I recently got married to the love of my life and thought I was pretty lucky to get to go to Bali for our honeymoon.
Little did I know that the WSL Championship Tour would overlap with our trip and we decided to make a mission to view the first day’s surfing at Keramas.
How lucky can a guy be to see one of his Saffa crew killing it?! Jordy was on fire that day and it’s a moment I’ll never forget in my life.
Apart from Keramas we had a crazy good time exploring Bali and the islands. Here are a few random shots…
I’ve decided to put all of my future surf photography and surf shop material on our new Instagram channel. Please come and follow us here: https://www.instagram.com/beachbumsa/.
On Saturday the 21st of Jan Kai Linder and his crew from The Good Life organised an excellent day for all at the beach. The theme was retro surfing and the guys from Vudu Surf provided a whole range of retro boards for the day’s contestants to ride on. The idea was to raise funds for the Llandudno Life Saving Club and from what I experienced this was a raging success.
Llandudno beach was packed to the brim and the who’s who of SA surfing popped in to support. Highlights was Potamus the surfing dog who almost ate one of Vudu’s boards (in fact I hope it wasn’t one of their boards) and of course Jordy Smith (leading SA surfer) , Roosta, Chad du Toit and more.
It was hot on the beach, and not just the sun, babes everywhere made for a happy beachbum…
Shoutout to Jacque Smit and John Wilkinson who kept me company.
Props goes to sponsors Vudu Surf, RVCA, Red Bull, theGoodLife, Hurricane, Backsberg, Indo Sole, Wet Sac, Reef Wetsuits, Mrs Palmers and once again to Kai for making this day possible. The best day to kick off a year full of surfing in Cape Town, ever!
theGoodLife video here:
And without further ado, check out the gallery below (there is a second set of photos, link at bottom!):
It’s official, Kelly Slater took his 11th World Title last week by placing past round 4 in the San Francisco Rip Curl Pro.
Who knows how long he’ll keep on doing this, but at 39 years old it doesn’t look like he’s slowing down at all. After Jordy Smith fell out with a rib injury after Teahupo’o in Tahiti it was pretty much plain sailing for Kelly, but Owen Wright (Aus) did give him a hard run for a few events. Lets hope Jordy keeps it together next year and that Kelly keeps on surfing, because it’s sure going to be a cracker of a tour with all the new talent coming up the ranks.
Long live Kelly, in my opinion one of the best sportsmen of our time. Congrats mate!
Today the swell maxed out between 10-15ft and strong winds and rips made conditions difficult for the competitors. Jordy Smith glided through a few monster barrels to take the win in his round today and has moved on to the quarter finals. The rest of the day was ‘loser rounds’ to see if anyone could make their way back into the fold of first prize competition. The Brazilians are still proving themselves as a strong force to be dealt with. More on that at Kai’s Blog.
Even Shaun Tomson reckoned that he’d much rather prefer the comfort of the commentating box than getting those bombs on the head. The surfers had jet-ski assistance to get to the line-up as it was near impossible to paddle out alone. That fits perfectly with my beachbum style (any takers?).
Day 4’s highlights
{update} – Jordy subsequently got knocked out in the quarters. The waves were a bit inconsistent, but check below for further highlights.
Day 5’s highlights
Final Day’s highlights
Results
Congratulations to Pat Guduaskus (from San Clemente, California, USA) for winning the Mr Price Pro event. He beat John John Florence (HAW) in the final and Jordy Smith came in third. Hopefully Jordy can build on the result and peak at the Billabong Pro and make us Saffa’s proud!
South African surfers continue riding high after yet another local yokel took a major title yesterday.
When East Londoner Greg “The Foot” Emslie emerged as the winner of the O’Neill Cold Water Classic South Africa in Cape Town yesterday, he became the first South African to do so in home surf in the entire history of the event.
With Emslie beating Australian Dion Atkinson at Kommetjie’s Long Beach, it means that the recent South African surfing winning streak continues.
“Jordy (Smith) won the other two local events and now I’ve won the third,” Emslie said after the event. “I was thinking to myself, ‘I beat Jordy in this event, now I can’t let the guy down and lose the final’. We’ve got to keep all the trophies at home, so I’m stoked I managed to do that.”
