18 surfers from WSL to take top places in Olympics

Down the bottom of the latest WSL press is a vital pice of info for most the worlds Olympic surfing hopefuls. WSL surfers will take the top 18 slots…

“The 2019 WSL CT will be the primary Tokyo 2020 Olympics qualification avenue for the world’s best surfers. The world rankings at the end of the 2019 CT season will determine 18 of the 40 places at the Olympic Games (10 men and 8 women). The remaining 22 places will be determined at the 2019 and 2020 ISA World Surfing Games, the 2019 Pan American Games in Lima, and a single slot (each for men and women) for the host nation, Japan.”

“Of these 18 places determined by the WSL, there is a maximum of 2 men and 2 women for each country (e.g. if there are 3 women from Australia in the Top 8, only the Top 2 female Australians will qualify).”

So 22 places up for grabs in the ISA World Games. You can do the maths on that one….

Slater and John John take injury wild cards. A spurned Caio Ibelli calls out the GOAT!

11X World Champion Kelly Slater (USA) advances to Round 3 of the 2018 Billabong Pipe Masters after winning Heat 6 of Round 2 at Pipeline, Oahu, Hawaii, USA.

So.. it was always going to be a tough call, and no-one was ever going to win… (If you have watched Momentum Generation you will see the devastating impact of a wildcard vote) but Slater and John John have taken the injury wild cards over Zilla ripper Caio Ibelli…

“It’s always a challenge when we have a large number of applicants for a limited number of wildcard positions,” Kieren Perrow, WSL Commissioner, said. “We truly appreciate and understand the value of being on tour and take this process very seriously. As it has for years, this process includes an independent medical review board, which assesses the applicants based on severity of injury and the impact it has on the surfer’s ability to compete at the Championship Tour level. In the case of 2018, all three applicants were deemed to have severe injuries that prevented them from competing in multiple events. From there, we apply our technical criteria and career achievement factors – which include World Titles, career results, prior year ranking, and ranking at time of injury. While all three have strong cases, we have determined that Kelly Slater (USA) and John John Florence (HAW) will receive the WSL wildcards for 2019 and Caio Ibelli (BRA) will be the first replacement for the tour – not something we guarantee to a third applicant most seasons but is deserving in this case.”

Caio responded so…

“Today @wsl announced that next year’s Injury Wildcard will be Kelly Slater and JJ Florence. Sincerely, I disagree with the decision, Kelly used and abused. She went to Fiji 20 feet during the Keramas event, stayed 3rd in the pool and did not go to France next week. This is the second consecutive year that he uses the same wave. Is it fair? 📷 @tallteef”

And he surely has a point. But given the severity of the injury to Slater and his prominence over the years you can see why the decision was made. It would have been a shame to lose the GOAT.

Hopefully Ciao gets a proper go this year.

2018 Top 22 CT:
Gabriel Medina (BRA)
Julian Wilson (AUS)
Filipe Toledo (BRA)
Italo Ferreira (BRA)
Jordy Smith (ZAF)
Owen Wright (AUS)
Conner Coffin (USA)
Michel Bourez (PYF)
Wade Carmichael (AUS)
Kanoa Igarashi (JPN)
Kolohe Andino (USA)
Mikey Wright (AUS)
Willian Cardoso (BRA)
Sebastian Zietz (HAW)
Michael Rodrigues (BRA)
Jeremy Flores (FRA)
Adrian Buchan (AUS)
Griffin Colapinto (USA)
Adriano de Souza (BRA)
Ezekiel Lau (HAW)
Yago Dora (BRA)
Joan Duru (FRA)

2018 Top 10 QS (minus double qualifiers from CT):
Seth Moniz (HAW)
Ryan Callinan (AUS)
Peterson Crisanto (BRA)
Jesse Mendes (BRA)
Deivid Silva (BRA)
Ricardo Christie (NZL)
Leonardo Fioravanti (ITA)
Jadson Andre (BRA)
Soli Bailey (AUS)
Jack Freestone (AUS)

WSL Wildcards:
Kelly Slater (USA)
John John Florence (HAW)

CT Men’s Replacement Surfers:
Caio Ibelli (BRA)
Frederico Morais (PRT)
Ethan Ewing (AUS)

The 2019 elite women’s CT class will be contested by the WSL Top 17, made up of the top 10 finishers on the 2018 CT Jeep Leaderboard, the top 6 finishers on the 2018 Qualifying Series (QS) and one WSL wildcard.

