2018 London Surf / Film Festival x Reef Feature and Shorties Submissions Open


Submissions are now open for the 2018 London Surf / Film Festival presented by Reef.

Hosted 10 – 19 October, the 8th Edition of the London Surf / Film Festival x Reef is a celebration of the cream of international surf culture, bringing to the UK the very best surf movies from across the globe.


Until 17th August, filmmakers are invited to submit their short and feature length films exploring all aspects and angles of surfing and surf culture for consideration for this year’s festival programme, You can find more details and enter online HERE.

While the main festival is open to filmmakers from across the globe, The Shorties short film category was created to exclusively champion homegrown talents. Filmmakers from or based in Britain and Ireland are invited to submit their short films of up to 5 minutes in length that explore any aspect or angle of surfing through documentary, comedy, action, arthouse, animation or anything in between. Shorties submissions close 31st August, more details and online entries HERE.

“We’re delighted to offer a platform to the most exciting established and emerging surf creatives, bringing to the UK the very best in independent filmmaking,” says Demi Taylor, London Surf / Film Festival Director. “We’ve been fortunate to work with standout surfers and creatives since founding the LS/FF in 2011 and as always we’ll be championing those projects that bring a fresh perspective to our culture, through exceptional story telling, surfing or cinematography.”

Films will be considered by the panel for awards including: Best Film, Best Documentary, Best Cinematography, Best British Film, Shortie of the Year and Viewer’s Choice, as voted for by the knowledgeable London Surf / Film Festival audience.

Alongside the premieres hosted at the iconic Regent Street Cinema, the London Surf / Film Festival will be curating a packed programme of exciting happenings around the festival from the realms of music, art, culture and more. Surfing’s most exciting filmmakers and waveriders will be on-hand to offer insightful, entertaining and inspiring insight, allowing the audience to get closer to the action and under the skin of the legends of surf and screen.

For more information about the festival please head to: londonsurffilmfestival.com

Huge fire at Uluwatu


A huge fire is currently burning on the cliffs at Uluwatu. It is believed to have started somewhere near Ulu Cliff and spread to Bluepoint and surrounding properties. No one is believed to have been hurt as this point. More to follow…

A post shared by Info Badung Bali (@infobadung) on

#ROOKIERIPPERS SURF WITH JORDY COMP


Four questions for you: 
Do you want to surf with Jordy?  
Would you dig an all-expenses-paid trip to Surf Snowdonia? 
Are you aged between 13 and 17? 
Are you free 26-29th September 2018?

If that’s a resounding ‘yes!’ to all the above then the O'Neill #RookieRippers competition is for you.

All you’ve got to do is upload a video clip of your best surfing (up to 60secs long) to Instagram and tag @oneilleurope and #RookieRippers

10 lucky boys and girls will be selected to hit the Welsh mountain surf spot with Jordy Smith for an experience money can’t buy this autumn.

The prize includes: 
•All expenses paid* trip to O’Neill Rookie Rippers Surf Camp, Sep 26-29 at Surf Snowdonia.
•Surfing with team O’Neill’s WSL superstar Jordy Smith.
•Coaching by Chris Gallagher Stone, Jordy’s coach and the US Olympic Surf Team Technical Coach.
•Win cool prizes in expression sessions.
•A whole load of fun and good times with like-minded kids.

Conditions:
*All expenses package includes: flights covered up to £450, accommodation, food, coaching, pick up and drop off at Manchester or Liverpool Airport.
You need to upload your clip between July 20 and August 15 to be in with a shot.
Entrants must be between 13 and 17 (born after September 30th, 2000 and before July 19, 2005). 

The competition is only open to all residents in the UK, Spain, Portugal, France, Belgium, The Netherlands and Germany

10 kids will win a place at the camp. Please check full T&C’s on oneill.com/rookie-rippers

Jack Robinson Wins 2018 Rip Curl Cup

Padang Padang, Bali, Indonesia (Thursday, July 19, 2018): Patience was rewarded at Padang Padang Thursday for the Finals of the 2018 Rip Curl Cup. After playing coy last year and withholding the world-class waves required to hold the WSL specialty event, Padang Padang returned with a vengeance in 2018, producing one of the most spectacular two days of barrels ever seen at The Rip Curl Cup.
Jack Robinson was also rewarded for his patience. The 20-year-old barrel maestro has been invited to the Rip Curl Cup since the age of 15, but never made it to Finals Day until 2018. On the heaviest day at Padang in recent memory, Robinson went on a tuberiding tear, scoring three 9-point rides and a perfect 10 en route to perhaps the most impressive achievement of his young career.
Robinson’s 19.90 Finals total was the highest of the event and left his fellow finalists in a combination situation they could never recover from. Uluwatu local and Trials surfer Agus “Blacky” Setiawan finished in second place with 17.15, followed by Bol Adi Putra (IND) with 15.75 and 2016 winner Mega Semadhi (IND) with 11.00.

