There may never a more important, life-changing win for any pro surfer as Andy Irons’ today (September 3, 2010) at the Billabong Pro Teahupoo against CJ Hobgood. We all know how important contest surfing is to Andy and his psyche and it’s honestly a relief to see his energy channeled in the winning direction because it could have easily gone the other way.
Wave after wave Andy grabbed his rail and laid back into the arms of Teahupoo and he was rewarded. He edged Kelly Slater in the semi’s and then outscored CJ Hobgood 14.67 to 8.33 in head-high surf.
“This is all dedicated 100 percent to my wife. I want to thank the whole world right now. I really, really, really like competing because I love to win,” an rightfully amped AI said following the heat. Regarding the finals he was a little more mellow. “I just kind of played it safe. CJ was going so deep I knew he was either going to get 10s or 2s and luckily he got 2s.”
CJ was visibly shaken with his second place finish. “I’ve been in four finals here and I never remember the second place finishes,” he said. “I have no one to blame but myself. I had good waves that I could have gotten a score on. . . I wanted to pack them harder than I should have. I didn’t have any breakout heats on my way here. My feeling was my that this was my heat and I’m going to pack the 9s. I was trying to get deeper on my waves and I got too deep. . . if I would have come out of one of those it would have been a different story.
Andy is back. “I’m back. I never went anywhere. It feels so good to be back,” he said. “Without that year off I’d never be here right now. I think I have 19 CT wins this makes 20. Anytime you get your name on the trophy it feels amazing.”
We just hope Andy can let this win keep him pointed in the right direction because Trestles in coming.
Follow the jump for the complete results and official word from the ASP. [click to continue…]
Volusia Country Florida, the shark bite capital of the world, logged two more bites this weekend as two surfers felt the teeth at New Smyrna’s Inlet, according to My Fox Orlando.
One surfer was bitten in the hand by a shark while he was paddling out south of the Inlet. The second shark bite was also a surfer who was bitten on his left thigh. . . Both men were taken to Bert Fish hospital for stitches to close up those bite wounds, lifeguards say were caused by sharks.
Lifeguards reportedly flew the purple flag, which in Florida “indications hazardous marine life.” We never knew.
Billabong may not have been able to bring a monster swell to Teahupoo this year for the Billabong Pro, but they’re apparently doing their best to bring quality surfing to Apple’s iPhone, iPod Touch, and iPad with the release this fall of the game Billabong Surf Trip.
Billabong Surf Trip [is] an arcade-simulation surfing game for the iPhone, iPod touch and iPad. Set throughout the world’s best surfing destinations, the game features Billabong A-Team Professional Surfers including Andy Irons, Taj Burrows, Joel Parkinson and Tiago Pires sharing helpful tips on how to shred and barrel through waves for maximum performance. . . The adrenaline rush of paddling out and executing over 20 trick combinations including snaps and cut backs, along with catching air and maneuvering through ground swells and tube waves will really excite gamers seeking fast-paced fun at their fingertips
We haven’t played it yet, but we’re looking forward to slaying some waves as AI. Follow the jump for all the details. [click to continue…]
There was a lot of talk about the big cuts coming to the ASP Elite Tour come the Billabong Pro at Teahupoo. The former Top 48 was getting cut to 32 and everyone seemed very worried about it. Now that it has happened everyone realizes that it really wasn’t that big a deal and just the people we would have bet on to get cut were cut. Here is the list:
Drew Courtney (AUS), 31 Neco Padaratz (BRA), 34 Tanner Gudauskas (USA), 22 Mick Campbell (AUS), 34 Kieren Perrow (AUS), 33 Tom Whitaker (AUS), 30 Kekoa Bacalso (HAW), 25 Blake Thornton (AUS), 25 Dean Morrison (AUS), 29 Jay Thompson (AUS), 28 Nate Yeomans (USA), 29 Ben Dunn (AUS), 24 Marco Polo (BRA), 29
Exactly. What was good to see was that one of the Gudauskas (Patrick the rodeo flipper, pictured above) is still elite. His parents must be at least half happy. Follow the jump for the official word from the ASP. [click to continue…]
Not really sure what’s been going on at the Surf Industry Manufacturers’ Association lately, but it seems their Boot Camps have been oddly relevant. On September 22, 2010 SIMA will tackle “New Media.”