2018 Top 10 CT:
Stephanie Gilmore (AUS)
Lakey Peterson (USA)
Carissa Moore (HAW)
Tatiana Weston-Webb (BRA)
Johanne Defay (FRA)
Sally Fitzgibbons (AUS)
Caroline Marks (USA)
Courtney Conlogue (USA)
Malia Manuel (HAW)
Nikki Van Dijk (AUS)

2018 Top 6 QS (minus double qualifiers from CT):
Coco Ho (HAW)
Paige Hareb (NZL)
Bronte Macaulay (AUS)
Macy Callaghan (AUS)
Brisa Hennessy (CRI)
Silvana Lima (BRA)

WSL Wildcard:
Tyler Wright (AUS)

CT Women’s Replacement Surfers:
Keely Andrew (AUS)
Sage Erickson (USA)

The 2019 WSL CT will be the primary Tokyo 2020 Olympics qualification avenue for the world’s best surfers. The world rankings at the end of the 2019 CT season will determine 18 of the 40 places at the Olympic Games (10 men and 8 women). The remaining 22 places will be determined at the 2019 and 2020 ISA World Surfing Games, the 2019 Pan American Games in Lima, and a single slot (each for men and women) for the host nation, Japan.

Of these 18 places determined by the WSL, there is a maximum of 2 men and 2 women for each country (e.g. if there are 3 women from Australia in the Top 8, only the Top 2 female Australians will qualify).

The 2019 Championship Tour starts in April and runs until December. This is a year-long, multi-stage tour that tests the world’s best surfers in a variety of different waves and conditions. The CT schedules are listed below:

2019 Men’s Championship Tour schedule*
Gold Coast Men’s Pro: April 3 – 13, 2019
Rip Curl Pro Bells Beach: April 17 – 27, 2019
Bali Men’s Pro: May 13 – 24, 2019
Margaret River Pro: May 27 – June 7, 2019
Oi Rio Pro: June 20 – 28, 2019
J-Bay Open: July 9 – 22, 2019
Tahiti Pro Teahupo’o: August 21 – September 1, 2019
Surf Ranch Pro: September 19 – 22, 2019
Quiksilver Pro France: October 3 – 13, 2019
Meo Pro Peniche: October 16 – 28, 2019
Billabong Pipe Masters: December 8 – 20, 2019

2019 Women’s Championship Tour Schedule*
Gold Coast Women’s Pro: April 3 – 13, 2019
Rip Curl Pro Bells Beach: April 17 – 27, 2019
Bali Women’s Pro: May 13 – 24, 2019
Margaret River Pro: May 27 – June 7, 2019
Oi Rio Pro: June 20 – 28, 2019
J-Bay Open: July 9 – 22, 2019
Surf Ranch Pro: September 19 – 22, 2019
Roxy Pro France: October 3 – 13, 2019
Meo Pro Peniche: October 16 – 28, 2019
Hawaii Women’s Pro: November 25 – December 7, 2019

*All events subject to change.
Wade Carmichael and Caroline Marks Claim Rookie of the Year Honours

On the men’s CT, Wade Carmichael (AUS), 26, is the 2018 Rookie of the Year. Carmichael’s first season on the Championship Tour was a rollercoaster as the Central Coast native suffered four early Round 2 exits, but managed to balance it with excellent results. His talent shone first in Brasil where he reached the Final and in J-Bay where his signature powerful carves fit right in. Both times Carmichael found a big hurdle on his way to a first-ever tour victory with Filipe Toledo (BRA) taking the win at these two events. But with a Quarterfinal finish in Tahiti and Round 4 berths in Bells and Portugal, the 26-year-old finished the year ranked 7th in the World, thus claiming the Rookie of the Year award.

