Slater only needed a ninth place finish to wrap up the 2008 ASP surfing season. Kelly Slater has done it again. Or should I say, he has done it 9 times again. Slater won his 9th ASP World Surfing Title at the Billabong Pro Mundaka, Spain. That is better than Lance Armstrong. He only needed to advance past round 3 of competition and that he did. He ended up beating local Basque surfer Eneko Acero with a combined score of 14.96 vs. 10.00. Then Tom Whitaker (AUS) knocked Kelly Slater (USA) out of the Billabong Pro Mundaka contest with a perfect 10 and an 8.00 during Heat #4 of Round 4. In 2006, Slater won his 8th world title at this same surf spot. There are only 2 ASP surfing events left in the 2008 season. Who will come in second? Third?
The event could finish Saturday with the quarterfinals already decided.
Round 4 Billabong Pro Mundaka Results: Heat 1: Adriano de Souza (BRA) 17.27 def. Mick Campbell (AUS) 16.43
Heat 2: Joel Parkinson (AUS) 16.00 def. Fredrick Patacchia (HAW) 13.73
Heat 3: Adrian Buchan (AUS) 14.50 def. Tiago Pires (PRT) 5.83
Heat 4: Tom Whitaker (AUS) 18.00 def. Kelly Slater (USA) 12.43
Heat 5: Taj Burrow (AUS) 13.84 def. Taylor Knox (USA) 11.17
Heat 6: C.J. Hobgood (USA) 15.50 def. Mikael Picon (FRA) 9.50
Heat 7: Bede Durbidge (AUS) 14.94 def. Kieren Perrow (AUS) 8.80
Heat 8: Luke Stedman (AUS) 15.00 def. Bobby Martinez (USA) 8.63
Upcoming Billabong Pro Mundaka Quarterfinal Heat Match-Ups: Heat 1: Adriano de Souza (BRA) vs. Joel Parkinson (AUS)
Heat 2: Adrian Buchan (AUS) vs. Tom Whitaker (AUS)
Heat 3: Taj Burrow (AUS) vs. C.J. Hobgood (USA)
Heat 4: Bede Durbidge (AUS) vs. Luke Stedman (AUS)
Kelly Slater will surf against Basque wildcard Eneko Acero in Heat 8. The contest officials will likely start the contest at 8:30am (local Mundaka time) tomorrow morning. If Slater wins he will clinch his 9th ASP World Titl. Contest officials also expect to run overlapping heats again. With only a certian amount of surfable waves during the contest waiting period, the officials need to complete as many heats as possible. Thursday had the most heats ever surfed in one day of an ASP surfing event. Slater and Acero will paddle out an hour and 20-minutes after competition starts Friday.
The 2008 Billabong Pro Mundaka, Spain has started. The first contest rounds were surfed this morning in 2 foot A-frame peaks. Not the normal firing left-handed barrels that Mundaka spits out on a solid swell. Too bad the surfers had to wake up to such fickle waves. Hopefully, the forecasted swell fills in Thursday and pumps out some better scoring waves. Watching 3 and 4 point scores on waves aren’t as fun as watching 8’s or 9’s!
Watch out for the 4 Euskadi (Basque for the Basque region of Spain) surfers in this years event. There are a total of 8 non-tour surfers competing because 5 full-time ASP World Tour surfers could not make the event. The 8 non-tour surfers are comprised of 5 replacement surfers and 3 event wildcards.
September 30 is another lay day for the surf contest. The surf event directors say there is some nice swell on tap for Thursday/ Friday. Right now the swell is too small for competition.
Kelly Slater was only 7.31 points away from clinching his 9th ASP World Title. Adrian Buchan spoiled Slater’s title by beating him in the Quiksilver Pro France final and extending the ASP champion race to Mundaka, Spain.
The 2008 Billabong Pro Mundaka waiting period starts Monday, September 29. Kelly Slater won his last ASP World Title at Mundaka and Slater only needs to secure a 9th place finish at the Billabong Pro Mundaka to clinch title number 9. All Slater has to do is advance past Round 3, but if he does not and reigning ASP World Champ Mick Fanning or ASP number 2 Taj Burrow win the event, the title race will move onto Brazil. Watch the video of Mundaka working it.
