surfing

Local favourite Brett Simpson defeated the Association of Surfing’s world number one Jordy Smith to retain his US Open crown in Huntington Beach, California.
In the process Simpson also picked up the winner’s cheque for $100,000

The Californian had surfed consistently throughout the event’s entirety and jumped out to a quick start in his final against the South African Smith. An impressive display from Simpson left Smith looking for a near-perfect score in the dying moments of their match-up.

“Last year barely sank in and now I won this year,” Simpson said. “It’s so hard to imagine it all over again because you have to stay consistent and surf so many heats.

“Luckily I zoned everything out and tried not to worry about the points or the money and that’s when I have competed the best. To be at home with so many friends and family, I’ve enjoyed it so much. To win out here two years in a row is unimaginable

Australia’s Wade Carmichael has won the Billabong Pro Junior Asia in pumping, four-to-five-foot surf at the Keramas Rivermouth in Bali, Indonesia. The 17-year-old beat out New Zealand’s James Woods despite Woods posting 9.0 early on in the final.

“I was really concerned when Woods scored that 9-point ride early but I sort of told myself to relax and concentrate on getting a great wave. There were a lot of excellent waves coming through and I’d scored big prior to the final and realized I simply had to score a big one again,” said Carmichael afterward.

Carmichael responded to Woods’s ride with a 8.75 before backing it up with a 7.75. Woods needed a 7.5 but failed to find it in the final 10 minutes.
This was Carmichael’s first final and best-ever result in any ASP Pro Junior event. He took home $7,000 in prize money and Woods with $3000.

Billabong Pro Junior Asia 2010 Final Day Results:

Final:
1. Wade Carmichael (AUS/NSW/Central Coast) 16.50
2. James Woods (AUS/Qld/Coolangatta) 15.50

Semi 1: Wade Carmichael def. Blake Ainsworth
Semi 2: James Woods def. Thomas Woods

Quarter 1: Wade Carmichael def. Garrett Parkes
Quarter 2: Blake Ainsworth def. Ty Watson
Quarter 3: James Woods def. Ryan Callinan

Jordy Smith Takes Maiden Win and ASP Ratings’ Lead at Billabong Pro Jeffreys Bay
JEFFREYS BAY, South Africa (Sunday, July 18, 2010) – Jordy Smith (ZAF), 22, has claimed his maiden ASP elite victory, taking out the Billabong Pro Jeffreys Bay over Adam Melling (AUS), 25, in front of a capacity hometown crowd.

Event No. 4 of 10 on the 2010 ASP World Tour, the Billabong Pro Jeffreys Bay was nothing but blaring Vuvuzelas and roars from the bluff as these two titans went tit-for-tat in an incredible Final exchange. The young South African proved the victor, dominating from the outset and securing an emotional first win.

“This is the best day of my life,” Smith said. “The crowd on the beach has been supporting me the last few days and hearing the cheers and the Vuvuzelas just gets me fired up to perform. It feels like they’re pushing me along. I couldn’t have done it without them.”

The most experienced surfer at Jeffreys Bay, Smith left very little to chance in the Final against Melling, opening his account with a blazing 8.90 before backing it up with some scintillating forehand surfing for a 9.03. The combination of scores (17.93 out of a possible 20) proved insurmountable for Melling.

“I knew the swell was dying and I had to take advantage of every wave that came through,” Smith said. “Adam (Melling) is such a dangerous surfer. He’s been in form all day and I knew that if he got the waves, he would get the scores. I went out there knowing I had to open up strong.”

After taking the ratings’ lead over former nine-time ASP World Champion Kelly Slater (USA), 38, yesterday, Smith solidified his position as the ASP World No. 1 with today’s emphatic victory.

“It definitely is a different feeling,” Smith said. “To be chasing the lead and defending the lead are two different things. It’s a long year ahead and you can’t count anyone out until it’s over. I’m going to enjoy this feeling for now.”

