Quiksilver part ways with Eddie stating their ” multiple offers of substantially increased monetary support for future events were declined by agents of the Aikau family over months of negotiations.” but give Aikau family comp permit.
“As reported by the Aikau family, the Quiksilver In Memory of Eddie Aikau Big Wave Invitational, a World Surf League (WSL) Specialty-sanctioned big wave event at Waimea Bay, will no longer exist in its traditional capacity. Quiksilver had every intent of continuing to run the event it created 31 years ago in partnership with the Aikau family, but Quiksilver’s multiple offers of substantially increased monetary support for future events were declined by agents of the Aikau family over months of negotiations.
“Quiksilver and the Aikau family have partnered on this special event since its inception in 1985,” said Garry Wall, Quiksilver Global Brand Leader. “It has honored surfing heroes such as Denton Miyamura, Clyde Aikau, Keone Downing, Noah Johnson, Ross Clarke-Jones, Kelly Slater, Bruce Irons, Greg Long and John John Florence—not only world-class watermen, but human beings who embody the spirit of Eddie himself. It was Quiksilver’s sincere hope to continue growing its investment in The Eddie and in the community, and Quiksilver was prepared to commit to a long-term sponsorship of the event. But ultimately, an agreement could not be reached with the new representatives managing the event for the Aikaus.”
Beginning in 1985, the Quiksilver In Memory of Eddie Aikau event was an invite-only big-wave event that took place at Waimea Bay on the North Shore of Oahu, where the late Eddie Aikau served as the North Shore’s first lifeguard. Opting only to run when conditions reach the 20-foot-plus range (Hawaiian scale – 40-50 ft faces), The Eddie has only run nine times in its 30-year history. As a WSL Speciality-sanctioned big wave event, The Eddie drew a prestigious cross-section of the world’s finest watermen, including competitors from the elite WSL Championship Tour (CT).
“The WSL has tremendous respect for the Aikau family, the legacy of Eddie himself, and the importance of the event in surf and Hawaiian culture,” said Paul Speaker, WSL CEO. “Quiksilver has been a phenomenal supporter of the event, the Aikau family, and Eddie’s legacy and it is disappointing that this partnership may be coming to an end. That said, the WSL wishes the Aikau family nothing but future success and our support as it potentially begins the next chapter on this event.”
Out of its deep respect for Hawaiian heritage and the memory of Eddie, Quiksilver is offering to give the Aikau family its permit to run the event for the 2016-2017 season. “As a company, we have always supported the spirit and culture of the Hawaiian people, of The Eddie, and of the Aikau family”, said Pierre Agnes, Chief Executive Officer of Quiksilver. “As a gesture of our respect and support we are happy to give our permit to run the event in 2016-2017 to the Aikau family, should the City of Honolulu allow it, and stand by to run the event with the family if they so choose. It is our most heartfelt wish to see the tradition of The Eddie carried on without interruption.”
Arthur Bourbon and crew follow a swell to the south and headed to Saint-Lucia for their third stop.
The island is not renown for being a surf destination so finding information about waves and surf spots is pretty tough. Luckily they meet the local surf crew on their first surf check then surf with them the following days. The best spots of the island didn’t work but we saw the potential and surf some really fun waves in the coolest vibe.
Athletes’ memories performed 20% better than non-athletes in study that tested mental performance under pressure
Study revealed that elite athletes’ brains were 10% faster in the face of intense mental stress
New Dunlop Tyres cognitive test developed with University College London demonstrated how athletes perform under pressure
Elite athletes’ memories perform 20% better than average under intense psychological pressure. The study commissioned by Dunlop Tyres in conjunction with University College London revealed that the athletes’ superior memory allowed them to stay in control even during tests which artificially invoked stress and anxiety within the brain.
The series of tests devised by Professor Vincent Walsh (University College London’s Institute of Cognitive Neuroscience), showed that elite athletes were largely unphased when put under stressful situations, and performed significantly better when compared with non-athletes.
