Hawaii's own Ezekiel Lau posted the largest victory of his young career today by winning the prestigious 39th annual VANS World Cup of Surfing at Sunset Beach. Lau's win earned him $40,000 and sees him close the year at 35th position on the ASP world rankings.
Slater struck in the closing minutes of the heat, finding a rare left-breaking standup tube with a fast and tight clean exit to get the beach crowd on its feet. A near-perfect score of 9.87 shot Slater to first and switched Reynolds to second for both to advance.
South Africa’s Beyrick De Vries will be riding high for days after living a moment of perfection at Sunset Beach during the Vans World Cup of Surfing today. "I just stood there and kind of looked at the scenery. It’s one of the best places to be on earth, in the barrel. I’m just living in the moment and it paid off and I’m so happy.
“There’s a huge commitment from new management to the core principles of our sport in putting the world’s best surfers in the world’s best waves"
Cooper Chapman, with legendary Australian surfer/shaper Simon Anderson making his equipment for the winter, has an inside line on how to harness the Hawaiian power and turn it into results. Chapman reached the round of 32 at the Reef Hawaiian Pro last week and is now in the running for the Vans Triple Crown Rookie of the Year award.
This is Bourez’s second victory at the REEF Hawaiian Pro, having first won here in 2008. His combination of stylish power surfing and impeccable wave selection made him the man to beat through the final rounds of competition today.
In 3 - 4 foot waves at South Curl Curl, the Retail Foot Soldiers trumped the Clubbies at the Jim Beam Surftag Industry Challenge.
Kelia Moniz, at just 20-years-old, has cemented her place in surfing history by becoming a two-time ASP Women’s World Longboard Champion. Moniz struggled early in the event, but came into form when it counted on Finals day using her trademark elegant style, power and flow to lock in some excellent scores and take the win
The Swatch Girls Pro China hosted by Wanning ran another big day of surfing. It’s highly likely that the ASP Women’s World Longboard Champion will be crowned on the sands of Riyue Bay tomorrow afternoon.
The Swatch Girls Pro China saw clean 3 to 4 foot left handers running 150 metres down the point at Riyue Bay all day today.
For Reynolds, the experience was enough to make him wonder if he could ever requalify through the 4-man competition scene should he ever want to. "I’d get eaten alive on the WQS, because I am so bad at positioning and paddling and that is such an key element in competing in 4-man heats.”
A late afternoon glass-off coupled with excellent overhead waves saw Brazilian underdog Jesse Mendes steal the show at the Reef Hawaiian Pro today.
