2004 NEWS shorts
Wildcard Wins Pipeline Masters
HAWAIIAN wildcard Jamie O'Brien today schooled an all-Hawaiian final to win the US$260,000 Rip Curl Pro Pipeline Masters. Perfect 6ft waves highlighted the dramatic day. Following massive surf this past week, conditions cleaned up with ideal Pipeline lefts and Backdoor rights on offer. 2000 world champion Sunny Garcia created history by winning a record sixth Van's Triple Crown of Surfing title, as well as his fifth runner-up finish at Pipeline. 1999 world champion Mark Occhilupo was a quarterfinalist this morning, and while this seems normal in itself, the fact he won the Pipeline Masters a staggering 20 years ago further illustrates his incredible talent and longevity. He finished the year in 12th spot.
Ross Clarke-Jones 2nd to Bruce Irons at Aikau Big Wave
HAWAIIAN surfer Bruce Irons made his way out of the shadow of world champion brother Andy today, by winning surfing's most prestigious big wave event, the Quiksilver In Memory Of Eddie Aikau Big Wave Invitational at Waimea Bay, Hawaii. The younger of the famous Irons brothers, Bruce tackled waves that exceeded 40 feet (12m) in height to finish ahead of Central Coast big wave rider Ross Clarke-Jones. "It's always disappointing to lose, but Bruce thoroughly deserved the win today. He scored a perfect score of 100 and a loss would have been very tough for him," Clarke-Jones said. Shane Dorian (Haw) was third (331 points, US$7,000), Andy Irons was fourth (329 points, US$5,000), Northern California's Peter Mel was fifth (327 points, US$4,000), and defending event champion Kelly Slater (Florida) was sixth (291 points, US$3,000).
Matt Wilkinson Wins U/16 World Title
COPACABANA surfer Matt Wilkinson has claimed the Under 16 world junior surfing crown at the Quiksilver ISA World Junior Surfing Championships, held at Tahiti's Papenoo Beach. More than 170 surfers representing 24 nations competed in the annual event in solid four-foot waves following six days of non-stop surfing action. Representing his country for the first time at International level, Wilkinson locked in the highest individual wave score of the entire event – a near perfect 9.83 – en-route to his win. “When the announcers called out my score, I was freaking out,” explained Wilkinson. “It was the highest wave of the event and I was almost more scared after I got that wave than before. I was paddling back out thinking, ‘I can't lose this now!' I didn't want anyone to get another wave. I was telling myself, ‘I've almost done it!'." Fellow Aussies James Wood (U/18 boys; Lennox Head) and Stephanie Gilmore (U/18 girls; Kingscliff) also claimed world titles.
Classic Surfing & Surf for Central Coast Longboard Open
BLESSED with excellent conditions the annual Central Coast Longboard Open, held at Avoca Beach Nov. 13-14 proved once again the future of longboarding is in very good hands. The annual two-day event saw national, state and local champions compete in perfect waves and mix in an atmosphere of good vibes and good times, according to club president Dave Hayes. In the blue-ribbon event, Christian Pimm from Long Reef took out the Open 9' Mens title from Newcastle's Mark Hancock and Avoca nose rider Leigh Davidson. Australian Over 40 champ Ray Smith came in fourth. In the Under 16s, Mitch Ward narrowly defeated Daniel McCombe; Blake Pascoe edged out Mitch Fraser in the Under 18s, while in the Over 55s, living legend Barry 'Magoo' McGuigan managed third place behind Danny Bond and winner Ken Gray. Current Aussie champ Mark Hancock beat Manly's Dave English with Dave Hayes third in the Over 35s. In the Over 40s, John Fraser narrowly defeated Ray Blackman while Martin Skewes dominated the final downing Michael Thompson with last year's state champ Dave Fraser third.
Courtney Wins Summer Surf Slam Open Title
UMINA surfer Drew Courtney won Sunday the Open Men's title at the fifth annual Summer Surf Slam title held in clean 4' waves at Boomerang Beach on the mid north coast of New Coast Wales. The WQS surfer from Umina Beach won from Mick Cain and Heath Irving with Jayke Sharpe rounding out the top four. More than 150 elite competitors were spread out over the six divisions, both male and female, in the NSW Championship Circuit event. Organisers said the event ran very smoothly and had been a great success.
Rebecca Woods Qualifies for World Championship Tour
CENTRAL COAST surfer Rebecca Woods (L) has capped off a stunning year of competitive surfing by qualifying for the 2005 ASP Women's World Championship Tour (WCT). After sitting in 6th position on the World Qualifying Series (WQS) for the latter part of this year, the tense wait was finally over for the talented Copacabana natural footer as she earned a place among the top 17 women surfers in the world. "It feels like the weight of the world is off my shoulders now because I have wanted this for so long," said an elated Woods. At the present stage, Woods has qualified in fourth position on the WQS behind Chelsea Georgeson (AUS), Melanie Redman-Carr (AUS) and Hawaii's Melanie Bartels. Still in California following her third placing at the recent Coldwater Classic, Woods will return home Oct. 31 then venture to Hawaii in December.