It was close though. As the Mercury reports, Emslie’s victory over Atkinson came down to a final wave in the dying minutes of the contest.
Jordy Smith managed to become the first South African to win an ASP World Tour event since Shaun Tomson back in the ‘80s when he was crowned the Billabong Pro J-Bay 2010 champion at Jeffreys Bay on Sunday.
By accomplishing this amazing feat, during which he defeated Australia’s Adam Melling in the last round, the 22-year old also managed to secure the top spot on the ASP World Title Race Rankings, knocking the legendary Kelly Slater from his perch as the world’s number one surfer.
“This is the best day of my life,” Jordy said from the podium. “The crowd on the beach has been supporting me the last few days and hearing the cheers and the vuvuzelas just get me fired up to perform. It feels like they’re pushing me along. I couldn’t have done it without them.
“I knew the swell was dying and I had to take advantage of every wave that came through.” Referring to Adam Melling, he said: “[He] is such a dangerous surfer. He’s been in form all day and I knew that if he got the waves, he would get the scores. I went out there knowing I had to open up strong.”
Adam said: “The ocean didn’t cooperate with me in the Final so that’s a shame but I couldn’t be happier. We had amazing waves and to get the best result of my career is huge. I came into Jeffreys with a long road ahead if I were to make the mid-year cut-off, and now that I’m 19th, I feel like I have a bit of a buffer heading into Tahiti. I worked really hard to get here and I want to stay here.”
The next stop on the 2010 ASP World Tour is the Billabong Pro Tahiti from August 23 through September 3, 2010.
Billabong Pro Jeffreys Bay Final Results:
1 – Jordy Smith (ZAF) 17.93
2 – Adam Melling (AUS) 10.00
Billabong Pro Jeffreys Bay Semi-final Results:
SF 1: Jordy Smith (ZAF) 14.83 def. Bede Durbidge (AUS) 14.40
SF 2: Adam Melling (AUS) 14.00 def. Taj Burrow (AUS) 10.67
Billabong Pro Jeffreys Bay Quarter-final Results:
QF 1: Jordy Smith (ZAF) 16.43 def. Adriano de Souza (BRA) 9.20
QF 2: Bede Durbidge (AUS) 12.17 def. Sean Holmes (ZAF) 11.83
QF 3: Taj Burrow (AUS) 11.00 def. Dane Reynolds (USA) 3.66
QF 4: Adam Melling (AUS) 16.43 def. Damien Hobgood (USA) 5.67
Current ASP World Title Race Top 5 (after South Africa):
1. Jordy Smith (ZAF) 28500 pts
2. Taj Burrow (AUS) 24750 pts
3. Kelly Slater (USA) 23500 pts
4. Dane Reynolds (USA) 20000 pts
5. Adriano de Souza (BRA) 19500 pts
6. Mick Fanning (AUS) 19250 pts
7. Bede Durbidge (AUS) 18750 pts
8. Bobby Martinez (USA) 16500 pts
9. Jadson Andre (BRA) 16000 pts
10. Joel Parkinson (AUS) 14750 pts
The world’s top pro surfers, including nine time world champ and current number one ranked Kelly Slater (USA) and number three ranked local Jordy Smith, are convened in Jeffrey’s Bay where they are participating in what is probably the most prestigious surfing event in South Africa: the Billabong Pro.
The 25th Billabong Pro kicked off in pristine conditions in this Mecca of South African surfing yesterday, Thursday 15 July 2010. Smith, Slater, 2007 Billabong Pro winner and Aussie Taj Burrow and and reigning ASP World Champ Mick Fanning, also from Australia, all proceeded to qualify for the third round yesterday.
Fanning, who was the top scorer of the day, posting rides of 8.83 and 7.87 (out of 10) to amass a total of 16.70 (out of 20), said it was important to take every heat seriously this year. “There are so many threats and even the rookies can do damage. I feel like I’ve been surfing well all year and I’m just focusing on every heat, and hopefully that takes me to a solid result.”
The Billabong Pro will continue until 25 July 2010. For more information, visit the event’s official website.
Wow, but Jordy Smith really is riding a huge wave of success at the moment and that wave doesn’t appear set to come crashing down on the rocks any time soon.
