Michel Bourez (PYF) powered his way into a victory in Round 1 today at Keramas. © ASP/Kirstin

CAPBRETON, France (Tuesday, June 18, 2013) - The inaugural Oakley Pro Bali started today in super fun 3-5Ft surf at the high-performance spot of Keramas. The twelve heats of the opening round of competition were completed and saw major upsets as well as jaw-dropping performances from the very best surfers in the world.

The most impressive display of progressive surfing came right before the horn sounded in the last heat today with John John Florence (HAW) 20, posting a near perfect heat total of a 19.87 over another enthusiastic Hawaiian, Sebastian Zietz, 25. The two went into a neck-to-neck battle of the nines and when everyone thought the heat was decided with Zietz in a dominant position and 19.37 on the board, the phenomenon Florence caught a mid-sized set to launch into a stratospheric alley-oop that all five of the judges acclaimed with a perfect 10 point ride.

An ecstatic Florence commented: “I was in the air and saw the bottom and everything happened so fast that I was just reacting. I claimed it pretty hard, but I was so stoked. The ankle is strapped but the brace gives me a lot of confidence and it feels good out there. Just psyched to be at Keramas, this wave is amazing and the boys are ripping so hard.”

Before that final heat, both Michel Bourez (PYF) 27, and Jeremy Flores (FRA) 25, managed to win their opening Oakley Pro Bali heats and qualify for the third round. Bourez opened in Heat 10 with his signature power surfing to overcome an unusually discrete Gabriel Medina (BRA) in the fast rampy sections of Keramas.

Bourez posted two high 8 point rides for a total heat score of 17.30. The Tahitian left no chance to the clean faces of the waves, combining several powerful rail turns to display his surfing repertoire.

“Keramas is a combination of Haleiwa, a wave in the Canary Islands and a wave at home too, so it’s perfect for me,” Bourez stated. “At home I surfed some rights to try out my boards and I knew it was going to be powerful out here so I tried some wider boards to push really hard and stay on it. I took this heat like Mick Fanning does, I had a clear plan in my head to do what I can do, turns and then if I needed a big score I’d try to go big in the air.”

Jeremy Flores had his work cut out for him in the following Heat 11, taking on an in-form and almost local Julian Wilson (AUS) and Brazil’s Alejo Muniz at Keramas. Taking full advantage of the improving conditions, Flores and Wilson started a battle of the barrels each posting consequent scores all the way up to the last seconds of their confrontation.

When the dust settled it was Jeremy Flores that came out on top, with an excellent 16.94 out of a possible 20, including a 9.17 earned by negociating a deep and tricky frontside barrel and topping it off with a radical cutback right in the power section of the wave.

“The wind turned offshore right before our heat and I knew there were going to be some barrels,” Flores said. “Kelly bet it with Belly that it was going to happen and I was like yeeees !! I know that with the size there is now at Keramas, that wave is one of the best in the world so I’m happy that for once it went my way. The last few heats I’ve had I lost by 0.03 0.07 so I was like please not this time, I’m stoked ! I was clearly looking for barrels, lately I’ve been injuring myself doing airs so I’m still a little scared and I definitely like it better when it’s barrelling. Bali is just another one of those places where you just enjoy every moment, I’ve been having so much fun since I’m here, same as Fiji and probably Tahiti coming up, so yeah that’s exactly the kind of event I live for.”

Amidst those good news for us Europeans, there were a lot of upsets in Round 1 with expected  frontrunners edged out, the most surprising of all being the defeat of 11x World Champion Kelly Slater against fellow Floridian Damien Hobgood. Aussies Joel Parkinson and Taj Burrow will also have to bring their A-Game in Round 2 when competition resumes to extend their Bali campaign.

Current World No. 2, 3 and 5 respectively Mick Fanning (AUS), Jordy Smith (ZAF) and Adriano De Souza (BRA) have negociated a good start with a qualification into the third round and will be closely following Slater’s every move when competition recommences.

