July 9th, 2009 by admin

ASP World Tour

COOLANGATTA, Queensland (Monday, July 6, 2009)
In the ASP WQS 6-Star Mr Price Pro Ballito in South Africa, it was always going to be a surfer who could handle all sorts of surf conditions that would eventually win and that was USA’s Tanner Gudauskas.

In surf ranging from 10 feet high and just as wide Hawaiian-style barrels for the early few days down to 3-feet cross-shore peaks for the final days, Tanner and the other final 16 showed they could handle anything thrown at them.

Although the Aussies dominated the event, it was lone American who came out on top in after many close heats, but a one-sided Final against Australia’s James ’Taipan’ Wood.

For Tanner, it was his first ASP WQS win, and for James, a personal best having made 4th previously in an ASP WQS 4-Star in England 2004.

In the ratings, Dan Ross has jumped up one spot to be leading with 12,225 points and still carrying a zero and 600 pointer. Looks good for Daniel to make the ASP World Tour in 2010.

James jumped up from 158th to 76th, his highest ever rating.

Other movers upward were Tanner from 24th to 6th, Austin Ware 20th to 11th, Semifinalist Matt Wilkinson from 25th to 12th, while downwards Jean da Silva from 11th to 21st was the only real casualty.

Current Top 20 on the ratings:

Ross,Daniel AUS 1 12225
Wright,Owen AUS 2 11338
Melling,Adam AUS 3 11176
Andre,Jadson BRA 4 10975
Thornton,Blake AUS 5 10326
Gudauskas,Tanner USA 6 9575
Simpson,Brett USA 7 9351
Duru,Joan FRA 8 9264
Logie,Travis ZAF 9 9026
Gudauskas,Patrick USA 10 8888
Ware,Austin USA 11 8832
Wilkinson,Matt AUS 12 8800
Polo,Marco BRA 13 8769
Munro,Luke AUS 14 8626
Hall,Glenn IRE 15 8513
Howse,Jarrad AUS 16 8288
Atkinson,Dion AUS 17 8269
Zubizarreta,Gony ESP 18 8251
Sedley,Leigh AUS 19 8213
Gonzalez,Jonathan CNY 20 8100

Most are carrying a zero, or low scores that for sure will be replaced in the next few weeks during the two Brazilian and US Open events.

By the end of the US Open, we should have a very good idea of what is needed for the rest of the year as everyone should have their best seven results with good points.

July 9th, 2009 by admin

Shortly after leaving the South American leg of the ASP Dream Tour, world’s best surfers are already preparing themeselves or the upcoming Billabong Pro Jeffreys Bay, held at the iconic South African pointbreak from July 9 – 19, 2009.

Event No. 5 of 10 on the 2009 ASP World Tour, the Billabong Pro Jeffreys Bay will host the ASP Top 45 as the battle for pride, points and the freshly intensified ASP World Title race. To be the best, they need to find the ultimate motivation and focus on good job.

“Making more of a plan”

Kelly Slater (USA), 37, reigning nine-time ASP World Champion and current ASP World No. 9, opened his 2009 season with three, uncharacteristic 17th place finishes before smashing his way to a 41st career victory in Brazil last week. Formerly lacking the trademark intensity and drive that the Floridian is renowned for, Slater admits to a heightened focus after his Brazilian triumph, adding a dynamic new angle to this year’s ASP World Title race.

“Last week’s win just highlighted the importance of making more of a plan when I hit the water instead of leaving it to chance,” Slater said. “I had a plan in Brazil for the first time this year and it worked. A lot of people put in a lot of effort to help me get my stuff together and it’s about time I had a plan in heats so I don’t take any of that for granted. Sometimes things don’t go your way. I probably wouldn’t be very interested if I had started out super strong anyhow, and now it’s just a more difficult challenge to get things going. It kind of wakes you up.”

If any event on tour has the potential to offer Slater a positive follow-up to last week’s win, it’s the Billabong Pro Jeffreys Bay. Throughout the event’s storied history, Slater has secured a record four victories (1996, 2003, 2005, 2008) and boasts some staggeringly high heat averages in recent years.

“Jeffreys just has this great curve and speed to it that seems to fit how I like to ride a wave but I’m sure everyone feels that there,” Slater said. “I have a good sense of the lineup I think, and can picture what most waves are going to do down the line. I’ve just always had a good vibe there.”

