Rip Curl Pro Search Taghazout Bay

Rip Curl Pro Search Taghazout Bay

• Anchor Point Dreamy Rights Loom on the Horizon
• Women Division Added at Pristine Location for Regional QS
• Rip Curl Brings New Generation with GromSearch European Final
• More Information at WorldSurfLeague.com

The World Surf League, Taghazout Bay and Rip Curl are excited to announce the return of the Rip Curl Pro Search Taghazout Bay from February 18-26, 2023 as part of the African and European regional Qualifying Series (QS).

The inaugural event ran in 2020 and was graced by amazing conditions. Some of the world’s best surfers put on an incredible show in epic waves and most will undoubtedly try to come back for the 2023 edition.

The global pandemic forced the cancellation of the 2021 and 2022 instalments but the WSL, Taghazout Bay and Rip Curl have kept working hand in hand to bring back this event as soon as it became possible to host a high-profile, high-quality professional surfing event both for the athletes and fans in Morocco.

“After an epic 2020 edition we’re stoked to be headed back to Taghazout,” Cheyne Bradburn, Events & Marketing Manager at WSL Europe said. “We really wanted to have Morocco back on the QS and are happy about adding a women’s division as well. We are thankful for the continued support of Taghazout Bay, the Region Souss Massa and Rip Curl as well as their patience during those difficult two years without the event. We are also happy to be welcoming new major partners on board, specifically CIH Bank who are going to be invested starting in 2023 in all the Moroccan WSL events.”

In 2023, the Rip Curl Pro Search Taghazout Bay will be a QS3,000 and add a women’s division for the first time.

“After last year’s cancellation due to the covid situation, Rip Curl is very excited to see the Rip Curl Pro Search Taghazout Bay QS event back on the calendar for 2023,” Jean-Sebastien Estienne, Rip Curl Europe Marketing Manager stated. “We can’t wait to bring the best Men & Women surfers from Europe and Africa back on the search but also the best European surfers under 16 for the European Rip Curl GromSearch finals. Being the naming sponsor of this event is in line with our strategy to support professional surfing all the way from the grass root level with the GromSearch series to the top of the world with the Rip Curl WSL finals.”

The event’s waiting period in February is absolutely ideal for swell and winds and could hopefully see the whole event unfold in classic Anchor Point conditions. Part of the African and European QS, perfect waves are not the only appeal for surfers heading to Morocco this winter. 

“Taghazout Bay will welcome the second edition of the Rip Curl Pro Search Taghazout Bay, a prestigious stop on the 2022-23 WSL Qualifying Series,” Mohammed CherkaouiI Eddeqaqi, CEO of Taghazout Bay stated. “This event is a great opportunity to shed light on the surfing spots of the Agadir Souss Massa region. This edition boasts an exciting new format with the inclusion of the women’s division as well as the Rip Curl GromSearch. Visitors will enjoy numerous activities both at Taghazout Bay and Anchor Point during the event.”

The pressure is real and in the balance hangs a potential qualification for the 2023 Challenger Series (CS). The 2022/23 Regional QS has taken surfers all over Europe since the start of the season and eyes a finish with two events in Portugal after Taghazout in the spring of 2023.

“I’m super happy that the event comes back to Taghazout after two years without it,” Ramzi Boukhiam, 2023 Championship Tour (CT) surfer stated. “The first one was such a success, everyone really enjoyed the Moroccan hospitality, the place and the quality of our waves. It’s extremely important for the development of surfing in our country to be hosting big international events like this. I’m also glad that the women have been added, we need more Moroccan women to get into competitions and I hope this will inspire a lot of surfers to get involved.”

With multiple excellent results in 2022, Boukhiam became the first-ever Moroccan to qualify for the Championship Tour last week in Hawaii. After 10 years scouring the globe on the QS, he will join the elite level and the world’s best 32 surfers in Hawaii again in January for his first CT event at the iconic Pipeline.

