ISA World Junior Surfing Championships
Jiquiliste Beach, Tola, Nicaragua
June 8 – 16, 2013 

Jeffrey’s Bay surfers Dylan Lightfoot and Gina Smith to lead the South African Junior Team in Nicaragua 

Jeffrey’s Bay surfers Dylan Lightfoot and Gina Smith have been named as captain and vice captain respectively of the 2013 South African Junior Surfing Team that will compete in the ISA World Junior Surfing Championships in Nicaragua from June 8 -16.

The announcements were made at the SA junior Team Colours Awards presentation held in Durban on Saturday evening.

Lightfoot is the most experienced surfer in the team and will represent South Africa for the fourth time in Nicaragua. The talented Jeffrey’s Bay local has been winning national tournaments for in every part of the country for the last five years and in 2011 won a silver medal in the Under 16 Division of the World Junior Championships in Peru. He will be competing in the Under 18 Division this year and will be aiming to return home with gold.

Gina Smith earned her right to represent South Africa at the World Championships when she won the South African Junior Championships in 2012. She emulates her older sister Emma who represented South Africa at the event in 2011 and 2012.

Joining Lightfoot and Smith as the third Jeffrey’s Bay representative in the Team is Matthew McGillivray who earns his second cap in the Under 16 Division. Like Smith, McGillivray won a national title at the 2012 SA Junior Championships but was required to surf through regional and national selection trials to qualify for the team.

The Eastern Cape has not only provided three of the members of the team but will also include Cape St Francis based South African surfing legend Graham Hynes, who is Head Coach and Team Manager, Surfing South Africa Vice President Johnny Bakker of Port Elizabeth.

In addition to the three surfers, the Head Coach and the Team Manager the Eastern Cape will contribute to the administration of the World Championships as East London based surfing official Cyril Nel has been invited to Nicaragua to act as Head Judge for the event.

All the members of the South African Team have had to raise significant funds to make the journey to Nicaragua and with the team’s departure scheduled for June 1st the Eastern Cape surfers are planning a final fundraising effort this weekend  to boost their efforts.

Dylan Lightfoot and Gina Smith will be holding a function at Chingadas restaurant in Port Elizabeth on Friday night ( May 24th ) where an auction of signed memorabilia from the Billabong Pro in J Bay will take place.

Hampers from leading surfing brands such as Billabong, Von Zipper, Dakine, Kustom,Fox and Nixon will also be auctioned and there tickets will be sold for a lucky draw which offers a bunch of great prizes.

Matt McGillivray has a Hurley hamper to raffle and details of how to buy a ticket are available on his facebook page.

The 2013 South African junior surfing team has been provided with kit by Billabong.

Surfing South Africa (SSA) is the recognized governing body for the sport in South Africa. SSA is a member of the South African Sports Confederation and Olympic Committee (SASCOC) andthe International Surfing Association (ISA)

Jordy you boytjie! Bout time our man puts it all together, and wins an ASP event outside of SA. We're all super stoked for him, kid has oodles of talent. 

He took out Adriano de Souza in the finals with a 17.8 vs a 16.34. 

Big-ass double grab punt did the damage. And a coupla front side air-reverses to back it up. Waves weren't exactly JBay by any means, but lucky they were bowly and big enough to let the guys throw down the odd maneuver. Guess it's hard to argue when there's 15 000 ou's on the beach. But still....it's meant to be the Dream Tour, not the "Let's go surf at the spots where we can sell the most boardshorts" Tour.

Let's hold thumbs the JBay Open just absolutely cranks this year - and we can all flip the collective middle finger at the ASP, and hope we get the event back here next year! 

Jordy scores himself a sweet R940 000 for taking the win. That's about R80k a wave for his 12 scoring waves in the event.