“It was worth the wait,” said the young Western Australian Robinson. “This is one of the best contests all year and one of my Top 3 for sure. It might not be a QS or a CT, but it’s against the best guys at one of the best waves.”
Several of Robinson’s double barrels on Thursday recalled Jamie O’Brien winning the Rip Curl Cup in 2009, the last time a swell this monstrous rocked Bali.
“This was the best waves I’ve seen at Padang since Jamie O’Brien won it back in 2009,” said Robinson, a regular visitor to Bali during Rip Curl Cup season. “I was a little kid watching it then and I always wanted to be in it from that day on. Jamie was a big influence.”
After completing Rounds 1 and 2 at Padang Padang on Sunday, eight surfers remained for Thursday’s Finals Day. Things kicked off with a bang as Semifinal 1 saw more 9s and 10s than the entire two opening rounds. Spitting tube after tube roared through the Padang reef, making the judges in the tower moan with envy.
Semifinal 1 belonged to the locals, as Agus “Blacky” Setiawan and Bol Adi Putra finished first and second, respectively, and eliminated Day 1 standout Jacob Willcox (AUS) and Brazilian tube assassin Bruno Santos.
The highlight of Semi 1 was Bol Adi Putra’s incredible double barrel for a 9.55 that saw him soul arch through the gaping inside double-up, get spat out across the reef, emerge from the spit and ollie over the nose of a jet ski caught on the shoulder.
“The wave was spitting and I couldn’t see anything, so I just jumped,” said Bol. “Luckily I jumped high enough to clear the ski.”

In Semifinal 2 Jack Robinson went to work, hooking inverted backside snaps under the lip and clinging to the ceiling of several breathing Padang caves for the heat win. Nipping at his heels was defending Rip Curl Cup Champion Mega Semadhi, who also booked his ticket to the Finals.
“Mega wouldn’t stop,” said Robinson after Semi 1. “He’s got a good motor. It should be a good battle in the Final.”
The Final featured three Padang local surfers alongside Robinson, the lone international and the lone regularfoot, sparring with the treacherous caverns on his backhand. For both Semadhi and Adi Putra it was their record fifth Rip Curl Cup Finals appearance, and both local legends were vying to become the first three-time champion in Rip Curl Cup history.
In addition to the maxing swell, a slight side chop and rising tide heading into the Final added an extra degree of difficulty to emerge from the tight end section. The tricky exits would prove pivotal in the Final, as several would-be high 9s and 10s ended prematurely.
In the decisive set of the Finals, Robinson snatched up the first wave and scored an impossible 9.90. All three locals followed with incredible screaming tubes of their own, but all got clipped or bucked off before finding an exit. Defending Champion and Padang local Mega Semadhi in particular had a surefire 10 but was axed by the lip.

Robinson would go on to back up his 9.90 with another impossibly long ceiling climber before getting spat out in the channel. The judges had already dropped the 9.90 and had nowhere to go but up. Robinson had a perfect 10 and the field was comboed and essentially all needing two perfect 10s. The local boys continued to put up a good fight, including a fire hydrant 9.5 from Bol, but in the end the day belonged to the young man from WA.
It was all smiles from all four finalists on the podium, who all knew they had just feasted on the best day of waves at Padang in years.
“I’m feeling pretty lucky,” Semadhi said on the winner’s podium. “I’ve got the whole collection of Finals trophies: fourth, third, second, and first. It was such an amazing two days of surfing. Everyone got so barreled. You can’t ask for more.”
For Robinson, a longtime annual visitor to Bali, it was just another day of trading epic waves with his Indonesian mates.
“We’re pretty much neighbors,” Robinson said. “I live down in West Oz, only three hours away. It’s the same ocean, and I’ve been coming here and surfing with my friends since I was a little kid. To be able to surf a day like this at Padang with all of them, it doesn’t get any better than this.”


FINAL

1st Jack Robinson (AUS) 19.90
2nd Agus “Blacky” Setiawan (IND) 17.15
3rd Made Adi Putra (IND) 15.75
4th Mega Semadhi (IND) 11.00

Semifinal 1

1st Agus “Blacky” Setiawan (IND) 19.85
2nd Made Adi Putra (IND) 19.05
3rd Jacob Willcox (AUS) 18.15
4th Bruno Santos (BRA) 13.10

Semifinal 2

1st Jack Robinson (AUS) 18.60
2nd Mega Semadhi (IND) 17.85
3rd Josh Kerr (AUS) 15.40
4th Garut Widiarta (IND) 14.65

Occy visits the new Surf Lake in Aus…

Pretty rare for anyone to be allowed to see behind the scenes of a surf pond during construction. Hell, we don’t even get invited to test the new ones! (O < 'circle of trust' > Carve )

But Surf Lakes invited the cameras in as they entered the final phase of construction of Australia’s first full-scale surfing wave pool.

