John John Florence wins Volcom Pro at epic Pipeline

February 2, 2012

Hawaii’s John John Florence created one of professional surfing’s most dramatic moments today to claim his second consecutive Volcom Pipe Pro title, completely flipping the table on former Pipe Pro champion Jamie O’Brien (Hawaii) in the final seconds.

John John Florence won the Volcom @ Pipe

O’Brien had held the lead for 34 minutes and 45 seconds of the 35-minute final… and then it evaporated before his eyes. O’Brien had bolted away at the start of the heat with an apparently insurmountable lead and Florence wasn’t even in the picture. O’Brien’s top two scoring waves were near-perfect: 9.0 and 9.43 with all three of his challengers requiring a combination of high scores to beat him.

Then at the five minute mark, two waves in the 8-10 foot range pushed through. Florence got the first: an unbelievable backside tube at Pipe that was deep, critical, and near-impossible. He blasted out with the spray and scored a perfect 10.

Right behind him, O’Brien swung, pulled in deep and blew out in front of Florence’s face for a 9.93 – further extending his lead. One minute to go… Florence paddled over and congratulated O’Brien. Then a dark line on the horizon caught his eye. One last wave stacked up on the Pipeline reef.

Fifteen seconds to go… Florence clawed his way past a frantic O’Brien who could see the writing on the wall of the wave. Florence clawed his way past Jamie, over the ledge, under the lip and into the heat-winning tube ride – a 9.93 – to claim the $20,000 first prize.

“I wrote myself off half way through,” said Florence. “Kai and Jamie both had nines. I can’t believe it. Here at Pipe anything can happen. “With 40 seconds to go I wasn’t even thinking about it. I was like, yeah Jamie, congratulations, I won last year and I’m stoked for you. Then I turned around and there’s a peak. I didn’t even know if he was going. I was going to go left and backdoor the peak, then I ended up having to fade, go right, and barely got under it. It was a wild ride. “


 

RESULTS: FINAL 1st – John John Florence (HAW) 19.93pts, $20,000 2nd – Jamie O’Brien (HAW) 19.40pts, $10,000 3rd – Kai Barger (HAW) 18.20pts, $6,500 4th – Nathan Yeomans (CA, USA) 7.57pts, $5,500

SEMI FINALS H1: Jamie O’Brien (HAW) 17.77pts ; Kai Barger (HAW) 17.10pts ; Billy Kemper (HAW) 7.90pts ; Tanner Hendrickson (HAW) 5.10pts

H2: John John Florence (HAW) 13.56pts ; Nathan Yeomans (USA) 12.83pts ; Bruce Irons (HAW) 12.40pts ; Jonathan Gonzalez (CNY) 7.44pts

QUARTERS H1: Billy Kemper (HAW) 12.00pts ; Jamie O’Brien (HAW) 11.87pts ; Tim Reyes (USA) 9.10pts ; Gabe Kling (USA) 6.63pts

H2 : Kai Barger (HAW) 14.66pts ; Tanner Hendrickson (HAW) 14.50pts ; Flynn Novak (HAW) 10.83pts ; Fredrick Patacchia (HAW) 3.63

H3 : Nathan Yeomans (USA) 13.27pts ; Jonathan Gonzalez (CNY) 12.50pts ; Carlos Munoz (CRI) 11.50pts ; Kalani Chapman (HAW) 4.77pts

H4: John John Florence (HAW) 16.34pts ; Bruce Irons (HAW) 13.00pts ; Alexander Grey (USA) 8.40pts ; Mitchel Coleborn (AUS) 4.84pts

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Lightfoot to surf in Australian Open

February 1, 2012

Dylan Lightfoot, who grew up surfing the waves of Jeffreys Bay has cracked the nod and been invited to surf in the Australia Open of Surfing Pro Junior. The event will take place at Manley Beach from 11 – 18 February.

Dylan Lightfoo drives sets up the lip with a hard drive off the bottom.