Pushing boundaries of gear

A major point of debate over the past several months has been Slater’s equipment used in competition. Pushing the boundaries of traditional performance equipment, Slater’s choices this year have been met with mixed reviews as well as mixed results, but the defending Billabong Pro Jeffreys Bay champion claims he will let the conditions determine his ion.

“I’ll stick with whatever feels best and most trustworthy under my feet,” Slater said. “I have a few experiments showing up with my girlfriend fresh from the factory as well. I just love to expand on what we all ride and it’s a great platform to do that if it works right. If not, it seems like you’re making a huge mistake to everyone, but this season, I haven’t had the best wave opportunities in heats, specifically on the Goldy and in Tahiti where it was wave-catching competition. I only actually rode an experiment in the first event. Tahiti was the board I won on yesterday, but the waves just weren’t there then.”

Importance of confidence

Adriano de Souza (BRA), 22, former ASP World Junior Champion (2004) and current ASP World No. 2, will look to consolidate on an already-stellar season with a big performance in South Africa. A Runner-Up finish to Slater in last week’s Hang Loose Santa Catarina Pro has legitimized the young Brazilian as a major threat in the race for the 2009 ASP World Title.

“I have had an amazing season – the best season of my career,” De Souza said. “It is only halfway, but to be No. 2 in the world is a dream. The event in Brazil last week was so incredible for me and gave me so much confidence for the rest of the year. I feel like I can compete with the best surfers in the world.”

De Souza has been nothing but consistent at Jeffreys Bay since his inception onto the elite ASP World Tour, finishing in the Quarterfinals in 2006, 2007 and 2008. With his new-found confidence following an impressive Runner-Up finish in South America, the progressive natural-footer will look to improve his on his past results at the venue in an effort to enhance an already banner season.

“The first time I came to Jeffreys Bay I was 11,” De Souza said. “I remember surfing there and dreaming about competing in the event one day. Jeffreys has always been a good event for me, but I always come up against really good surfers in the Quarterfinals. I have been working with my shaper on equipment and training specifically for this event so hopefully I can improve.”

Top 45 at Jeffreys Bay, South Africa (July 9 – 19)

De Souza and Slater will take on the rest of the ASP Top 45 including ratings’ frontrunners C.J. Hobgood (USA), 30, Taj Burrow (AUS), 31, Mick Fanning (AUS), 28, and current ASP World No. 1 Joel Parkinson (AUS), 28, in South Africa next week.

The Billabong Pro Jeffreys Bay will have the option to run either the traditional or new competition formats, as well as utilizing the overlapping heats tem. Event organizers will determine this based on the conditions as the event waiting period moves closer.

The Billabong Pro Jeffreys Bay will host the ASP Top 45 from July 9 – 19, 2009 at Jeffreys Bay in South Africa.

The event will be web LIVE via www.billabongpro.com

July 9th, 2009 by admin

Flying in the Red Bull World Championship is very much a team effort according to the pilots who compete. It’s non-stop for everyone involved and with every year that passes, the pressure on team members increases as the sport fast becomes a global phenomenon.

As in all motorsport disciplines, the person at the controls tends to get the most attention as the ‘ambassador’ of the race team but in reality the pilot is supported by key people who make it all happen long before they hear the ‘Smoke On’ signal to fly into the track.

Aside from the actual flying – which only represents the tip of the iceberg – there are continuous technical refinements being made to the aeroplanes behind the scenes, never-ending media requests to deal with and strategy meetings to be held.

Range of expertise

“The Red Bull Air Race really is all-consuming for pilots and teams,” says Nigel Lamb (UK), now in his fifth year of racing. “There’s so much to do in between races as well as during the off season that you need a solid team around you to get everything done properly and on time.”

Generally the teams comprise pilot, technician and team coordinator (known as a TC in the trade). This trio should equate to a well-balanced combination of expertise across the relevant disciplines but in many cases, the knowledge overlaps. Many of those involved have a flying background and often this shared interest provides the setting for how friendships and business relationships first formed.

Paul Bonhomme’s TC Nigel Warren – who the UK pilot describes as the team’s “travelling quartermaster” – is famed for his ability to multi-task and admits he’s fanatical when it comes to paperwork.

