Massive opening day at the Australian Open of Surfing
Slade Prestwich and Dane Reynolds put on a show in one of the most entertaining heats of the day with both surfers advancing in first and second place respectively.
Slade Prestwich and Dane Reynolds put on a show in one of the most entertaining heats of the day with both surfers advancing in first and second place respectively.
In 3-4 foot waves at their home break and with the dunes stacked full of supporters, North Narrabeen sent their loudest warning yet to every club in Australia, declaring they’ll be hunting down their sixth national title come March.
“A contest as big as the Australian Open can make or break for your career,” said 18-year-old Jordy Lawler. “Having a comp this big at Manly is an amazing thing for surfing…but there’s nothing like the pressure of surfing for your club.”
Eleven-time world champion Kelly Slater has won the Volcom Pipe Pro in epic, triple-overhead barrels with a series of stunning performances that made the win seem inevitable from his first ride.
Twenty year-old Floridian Evan Geiselman stole the show at the Volcom Pipe Pro today, eliminating defending event champion John John Florence in solid 10-foot barrels with the highest heat score of the competition.
Last year Portugal's only WCT surfer, Tiago Pires, missed almost the whole season due to a knee injury. At the end of the year he applied for one of two injury wildcards and received it. "Reading that email," Pires said in a recent interview with the ASP, "was almost like finding out I had qualified for the first time. Just a very positive and joyful news."
Michael Wright showed competitive maturity beyond his years as the 17-year-old took down a current WCT surfer, a former WCT surfer and current ASP QS campaigner.
“I’ve been in Snapper all my life, there’s a lot of history with it and my whole family is a part of this club,” said Parkinson. “To get the call up was really cool. I was rapt to represent the club and to get the win is even better.”
"I’ve been in the mines since 2009 so I’m pretty stoked to get out of there and sleep in my own bed and get a few waves."
It was a day for the record books on Saturday when perfect surf, blue skies and radical surfing combined into what many were calling the best conditions for a Jim Beam Surftag event in its 13 year history.
A stacked field of surfers are ready to take to the water in the NSW Far North Coast Jim Beam Surftag Series. Garrett Parkes, Chippa Wilson and James Woods will take to the skies, while the old guard of Lee Winkler, Danny Wills and Shaun Cansdell will own the pocket show why they were once recognised as some of the best surfers on the face of the planet.
"It took a day or two for it to really hit me. I was in shock. I was shaking and at times trying to fight back some tears. It really felt like an emotional rollercoaster that I just wanted to be over."