“I had good and bad events and I tried to learn throughout the year,” Carmichael said. “I just tried to do my best surfing and see how I go against the best guys and I kept that same mentality the whole time. I didn’t expect to have that many grinding heats. I didn’t know where my year was going to take me. Two Finals and Rookie of the Year has blown all my expectations. You only get one chance to get that title and this year with all the rookies that were getting hyped up I was just cruising behind these guys. There’s a wild list of names on that trophy and I’m psyched I’m going to be on it. ”

Caroline Marks (USA), 16, was awarded the 2018 Rookie of the Year, and the youngest-ever Rookie of the Year in CT history. Marks was the youngest surfer to ever qualify for the CT (15) and finished her freshman year on tour with a remarkable 7th place world ranking.

“I am so happy with my performance this year and really excited for what is to come,” said Marks. “I’ve learned a lot competing on the tour and being up against the best surfers in the world. They are all so incredible and really pushing the boundaries and the progression. To be the youngest woman to qualify on the WSL CT is super cool, and now to be the youngest-ever Rookie of the Year is so rad. It really is an honor and I am stoked.”

There’s a reason we say Croyde is probably the Uk’s finest beach break…. Will Bailey leads the way.

There’s a reason we say Croyde is probably the Uk’s finest beach break…. Will Bailey leads the way.

If you love Croyde pick up the latest mag and check out Steve Leys interview. Steve has Tourettes, but has an amazing out look on life.

Big up the Croyde massive.

British surfer faces death penalty in Bali for allegedly smuggling cannabis oil

Cornish surfer Pip Holmes was one of five men paraded at a news conference last week in Denpasar. The father-of-two is accused of receiving nearly 31g of cannabis oil in the mail. Mr Holmes claims he was caught with just 3g of medicinal THC oil.

His family has launched a crowdfunding page to raise 100,000 US dollars (nearly £80,000) for legal fees to keep the father-of-two out of prison.

They say he could face a jail sentence of between five and 15 years but are hoping he can serve a short spell in a rehabilitation centre before being deported.

Indonesian police said he could be sentenced to death if he is convicted. He has been moved to a rehabilitation centre.

“For the last few days, each morning I have woken up in a terrible nightmare. I still can’t believe that I’m here and I feel sick with fear,” he said.

“As it stands, I don’t know if I’m about to spend a few months in a rehabilitation or if I’m about to face five to 15 years in Kerobokan – one of the toughest prisons on earth.”


Mr Holmes had been in Bali for two months before his arrest on December 3.

“It all went terribly wrong when I was arrested for possession of a tiny amount of THC oil. Stupid much? Yes very very stupid. Right now I feel helpless and very alone.”

The family said “We now have until mid January to raise the funds to pay for his legal representation and rehabilitation.If we are successful, after he has served his sentence in rehab he will then be deported home, to the UK.”

They have set up a Crowdfunder to help cover legal costs here > https://getpipbackhome.co.uk

UK”s Melisa Reid Wins ISA World Adaptive Surfing Championship

La Jolla, California, December 16, 2018 - The host nation Team USA made history and won their first-ever Team Gold Medal at the 2018 Stance ISA World Adaptive Surfing Championship presented by the City of San Diego.

Propelled by five individual medals, Team USA was able to end the two-year streak of Team Brazil and make it to the top of the podium.

Highlighting USA's stellar performance was Alana Nichols with the Gold Medal in the Women's AS-3. Christiaan Bailey (AS-4), Jeff Munson (AS-3) and Sarah Bettencourt (Women AS-4) all contributed valuable points with Silver Medal finishes.

Team Brazil earned the Silver Medal followed by Team Chile with the Bronze and Team Hawaii with the Copper.

Colombia's 13-year-old Freddy Marimon continued his amazing run through the competition and saved his best for last, posting the highest wave score and heat total of the entire event. Marimon's perfect 10-point ride and 18.83 heat total led him to a well-deserved Gold Medal in the AS-5 Division.

In a string of historic moments, Melisa Reid's Gold Medal performance for Team England in the Women's visually impaired division marked a milestone for the sport, crowning the first women's World Champion in the division.

"This is my first international surfing competition, so it feels amazing to come out here and win this world title," said Reid.

"I came here thinking that I would just be surfing against the guys, but knowing that there are enough visually impaired women for a separate division is incredible.

