It looked more like a Von Zipper Airshow than a CT comp.....the competitors in the Billabong Pro in Rio clocked up some serious air time. Great to watch - once you overcame the menopausal webcast. Jordy looks keen to regain his title, so lets hope he keeps the momentum going. Kelly and Mick had a lil hiccup and now have to surf Rd 2.

Check out the full wrap by Jarvi & results below....

Words by Craig Jarvis
Stab Magazine

It was a fine day in Rio, as days in Rio go. The weather was its usual balmy self, the wind forgot to blow, the waves were fun little ramps and barrels, and the Brazilians were their usual happy, crazy selves. Toledo was the most crazy, but more on that later.

Rio always cops a kinda bad wrap when the Billabong Pro rolls into town – waves are shit, webcast is shit, waves are really shit, etc – but day one of the Billabong Pro Rio was a pleasant surprise. The webcast started off a little shonky, but like an old computer, she just needed to boot up, and before y’knew it there was a perfect-focus live feed being beamed around the world, like we’ve come to expect from the New ASP.

Kelly Slater bowed out, but didn’t seem too fazed. Actually, let’s rephrase that, he never gets fazed. He just carries on with whatever he does and arrives for his next heat and wins it. Someone on Twitter mentioned that he should have blown the heat and taken the fine. Which he’s done before.

I’m not one to flex my South African pride, but heat eight of round one made it tough. Jordy Smith, in a heat against (Freddy P and) Travis Logie, with Pottz in the commentator booth and Rosy Hodge reporting from the water’s edge. Graeme Stapelberg from the ASP was watching the heat, and Kirstin Scholtz was working on a press release somewhere.

Jordy was on fire. After a few somewhat lacklustre and low-scoring few heats before him, last year’s event champion threw caution to the wind and his tail to the air. His first forehand air reverse was fast and tight, and even a little aggressive. He totally stomped it, and finished off with a strong floater, for an emphatically completed ride. His next scoring ride was a smaller backhand ride, but another powerful fin throw reverse to aggro kick-out got Pottz mentioning that the man-bear-pig seemed to be surfing angry. I think he meant angrily, but angry worked fine in a live commentary format.

A new board under his feet, Jordy was all smiles. After working hard on a Channel Islands design called a Bunny Chow over the last few events, Jordy’s new board is a heavily modified Rookie. “I’ve been working on this new Channel Islands model called the Girabbit,” he said down his iPhone to Stab from the beach in Rio after his heat win. “It’s been working really well, and it seems to be the right board to be using in these conditions. It’s a full-on little board. This one I rode today is 6’2 by 19 and 1/8 by 2 and 9/16. Loving it. It feels like it might be a magic board.”

We always want to know what surfers get up to between events, and Jordy has been doing some good stuff. “My wife and I have been looking at buying a house in San Clemente,” he said. “We’ve been living like gypsies for so long now, so it might be time to hang this side for a while, settle a bit.”

But, has he been getting any time in the water between hanging with Lyndall and buying houses? “You wouldn’t believe it, but I somehow sneaked a one and a half-hour session at Trestles with no one around. Now, that doesn’t happen too often.”

What about the anger, the aggression? Why so mad? “These days if you want to win you really have to do everything and throw the kitchen sink at the judges,” believes Jordy, chuckling at his own comment. “You have to make sure that there really is no doubt in their minds. It’s not really anger; it’s just about positive surfing.”

Apart from this positive surfing, sneaky Trestles sessions, house buying and throwing kitchen sinks around, Jordy also says diet has been a big focus of late. Which brings us to Filipe Toledo: What the hell does this kid eat? After his performance in heat nine, we wants some.

A fast and totally controlled forehand full rotation scored Filly an 8.77, and he followed it up with an even larger full rote that he landed with no speed in the flats, but miraculously managed to ride out of cleanly. His score for the second move was a 9.43, and it left him lying around on his board and wondering what to do with the last 22 minutes of his heat, with 18.30 points in the bank. Julian Wilson fought back hard, going for massive airs, while Filipe just went surfing, putting 13 waves onto the scorecard. Aritz Aranburu is one of the nice guys on tour, but in this heat he was in the wrong place at the wrong time.

When Filipe finally got on the mic, Rosy asked him the conventional, “How are you feeling?”

To which he gave a somewhat less conventional answer.

“I am very stoker,” said Filipe in his endearingly nervous and broken English. “I’m stoker.”

So are we Filly. We are all very stoker.

http://stabmag.com/day-one-of-the-2014-billabong-pro-rio-de-janeiro/

Craig Jarvis aka Jarvi writes for Aussie surf mag Stab, from his possie at Seals. 