Event organizers will reconvene tomorrow morning at 6:30am to assess conditions for a possible 6:45am start.

When competition resumes, up first will be current ASP WCT No. 1 Kelly Slater  (USA), 41, up against Jack Robinson (AUS), 15, in the opening heat of the elimination Round 2.

Highlights from the Oakley Pro Bali will be available via www.oakleyprobali.com

Surfline, official forecasters for the Oakley Pro Bali are calling for:

The current SW swell will continue on Wednesday, slowly easing. Gradually fading surf continues through the second half of the week. A similar sized swell for Keramas (smaller for Canggu) will peak on Sunday the 23rd, after building Saturday afternoon the 22nd. A series of potentially solid SW to SSW swells are on the radar for the afternoon of the 24th through the 27th.

For more information, log onto www.aspworldtour.com

OAKLEY PRO BALI ROUND 1 RESULTS:
Heat 1: Adriano de Souza (BRA) 12.93, Bede Durbidge (AUS) 12.17, Dusty Payne (HAW) 8.60
Heat 2: Fredrick Patacchia (HAW) 12.67, Joel Parkinson (AUS) 12.00, Travis Logie (ZAF) 0.00
Heat 3: Yadin Nicol (AUS) 14.56, Kolohe Andino (USA) 12.93, Taj Burrow (AUS) 12.63
Heat 4: Jordy Smith (ZAF) 15.46, Oney Anwar (IND) 11.93, Matt Wilkinson (AUS) 9.03
Heat 5: Mick Fanning (AUS) 14.56, Brett Simpson (USA) 6.83, Bruce Irons (HAW) 5.50
Heat 6: Damien Hobgood (USA) 14.10, Kelly Slater (USA) 12.00, Jack Robinson (AUS) 5.83
Heat 7: Nat Young (USA) 17.03, Willian Cardoso (BRA) 13.90, Kai Otton (AUS) 13.40
Heat 8: Filipe Toledo (BRA) 16.07, Kieren Perrow (AUS) 15.50, Josh Kerr (AUS) 11.67
Heat 9: C.J. Hobgood (USA) 16.43, Adrian Buchan (AUS) 15.17, Raoni Monteiro (BRA) 8.17
Heat 10: Michel Bourez (PYF) 17.30, Adam Melling (AUS) 14.10, Gabriel Medina (BRA) 12.93
Heat 11: Jeremy Flores (FRA) 16.94, Julian Wilson (AUS) 16.77, Alejo Muniz (BRA) 13.90
Heat 12: John John Florence (HAW) 19.87, Sebastian Zietz (HAW) 19.37, Miguel Pupo (BRA) 13.60

OAKLEY PRO BALI ROUND 2 MATCH-UPS:
Heat 1: Kelly Slater (USA) vs. Jack Robinson (AUS)
Heat 2: Taj Burrow (AUS) vs. Bruce Irons (HAW)
Heat 3: Joel Parkinson (AUS) vs. Oney Anwar (IND)
Heat 4: Josh Kerr (AUS) vs. Dusty Payne (HAW)
Heat 5: Gabriel Medina (BRA) vs. Willian Cardoso (BRA)
Heat 6: Sebastian Zietz (HAW) vs. Kieren Perrow (AUS)
Heat 7: Julian Wilson (AUS) vs. Raoni Monteiro (BRA)
Heat 8: Adrian Buchan (AUS) vs. Adam Melling (AUS)
Heat 9: Kai Otton (AUS) vs. Alejo Muniz (BRA)
Heat 10: Bede Durbidge (AUS) vs. Miguel Pupo (BRA)
Heat 11: Travis Logie (ZAF) vs. Brett Simpson (USA)
Heat 12: Kolohe Andino (USA) vs. Matt Wilkinson (AUS)

CAPBRETON, France (Tuesday, June 18, 2013) - As Spring finally showed up a few days ago on the European coastlines, it’s time to reflect on the past winter of which England’s Tom Butler and Sebastian Steudtner from Germany were a highlight. Giant swells hit the most exposed spots and the crew was there to catch some of the biggest waves ever ridden on the old continent along with some major international big-wave riders. This is their story !

