South Africa (Thursday, July 13, 2023) – The opening day of competition at the Corona Open J-Bay, Stop No. 9 on the World Surf League (WSL) 2023 Championship Tour (CT), has been called ON in three-to-four foot waves at Supertubes. The Men’s Opening Round of competition will start at 8:00 a.m. GMT +2. Women’s Opening Round of competition to follow.
The first heat of competition will feature Joao Chianca (BRA) against Barron Mamiya (HAW) and Seth Moniz (HAW). This will be Chianca’s first CT event at Jeffreys Bay and he will look to secure a good result to keep his spot in the Top 5.
Heat 2 of the Men’s Opening Round will see defending event winner and current no. 3 Ethan Ewing (AUS) up against Caio Ibelli (BRA) and Rio Waida (INA).
The women’s competition will kick off with rookie Caitlin Simmers (USA) against Molly Picklum (AUS) and Gabriela Bryan (HAW). Simmers recently climbed her way back into the Top 5 after an incredible victory at the Vivo Rio Pro and a solid result in J-Bay could see her maintain or even better her position.
Current World No. 1 and five-time World Champion Carissa Moore (HAW), who already clinched a spot in the WSL Final 5, will come up in Heat 2 of the Women’s Opening Round against Lakey Petersen (USA) and South African wildcard Sarah Baum (RSA).
Corona Open J-Bay Men’s Opening Round Matchups: Heat 1: Joao Chianca (BRA) vs. Barron Mamiya (HAW) vs. Seth Moniz (HAW) Heat 2: Ethan Ewing (AUS) vs. Caio Ibelli (BRA) vs. Rio Waida (INA) Heat 3: Griffin Colapinto (USA) vs. Liam O’Brien (AUS) vs. Kelly Slater (USA) Heat 4: Filipe Toledo (BRA) vs. Kanoa Igarashi (JPN) vs. Adin Masencamp (RSA) Heat 5: Yago Dora (BRA) vs. Connor O’Leary (AUS) vs. Ian Gentil (HAW) Heat 6: John John Florence (HAW) vs. Italo Ferreira (BRA) vs. Callum Robson (AUS) Heat 7: Gabriel Medina (BRA) vs. Ryan Callinan (AUS) vs. Matthew McGillivray (RSA) Heat 8: Jack Robinson (AUS) vs. Leonardo Fioravanti (ITA) vs. Jordy Smith (RSA)
Corona Open J-Bay Women’s Opening Round Matchups: Heat 1: Molly Picklum (AUS) vs. Caitlin Simmers (USA) vs. Gabriela Bryan (HAW) Heat 2: Carissa Moore (HAW) vs. Lakey Peterson (USA) vs. Sarah Baum (RSA) Heat 3: Tyler Wright (AUS) vs. Tatiana Weston-Webb (BRA) vs. Johanne Defay (FRA) Heat 4: Caroline Marks (USA) vs. Stephanie Gilmore (AUS) vs. Bettylou Sakura Johnson (HAW)
Watch LIVE: Corona Open J-Bay The Corona Open J-Bay holds a competition window from July 13, through July 22, 2023. Once called on, the competition will be broadcast LIVE on WorldSurfLeague.com, the WSL’s YouTube channel, and the free WSL app.
Men’s Opening Round Called ON at Western Australia Margaret River Pro
• Competition to Commence at 10:05 a.m. AWST • No Men’s Elimination Round Today • Women’s Competition OFF for the Day • Watch LIVE at WorldSurfLeague.com
Competition has been called ON at the Western Australia Margaret River Pro, Stop No. 5 on the World Surf League (WSL) 2023 Championship Tour (CT). The men’s Opening Round 1 is set to commence at 10:05 AWST in clean, three-to-four foot, building waves a Main Break. There will be no women’s competition or men’s Elimination Round heats today.
The opening heat of the day will see Margaret River Pro standout Caio Ibelli (BRA) take on two surfers who need a massive result this week Ian Gentil (HAW) and Ezekiel Lau (HAW) to make the Mid-season Cut.