"I hope that my performance gets more visually impaired girls and guys out in the water."

Seven past ISA World Champions repeated their feats to return to the top of the podium on Sunday including Denmark's Bruno Hansen (AS-4), Hawaii's Ann Yoshida(Women's AS-4), Brazil's Fellipe Lima (AS-3), Australia's Matthew Formston (AS-VI), USA's Nichols (Women's AS-3), South Africa's Antony Smyth (RSA) and Japan's Kazune Uchida (Women's AS-1).

Denmark's Bruno Hansen continued his domination in the AS-4 Division, earning his fourth consecutive Gold, which makes him the sole adaptive surfer in the world with four individual world titles.

"It's unbelievable to win my fourth in a row," said Hansen. "I knew I had it in me, but I also knew that the other competitors are hungry as well.

"I'm honored that I have arrived at a point where the younger generation looks up to me. Hopefully I can guide and be of advice to these up and coming kids."

Showcasing the growth of the sport, five new champions were crowned. England's Reid (Women's AS-VI), Australia's Samantha Bloom (Women's AS-5), Canada's Victoria Feige (Women's AS-4), Brazil's Henrique Saraiva (AS-2), and Colombia's Marimon (AS-5) rose to the top of adaptive surfing for the first time in the four years of the event.

"I am shocked," said Canada's Feige. "I am so ecstatic and surprised.

"I learned how to surf before I was injured in a snowboarding accident. I went back in the water after my injury, but I didn't know what was possible. It wasn't until I first came to the ISA in 2016 and I saw the world's best in the water. It totally changed my perspective on what is possible as an adaptive surfer. I went back home and improved as a surfer, knowing that anything is possible."

Sunday morning kicked off with a renewed swell at La Jolla Shores. The increase in waves and glassy conditions provided the perfect platform for the world's best to display their elite talent on the Finals.

Twelve individual world champions were crowned, earning points for their nations in the team ranking.

Notably, in the one of the tightest finals of the day, USA's Alana Nichols caught a wave as the time expired against Hawaii's Meira Duarte Va'a. Sitting in Silver Medal position, Nichols' scored a 4.9 to move into the Gold Medal position, defending her 2017 Title.

Stance Co-Founder and President John Wilson said:

"It's been another incredible event. We had great waves, great weather, and unbelievable surfing.

"We want to say thanks to everyone who tuned in to watch around the world, all the athletes, and all the team supporters. Also, a special thanks to all the volunteers that make this event so incredible."

ISA President Fernando Aguerre, said:

"What a week of competition. We watched the sport of adaptive surfing progress before our eyes. We had new World Champions make a name of themselves on the global stage, and we also had proven World Champions continue to stake their claims as the best in the world.

"Most importantly, we had a record number of competitors and women participating in the event, spreading the sport to new surfers around the globe. Adaptive surfing has a healing power that has proven to have a positive impact in the lives of those with physical challenges, so we hope to keep growing the sport to make the world a better place, one surfer at a time.

"The high-performance action that we witnessed this week leaves me with no doubt that adaptive surfing would be a valuable addition to the Paralympic Games. We will continue to honor the dedication that these surfers have shown us in the water and push to get the sport to the greatest sporting stage."

You can replay the webcasts from the 2018 Stance ISA World Adaptive Surfing Championship here.

Team Ranking
Gold - USA
Silver - Brazil
Bronze - Chile
Copper - Hawaii
5 - France
6 - Australia
7 - England
8 - Japan
9 - South Africa
10 - Canada

To view full team rankings, click here.