“Big wave surfers Sebastian Steudtner (Germany) and Tom Butler (England) had a busy winter chasing huge swell’s around Europe. Documented in this video, are a few action clips from two of the heaviest session they surfed. Mixed in with the action are two training sessions the boys filmed in Nuremberg Germany, home town of Sebastian. Road cycling is a big part of there training programme as is boxing. The surfing action is filmed at Prai de Norte, Nazare. This was the boy’s first full season surfing in Nazare.Tom scored one of the best tube rides to date on the Portuguese beach in late December 2012

The new year triggered two huge swells throughout January, the Atlantic had awoken!! So had a bronchitis infection on Sebastian’s lung! Meeting back in Nazare, the Boys played key roles in the highest documented big wave session in Europe this year. Surfing and Rescuing one another out at Nazare on the 13th of January, the day Shane Dorian pushed the Euro boys to paddle into the biggest waves to date in Europe. Sebastian’s role was to make it outta bed, still ill and keep Tom and the rest of the boys safe, making crucial rescues on the Jet-ski.

One week later the boys flew into Ireland  and touched down in the snow at Belfast international airport!! They had made the journey psyching up to surf in the Mullaghmore Big wave event. Arrival of the contest day and conditions where in-consistent,with set waves breaking over 15ft in height every 45 min’s. Not enough waves to go around and run an event in one day meant staff had to call the event off until a bigger more favorable day. A  few jet-ski’s launched to go surf anyway! Sebastian surfed a draining tube ride this session, riding the 20ft barrel the entire length of the reef just to get eaten by her last minute!

Winter 2013/ 2014  is what the boys are focusing on now, as the video states they are preparing them selves to take on the biggest waves on this continent! The tallest wave on the planet was surfed off Nazare beach in 2011, for sure the boy’s would love to have their names in the Guinness book of world records. Let’s see !!”

Kelly Slater (USA), 41, winner of the Volcom Fiji Pro and new ASP WCT No. 1.

CLOUDBREAK, Tavarua/Fiji (Wednesday, June 12, 2013) - Kelly Slater (USA), 41, has won the Volcom Fiji Pro over Mick Fanning(AUS), 31, in pumping six-to-eight foot (2 metre) barrels at Cloudbreak, simultaneously launching to No. 1 on the ASP World Championship Tour (WCT) rankings.

Stop No. 4 of 10 on the ASP WCT, the Volcom Fiji Pro saw several days of world-class surf at both Restaurants and Cloudbreak and a series of mixed results from the ASP Top 34 frontrunners shook up the current race for the ASP World Title.

Slater built momentum throughout the Volcom Fiji Pro, peaking on the final day of competition. The 11-time ASP World Champion’s road to victory included a perfect 20-point heat againstSebastian Zeitz (HAW), 25, in the Quarterfinals, a victory over John John Florence (HAW), 20, in the Semifinals, culminating with a win over Fanning in the Final that included a near-perfect 19.80 out of 20 heat total.

“What a day,” Slater said. “That was insane. When we stared out in the Final, Mick had position and I was a little deep, but the next one was unbelievable. I want to dedicate this to my brother and his wife and their new kid Van. He told me that if I missed the birth of his son, that I’d better win, so this is for you. I want to say hi to everyone at home. What can I say, what a day.”

Slater made history in his Quarterfinals match against Sebastian Zietz, collecting only the fourth perfect 20-point score on ASP record. Slater’s two unbelievable 10 point rides came compliments of deep backhand tuberiding and while the Floridian has netted several perfect 10-point single-wave scores, the perfect 20 heat marks only the second of Slater’s lengthy career.

“The waves are the stars today,” Slater said. “When they come, they’re unbelievable. I missed one in that heat that was insane. The second 10 that I got, Seabass (Sebastian Zietz) maybe could have got it, but he was a little deep. It just hit that inside and ran. It reminded me of the one yesterday that i didn’t come out of and I just though, ‘just keep going forward, don’t make the same mistake as yesterday.’ When waves are this good, I don’t discount it happening a few times in this event because the waves are there, you just have to stand up on them. Theoretically, I could have had three 10s yesterday, the waves were just that good. It’s a special thing if you can get a 10 in a heat, so I’m really stoked.”

Mick Fanning displayed incredible backhand barrel-riding skills at Cloudbreak, driving through deep tubes and unloading massive turns on his way to the Final. Fanning would go on to best close friend and reigning ASP World Champion Joel Parkinson (AUS), 32, in the Quarterfinals and deadly goofy-footer C.J. Hobgood (USA), 33, in the Semifinals but was unable to match Slater in their bout for the win.

“I’m pretty stoked,” Fanning said. “I started off with the 9.2 and saw Kelly doing the Jesus Christ on the one behind it. When Kelly didn’t get a 10 on his first wave, I thought, ‘I’m still in this,’ but then he shut the door on the next one. Overall I’m happy. I didn’t really have a good start to this event and then at the end it came good.”

John John Florence marked an incredible return to competition following an injury sustained on the Gold Coast, collecting two perfect 10-point rides over the course of the event while taking an equal 3rd place finish. Florence looked deadly again on the Final day of the Volcom Fiji Pro, besting South African powerhouse Jordy Smith (ZAF), 25, in their Quarterfinals clash, but was unable to surpass Slater’s rampage in the Semifinals.

“It would have been nice to go one round further and make the finals, but a third is a good result and we got sick waves throughout the event,” Florence said. “To get a third in my first event back since my injury is a good start and hopefully I can do well in Bali.”

C.J. Hobgood got the best of several scrappy heats throughout the Volcom Fiji Pro, but found some excellent barrels in his Semifinals clash against Mick Fanning. Unfortunately for Hobgood, Fanning would find a buzzer-beating wave in the final seconds of their match-up, handing Hobgood an equal 3rd place finish.

“I had some really slow heats throughout the event, but making it that far, you always want to make the final,” Hobgood said. “Mick and I actually had some good waves in that heat finally, and he just got me at the end. It’s a bummer to lose at the end of the heat like that, but congrats to Mick on the win.”

For Volcom Fiji Pro highlights log on to www.volcomfijipro.com.

The next stop on the ASP WCT will be the Oakley Pro Bali, which holds a waiting period from June 18-29, 2013.

VOLCOM FIJI PRO FINAL:
1 - Kelly Slater (USA) 19.80
2 - Mick Fanning (AUS) 15.87

VOLCOM FIJI PRO SEMIFINALS RESULTS:
SF 1: Kelly Slater (USA) 18.17 def. John John Florence (HAW) 14.00
SF 2: Mick Fanning (AUS) 17.07 def. C.J. Hobgood (USA) 16.70

VOLCOM FIJI PRO QUARTERFINALS RESULTS:
QF 1: John John Florence (HAW) 19.06 def. Jordy Smith (ZAF) 13.67
QF 2: Kelly Slater (USA) 20 def. Sebastian Zietz (HAW) 4.10
QF 3: C.J. Hobgood (USA) 7.77 def. Josh Kerr (AUS) 7.50
QF 4: Mick Fanning (AUS) 12.13 def. Joel Parkinson (AUS) 11.83

SAGRES – Portugal (Tuesday, June 11, 2013) -

“The European Association of Surfing Doctors is proud to announce their second annual Conference in Surfing Medicine taking place 2 to 5 October 2013, in Sagres, Portugal.

Experts from all over the world will gather at the south west cape of Europe for the largest meeting in Surfing Medicine.

Health awareness is growing in Surf community cause of several reasons and plays an important role in professionalization of the Surf sport.