The guys that backed Jordy for the win in the ML Fantasy Surfer comp were in the mix for the kiff prizes. Random.org pulled out Bobby Ellis for 1st prize and Michael Hill for 2nd. Bobby scores himself a sweet pair of VZ shades, a set of kiff Kinetic Racing fins, a DaKine leash and a Billabong T. Mike hooks himself a DaKine leash and deckgrip, and a Billabong cap and T.

Wanna watch the final....check it out here.

EP is stoked to have 3 lighties in the SA Junior team headed to the World Junior Games in Nicaragua in June. It's flipping far to go, and airfares cost a fortune, so let's help the kids get there. Your support would be greatly appreciated.

Dylan Lightfoot and Gina Smith are hosting a fundraising evening at Chingada's in Walmer on Friday 24 May, starting at 18h30. Pull in for kiff chow, live music, DJ's, lucky draws, auction of signed JBay Billabong Pro memorabilia  and just generally a lekker evening. Everyone welcome. Give Chingada's a call if you wanna book a table for you and your mates (041 581 0098), else just pitch on the night, no worries.

More details on the Facebook page here.

Matt McGillivray is holding a an awesome raffle to raise bucks for his trip. There are only 150 tickets to be sold at R100 a ticket, and you can win:

1st prize: R5000 Hurley gift voucher
2nd prize: New Hurley Fusion wetsuit
3rd prize: CReate a pair of your own Hurley boardshorts

To get yourself a ticket, just deposit the R100 in dad Donalds account, using your name, followed by Matt Nicaragua as the reference. Bank details:
Donald Mc Gillivray 
Investec Bank Limited 
Account Number: 10 011 450 347 
BRANCH CODE: 580 105 

So dig into those pockets and help get our lighties over there!!

Nothing much happening in Rio - so the ou's are doing plenty interviews. Here's a kiff one of Kelly being questioned by Occ. Shew, professional surfing's gonna battle to find another articulate and intelligent surfer after Kelly retires. Just saying...

BARRA DA TIJUCA, Rio de Janeiro/Brazil (Wednesday, May 15, 2013) – The Billabong Rio Pro has called a lay day for competition today with only small one-to-two foot (0.5 metre) waves on offer at the primary site of Barra da Tijuca.

Event No. 3 of 10 on the 2013 ASP World Championship Tour (WCT), the Billabong Rio Pro has completed the opening round of competition and will resume when conditions improve over the coming days.

“Only small surf on offer this morning so we’ve called a lay day for competition today,” Rich Porta, ASP International Head Judge said. “We anticipate swell to begin filling in by tomorrow afternoon and will definitely recommence competition in the coming days. We’ll return in the morning to make another assessment.”

Event organizers will reconvene tomorrow morning at 7:30am to assess conditions.

When competition resumes Taj Burrow (AUS), 34, will take on wildcard Gustavo Fernandes (BRA) Heat 1 of Round 2.

The Billabong Rio Pro will be webcast LIVE via http://wctbrasil.com/rio13

For additional ASP information log on to www.aspworldtour.com

BILLABONG RIO PRO ROUND 2 MATCH-UPS:
Heat 1: Taj Burrow (AUS) vs. Gustavo Fernandes (BRA)
Heat 2: Josh Kerr (AUS) vs. Messias Felix (BRA)
Heat 3: Julian Wilson (AUS) vs. Jack Freestone (AUS)
Heat 4: Jeremy Flores (FRA) vs. Ricardo dos Santos (BRA)
Heat 5: Michel Bourez (PYF) vs. Yadin Nicol (AUS)
Heat 6: C.J. Hobgood (USA) vs. Dusty Payne (HAW)
Heat 7: Adrian Buchan (AUS) vs. Raoni Monteiro (BRA)
Heat 8: Kai Otton (AUS) vs. Adam Melling (AUS)
Heat 9: Damien Hobgood (USA) vs. Brett Simpson (USA)
Heat 10: Travis Logie (ZAF) vs. Kieren Perrow (AUS)
Heat 11: Alejo Muniz (BRA) vs. Miguel Pupo (BRA)
Heat 12: Matt Wilkinson (AUS) vs. Filipe Toledo (BRA)

Following an incredible Final Day of great waves and tremendous surfing performances, the 2013 ISA World Masters Surfing Championship officially closed.