Smith’s Final’s berth almost never was, as the big South African was comboed by lethal Australian Bede Durbidge (AUS), 27, with four minutes remaining in their Semifinal clash. Catching two waves in under a minute, Smith unloaded a barrage of aerials and forehand blasts to claw his way back into the lead.

“I’m still not too sure what happened – it’s all a blur,” Smith said. “I got that first one where I did the little grab air that I didn’t think was good, but the judges scored the whole wave pretty well. Then I backed it up and put everything I had into it.”

Melling’s “Cinderella” climb to the Finals was nothing short of sensational. Rated a lowly 41st on the ASP World Title Race rankings heading into Jeffreys Bay, the 2010 ASP Dream Tour rookie powered his way through five rounds of competition before coming short in the Final. His Runner-Up finish sees him bumped up to ASP World No. 19, well inside the safety zone for the dreaded mid-year field reduction.

“The ocean didn’t cooperate with me in the Final so that’s a shame but I couldn’t be happier,” Melling said. “We had amazing waves and to get the best result of my career is huge. I came into Jeffreys with a long road ahead if I were to make the mid-year cut-off, and now that I’m 19th, I feel like I have a bit of a buffer heading into Tahiti. I worked really hard to get here and I want to stay here.”

Durbidge suffered one of the hardest losses of the event, having defeat snatched from the jaws of victory by a last-minute crusade by Smith. Despite the bitter loss, Durbidge’s Equal 3rd vaults him from 10th to 7th on the ASP World Title Race rankings heading into the fifth event of the year.

“I had him comboed with only four minutes to go,” Durbidge said. “He took off on that one-footer and pulled that ‘Superman’ air and finished off well, then came out and got another one. I think he got two waves in a minute or something. It’s a hard way to lose, but Semifinals is my best result of the year and it’s something to build on. The focus is on Tahiti now.”

Taj Burrow (AUS), 32, consistently wowed audiences with his performance from Round 1 onwards, collecting the event’s highest heat total in yesterday’s Round 4. Despite today’s Semifinal loss at the hands of Melling, the Western Australian moves up to ASP World No. 2 heading into Tahiti.

Highlights from the Billabong Pro Jeffreys Bay will be available via www.billabongpro.com/jbay10Jeffreys Bay

Chris Friend (Alex Headland, Qld) today won the prestigious Mick Fanning Red Bull Junior Surf Masters held at Broadbeach (Gold Coast, Australia).

In excellent, one-metre conditions, Friend outpointed youngster Matt Banting (Port Macquarie, NSW), in a thrilling final which was decided by the smallest of margins.

In a seesawing final, Friend posted a combined two-wave heat total of 14.60 (out of a possible 20) to Banting’s 14.50 clinching the win by only 0.10 of a point.

One of 12 Mick Fanning hand picked wildcards, Friend was in blistering form throughout the entire with the elated Sunshine Coaster ecstatic with his historic win.

“I finished second in the Hurley Burleigh Pro Junior at the beginning on the year and missed out on $25,000 at that event, so this is definitely a nice reward,” said Friend.

“To surf in front of two-time world champion Mick Fanning was a massive thrill and competing against Australia’s best junior surfers always pushes you to want to do well,” he said.

Friend was one of only a handful of the country’s top junior surfers selected by Mick Fanning to compete in the event, which is a specialty, invitational competition.

For his efforts today, Friend walked away with a whopping $AUS 10,000 – one of the biggest cheques in professional junior surfing.

Meanwhile, Matt Banting once again solidified himself as a future surfing champion with the 16-year-old giving away up to four years age difference to some of his rivals.

Banting will undoubtably be making massive inroads into the Pro Junior series in years to come.

There was also plenty of action outside the surf, there live music from Brisbane indie sensation Yves Klein Blue sending the crowd abuzz.

Stoked to give something back to the groms, Mick Fanning will be attended the Finals to today to show his support and also check out who the next big name in surfing will be!

www.surfingqueensland.com