WQS HEAT DRAW

Thursday, October 20 th – Eric Rebière (Fra) is out, the European title is now waiting for his man… Thursday, October 20 th – After checking all the surfing possibilities of the area of San Juan , it was obvious the best option for the morning was again to stick to the main contest site, as 3 ft glassy perfect lefthanders were breaking in front of the judges' tower. At 9.15 am rang the beginning of the first heat of the day, heat #7 of the round of 64, and as the sun was slowly spreading his light over the surrounding cliffs, the surfers started to ride the photogenic waves. The first big time of the day came with heat #8, when Ben Bourgeois (Usa), former WCT surfer, entered the water and found some very good rides rewarded with two 8+ scores to win his heat.

First upset happened in heat #10 with the elimination of actual EPSA ratings' leader Eric Rebière (Fra). Looking uncomfortable in his wave choice, the Frenchman got smothered by the two locals Jose Maria Cabrera (Cny) and Franito Saenz (Cny) who created the surprise to advance to the round of 32, Cabrera showing an impressive level on his home spot. The two men had to leave the contest later, with respectively $900 and $1000 in the pocket. The following heat was another upset as one of the European title contenders Aritz Aranburu (Euk) had to forget about his continental dreams as well.

Still looking for at least 900 points acoording to his qualification for the WCT 2006, Mikael Picon (Fra) had to face young gun Gony Zubizarreta (Esp), who finished the EPSA Junior leg on fire to qualify for the 2006 World Junior Championships. Confident, the experienced French surfer controlled his heat to get through. In still clean conditions, outsider Tevita Gukilau (Aus) who has been showing some really good skills in the last two contests stood up against the best and tried hard to convince the judges but it was not enough.

The day kept on going as the surfers were leaving the draw one after the other, leaving thirty-two lucky men for a resurf today. The high tide offered us its best, and some soft but still ridable waves were breaking. The big upset of the round of 32 was Pancho Sullivan's (Haw) elimination. Despite many fans encouraging the famous rider, he made a mistake and had to accept an interference call, leaving the water so disappointed the crowd stood silent. The big boy will have to be on fire for the last 6 Star events, as he can still better some of his results and qualify for the 2006 WCT.

After getting some good scores yesterday, Ruben Gonzalez (Prt) confirmed his return advancing again through the round, to surf in last top 16 surfers of the contest. Another good surprise was the other good result for 19-year-old Dion Atkinson (Aus) who once again managed to keep his flow and on-the-rail surfing despite the softer conditions. Actually the best European on the WQS tour, Mikael Picon (Fra) has good chances to qualify soon for the 2006 WCT but he will have to reach at least the final here and a part of his mission is now done as his name appears on the last two heats of the contest.

The bad forecast obliged the officials to run the quarters as well, in order to have a minimum of heats to use the best conditions as possible for the three last days of the waiting period. The last four 25 minute deciders of the day started at 5 pm , in still glassy 3 ft conditions. The tide was just beginning is walk backwards when Patrick Beven (Fra) decided to to go on in the contest. Very focused as the pressure for the EPSA title was raising, the French man surfed confidently with great control on each of his moves and left his opponents more than three points away. With 7 Europeans in the semi finals, Ben Bourgeois was the only international surfer to stay still and there is a lot to bet he will try his best to get the crown because his qualification for the WCT is not far and winning here could open a wider door.

Twenty two heats were held today in pretty good conditions and the European title is still floating around the contest area as Patrick Beven (Fra) will have to get at least second of the contest to grab the trophy. Justin Mujica (Prt) is still in the contest and has the opportunity to get second of the ratings if he wins the contest. From WCT qualification options to EPSA Championship crown, this 4 Star event is going to be hot with its three last heats. Stay tuned as much as possible and thank you again for your attention in the last European event of the year 2005. We have a check in at 10 AM tomorrow and we would like to hold the last heats at the world famous spot of “El Quemao”. See you soon.

The La Santa Surf Pro is a 4 Star “World Qualifying Series” event sanctioned by ASP Europe , and will offer $75 000 of prizemoney. It it the last event that will count for the 2005 European championship and we will crown the champion by the end of the week. It is sponsored by La Santa Surf and La Caja de Canarias , and proudly supported by the Government of Canarias, the Cabildo of Lanzarote, the city council of Teguise, Shark bathing suits, El Maquinola, Creatures of Leisure, Pukas, and Lanzarote.com.