Team South Africa is the new 2013 Reef ISA World Surfing Games Team Champion.  South Africans is the winner of the Fernando Aguerre World Team Champion Trophy, named and donated by the long-time ISA President who was first elected in 1994 and has been diligently working on fulfilling the ISA’s mission of developing the sport of surfing around the world.

Additionally, the Team Champion received the International Olympic Committee (IOC) President’s Trophy and the “Copa V Centenario Del Descubrimiento Del Oceano Pacifico,” or 5th Century Cup of the Discovery of the Pacific Ocean.

South Africa’s Shaun Joubert is the new Men’s Reef ISA World Surfing Games Champion. With powerful turns and aerial tactics, Joubert earned the Gold Medal.

Australia’s Dimity Stoyle is the new Women’s Reef ISA World Surfing Games Champion. Stoyle earned the Gold Medal with a high scoring wave in the last minutes of her heat.

“This has been a very intense week of waves and hot weather in Panama along with the warmth from the Panamanian people who have welcomed us during this whole time,” remarked ISA President Fernando Aguerre. “I know that at times we didn’t have the waves that we wanted, but being patient with the waves is part of being a good surfer understanding that waves come and go just like in life we have to take the time so we can find the best.”

“To all of you that have come to Panama for this event, I give my warmest congratulations,” continued Aguerre. “Some of you are going to take home medals, most of you won’t, but all of you are champions for having made it to Panama as members of your National Surfing Teams. I hope that all of you will go home as friends of Santa Catalina, Soná and Panama and whenever you think of a surfing vacation in a good destination with warm water and good waves, you think of Panama.”

The swell predicted by Surfline, the official forecasters of the event, arrived with clean surf in the chest to head-high range. An onshore breeze picked up in the afternoon, but the waves remained consistent and pumping all day.

The perfect reef break of Santa Catalina allowed the world’s best surfers to compete at their highest potential and fight for the Team Championship and individual Gold Medals.

The Final Day started with a long way for the surfers in the Repechage who had to surf up to 3 different heats to make it to the Grand Final.

In the Women’s Repechage, Australia’s Codie Klein had a great start to the day earning 15.27 defeating Dominic Barona (ECU, 9.16) and Kelly Ann Laide (PUR, 5.24). Klein continued to the Grand Final were she got second place earning the Silver Medal.

The Women’s Final featured Australia’s Dimity Stoyle, teammate Klein, New Zealand’s Ella Williams and Brazil’s Suelen Naraisa.

Stoyle was in third place until in the last few minutes of the heat, when she posted the heat’s highest single wave score of 9.50, to take the lead and the Gold Medal. In second place, earning the Silver Medal was Klein (AUS, 12.63), followed by Suelen Naraisa (BRA, 12.47) earning the Bronze Medal, and Ella Williams (NZL, 10.83) with the Copper Medal.

“It is a such an honor to be on the Australian Team; it means everything to all of us,” said the Gold Medalist, Stolye. “We came here and we just wanted to do it for the team more than for ourselves.”

The Men’s Repechage Final had a nerve-wracking fight for the final two spots in the Grand Final. Australia’s Russell Molony won with 13.37 points and in the last minute the local favorite Jean Carlos “Oli” Gonzalez managed to get a place in the Final earning 10.80 tying Chile’s Guillermo Satt (10.80) and defeating Argentina’s Leandro Usuna (9.97). Oli advanced to the final because he had the highest single wave score.

To finish the event, the Men’s Final featured Shaun Joubert (RSA), Cristobal de Col (PER), Russell Moloney (AUS) and the local hero, Gonzales. The South African, in the first minutes of the heat took the lead earning an impressive 9.33 points. He then backed it up 8.33 solidifying his lead. The Panamanian was the only one within reach, but was unable to find the right wave to get the necessary score to move up to first place.

