PRESS RELEASES

Superbock Amado Pro - 3 STAR WQS Event Amado , Portugal
Prizemoney 50 000 $
July 14 th -17 th , 2005

Sunday, July 17 th

QUARTERFINALS

The last day of the Super Bock Amado Pro was another almost flat day. After a week of bad waves, we were hoping to get something better for the final rounds of this 3* WQS event, but mother nature had definitely left us. Thus we kept on with an 8.30 am start for the first quarter, in 1 ft waves as the tide was rising. Three of the four spanish still in the contest found their way during these quarters, but nothing really smashing happened as the riders had no choice but to try again and again to get some points. German born local surfer Marlon Lipke (Deu), actually ranked 70 on the WQS tour, used his knowledge of the spot to connect from the outside every section he could surf. He showed real comitment and motivation inspite the conditions and the judges reawarded him with an 8 and a 6+ to get to the semifinals.

Best scorer of the week Shaun Burrel (Usa) did well again and eventhough he was less impressive than yesterday, he secured another first place in heat #3, followed by last year's #4 european junior Simon Marchand (Fra) who once again had to struggle up to the last minute. Patrick beven (Fra), a powerful surfer that usually shows all his talent in much bigger conditions, worked his way out of this round to finish first of his heat, dealing in a great way with the tiny waves.

SEMIFINALS

After a talk with the first four semifinalists, heat #1 started but the officials had decided to give the potential champions a 30 minute heat, as the interval between the sets was really long. Once again local boy Lipke (Deu) was on fire and just took control of the heat for more than 20 minutes until Peniche WQS's finalist Pablo Solar got a long righthander offering a 2 ft face at the peak which allowed him to get two big cutbacks as soon as he had took off.

After leading the 30 minute decider for twenty minutes thanks to a 6.5 and a 4.2, Patrick Beven (Fra), one of the two last french surfers of the contest, was smuthered by fellow countryman Simon Marchand (Fra) and unstopable looking Shaun Burrel (Usa) who just took off for a 7.33, joining five radical manoeuvers, including two radical snapbacks and a vertical re-entrie coming from nowhere.

 FINAL

Solar, Pablo ESP #4 Burrel, Shaun USA #2
Lipke, Marlon DEU #1 Marchand, Simon FRA #3

After the 12.15 pm check in got delayed because of the tide being too high, another call was set at 1 pm to finaly hear the hooter give the last start call of this Super Bock Amado Pro 3* WQS event, sanctionned by ASP. The last warriors of the contest gave their best and it was Simon Marchand (Fra) who opened the battle with a 4.33 ride. The long periods inbetween the sets made the pressure rise again, but Marchand found another righthander to get a 6.67 back up for his total. Shaun Burrel ( Usa ) then answered with a 3.83 but as fifteen minutes had gone, the other two surfers were still waiting for some ridable waves.

Marlon Lipke (Deu) eventually found a ride to express his talent and backed up his 6.33 wave with a 4.10, getting second behind Simon Marchand (Fra). The situation kept on changing as all of the surfers were very close in their scores, until the leader got an interference call and straitly got to third position leaving local boy Lipke ahead of the only american of the final, Shaun Burrel. Securing his lead with a total of 12.13 points, Marlon Lipke won his second Amado Pro event of his career in front of his crowd. Congratulations to all the organisers and surfers.

Thanks for reading, it's been a long week here in Portugal . The Amado Pro WQS event is sponsored by Super Bock, BillyBoy, Intermarché / Ecomarché, the cities of Aljezur, Lagos and Vila D'Obispo “Terras Do Infante” community. See you next year,

Saturday, July 16 th

With the weather changing this morning, we arrived on the site hoping to see something new with the waves; unfortunately Amado beach was again unlucky with the swell, and after a week of such bad conditions, the atmosphere was getting sad. After a long talk between officials and surfers, heat #9 of round of 64 got in the water. Former WCT surfer and European champion Eric Rebière (Fra) was wearing the red singlet and started the day with a 4 pointer, thanks to one fast and radical snap on the tiny inside section.

The ocean rewarded the surfers with 2 ft clean breaking waves as the tide was getting over the sanbank, and Thomas Portet (Fra) even managed to get a 9 after riding scoring some vertical re-entries to back up two nice cut backs as the sun was starting to shine. Shaun Burrel (Usa) then confirmed there was something to be done today ; waiting for the set to come, he just managed to paddle on a 2 ft almost perfect wave and gave all he could give to destroy the faces rising in front of him. With a 9.33 backed up with a perfect 10, Burrel scored a total of 19.33 points, an amazing result in such conditions.

