Hawaii’s Sunny Garcia provided most of the spectator excitement on the opening day of the Association of Surfing Professionals (ASP) six-star Prime rated Drug Aware Pro presented by Rusty at Margaret River today.
The 2000 ASP world champion was called an interference mid-way through his opening round heat following a wave altercation with Canary Island surfer Jonathon Gonzales.
The interference call resulted in Garcia being penalised with a deduction of half of his points on his second scoring ride and saw him slip from 2nd to 4th mid-way through the heat.
In a weekend that started with tough conditions, but ended with offshore wind waves of nice size, Montezuma’s Mattías Braun adds a second victory in the Circuito Nacional de Surf, and the first in the DayStar 2009-10. This came after a final characterized by a give and take of positioning between the best surfers in the heat.
Joining Braun in the final were Tamarindo’s own Federico Pilurzu and Isaac Vega, as well as Jaco’s Jason Torres, all noted leaders in the country’s surf scene. In the heat, they also at one time or another had the lead, but an inspired backside from Braun showed his dominance. He also invested greater energy, with long routes, and manuevers characterized by forcé, and it was this investment that resulted in the highest combination of the event with a 13,84 against 12.33 of Torres, 11.64 of Vega and 11.10 for Pilurzu.
Australian young gun Owen Wright is flying high after winning the Association of Surfing Professionals (ASP) Boost Mobile SurfSho presented by Samsung at Bondi Beach today.
The 20-year old from Lennox Head, NSW, competed against some of the biggest names in surfing, including Taj Burrow, Mick Fanning and Kelly Slater, during the three-day aerial surfing extravaganza. Owen takes home $25,000 in prize money, along with a stack of other prizes.
When receiving his trophy on the SurfSho podium, Wright said: “I’m ecstatic! Where’s the thesaurus to describe how I feel? It was a great final, great atmosphere, and a great crowd. I’m buzzing! It’s been a big three days. I’m stoked to be at Bondi and walking away with the Boost Mobile SurfSho trophy and this cheque!”
The Association of Surfing Professionals (ASP) North America Pro Junior Series season opener saw local Floridian Evan Geiselman (New Smyrna Beach, FL), 16, clinch the ASP Grade-3 Ron Jon SI Pro presented by Skullcandy while young Hawaiian talent Malia Manuel (Wailua, HI), 16, won the ASP Grade-2 Skullcandy Junior Pro in one-to-three foot (1 metre) surf at Florida’s iconic break of Sebastian Inlet.
With qualification for the inaugural ASP World Junior Tour (WJT) on the line via this year’s regional series, the early season ratings’ lead picked up by Geiselman and Manuel could prove vital in their chance to battle the globe’s best for the title of ASP World Junior Champion.
Twenty-eight-year old Glenn “Micro’ Hall racked up his first win on the world surfing tour today when he defeated South African Brandon Jackson to claim the ASP 4-star Burton Toyota Pro at Merewether Beach.
The Umina (New South Wales) surfer, who competes under an Irish passport for ease of competing in European surfing competitions, contested his first ever world tour event at Newle 14 years ago when he was just a grommet with a dream.
“I won $300 here when I was14 and convinced Mum to let me use it to enter the QS the next week.
The Association of Surfing Professionals (ASP) Specialty-Rated Boost Mobile SurfSho presented by Samsung was off to a flying start today with world class surfers Kelly Slater, Taj Burrow, Owen Wright and Jordy Smith hitting Bondi’s famous waves this morning.
The surfers provided a taste of the aerial action to come over the three-day event, the first international surf competition Bondi has seen in more than 20 years. Champion boxer Danny Green joined Kelly and others at the launch as he prepares to take them on in Saturday’s celebrity surfing challenge.
Today’s junior trials saw 32 young surfers competing in four-person heats for a chance to win wildcard entry into Sunday’s final.
Mark ‘Scratch’ Cameron and Jill Noble are the new Scottish Surfing champions.
The national competition was held in the famous wave located at Thurso-East.
Surfers battled in five divisions and the winners will represent Scotland in the ASP’s O’Neill Cold Water Classic and qualify for a place in the Scottish National Surfing Team.
Australian Stephanie Gilmore, three-times World Surfing Champion, was named Laureus World Action Sportsperson of the Year 2010.
The female surfer beated windsurfer Antoine Albeau and fellow surfer Mick Fanning. Chris Cole and Danny MacAskill were also shortlisted for the award.
Jamaica’s Usain Bolt has been named Laureus World Sportsman of the Year for the second consecutive time.
World-class surfers Kelly Slater, Taj Burrow and Owen Wright will be busting out their best moves for the Boost Mobile SurfSho presented by Samsung, taking place on Bondi Beach this weekend (12th to 14th March 2010).
The first international surfing competition to take place on Bondi Beach in over 20 years, the three-day event is free to attend and will see the most exciting aerial surfers from across the globe competing for a $30,000 prize on Bondi’s famous waves.
According to Swellnet the conditions are looking great for the event, “ Friday morning should offer solid 3-4ft sets before easing a little during the day. Winds look to remain moderate from the south-east all day, so although conditions will be bumpy, the surf should be quite peaky with good launch pads for aerials.
Australian surfer Dane Bird celebrated his 23rd birthday today by eliminating former world champion Mark Occhilupo on day three of the Association of Surfing Professionals (ASP) 4-Star rated Burton Toyota Pro.
But there remains some doubt as to whether he will continue surfing in the event or attend the funeral of his grandmother who passed away last Saturday.
The funeral is scheduled for tomorrow in Brisbane and Bird is torn between competing and being with his family.