Western Australia Margaret River Pro Men’s Opening Round Matchups: HEAT 1: Caio Ibelli (BRA) vs. Ian Gentil (HAW) vs. Ezekiel Lau (HAW) HEAT 2: Ryan Callinan (AUS) vs. Samuel Pupo (BRA) vs. Jacob Willcox (AUS) HEAT 3: Griffin Colapinto (USA) vs. Nat Young (USA) vs. Reef Heazlewood (AUS) HEAT 4: Ethan Ewing (AUS) vs. Jackson Baker (AUS) vs. Jarvis Earle (AUS) HEAT 5: Filipe Toledo (BRA) vs. Liam O’Brien (AUS) vs. Jerome Forrest (AUS) HEAT 6: Joao Chianca (BRA) vs. Kelly Slater (USA) vs. Jack Thomas (AUS) HEAT 7: John John Florence (HAW) vs. Seth Moniz (HAW) vs. Carlos Munoz (CRC) HEAT 8: Yago Dora (BRA) vs. Kanoa Igarashi (JPN) vs. Kolohe Andino (USA) HEAT 9: Leonardo Fioravanti (ITA) vs. Italo Ferreira (BRA) vs. Jake Marshall (USA) HEAT 10: Gabriel Medina (BRA) vs. Rio Waida (INA) vs. Maxime Huscenot (FRA) HEAT 11: Connor O’Leary (AUS) vs. Jordy Smith (RSA) vs. Michael Rodrigues (BRA) HEAT 12: Matthew McGillivray (RSA) vs. Callum Robson (AUS) vs. Barron Mamiya (HAW)
Western Australia Margaret River Pro Women’s Round of 16 Matchups: HEAT 1: Molly Picklum (AUS) vs. Courtney Conlogue (USA) HEAT 2: Bettylou Sakura Johnson (HAW) vs. Bronte Macaulay (AUS) HEAT 3: Carissa Moore (HAW) vs. Sophie McCulloch (AUS) HEAT 4: Tatiana Weston-Webb (BRA) vs. Lakey Peterson (USA) HEAT 5: Tyler Wright (AUS) vs. Johanne Defay (FRA) HEAT 6: Gabriela Bryan (HAW) vs. Stephanie Gilmore (AUS) HEAT 7: Caitlin Simmers (USA) vs. Sally Fitzgibbons (AUS) HEAT 8: Caroline Marks (USA) vs. Brisa Hennessy (CRC)
Watch LIVE The Western Australia Margaret River Pro will be broadcast LIVE on WorldSurfLeague.com, the WSL’s YouTube channel, and the free WSL app.
Team Puerto Rico celebrating with Joseph Biasotto Photo: ISA / Pablo Franco
Greeted by dreamy 6-foot peaks at La Bocana, Round 3 of the Main Event in the Boys U-18 division immediately filled the highlight reel. Luke Thompson(RSA) claimed an 8.50 in the first heat of the day before Daniel Emslie (RSA) one-upped his teammate with a 9.00 in the third, but it was Luke Swanson(HAW) who found perfection with the event’s first 10.00 ride.
Luke Swanson – Hawaii. Photo: ISA / Sean Evans
Floating a barreling section on his backhand, Swanson quickly comboed it with a vertical re-entry and gigantic end hit for an explosive finish.
“The waves are firing. I found a double-up towards the end of my heat. I could have safe-surfed it and got a small score, but I thought why not just go for it. I threw a couple turns on a couple big sections and luckily rode out. I’m super-stoked.” Swanson said.
While Swanson held today’s highlight, so far Team Hawaii have been the clear frontrunners across all divisions.
In Round 3 of the Girls U-18 Main Event at La Bocana, Kana Nakashio(JPN) drew a long arc on a bottom turn before unleashing on the face, garnering herself the highest single wave score (8.50) and heat total (14.50) of the division.
Kana Nakashio from Japan Photo: ISA / Sean Evans
Meanwhile in the first heat of Girls U-16 Main Event Round 3 at El Sunzal, Isi Campbell (AUS) claimed a 9.00 for highest single-wave score out of both Girls divisions today. In the final heat of the day for Girls U-16, the 13-year-old surfer representing Thailand, Isabel Faye Higgs, accrued today’s highest heat total out of both Girls divisions (15.85).
The first eliminations took place this afternoon as the entirety of Repechage Round 1 was held for Boys U-18 and Girls U-16. A handful of heats in Girls U-18 and Boys U-16 Repechage Round 1 also ran. Those divisions will be completed Wednesday morning.
Boy’s U-16 Repechage Round 1 opened with a bang as Puerto Rico’s Joseph Biasotto caught just two waves but made them count. A pair of 9’s made it clear that he is not willing to be relegated to cheering his fellow teammates just yet; his heat total of 18.55 landing him the new event high score.