In the end, Joubert (RSA, 17.66) earned the Gold Medal, Gonzalez (PAN, 14.90) earned the Silver Medal, Cristobal de Col (PER, 12.93) earned the Bronze Medal and Russell Molony (AUS, 6.93) earned the Copper Medal.

“I really enjoyed the waves in Panama, we had amazing waves all the event,” said the Gold Medalist Shaun Joubert. “It’s nice to come as a team and actually be at the beach cheering the other guys and you want your team to do well. It’s fun to see all the flags and people from other countries; it’s a special event.”

The local, “Oli,” made history by being the first Panamanian to win a medal in the ISA World Surfing Games.

When the surfing competition concluded, the Closing Ceremony took place to officially close the 2013 Reef ISA World Surfing Games and award the team trophies and individual medals.

Official Results:

Overall Team Results:

1. South Africa- 11,102 points and Winner of the Fernando Aguerre World Team Champion Trophy, The IOC President’s Trophy, the 5th Century Cup of the Discovery of the Pacific Ocean and the Gold Medal

2. Australia- 10,332 points, Silver Medal

3. Peru- 9,636 points, Bronze Medal

Open Men’s:
Shaun Joubert (RSA), Gold Medal
Jean Carlos “Oli” Gonzalez (PAN), Silver Medal
Cristobal de Col (PER), Bronze Medal
Russell Molony (AUS), Copper Medal

Open Women’s
Dimity Stoyle (AUS), Gold Medal
Codie Klein (AUS), Silver Medal
Suelen Naraisa (BRA), Bronze Medal
Ella Williams (NZL), Copper Medal

For a full list of results visit: http://isawsg.com/results/

For the full event coverage with daily videos and photo galleries visit- http://isawsg.com/

BARRA DA TIJUCA, Rio De Janeiro/Brazil (Saturday, May 11, 2013) – Tyler Wright (AUS), 19, has defeated Sally Fitzgibbons (AUS), 22, in a high-scoring final of 17.80 to 15.67 to win the Colgate Plax Girls Rio Pro in peaky two-to-three foot waves, simultaneously taking the frontrunner position on the 2013 ASP Women’s World Championship Tour (WCT).

Wright dominated the Barra Da Tijuca lineup from start to finish, posting the high scores of each round with incredible progressive combinations on the punchy righthanders. The Australian’s efforts against Fitzgibbons in the Final were no different, as Wright unloaded committed forehand combinations and was rewarded a 9.33 and 8.50 to secure the win.

“This feels pretty good,” Wright said. “This whole event has been stepping stones for me. I started off a bit shaky and this is my first even where my family is not here with me. Brooke Farris was here looking after me and thanks to everyone for all of their support. After I lost that Round 3 heat I just wanted to catch waves and I stayed busy from then on. It’s just the way it worked out. I just love catching waves. I just kept building and building and I wouldn’t want it any other way. This is just fantastic to come to Rio, I love it.”

Wright’s victory in Rio marks her second of the season following a win on the Gold Coast and the two victories combined with two additional runner up finishes have launched Wright to the No.1 position over Carissa Moore (HAW), 20.

“It’s awesome to move to the top of the rankings, but I’m honestly not thinking about the World Title,” Wright said. “I’m just having fun surfing and enjoying each event and we’ll see what happens at the end of the year.”

Sally Fitzgibbons, defending event champion, put in an amazing effort in an attempt to retain the Colgate Plax Girls Rio Pro Title, seamlessly linking fluid backhand combinations on the Barra Da Tijuca lefts en route to another Final. Fitzgibbons ousted Oahu talent Carissa Moore in their Semifinals bout, but was unable to put a stop to Wright’s momentum in the Final to finish runner-up overall.

“I’m happy to progress though to the Final,” Fitzgibbons said. “It’s always exciting to come in to a final against Tyler (Wright) and I knew she’d be tough to beat out there. I love coming to Rio and I always get good results here. Unfortunately I fell at the last hurdle, but I’ll come back bigger and better next year.”