Billabong Rio Pro Round 1 Results:
Heat 1: Tiago Pires (PRT) 9.70, Adriano de Souza (BRA) 9.60, Sebastian Zietz (HAW) 6.40
Heat 2: Gabriel Medina (BRA) 14.53, Raoni Monteiro (BRA) 10.17, Adrian Buchan (AUS) 8.87
Heat 3: Taj Burrow (AUS) 9.60, Brett Simpson (USA) 7.83, Adam Melling (AUS) 7.24
Heat 4: Joel Parkinson (AUS) 13.67, Jeremy Flores (FRA) 12.20, Glenn Hall (IRL) 8.67
Heat 5: Mitch Crews (AUS) 13.07, Peterson Crisanto (BRA) 8.53, Kelly Slater (USA) 8.64
Heat 6: Kolohe Andino (USA) 13.10, David do Carmo (BRA) 10.30, Mick Fanning (AUS) 10.07
Heat 7: Josh Kerr (AUS) 14.33, Bede Durbidge (AUS) 14.20, Dion Atkinson (AUS) 10.76
Heat 8: Jordy Smith (ZAF) 13.67, Fredrick Patacchia (HAW) 12.50, Travis Logie (ZAF) 9.60
Heat 9: Filipe Toledo (BRA) 18.30, Julian Wilson (AUS) 13.93, Aritz Aranburu (ESP) 10.47
Heat 10: Nat Young (USA) 11.86, Alejo Muniz (BRA) 11.67, Miguel Pupo (BRA) 9.94
Heat 11: Jadson Andre (BRA) 12.13, Owen Wright (AUS) 11.60, Michel Bourez (PYF) 10.03
Heat 12: John John Florence (HAW) 12.16, C.J. Hobgood (USA) 11.53, Matt Wilkinson (AUS) 10.80

Billabong Rio Pro Round 2 Match-ups:
Heat 1: Mick Fanning (BRA) vs. David do Carmo (BRA)
Heat 2: Kelly Slater (USA) vs. Peterson Crisanto (BRA)
Heat 3: Adriano de Souza (BRA) vs. Glenn Hall (IRL)
Heat 4: Julian Wilson (AUS) vs. Brett Simpson (USA)
Heat 5: Michel Bourez (PYF) vs. Raoni Monteiro (BRA)
Heat 6: C.J. Hobgood (USA) vs. Dion Atkinson (AUS)
Heat 7: Owen Wright (AUS) vs. Travis Logie (ZAF)
Heat 8: Miguel Pupo (BRA) vs. Aritz Aranburu (ESP)
Heat 9: Fredrick Patacchia (HAW) vs. Alejo Muniz (BRA)
Heat 10: Bede Durbidge (AUS) vs. Matt Wilkinson (AUS)
Heat 11: Sebastian Zeitz (HAW) vs. Jeremy Flores (BRA)
Heat 12: Adrian Buchan (AUS) vs. Adam Melling (AUS)

Team manager and ex-world tour surfer Seth Hulley had his hands full looking after Ollie le Roux out there. Ollie isn't keen on paddling, so Seth was having to tow him about the line-up. Things went a bit pear-shaped on the paddle-in when the guys drifted past the gully and ended up having to do the rock scramble. Plenty of cuts and urchin spikes for their troubles. Although everything was fixed with a post surf beer & burger.

The function at Farsi's possie on Friday night raised R15k for childrens charities, so thanks to all who supported the event. The Brothers, which include local surfers Etienne Verster and Jo van der Linden, put on an epic performance afterwards and had the guys rocking to some solid East Cape tunes. 

EP manager Gregg Clarke was voted Surfer's Surfer of the Contest.

Here're all the results:

Overall Team standings:
1) Eastern Province 103 248
2) Western Province 102 925
3) Southern Cape 67 835
4) KZN 67 013

Local JBay lighties Matt McGillivray and Emma Smith took out the u20 divisions in the RVCA Junior CHallenge held at Point, Jbay, this weekend. Matt's win scores him a coveted wildcard slot into the JBU Super trial. Win that - and he gets a slot in the WCT tour event....the Jbay Open. Plenty to play for!

Lekker weather and waves all weekend saw the froth factor going off the scale. Ping Pong tables were dominated, and spray paints went wild - anything that moved, or didn't, got itself coloured up. More than a coupla groms in the line-up with painted faces or dyed hair.

The standard of surfing of our groms is pretty awesome. Lil things no higher than your hip pulling off stuff you dream of landing. Great vibe in the water and out, just a whole lotta happy smiley people. What a surf comp should be about. No doubt the entries for next years comp will be snapped up super quick.

