BALI’S MEGA SEMADHI ADVANCES OVER TAHITIAN TAMARAO McCOMB ON DAY TWO OF BILLABONG PRO JUNIOR

22 July 2009, Gianyar-Bali : Fighting strong onshore winds, rain squalls, and doding a couple of 6 foot closeouts sets, Bali's Mega Semadhi managed to hold on to his tenuous second place position in the final minutes of Heat 6 in Round 2 against top seeded Tahitian Tamaroa McComb to advance into Round 3.

It was the final heat of the day and McComb was the favorite to win this event, given his history of outstanding performances and winning record this year, but fate was against him in the final minutes as he needed only a 3.5 point wave to advance over Semadhi. He was left looking with nothing on the horizon as the horn sounded the end of the heat, knowing there was nothing he could do.

Semadhi on the other hand paddled in without really knowing if he had advanced. As soon as he saw the thumbs up from one of his friends on the beach, he broke out into a grin. "It was really hard out there", he said back on the beach. "I didn't really think I was going to make it. It was hard to hear out there with the wind, and I didn't get any good waves or make any big maneuvers, so I was very lucky to get through."

The bright sunshine of yesterday was replaced by strong onshore winds, clouds and sometimes drizzle, for most of the morning, but the 4-5 foot sets pumped through until the wind and rain came around 11:30 and put a stop to the competition for the day, ending with Heat 6 of Round 2 being completed.

Several of the boys seemed to thrive in the testing conditions, coming back to the beach saying things like "it's alright eh? Big and with lots of power, I liked it!" while others came back shaking their heads and saying, "it's a bit dodgy out there, hard to get a good one, wish it was more like yesterday."

A check of the Indonesian boys saw Mustofa Jeksen, Tia Nustawan, and Mega Semadhi advancing, each placing second in their heats, while Dewa Artika, Kadek Julyarta, Wayan Susiana, Muhlis Jafar, Putra Hermawan, and Agus Semertayasa all failed to advance.

Raditya Rondi, Tonjo Darmaputra, and Kadek Murtika have yet to compete in their Round 2 heats, but they'll have their chance tomorrow morning at the contest directors have called for another 6:00 am standby for a 7:00 am start.

Though the conditions today were not (as usual) consistent with the swell forecast, it is hoped that the late arriving swell will be spooling up overnight and that the weather forecast that has a decrease in winds will be correct and result in epic conditions with which to finish off Round 2 and hopefully Round 3 tomorrow.

See attached heat draw for today's results and tomorrows lineup.

Photos and text by Tim Hain – Coca-Cola ISC Tour

Photo 1 : Mega Semadhi with a smile when he finds he has advance to Round 3.
Photo 2 : Mega Semadhi finding a small wave at windy and rainy Keramas Beach.
Photo 3 : Damian Norman wins his heat in a rare moment of sunshine at Keramas Beach
Photo 4 : Mustofa Jeksen floats off the top and narrowly edges out fellow Indonesian Muhlis Jafar in Heat 16 of Round 1
Photo 5 : The boys coming in from a free surf before the start of competition at Keramas Beach

Thanks,


Eka I. Rochmansyah
Media Coordinator ISC

INDO BOYS MAKE GOOD ON DAY 1 OF ASP BILLABONG PRO JUNIOR AT KERAMAS

21 July 2009, Gianyar-Bali : The first round of the ASP sanctioned Grade 5 Billabong Pro Junior contest got underway today at Keramas Beach in Gianyar in glassy 3-4 foot waves, with five of the ten heats being won by non-seeded Indonesian surfers. The 10 heats of round one were completed before the strengthening on-shore winds coupled with the low tide had the contest directors stopping the action for the day.

The first to jump to the lead and post a win for the Indonesian contingent was 16-year-old Putra Hermawan in Heat 2, very much at home in this Keramas wave having surfed, trained and competed here regularly during the last couple of years. He was quite satisfied with his result, saying "I felt really confident out there, knowing that I could do good in these conditions, even though there are a lot of good surfers here today." When asked if he was intimidated by all the older and bigger guys he replied with a grin, "Not really, I just think about ripping each wave and getting points, that's all I care about!"

Next up was Agus Sumertayasa in Heat 4, followed by Mega Semadhi in Heat 6 who charged into the lead early and was one of the rare surfers to go left and get a good score for the effort.

Tonjo Darmaputra came from behind in the deteriorating conditions of Heat 9 to post a win, followed by Kadek Murtika who narrowly bested his rivals in the now 1-2 foot wind blown surf.

So overall it was a great session for the Indo boys, with three regular footers and two goofy-footers advancing into Round 2 against the international field of pro juniors from Australia, New Zealand, South Africa, America, Tahiti, America, Malaysia, and Egypt.

The Round 1 is expected to resume starting at 6:30 am tomorrow while the tide is on the rise, and according to the forecast the size should be increasing dramatically, possibly up to 6 foot.

Heats 12, 13, 14, and 16 will have more Indonesian boys getting their chance at a spot in Round 2, including 2007 ISC Pro Junior Champion and previous ISC Junior Champion Mustofa Jeksen.

So come on out to the beach and see these boys surf their guts out for a chance at their share of the $30,000 prize purse at the Billabong Pro Junior 2009 at Keramas.

See attached heat draw for today's results and tomorrow's lineup.

Photo 1 : Putra Hermawan pulling into a clean Keramas barrel on his way to the heat win
Photo 2 : Tonjo Darmaputra blasts a turn on the inside for a heat win
Photo 3 : Sunrise at Keramas Beach in Gianyar-Bali
Photo 4 : 3 foot sets peeling down the reef at Keramas Beach
Photo 5 : Boys will be boys – checking out the scenery at Keramas Beach

Photos and text by Tim Hain – Coca-Cola ISC Tour

Thanks,


Eka I. Rochmansyah
Media Coordinator ISC