Mateo Christodulu is extremely proud to be the first surfer to represent Greece in the ISA World Juniors.
“I feel honored and very grateful and happy to represent Greece because I am the first junior representing my country in this tournament. This championship gives me the opportunity to compete against the best juniors in the world and maybe to qualify for the Olympics one day.”
ISA President Fernando Aguerre said:
“Another day of amazing performances and amazing waves. It’s always hard to see athletes eliminated, but every one is a national hero. But what’s unique about these events is that everyone can still play a part as a fan cheering their own team. The ISA spirit is strong in each of the competitors as we move towards crowning the first junior World Champions in three years.”
The 2022 Surf City El Salvador ISA World Junior Surfing Championship will be broadcast live until June 5 on isasurf.org.
The event schedule is as follows:
June 1 – June 5 – Competition at La Bocana and El Sunzal June 5 – Closing Ceremony at El Sunzal following the close of competition
What do you do when you combine an American Southern Soul Rock musician and surfer from Florida, with South African professional surfer, Beyrick De Vries’ (Beyrick is on track to be the first surfer ever to represent the Netherlands at the 2024 Olympics). Well it appears you get the above edit, hit play to rock, roll and rotate.
• JJ Grey • “The nearest thing I’ve ever done to playing music, besides playing music, is surfing. The wave is the rhythm and what happens on it is all the twists and turns of melody.”
From the days of playing greasy local juke joints to headlining major festivals, JJ Grey remains an unfettered, blissful performer, singing with a blue-collared spirit over the bone-deep grooves of his compositions. His presence before an audience is something startling and immediate, at times a funk rave-up, other times sort of a mass-absolution for the mortal weaknesses that make him and his audience human. When you see JJ Grey and his band Mofro live—and you truly, absolutely must—the man is fearless. On stage, Grey delivers his songs with compassion and a relentless honesty. Grey and his current Mofro lineup offer grace and groove in equal measure.
• Beyrick Thulani De Vries • Surfing and music share an open-hearted, creative, improvisational artistry and ethos. It’s a natural, authentic relationship. We had this epic opportunity to do something unique, get creative and collaborate with JJ, integrating his music video with Beyrick’s surf edit. “I’ve always felt that surfing is like visual music. The surfer being the musician, the surfboard the instrument, and the wave the genre. After 79 days of surfing being banned in South Africa, and being cooped up inside my house, I was literally going “99 Shades of Crazy”… to say the least. I was invited on a surf trip with Mikey February whilst he was filming the first episode of his series “Sonic Souvenirs”. Naturally JJ’s song fit perfectly with the way I was feeling, and the way I was expressing myself during that surf session. Getting the crazies out, getting a little silly on the waves, and being super stoked to be able to get in the water again after so long, and just let loose!”
Perfection in paradise as Cyclone Seth whipped up a solid swell for National Parks (Noosa), breaking all the way down the point with rides of a few hundred metres easily possible. Sit back and mind surf your way through the crowd.
This morning, the first wave of acts were announced for Boardmasters 2020. In one epic announcement, almost 100 artists have been unveiled, including this year’s headliners Kings of Leon, Skepta, and The 1975, plus some of the world’s most exciting acts such as Dizzee Rascal, Mura Masa, Sam Fender, Loyle Carner, The Kooks, DJ EZ, Camelphat, Damian “JR Gong” Marley, Andy C, Mabel, Lianne La Havas, Little Simz, Ocean Wisdom and many more.
This year, Boardmasters celebrates its 40th year, and will bring the very best in surf and music to the Cornish coast from Wednesday 5 – Sunday 9 August 2020. Taking place across two stunning sites – Fistral Beach and Watergate Bay, tickets for Boardmasters 2020 are on sale NOW via the website from £30 deposit.
Kings of Leon will be headlining Boardmasters Main Stage as the sun sets across Watergate Bay on Saturday 8 August. Their 7th album WALLS was their first to simultaneously debut at #1 in the UK and USA. It also continued a run of 5 consecutive albums to debut at #1 in the UK. The multi-Grammy and BRIT Award-winning group will be performing songs from all 7 of their albums.
Skepta is undoubtedly one of the most influential, boundary-pushing British artists of recent times, renowned as an early pioneer of UK grime. His 2016 album ‘Konnichiwa’ earned him global acclaim and is still recognised as an era-defining body of work which won the Mercury Music Prize, and earned numerous BRIT Award nominations. ‘Ignorance Is Bliss’, released last year, sees Skepta deliver yet another brilliantly fresh and authentic album. Skepta will headline Boardmasters on Friday 7 August.