Look out for: Santa Barbara local, Bobby Martinez, has won the Mundaka event the past 2 years. His 5ht place finish at the 2008 Quiksilver Pro France has moved him into 7th place in the ASP world rankings.
The Billabong Pro Mundaka waiting period runs from Monday, September 29 – Sunday, October 12. All the surfing news, reporters, and bloggers will be at the event to capture the potential history. Sorry, but I won’t be ale to make it this year. Maybe sometime in the future when all the world is reading The Surf Blog Spot.
Adrian Buchan (AUS) has defeated 8-time ASP World Champion Kelly Slater (USA), at the 2008 Quiksilver Pro France. The ASP World Tour title race will have to move onto the next ASP stop, the Billabong Pro Mundaka, Spain. Slater could have sealed the ASP Tour season with a win, but he will have to wait for his 9th ASP World Title. This is Adrian Buchan’s first world tour event win. Adrian beat Kelly Slater 15.73 to 15.16. What a close finish. You never know what you are going to get when the world’s best surfers hit the water.
Final Quiksilver Pro France Results: Final: Adrian Buchan (AUS) 15.74 def. Kelly Slater (USA) 15.16
Semifinal Quiksilver Pro France Results:
Heat 1: Kelly Slater (USA) 14.90 def. Adriano de Souza (BRA) 13.97
Heat 2: Adrian Buchan (AUS) 15.17 def. Damien Hobgood (USA) 8.83
Top 10 ASP World Tour Ratings After The Quiksilver Pro France: 1. Kelly Slater (USA) – 7852 points
2. Taj Burrow (AUS) – 6002 points
3. Bede Durbidge (AUS) – 5668 points
4. Adriano De Souza (BRA) – 5426 points
5. Joel Parkinson (AUS) – 5373 points
6. Mick Fanning (AUS) – 5310 points
7. Bobby Martinez (USA) – 5092 points
8. CJ Hobgood (USA) – 4880 points
9. Adrian Buchan (AUS) – 4719 points
10. Jeremy Flores (FRA) – 4407 points
Go see the 2008 Roxy Jam Cardiff this weekend. The 3rd annual Roxy Jam starts this Friday, September 19, and runs until Sunday, September 21.
The Association of Surfing Professionals (ASP) Longboard Qualifying Series (LQS) 6-Star event is the biggest event for professional female long-boarders in North America. The winner of this event will claim the ASP North America Women’s Longboarding Title.
Jennifer Smith, the 2007 ASP Women’s World Longboarding Champion and a Pacific Beach, CA local girl won last years event. She will also be there this year to defend her title and compete against other professional surfers.
I went to the first Roxy Jam Cardiff two years ago and it was awesome! It was the first ever Roxy Jam Cardiff and the event was well put together. There were great waves and conditions were perfect for longboarding. Go watch the contest this weekend!
The Roxy Jam Cardiff will begin on Friday, September 19, 2008 at Cardiff Reef in Cardiff, California at 7am Pacific Time.
What do Kelly Slater and a fine wine have in common? They keep getting better with age. Yes, Kelly Slater has worked his magic again by winning the 2008 Boost Mobile Pro presented by Hurley.
Slater edged out fellow Ozzie surfer, Taj Burrows, by a score of 18.97 to 18.63. The final round of the contest concluded in 2-3 foot surf, light onshore winds, and sunny conditions.
Congrats to Kelly Slater and his 5th win of the 2008 ASP World Tour. What a great accomplishment for the 36 year-old from Cocoa Beach, FL. Slater also chalked up another title for his championship belt 2 days before his back-to-back Boost Mobile Pro win. He also won the 2008 SURFER POLL award for being “The People’s Champ.” The 2008 Surfer Poll award was his 14th Surfer Poll award. He has only been a professional surfer for 28 years and winning half of the awards is a great accomplishment and a pretty high benchmark.