If he doesn’t let up, this entire blog runs the risk of becoming all about him – but we won’t mind all that much. Just last week, we told you how the 22-year old South African professional surfer, who is ranked number two in the world after legendary Kelly Slater, is nominated for Men’s Health Magazine’s “Best Men of 2010” awards and how he is using his name and fame to get involved in environmental issues.
On Sunday night, Jordy received the highest honour at the 2010 South African Surfing Awards when he was crowned South Africa’s Surfer of the Year. As Sports24 reports, the rapturous applause this announcement was greeted with solidifies “his growing reputation as one of the world’s most exciting surfers, as well as South Africa’s reputation as one of the leaders in world surfing.”
Another of the night’s honorees was Cape Town’s big wave rider Chris Bertish, who received the ‘Pushing the Boundaries’ title.
Three more surfers were inducted into the Surfing Hall of Fame. They are Peers Pittard, Christine Petrucci (1942-2009) and Hugh Roe. The late Christine’s children were there to accept the award on her behalf.
The Surf Photographer of the Year award was given to Durban’s Greg Ewing, whose prolific and skillfully executed body of work has established him as one of the country’s leading surfing photographers.
Umhlanga’s Beyrick de Vries received The Blowing Up Performer Award, given to the country’s most exciting up and coming junior surfer under the age of 20.
Cecil Solomon from Cape Town received the Agent of Change award for “spreading the stoke of surfing among all communities and at all levels” – which is a fitting description for the man who founded South Africa’s first non-racial surf club.
Raking in titles and accolades are not unusual for South African pro surfer Jordy Smith. At just 22, he is currently ranked the number two pro surfer in the world, putting him just one step behind surfing great Kelly Slater.
That is just one of the many reasons why the O’Neill surf rider is up for Men’s Health Magazine’s “Best Men 2010” awards. The surfer is nominated in the category “The Game Changer”, who the magazine defines as “… the man who is turning an industry on its head by inventing new and creative ways of working… and playing.”
Men’s Health also acknowledges Jordy for his invention of his ground-breaking “Rodeo Flip” aerial surfing manoeuvre. But apart from his undeniable skill on the board, he also gets our vote for revealing and breaking out his inner musician during a song writing and performance collaboration with local group Goldfish, in which he proved that he’s not even a fish out of water in the recording studio. The result of Jordy’s combined efforts with Goldfish is the track “Flying Stealth – Jordy Smith vs. Goldfish”, which can be heard and downloaded over here.
We also think Jordy deserves the title for his do-gooder side, which he displayed when he recently lent his support to the Surfrider Foundation’s “Oil and Water don’t Mix” t-shirt campaign to stop oil companies from drilling in the world’s oceans. The campaign was launched in order to prevent another catastrophic environmental disaster, such as the current BP oil spill in the Gulf of Mexico, from happening ever again.
“From growing up in South Africa and travelling on the Tour, I’ve been given the opportunity to surf some of the nicest beaches around the world. So when I see what’s happening in the Gulf Coast, it’s a sad reminder how badly offshore oil drilling can damage our oceans and marine life. Hopefully this t-shirt will help bring more awareness to the issue and keep oil companies away from the waters we love,” Jordy said.
The limited edition t-shirt is available for US$20 from O’Neill. Funds will be contributed towards the clean-up efforts in the Gulf.
To join us in lending your support to Jordy, you can vote for him here. Go on! We honestly can’t think of a more deserving dude.
Renowned for its iconic waves, Jeffreys Bay is undisputedly considered to be the Mecca of South African surfing.
So it’s a bit ironic that small surf was the cause for a lay day being called at the Billabong Pro surfing championship. The event, the fifth of ten on the 2009 ASP World Tour, has been delayed until tomorrow morning – when conditions will be reassessed – due to this morning’s small two-to-three (one metre) waves.
According to Mike Parsons, Billabong Pro Contest Director, the swell models they’ve been tracking have moved a bit south, with improving swell models giving them an optimistic outlook that they’ll have bigger waves as early as tomorrow.