Fitzgibbons’ runner-up finish at the Colgate Plax Girls Rio Pro moves her to No. 3 on the ASP Women’s WCT.

Carissa Moore, 2011 ASP Women’s World Champion, donated another strong performance this season at the Colgate Plax Girls Rio Pro, finishing equal 3rd overall. The Hawaiian champion was looking dangerous for yet another Final appearance this season after defeating Laura Enever (AUS), 21, in the Quarterfinals, but fell to Fitzgibbons in their Semifinal match up.

“It was good heat with Sally, but there were just not that many waves,” Moore said. “We paddled all over the beach and sometimes it turns in to strategy and paddle battling and unfortunately I was on the other end of it today. It’s alright though and I’ll take this on to the next event.”

Moore, who was leading the women’s ASP WCT rankings entering Brazil, has been relegated to the No. 2 position following Wright’s victory, but is still well within contention of the 2013 ASP Women’s World Title.

“I have never been thinking that I’m running away with the World Title at all,” Moore said. “I’m just happy to be in the race. I know it’s going to be tough if I want to win the World Title again and other girls want it just as bad.”

Bianca Buitendag (ZAF), 19, ASP Women’s WCT Rookie, earned the best result of her young career, finishing equal 3rd overall. Buitendag displayed crisp surfing on both her forehand and backhand while besting hungry American Courtney Conlogue (USA), 20, in the Quarterfinals, but was unable to surpass Tyler Wright in the Semifinal.

“I think it’s the best result of my professional career,” Buitendag said. “I’m really happy with my result and happy to be here in Brazil. It’s good to get my head above water for a change. I’d been in a tough mental space over the last few events and kind of putting myself down and this allowed me to think and surf smarter. Now that this event is over I’ll be able to go back and analyze my performance.”

Event organizers will reconvene tomorrow morning at 7:30am local time for a possible start to Round 2 of Billabong Rio Pro Men’s competition.

COLGATE PLAX GIRLS RIO PRO FINAL RESULTS:
1 – Tyler Wright (AUS) 17.80
2 – Sally Fitzgibbons (AUS) 15.67

COLGATE PLAX GIRLS RIO PRO SEMIFINAL RESULTS:
SF 1: Sally Fitzgibbons (AUS) 13.90 def. Carissa Moore (HAW) 11.97
SF 2: Tyler Wright (AUS) 17.94 def. Bianca Buitendag (ZAF) 13.64

COLGATE PLAX GIRLS RIO PRO QUARTERFINAL RESULTS:
QF 1: Sally Fitzgibbons (AUS) 13.50 def. Lakey Peterson (USA) 8.34
QF 2: Carissa Moore (HAW) 15.10 def. Laura Enever (AUS) 10.24
QF 3: Tyler Wright (AUS) 15.83 def. Malia Manuel (HAW) 13.74
QF 4: Bianca Buitendag (ZAF) 12.20 def. Courtney Conlogue (USA) 11.33

ASP WOMEN’S WCT TOP 5 (Following Colgate Plax Girls Rio Pro):
1. Tyler Wright (AUS) 40,000 points
2. Carissa Moore (HAW) 38,200
3. Sally Fitzgibbons (AUS) 34,200
4. Courtney Conlogue (USA) 32,100
5. Stephanie Gilmore (AUS) 26,450