The former corporate jet pilot, who has “known Bonhomme for years”, points out just how varied the TC’s backgrounds are and says: “There are people from all walks of life doing this job – you’ve got a lawyer, a wine merchant, a propeller salesman, an online entrepreneur, a nightclub promoter… it just proves that there are many different skills that can be of use in this role.”

Team building

Choosing the right people to support the campaign for championship success is essential and one that 2009 newcomer Pete McLeod is all too aware of. “If you have one weak link in the team then it’s just not going to come together,” says the youngest ever competitor in the championship who secured his first point in Windsor, Canada, last month.

“For me this isn’t a ‘one shot, one go, one year’ thing so I looked for young, hungry people like me who I think have a lot of talent. I selected them with a view to us growing together as a team.”

Nathan ‘Nate’ Herbert, a professional snocross rider and recreational pilot, is McLeod’s team coordinator. He has shown great marketing and PR aptitude in his inaugural season and as someone that McLeod says he “trusts and can work with” Herbert has helped to put Team 84 in the spotlight.

He’s not alone. All teams have realised that they must play ball with the media, give interviews, be photographed… and generally allow the public access to them as people. To ensure this is dealt with in an appropriate manner, one of the main responsibilities of the TC is to field journalist enquiries.

Current world champion Hannes Arch has decided to include an additional team member to help with this task. Fellow Austrian Mario Schoby coordinates the pilot’s media appointments, photoshoots and generally ensures that Arch remains high on the sports news agenda without encroaching upon his TC’s time.

Good diplomacy skills are often required in the team coordinator role and having a commercial mind is a definite advantage in terms of keeping sponsors happy. There is also a very different side to the role, however, which involves dealing with the operational side of running the team.

Good time management and organisational skills are a must and a driving licence essential as there is plenty of ferrying around to be done during race week.

“It’s a case of booking flights, hotels, working with the official schedules and generally making sure that your pilot is where he’s supposed to be at the right time,” says Lamb’s TC Becci Allen, who has been praised for her willingness to pick up a spanner and help out team technician Nigel ‘Hux’ Huxtable. “Sometimes you’ve all got to get stuck in to get the job done!”

Under the cowlings

All the technicians are pilots and bring a deep-rooted knowledge of aviation engineering which is complimented by hands-on experience and a passion for aeroplanes. Many are involved in restoration projects at home having rebuilt many weird and wonderful classic machines over their careers.

Bruno Marlière, tech to Nicolas Ivanoff, is involved in the restoration and preservation of historic aircraft in France, while Sergey Rakhmanin’s tech is a top level aerobatic pilot from Lithuania called Antanas Marciukaitis.

In addition, some technicians – like Team Goulian’s Tim Hess – have specialist technical motor racing experience to bring to the party. There’s also a hint of ‘tech swapping’ that goes on, with some technicians having worked across different teams since the championship began. It seems some pilots are happy to share and share alike!

For rookie teams like that of Germany’s Matthias Dolderer, previous race experience on the technical side is proving useful. His technician, Kelley Brow, is completely familiar with the Edge 540 and the race environment, having been involved in the championship since 2007. It’s a clear technical advantage over some of the other rookie teams who only have limited race experience to draw upon.

Tailor-made teams

A fresh approach to shaping a successful race team this year has also seen new roles created. Spain’s Alejandro Maclean was the first to enlist the services of a dedicated sports coach. As a somewhat emotionally charged competitor, Maclean admits during the 2008 season he became distracted and was unable to remain fully focused on his flying.

He stresses that his team is looking to achieve the necessary synergy between the physical and psychological factors that have an impact on race success.

“I decided to find a professional sports psychologist to help me push the distractions outside of racing from my mind. I went to one of the universities in Spain where I found Eneko Larumbe, a Doctor in Psychology with a special interest in sport psychology. We have been looking at all aspects of racing and concentrating on how we can improve and work better as a team with specific goals and objectives.”

Maclean’s decision highlights the point that each team has a different set of strengths and weaknesses which can benefit from a bespoke solution. With that in mind, Bonhomme has also enlisted the help of a carbon fibre expert from California who has assisted technician Wade Hammond throughout the off season and also at the first three races of 2009.