Yesterday, at the completion of the VonZipper Trials, local Devyn Matthews won his heat, earning himself a wildcard berth into the Billabong Pro Jeffreys Bay. Other South Africans who also received wildcards are Shaun Holmes and Ryan Payne.
Once the conditions improve, the first round match-ups look as follows:
Heat 1: Jordy Smith (ZAF), Tim Boal (FRA), Michael Picon (FRA)
Heat 2: Tom Whitaker (AUS), Jay Thompson (AUS), Nathaniel Curran (USA)
Heat 3: Bobby Martinez (USA), Josh Kerr (AUS), Nic Muscroft (AUS)
Not even the onset of one of the Cape’s most hectic winter storms – which stirred up enormous swells that nearly caused a ship to run aground near Blouberg – could intimidate South African surfer Jordy Smith.
The dude pulled out a stellar performance on the third day of the O’Neill Cold Water Classic, reaching a score of 8.5. Not that we expect anything less from the event ambassador!
So while the weather is cooperating to make this Cold Water Classic truly as cold as can be, Jordy confirmed as much to Surfer Today. (By the way, ST reckons Jordy is the surfer to watch in this event.) “It is pretty wild and cold. It’s like gale force winds out there. I got on a few waves and couldn’t even move for the wind – but there are some fun rides out there.”
If the forecasters are to be believed, the competing surfers should brace themselves for waves in excess of about 40 feet high!
It kicked off in Tasmania. Then it moved to the freezing surf of Scotland. And now surfers who take part in the O’Neill Cold Classic will have to brave the waves right here in the Cape of storms.
From 20 to 24 June, the best local and international surfers will descend upon the Cape Peninsula for the third stop in this surfing series, which is also a four star ASP World Qualifying Series event. Surfers will include local Jordy Smith, who not only won the inaugural event in Tasmania, but who will also act as the ambassador to this event.
According to Girlracer, this local leg of the event can rightfully proclaim itself to be the ‘wildest event in professional surfing’. Hovering at temperatures of around 10 degrees, the water here is certainly cold enough for the Cold Water Classic. Throw in the heavy winter storms kicking up huge swells, the “prevalance of bull kelp around many of the surf spots and the threat of Great White Sharks (against which precautions will be taken)” and you get what definitely promises to be a surfing contest that isn’t meant for the fainthearted.
However, considering the generous prize of US$85 000, we’re sure that the surfers won’t hold anything back!
Wetsuits were exchanged for more formal wear at the third annual South African Surfing Awards.
The event, proudly presented by Zigzag Magazine in association with Paarl Web, took place at Suncoast Casino in Durban last Saturday night, 25 April 2009.
Local legend and big wave rider Grant “Twiggy” Baker walked away with the evening’s most prestigious award, Surfer of the Year, which looks to recognise the surfer who exceeded all surfing expectations in the twelve months gone by.
Baker scooped top honours for his undeniable rise to the forefront of big wave surfing across the globe after winning the 2008 Red Bull Big Wave Africa and a Billabong XXL Award for the largest wave ridden in the last 12 months.
” 2008 was a phenomenal year. I was lucky enough to be in the right place at the right time, but this evening and this award all starts here, with being a South African surfer. We owe everything we have to the SA surf legends who are here tonight, and i want to pay tribute to them. But most of all, this award goes to all the surfers in South Africa. Thank you, it’s an honour.” said winner Twiggy.
Other awards of the evening included :
1. Pro Junior Champ 2008 : Bianca Buitendag (George)
2. Pro Junior Champ 2008: Klee Strachan (Amanzimtoti)
3. PST Champ 2008: Tammy Lee Smith (Ballito)
4. PST Champ 2008: Devyn Mattheys (East London)
5. ASP Africa Pro Junior Champ 2008: (Amanzimtoti)
6. ASP Africa Champ: David Weare (Durban North)
7. Blowing Up Performer: Dale Staples (St Francis Bay)
8. Contribution to surfing: Louis Wulff (East London)
9. Photographer of the Year: Alan Van Gysen (Cape Town)
10. Pushing The Boundaries: Red Bull Big Wave Africa
11. World Tour Qualifier: Roseanne Hodge (East London)
12. World Tour Qualifier: Jordy Smith (Durban)
13. World Tour Qualifier: David Weare (Durban North)
14. World Tour Qualifier: Greg Emslie (East London)
Will Bendix, editor of Zigzag, comments; “We’re honoured and extremely stoked to be able to host an evening like this that pays homage to the rich culture and legacy of South African surfing. And as you can see, there’s a lot to celebrate. It’s just an awesome reminder of how lucky we are to be surfers in this country.”