The surf sport is practiced by 30 million people and has grown into the roots of families and entire generations. The surfers´ travel behaviour has changed by exploring waves in tropical and arctic destinations and hereby exposes surfers to a variety of new health risks. Flying youngsters have more “arial time“  than ever and are presenting themselves with new injury patterns. For example: one of the major problems that surfers encounter is sun exposure, causing chronic diseases in surfers, like skin cancer and eye pathologies. Our aim of the conference is to tackle the most relevant and exotic medical conditions that affect the surfer, and strive to ensure state of the art and evidence based answers to the surfing community.

The line up of our conference speakers will be highlighted by a well-known guest, Andrew Nathanson from the United States, an expert in the field of Surfing Medicine, author of Surf Survival and Clinical Associated Professor in Emergency Medicine.

The conference will have an exciting program including workshops in pre-hospital care, lifeguarding and surf physiotherapy.

We hereby want to invite surfing medical professionals to join us in the second annual Conference in Surfing Medicine. Also we ask you to actively contribute by submitting your abstract for a poster presentation of a case report or research project about medical conditions that affect the surfer.

Take a look at our program, download our flyer to spread the word in your hospital, and apply for the conference on surfingdoctorseurope.com!

See you in Sagres!

The EASD – Passion for surfing & medicine”

CAPBRETON, France (Monday, June 10, 2013) – Italia’s Alessandro Piu just sent us his latest clip from the Indonesian paradise of Bali where he scored some fun sessions along with fellow Mediterranean Leonardo Fioravanti and Aussie Claire Bevilacqua ! The greetings card said:

“Hey all, I’ve been around Indonesia for 3 months mostly filming for my new video project coming out next year 2014. For the first 2 months I lived in a house with my friend and photographer Federico Vanno, really cool Italian guy, waking up early every morning and driving our motorbike around the island looking for the best conditions.

I have been surfing with really good surfers like Mikala Jones on some epic days in Nusadua and with Leonardo Fioravanti and Claire Bevilacqua in Canggu in really fun waves. It’s always a good training to watch good surfers and surf different waves, tides and conditions with them.

I have been in Bali 3 times in my life but this time was totally different.. I felt really close with the Local Indo crews especially with the PADMA BOYS. They are definitely the funniest guys I have ever met in the water, I can remember perfectly all the laughs we had in the water waiting for a set coming.They just live the life in the simplest way they can, enjoying every single day with their friends. It’s called Pura Vida.

I saw lot of good surf from the local guys like Arya Gunata Corox, Lee wilson, Reef Doig, Darmaputra Brothers and Mister Joohny Ulluwatu (unprofessional) giving me a push to focus on my surfing.

Life in Indonesia is different from Europe and this experience has been very instructive for my mind and for my surfing. You know, most of the people in Bali are simply in everyday life looking for small important things necessary to be happy. Many people should learn from them !

I’ll definitely come back there having few trips around the islands and looking for nice waves… I will keep you updated !

Just want to say CIAO to the Boys of Padma, Joohny, Darmaputra brothers, Reef, Hayley & Machan, Mikala Jones, Fede e Carlotta, Francesco thilo Sili, Redz.”

For more information on Alessandro, check out his profile !

The city beach of San Lorenzo readies to welcome Europe’s best under-20 ! © Jonathan Ruiz

GIJON, Asturias – Spain (Thursday, June 6, 2013) - ASP Europe is pleased to announce the addition of the Gijon Pro Junior, an ASP 1-Star Men’s and Women’s Pro Junior event to our summer leg. This inaugural ASP Europe event in Gijon will bring our continent’s top talents under-20 to the beautiful Asturian city from August 1-4, 2013.

“It is exciting to have a new addition to the ASP Europe Pro Junior tour in such a beautiful region of Spain in Asturias,” Rob Gunning, ASP Europe’s Tour Manager stated. “Gijon is a fantastic, vibrant city to visit with some great waves on its main beach. I am sure this inaugural edition of the Gijon Pro Junior will highlight many of the local talents the region has in both men’s and women’s divisions.”