Selecting this additional expertise underlines Team Bonhomme’s focus on improving aerodynamic efficiency of the Edge 540 and signals a growing trend of teams trying to get ahead of each other with more creative strategies. Having a second tech with a specialist knowledge of aerodynamics has definitely allowed the team to ramp up technical activity as four hands are certainly better than two.

It will be interesting to observe over the coming months how teams try to gain an advantage over their race rivals and whatever focus they take, there will be little sharing of advice. The pilots – and the teams that support them – are all focused on success but the right combination will inevitably vary from hangar to hangar.

The winning formula of personalities and skill sets will remain open to interpretation but a shared goal is the unifying theme. So when the fans see the smiling face of a victorious pilot on the podium after a race, they can rest assured that those back at the hangar will be sharing that sense of achievement.

And later on, when the celebrations are in full swing, the other members of the winning team will be basking in their well-deserved glory.

Anyway, if reading a big post gives you pain, watch those two videos:

Behind the Scenes of Racing: Red Bull Air Race Logistics

Click here to view the embedded video.

Behind the Scenes, Red Bull Air Race, San Diego, 2007

Click here to view the embedded video.

May 31st, 2009 by admin

Note: This Is A Press Release by NISSAN Outdoor Games

A sports film competition attracting world-class sportsmen, athletes turned film-makers and actors in a race against the clock – they have one week. This is the original concept of the NISSAN OUTDOOR GAMES at Interlaken.

This “Extreme Games” is the only event of its kind and brings together the best kayakers, climbers, mountain bikers, paragliders and BASE jumpers in the world for a show that can be watched by the public on the big screen in the centre of town on Saturday 30^th May.

The NISSAN OUTDOOR GAMES event will be held at the foot of the mythic mountains of the Eiger, the Mönch and the Jungfrau in the Bernese Oberland, an area full of natural treasures. It’s no coincidence that the amazing destination of Interlaken will welcome the best outdoor sports athletes in the world for the 5^th consecutive year!

Five teams competiting against each other, have one week to direct, edit and deliver a killer five-minute movie.

They are free to come up with their own script; the only constraint being that they need to include the the following five sports: Kayaking, mountain biking, climbing, paragliding, hang-gliding and BASE jumping with or without wingsuit.

The action is condensed and each day is filled with achievemnets. Besides making a short film within the time allowed, the sportsmen and women undertake unusual feats   They are there to demonstrate their talents in front of the camera, far from the stopwatches and competition vests, judges and other pressures that they are faced with in the traditional sense of their sport. At the Nissan Outdoor Games they will be judged against: beauty, creativity, commitment and team spirit.

The athletes and the film crew get together at the end of each day in the impressive building of the Mattenhof Resort to share the accomplishments of each day which might include sporting ‘firsts’ of death defying jumps or turns that have never been filmed before.

The atmosphere in Interlaken is electric with the athletes challenging themselves each day to exceed even their own expectations. The athletes are happy doing what they do best and the timer is still ticking. The show will be open to the public on Saturday evening. The day will begin with BASE Jumpers and acrobatic paragliders giving aerial demonstrations over the town. Then the music kicks off with a live concert “The Blue Van” group followed by official projections of the team’s films in the competition from 10:15pm.

To end the evening, the lucky winners of the “Best Film 2009”, the “Special Judge’s Prize”, the “Best sequence” and the “Best Photograph” will be announced at the prize-giving ceremony. The prize money is 70,000 Swiss Francs and will be shared amongst the winning team making this event the biggest of its kind in Europe.

Video #1	Video #2	Video #3
Video #4	Video #5	Video #6

Introduction of the official jury for the film and photo competition:

The organisers of the event have selected a jury of professionals to judge and make an official selection of the short films. After viewing the films they give their verdict on Saturday 30^th May after the public projection.

The jury 2009 comprises of:

- Glen Plake (USA) – President of the jury, professional skier and actor

- Serge-Alain Simasotchi (SUI) – Film-maker and TV producer, former high-level athlete

- Eric Themel (AUT) – Professional snowboarder

- Dino Raffault (FRA) – Journalist and extreme sports event organiser

- Simon Hirter (SUI) – Professional kayaker

- Cyril Neri (SUI) – Professional snowboarder, worked on the mountain film festival in les Diablerets

- Tero repo (FIN) –Professional photographer, outdoor sports specialist

- Christophe Margot (FIN) – Professional photographer, outdoor sports specialist

May 21st, 2009 by admin

Note: This Is A Press Release by ASP World Tour

TEAHUPOO, Tahiti (Tuesday, May 19, 2009) - Bobby Martinez (USA), 26, has taken out the Billabong Pro Tahiti presented by Air Tahiti Nui, defeating fellow Finalist Taj Burrow (AUS), 30, in clean three-to-five foot (1.5 metre) waves at Teahupoo.