OFFICIAL PRESS RELEASE

Matt McGillivray was victorious in a nail-biting finish in the RVCA Junior Challenge JBay, winning the premier U20 division as well as winning himself that coveted entry into the JBU Supertrial presented by RVCA to be held at Supertubes in JBay in June.

The final day of competition started off fairly slowly, with a chill in the air and with the high tide holding the sets off the Lower Point. Waves were inconsistent, with occasional pulses coming through. In one of the early heats of the day, on one of those pulses, James Ribbink (DBN) scraped into an absolute bomb and rode it all the way through to the inside, picking up a score of 7.5, winning the second U12 Boys semi and earning his spot into the final.

In the U20 Girls semi number two, a fierce paddle battle between Chanelle Botha (Warner Beach) and Gina Smith (JBay) coupled with a sudden flurry of waves saw Gina turn the heat around and go from fourth place to first place, before finally dropping into second place and advancing into the final along with Olivia Brand (Umdloti).

Before the finals hit the water it was time for the Nixon Weird Board event. Eight surfers were commissioned to each shape a ‘weird board,’ an unconventional board shape and design, for this fun event. Shapers who delivered boards were Thys Strydom, Dutchie, Eric Stedman, Simon Fish, Glen Row, David Stubbs, Anton Butler and Glen D’Arcy. Some serious fun ensued in the tiny but reeling Lower Point waves, with Richard Kidd and York Van Jaarsveldt both being declared heat winners, each taking home a Nixon Blaster Bluetooth Speaker as reward.

In the U10 Boys final it was Christian Venter who came out firing, and picked up an early lead. James Ribbink was hot on his heels however, and soon overtook Christian. Once James had the lead, he didn’t let it go and remained the heat winner all the way through to the final siren. Viviers Strydom was in second, Christian Venter ended up in third and Alex Townsend was fourth.

Ribbink stayed in the water for the U12 Boys final, and played a patient game, sitting wide and waiting for the good set waves. His strategy paid off and he won this division as well, beating York Van Jaarsveldt, Tide-Lee Ireland and Sebastian Baurield into the minor positions.

“The waves were a little bit onshore out there, but it was really fun,” said Ribbink of the conditions. ” I wasn’t sure how I had done, but in the middle of the under twelve final I heard that I had won the under ten final and I was stoked. In the under twelve final I decided to sit wide. The waves were breaking really fast on the inside and then they were slowing down on the outside and that’s where you could get some good scores, so I went and sat there and got two good ones.”

Sophie Bell was the outstanding surfer of the U14 Girls final. She scored an 8.5 points out of a possible 10 points for her highest scoring ride, backed it up with a 5.75 for a clear victory, and left all the other surfers in the final needing a combination of waves to catch her. Finn Musson was second, Kirsty McGillivray third and Zoe Smith was fourth.

The only international surfer in the event, Sebastian Williams, surged into an early lead in the U14 Boys final, despite a strong push from Koby Oberholzer. Sebastian, who is a South African who grew up in Mexico, remained in the lead with some fast and light-footed surfing in the final, with Koby, Angelo Faulkner and Saxton Randall filling up the minor placings.

New kid on the block Bevan Willis surfed a powerful and explosive U16 final against some fierce competitors to take the win with relative ease. “I picked up a decent wave near the beginning of the heat, and then I hassled the guys a bit,” said Willis of his strategy. “That wave at the end was a really good one. I didn’t hear what the score was, but I knew that it was a decent score.”

His second score was a 6, and combined with his earlier score of 4.75 saw the Undloti surfer with a heat total of 10.75 out of a possible 20 points, with Jordy Maree in second. Jake Elkington was in third and Adin Masencamp in 4th.

The Smith family was well represented in the U20 Girls final, with Emma and Gina duking it out with Olivia Brand and Jade Mets. The Smith’s made it one-two, with Emma winning convincingly and with Gina in second. Jade Mets came in third and Olivia Brand in fourth.

Matt McGillivray threw caution to the wind in the U20 Final, laying it all on the line by going for some big aerial moves and pulling them off successfully. His first such move, a big forehand air reverse saw Matt score 6.75 and go firmly into the lead. Max Armstrong fought back hard but ended up in the runner-up spot, with Dylan Lightfoot in third and Slade Prestwich in fourth.

“In the beginning everyone was sitting very far up the point, so I tried to come a bit lower down the point to get one or two to start off,” said Matt of his strategy in the final. “Local knowledge definitely helps in these conditions.”

The Most Progressive Move Award of a Firewire Surfboard valued at R7,000 went to Adin Masencamp.

The Girl Surfer Of The Event Award of a Firewire Surfboard valued at R7,000 went to Sophie Bell.