BILLABONG RIO PRO ROUND 2 MATCH-UPS:
Heat 1: Taj Burrow (AUS) vs. Gustavo Fernandes (BRA)
Heat 2: Josh Kerr (AUS) vs. Messias Felix (BRA)
Heat 3: Julian Wilson (AUS) vs. Jack Freestone (AUS)
Heat 4: Jeremy Flores (BRA) vs. Ricardo dos Santos (BRA)
Heat 5: Michel Bourez (PYF) vs. Yadin Nicol (AUS)
Heat 6: C.J. Hobgood (USA) vs. Dusty Payne (HAW)
Heat 7: Adrian Buchan (AUS) vs. Raoni Monteiro (BRA)
Heat 8: Kai Otton (AUS) vs. Adam Melling (AUS)
Heat 9: Damien Hobgood (USA) vs. Brett Simpson (USA)
Heat 10: Travis Logie (ZAF) vs. Kieren Perrow (AUS)
Heat 11: Alejo Muniz (BRA) vs. Miguel Pupo (BRA)
Heat 12: Matt Wilkinson (AUS) vs. Filipe Toledo (BRA)

BARRA DA TIJUCA, Rio de Janeiro/Brazil (Thursday, May 9, 2013) – Round 1 of the Billabong Rio Pro was completed today in three-to-five foot (1 – 1.5 metre) waves at the primary site of Barra da Tijuca with the world’s best surfers navigating the at-times challenging barrels on offer and thrilling the crowd on the beach.

Stop No. 3 of 10 on the 2013 ASP World Championship Tour (WCT), the Billabong Rio Pro continues this year’s campaign for the world surfing crown and the perennial threats were in form on the opening day of competition.

Kelly Slater (USA), 41, 11-time ASP World Champion and current ASP WCT No. 1, returned to Rio de Janeiro today after a 2012 absence due to a foot injury.

“Based on the years prior, I thought last year was going to be turns and maneuvers and there were a lot of barrels,” Slater said. “I had stitches in my heel last season and could probably have attended if it was just barrels, but I couldn’t really do turns with the stitches in my heel. Lesson learned and I’m here this year.”

The iconic natural-footer was completely dominant in his Round 1 bout this morning, threading a number of impressive forehand barrels to collect a 16.30 out of a possible 20 heat total and advance directly into Round 3.

“I saw a bunch of good waves down the beach and just kept that to myself,” Slater said. “You can take off on that foam ball out the back on the reef and get one or two turns and you’ve already got as good a score as you can get on some of the ones on the right side of the scaffolding. Most of the waves this morning have been closeouts, but I figured at some point today it’s going to get good. There were some unbelievable barrels down the beach.”

Joel Parkinson (AUS), 32, reigning ASP World Champion, opened up the 2013 season with a runner-up finish to Slater on the Gold Coast before an uncharacteristic Equal 13th at Bells Beach. Currently sitting at No. 5 on the ASP WCT rankings, Parkinson is further focusing his efforts on defending the ASP World Title.

“I’ve had a little time to reflect on the world title but it’s only a few months break and once this year started it was game on again,” Parkinson said. “I enjoyed it for sure. Nothing was going to wipe the smile off of my face. I just cruised it and didn’t surf for about three weeks. Once the bug came back though I was just pumped. It’s one thing to win your first one, it’s an entirely different beast to defend one. The fact that the performance level on tour has never been higher doesn’t make it any easier.”

Parkinson was joined by Gold Coast stablemate and current ASP WCT No. 2 Mick Fanning (AUS), 31, in Round 1 victories today.

Adriano de Souza (BRA), 26, winner of the previous event at Bells Beach and current ASP WCT No. 4, continued his 2013 momentum on home soil today, netting a solid Round 1 win over Australians Matt Wilkinson (AUS), 24, and Yadin Nicol (AUS), 27.

“I’m so happy to be back in Brazil and have all the support of my friends and family,” De Souza said. “The waves are challenging out here today but I’m fit and I’m motivated to do well. Winning Bells was a huge confidence for me – to be the first Brazilian male to win it. I came home and then went to the Mentawais after and have been training very hard for this event. The world title is the goal and hopefully I can bring one home to Brazil.”

Gabriel Medina (BRA), 19, complimented De Souza’s win this morning with a Round 1 victory of his own, posting the day’s high heat-total, 18.00 out of a possible 20, for a series of excellent backhand tube rides. Following an injury at the opening event of the season on the Gold Coast and a less-than-successful run at Bells Beach, Medina now appears fit and focused at home in Brazil.