Event No. 3 of 10 on the 2009 ASP World Tour, the Billabong Pro Tahiti survived a marathon waiting period, culminating on the second-to-last available day in improving conditions that peaked for a climactic Final.

Martinez surfed a near-flawless heat, opening up with an impressive 8.73 out of a possible 10 before putting his opponent in a combination situation with a Houdini-esque 9.73 out of a possible 10. Netting the highest heat total of the event, an 18.46 out of a possible 20, Martinez claimed his second Billabong Pro Tahiti and fourth elite tour win, establishing himself as one of the premier tube-riders in the world.

“I feel great and a bit emotional,” Martinez said. “I feel wonderful. I waited for the good ones out there and just got lucky. There weren’t too many waves and I was lucky enough to get a couple of good ones and not fall. Things just seemed to work out for me today. I really don’t know what to say. It feels really special.”

Winner on borrowed gear

The form surfer of the event, Martinez surfed the majority of his heats on borrowed equipment, having broken most of his surfboards early in the waiting period.

“I actually borrowed a board from Alain Riou (local Tahitian surfer),” Martinez said. “He rides Darren Handley shapes and the board was the same dimensions and pretty much the same board I ride. It was great to find that as yesterday, I was a bit skeptical about today in terms of the conditions and my equipment, but everything worked out perfectly.”

Martinez, who is without a major sponsor at the moment, has rocketed himself from 19th to 7th on the ASP World Tour ratings with today’s win, putting him in excellent position for the remainder of the year.

“I’m not thinking about money right now, but rather I’m thinking about the feelings I have,” Martinez said. “I didn’t start surfing to make money. I started for me, and to win today, you cannot put a price on the feelings I have. I’m really going to let it sink it and enjoy it. It’s a great result, but it’s a long year and anything can happen. Joel (Parkinson) has a great lead, and now that this event is over, my focus goes to the next one.”

Burrow’s efforts in the Final were nothing short of spectacular, collecting an 8.17, a 7.93 and a 7.33, but they were not enough to overtake the Martinez stranglehold on the event.

“I definitely had fun but it was tricky against Bobby (Martinez),” Burrow said. “He had a dream heat. The conditions looked pretty good for your forehand because the judges like seeing you pump on your forehand in the barrel. On your backhand, you just have to park it in the pit and you can’t do much, but Bobby did everything he had to out there and deserved the win. I still had a fun Final, but hard to enjoy out there because I was in a combination situation the whole time.”

Burrow now moves into the No. 2 position on the ASP World Tour ratings, setting the Western Australian up well as he eyes up the next events.

“I’ve had two keepers in terms of results and I’m hungry,” Burrow said. “I’m still kicking and I’m looking to win. The next few events, I feel really strong at and I’m going to do whatever it takes to win. I’m stoked to get a result at Teahupoo, I haven’t done well here in a few years so it sets me up really well for the rest of the year.”

A motivating draw

Aritz Aranburu (EUK), 23, former ASP World No. 39, was the “Cinderella Story” at the Billabong Pro Tahiti. Having failed to advance through a heat in the opening two events of the season, the Basque Country’s first ever ASP World Tour competitor stormed past Californian sensation Dane Reynolds (USA), 23, former event winner Damien Hobgood (USA), 29, Australian veteran Tom Whitaker, 29, and reigning nine-time ASP World Champion Kelly Slater (USA), 37, en route to a Semifinals berth.

“I’ve had a tough draw throughout the event, but that’s what has kept me motivated,” Aranburu said. “Coming up against the best guys out there, you need to lift your ability. Beating Kelly (Slater) for me is one of the biggest achievements I’ve ever had. I’ve been looking up to him for so long, and just being on tour with him is an honor. To beat him is a major achievement for me.”