Heat #14 was a great moment; as only a few waves were on offer for the four riders in the water, a battle for second place took place up to the last thirty seconds. Needing 2.21 points, Simon Marchand (Fra) used the priority rules and struggled to block local Miguel Veterano (Prt), getting his ticket for the last 32 surfers' round with three powered cutbacks as ten seconds were remaining on the official timer. Former european champion Mickael Picon (Fra) got eliminated by Peniche's WQS finalists Pablo Solar (Esp) and Tanio Barreto (Esp), Solar driving his board to reach 9 out of possible 10. A break was then decided to wait for the changing tide.

The contest started again at 5.30 pm under a sunny sky, as the wind was blowing moderatly from the north. After running two difficult heats, heat #6 got the right timing and 1 to 2 ft sets were rising. Eric Rebière (Fra) seemed to be securing his second place until the last minute, when Iker Fuentes found the 4+ wave he needed to back up his first score steeling second position, just behind best scorer of the contest Shaun Burrel (Usa) who repeated his domination. The day finished with the qualification of junior Michel Bourez (Pyf) who kept on destroying the waves with his powerful style; the polynesian was followed by fellow countrymen Simon Marchand (Fra) and Patrick Beven (Fra) who will surf tomorrow once more.

We have an 8am check in for tomorrow Sunday, July 17 th , and we hope that after an “almost no wave” week, we will finish the Super Bock Amado Pro 3* WQS event, and crown our champion. Thanks for your patience, log in first thing tomorrow.

Greg / aspeurope.com

Friday, July 15 th

The ocean here in Amado has been almost flat for the day, and it was just impossible to send any heat until 4.30 pm. Then the tide started to rise and the decision was taken to start the first height rounds of the round of 64, to get a maximum of chances to finish the contest on Sunday, as scheduled. A cross shore wind was blowing softly but the waves started to get better and inform Mickael Picon surprised the crowd with two 7+ waves during the 25 minute decider. Finding connections in 1 to 2 ft maximum waves, he managed to take control and landed some good radical manoeuvers to win his ticket for the round of 32.

The long waiting periods between the sets made the pressure rise for the qualification but local german-born 2004 Junior European Champion Lipke Marlon used his knowledge of the spot to get the right position and score some points. 14 year old french surfer Pierre Valentin Laborde impressed the crowd by getting his ticket for next round of this 3* WQS event, in front of experienced Tanio Barreto (Bra), who was a bit disadvantaged in such small waves.

Then followed Alain Riou (Pyf), already known surfer who has proven his skills on his homespot of Teahupoo, took the best of these 1-2 ft waves and rushed with speed into every section he could rip. With a 12+ total, he found the right waves and was rewarded by the judges for his comitment and positive moves. Pro Junior champion Aritz Aranburu (Euk) got his entry as well for next round, continuing his efforts to surf those waves that gave him the 2000 € prizemoney one day ago. The upset of the day came from 2004 European champion Justin Mujica (Prt), who got eliminated in the last heat of the day, as the tide was almost high.

The day was difficult for everyone around here, as lots of decisions had to be taken. But what is most important is that we have been able to run height heats of the round of 64 and we are going further in this Super Bock Amado 3* WQS Event, which will count for the european title as well as for the qualifying options for the 2006 World championship. Keep checking our coverage and enjoy as much as possible,

Greg / aspeurope.com

Buondi Amado 2 STAR Pro Junior Event Amado , Portugal
Prizemoney 10 000 $ July 11 th -13 th , 2005

Wednesday, July 13 th

As predicted yesterday, we arrived on the contest site with a smile as some 1-2 ft sets were coming in. With a long day of competition to run, the first heat was sent at 7.45 am, under a cloudy sky. The glassy peak gave surfers from Heat #9 the opportunity to score some nice moves , and the powerful Michel Bourez (PYF) managed to exploit the righthander to get a 7.83 pointer. He was just followed by Romain Cloitre (Fra), who found a long backhander ride and joined three radical and fast manoeuvers rewarded with a 9 out of possible 10.

The level kept rising throughout the day as the favourites were getting more and more confident in the small conditions on offer. With two brazilians facing the european contingent, and the surfers from the french islands ready to rip the small waves of this Buondi Amado Pro Junior, the round of 32 got underway in an electric atmosphere as the teams were cheering from the beach, encouraging their mates. Joan Duru (Fra), who placed 3 rd this year in the ISA World Junior Championships in Tahiti , showed again his strenght and his will to go further.

Then the unpredictable happened. Joining speed and technique on each of his moves, and paddling hard to catch the lefthanders, Jérémy Flores (Reu) managed to impress the judges and obtain a perfect 10; just amazing in such difficult conditions. Adding an 8.67 pointer to his total he rocked this Buondi Amado Pro Junior, and repeated his work in the semifinal against Romain Laulhé (Fra), Romain Cloitre (Fra) and Marc Lacomare (Fra). The other semifinal was a little less exciting but still favourites Aritz Aranburu (Euk) and Joan Duru (Fra) were rewarded for their comitment and their abilities to change those little waves into scoring ramps.

