The London Surf / Film Festival is looming at the end of the month (22/23 Sept & 30 Sept/1 Oct … full line up announced soon) and the legendary Shorties comp is live.
Featuring the cream of British and Irish filmmakers the entries up for being shown on the big screen and in the mix for the career boosting Shortie of the Year are all HERE so check ’em out and vote for your favourites. But cast your vote by Thursday as voting closes then.
Short films are a central pillar of modern surf culture, a creative outlet for sharing stories and inspiring stoke. Here at the London Surf / Film Festival we wanted to celebrate the short and give home grown filmmaking talent a platform to bring their visions to the surf world so we established ‘The Shorties’ which has fast become one of the most prestigious short film competitions for surf filmmakers in the world.
While the main festival is a showcase for international filmmaking, The Shorties short film contest is open exclusively to filmmakers from or based in Britain and Ireland. Surfing and surf culture are wide open to interpretation so we welcome film entries of up to 5 minutes in length that explore all aspects and angles through documentary, stop-frame, animation or anything in between from both emerging talents and leading lights.
In this competition, it’s not about whether your waves are big or small, it’s about the way you chose to shoot them. Or don’t. After all there’s more than one way to tell a surf story…
When it comes to surfing and travel I’m sure all of us dream about our perfect trip, setting off somewhere warm, with endless waves and casting aside everyday life. Not all of us have the opportunity to make our dreams a reality but one couple from the UK’s North East coast have done just that and left the 9-5 behind to travel the length of the Pan American highway on 150cc motorbikes with only surfboards and each other for company.
Tom Bing and Sally McGee are riding small motorbikes from Santiago, Chile where they started in Oct 2015 with their eyes set on making it to California later in 2016. They are hugging the coastline as much as possible, passing through 12 countries in total clocking up around 15,000 miles.
Some fun waves in Kernow yesterday… proof here courtesy of Tom Butler.
Very rarely do you get barrelled in the summer time here in England! Yesterday was great fun, head high barrels with the sunshine beaming. I was out with my GoPro Hero 4 using the mouth piece. I hope you enjoy the watch as much as I enjoyed cruising the summer swell! Music by: Bensound.com – track name: Sunny!
Kelly Slater (USA) has won the Billabong Pro Tahiti after defeating John John Florence (HAW) in the Final in eight-to-ten foot surf at Teahupo’o. The final day of competition at Stop No. 7 of 11 on the 2016 Samsung Galaxy World Surf League (WSL) Championship Tour (CT) has been treated to incredible performances by the world’s best surfers, culminating with Slater’s win. The Final day saw 35 barrels ridden between the two finalists.
11-time WSL Champion Slater claimed the 55th CT victory of his career to jump 11 places on the Jeep Leaderboard to 8th. The win today is Slater’s fifth in Tahiti, with previous event titles in 2000, 2003, 2005, 2011 and solidifies his position as the best surfer at Teahupo’o.
“When I look back that will for sure be one of the best wins I have ever had,” said Slater. “To have John John [Florence] in the Final is a dream for me. It is no secret that I am towards the tail-end of my career. John John and Gabriel [Medina] are on their way up and those guys are just monsters. John John is all of our favorite surfers, so I want to see how many heats I can get with him before I am done and to have him out here where he and Gabriel are the favorites. This is a really special time for me. I am stoked.”
Today’s win is Slater’s best result of the season and backs up a Semifinal berth in Fiji and a Quarterfinal finish in Jeffreys Bay. It also marks a return to form and his first CT event win since the Billabong Pipe Masters in 2013.
“It just came together for me,” continued Slater. “I was on the right waves, I was in sync and totally relaxed the whole time. To be in that Final with John John and lose would have been no problem for me. I was taking each heat as a bonus. I have had such a bad run for me historically over the last couple of years that anything was going to be good.”
The Final saw a stacked match-up between the two CT superstars. Florence was quick to get points on the board with an 8.00 on his opening ride, but Slater fired with a near-perfect 9.77. Slater landed a miraculous free-fall drop followed by escaping a deep barrel to garner a stunning 9.17. Florence, with a 15.23, was put in a combination situation and needed two new scores with ten minutes left on the clock. Slater continued to better his score with a phenomenal 9.90 for a near-perfect 19.67 combined total to claim his victory.
En route to the Final Slater posted a Perfect 20 heat total in his Round 5 match-up with Keanu Asing (HAW). This is only the ninth time a perfect heat has been achieved in 40 years of professional surfing and the third time Slater has accomplished this feat. Despite a strong opening from Asing, the Slater juggernaut picked up momentum throughout the back half of the heat, posting a Perfect 10, an excellent 8.10 and then another Perfect 10 to seal the win and etch another achievement in the history books.
“The first 10 of that heat was a more difficult ride definitely, but the second one was a bigger, more perfect, classic tube,” said Slater after winning Round 5. “I just thought that the first one was a lot more difficult, so I was not sure if they would throw a 10 on the second one. I have been feeling good all week. A perfect heat is not going to happen many times in your life so I am stoked.”
Slater previously dispatched event Wildcard Bruno Santos (BRA) in the Quarterfinals with another Perfect 10 and a commanding 9.27 back-up score to take the win.
Slater also received the Andy Irons Most Committed Performance Award, which is given out every year to the standout surfer of the Billabong Pro Tahiti. Previous winners include C.J. Hobgood (2015), Owen Wright (2014), John John Florence (2013), Ricardo dos Santos (2012) and Jeremy Flores (2011).