The study also showed that athletes’ brains were 10% quicker than non-athletes and actually improved their memory accuracy by 20% more than the non-athletes in a response to challenging and intense emotions.
The tests were conducted to test the hypothesis that the mindset of elite athletes are able to handle intense situations and emotions better than non-athletes and stay in control in high risk situations.
The athletes tested included multiple Isle of Man TT winner John McGuiness, big wave surfer Andrew Cotton, two-time British Touring Car Champion Colin Turkington, British Champion downhill skater Peter Connolly, experienced climber Louis Parkinson and Le Mans racing driver Oliver Webb.
University College London’s Professor Vincent Walsh commented: “These elite athletes perform tasks that many of us could never comprehend but what is fascinating is their mind-set when tackling such challenges. When some decisions can be the difference between success and failure, it is perhaps unsurprising that the study showed that athletes were consistently several seconds faster when performing their tasks. A few seconds or a few percent may not sound much but this is a long time in sport and is the difference between winning and losing.
The scientific test used to measure the athlete’s performance was the International Affective Picture System (IAPS). The IAPS is database of pictures which can’t be found on the Internet, ranging from everyday objects and scenes, to extremely rare images, which have been proven to have different effects on the brain and can be used to artificially invoke feelings of stress.
“The athletes were more accurate overall in their memory tasks following exposure to negative stimuli whereas the non-athletes were disturbed by the stimuli. In some cases, the non-athletes’ performance fell apart in terms of speed of memory when put in difficult and intense situations. Conversely, the athlete’s responses often improved. A lot of this makes sense, in particular in the case of rock-climbing or motor racing, where the athletes are conditioned to negate dangerous situations and need to make split second decisions,” stated Professor Walsh.
Dunlop Tyres PR & Corporate Communications Manager, Kate Rock, said: “Understanding how athletes perform when the stakes are so high and under so much pressure was incredibly fascinating. From rock climbing, car racing, big wave surfing or motorcycle racing, these athletes often have to stay in control of their natural fears to achieve their goals. This is as much about a mindset as well as their physical attributes and this is what the Dunlop Mindset is all about.”
People can challenge their own mental performance through one of the cognitive tests developed by Dunlop and UCL here: www.facebook.com/dunlop.uk.
The Meo Rip Curl Pro Portugal, the final European stop of the 2016 Samsung Galaxy WSL Championship Tour, got underway today and ran through Round 1 in clean three-to-four foot (1 – 1.2 metre) surf at Supertubos. The world’s best surfers fought to avoid elimination Round 2 and advance directly to Round 3.
Current World No. 4 on the Jeep Leaderboard Jordy Smith (ZAF), 28, successfully launched his Peniche campaign with a Round 1 win over Jeremy Flores (FRA) and rookie Kanoa Igarashi (USA) to advance straight into Round 3. The winner of the Hurley Pro at Trestles suffered a shock elimination in the second round in France and will look to find his rhythm back in the hollow peaks of Portugal.
“Conditions are pretty good out there and it’s just a matter of finding the right waves, it’s really low tide and pretty much dry off your first turn,” Smith said. “Luckily enough I found a couple lefts. I found I’d have a few opportunities on a little right bank, but here you just have to adapt on the fly.”
Miguel Pupo (BRA), 24, secured the first excellent score of the day, an impressive 8.17 for a combination of a clean barrel ride and a solid forehand turn at Supertubos. Pupo sent rookie Ryan Callinan (AUS) and World No. 3 Matt Wilkinson (AUS) to elimination Round 2 while he will skip it and advance directly to the third round.
“When I was walking in the competitors area I saw Wilko (Matt Wilkinson) look at the waves down there so I sort of knew he would sit down the beach but Ryan (Callinan) and I had waves after waves and luckily I got the one with the double-up,” Pupo stated. “I feel a lot of pressure, but I’ve been in this position before and I managed to requalify. This is a wave that I love very much but I’ve never done well so this could be the year maybe. I’m trying not to rush things I think that’s what I have to do and that’s how I surfed that last heat, I waited for the waves and tried to feel the ocean.”