Highlights of the evening included the induction of surfing legends into the Hall of Fame, which honoured an elite group of surfers who have paved the way for South African Surfing. Current members include Max Wetteland, Mike Larmont, Spider Murphy, Graham Hynes and Shaun Tomson amongst others. The new inductees announced on the evening were Errol Hickman, and Michael Ginsburg.
1989 World Champion and surfing legend Martin “Pottz” Potter was guest speaker. When the awards ended, 1st Project went on to being the roof down with their phenomenal drumming act to round off an epic evening.
Be sure to get your June/July edition of Zigzag to check out all the latest surfing news and highlights of the awards.
Picture Courtesy of Al Nicoll
Story source: Rox-ann Govender, Olivia Jones Communications
South African surfer Jordy Smith continued his run in the Rip Curls Bells Beach Pro presented by Snickers in Victoria, Australia, yesterday when he defeated Damien Hobgood of the USA in waves described as “inconsistent but near perfect two metre[s]” to advance to the third round of this second stop on the 2009 ASP World Tour.
Despite seven lay days since his dominant performance in Round 1 and despite a minor back complaint, the 21-year old Durbanite managed to record scores of 7.50 and 5.50 to beat Hobgood.
“I think there were only three sets all heat and luckily I got two of them,” Smith said after only riding a total of three waves in the 30 minute heat. “I feel lucky to get through to the next round. When I woke up this morning it looked really good and I’m sure throughout the day the waves are just going to get better.”
In the third round, Smith will be pitted against giant-killer and wildcard, 19-year old Australian Owen Wright. Wright caused a huge upset when he beat nine-time ASP World Champion and defending Rip Curl Pro Champion, Kelly Slater. Wright handed the American surfing legend his second successive 17th place finish and increased the pressure on Slater’s bid for an unprecedented 10th world title.
Smith’s fellow Durbanite, David Weare – who is the only other South African still in the event after Greg Emslie from East London was eliminated in Round 1 – has yet to complete his Round 2 heat against Hawaiian Frederick Patacchia.
The Rip Curl Women’s Pro Bells Beach presented by Ford New Fiesta was completed on Sunday with Silvana Lima from Brazil claiming her maiden ASP Women’s World Tour crown by beating reigning two-times ASP Women’s World Champion, Australian Stephanie Gilmore, in the final.
South Africa’s Rosanne Hodge placed ninth in the event after she was ousted by Sofia Mulanovich from Peru in Round 3.
Jordy Smith has beaten Damien Hobgood to win the first ever O’Neill Cold Water Classic Series event at Bluff Reef in Marrawah, Tasmania, Australia.
Battling 8-foot swells and offshore winds, the two surfers skillfully displayed why they are at the top of the World Tour surfing ranks.
“It was good to get a win,” said Jordy. “It’s been a while. Damo’s been ripping this whole event. I looked up to him as a kid, so it’s great to be out there with one of your heroes.”
Despite Damien’s impressive second place performance, he admitted that he struggled. “I had needed to step it up. I just didn’t do it. It was hard for me. Sometimes I was really hanging on with my toes so hard. It’s a bit more bumpy out there than it looks for sure.”
On his way to the top, Jordy knocked out phenomenal talent like Australian Owen Wilson and Brazilian Jadson Andre.
Well done, Jordy! Our South African hearts are swelling with pride!
While he continues to rip his way across the surf of the world, Jordy Smith has decided to finally make his presence felt in the world of virtual surfing as well.
Just days ago, he launched the official Jordy Smith website.
The slick site features video clips of Jordy in action as well as photos and a blog. There is also a news section that will keep interested parties in the loop about where in the world Jordy is and what he is up to. (Currently he is taking part in the Quiksilver Pro Gold Coast presented by LG Mobile in Australia.)
Find Jordy’s profile, biography, as well as his growing list of sponsors on the site, all to the sound of some his favourite tunes.