Wednesday, October 19 th – San Juan 's lefthander offers clean conditions for day 2 of the last European event of the year.

Clear skies and sun welcomed the first surfers of the day this morning, as a beautiful light was awaking the dry island of Lanzarote . As predicted, the swell's direction had changed during the night and was now exactly the right one for the reef of San Juan . The first riders of the day hit the water at 9.30 am , in glassy 4 ft barrelling lefthanders, offering all the potential for some good scores. This year's EPSA Junior # 3 Romain Laulhé (Fra) took the first ticket for the round of 64, surfing backside on the lefthander, and left his opponents far behind with an 8 and a 7.5, giving him the fourth highest total of the contest .
“The waves are just perfect, the walls are so clean… It's a real pleasure to surf these waves. We just have to be careful to the hundreds of urchins that are waiting for our feet where the lefthander finishes,” said the smiling 20-year-old surfer. Unfortunately he lost later in the round of 96. The incoming tide brought some pretty consistent conditions and the show became better hour after hour. After his victory last Sunday in Tenerife , Kyle Garson ( Usa ) looked again really confident and took advantage of the pumping conditions to win his heat and advance to the money round, with the same speed and flow he used to win last event.

The sole Moroccan of the WQS tour Abdel El Harim (Mar), entered the water for heat #8 very focused on making a good result here, the EPSA ratings being one his priorities. He qualified for the round of 64, joining the best surfers of the contest to fight again for another qualification. The day went on in pretty good conditions, the wind rising softly, leaving the waves all the potential the guys needed to offer a good show. European Nathan Phillips (Wls) almost lost but found the ultimate wave of his heat to score the 4.35 pts he needed: “I was pretty lucky to get that one. Not so many waves came in during the heat so it was a bit tough to find a back up score so I am happy to surf in the next round,” confessed the only Walsh surfer of the tour.

Local boy Jose Maria Cabrera (Cny) found as well the path of the qualification, getting second in his heat after Tommy O'Brien ( Usa ) ripped one of the best waves of the morning to get an 8.75, in reward of huge radical turns and of his great speed. The round ended at 4.30 pm , and the best surfers of the contest could eventually enter the water to show what the hierarchy was like. Hodei Collazo (Esp) and Eneko Acero (Euk) were the first of the best seeded surfers to face the qualifiers, and Cheyne Cottrell ( Usa ) after his semifinal in last week's event, surfed well enough to advance to the round of 32.

Former EPSA Junior Champion Marlon Lipke (Deu) was one of today's outstanding performers. The German goofy footer (one who surfs with right foot ahead) just ripped the little walls on offer and impressed by his speed and technique, looking pretty much at his best if the conditions continue this way. “There wasn't too much waves at the outside so I just waited for the good one and got a 9 pointer,” started the 22-year-old surfer. “It's been a very good year for me before I got sick in France for the big events, but I am feeling good right now and I am looking forward to next 6 Star events coming in Brazil and Hawaii,” finished Marlon after giving back his yellow vest to the Beach Marshall.

The big score of the day then came in with heat #4, when actual EPSA ratings' #2 Patrick Beven (Fra) used all his strength and patience to choose the right waves, and destroy them as much as he could. Just before the time had gone, the red knight took off on a perfect surprising 4 ft wave and ripped so hard the water sprays were flying six feet above the lip. With no hesitation, a straight 10 out of possible ten appeared on the speaker's screen, leaving all the followers needing a combination of waves. Just what we needed to finish the day in the best way!

We had a very good start this morning in perfect conditions, and then the tide changed the face of the waves, giving the surfers lots of difficulties to get some high scores. Marlon Lipke (Deu), Patrick Beven (Fra) and Pancho Sullivan (Haw) were the three best scorers of the day, showing some amazing power and control despite the soft conditions. We will start again tomorrow at 9 AM to run as much heats as possible because according to the conditions no swell is coming for the end of the week. Thanks for your attention, see you later.

The La Santa Surf Pro is a 4 Star “World Qualifying Series” event sanctioned by ASP Europe , and will offer $75 000 of prizemoney. It it the last event that will count for the 2005 European championship and we will crown the champion by the end of the week. It is sponsored by La Santa Surf and La Caja de Canarias , and proudly supported by the Government of Canarias, the Cabildo of Lanzarote, the city council of Teguise, Shark bathing suits, Creatures of Leisure, Pukas, and Lanzarote.com.

Tuesday, October 18 th – Last European contest of the year is on.