The Male Surfer Of The Event Award of 2 airplane tickets from anywhere in South Africa to Jeffreys Bay, and 3 Nights stay in African Perfection Guesthouse, went to James Ribbink.

FINAL RESULTS

U10 Boys Final
1. James Ribbink (DBN)
2. Viviers Strydom (PE)
3. Christian Venter (Melkbos)
4. Alex Townsend (Kom)

U12 Boys Final
1. James Ribbink (DBN)
2. York Van Jaarsveldt (Kom)
3. Tide-Lee Ireland (DBN)
4. Sebastian Baurield (Hout Bay)

U14 Girls Final
1. Sophie Bell (DBN)
2. Finn Musson (Kom)
3. Kirsty McGillivray (JBay)
4. Zoe Smith (JBay)

U14 Boys Final
1. Sebastian Williams (Mexico)
2. Koby Oberholzer (DBN)
3. Angelo Faulkner (JBay)
4. Saxton Randall (DBN)

U16 Boys Final
1. Bevan Willis (DBN)
2. Jordan Maree (Kalk Bay)
3. Jake Elkington (Hout Bay)
4. Adin Masencamp (Strand)

U20 Girls Final
1. Emma Smith (JBay)
2. Gina Smith (JBay)
3. Jade Mets (DBN)
4. Olivia Brand (DBN)

U20 Boys Final
1. Matt McGillivray (JBay)
2. Max Armstrong (Kom)
3. Dylan Lightfoot (JBay)
4. Slade Prestwich (DBN)

Lower Point, Jeffreys Bay – It was young JJ Van Seumeren from East London who caught the first wave of the RVCA Junior Challenge 2014, opening up the biggest junior surfing event in the country, amongst great Lower Point waves, burning sun and crowds of competitors, spectators and family

Early standouts were Keegan Wright from Durban and Alex Van Rijswicjk from Port Elizabeth in the U20 divisions, while Ford Van Jaarsveldt and Jake Elkington from Hout Bay were two standouts in the U16 Boys division.

 Heat 4 of the Boys U16 round of 32 was the most exciting heat of the round, with Joshe Faulkner (JBay), Koby Oberholzer (Warner Beach), Jordy Maree (Kalk Bay) and Josh Stow (JBay) battling it out in the perfect, reeling right-handers. Jordy came on strong from the beginning, and climbed into the lead with a long ride coring 6.75. He backed it up with the identical score, and with two 6.75 rides he held the lead with 13.5 points out of a possible 20. Talented Warner Beach surfer Koby Oberholzer finished off in second, and being eliminated from the U16 division were the two JBay locals in Joshe Faulkner and Josh Stow.

“The waves were really good out there actually,” said Jordy Maree. “I felt pretty good during my heat and picked up a few decent ones. I’ve actually been a bit out of rhythm this week after last week’s event, but I felt my rhythm come back yesterday and now I’m feeling strong again.”

International surfer Sebastian Williams, a South African who was brought up and who learned his surfing approach from the waves of Mexico, also showed form in the Boys U16 round of 32. Williams won his heat with relative ease and seemed to be having a whole lot of fun in the water.

In the U20 Girls round of 24 it was Teal Hogg from Umhlanga who was killing it in the first heat, and other stand outs in this early round was Jade Mets, Pippa Jones and, all having fun in the long, winding right-handers of Lower Point. Only having two divisions in U14 and U20, many of the girls are surfing out of their divisions, and this competitive environment is impetus for them to step up and impress. 


The U20 Boys round of 32 was an action-packed affair, with surfers starting to think about that wildcard slot in the JBU Supertrial presented by RVCA.  Slade Prestwich from Durban was the first surfer to really find form, racking up a 7 point ride and a 6.25 to give him a 13.25 points out of a possible 20 and the heat win.

“It was pretty good out there, and I started off with that seven point ride, so I felt strong,” said Prestwich. “After that I tried to go and site wide where the good ones were. I paddled the guys up the point a bit and tried to get back to the wide spot, because there was some good scoring potential on the wide ones. My second scoring wave was a good backup 6.25, so it’s all going well so far.”

In the late afternoon heats it was local surfer Matt McGillivray who was in blistering form in his backyard. He won his U20 heat with ease and is looking like a possible contender for the JBU Supertrial wildcard slot. Other surfers in U20 round of 32 who were on form were aerial kid Diran Zakarian, and Dylan Lightfoot who won the final heat of the day with some fast surfing.

The ping-pong table was alive all afternoon, good sounds were emanating from the RVCA control centre, and the spectators and surfers alike were enjoying the balmy Autumn weather in JBay.

By Craig Jarvis