF 1170
48 Zoetmulder,Faye ZAF 880
77 Hoffman,Tanika ZAF 250

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Bianca Buitendag grabs third place in Swatch Girls Pro Junior in France

Bianca Buitendag continued her sensational assault on the World’s age-group surfing scenario by grabbing third spot in the Swatch Girls Pro Junior France on Saturday.

The lanky 17 year-old from Victoria Bay in the Southern Cape, who won the Billabong ASP World Junior Championships in Australia in January and finished runner-up in the U18 girls’ division of the Quiksilver ISA World Junior Championships in Peru 10 days ago, again defeated a slew of the world’s best female surfers aged 20-and-under in France.

Buitendag earned US $350 after defeat by eventual champion Sarah Mason (NZL) in a semifinal encounter held in tricky one metre waves.

“The swell definitely dropped and although the conditions were quite nice I didn’t get any good scoring waves,” said Buitendag. “I have a Pro Junior event coming up in South Africa and it is very important to get a result there to qualify for the World Juniors.”

Mason went on to beat Demitry Stoyle (AUS) in the final held at Les Bourdaines on the Bay of Biscay coast. South Africans Faye Zoetmulder (PE) and Tanika Hoffman (Kom) finished 25th and 33rd respectively.

++++++++++++++++++++++++++

Royden Bryson the top South African in South American Prime events

Royden Bryson produced the best results by the South Africans in the two Prime rated events run in South America over the past fortnight. The Hout Bay based Capetonian boosted his ASP World Tour ranking from No. 113 to No. 81 after placing 13th in the Saquarema Surf Pro International near Rio de Janeiro and following that up with 9th in the Super Surf International in Santa Catarina.

Both events were run in huge waves with the final day of the Saquarema event postponed to the Monday when the waves on the Sunday were deemed too dangerous for competition. ASP Dream Tour member Kai Otton (AUS) beat Raoni Monteiro (BRA) to pocket the US$40 000 and 6 500 points there while Brazilian prodigy Gabriel Medina,17, scored two perfect 10 point rides on the final day to claim the title from experienced Australian Tom Whittaker in the Super Surf.

Dale Staples (St Francis Bay), who qualifies for all 11 events on the 2011 Prime Series thanks to his third place finish in the 2010 ASP World Junior Title Tour, and fellow 20 year-old, Shaun Joubert (Mossel Bay), who leapfrogged into the top 100 on the rankings with an outstanding fifth place finish in the first Prime event of 2011, were eliminated in the first round (Round of 96) in both events.

Brandon Jackson (Durban North) and former ASP Dream Tour campaigner Travis Logie (Durban) only competed in the Super Surf event with Jackson ousted early and Logie, in his first event after recovering from a foot injury sustained in April, advanced to the Round of 48 but placed fourth in his next match-up to end the event 37th overall.

Logie has dropped from No. 28 to No. 42 in the rankings but remains the highest placed SA surfer behind Jordy Smith (Durban) who is No. 2 behind 10 times ASP World Champion Kelly Slater (USA). Joubert has maintained his ranking of No. 80 with Bryson now up to No. 81 while Jackson has held on to his No. 104 spot.

ASP World Tour Rankings (After Super Surf International, Brazil)
1 Slater,Kelly   USA 66200
2 Smith,Jordy  ZAF 52000
3 Fanning,Mick AUS 43648
4 Burrow,Taj   AUS 43177
5 Durbidge,Bede AUS 39370

South Africans (Top 200 out of 784)
42 Logie,Travis ZAF 15162
80 Joubert,Shaun ZAF 8570
81 Bryson,Royden ZAF 8564
104 Jackson,Brandon ZAF 6280
113 Palmboom,Rudy ZAF 5807
141 Strachan,Klee ZAF 4072
147 Fahrenfort,Damien ZAF 3849
157 Gibbens,Brendon ZAF 3357
170 Staples,Dale ZAF 2912
176 Weare,David ZAF 2695
178 De Vries,Beyrick ZAF 2608

+++++++++++++++++++++++++++

Beyrick de Vries takes early lead in ASP Africa Pro Junior men’s rankings

Beyrick de Vries won the 2-Star rated Quiksilver Pro Junior at New Pier in Durban back in April to take the early lead in the 2011 ASP Africa Pro Junior men’s rankings which determine four of the five-man squad invited to compete in the this year’s ASP World Junior Title series.