“After Bells Beach, I came home and worked with lots of doctors and rested for this event,” Medina said. “It’s home in Brazil for me and I want to do well in front of my family and friends. I’m feeling pretty good – getting stronger every day. Stoked to get a win in Round 1 and hope I can keep going throughout the event.”

Jordy Smith (ZAF), 25, current ASP WCT No. 7, long-heralded as one of the premiere surfers on the planet, has been in blistering form in 2013 and opened up his Billabong Rio Pro campaign with an impressive 16.94 out of a possible 20 showing today to advance directly into Round 3.

“I just started the year off at home,” Smith said. “I wanted to let last year go. I have incredible people around me at the moment from my friends to my girlfriend. I also did a trip and I felt like I’d been behind the speed bump and couldn’t get past my injury. I was still feeling one step behind and then I went on a trip to Mozambique with my best friend and it changed everything for me. It got me over that hump and put a smile on my face again. It got me stoked again and I’m pumped.”

Rounding out today’s action was a stellar showing from the 2013 rookie class with Sebastian Zietz (HAW), 25, Glenn Hall (IRL), 31, and Nat Young(USA), 21, all posting Round 1 wins.

When competition resumes, up first will be Taj Burrow (AUS), 34, and Gustavo Fernandes (BRA) in the opening heat Round 2 of the Billabong Rio Pro.

Highlights from the Billabong Rio Pro and Colgate Plax Girls Rio Pro will be available via http://wctbrasil.com/rio13

For more information, log onto www.aspworldtour.com

BILLABONG RIO PRO ROUND 1 RESULTS:
Heat 1: Patrick Gudauskas (USA) 11.50, Josh Kerr (AUS) 10.27, Alejo Muniz (BRA) 1.40
Heat 2: Adriano de Souza (BRA) 12.07, Yadin Nicol (AUS) 7.56, Matt Wilkinson (AUS) 1.83
Heat 3: Sebastian Zietz (HAW) 15.66, Ricardo dos Santos (BRA) 8.93, Taj Burrow (AUS) 8.67
Heat 4: Mick Fanning (AUS) 13.20, Filipe Toledo (BRA) 8.27, Jack Freestone (AUS) 7.96
Heat 5: Joel Parkinson (AUS) 13.34, , Messias Felix (BRA) 9.83, Miguel Pupo (BRA) 2.47
Heat 6: Kelly Slater (USA) 16.30, Kieren Perrow (AUS) 4.63, Gustavo Fernandes (BRA) 1.46
Heat 7: Glenn Hall (IRL) 15.46, Travis Logie (ZAF) 10.00, Julian Wilson (AUS) 1.46
Heat 8: Gabriel Medina (BRA) 18.00, Dusty Payne (HAW) 7.26, Damien Hobgood (USA) 4.04
Heat 9: Nat Young (USA) 11.46, Raoni Monteiro (BRA) 9.74, Jeremy Flores (FRA) 9.37
Heat 10: Jordy Smith (ZAF) 16.94, Adam Melling (AUS) 12.44, Kai Otton (AUS) 5.53
Heat 11: Bede Durbidge (AUS) 11.27, Michel Bourez (PYF) 9.77, Brett Simpson (USA) 9.27
Heat 12: Kolohe Andino (USA) 12.43, Adrian Buchan (AUS) 8.56, C.J. Hobgood (USA) 7.43