A Quarterfinalist in this event last year, lethal wildcard Frederico Morais (PRT), 24, resumed his quest to get the biggest scalps in pro surfing as he took down World No. 2 and former WSL Champion Gabriel Medina (BRA) and rookie Conner Coffin (USA) in a slow opening round match-up. Morais, who seriously altered Mick Fanning’s (AUS) chances of claiming a World Title in 2015 by eliminating the Australian in the third round in Peniche, could replicate his rankings shake-up if he can keep his good form going into Round 3.
“I have nothing to lose so I just surf, conditions are really hard and there are a lot of closeouts so you just need to take a lot of waves to get some good ones,” Morais said. “I want to qualify so bad but everyone knows how hard the QS (Qualifying Series) is. I’m 38th and there are three events left. I love Hawaii, the big surf, so hopefully I can do good there and maybe even qualify next year.”
Jadson Andre (BRA) delivered a shock upset in Heat 6 of Round 1 by defeating No. 1 on Jeep Leaderboard John John Florence (HAW) and sending him to elimination Round 2. Andre is currently sitting in 25th place, just outside the requalification bubble, and needs a strong result in Portugal to move up the rankings. Florence will have a rematch against wildcard Miguel Blanco (PRT) in the opening heat of Round 2 and battle to keep his chances of claiming the WSL Title in Portugal alive.
“I definitely don’t want to be in that position every year but sometimes you don’t have a choice, I had a couple of injuries at the beginning of the year that really brought me down,” Andre said. “Miguel (Pupo) and myself are the only two guys I think who have been in that situation every year for a while so we may have a little bit of an advantage. I love Portugal, I always do good here and I really hope I can win a couple more heats.”
11-time WSL Champion Kelly Slater (USA), 44, was in sizzling form on the opening day of competition in Peniche and locked in the day’s maneuver, a massive forehand rotation for an excellent 9 points to take the lead. The Floridian later found some tube time on a lefthander to back up his main wave with a 6.83 and put Matt Banting (AUS) and Stuart Kennedy (AUS) in a combination situation and into Round 2.
“I was trying to find a peak down to the South I thought I saw a couple rights, I pulled in a couple of barrels on my first three waves but I realized this wasn’t going to work unless it was a straight peak and no wall,” Slater reflected. “Then I saw that right and knew there wasn’t much in it except for an air so I took as much speed as I could and hit it as late as I could and that one stuck. I took a few days for myself in France and feel relaxed now.”
Josh Kerr (AUS), 32, bested Slater to claim the day’s equal highest combined heat total of 15.90 out of a possible 20 for a Round 3 berth. Round 1 Heat 9 saw Kerr follow Slater’s scenario to the letter to belt his two best scores on a big frontside aerial and a backhand tube as well.
“The only game plan I have when there’s like little wedgy peaks like this is to just go out and have a free surf,” Kerr said. “There’s no limit to how many waves you can catch and a lot of opportunities in a lot of very different waves, barrels turns or airs so I just keep my options open.”
Top seeds Adriano De Souza (BRA), Joel Parkinson (AUS) and Italo Ferreira (BRA) all won their opening round encounters with solid scores to make their way into the third round. A runner-up last year, Ferreira took his time building house in Round 1 but managed to find two big scores in the dying minutes of the final heat to edge out Hawaiians Sebastian Zietz (HAW) and Dusty Payne (HAW).
Event organizers will reconvene at 8 a.m. (local time) tomorrow morning to assess conditions and make the next call.
Surfline, official forecast partner of the WSL, are calling for:
SW/WSW swell will fade on Tuesday as new, long period W swell from Hurricane Nicole begins to filter in. W swell offers fun surf for the middle and second half of the week with generally light winds and favorable conditions. An active North Atlantic provides the potential for stronger NW/WNW windswell/swell for the weekend and into the early/middle part of next week but local winds and conditions look unfavorable for Supertubos at this point.