Impressive, Jordy! We’ll definitely make a point of including it in our list of stops on our daily virtual surfing session of the web!
And that isn’t our biased opinion. Okay, wait… let us rephrase: It isn’t merely OUR biased opinion.
Our riders have been doing so well over the past few years, they’ve wracked up enough medals to give us third place in the recently published International Surfing Association’s (ISA) country medal standings! Australian and Brazilian surfers hauled in the most and second most medals respectively.
Since 1996, South African surfers have won no less than 41 medals while representing the country at all World Championships events organised by the ISA.
South Africa’s medal total comprises fifteen Gold, seven Silver, eight Bronze and eleven Copper. The Golds include overall team victory in the 2002 World Surfing Games held in Durban, and in the two Masters events run in Puerto Rico in 2007 and in Peru last year.
Clinton ‘Gigs’ Celliers is SSA’s most successful representative, having won the WSG kneeboard title in 1992, ‘94’, ’96 and ’98 (although it has to be noted that only the ’96 and ’98 medals are included in the table) and also taking Silver in 2000 and 2002.
Jordy Smith, Matthew Moir and Chris Knutsen have each won two Golds. Smith earned the Under 16 crown in Durban in 2003 and the Open Men title at the WSG in California in 2006, where Moir also clinched the Longboard title which he successfully defended in Portugal last October. Knutsen won the Kahuna’s (Over 45) title in Puerto Rico and then the Grand Kahuna’s (Over 50) in Peru.
Individual Gold’s have also been won by Travis Logie (Open Men) and Warwick Wright (Under 18) in Durban in 2002 and by Mark Wright (Grandmasters / Over 40) and Heather Clark (Women’s Masters / Over 35) in Peru. The SSA Junior team took Gold in the ISA Cup (tag team) event in Brazil in 2006.
“Considering South Africa’s small surfing population, the number of medals won by our surfers is exceptional,” says proud SSA General Manager, Robin de Kock. “It is a tribute to the talent of the athletes and also the hard work and dedication of the coaches, managers and administrators in this country.”
We couldn’t agree more! Which is why we’ll be keeping our eyes on our surfers during these future events:
The Quiksilver ISA World Junior Surfing Championships at Salinas in Ecuador (March 28 – 5 April) followed by the Billabong ISA World Surfing Games (July 31 – 8 August) and the World Masters in Chile later in the year.
Our advice to our South African surfers would be to pack light! Because at the going rate, they’ll be paying loads in excess baggage fees for all those medals that they are going to bring home!
The world’s best junior surfers will battle it out at the Billabong ASP World Junior Championships from January 3 – 10, 2008 at Sydney’s North Narrabeen Beach in New South Wales, Australia.
This is the most presitgious junior event in the world. It marks the culmination of the 2008 ASP Pro Junior Series where competitors from each of the seven ASP regions compete on their domestic tours for a chance at qualifying for the Billabong ASP World Junior Championships. A minimum of 13 countries will represent the seven ASP regions this January at North Narrabeen’s world-class beach breaks.
South African wunderkind Jordy Smith took the title in 2006, and some of the brilliant South African surfers hoping to follow in his footsteps will include Klee Strachan, Nick Godfrey, Shaun Joubert, Casey Grant, Rudy Palmboom Jr., Sarah Baum and Nikita Robb.