When in full operation, it will be capable of producing up to 2,400 waves per hour with waves of up to 2.4 metres (8ft) face height.

The lake and reef shaping is complete and machinery has arrived on site, ready for installation in what will become the world’s largest wave machine. It will generate powerful concentric swells that radiate out across four reefs, each with a left and right wave, making 8 breaks in total — more than any other wave pool. Each wave is shaped differently, thus creating waves of multiple sizes and types simultaneously — a world first.

BOARDMASTERS ANNOUNCES SURF COMP LINE UP

Boardmasters and the World Surf League (WSL) have today announced the international surf competition line up for Boardmasters 2018. This includes the Quiksilver Open, Roxy Open, UGG Men’s Longboard Pro and UGG Women’s Longboard Pro. Boardmasters, the most high-profile surfing event in the UK sees elite athletes from around the globe head for five days of exhilarating surf action on Fistral Beach, the home of British surfing. These events are free to attend and will take place at the UK’s surf mecca from Wednesday 8 – Sunday 12 August 2018. There’s truly no better place to see the world’s best surfers battle their way to the top!

Boardmasters is stop #40 on the World Surf League Qualifying Series tour. Record numbers of surf fans, families and festival goers are expected to descend on Fistral Beach to check out the UK’s biggest surf competition. Open to the public, there is no ticket required to watch the formidable surf action unfold.

In the Quiksilver Open, Boardmasters will welcome back Britain’s highest ranked surfer competing on the WQS, Luke Dillon (below), Luis Diaz who took fourth place in last year’s competition, along with exciting British rising stars Arran Strong and Patrick Langdon-Dark who’ll be getting set to compete on a global scale on their home waters in the UK.

Moving on to the Roxy Open category, where the UK’s top female pros are set to give fans a thrilling battle out on the waves, as Boardmasters today confirmed entries from English National Women’s champion and highly decorated Lucy Campbell (below), as well as 2015 Boardmasters champion Peonie Knight, Tassy Swallow and Emily Currie, who all represent the best in British surfing. Also competing are Spain’s Garazi Sanchez Ortun and the USA’s Rachel Presti who are sure to deliver strong performances.

The UGG Men’s Longboard Pro will see reigning champion and men’s #1 Antoine Delpero return to Fistral Beach to defend his title after a thrilling route to victory last year. The French champion will face competition from 2016 champion, longboarding legend and brother Edouard Delpero, as well as UK surf icons Ben Skinner (Below) and Jack Unsworth, who will all be making their bid and battling it out for the coveted title on the waves.

The UGG Women’s Longboard Pro category continues to go from strength to strength, as huge home names and international stars prepare to battle it out this August. Last year saw a stunning win for France’s star surfer Justine Dupont who returns with her eyes firmly on the prize for another year. Competition comes in the form of Emily Currie fresh from winning the 2017 English National Women’s Longboard title and other exciting British talent rising through the ranks, Jennifer Pendlebury and Beth Leighfield.

Lucy Campbell said, “Boardmasters is always my favourite event of the year so I’m really looking forward to returning to compete at the Roxy Open – it’s so great to have a stop of the World Qualifying Series on home soil!”

Luke Dillon said, “When I was a kid, it was awesome watching international pro surfers coming to Newquay to compete. I tried to surf with them as much as possible and loved watching the contest and the buzz that surrounds it. It’s really special to be competing in the Quiksilver Open on the beach I grew up on!”

Contest Director Dave Reed added, "We’re looking forward to Boardmasters returning to Cornwall once again for five days of unbeatable surf action. This annual event is the biggest surfing event of its kind in the UK and gives a huge opportunity for the best British competitors to pit themselves against the best surfers in the world at the home of UK surfing, Fistral Beach. Each year the event gets bigger and better, this year I am sure will be no exception".

Boardmasters International Surf Competition 2017 Champions:
Men’s Quiksilver Open Liam Mortensen (AUS)
Women’s Roxy Open Ella Williams (NZL)
Men’s Longboard Antoine Delpero (FRA)
Women’s Longboard Justine Dupont (FRA)

Established in 1981, Boardmasters is a 5-day event situated across two stunning locations in Cornwall - the surfing mecca of the UK, Fistral Beach where Boardmasters famous International Surf Competitions take place and arguably the most stunning location in the country to watch live music, Watergate Bay. Last year saw Boardmasters welcome festivalgoers across its two sites over the 5 days of the festival. Boardmasters operates a tiered ticket system with price bands for tickets changing over time. The sooner you buy, the cheaper it is! Book tickets via the website.