“I’m so stoked, I’ve worked for this thing for years,” said Slater. “Andy [Irons] would be equally mad and stoked that I won this. Last time I surfed against Andy, it was here at Teahupo’o and he won the event. It was his last win, and I lost to him in the Semifinals. It was a really special heat for me and this is a really special award. This is rad and I can’t wait to put the award in my house. I feel like I’ve won the contest already.”
The runner-up finish for Florence is his best ever result at Teahupo’o and sees the 23-year-old claim the Jeep Leader Jersey heading into the next event on the CT at Lower Trestles. Florence previously defeated Joel Parkinson (AUS) in Round 5, Julian Wilson (AUS) in the Quarterfinals and Gabriel Medina (BRA) in the Semifinals.
“I am super stoked to be the leader on the Jeep Rankings,” Florence said. “But at this point, it is only a yellow jersey and what counts is at the end of the year and there is still a lot to go this year. I am going to keep chipping away at it.”
Gabriel Medina (BRA), 2014 event winner, takes home a third-place finish following an incredible match-up against Florence in the second Semifinal. The sensational superheat saw the pair battle for a place in the Final and the chance to claim the Jeep Leader Jersey. The surfers traded impressive scores throughout the heat, posting seven excellent barrels above 9.00 between them during the bout. The Hawaiian held a slight lead with a near-perfect 18.44 to Medina’s 17.46, but with ten minutes left on the clock, Medina challenged Florence by coming out of a monstrous barrel to earn a Perfect 10 (the fifth of the day) and gain control of the heat. Under pressure and with four minutes remaining, Florence needed a 9.31. In a dramatic exchange, Florence used his priority to land a critical 9.93 to regain the lead and followed it up with a 9.73 to seal the win.
“It was a really fun heat,” said Medina. “John [Florence] is always hard to beat anywhere. We both had really good waves. It was his day today. I look forward to Trestles.”
Medina previously dispatched Jadson Andre (BRA) in Round 5 and Josh Kerr (AUS) in the Quarterfinals before facing Florence. Following today’s result Medina will remain in third place on the Jeep Leaderboard heading into the next event on the CT at Lower Trestles.
Adrian Buchan (AUS) finished the event in third place, matching his best result of the season, after being defeated by eventual winner Slater in the Semifinals. The bout was a rematch of the 2013 Final between the two former event winners, however this time it was the 11-time World Champion that took the win. Slater found a near-perfect 9.63 and a 6.67 to take the lead from Buchan on his opening exchange, while Buchan trailed close behind with an 8.17. Buchan, needing an 8.14, made numerous attempts to escape deep barrel rides, but was unsuccessful on his attempts. Slater increased his lead with an 8.77 to put Buchan in a combination in the last thirty seconds.
Today’s result sees Buchan move up from 11th to 4th place on the Jeep Leaderboard. Buchan previously dispatched Jordy Smith (ZAF) and Kolohe Andino (USA) from the event in Round 5 and the Quarterfinals, respectively.
Julian Wilson (AUS) was defeated by eventual runner-up Florence in Quarterfinal 4 by only 0.74 points in a close head-to-head battle. Florence fired early with excellent rides, but Wilson kept selective. A wipeout on the razor-sharp reef rattled the Australian, but he fired back by coming out of a deep tube to earn a Perfect 10. Despite Wilson’s strong score, Florence was quick to answer back with the dominant combined score for the win. Wilson moves up to 5th place on the Jeep Leaderboard.
“I had the two waves to win that heat for sure,” said Wilson. “The first one I waited for but I got caught out of position and got absolutely walloped and split my chin and took some skin off. It rattled me a bit and I had to reset and gave myself another chance. That 10 was super fun, I knew I had to make the most of that wave. I got the lead for a minute but John John got that wave right behind.”
The next stop on the 2016 Samsung Galaxy WSL Championship Tour will be the Hurley Pro and Swatch Women’s Pro at Trestles, which will see the battle for this season’s World Title heat up as with the world’s best surfers take on Lowers from September 7 -18, 2016.
BILLABONG PRO TAHITI FINAL RESULTS:
1: Kelly Slater (USA) 19.67
2: John John Florence (HAW) 15.23
BILLABONG PRO TAHITI SEMIFINAL RESULTS:
SF 1: Kelly Slater (USA) 18.40 def. Adrian Buchan (AUS) 16.10
SF 2: John John Florence (HAW) 19.66 def. Gabriel Medina (BRA) 19.23
BILLABONG PRO TAHITI QUARTERFINAL RESULTS:
QF 1: Adrian Buchan (AUS) 18.16 def. Kolohe Andino (USA) 16.00
QF 2: Kelly Slater (USA) 19.27 def. Bruno Santos (BRA) 17.43
QF 3: Gabriel Medina (BRA) 17.90 def. Josh Kerr (AUS) 13.40
QF 4: John John Florence (HAW) 17.34 def. Julian Wilson (AUS) 16.60
BILLABONG PRO TAHITI ROUND 5 MATCH-UPS:
Heat 1: Adrian Buchan (AUS) 16.77 def. Jordy Smith (ZAF) 12.60
Heat 2: Kelly Slater (USA) 20.00 def. Keanu Asing (HAW) 14.70
Heat 3: Gabriel Medina (BRA) 15.43 def. Jadson Andre (BRA) 14.33
Heat 4: John John Florence (HAW) 18.30 def. Joel Parkinson (AUS) 15.90
2016 WSL Jeep Leaderboard Top 5 (after Billabong Pro Tahiti):
1. John John Florence (HAW) 39,900 pts
2. Matt Wilkinson (AUS) 36,000 pts
3. Gabriel Medina (BRA) 35,700 pts
4. Adrian Buchan (AUS) 26,200 pts
5. Julian Wilson (AUS) 25,200 pts
The Billabong Pro Tahiti, