ASPworldtour

fellow blog

2005-12-10T17:54:00.000-05:00

Here is another interesting blog that I found through my travels. check it out! Those of you interested in photography as well as surfing should definatley visit it.

Pipeline Brings on Excellent Surf and a Huge Upset

2005-12-09T19:20:00.000-05:00

After round one of Pipeline, conditions look very promising. Although day one (Dec 8th) was a lay day, today brought 8-12 foot excellent surf. Andy Irons dominated the scene and moved easily into round 3. On the other hand, Kelly Slater lost in a big upset against Australian Sanny Wills. Although word quickly spread that Slater was under the weather, Wills surfed extremely well and showed no sign of being intimidated by the 7 time World Tour champion.

Pipeline assures good conditions

2005-12-07T17:11:00.000-05:00

With a 2 week wait period and tghe ability to be completed in 4 days, the Pipeline Masters is organized in way that good waves for the competitors are assured.

O'Neill Cup Awarded to Paterson

2005-12-06T22:57:00.000-05:00

Todays final heat of the O'Neill World Cup was a competitive one and included four world class surfers from around the world, Andy Irons, Jake Paterson, Bede Durbridge, and Pat O'Connell. Australia's Jake Paterson finished first in the 35-minute, four man final and was awarded $15,000. This is Paterson's second first place O'Neill cupp trophy, with is first being in 2003. Although Irons fnished in a close second and earned $6,000, he is stillin reaching distance of the Triple Crown Title which will be decided in the final event, the Rip Curl Pro Pipeline Masters.

The end of the O'neill Cup waits for some swell

2005-12-02T14:19:00.000-05:00

Look like I didnt miss too much....
Another lay day was called today to postpone last day of the O'neill Cup. Hopefully the forecast will be correct and tommorrow morning will bring some surf...

My trip to Rincon

2005-11-21T16:14:00.000-05:00

Due to a trip to Rincon, Peurto Rico, I will be unable to post anything new until my return on the 28th. Dont let this stop you from actively following the Triple Crown. The OP Pro ends the 23rd and the Oniell World Cup starts right up on the 25th. Keep up to date by visiting the contest's website.

My professor has asked us to put the keyword nworbxela into our blogs because he is trying to see the power that Google's algorithms has in internet marketing.

Vans Triple Crown Highlights a Veteran and a Rookie

2005-11-17T21:06:00.000-05:00

The first event of the Vans Triple Crown, the OP Pro, is off and running with many surfers striving for an early lead. Of the top riders, Sunny Garcia is off to a perfect start. He is the defender of the OP Pro and overall Triple Crown title and is riding in his last year of the tour. He proudly argues that "It just comes down to experience. Just because I'm older doesn't mean I can't surf well... I've been surfing on the tour for 20 years and I can still win."
Another surfer worth mentioning is, thirteen year old Jon Jon Florence. Although he was eliminated in round two yesterday. Jon Jon is considered to be one of the most promising surfers to emerge in years. His demonstration throughout this event has had won him the respect of thousands of onlookers. Everyone is excited to watch his follow up performance in the next to Triple Crown Events.

Damien Hobgood is Victor of the Nova Schin

2005-11-08T19:52:00.000-05:00

The finals of Nova Schin was between Damien Hobgood and Brazilian Victor Ribas. It was an extremeley close heat and with only a few seconds left in the heat, Hobgood needed a 3.3 in order to take the lead. Luckily Damien knew this and in the dying secnod of the heat, he grabbed a small inside wave and scored a 4.13 to take the lead and to take first at the 2005 Nova Schin Festival Brazil.

The last event of the World Tour will take place December 8-20. Meanwhile great competition in the Vans Triple Crown of Surfing is on our way. The first event, the OP Pro Hawaii, runs November 12th to the 23rd. The second, the O'neill World Cup, runs Nov 25th to Dec 6th. Then we get to see the final event of both the ASP world cup and the Vans Triple crown, the Pipeline Masters.