Leading the charge for Moroccan women on tour at the moment is Lilias Tebbai, a 19 year-old from Casablanca. After surfing in the Casablanca QS in 2017 and 2018, then in the Junior QS held this year in her hometown, Tebbai will have an opportunity to compete again in Morocco at an iconic location where her backhand surfing could rival some of the region’s best.

“I’m super happy to learn that we’re going to host another event at home in Morocco and especially a QS3,000,” Tebbai said. “I really looked forward to it since the first one a couple of years ago when it was only a men’s event. I look forward to competing on one of my favorite waves, a long wall with a lot of potential.”

Prior to the main show, Taghazout will also host the European Final of the Rip Curl GromSearch, 48 surfers from all over the Old Continent will battle in Under-16, Under-14 and Under-12 categories, both boys and girls for the titles. The Rip Curl GromSearch is a real hotbed of young talent, having uncovered future World Champions such as 8x World Champion Stephanie Gilmore (AUS), 3x World Champion Gabriel Medina (BRA) and many more. 

The 2023 Rip Curl Pro Pro Search Taghazout Bay is scheduled from February 18-26, 2023, at Anchor Point, Taghazout Bay / Morocco. For all results, photos, video highlights and press releases, log on to worldsurfleague.com. 

The Rip Curl Pro Search Taghazout Bay is supported by Rip Curl, Taghazout Bay, the Region Souss-Massa and CIH Bank among others.

The Vans Pipe Masters

The Vans Pipe Masters

Day 1 of competition at the reimagined Vans Pipe Masters is officially in the books, and it didn’t disappoint. With a number of expertly navigated tubes, some big air attempts, and a handful of stylish maneuvers, we saw a glimpse of the diverse range of talent that the heat draw has to offer.

After eight lay days, patiently waiting for the swell to rise, the event kicked off in glassy yet tricky conditions. Though it wasn’t quite the picture-perfect Pipeline that we all envision, there were still some gems on offer due to the large north-west swell pushing in. Competition got off to a slow start, with Men’s Round 1 taking to the water first. Luckily, the lulls allowed spectators some time to familiarise themselves with the refreshed judging criteria and new scoring format, with waves now being scored out of a possible 30 points, based on the cumulative scores of the three judges. The leaderboard style event is based upon a surfer’s two best scores, from either of the two non-elimination heats, giving them a total score out of 60, with the four highest scoring men and women progressing through to the Finals.

After a slow first couple of heats, Hawaiian local knowledge soon began to prevail in challenging conditions, with Mason Ho and Ivan Florence putting on a tube riding masterclass in Heat 3. Mason locked away the highest single wave score of the day with a 26.6, while Ivan earned himself a total heat score of 29.2, taking him to third overall on the leaderboard. Also noteworthy in Heat 3 was Mikey February’s silky-smooth style as he threaded his way through one of the longest barrels of the day and claimed a spot in the Top 4.

The day continued to progress as a mixed bag, as Pipeline favored some and evaded others. Heats were interspersed with flurries of action and sleepy periods of prolonged inactivity, resulting in some event favorites struggling to put a decent score on the board. Heat 7 began to shape up as another standout, with Hawaiian heavyweight Billy Kemper posting a big number and former Championship Tour surfer Mikey Wright almost ticking all of the boxes of the judging criteria on one wave with an attempt at a turn, barrel, air combo. Teahupo’o local Eimeo Czermak managed to leverage both Pipe and Backdoor to post two decent scores and climb his way into second place overall. With one of the most infamous waves on the WSL Championship Tour as his home break, Eimeo is no stranger to waves of consequence and looked right at home out at Pipeline this afternoon.

Sitting comfortably atop the leaderboard, Balaram Stack stole the show with the most critical wave of the day, knifing the drop and navigating multiple sections to take the lead and set himself up with a good chance of making the final. However, with one more non-elimination round still to go for the men, and waves on the horizon, we’re sure to see some big performances over the coming few days, with plenty more opportunities to shake things up.