This sixth competition comforts Europe as one of the most dynamic regions on the ASP tours for Junior surfers willing to gain experience on their way to becoming professional athletes of the sport. With the support of a large community of surfing afficionados in Gijon, the Gijon Pro Junior will be an opportunity for local talents to measure themselves with seasoned competitors as well as tighten the European Title race for the front-runners.

“The Gijon Pro Junior will be stop number three on our junior series and is set to be the launching pad into the series of events running through our European summer” Gunning continued. “Expectations will be at a high as all the surfers push themselves for the event win and the valuable ranking points towards qualification to this year’s ASP World Junior Championships.”

While competitors will focus on taking home the $5,000 prize-purse and precious ranking points, their entourage as well as locals and tourists alike will have the opportunity to discover the many treasures Gijon dissimulates. Museums, architectural artefacts and such will be as many options as the beautiful seafront and wild surroundings for one’s day exploration.

Gijon also marks the return of the Junior series to a major city in Spain, attracting more fans and exposing the surfers to a global audience. With several different beachbreak setups available in and around the city, organizers have settled for playa de San Lorenzo as their main site.

“Backing our event, once again the city council of Gijon shows its support to sports and in particular water sports,” organizers said. “San Lorenzo is the perfect scenario to host such an event with consistant and quality waves all year round and different setups on the very same beach. We have planned a handful of activities around the main competition for everyone to have fun !”

The 2013 Gijon Pro Junior is scheduled from August 1-4, 2013 at playa de San Lorenzo, Gijon, Asturias-Spain. For all results, photos, video highlights, press releases and LIVE webcast, log on to aspeurope.com.

CAPBRETON, France (Thursday, May 30, 2013) - Frontrunner in the ASP rookie race Bianca Buitendag (ZAF) 19, and Reunion Island’s Johanne Defay (FRA) 19, decided to capitalize on a mid-season off-competition break to explore the wonders of South-Africa. They came back with a punchy edit of fun waves and the kind of high-performance surfing the two are known for.

After blasting through the qualifying ranks last year with a near perfect season collecting two major event wins and a runner-up place at the World Juniors, the local Victoria Bay resident Buitendag started her maiden assault on the ASP Top 17 with a 5th place on the Gold Coast. She then slowed down a little to only bounce back recently and clinch an impressive 3rd in Rio last week, she now sits in 8th position on the ASP Women’s WCT rankings.

“I just came from the best result of my career so far, so you could say its going well haha, but I have really learnt a lot this year.” said Buitendag. “People always say that and now I realize why. I learn about patience and overcoming emotions, I learn about how important it is to surf smart, I learnt that you really have to make the most of every opportunity, how helpful good equipment and honest advice is, I could go on forever..”

The talented goofy-footer developped her progressive approach and explosive backhand growing up along the shores of South-Africa and decided to invite over her former Roxy team mate Johanne Defay and show her the ropes along the South-Coast from Cape Town to the iconic Jeffrey’s Bay.

“South Africa is my favourite place in the whole world, and although I get to experience a lot of different cultures, this time I wanted to share my culture. South Africa is a bit off the beaten track so it look a lot of convincing!”

“We spent last year traveling around the world together,” Defay commented. “We learned how to do everything on our own and shared so much over the season we became real good friends. This year with this long break I decided to head over to South-Africa and brought along my family. We started the roadtrip at J-Bay then went on to Victoria Bay where Bianca lives and I finished with my parents spending a day in Cape Town and Durban. My highlight was definitely the elephant ride, you should see our faces riding those things !”

Johanne Defay, a former European Junior Champion in 2009 and 2011, has been quietly building momentum on the World stage and jumping through the ranks each year to sit right outside of the qualification zone for the WCT, a goal she now has her sights on. With former competitor recently turned professional coach Amandine Sanchez on her side, Defay has been putting in long hours of training and hopes her work will soon pay off.

With a condensed women’s schedule of four events back-to-back in Australia and New-Zealand, Buitendag saw in this little adventure a perfect way to take the pressure off of her maiden season among the elite ASP Top 17.