Armstrong, Sampras, and Slater

2005-11-08T19:33:00.000-05:00

After Slater lost today in round four to Travis Logie, it was determined that Andy Irons had to finish a modest 3rd in the Nova Schin. This was extremeley possible in the eyes of many, including Kelly Slater himself. Slater could not bear to watch Andy's fourth round heat angainst Nathan Hedge, and started towards his car. But CJ Hobgood talked sense into him and Slater returned to the beach. Slater had his jacket zipped over his head until it was confirmed that Irons was defeated. Kelly threw his arms up in the air and cheered along with the massive crowd that actively supported him. He has won his seventh! Slater has joined the elite crew of seven time winners, which includes Lance Armstong and Pete Sampras.

Round Three Keeps the Uncertainty in the Air

2005-11-07T20:18:00.000-05:00

Today Slater and Irons kept their fans on the edge of their seats by wining in round three, both against Brazilian natives. Slater easily defeated Guilherme Ferreira with two 8.5's in the beginning and a 9.0 in the closing minutes of the heat. He claimed to have predicted the Brazilians strategy and did not wait for the bigger waves, a strategy that many have tried only to lose to their opposition, a Brazilian rookie. Irons on the other hand just squeeked his win out against Brazilian, Heitor Alves. Irons admitted himself that with him not being able to hear the scores he thought he was behind most of the heat. But in the end, both won their third round heat and will proceed to round four where Irons must defeat his opposition, Bede Durbidge, in order to keep his hopes alive and Slater's stomach in a knot.

Round One Complete; Round Two Underway

2005-11-06T23:26:00.000-05:00

On Sunday, the final 4 heats of round one was completed and the first 6 heats of round two were squeezed in. Round two started off with Brazilians, Guilherme Ferreira, Heitor Alves, Flavio Costa and Odirlei Coutinho, ousting nig names, such as
Trent Munro and Bruce Irons. The end of round two and start of round three will continue tomorrow, Monday, with Kelly Slater and Andy Irons round three heats in the spotlight.

Wheres the Swell?

2005-11-05T19:22:00.000-05:00

Organizers have decided to once again postpone the event due to the nonexistance of waves. They have moved the event to Sunday, where they will continue even with the absence of good conditions.

Two more lay days

2005-11-04T18:18:00.000-05:00

Due to lack of swell lay days have been called for two more consequtive days; Thursday and Friday.

Round One of Nova Schin Moved South

2005-11-01T17:21:00.000-05:00

Round one of the Nova Schin Festival was moved two hours south of the home base in Joaquina, Brazil to a break called Imbituba. This break provided offshore winds with a clean 3 foot plus swell. These conditions allowed for a round full of exciting "new-school surfing" full of massive aerial manuevers. Kelly Slater himself titled this round as a full day "expression session."
Of course all eyes were on the early performance of Slater and Irons hoping to sneak a peek of what is to come from the second to last event of the tour. Both scored above average scores in their heats, with Irons scoring a 15.13, only 1.8 points higher than Slaters 13.33.
All heats were successfully completed today except for 4, which are planned to be held tmr, along with a Fosters Expression Session. This session will give out awards for "biggest aerial" and "best overall wave."

First Day of Nova Schin a Lay Day

2005-10-31T20:57:00.000-05:00

The first day of the Nova Schin WCT Brazil was determined a "lay day" by organizers due to lack of swell and unfavourable south winds. Fortunatley, they predict for a 5-6 foot swell to be moving in later on in the week. Pictured above, Kelly Slater and Andy Irons show their friendly relationship at the Nova Shin press conference, despite going head-to-head for the 2005 world title.

The Scenario Breakdown between Slater and Irons

2005-10-17T20:13:00.000-05:00

On the top of the leaderboard going into the second to last event of the tour, Slater can clinch his world title with a win in Brazil. His remaining competition is of course the current second place holder, Andy Irons. In order to win his fourth consecutive world title, Irons will most likely have to take first in the remaining two events, Brazil and Pipeline. Although it may seem doubtful to some, SLater has admitted himself that if anyone can do it, it is Andy Irons himself. Here are the scenarios for the two in the upcoming event in Brazil.

* If Irons places 5th in Brazil, Slater would only need 32nd place to clinch
* If Irons places 3rd in Brazil, Slater would need to place 5th to clinch
* If Irons places 2nd in Brazil, Slater would need to place 3rd to clinch
And Finally (what would lead to a repeat of the 2003 Slater vs. Irons final)
* If Irons places 1st in Brazil, Slater will have to wait and hope to win his seventh world title at the Pipeline Masters.

wikipedia entry

2005-10-03T19:02:00.000-05:00

Seems as if noone took the time to add the ASP World Tour to Wikipedia. So I did. ASP World Tour

Mundaka Spain event cacelled until '06

2005-10-03T16:45:00.000-05:00

Unfortunatley, the Tenth leg of the tour, Billabong Pro (Mundaka, Spain), has been cancelled until 2006. The reason being is that the infamous swell that surfers loved to visit at least once a year for decades, has since disapeared. Altough the reason is not yet known, surfers believe the disapearance is due to the excessive dredging off of the coast. They argue that it was that sandbar that was the creator of one of the most famous breaks on the globe has been stolen by the dredgers.

"We want Mundaka to be a symbol for keeping the Basque coast virgin," Basque surfer and documentary maker Eduardo Araujo said. "We don't just want the wave back ... we want the area to be truly protected."

For more information on this "Save the Wave vs. Save the Planet" arguement, visit Planet Ark

R.I.P. Mundaka
See you in Brazil

Irons keeps his hopes alive with a HUGE win

2005-10-03T16:16:00.000-05:00

The results of the Quiksilver Pro France left Andy irons smiling and kept his hopes alive. After Kelly Slater faced an early elimination in the the quarterfinals, Irons went on to finals against eigth place Damien Hobgood. The finals at La Graviere took place in 6-8 foot and clean conditions and was a 35 minute battle royale. Irons wasted no time and put up multiple decent scores, a 7.67 on a strong left break, and a 9.33 on a huge backside ride all before Hobgood caught his first wave. Hobgood was far behind and when he finally made his first move, a 7.50 deep tube, it was "too little, too late."

“I love this event!” shouted Irons who danced on the winner's podium while spilling Foster’s all over the huge crowd gathered in front. “I can’t believe that I’ve won here again. I want to move here! I love the people I love the food and I love the waves! I’m just so stoked and Kelly is going to have to wait to pop the champagne cork for a little longer.”

“The French are such diehard fans,” he said. “They were on the beach when it was raining. It was such a unique vibe and it really pumps you up to get a really good score. I saw it was a little crumbly out there and I knew that Damien would be looking for the barrel and luckily he only got that one. On my waves I just did as many turns as I could and it paid off. Bring on Brazil!”

After the Quiksilver Pro France, Irons still has potential to earn his fourth Foster’s ASP Men’s World Tour Crown. Another strong win like today in the next event, Nova Schin WCT Brasil, and Irons will be breathing down Slater’s neck come the grand finale at Pipeline, Hawaii.

Preview of the Ninth Stop of the Tour

2005-09-22T16:03:00.000-05:00

Tomorrows event, the Quiksilver Pro France, is the ninth stop of the tour and the only one to be held in Europe this year. It is expected to take place on the Southwestern coast of France and at the best breaks of the Landes and Basque coastlines.
Everybodys attention is undoubtable focused on the top two riders of the tour, Australian Andy Irons and Floridian Kelly Slater. Andy Irons, with three "World Titles" under his belt, has won the previous two Quiksilver Pro France events. Kelly Slater is on the hunt for his 7th world title. With Slater on top of the leader boards going into this event, Irons must not make any mistakes If he wishes to knock Slater off of his throne.

Slater cannot be stopped - fourth win of the tour

2005-09-20T13:29:00.000-05:00

Kelly Slater can’t be stopped. Although Aussie Phil MacDonald led for most of the final, Slater shut the door on Macca with a nine-point wave with just three minutes remaining in the heat. Slater became the first-ever non-Aussie winner of the Boost Mobile Pro of Surf held at Lower Trestles.

MacDonald has surfed in two finals this year and remains in fifth place on the ASP world rankings. He took out top seeds Andy Irons (in the quarterfinals) and Mick Fanning (in the semis). Bummed he couldn’t seal the deal, MacDonald threatend in jest that he might have to injure his finals opponent before they paddle out next time.

But a jovial Slater, who could potentially seal his seventh world title crown with a win in France next week, was quick to retaliate.