The first panel discussion of the morning, Media vs. New Media: Tracking the Transition, will showcase a discussion with the surf industry’s leading media experts on the transition to new media, its benefits and advantages, and specific learnings from the interactive endeavors of these media outlets. Moderated by Doug Palladini, the panelists will include: Rob Campbell / Editorial Director, TransWorld Media; Norb Garrett / Senior Vice President, Group Publisher, ASG; Ross Garrett / Director of Operations and Development, The Surfer’s Journal; Gene Pao / Vice President of New Media and International Development, FUEL TV; and Jonno Wells / CEO, Surfline.
It’s always entertaining to see what corporate executives from the established action media have to say about “new” media, isn’t it?
Cardiff California’s “Cardiff Kook” is making world headlines as the Wall Street Journal’s Conor Dougherty reports on the awkward statue and the pranksters who have made ridiculing it an art form.
Recently, Mr. Hardtke topped his wave with a new piece: Just before dawn on July 24, he and a dozen friends carried the 15-foot shark—crafted out of papier-mâché over a wooden frame—a few blocks to the beach, installing it in just 15 minutes. Those were merely the final moments of a two-week project for Mr. Hardtke, who guesses he spent roughly $450 building the shark. . . Police have mostly ignored pranksters like Mr. Hardtke, and local officials have quietly praised the various Kook-inspired works because they bring attention to their tiny beach town. In fact, Mr. Hardtke recently learned the city has been storing his wave sculpture inside at a dusty warehouse that belongs to Paul Ecke Ranch, a grower of poinsettias and other flowers in Encinitas, Calif., the city which surrounds the community of Cardiff.
Another example of how surfers will make use of anything that moves them.
One of the great things about the Billabong Pro Teahupoo is that it runs right through the middle of the West Coast’s work day allowing most of the surf industry to spend a few August days “hard at work” with their browsers open to the Billabong Pro live feed. But not yet. Today was the first day of the waiting period and it’s a lay day and the next couple days look the same, according to event organizers.
“We monitored conditions for a good while this morning and deemed it not contestable,” Richie Porta, ASP International Head Judge, said. “It was very small and just too inconsistent to run. We’re working with everyone, the surfers, the organizers, the forecasters to ensure that the athletes have the best possible conditions.”
Randy Wright isn’t saying much about the closure of the Horizons West Surf Shop last month, according to a story in the Santa Monica Daily Press. But to fans of the Dogtown & Z-Boys story it was a sad day.
The skate and surf shop, owned by surfer Randy Wright, occupied a modest, one-story building at the corner of Main and Bay streets that was designated a city landmark in May of 2007 after neighbors and skateboarding enthusiasts erupted in outrage over plans to tear it down and replace it with a mixed-use development. The retail space was the original home of Zephyr and Jeff Ho Productions, whose founders, Skip Engblom and Jeff Ho, created the Zephyr Skate Team, which became known as The Z-Boys. . . Wright did not return several phone calls seeking comment.
Guess we can’t expect a retailer to live on the past forever.
Mark Occhilupo’s former accountant, Noel Holmes, had sued the pro surfer in Brisbane Supreme Court claiming that he gave Occy $50,000 to buy 21,739 friends and family shares of Billabong stock just before it went public in 2000 and now he want’s the nearly $200,000 proceeds back. Occy apparently believed the shares belonged to him, according to a story on ABC.net.au.
But today it all got sorted out in an out-of-court settlement, according to the Courier Mail.
Lawyers for the disputing parties have spent most of today in private discussions. . . An out-of-court settlement was reached and details were not disclosed.
As might not be surprising, Occy is glad it’s over and just wants to get back in the water. “”The first thing when I get back to the coast I’ll be going for a surf for sure and take my shirt off,” Occhilupo said outside court.
“This is all dedicated 100 percent to my wife. I want to thank the whole world right now. I really, really, really like competing because I love to win,” an rightfully amped AI said following the heat. Regarding the finals he was a little more mellow. “I just kind of played it safe. CJ was going so deep I knew he was either going to get 10s or 2s and luckily he got 2s.”