The names of the other countries’ Billabong ASP World Junior Championships qualifiers whom the South Africans will be competing against are:
ASP North America – Cory Arrambide (USA)
– Nat Young (USA)
– Andrew Doheny (USA)
– Travis Beckmann (USA)
– Blake Jones (USA)
– Christa Alves (USA)
– Courtney Conlogue (USA)
ASP Hawaii
– Kai Barger (HAW)
– Kiron Jabour (HAW)
– Casey Brown (HAW)
– Sebastian Zietz (HAW)
– TBA (HAW)
– Coco Ho (HAW)
– Leila Hurst (HAW)
ASP Japan
– Shota Nakamura (JPN)
– Nobuyuki Osawa (JPN)
– Kaito Sekimoto (JPN)
– Keito Matsuoka (JPN)
– Koki Nakamura (JPN)
– Nao Ohmura (JPN)
– Sayuri Hashimoto (JPN)
ASP South America
– Alex Ribeiro (BRA)
– Alejo Muniz (BRA)
– Ricardo dos Santos (BRA)
– Alex Lima (BRA)
– Magno Dias (BRA)
– Jadson Andre (BRA)
– Diana Cristina (BRA)
– Gabriela Leite (BRA)
ASP Europe
– Maxime Huscenot (REU)
– Marc Lacomare (FRA)
– Medi Veminardi (REU)
– Jatyr Bersaluce (EUK)
– Pierre-Valentin Laborde (FRA)
– Jules Thomet (FRA)
– Alizee Arnaud (FRA)
– Pauline Ado (FRA)
ASP Australasia
– Stuart Kennedy (AUS)
– Heath Joske (AUS)
– Tamaroa McComb (PYF/AUS)
– Jayke Sharp (AUS)
– Lincoln Taylor (AUS)
– Matt Wilkinson (AUS)
– Tyler Wright (AUS)
– Laura Enever (AUS)
ASP International Wildcards – Andres Wurst (PER)
– Dusty Payne (HAW)
– Owen Wright (AUS)
– Charley Martin (GLP)
– Luciana Heremoana (PYF)
– Sage Erickson (USA)
– Bethany Hamilton (HAW)
Billabong Wildcards
– Granger Larsen (HAW)
– Arini Mason (NZL)
– Paige Hareb (NZL)
Von Zipper Trialists (Top 2 into Billabong ASP World Junior Championships)
– Richard Christie (NZL)
– Nick Riley (AUS)
– Madison Williams (AUS)
– Mitch Crews (AUS)
– Julian Wilson (AUS)
– Nick Vasicek (AUS)
– Craig Anderson (AUS)
– Heifara-Peter Tahutini (PYF)
– Israel Surfer (ISR)
– Israel Surfer (ISR)
– Torrey Meister (HAW)
– Local North Narrabeen Surfer (AUS)
– Raditiya Rhondi (IDN)
– Kolohe Andino (USA)
– Peterson Cristanto (BRA)
– Brent Savage (AUS)
Despite a ligament injury to his left knee that prevented him from competing in the season-ending Billabong Pipeline Masters in Hawaii, South Africa’s Jordy Smith still managed to qualify for a second year on the elite ASP World Tour!
While current ASP No. 4 Joel Parkinson recorded only the second perfect 20 out of 20 heat score in ASP World Tour history on Day 2 of the event, the last of the 12 competitors who could have overtaken Smith was eliminated, leaving the 20 year-old rookie Durbanite amongst the top 27 on the rankings who automatically re-qualify for the following year.
His chances of a second year on the dream tour looked bleak when his doctor advised him to withdraw from the Pipeline event.
Global Surf News reports that, although Jordy’s final ranking position will not be known until the event is completed, he is now guaranteed to finish in the top 27, particularly if Hawaiian Bruce Irons, who has qualified ahead of Jordy for 2009, follows through with his decision to retire from the ASP World Tour after the Pipeline event.
Jordy will be joined on the 2009 ASP World Tour by David Weare (Durban) and Greg Emslie (East London) who finished Nos. 7 and 10 respectively in the 2008 ASP World Qualifying Series (WQS) rankings. Travis Logie (Durban), Royden Bryson (East London) and Ricky Basnett (Bluff) finished the year outside the top 27 on the World Tour and failed to re-qualify.
In the mean time, another South African, Rosanne Hodge, demonstrated her affinity with the classic waves of Honolua Bay on the Hawaiian island of Maui when she reached the quarterfinals of the Billabong Pro Maui event on Wednesday, the first time this year that the East Londoner has advanced past Round 3 in an ASP Women’s World Tour event.
The 21-year old recorded her career best result in the 2007 event at Honolua Bay, advancing to the semifinals before being ousted in equal third place by eventual event winner Stephanie Gilmore (AUS)
Although she has already qualified for her third year on the ASP Women’s World Tour via her No. 3 ranking on the 2008 ASP World Qualifying Series (WQS), Rosanne will be determined to better her previous best and improve her current World Tour ranking of No. 15.