"Macca was joking that he was going to have to stab the next guy he comes up against in a final so he can win," explained a celebratory Slater, "but I told him that if another Aussie took this event, I’d have to stab one of them!"

Over 10,000 people, more than double the number of folks who have ever converged all at once on the shore of Lower Trestles, were on hand to watch Slater get one step closer to making history - again!

The next event, the Quiksilver Pro France, is held on the South West coast of France. A win for Slater will greatly boaden his lead and put him that much closer to is seventh world tour title.

Boost Mobile Pro kicks off in 3 foot Trestle surf

2005-09-13T14:15:00.000-05:00

With three foot swell pulsing through the break at Trestles, Southern
California, organisers of the Boost Mobile Pro presented by
Quiksilver sent out the best 44 surfers in the world plus four wildcards for
round one today. Surfers who win
in round one progress to round three while surfers who place second
and third progress to round two to face sudden death man-on-man
encounters

Currently ranked number one, Kelly Slater won his heat against Mark
Occhilupo and wildcard hopeful Mike Losness, posting a 9.17 out of 10.
In his heat Slater managed a solid aerial manoeuvre, some top to
bottom gouges and a final lay back tail slide.

Another tour leader, Andy Irons threw down the challenge today taking
a win in heat nine of round one against another tour legend in Tom
Curren and Jake Paterson.

"I was really nervous," said Irons. "Especially after last year where I was
knocked out early. I missed a couple of waves and I thought it might
happen again but I stayed patient and waited for those ones that looked
like good waves and I tried surfing as best I could. I was also wary of
Curren. Sitting out in the lineup with him was amazing. You normally
get intimidated when surfing against your heroes and he's such a good
competitor you just can't take things lightly."

As of now, Slater and Irons look to meet for the third time this year in the
final. An event win here for Slater would really enhance his lead while
Irons could really make things exciting if he were to take a win.

Lurking just behind them in third place and still well within striking distance
for the crown is Mick Fanning. Revelling in the lack of media attention,
due to the recent Slater/Irons showdowns Fanning was looking loose and relaxed.

“They can have it [the media attention] I don’t really care!” said Fanning.
“I’ve had a good year but I’m not giving up at all and I’m going to take it
down to the wire. But I’m here to enjoy every minute of it. It’s only the
first round and with nothing to lose I had a lot fun. It’s such a good wave
here at Trestles I’m just going to stick to my plan and go out and have a
good time and just let loose.”

The rest of the event is expected to see the swell build to double overhead
on the weekend. Slater, eagerly waiting on this swell, said, “It would be
great to surf six foot Trestles again,” said Slater. “And overall we’ve had
great surf on the tour with excellent surf at Tahiti, Fiji, Reunion, Jeffreys
Bay and Japan. Hopefully we’ll get some more.”

after the first 7 events

2005-09-11T12:39:00.000-05:00

More than halfway through the tour and the point race is still tight. The top two riders, Kelly Slater and Andy Irons, remain only 600 points apart, with Kelly on top (6374 to 5796). Not far behind is Mick Fanning with 4962. The three riders combined hold six out of the seven wins with the other win going to Trent Munro who stands in fourth overall with 4886 points. With only four more events left in the tour, the riding between these leaders will be very competitive and their room for mistakes will diminish.

Here is the list of the previous events and their winners....
Quiksilver Pro------------------ Mick Fanning
Rip Curl Pro---------------------Trent Munro
Billabong Pro Teahupoo-------Kelly Slater
Globe WCT Fiji------------------Kelly Slater
Rip Curl Search WCT---------Mick Fanning
Billabong Pro--------------------Kelly Slater
Japan Quiksilver Pro------------Andy Irons
------------------------------------------------------------------
Boost Mobile Pro (Sept 13-18)
Quiksilver Pro France (Sept 23 - Oct 2)
Billabong Pro **cancelled until 2006**
Nova Schin WCT Brasil (Oct 31 - Nov 9)
Rip Curl Pipeline Master (Dec 8-20)

why blog about the ASP

2005-08-31T19:29:00.000-05:00

I chose the ASP world tour as the topic for my blog because surfing is nice. I like to surf and I like to blog. perfect.