Finals Results: Kelly Slater (USA) 18.97, Taj Burrows (AUS) 18.63
Semi Final Results: Semi Final 1: Bede Durbidge (AUS) 15.10, Kelly Slater (USA) 15.67
Semi Final 2: Jeremy Flores (FRA) 16.50, Taj Burrows (AUS) 17.33
For more Boost Mobile Pro info log onto the Boost Mobile Pro website
Another Irons brother won the 2008 Rip Curl Pro Search. Bruce Irons pulled out a win on the 6th stop of the ASP World Tour against his Hawaiian mate, Fred Patachia. Andy Irons won the 2006, 2007 Rip Curl Pro Search contests and now his little brother has a Rip Curl Pro Search WCT victory. Bruce can feel complete this year since he will end his professional contest surfing after this year.
With this win, Bruce moved into 10th place on the ASP World Tour rankings. Kelly Slater still remains in first place with a very comfortable points lead. Tiago Pires, Portugal, was in it to win and actually knocked out eight-time ASP World Champ and the current ratings points leader, Kelly Slater, in Round 3. Tiago Pires would eventually surf his way into 3rd place in the Rip Curl Pro Search contest.
Rip Curl Pro Search Final Results
1 – Bruce Irons (HAW) 17.66
2 – Fredrick Patacchia (HAW) 11.16
Current ASP World Tour Top 10 After Stop NO. 6
1 – Kelly Slater (USA) 5620 points
2 – Joel Parkinson (AUS) 4548 points
3 – Bede Durbidge (AUS) 4382 points
4 – Taj Burrow (AUS) 4370 points
5 – Mick Fanning (AUS) 4353 points
6 – Adriano de Souza (BRA) 3950 points
7 – Andy Irons (HAW) 3938 points
8 – C.J. Hobgood (USA) 3870 points
9 – Bobby Martinez (USA) 3628 points
10 – Bruce Irons (HAW) 3392 points
That somewhere will be Stop 6 on the ASP World Tour and will start “somewhere” in Indonesia. The opening day of the contest will begin July 30 and last until August 10. Surfing fans are waiting on edge for the exact location. The event directors and surf forecasters (Surfline) have a spot in mind, but that will not be disclosed until the first heat is underway. Log onto the Rip Curl Pro Search website to see exactly where Kelly Slater and other top ASP surfers will battle. Watch the event live on the Rip Curl Pro Seach webcast and see your favorite pictures from the event.
Where do you think the 2008 Rip Curl Pro Search “secret surf spot” will be located?
Current ASP World Tour Top 10 Surfers 1. Kelly Slater (USA) 5210 points
2. Joel Parkinson (AUS) 3948 points
3. Bede Durbidge (AUS) 3782 points
4. Mick Fanning (AUS) 3753 points
5. Taj Burrow (AUS) 3638 points
6. Adriano de Souza (BRA) 3540 points
7. C.J. Hobgood (USA) 3460 points
8. Andy Irons (HAW) 3338 points
9. Bobby Martinez (USA) 3028 points
10. Adrian Buchan (AUS) 2884 points
Make sure you stop by the IPEVO and ROCKSTAR Energy Drinks vendor booth in the vendor village. Go to the GO211 US Open of Surfing website for more information.
The contest is over and Kelly Slater has won again. He defeated Mick Fanning in the finals to take home his fourth 2008 ASP tour stop title and his fourth J-Bay title. Kelly Slater, 36-years-young, brought his “A” game to Supertubes Thursday and showed why he is the best surfer in the world. He earned his 38th ASP World Tour victory while downing Mick Fanning in 4-6 foot J-Bay. Winning is Slater’s middle name (not really) and after 14 years on the ASP World Tour, he still has the motivation to win. He wants to be known as the BEST surfer ever!!