The only other two South Africans who have been invited to the event are Beyrick De Vries and Sarah Baum.

Lightfoot started his surfing career at the Main Beach in Jeffreys Bay and has worked his way up through the ranks to become one of the top junior surfers in the world.

(Where it all began: Main Beach and Dylan going right on a ”smoker”) 

A regular invite to the Xcel Showdown @ Supers, Dylan has impressed with his stylish surfing on the bigger days, as well as his “slash and burn” approach in small waves.

“My surfing is feeling really good right now and I am hoping for a great year in 2012″, said Lightfoot, whose ultimate goal is to qualify for the WCT and surf the tour around the world.

Possibly J’Bay will have a home town victory in the Billabong Pro one day. Keep it up Dyl, the town is proud of you!

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Beyrick de Vries moves into last 16 at Billabong World Junior Surfing Championships

January 26, 2012

Beyrick de Vries kept the South African flag flying at the Billabong World Surfing Championships in Australia today with a hard fought Round 3 victory over sixth ranked Andrew Doheny (USA) to move into the last 16 in the third and final event on the ASP World Junior Tour.

Beyrick de Vries is the only SA male surfer in the World Junior surf champs. Photo: ASP

After yesterday’s lay day due to the windy and rainy conditions, the remaining 32 competitors in the men’s event were sent out in messy one to 1.5 metre waves and chocolate brown water at Burleigh Heads on the Gold Coast this morning and given jetski assistance to ferry them back out to the line-up after each ride.

De Vries chose to sit on the outside bank at the break and was rewarded early on in the heat when he earned a score of 7.33 out of a possible 10 for a ride that consisted of just two manoeuvres, albeit on a larger wave.

The 19 year-old from Umhlanga is the only member of the South African team still in contention after compatriots David van Zyl and J’Bay local Dylan Lightfoot were eliminated in their respective Round 3 match-ups. Van Zyl was ousted by Kaito Ohashi (JAP) in a low-scoring encounter while Lightfoot could not match the aerial ability of Felipe Toledo (BRA), who will de Vries’ opponent in Round 4.

Dale Staples (St Francis Bay) and Michael February (Kommetjie), the other two South Africans in the men’s event, were eliminated in Round 2 earlier this week. Sarah Baum (Athlone Park, Durban), who posted the highest heat total of the entire event to date in Round 1 of the women’s event on Sunday, and Bianca Buitendag (George), winner of last year’s Billabong Women’s World Championships, will resume their challenge for the title when the women’s Round 3 takes to the water.

The Billabong World Junior Championships Gold Coast runs until 29 January and all the action will be webcast live via www.billabongpro.com

BILLABONG WORLD JUNIOR CHAMPIONSHIPS GOLD COAST ROUND 3 RESULTS:

HEAT 1: Mateia Hiquily (PYF) 9.67 def. Peterson Crisanto (BRA) 8.63

HEAT 2: Medi Veminardi (REU) 10.34 def. Chase Wilson (USA) 6.20

HEAT 3: Arashi Kato (JPN) 13.43 def. Thomas Woods (AUS) 9.30

HEAT 4: Jack Freestone (AUS) 18.00 def. Jack Robinson (AUS) 7.10

HEAT 5: Conner Coffin (USA) 14.70 def. Jake Halstead (USA) 12.44

HEAT 6: Ian Gouveia (BRA) 12.83 def. Matt Banting (AUS) 12.27

HEAT 7: Vasco Riberio (PRT) 10.70 def. Caue Wood (BRA) 7.90

HEAT 8: Wade Carmichael (AUS) 13.33 def. Caio Ibelli (BRA) 12.83

HEAT 9: Garrett Parkes (AUS) 13.60 def Tim Macdonald (AUS) 12.07

HEAT 10: Kaito Ohashi (JPN) 8.77 def. David Van Zyl (ZAF) 6.00

HEAT 11: Filipe Toledo (BRA) 17.20 def. Dylan Lightfoot (ZAF) 8.67

HEAT 12: Beyrick De Vries (ZAF) 14.00 def. Andrew Doheny (USA) 12.10

HEAT 13: Nathan Carvalho (HAW) 12.17 def. Marco Fernandez (BRA) 8.70

HEAT 14: Evan Thompson (USA) 10.43 def. Matt-Lewis Hewitt (NZL) 8.50

HEAT 15: Soli Bailey (AUS) 13.66 def. Keanu Asing (HAW) 12.57

HEAT 16: Dean Bowen (AUS) 17.43 def. Hiroto Arai (JPN) 7.36

UPCOMING BILLABONG WORLD JUNIOR CHAMPIONSHIPS GOLD COAST ROUND 4 MATCH-UPS:

HEAT 1: Mateia Hiquily (PYF) vs. Medi Veminardi (REU)

HEAT 2: Arashi Kato (JPN) vs. Jack Freestone (AUS)

HEAT 3: Conner Coffin (USA) vs. Ian Gouveia (BRA)

HEAT 4: Vasco Riberio (PRT) vs. Wade Carmichael (AUS)

HEAT 5: Garrett Parkes (AUS) vs. Kaito Ohashi (JPN)

HEAT 6: Filipe Toledo (BRA) vs. Beyrick De Vries (ZAF)

HEAT 7: Nathan Carvalho (HAW) vs. Evan Thompson (USA)

HEAT 8: Soli Bailey (AUS) vs. Dean Bowen (AUS)

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Durban surfers dominate at SA Open

December 6, 2011

Ricky Basnett (Bluff) and Sarah Baum (Durban) won the Men and Women’s titles respectively at the Guido’s SA Open at Port Alfred on Saturday (December 3).

While Baum has racked up a number of victories in Surfing South Africa Pro Surf Tour events over the last few years, the SA Open win was Basnett’s first at home since he won the Mr Price Pro in 2005.

Sarah Baum won the SA Open in Port Alfred.

Basnett’s 12,25 point score gave him the nod ahead of Dan Redman of Durban who posted 12.1 points while SA Championships runner-up Wayne Monk scored 9.6 points to finish third ahead of fellow East London surfer and defending champion Greg Emslie.

Emslie looked in fine form in the semis where he beat Basnett into second place but in the final his strategy of sitting deep to wait for the set waves did not pay off and he could only find 7.35 points.

Jeffreys Bay surfer Dylan Lightfoot made it through to the quarter finals where he came up against Greg Emslie and Ricky Basnett, who edged Lightfoot into 3rd position.

The Women surfed two rounds and both sets of points were added together to determine the overall winner. Baum’s accumulated point score was 30 (out of a possible 40) with Tarryn Chudleigh (Kommetjie) finishing in second place with 23,10. Nikita Robb (Cape Town) was third with 19,10 and Faye Zoetmulder (Port Elizabeth) posted 14,10 to end fourth.

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Lightfoot and Petersen to surf in SA Open

December 3, 2011

Port Alfred’s Main Beach will bring the 2011 Surfing South Africa Pro Surf Tour to a fitting conclusion when the Guido’s SA Open takes place there tomorrow.

Greg Emslie will lead the charge at Port Alfred

Former Mr Price Pro Champion and ASP World Qualifying Series surfer Ricky Basnett of Durban is competing as is Dan Redman, another top Durban competitor who also spent time on the ASP World Qualifying Series Tour.

Defending SA Open champion Greg Emslie of East London is top seed in this 2A Rated PST event that offers R 10 000 in prize money to the Men and R 5 000 in prize money to the Women.

Surfers who could surprise are ISA World Junior Championship silver medal winner Dylan Lightfoot of Jeffreys Bay, 2010 SA Open finalist Simon Fish of East London, 2011 SA Championship runner up Wayne Monk of East London and talented Remi Petersen of Jeffreys Bay.