“The day Johanne arrived in South Africa she asked ‘when was the last time you actually went somewhere NOT to surf a contest?’ And I honest could not recall the day.” Buitendag stated. “Just to wake up and know that today was not about winning or losing. That the only thing you could win or lose was great memories made with great people.”

The result is a slick edit of great surf and beautiful wildlife that transpires friendship and fun, ultimately what everyone seeks in the surfing lifestyle.

Bianca Buitendag will be next competing in the Roxy Pro Biarritz from July 10-14, and Johanne Defay continues her qualification campaign in Oceanside, CA next August.

The Big Wave World Tour is now part of the ASP family.

LOS ANGELES, California/USA (Wednesday, May 29, 2013) – The Association of Surfing Professionals (ASP) International is pleased to announce the acquisition of the global Big Wave World Tour (BWWT), with arrangements for support in 2013 and formal sanctioning commencing in 2014.

“We are very pleased to have finalized the deal between the ASP and the Big Wave World Tour,” Paul Speaker, ASP CEO, said. “The competitors on the BWWT are some of the fiercest and most-respected watermen on the planet and we are eager about the opportunity to take their tour to the next level. This arrangement also allows the world’s best surfers on the ASP World Championship Tour (WCT) to compete in big-wave events moving forward. 2014 will be an exciting year on all fronts.”

Currently servicing six international big wave events in Pichilemu/Chile, Punta Hermosa/Peru, Lincoln City/Oregon, Half Moon Bay/California, Baja California/Mexico and Punta Galea/Spain the Big Wave World Tour was founded by Gary Linden and pits the world’s best big wave surfers against the elements in some of the most intense venues on the planet.

“The Big Wave World Tour is thrilled to be joining the ASP family,” Gary Linden said. “ASP run the best events in the world and we’re thrilled to have their support and guidance as we continue to build the platform of big wave surfing. We also look forward to seeing some of the world’s best surfers tackle some of the world’s biggest waves in the coming years.”

The new-found arrangement between the ASP and the BWWT will allow for top ASP surfers such as 11-time ASP World Champion Kelly Slater (USA), 41, reigning ASP World Champion Joel Parkinson (AUS), 32, Hawaiian phenom John John Florence (HAW), 20, amongst others to join respected BWWT surfers like Greg Long (USA), 28, Grant Baker (ZAF), 40, and Carlos Burle (BRA), 45, in competition with waves in the 25-foot-and-above range.

“The Big Wave World Tour is a great addition to the Association of Surfing Professionals,” Kieren Perrow, ASP Commissioner, said. “It adds another dimension to the sport and will make it significantly easier for ASP Top 34 surfers to compete in big-wave events. We have the utmost respect for the athletes on the BWWT and we really look forward to working with them.”

The acquisition of the Big Wave World Tour will complement the current ASP tours of the men’s and women’s ASP World Championship Tour, the ASP World Junior Tours, ASP World Longboard Tours and regional tours around the globe.

The Big Wave World Tour is currently on high alert for a possible run of the Quiksilver Ceremonial at Pichilemu in Chile in the coming days.

For more information, log onto www.aspworldtour.com

With his result today, Coleborn earned U$ 40,000 in prize money and 6,500 points to catapult him up to number 14 on the ASP World Ranking. At the Sunday, there were still plenty of high scoring waves throughout the day that included some long barrels, big turns and even a 10-point ride of the Lacomare in final heat.

Mitchel Coleborn showed a consistent performance throughout the entire event by executing fluid carves, big hacks and backed it up by taking out Dion Atkinson (AUS), 27, in the Quarterfinals, local favorite Raoni Monteiro (BRA), 31, in the Semifinals. Marc Lacomare beat Gabriel Medina, 19, in other Semifinal and Aritz Aranburu (EUK), 27, on the last day of the Quiksilver Saquarema Prime.