Slater beat Fanning 16.73 to 9.40 in the Billabong finals. The start of Thursday morning competition was very clean and as the contest continued, the conditions started to deteriorate with the onshore winds. The officials were worried about the North winds that tend to blow out the faces of J-Bay, which made the final round a little difficult. But this did not stop Slater and his victory drive. Slater now has a 1262 point lead on the World number 2 Joel Parkinson and now has such a large lead that his 9th World Title is in his sights.
The next event on the 2008 ASP World Tour remains a mystery. The “Search” event will be held July 30-August 10, 2008, “Somewhere.”
ASP World Tour Ratings after Stop No. 5 – the Billabong Pro Jeffreys Bay
1. Kelly Slater (USA) 5210 points
2. Joel Parkinson (AUS) 3948 points
3. Bede Durbidge (AUS) 3782 points
4. Mick Fanning (AUS) 3753 points
5. Taj Burrow (AUS) 3638 points
6. Adriano de Souza (BRA) 3540 points
7. C.J. Hobgood (USA) 3460 points
8. Andy Irons (HAW) 3338 points
9. Bobby Martinez (USA) 3028 points
10. Adrian Buchan (AUS) 2884 points
Jeffreys Bay finally got the restart it needed while completing Round 3 and half of Round 4. The 20 heats of Wednesday’s competition went down in 4 to 6 foot (two meters) surf. There are only 11 heats of the Billabong Pro left and the 2008 champion should be crowned Thursday. The contest officials want to conclude the event with world class surf and the lingering swell. The first heat of Round 4 will be Heat 5 featuring the reigning ASP World Champion Mick Fanning and Hawaiian Bruce Irons.
I thought the Round 3 rematch between Travis Logie and Kelly Slater would bring out some better competition, but Slater annihilated Logie 19.14 to 12.06 in Heat 8 of Round 3. Next up, Slater will face the current ASP number 4, Adriano de Souza in Quarterfinal 2.
The Last South African Heat Matchup:
Heat 7 of Round 4: Jordy Smith (ZAF) vs. Taj Burrow (AUS)
Why watch this heat? Taj Burrow beat Jordy Smith in the 2006 Billabong Pro Jeffreys Bay semi-finals when Jordy was surfing the event as a wild-card. More reasons to watch. Jordy Smith is the last South African surfer in the event, he will have home field advantage, and will have the local crowd cheering him to victory!
The surfers and contest officials have decided to call off the Tuesday competition. The predicted swell for Tuesday did not show up and the Jeffreys Bay contest officials only have 5 days left in the competition. There are smaller and inconsistent waves at J-Bay, but not enough for a professional surfing contest. Wednesday and Thursday look to be the last days for scoring waves and a new swell is on the horizon.
There are still 3 South African surfers (Travie Logie, Jordy Smith, and Royden Bryson) left in Round 3 and look for them to work their local surf spot.
Round 3 of the Billabong Pro Jeffreys Bay has been called off for the day. Lack of swell has forced event officials to look into the 11-day waiting period to assess which two days of the eight left will offer the best scoring potential for the remaining ASP Top 45 surfers.
The next best opportunity for swell might come Monday and Tuesday. The official swell forecaster, Surfline, predicts Tuesday as the best day to re-start the competition.
Round 2 of the 2008 Billabong Pro at Jeffreys Bay is complete.
Swell Forecasts indicate that conditions may be unfavorable for Billabong Pro competition over the weekend. Event officials will meet each morning at 7am, local time, to monitor the waves and make an official call.