De Vries, 18, from Umhlanga, produced an impressive display of progressive surfing to overcome Slade Prestwich (Scottburgh), 16, in the final and take home US $2 500 and 500 rankings points.

Dylan Lightfoot (Jeffreys Bay) and Michael February (Kommetjie) were sidelined by Prestwich and de Vries in their respective semifinals while Dale Staples (St Francis Bay), David van Zyl (Glenashley), Matt Pallet (Cape Town) and Matt Bromley (Kommetjie) ended their campaigns in the quarters.

The ASP Africa Pro Junior men’s rankings will be finalised after the 1-Star Billabong Pro Junior at Victoria Bay in the Southern Cape from September 1-4. The top four on the season ending rankings plus the highest placed ASP Africa Pro Junior on the ASP World Tour Rankings who has not already qualified via the local rankings will join representatives from the other six ASP regions in the World Junior Title series.

The 2011 series comprises three events starting with the Oakley ASP World Junior in Bali from October 3-14, followed by the inaugural Arnette ASP World Junior in Rio de Janeiro from October 24-November and culminating in the Billabong ASP World Junior Championships which will be staged as part of the recently announced Australian Open of Surfing at Manly Beach in Sydney from 11-19 February, 2012.

ASP Africa Pro Junior Men’s Rankings (After Quiksilver Pro Junior)

1 De Vries, Beyrick 500
2 Prestwich, Slade 375
3 Lightfoot, Dylan 281
February, Michael 281
5 Staples, Dale  211
Bromley, Matthew 211
Van Zyl, David 211
Pallet, Matt  211
9 Gibbens, Brendon 158
Smit, Rigard  158
Godfrey, Nicholas 158
Baum, Sarah  158

++++++++++++++++++++++++

Mid-year international events in Durban, Ballito & Jeffreys Bay

South Africa’s traditional mid-year series of international surfing events will be kick-started by the ASP 1-Star Roxy Wahine Girls Pro Junior in Durban followed by the ASP Prime rated Mr Price Pro Ballito at Ballito in KZN and culminates in Jeffreys Bay with the Billabong Pro J-Bay, stop No. 4 of 11 on the 2011 ASP World Title series.

The inaugural edition of the Roxy Wahine Pro Junior to be an ASP rated event will be staged at New Pier in Durban on the weekend 18 & 19 June. The event features the country’s best 20-years-and-under female surfers competing for a prize-purse of US $2 000 with the winner also earning one of the two coveted invitations to compete in the 2011 ASP World Junior Title series.

The 12th edition of Mr Price Pro Ballito is stop No. 7 of 11 on the ASP Prime Tour and will be run from July 4-10. The event is restricted to the top 88 ranked ASP surfers who enter plus six wildcards and two trialists and offers $250 000 in total prize-money with $40 000 and 6 500 points going to the winner. The field is headed by defending event champion and current World No. 2, Jordy Smith, and includes 24 of the world’s top 34 ranked surfers.

The 26th running of the Billabong Pro J-Bay will again attract all of the world’s top 34 ranked surfers to the waves of Supertubes from July 14-24. The event offers a total purse of $425 000 with the winner earning $75 000 and 10 000 points. The seeding is headed by 10-time and reigning ASP World Champion Kelly Slater (USA) along with former world champions Mick Fanning (AUS) and CJ Hobgood (USA), former event champions Jordy Smith (ZAF) and Australians Joel Parkinson and Taj Burrow and current ASP World Title Race ranking s leader Adriano de Souza (BRA).

ASP World Title Race rankings (After event No. 3 – Billabong Pro Rio)

1 Adriano De Souza (BRA) 20500
2 Joel Parkinson (AUS) 19200
3 Kelly Slater (USA)  16950
4 Taj Burrow (AUS)  16500
5 Jordy Smith (ZAF)  14750
6 Owen Wright (AUS) 12150
7 Michel Bourez (PYF) 12000
8 Mick Fanning (AUS) 11500
9 Bede Durbidge (AUS) 11000
9 Tiago Pires (PRT)  11000

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For more news on the South African based ASP Events see www.aspafrica.com. For up to date news on the events and ASP Africa members ‘like’ ASP Africa on Facebook

ENDS
Issued on behalf of:

ASP Africa
Contact:            Colin Fitch – Operations Manager
Tel:                   021 534 5738
Email:               colin@aspafrica.com

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