Current SA Women’s champion Nikita Robb of Cape Town, South African Under 20 Champion Sarah Baum of Durban, 2011 SA Team member Tanika Hoffman of Kommetjie, multiple South African champion Tarryn Chudleigh of Kommetjie along with recently returned ASP World Qualifying Series campaigner and current EP Champion Faye Zoetmulder of Port Elizabeth will fight it out for the R5,000 on offer in the women’s division.

The event gets under way at 9 am today and will end at approximately 2 pm. The Award ceremony and year end celebration will take place at Guido’s in Port Alfred from 7 pm. All are welcome.

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South Africa’s top surfers line up for Guido’s SA Open at Port Alfred

November 20, 2011

A former World Champion, a bunch of National champions, current and former South African Team members, and a host of top locals will bring the Surfing South Africa year to a fitting climax when they compete in the Guido’s SA Open of Surfing, at Port Alfred in the Eastern Cape on December 3 & 4.

Greg Emslie will be in action in Port Alfred in December.

Two time World Masters Women’s champion and multiple SA Champion, Heather Clark of Port Shepstone, current South African champions Greg Emslie of East London and Nikita Robb of Cape Town as well as Under 20 and Under 17 SA Champion Sarah Baum of Durban are set to top the list of entries in the 2A rated PST event which offers R15,000 in prize money, courtesy of Guido’s.

Emslie and Robb won their National titles at the Billabong SA Championships in Seal Point earlier this year. Baum took the Under 20 crown at Seal Point and then went on to win the Western Province Open in Cape Town and the Under 17 title at the recent Hurley SA Junior Championships in Durban.

Emslie also became the SA Masters Champion at the National Masters Championships held at Nahoon Reef in East London in August and will arrive in Port Alfred as the defending SA Open champion.

Entries are still open and with plenty of prize money and PST points on offer in both the Men’s and Women’s events, a trip down to Port Alfred seems like a good idea.

The Guido’s SA Open of Surfing is hosted by the Kowie Boardriders and presented by Surfing South Africa. It forms part of the 2011 Surfing South Africa Pro Surf Tour.

Entries can be completed online at www.surfingsouthafrica.co.za

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Will Jordy make it a Billabong title hat trick in 2012?

November 16, 2011

The Billabong Pro will be held in July 2012 in Jeffreys Bay, ensuring that the world best surfers as well as the international media crews will be back in town for an extended period next year.

South Africans will be hoping that local surfer and defending champion Jordy Smith will make it three in a row in the fabled waves of Supertubes.

Jordy Smith lays down the law at Supers. Photo: ASP

ASP International has released its 2012 World Tour schedule today, outlining the respective tours for the year ahead:

2012 ASP World Title Series:
Quiksilver Pro Gold Coast – Australia (February 25 – March 7, 2012)
Rip Curl Pro Bells Beach – Australia (April 3 – 14, 2012)
Billabong Rio Pro – Brazil (May 9 – 20, 2012)
Volcom Pro Fiji – Fiji (June 3 – 16, 2012)
Billabong Pro Jeffreys Bay – South Africa (July 11 – 22, 2012)
Billabong Pro Teahupoo – Tahiti (August 16 – 27, 2012)
Quiksilver Pro New York – USA (September 2 – 14, 2012)
Hurley Pro at Trestles – USA (September 15 – 23, 2012)
Quiksilver Pro France – France (September 26 – October 6, 2012)
Rip Curl Pro Portugal – Portugal (October 7 – 17, 2012)
Billabong Pipe Masters – Hawaii (December 8 – 20, 2012)
Notably absent from the 2012 ASP World Title Series schedule is the Rip Curl Pro Search, but the event will return in 2013.
The 2012 ASP Women’s World Title Series sees the return of the core seven events from this season, and the ASP will be diligently working on adding events before the start of the season in February.
2012 ASP Women’s World Title Series:
Roxy Pro Gold Coast – Australia (February 25 – March 7, 2012)
Rip Curl Women’s Pro Bells Beach – Australia (April 3 – 9, 2012)
Subaru Pro Women’s Surf Festival – New Zealand (April 11 – 15, 2012)
Commonwealth Bank Beachley Classic – Australia (April 18 – 23, 2012)
Billabong Rio Pro – Brazil (May 9 – 20, 2012)
Roxy Pro Biarritz – France (July 9 – 15, 2012)
Nike US Open of Surfing – USA (July 30 – August 5, 2012)
2011 marked the first fully functioning year for the ASP Prime Series and the initial offering was a resounding success. The ASP Prime events will continue to showcase the established elite tour campaigners battling the new guard in ten venues this coming year.
2012 ASP Prime Series:
Hang Loose Pro – Brazil (February 7 – 12, 2012)
Telstra Drug Aware Pro – Australia (March 19 – 25, 2012)
Nike Lowers Pro – USA (April 30 – May 5, 2012)
Saquarema Surf Pro International – Brazil (May 21 – 27, 2012)
Mr Price Pro Ballito – South Africa (July 2 – 9, 2012)
Nike US Open of Surfing – USA (July 30 – August 5, 2012)
Billabong Azores Island Pro – Portugal (October 19 – 24, 2012)
Super Surf International – Brazil (October 27 – November 1, 2012)
S B Reef Hawaiian Pro – Hawaii (November 14 – 25, 2012)
Vans World Cup – Hawaii (November 26 – December 6, 2012)

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Slater wins world title number 11

November 4, 2011

Kelly Slater (USA), 39, has claimed a historic 11th ASP World Title by advancing out of Round 3 at the Rip Curl Pro Search San Francisco.

Kelly Slater is the most successful pro surfer of all time. Photo: ASP

In pristine 3 – 5 foot peaks at Ocean Beach, Slater fought back to an inspired start from opponent Dan Ross (AUS), 28, to claim victory in the dying moments in front of a capacity crowd at Ocean Beach.

“It was a scrappy heat, I didn’t win it in the most effortless style,” Slater said. “I’ve had a lot of heats with Rossy (Dan Ross) this year, and he’s real dangerous with a little power so I knew he’d be dangerous and I was nowhere to be found in the beginning of that heat.

I was hunting those lefts and they were fading off I was thinking ‘why am I taking off on these things.’ I knew I had to get in on some of those rights. That wave had a nice open face and I thought it’d probably be just enough.”

After a banner year that witnessed the iconic Floridian make five of nine Finals (thus far) and post three wins, Slater seems to be surfing at the top of his game.

“This is pretty fabulous,” Slater said. “Two days ago in the afternoon it was chunky and small and didn’t look inviting at all. Yesterday was nice and today looks like a nice day in France. I don’t know, this hasn’t sunk in. I’ve been pretty stressed about it and I’m glad it’s over. It’s very fulfilling and there’s personal satisfaction. It feels real nice. I’ve dedicated my life to surfing and competing and to go a whole year and win a world title and have it pay off, it’s really fulfilling. To win on American soil is nice. Everyone’s been so cool and the locals have been so stoked.”

Kelly Slater’s 2011 ASP World Title Series Results:

Quiksilver Pro Gold Coast: WINNER

Rip Curl Pro Bells Beach: Equal 5th

Billabong Rio Pro: Equal 13th

Billabong Pro Jeffreys Bay: No Show

Billabong Pro Tahiti: WINNER

Quiksilver Pro New York: Runner-Up

Hurley Pro at Trestles: WINNER

Quiksilver Pro France: Equal 5th

Rip Curl Pro Portugal: Runner-UP

Rip Curl Pro Search San Francisco: TBD

Billabong Pipeline Masters: TBD

With the 2011 ASP World Title sealed, Slater is now focused on performing in the event at hand, the Rip Curl Pro Search San Francisco.

“I’m refocusing on another win here,” Slater said. “I’ve accomplished the year goal. I definitely feel like I can go out and surf a lot more relaxed now. It’s really nice to win here in these conditions with so many people on the beach, I thought it’d be freezing cold and onshore and it’s been amazing.”