Heat 1: Joel Parkinson (AUS) 16.33 def. Mark Occhilupo (AUS) 9.67
Heat 2: Andy Irons (HAW) 15.17 def. Granger Larsen (HAW) 11.83
Heat 3: Bobby Martinez (USA) 16.33 def. Rudy (jnr) Palmboom (ZAF) 4.33
Heat 4: Adrian Buchan (AUS) 13.07 def. Nic Muscroft (AUS) 11.00
Heat 5: Jeremy Flores (FRA) 15.67 def. Ricky Basnett (ZAF) 11.34
Heat 6: Luke Stedman (AUS) 12.00 def. Daniel Ross (AUS) 7.60
Heat 7: Kai Otton (AUS) 14.27 def. Jihad Khodr (BRA) 13.94
Heat 8: Travis Logie (ZAF) 15.50 def. Timmy Reyes (USA) 12.00
Heat 9: Ben Bourgeois (USA) adv. Pancho Sullivan (HAW) n/s
Heat 10: Dayyan Neve (AUS) 15.66 def. Tiago Pires (PRT) 14.50
Heat 11: Heitor Alves (BRA) 16.66 def. Dane Reynolds (USA) 13.83
Heat 12: Tom Whitaker (AUS) 15.10 def. Rodrigo Dornelles (BRA) 13.70
Heat 13: Mick Campbell (AUS) 15.30 def. Damien Hobgood (USA) 9.50
Heat 14: Luke Munro (AUS) 16.33 def. Ben Dunn (AUS) 12.55
Heat 15: Jordy Smith (ZAF) 18.60 def. Neco Padaratz (BRA) 11.33
Heat 16: Chris Ward (USA) 13.16 def. Mikael Picon (FRA) 12.17
My Round 3 Key Matchups:
Heat 4: Joel Parkinson (AUS) vs. Daniel Wills (AUS)
Heat 5: Adriano de Souza (BRA) vs. Mick Campbell (AUS)
Heat 9: Mick Fanning (AUS) vs. Ben Bourgeois (USA)
Heat 14: Dean Morrison (AUS) vs. Jordy Smith (ZAF)
My Round 3 Key Matchup Revisited:
Heat 8: Kelly Slater (USA) vs. Travis Logie (ZAF)
Look for some payback in this heat. Travis Logie almost changed the 2005 ASP World Title race by beating Kelly Slater in their heat at the Brazilian Nova Schin Festival. Then Nathan Hedge stepped-up with a heat win against Andy Irons and ended up sealing the deal for Slater. That gave Slater his 8th World Title and 2008 looks to be another title year.
The 2008 Billabong Pro surfing contest at Jeffrey’s Bay (J-Bay) is set to start on July 10, 2008. This surfing contest is stop number 5 of 11 on the ASP World Tour. Supertubes will be the spot for the 5th surfing event and will include all the top ASP pro-surfers. Kelly Slater leads the ASP World Tour rankings, has won 3 out of the last 4 ASP tour stop events, and is the only professional surfer to win J-Bay 3 times. Another notable finish for Slater was his 2007 second place finish behind Taj Burrow.
J-Bay Location:Jeffrey’s Bay, Eastern Cape, South Africa: Jeffrey’s Bay lies on the southern South African coastline, around 45 miles (70 km) west of Port Elizabeth.
The Jeffrey’s Bay surfing contest runs from July 10-20 with an 11 day waiting period. Mike Parson, the contest director, will decide the best surfing conditions for the 63 heats required to determine the 2008 J-Bay Champion.
Anybody not attending the actual South African surf contest can watch the action LIVE on the ASP World Tour website and on the Billabong Pro webcast. You can get instant event coverage, contest scores, and live video feeds from either website.
Past Jeffrey’s Bay Champions:
2007 – Taj Burrow
2006 – Mick Fanning
2005 – Kelly Slater
2004 – Andy Irons
2003 – Kelly Slater
1996 – Kelly Slater
My 2008 J-Bay Champion prediction: Kelly Slater aka Jimmy Slade
After taking a year off in 2007, the 2008 Globe Pro Fiji is back and firing. The contest is being held on the tropical island of Tavarua, Fiji. The perfect left hand bender called Restaurants and the hollow curl of Cloudbreak will be pitching up waves from May 24-June 6. Day 2 has already concluded and Round 3 is underway. Check here for the most recent 2008 Globe Pro Fiji results.
Tavarua Island and Fiji Islands map and location
Tavarua Island, Fiji
Ever wonder why the surf break is called “restaurants?” Well, the locals, surfers, and tourists can watch the contest from the Tavarua Restaurant. What a great way to enjoy dinner.
