It looks like the Billabong Rio Pro women’s event will may finish today in one to two foot surf, according to ASP International Head Judge Rich Porta.
“We’ve got small, clean waves on offer this morning and will recommence with women’s non-elimination Round 3,” Porta said. “We’ll reassess conditions before moving into Round 4 and with unfavorable winds and rain for the final day of the women’s waiting period, a Billabong Rio Pro Women’s Champion could be crowned today.”
Laura Enever (above) faces World Champ Carissa Moore in Quarter Final four. Quarter final one is in the water now. Click here to watch live or follow the jump for the official word from the ASP. [click to continue…]
Legendary action photographer Steve Sherman will be showing his art work at Encinitas, California based style shop UNIV this Friday evening, May 11. 2012 in a show titled T-Sherms Now.
Since the late ’80s, Sherman’s trademark moody black and white photos have broken new ground in a field where bright, front-lit color was the standard. . . Sherman’s surf star portraits and lifestyle photography explore uncharted realms of behind-the-scenes intimacy and journalistic presence, bringing fans closer to their surfing heroes than they ever thought possible.
Justin Heit and the Raen Optics family have released a twist on their Squire frame thanks to Warren Smith. The translucent bone-colored acetate is trimmed with custom, metal detailing and polarized Optics by Carl Zeiss Vision lens. All that for $142. Snappy.
The Billabong Rio Pro is on and live from Arpoador (the secondary site) in what has been described as “two-to-four foot waves.”
“With unfavorable waves at the primary venue of Barra Da Tijuca, we’ve opted to utilize our back-up location of Arpoador today,” Rich Porta, ASP International Head Judge said. “We’ve got contestable conditions here and are planning on getting into both men’s and women’s competition today.” . . Kicking off today’s action will be the women’s trials and immediately following will be men’s Round 1 action, which will see Josh Kerr (AUS), 26, Bede Durbidge (AUS), 29, and Jadson Andre (BRA), 22, do battle in the Billabong Rio Pro’s opening heat.
Nixon is kicking off their 2012 WTA (Winner Takes All) series at the Billabong Rio Pro, which starts tomorrow (May 9, 2012 in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil.
The Nixon WTA is a winner-takes-all event along three stops of the ASP (Association of Surfing Professionals) World Tour and one ASP Men’s 6-Star event during the 2012 season. Challenges in The 2012 Nixon WTA will range from Biggest Air, Highest Heat Score, Heaviest Wave and the overall Triple Crown Winner.
The winner takes home this $10,000 Nixon 51-30 Nixon tide watch. This may be the stealthiest looking WTA watch ever. Follow the jump for the official word. [click to continue…]
Rob Machado has launched his first photography exhibition at Encinitas, California’s Bliss 101.
“I’ve been interested in photography for years, always taking photos on my surfing trips, but one of my favorite places to shoot is my hometown area in North County,” says Machado. “Because Bliss 101 supports local artists and the community, it’s a great fit to launch the exhibit of the images I’ve taken throughout the years.”
Nice to see Machado branching out. And the photos look good.
Thanks to an “injured heel” Kelly Slater, the World Champion and current number one in the ASP World Championship Tour points race, has announced that the will not be able to surf the Billabong Rio Pro.
“I injured the inside of my left heel in Java and then re-opened it again the following week at Cloudbreak,” Slater said. “It became infected and I flew to Australia to get it treated and stitched in hopes of making it to Rio, if not for Round 1, at least for Round 2. I’ve been in the water since getting it stitched and while I can go straight, I can’t do turns at all right now so I’ll have to pull out of Rio. It’s unfortunate, but I’m just going to focus on healing up as soon as possible right now. Good luck to all the competitors in Brazil and I’ll be watching online.”
Slater’s absence will make the ratings race that much more interesting rolling into the Volcom Fiji Pro on June 3, 2012. The Billabong Rio Pro waiting period starts tomorrow (May 9, 2012). Follow the jump for the official word from the ASP. [click to continue…]
The two biggest points of discussion following the 2012 Nike Lowers Pro finals were Gabriel Medina’s air reverses (many surfers don’t like them) and how unknown Glenn Hall is. The first topic will probably remain in discussion until well after Medina wins his first world championship, but the second seems to have sorted itself out after we all saw Hall move past defending champ Miguel Pupo in the round of 96, Freddy Patacchia in the Round of 16, Jeremy Flores in the quarters, and 2 John Florence in the semi-finals. Yet, even Hall seemed a little surprised by his good fortune:
“It’s Lowers, it can turn on or off at any time in the day,” Hall said. “You kind of have to be on to it and luck has to go your way as well,” Hall said. “I had a few lucky heats earlier in the event and that heat was funny with Gabriel. I thought we were going to have an interference in the beginning and they didn’t call it, but it’s all good though. He surfed well and he won.”
For his part Medina was focused and flawless. Rarely falling and almost always following his airs up with a full mix of turns, Medina was functionally unstoppable in his ride to the solid gold spike.
“This is a very special win and it has been a long week,” Medina said. “I’m going to Brazil now with more confidence and this has been great. . . “I love Trestles so much. “It’s just such a good wave and it’s one of my favorites, I just don’t even have words to explain how I’m feeling right now. I’m stoked.”
The Billabong XXL Awards are the culmination of a year-long event window in which the bravest surfers chase the world’s biggest waves, in search of the event’s coveted Ride Of The Year award. Other categories include XXL Biggest Wave, Monster Tube, Monster Paddle, Verizon Wipeout Of The Year, Surfline Overall Performance and Billabong Girls Performance.
Nathan Fletcher ran away with the big award, Greg Noll showed the crowd (and worldwide Internet audience) his enormous, striped ass and The Foo Fighters played a secret show. Click play to watch it yourself, or follow the jump for complete results, photos, and more. [click to continue…]
It was a big day down at Trestles today as the Nike Lowers Pro marched through just short of the quarter finals in somewhat inconsistent two-to-four foot surf. The highlights of the day had to be in the round of 16 with Gabriel Medina over Brett Simpson, 2 John Florence over Cory Lopez, and Dane Reynolds (above with an after the buzzer stalefish attempt) downing Granger Larsen in an aerial showdown.
“I’ve been feeling really sketchy this event and been having unsuccessful free-surfs,” Reynolds said. “I was feeling better in that one. I had been riding a different board in every heat and I rode this one this morning and just stuck with it.”
