The third stop of the Coca-Cola Indonesian Surfing Championship Tour, this is the second year for Rip Curl to run this event in conjunction with the local government of West Sumbawa. Last year’s event was named the Rip Curl Scar Reef Pro, however this year it was renamed in preparation for making it a mobile, taking advantage of the many excellent waves in the area including the right break of YoYo’s and the super hollow and critical wave of Supersuck when conditions allow.
The day’s action got started at 9 am on high tide, in preparation for the outgoing tide creating better tube-riding conditions. Although it turned out that barrel rides were few and far between, the draining tide provided some tricky sections to challenge the competitors, and it became obvious who had done their homework in the few days leading up to the start of the event.
The standout surfer of the morning was unquestionably Rip Curl team rider Mega Semadhi, who had the rest of his competitors combo’d in the first 10 minutes of his 25 minute heat, taking to the air over the tricky sections to first post a 6.75 and then a 7.3, the highest single wave and the highest total points score of the day. He was clearly on a mission to impress his sponsor, his teammates, and the rest of the field as well as to announce his intention to take home the Rp 20 million in prize money that awaits the winner in this 6 star prime ISC event.
Other surfers of mention were Tai Graham, who nabbed a nice little barrel that got him 7.0 points and a heat win, and Marlon Gerber, whose 6.75 was also in the high range of scores for the day, giving him a heat win and his ticket into Round 3.
With the first day of the waiting period already finished, there are 9 more days remaining in which to complete the event, giving Contest Director Pete Matthews the luxury of not only waiting for the ideal swell conditions but also the ideal choice of locations. All indications point towards a Round 3 start at Scar Reef early morning tomorrow morning.
Round 3 will see all the top seeded ISC surfers competing with the today’s early round winners, so with the 6 star prime prize money and points up for grabs expect the competition to get very intense from here on out.
The Rip Curl West Sumbawa Pro is supported by Rip Curl Asia, the Government of West Sumbawa, the West Sumbawa Tourism Forum, SurfTime, and Magic Wave, and is sanctioned by the Coca-Cola Indonesian Surfing Championship Tour.
Text and photos by Tim Hain – Coca-Cola ISC Tour
Thanks,
Eka I. Rochmansyah
Media Coordinator ISC
Photo 1 : Scar Reef Colour Heat
Photo 2 : Scar Reef
Photo 3 : Rip Curl Search Boat
Photo 4 : Mega Semadhi
Photo 5 : Local Fans
Photo 6 : Kai Kamiyasa
No comments:
Post a Comment