The wind was already blowing softly when the surfers arrived for the 9 am check-in, but some little waves were breaking on the reef of San Juan . After looking at the forecast, it was decided to get on with the first round of this 4 Star event, and all the surfers were ready to go. In 3 ft lefthanders, the first riders of the day hit the water at 9.30, and didn't hesitate to go hard again and rip the little sections.

Because of a late entry, famous surfer Jock Barnes (Aus) was the first one to score and just flew over the waves to get the first 9 pointer of the contest, showing the judges he was going to get as far as he could. The contest site woke up slowly as all the staff was fixing the last minute problems, but everything was ready to give the surfers all they needed to concentrate. Massage areas, water, food… The last contest of the year in Europe is definitely ready to offer everyone a great time on the beautiful island of Lanzarote .

The sun chased the clouds away by the middle of the day, and the twenty-five minute deciders kept on going as the tide was coming in and offering surfable conditions for the guys. Lots of locals, who entered just before the contest, found their way out of this first round as did Manuel Lezcano or Christian Jimenez. The localism in Lanzarote is very strong and having the locals in the contest means a lot to them, and is an important condition to run the contest in good conditions; today, some of them even won and proved they had some good skills on their waves.

Being at home, actually showing some new motivation to come back in the European top ratings, Jose Maria Cabrera (Cny) waited for the best set waves and surfed with power and speed, leaving the two American surfers of his heat behind. “It's good to have a contest here. I would like to make something special but I hope the conditions will pick up soon as we have some insane surf spots around that can work on huge swells,” said the local rider after giving back his yellow singlet to the beach marshall. The high tide forced the officials to have a break, just by lunch time, before the last six heats of the day could be sent in again.

Heat #11 was the first one to get in the water after the break, and Dion Atkinson (Aus) who got second in the 2 Star in Tenerife , used again his great flow and technical skills to win the heat despite the difficult conditions which were getting bumpy. Showing an impressive on-the-rail surfing to connect all the sections brought by the outgoing tide, the Australian was rewarded with an 8.75, backed up by a 7+ score, all he needed for a good start in this contest. “ The conditions are really fun eventhough it's a bit bumpy; it's only my fourth participation in a WQS event so I don't have any pressure right now,” started the 19-year-old surfer. “I just want to enjoy and get some points for next year. The place is beautiful, a lot quieter than the other islands so we ae having a good time,” finished Dion. This quiet young man might be one of the most dangerous outsiders of the contest so we will keep an eye on him tomorrow again.

It was a good day at the beach, despite the small but still clean conditions. Tomorrow's round of 96 will start at 10 am here in San Juan but we might get mobile for the end of the contest, moving to the world famous reef break of “El Quemao” from Thursday. We hope the coverage is good enough for you around the world, thanks for reading.

The La Santa Surf Pro is a 4 Star “World Qualifying Series” event sanctioned by ASP Europe , and will offer $75 000 of prizemoney. It it the last event that will count for the 2005 European championship and we will crown the champion by the end of the week. It is sponsored by La Santa Surf and La Caja de Canarias , and proudly supported by the Government of Canarias, the Cabildo of Lanzarote, the city council of Teguise, Shark bathing suits, Creatures of Leisure, Pukas, and Lanzarote.com.

Monday, October 17 th – Lay day in Lanzarote gives time to surfers for lost boards and missed airplanes .

As predicted yesterday and according to the dropping swell we had in Tenerife for the finals, it was no surprise to see a flat ocean by the time we arrived at the contest site of San Juan . The 12 pm check in allowed the officials, after looking at the conditions, to cancel today's start. Anyway, with many surfers still waiting for their boards or, for some of them, still waiting for an air ticket to get here, there was no chance to run anything today.

As the locals are waiting for a new swell from Wednesday, with three full days of contest needed to run the event, the seven- day waiting period might give us the time we need to wait for the best conditions for the surfers. Tomorrow's check in is set at 9 am so have a nice day for the moment and log in later for all videos, photos and releases of the last two contests.

The European WQS leg will finish by the end of the week and we will crown our 2005 EPSA Champion after the contest. With very good surfers who travelled from all over the world to be here - including Pancho Sullivan (Haw), former WCT surfer Ben Bourgeois ( Usa ) – this last contest of the year in Europe might give an impressive show. Eric Rebière (Fra) is still leading comfortably the European ratings but the last results brought some interesting changes in the hierarchy and the young guns – Michel Bourez (Pyf), Aritz Aranburu (Euk) – seem at their best. See you later,