Individual Results:
AS-3
Gold - Fellipe Lima (BRA)
Silver - Jeff Munson (USA)
Bronze - Meira Duarte Va'a (HAW)
Copper - David Munk (AUS)

AS-4
Gold - Bruno Hansen (DEN)
Silver - Christiaan Bailey (USA)
Bronze - Massimiliano Mattei (ITA)
Copper - Miguel Rojas (CHI)

Women AS-4
Gold - Ann Yoshida (HAW)
Silver - Sarah Bettencourt (USA)
Bronze - Suzanne Edwards (ENG)
Copper - Morgane Elvira (FRA)

Women AS-5
Gold - Samantha Bloom (AUS)
Silver - Katell Michler (FRA)
Bronze - Valentina Ponce (CHI)
Copper - Monique Aparecida (BRA)

Women AS-VI
Gold - Melisa Reid (ENG)
Silver - Ling Pai (CAN)
Bronze - Marta Jordão Paço (POR)
Copper - Carmen Garcia (ESP)

 

AS-VI
Gold - Matthew Formston (AUS)
Silver - Gwendal du Fretay (FRA)
Bronze - Elias Figue Diel (BRA)
Copper - Aitor Francesena (ESP)

Women AS-3
Gold - Alana Nichols (USA)
Silver - Meira Duarte Va'a (HAW)

Women AS-2
Gold - Victoria Feige (CAN)
Silver - Noemi Alvarez (CHI)
Bronze - Dani Burt (USA)

AS-2
Gold - Henrique Saraiva (BRA)
Silver - Mark 'Mono' Stewart (AUS)
Bronze - Llwelyn Williams (WAL)
Copper - Masafumi Kobayashi (JPN)

Open AS-5
Gold - Freddy Marimon (COL)
Silver - Davi Teixeira (BRA)
Bronze - Samantha Bloom (AUS)
Copper - Nuno Vitorino (POR)

Women AS-1
Gold - Kazune Uchida (JPN)
Silver - Grace Anderson (RSA)
Bronze - Charlotte Banfield (ENG)
Copper - Darian Haynes (HAW)

AS-1
Gold - Antony Smyth (RSA)
Silver - Jonathan Borba (BRA)
Bronze - Adi Klang (ISR)
Copper - Robson Gasperi (BRA)

A Day In The Life: GEAROID MCDAID

words: Gearoid McDaid  photos: Conor Flanagan

Behind the scenes of the Rip Curl 
Padang Cup with G Man

Getting the call to go surf in the Rip Curl Padang Padang cup was an exciting moment for me. To be going to Bali to surf a perfect slab left with only a few guys what could be better?
The waiting period was one month, so I was going to go for the whole month to wait and hopefully score some waves around Indo.
The trip didn't start out too great though as when I was flying to Bali the volcano there was erupting pretty heavily which meant I got stuck in Dubai with no way of knowing if flights would resume. I thoroughly thought I was going to be going back home. But in the end, it eased off, and I was on a flight from Dubai just a day later. The delay was just a taster of some of the mad things that would happen while I was there.

Looking at the long-range forecast for the month looked like back to back swells non stop. But there was one swell that stood out towards the end of the month. The contest ran on one of the first swells as they looked pretty epic and you can never be too sure of a long range next swell the guys from Rip Curl made an excellent call to run when they did. There was a lot of talk around the swell at the end of the month in that it was the most significant swell ever to come to Indo but as it was still a long way out I wasn't really thinking about it. As the month progressed we scored some pretty sick waves. Some little slab missions and we scored pretty pumping Ulus with Josh Kerr and Jack Robinson. And a couple of sick sessions at Padang trying to hassle the crowds haha.

I woke up on the morning of the day of days to 30-foot Ulus with a couple of guys towing the mad walls.

The swell that we had been looking at for so long was arriving, and it held its size and name for being the biggest swell ever in Indo. There was lots of talk of where to go for the swell, but I wasn't sure what to do and ended up just staying in Bali for it. I woke up on the morning of the day of days to 30-foot Ulus with a couple of guys towing the mad walls. We went and had a look at Padang but the tide was a bit high, and there were lots of wash-throughs with the odd in-between one going good. I paddled out hoping that I would get a couple in the gaps in the chaos; but as the tide dropped there were a lot of fun in-between ones. And it ended up being one of the most fun sessions I had out there. With the big wash-throughs, it meant it kept the crowd quiet, there was a couple of people out, and we were trading waves and dodging the unrideable ones. I had surfed for three hours already, and then my leash broke I tried to swim in, but a colossal wash-through came in a pushed me over to this weird slab up the top of Impossibles. I was swimming for around 40 mins before getting to the beach. Pretty wrecked but still an epic session.