“I knew it was going to be a difficult heat, but I just tried to stick to my strategy and find the best waves,” said Mitchel Coleborn. “It was crazy because Marc (Lacomare) got a 10 right at the end and I couldn’t believe it! I got really nervous, but he still needed to get another good score and no other waves came through. I’m just so happy that everything worked out. It was an amazing week here, the waves were great and I’m stoked with the win.”

By obtaining a 2nd place finish, Lacomare also jumped into 21st place on the ASP World Ranking and is accumulating valuable points for qualification onto the WCT in 2014. “Even though I didn’t win, I’m very happy with my result,” said Marc Lacomare. “I was exhausted for the Final, but I still got that 10 on an incredible wave. I just wanted to thank everybody here. It was a great week with amazing waves and I’ll definitely be leaving Saquarema with good memories.”

The beach at Itauna was packed with people to cheer on hometown surfer Raoni Monteiro (BRA), who did not perform up to expectations after a recent injury, but still received a standing ovation after being eliminated in the Semifinals.

“For me it was a victory just getting to the Semifinals at home with everybody cheering me on and sending a positive vibe to get to the Finals,” said Raoni Monteiro. “Two years ago I got a 2nd place finish here and this year I fought hard for the win even though I hurt my back yesterday (Saturday). But Mitch (Coleborn) caught the best waves and so he deserved the win.”

Monteiro also improved his ASP World Ranking by climbing up to number 15 and hopes to continue his success at the upcoming WCT events in Fiji and Indonesia.

“Yeah, I already got an e-mail telling me to get my big boards and even my vest ready because it’s supposed to be huge in Fiji again,” continued Monteiro. “I just want to go big and I hope I don’t get injured again. I need to remain consistent with my results because I’ve been fighting injuries for the past three or four years. I hurt my knee, then my ankle, then my knee again and now my back. But I just try to focus on my objectives and know that all of the hard work will payoff.”

The Quiksilver Saquarema Prime presented by Coca-Cola is produced by Adding Sports and sponsored by the State of Rio de Janeiro, Peugeot and the City of Saquarema. With additional support provided by the Peugeot Montreal Dealership, CCS Via Lagos, the Rio de Janeiro State Surfing Federation (FESERJ), and the Brazilian Association of Surfing Professionals (ABRASP). The event is approved by the ASP South America as the second ASP Prime event of 2013 and will be transmitted live on the internet: www.quiksilver.com.br/primesaquarema13

IMAGES – High resolution images gallery available for download here – http://www.aspworldtour.com/aspimagery/

FINAL QUIKSILVER SAQUAREMA PRIME:
1 – Mitchel Coleborn (AUS) 17.60
2 – Marc Lacomare (FRA) 15.67

QUIKSILVER SAQUAREMA PRIME SEMIFINALS RESULTS:
Heat 1: Mitchel Coleborn (AUS) 16.60 def. Raoni Monteiro (BRA) 9.33
Heat 2: Marc Lacomare (FRA) 14.80 def. Gabriel Medina (BRA) 14.46

QUIKSILVER SAQUAREMA PRIME QUARTERFINALS RESULTS:
Heat 1: Raoni Monteiro (BRA) 13.77 def. Jadson Andre (BRA) 11.77
Heat 2: Mitchel Coleborn (AUS) 16.77 def. Dion Atkinson (AUS) 12.57
Heat 3: Gabriel Medina (BRA) 14.87 def. Simao Romao (BRA) 13.90
Heat 4: Marc Lacomare (FRA) 16.23 def. Aritz Aranburu (EUK) 11.54

CAPBRETON, France (Thursday, May 23, 2013) - Former ASP European Junior Champ’ Medi Veminardi (REU) 21 has just released his latest webisode, following him in preparation for the upcoming season of events, freesurfing at home in Reunion Island.

The talented goofy-footer drops a clean edit of progressive surfing and powerful railturns on his homebreak of St-Leu among others. Veminardi will be taking on the big leagues this year, participating in the upcoming ASP 6-Star Los Cabos Open of Surf in Mexico this June !

For more information on Medi, check out his profile