As the waves were pumping during the thirty minutes break, the contestants entered the water with the best waves of the week so far. Thanks to the organisers' good timing, aware of the tides and swell forecasts, the four finalists offered the crowd some nice moves, Aritz Aranburu (Euk) using his “at-the-office” style to join more than four radical manoeuvers and get 8 pts out of possible 10 for his first heat. With seven minutes remaining, Joan Duru (Fra) and Romain Laulhé (Fra) were fighting for second place as Jérémy Flores could not find a backup wave for his 7. 77 pts first ride. With the pressure rising as only one set was to come before the hooter had spoken, the four last warriors of the Buondi Amado Pro Junior battled leaving Flores (Reu) with an interference call, which gave him fourth place allowing Aritz Aranburu (Euk) to secure his lead and get the 2005 crown.

Thank you to Buondi, the cities of Lagos , Aljezur and Villa do Obispo, the surfers for their efforts, the staff and the judges for a good event. See you next year for another junior event, but get ready for the SUPER BOCK Amado 3 STAR WQS event which will start tomorrow Thursday. Thanks for reading,

Final

Red Aranburu, Aritz (EUK) 1
White Duru, Joan (FRA) 3
Yellow Flores, Jérémy (REU) 4
Black Laulhé, Romain (FRA) 2

2 STAR Amado Pro Junior Event Amado , Portugal
Prizemoney 10 000 $
July 11 th -13 th , 2005

Tuesday, July 12 th

After checking all the spots around South Portugal , as the swell was offering same conditions as yesterday, the end of round of 96 was sent in order to get further in the contest. With 1 ft waves breaking in Amado, the juniors kept on doing their best to take advantge of these really difficult conditions, and some of them managed to surprise the few spectators. Between 8.30 and 11 am, three waves were scored higher than 7, the young surfer Medi Veminardi (Reu) getting a 9.33 for three powerful manoeuvers on a 2 ft unique wave.

Under a cloudy sky, Robson Santos (Bra) took his chance and found an expoitable little wave to get 8.17 points after two re-entries and a clean roundhouse cutback, finishing in the sand. After the round of 96 was completed, a break was set until 1.45 pm, giving the ocean some time to prepare for the round of 64, with the best juniors entering the contest.

At 4pm was sent the round of 64, as the incoming tide was starting to offer some lefthanders. Eventhough the conditions kept on being difficult, the organisers decided to get on with the heats. The best european juniors thus entered the contest; Goni Zubizarreta (Esp) managed to grab second place in an ocean where light weighted surfers were for sure advantaged. Abdel El Harim (Mar), who recently won his ticket for the WCT event in Reunion Island after getting fourth in the trials, tried his best to workout the tiny waves on offer and got through.

Thanks to the tide going up, nice 1-2 ft waves allowed the best juniors to show their skills and offer a nice show to the crowd, under a beating sun. Running eight heats of the round of 64, the organisers managed to stay on time, as tomorrow might offer small but still more consistent and regular waves. Thank you to all thesurfers for their efforts, and we hope for everyone that tomorrow will be an acceptable surfing day. Check the photos and thanks for reading.

Monday, July 11 th

After waiting a year to see the surfing season start again in Europe, the conditions on offer delayed the beginning of the hostilities. With more than a hundred international junior surfers ready to fight for the european leg, we are expecting some great action here on the beautiful beach of Amado, in the far south of Portugal.

Organisers, surfers and technical staff arrived this morning at 9am for the expected start but quikly understood that we were about to have a layday. After a 10.30 am call, then another 2 pm call, the clouds were still covering up the beach as 1 ft waves were breaking in front of the judges tower. Patiently, it was decided to give the ocean another hour and a half; the fact is that it's actually the ocean giving us what it wants...

Eventually, it was decided to send out the first 8 heats of the contest. With the sun shinning and some proper but still tiny conditions, the young guns entered the water with no choice but to do their best technically as well as mentaly, as a few expoitable waves were breaking. Still, to adapt to the conditions is one of the main parts of surfing.

The big surprise came from a Reunion Island surfer Adrien Toyon who managed to back up his 6.83 pointer with a 7 pts wave after getting a long and radical ride finishing in the sand on the shore. Von Rupp (Ger) managed as well to score a 7 pts wave, joining Toyon (Reu) for the best score of the day; in such conditions, the younger surfers got advantaged today for sure, but remained the difficulty to use all their techninal skills. Congratulations to today's qualified surfers.

We might move to another spot tomorrow Tuesday, in order to get the best waves as possible. As the forecasts predict same or even worse conditions, let's hope our juniors will still manage to offer South Portugal a great show. Thanks for reading, log in tomorrow for the last 8 heats of the first round, followed by the start of the best in the contest ; Goni Zubizarreta (Esp), Aritz Aranburu (Euk), Jérémy Flores (Reu)... It's about to get fast out the peak!

Greg / aspeurope.com