Having claimed his first ASP World Title in 1992 at the age of 20, Slater still boasts the record for the youngest-ever ASP World Title holder. Now at 39 years of age, Slater holds the record of being the oldest ASP World Champion ever, but was characteristically coy regarding any talk of retirement.

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Slater for 11th World Title

November 2, 2011

Clean 3 – 5 foot waves graced the banks at Ocean Beach today as the world’s best surfers kicked off the Rip Curl Pro Search San Francisco.

Event No. 10 of 11 on the 2011 ASP World Title Series, the Rip Curl Pro Search San Francisco will play a pivotal role in determining the 2011 ASP World Champion.

Kelly Slater. Photo: ASP

Kelly Slater (USA), 39, reigning 10 time ASP World Champion and defending Rip Curl Pro Search champion, looked sharp this morning while opening his campaign in San Francisco, navigating through several barrels and releasing committed turns to earn a 16.03 heat total out of a possible 20 and a Round 1 heat victory.
“I’m stoked because I went out last night and the surf was tough, the waves were real flat and I had boots and gloves and a hood so that I could go back and feel more comfortable out there today with less rubber on,” Slater said. “The conditions today were a lot more fun. The water is like J’bay and I thought it’d be colder but it’s not too bad.”
Slater, the current frontrunner on the 2011 ASP World Title Race, needs to take a 9th place finish (or advance through one more heat) at the Rip Curl Pro Search to secure his unprecedented 11th crown.
“I’m going to try and just be relaxed about it because it’s a situation where you could feel tense in and want to get it over with it,” Slater said. “The reality of it is the other guys have to win both events with my last heat win so the pressure is on them.  I just need to catch four good waves in this event to win the title.”

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Kelly Slater could win World Title no 11

October 29, 2011

The Rip Curl Pro Search San Francisco, part of the 2011 ASP World Title Series, will bring the world’s best surfers to Northern California  with the ASP Top 34 doing battle at Ocean Beach.

The penultimate stop of the 2011 ASP Dream Tour season, the contest could be the deciding event of the 2011 ASP World Title.

Kelly Slater is on track to win world title no 11. Photo: ASP

Kelly Slater (USA), 39, reigning 10 times World Surf Champion and current World No. 1, is just two heat wins away from clinching a historic 11th title, needing to finish ninth or better at the Rip Curl Pro Search San Francisco to end this season’s race.
“Being this close doesn’t change my approach too much,” Slater said. “I have to ride four waves as well as I can against probably a really good wildcard. The approach doesn’t change because of the situation. The approach got me to this place and I’ll stay in the same head space as much as possible.”
Despite missing July’s South Africa event and being challenged by a new field of opponents, Slater has had an impressive run in 2011, posting three victories (Gold Coast, Tahiti, Trestles) as well as two Runner-Up finishes (New York, Portugal) – a performance, in part, he attributes to the relief of clinching his 10th ASP World Title last season.

Slater has won more world titles than any other surfer in history. Photo: ASP

“I think last year’s title made this one easier to a degree,” Slater said. “It took pressure off of me for sure. The 10 th was a far more talked about and conscious situation. Everyone wanted to know what I was thinking about 10. That was a much more difficult monkey to have to not think about at all. Now I enjoy competing with a bit less distraction.”
The Rip Curl Pro Search San Francisco will be Slater’s inaugural surfing experience in the ‘City by the Bay’ and the reigning  World Champion was succinct in his expectations of the venue.
“I expect cold and paddling,” Slater said.
ASP WORLD TITLE TOP 5 (Heading into Rip Curl Pro Search San Francisco):
1. Kelly Slater (USA) 58,150 pts
2. Owen Wright (AUS) 45,650 pts
3. Adriano de Souza (BRA) 42,450 pts
4. Joel Parkinson (AUS) 41,100 pts
5. Taj Burrow (AUS) 40,950 pts

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