Want to go home

The career-best result was halted at the hands of eventual winner Martinez during one of the most exciting heats of the event. Despite coming up short to Martinez (15.23 to the Californian’s 17.17), Aranburu’s equal 3rd place finish boosts the European to 19th on the ASP World Tour ratings.

“Bobby (Martinez) is one of the best out there,” Aranburu said. “I had one good one, but he got two good ones, and that was it. It’s my best result ever and I am stoked. I have lots of confidence going into the next events. I just want to go home and train and try new boards for Brazil and J-Bay. The biggest thing for me is to know that if I can do it once, I can do it twice.”

Michael Campbell (AUS), 35, opened his final day affair with a close win over fellow ASP Dream Tour veteran Taylor Knox (USA), 38, in the Quarterfinals, but the goofy-footer’s precision forehand approach wasn’t enough to overtake a rampaging Burrow in the Semifinals.

“It felt like I was a bit out of rhythm in the Semifinal,” Campbell said. “I wasn’t able to capitalize on the waves I got and Taj (Burrow) posted a couple of really strong scores mid-heat that left me wanting.”

Although falling short of a Finals berth, the journeyman competitor’s equal 3rd place finish boosts him from 29th to 16th on the ASP World Tour ratings.

“This is going to do a lot for my cause,” Campbell said. “I’ve had average results this year and last year too, so a third is pretty special for me. All of the heats have been hard and sometimes the luck goes your way. I’ve had a bit of luck this time around, but I’ve also spent some time here and I know it pretty well. Stoked to get a result and looking forward to the next one.”

Joel Parkinson (AUS), 28, suffered an unfortunate Round 3 loss at the Billabong Pro Tahiti, but after two event wins to open the season up, the Gold Coaster remains the frontrunner on this year’s ASP World Tour ratings.

The next stop on the 2009 ASP World Tour will be the Hang Loose Santa Catarina Pro in Brazil from June 27 to July 5, 2009.

Highlights from the Billabong Pro Tahiti presented by Air Tahiti Nui will be available via www.billabongpro.com

For more information, log onto www.aspworldtour.com

BILLABONG PRO TAHITI FINAL RESULTS:
1 - Bobby Martinez (USA) 18.46
2 - Taj Burrow (AUS) 16.10

BILLABONG PRO TAHITI SEMIFINAL RESULTS:
SF 1: Taj Burrow (AUS) 14.86 def. Michael Campbell (AUS) 10.00
SF 2: Bobby Martinez (USA) 17.17 def. Aritz Aranburu (EUK) 15.23

BILLABONG PRO TAHITI QUARTERFINAL RESULTS:
QF 1: Taj Burrow (AUS) 15.33 def. C.J. Hobgood (USA) 14.06
QF 2: Mick Campbell (AUS) 12.84 def. Taylor Knox (USA) 10.17
QF 3: Bobby Martinez (USA) 15.93 def. Adriano de Souza (BRA) 12.67
QF 4: Aritz Aranburu (EUK) 11.66 def. Tom Whitaker (AUS) 10.66

REMAINING BILLABONG PRO TAHITI ROUND 3 RESULTS:
Heat 5: Bobby Martinez (USA) 13.17 def. Andy Irons (HAW) 10.16
Heat 6: Adriano de Souza (BRA) 13.57 def. Jordy Smith (ZAF) 8.67
Heat 7: Aritz Aranburu (EUK) 12.56 def. Damien Hobgood (USA) 9.16
Heat 8: Tom Whitaker (AUS) 9.43 def. Mick Fanning (AUS) 9.40

CURRENT ASP WORLD TOUR TOP 10:
1 - Joel Parkinson (AUS) 3000 points
2 - Taj Burrow (AUS) 2318 points
3 - Mick Fanning (AUS) 2208 points
4 - C.J. Hobgood (USA) 2196 points
5 - Adriano de Souza (BRA) 2174 points
6 - Jordy Smith (ZAF) 2076 points
7 - Bobby Martinez (USA) 2025 points
8 - Tom Whitaker (AUS) 1932 points
9 - Fredrick Patacchia (HAW) 1886 points
10 - Kieren Perrow (AUS) 1742 points
10 - Taylor Knox (USA) 1742 points
10 - Damien Hobgood (USA) 1742 points

May 11th, 2009 by admin

May 11th, 2009 by admin