Meo Rip Curl Pro Portugal Round 1 Results: Heat 1: Kai Otton (AUS) 12.43, Nat Young (USA) 11.77, Julian Wilson (AUS) 11.40 Heat 2: Kolohe Andino (USA) 10.76, Keanu Asing (HAW) 9.94, Alex Ribeiro (BRA) 7.23 Heat 3: Jordy Smith (ZAF) 12.30, Jeremy Flores (FRA) 11.94, Kanoa Igarashi (USA) 11.37 Heat 4: Miguel Pupo (BRA) 14.34, Ryan Callinan (AUS) 13.20, Matt Wilkinson (AUS) 7.63 Heat 5: Frederico Morais (PRT) 11.37, Gabriel Medina (BRA) 9.76, Conner Coffin (USA) 8.03 Heat 6: Jadson Andre (BRA) 13.20, Miguel Blanco (PRT) 11.17, John John Florence (HAW) 9.94 Heat 7: Wiggolly Dantas (BRA) 10.94, Filipe Toledo (BRA) 9.53, Adam Melling (AUS) 8.00 Heat 8: Kelly Slater (USA) 15.83, Matt Banting (AUS) 10.77, Stuart Kennedy (AUS) 9.63 Heat 9: Josh Kerr (AUS) 15.90, Alejo Muniz (BRA) 15.76, Adrian Buchan (AUS) 7.84 Heat 10: Adriano De Souza (BRA) 14.17, Jack Freestone (AUS) 13.50, Caio Ibelli (BRA) 11.24 Heat 11: Joel Parkinson (AUS) 14.83, Davey Cathels (AUS) 12.66, Michel Bourez (PYF) 10.66 Heat 12: Italo Ferreira (BRA) 15.00, Sebastian Zietz (HAW) 14.83, Dusty Payne (HAW) 12.27
Meo Rip Curl Pro Portugal Round 2 Match-Ups: Heat 1: John John Florence (HAW) vs. Miguel Blanco (PRT) Heat 2: Gabriel Medina (BRA) vs. Ryan Callinan (AUS) Heat 3: Matt Wilkinson (AUS) vs. Jeremy Flores (FRA) Heat 4: Julian Wilson (AUS) vs. Alex Ribeiro (BRA) Heat 5: Filipe Toledo (BRA) vs. Adam Melling (AUS) Heat 6: Adrian Buchan (AUS) vs. Matt Banting (AUS) Heat 7: Sebastian Zietz (HAW) vs. Alejo Muniz (BRA) Heat 8: Michel Bourez (PYF) vs. Jack Freestone (AUS) Heat 9: Caio Ibelli (BRA) vs. Davey Cathels (AUS) Heat 10: Stuart Kennedy (AUS) vs. Dusty Payne (HAW) Heat 11: Nat Young (USA) vs. Conner Coffin (USA) Heat 12: Keanu Asing (HAW) vs. Kanoa Igarashi (USA)
Inna di caribbean (in the caribbean) – Directed by free surfer / film maker Arthur Bourbon – is a surf movie documenting the winter peregrinations of Arthur through the lesser Antilles Islands. Arthur was born in Guadeloupe (French West indies), he left France mainland last winter to explore this pristine blue archipelago, meet local people and caribbean surf communities, trying to reconnect with his childhood roots. This short movie is an ode to travel. Arthur started his trip from his native island, passing through Dominica, Martinique and St. Lucia, to reach his final destination Barbados.
Dominca is the beginning of the journey. Meet locals surfer Ras and Laurent, part of the WRAD (Wave Rider Alliance of Dominica) and also the mighty James Moses, a rastafari living in the mountain of this beautiful island.
On the rhythm of local music, you will discover the waves and the surfers of this amazing place called the caribbean.
« I travelled for a month with my friend Simon Valdivia (cameraman), taking ferrys to go from an island to another. On our path we had the chance to meet some amazing human being and to find some really good surf. Even if every islands of the caribbean are different, they all have that same strong and interesting culture. People are so laidback and welcoming, everybody was really happy to see us and share a piece of his island. It’s a project i’ve been working on for a long time now, and i’m really glad now to be able to show a bit of the surf culture in the caribbean. » Arthur