BILLABONG RIO PRO ROUND 2 MATCH-UPS:
Heat 1: Taj Burrow (AUS) vs. Gustavo Fernandes (BRA)
Heat 2: Josh Kerr (AUS) vs. Messias Felix (BRA)
Heat 3: Julian Wilson (AUS) vs. Jack Freestone (AUS)
Heat 4: Jeremy Flores (BRA) vs. Ricardo dos Santos (BRA)
Heat 5: Michel Bourez (PYF) vs. Yadin Nicol (AUS)
Heat 6: C.J. Hobgood (USA) vs. Dusty Payne (HAW)
Heat 7: Adrian Buchan (AUS) vs. Raoni Monteiro (BRA)
Heat 8: Kai Otton (AUS) vs. Adam Melling (AUS)
Heat 9: Damien Hobgood (USA) vs. Brett Simpson (USA)
Heat 10: Travis Logie (ZAF) vs. Kieren Perrow (AUS)
Heat 11: Alejo Muniz (BRA) vs. Miguel Pupo (BRA)
Heat 12: Matt Wilkinson (AUS) vs. Filipe Toledo (BRA)

COLGATE PLAX GIRLS RIO PRO ROUND 1 MATCH-UPS:
Heat 1: Lakey Peterson (USA), Bianca Buitendag (ZAF), Rebecca Woods (AUS)
Heat 2: Sally Fitzgibbons (AUS), Paige Hareb (NZL), Sage Erickson (USA)
Heat 3: Carissa Moore (HAW), Silvana Lima (BRA), TBD
Heat 4: Tyler Wright (AUS), Malia Manuel (HAW), Phillipa Anderson (AUS)
Heat 5: Courtney Conlogue (USA), Laura Enever (AUS), Alize Arnaud (FRA)
Heat 6: Coco Ho (HAW), Alana Blanchard (HAW), Pauline Ado (FRA)

Stop #3 on the 2013 ASP World Tour pulls into Rio. Brazil has shifted forward in the ASP calendar this year. Traditionally it was the stop before the JBay event, and used to be held late June. So let's see whether shifting it forward a few months will result in better surf.

It's kinda a weird stop on the tour...cos let's be honest, you'd be hard pressed to rank the waves as anywhere remotely close to world class, which is what the world tour is meant to be about. However, Brazil is a massive surf market, and has some pretty hot surfers of their own - so guess it's fair they have something on home turf.

Kelly's pulled in this year - which doesn't generally happen unless he's seri-ass about vying for a title. Which must mean KS has his sights set on #12? Remember Kelly bunked Brazil last year - in a move that might have cost him the 2012 title.

Bummer that John-John blew his ankle out, as Brazil is the perfect launch pad for some of his crazy airs. Jordy's looking game after his win in the XGames recently, so let's hope he finally gets things to click.

But how easy will it be to sneak out a win from the Brazzo's on their home turf? Probably not, cos reckon the thousands of screaming fans on the beach will count for something.

So who's ya money on for the tile? Think you know who's samba their way to the $500k winner's check? If so - enter the Millerslocal Fantasy Surfer comp, and stand a chance at scoring kiff prizes. Winner hooks themselves some VZ sunnies, Kinetic Racing Fins, DaKine leash & Billabong T; with 2nd place scoring a DaKine grip and leash, & Billabong cap and T.
<click here to enter>

Local EP goofy footer Faye Zoetmulder is part of the SA team competing at the ISA World Games in Panama at the moment. They're surfing a right reef called Santa Catalina, which is a pretty kiff looking spot, despite being heavily tide dependent.


A total of 24 countries and over 150 athletes and coaches are competing in the 2013 Reef ISA World Surfing Games, each National Team consists of up to 4 Open Men and 2 Open Women surfers plus Team Officials.

Countries fighting for top honours are Argentina, Australia, Brazil, Canada, Chile, Costa Rica, Ecuador, El Salvador, Guatemala, Italy, Jamaica, Japan, Mexico, New Zealand, Panama, Peru, Puerto Rico, Russia, South Africa, Sweden, Switzerland, Turkey, Uruguay, and Venezuela.

Faye hooked a second place in her first heat, against girls from NZ, Canada and Italy, and advcances straight to round 2. She'll be surfing heat 3 of round 2 against an Aussie, Ecuadorian and Argentinian. Go Faye!

To watch the contest LIVE, check out http://isawsg.com/live/