LG Corp, the giant Korean electronics company has not renewed its presenting sponsor of the Quiksilver Pro on the Gold Coast, according to a story in the Tweed Daily News.
Quiksilver event manager Jamie Wood yesterday confirmed the departure of LG from the first-class event. . . “They did not renew their contract with us,” Mr Wood said. . . LG were presenting-sponsors for the 2008 and 2009 events. . . “We are talking with a number of companies at this time about the presenting-sponsor. . . “We are expecting to make an announcement in the next 30 days.”
As one of Australia (and the world’s) premiere surfing events we doubt the Quik Pro will have much trouble landing a new presenting sponsor.
After sitting out the men’s side of Rip Curl Pro Search for what seemed like months, we didn’t even get a chance to check in with the women’s event until it was already over. And we’re bummed because we missed seeing Coco Ho, 18, win her first ASP Dream Tour event.
Ho exercised excellent judgment in the Final, patiently waiting while her elder opponent kept herself busy. With conditions deteriorating, the young Hawaiian let loose with a barrage of backhand hits on the dumpy lefthanders, collecting a 7.50 and an 8.33 to combo Hedges and take the win. . . “I knew Chelsea (Hedges) would be dangerous on the left after seeing her this morning getting those barrels,” Ho said. “This afternoon it turned into a more rippable wave and it was hard on the forehand, but I was lucky to get the waves I did.”
Our favorite, Steph Gilmore, lost to Chelsea Hedges in quarter final number two, but she held on to her lead in the ratings. Follow the jump for the rest of the details. [click to continue…]
Hey, look: Mick Fanning won the Rip Curl Pro Search. It is his third win this season. Is he unstoppable in this title race? If only Owen Wright hadn’t wrecked his ear drum then we’d might have a little better answer.
“Yesterday was one of the best days of competition I’ve ever seen and we all showed up today and had to adjust our frame of mind to deal with the drop in size and quality,” Fanning said. “I’ve been surfing conditions like this all summer at home so I knew what I had to do out there. I was able to pick off a couple of good scores at the start and then I basically had to sit on Bede (Durbidge) so he didn’t get any back on me.”
ASP and Rip Curl officials are promising that tomorrow will see the end of one of the most drawn out WCT events of the season, as the 2009 Rip Curl Pro Search rolls into the semi-finals. After that it will be up to Pipeline put a cap in the 2009 ASP World Championship Tour season.
Tomorrow kicks off with Bede Durbidge vs. Parko and Owen Wright vs. Mick Fanning in the semi finals. Heat two will definitely be the one to watch if Owen is able to surf after busting his eardrum during his round three heat with Damien Hobgood. Follow the jump for the official ASP press release. [click to continue…]
A six-meter long Great White shark regulator is apparently cruising Deadman’s Beach in Queensland, Australia, and taking bites out of other Great Whites according to a story on Metro.co.uk. Swimmers and surfers have been advised to stay out of the water after officials “found the remains of a smaller Great White that bitten almost entirely in half.”
Ashton Smith, a 19-year-old surfer, said: “Whatever attacked and took chunks out of this big shark must be massive. . . .”I’ve heard about the big one that’s lurking out there somewhere. . . “We’re all being very, very cautious and looking out for each other. Some people aren’t going in the water at all.”
Dun dun. . . We think we’d just stay behind the nets for a while.
The Assn. of Surfing Professionals, having voted in sweeping changes last week that effectively killed the so-called Champions Surf Tour, gets back to regular business and wraps up the European leg of the World Tour this week with the Rip Curl Pro Search in Portugal.
Click the link for the entire blow-by-blow recap of the last year in pro surfing politics.
At 1:30 PM local time Rip Curl Pro Search Portugal officials called another lay day for Wednesday, October 21, 2009. But no one is blaming them. Especially after seeing video on Surfling LIfe of what the contest site looks like after getting slammed with one of the biggest storms to ever hit an ASP WCT tour event.
Locals are saying the overnight swell at Supertubes was the biggest to hit Portugal in 30 years. . . . Event organisers will need at least a day to repair the Supertubes venue.
We know at least a few people (some competitors) who will be happy to hear that Ricky Irons is leaving the publishing world and moving over to the fashion industry as global brand manager of Dragon Alliance. With the state of action media in general it seems like a pretty smart move on Iron’s part.
Irons is leaving Surfer Magazine after 15 years as publisher. The only person to hold that job longer was Steve Pezman (1970-1991). His last issue as publisher will be the 50th Anniversary Issue. Not a bad way to exit, really.
“Dragon is a great fit for me because they are the real deal,” said Irons. “They have always been true to their roots and have supported the core athletes, retailers, and customers since day one. Their team of athletes is unmatched, the product is better than ever, and they have a great vision for the future of the brand. They are also an independently owned brand, which in this day and age is a beautiful thing. It helps them be creative, innovative, and agile in this ever changing market.”
What does this mean for Surfer and ASG? We’re guessing it means one less mouth to feed.
Maui surfer Scott Henrich, 54 has 100 stitches in his knee after he got chomped by a 6 to 8 foot shark while surfing Maui’s Kalama Bowls just a little before sunrise, according to a story in the Honolulu Advertiser.
He had just paddled out about 300 yards around 6 a.m. and sat up on his board when the shark suddenly emerged from the water and clamped onto the surfer’s leg. Henrich said he punched the animal’s snout twice and it released its grip. . . “I thought, ‘I gotta get him off my leg,’ so I pounded him. I was just hoping he wasn’t going to chomp all the way through,” he said. . . “There was blood everywhere. I looked at the top gash and saw white meat and I knew it was bad. I was worried there might be other sharks around, and I knew I had to get it up and get out of the water quickly,” he said.
Henrich hobbled to his car “screaming the whole way” for someone to call 911. Finally a motorist stopped and called. Now Henrich is home recovering and apologizing for being the guy who caused the closure of the beaches “along the South Maui coast from Lípoa Street to Kamaole Beach Park I.” This is reportedly the third shark attack in Hawaii this year.
LG Corp, the giant Korean electronics company has not renewed its presenting sponsor of the Quiksilver Pro on the Gold Coast, according to a story in the Tweed Daily News.