Vans Pipe Masters Leaderboard

Balaram Stack
Eimeo Czermak
Ivan Florence
Mikey February
Mason Ho
Koa Rothman
Griffin Colapinto
Billy Kemper
Nathan Florence
Imaikalani Devault

Stay tuned for the call as competition will commence soon and be sure to watch live on worldsurfleague.com and VansPipeMasters.com!

How to save your old wetsuit, and help the planet.

How to save your old wetsuit, and help the planet.

So it’s that time of year when old seams start leaking that old winter wetty doesn’t look that appealing. BUT for a few quid you could give it a new lease of life!

With COP in our news and the call for us all to do our own bit, it’s probably time to admit that we all have pile of wetties in our garage or back room that we have discarded for our own use as seams start leaking, but we feel are too good to throw away and we keep for mates, or emergencies, which never come. We all have them, but it needn’t be this way.

Europes biggest repair centre, Bodyline in Newquay, estimate that 75% of wetsuits are being thrown away when they could be easily and cheaply repaired. Repairs are startlingly cost effective think £18 for a zip replacement, replacement crotch panels from £22.

We caught up with Gary Chambers from Bodyline to find out more.

What percentage of wetsuits do you think are being thrown away that can be more economical repaired?
I would estimate that the majority (circa 75%) of wetsuits are being thrown away, when they could be easily and cheaply repaired.
Sadly we live in a throwaway culture. But the global pandemic and the knock on effects to wetsuit supply has certainly made surfers think twice. We have certainly seen surfers willing to spend more on repairing their wetsuit as opposed to buying a new one.

What are the most common repairs you see and how fixable are they?
Issues with wetsuits are a result of either;
1. Manufacturing faults – Faulty stitching and/or gluing, peeling tape etc…
2. Wear and tear – compressed knee pads and elbows, leaking in the main stress areas (crutch panel/seams & armpits) etc…
3. Misuse and accidents – tears/rips, fin cuts, broken zips etc…

Individual issues on wetsuits are easily fixable. Our average wetsuit repair cost is around £20-30. It is only when there are multiple faults on a wetsuit that repairing will either be too expensive or that the wetsuit is too far gone to repair and the money would be better put towards a new wetsuit (in this case we would advise the customer accordingly).

I guess the most common reason for a wetsuits to get binned is that the seams have gone. How do you find and and repair these and how can you tell if a your wetsuit is repairable or if it has gone too far?
If seams are leaking, gluing and/or retaping the leaking seams will not stop water getting through, as it is the bond between the panels that has opened up. To properly repair leaking seam requires the seams to be trimmed and rebuilt or panels (i.e the crutch panel) to be replaced. We can watertest wetsuits, using a pressurized air line, and as long as a wetsuit is not extensively leaking, then repairing can be very cost effective.

Is the standard inflation test a good way of surfers seeing where your seams have gone?
Liquid welded seams and blindstitched seams can both leak. Our pressure test is very accurate at finding leaks, but surfers can generally tell when a wetsuit is leaking and whereabouts, especially in winter/colder water, as they will feel a cold trickle when sitting on their boards, or when first wading out.

I know every suit is different, but are the any standard costs for seam repair, or knee replacement?
Wetsuit repairs cost from under £10 (so cheaper than buying a tube of neoprene glue). Crutch and knee pad replacements cost from £30. So repairing a wetsuit so that it lasts another season or so it can be used as a back up suit, is very affordable and cost effective.

Does your old loved suit still have life in it? A few average costs to fire up your imagination.

• Zip Slider Replacement £15
• Zip Replacement from £30

Knee Pads
• From £30

• Replacement Panel From £15.00
• Stitching and glue seams From £5.00
• New Arm Replacements From £25.00
• Replacement Crotch £30
• New Collar £25

Click Here For Bodyline Wetsuits Repair Centre