The 1975 have seen phenomenal success in the past few years, and they’re showing no signs of slowing down anytime soon. Their sound is distinctive, their lyrics are impactful and culturally relevant, and their songs including TOOTIMETOOTIMETOOTIME, Love If We Made It, The Sound and Me And You Together Song are chart-topping hits. Boardmasters is delighted to welcome the Manchester four-piece to the Cornish coast to headline what’s sure to be an unforgettable closing set on Sunday 9 August.
Boardmasters has also revealed over 90 more epic acts for 2020. Festivalgoers can expect unforgettable sets from GRAMMY-nominated producer, songwriter and multi-instrumentalist Mura Masa, British grime superstar Dizzee Rascal and critically-acclaimed rapper Loyle Carner. With the 2019 BRITs Critics’ Choice Award under his belt and a No.1 debut album ‘Hypersonic Missiles’, BRIT’s ‘New Artist’ nominee Sam Fender joins the Boardmasters line up for 2020, alongside ‘Finders Keepers’ hitmaker Mabel, one of the UK’s most refreshing young musical role models.
Critically-acclaimed neo-soul grime sensation and rapper Little Simz joins the bill, along with soul songstress Lianne La Havas and exciting new talent and breakthrough indie singer-songwriter Beadadoobee, who was nominated for both the BBC Sound of 2020 and BRITs Rising Star Award. Pale Waves are set to get the crowd dancing with their glistening, wistful goth-pop, following the outstanding critical success for their debut album ‘My Mind Makes Noises’, while band of the moment The Big Moon, who have just released their Top 20 album ‘Walking Like We Do’, are set to bring their blend of glowing synth pads and joyous, layered harmonies to Watergate Bay.
Fans can expect an incredible punk-edged set and a thrilling, crowd surfing good time from Frank Carter and The Rattlesnakes, while GRAMMY-award winning Damian “JR Gong” Marley will be bringing a monster mash-up of dubsteb and dancehall and reggae. On the back of selling out Wembley Arena, as well as a residency at London’s iconic XOYO in just two hours, the legendary Andy C will deliver his iconic drum and bass sounds.
British indie rock legends The Kooks will join Boardmasters in August and are set to get the crowds dancing along to 14 years of unmissable hits, including You Don’t Love Me, She Moves In Her Own Way and festival favourite Naïve. Also riding the wave towards Watergate Bay in August are garage legend DJ EZ, British DJ duo Camelphat, hip-hop artist Ocean Wisdom and London grime MC Ghetts.
Crowds can also expect unmissable sets from singer-songwriter Jade Bird, South African modern folk musician Jeremy Loops, British hip hop group The Four Owls, Leeds duoProspa and garage, grime and bassline DJ Flava D, who will join Kings of Leon, Skepta and The 1975 for five unforgettable days of music and surfing. The full Boardmasters lineup so far is below.
Boardmasters will continue its tremendous work to keep the festival and the Cornish coastline cleaner than ever before. There will be beach cleans in partnership with Surfers Against Sewage throughout the year as well as during the festival. The successful re-useable cup scheme will continue, along with a litter bond on all camping tickets to incentivize campers to pick up their litter and recycle, and much more in place to make Boardmasters as clean, environmentally-friendly and enjoyable as possible. This is all part of the mission to have eradicated all non-essential single-use plastics from Boardmasters by next Summer’s festival.
Beyond the music, Boardmasters will return with its epic surf competition, part of the World Surf League Qualifying Series as the biggest names on the international surf scene battle it out on the waves at Fistral Beach. More details to be revealed in 2020. The festivals dedicated wellbeing area, Zennor Haven will be the perfect place to unwind and relax, with yoga, mental health workshops, healthy food offerings, meditation and much more. The UK’s largest Silent Disco will make a hotly-anticipated return on Wednesday 5 and Thursday 6 August as scores of festivalgoers kick-start 2020 proceedings at the Watergate Bay Main Stage.
Inspired by the freedom, adventure and creativity of surfing and music, Boardmasters was born in 1981. Expect parties that run late into the night and a beautiful beach to recuperate on during the day. The five-day event is situated across two stunning locations in Cornwall – UK surfing mecca, Fistral Beach, where world class International Surf Competitions take place, and the most stunning location in the country to watch live music, Watergate Bay.
Book your tickets here now, and see you at the beach!