Locals Hucker, English Win Age Titles at Surfmasters
SHELLY BEACH surfer Matt Hucker has won the over 40's division title at the Australian Surfmasters Titles 2004 held at various locations along the Yorke Peninsula in South Australia. Fellow Central Coast surfer Sandra English added to her unbelievable Australian record which includes one Australian Open Title and now an amazing six Over 28's Australian Titles. Sandra surfed fantastic in her semi and final scoring many excellent 8 point plus rides. Luke Jory from Noosa took out the Open mens title while Yvonne Byron, from Fig Tree in Wollongong, dominated the final and posted the day's highest single wave score, a 9.05 to take her first Australian Open title.
It's Official, Surfing is Better Than Sex
WHAT'S better - surfing or sex? It's a question that has loomed on the mind since Adam shaped the first surfboard the morning after his first date with Eve. Both deliver ups and downs, highs and lows, passion and pleasure, and guts and glory. But surely one stands above the other. Surely one is better than the other. International surfing company Rip Curl decided to let the masses speak and via the world wide web posted the question: "What is better - surfing or sex?" on ripcurl.com - the company's global website. 11,504 people (male and female) took part in the poll, answering yes or no as they saw fit. The result, my friends, was an interesting one: 53.75% of people answered that surfing is better than sex! That's right, more than 50 % of the world's population rate surfing higher than sex!
Surfers Honour Victims of Bali Tragedy
BALINESE and Australian surfers paddled out at Kuta Beach Tuesday to honour the memory of those killed when terrorists detonated two bombs in Bali two years ago. Of the 202 victims, 88 were Australian. Friends and relatives of the victims and Australian officials attended a formal function earlier in the day.
Molony Edges Out Davidson in Molch Memorial
RUSSELL Molony (L) edged out Marcus Robinson in a nail-biting climax to the 2004 Adam Molch Hillier Memorial in 1 metre waves at Shelly Beach Monday. A former WQS competitor, the 26-year-old Molony finished with a combined total of 15.4 to narrowly defeat Robinson, who won the event in 2000. In the open women's, Terrene Black from North Entrance made it four in a row when she proved too strong for Adele Hankey and Ladine Clark. Nathan van Roosmalen won the U/18 Mens from Miles Hopgood while Luke Hartage took out the Under 16 mens from Tom Fielder and Robbie Fuller. Sam Paterson won the Under 14s from Blake Van Roosmalen, Bryce Heap and Blake Thompson.
For pics of the Molch, click here.
Rebecca Woods Claims B'bong Girls Teen Title
CENTRAL Coast surfer Rebecca Woods has capped off a stunning year of competitive surfing by snatching victory from the Gold Coast's Sheridan Shields at the Billabong Girls Pro-Teen Series at Jan Juc beach Saturday. The recent US Open winner departs the junior ranks as one of Australia’s most decorated junior surfers ever, claiming her second ASP Australasian Junior Title at the Bells event.
American Surfer Rides Whale of a Wave
AN American surfer claims to have ridden a whale while surfing off the Californian coast. Spyros Vamvas, 60, of San Clemente said he was lifted up by the whale and could see barnacles on its back, he told the Associated Press news agency. Witnesses said as the whale neared the shore it gently slid from beneath the man's board and headed back out to sea. The whale had earlier scared other surfers from the water.
Rip Curl Malibu Pro Latest Addition to Women's WCT
THE inaugural Rip Curl Malibu Pro, the first ever women's stand alone WCT event on mainland American soil, will take place October 2-10, 2004 in Malibu, California, Rip Curl announced Monday. The Rip Curl Malibu Pro draws 18 of the top ranked women professional surfers to compete for a prize purse worth US$62,500. Rip Curl Team Riders Jacqueline Silva (Brazil), Bethany Hamilton (Hawaii), and Marie Pierre Abgrall (France) will be pursuing the opportunity to capture the crown of the inaugural Malibu Pro. Six times defending world champion Layne Beachley must win this historic event to have any chance of a seventh title.
Occy & Townend Inducted Into US Surfing Hall of Fame
MARK Occhilupo's remarkable surfing achievements and the world wide recognition he has brought to the sport were acknowledged last week in the United States where he was inducted into the USA Surfing Hall of Fame. The ceremony was staged at the Huntington Surf and Sport where surfing peers, industry and fans paid their respect as Occy imprinted his famous feet and hands into the boardwalk in front of the statue of Duke Kahanamoku. Other surf legends who were also inducted into the Surfing Hall of Fame included Peter Townend, Gerry Lopez, Jack Haley and Jericho Poppler.
'Shark Shield' to Hit Market by Year's End
A shark deterrent system mounted near the tail of a surfboard will be commercially available later this year for around AUS$700.00. According to South Australian-based company SeaChange Technology, the shark deterrent technology works by surrounding the surfer with an electrical field, which impacts on special receptors in the snout of the shark. As the shark approaches, the field creates discomfort, and then produces muscle spasms causing the shark to flee. To see how it works in more detail click here.
Intel Launches Surfboard PC
OK, we've had mobile phone and pager sports cases for the man who just can't live without communications while in the water, now we have the onboard surfboard PC. Intel has just launched a wireless-enabled Tablet PC which will make its debut in a surfing and musical festival in Croyde, North Devon, England. According to computerweekly.com, the onboard PC will not affect stability and is completely waterproof. The website quotes international surfer Duncan Scott as saying: "As a professional surfer, explorer, writer, film producer and world traveler being able to communicate quickly and effectively is critical to my success". Hmmm. The only question left to ask is ... where does one put the cam?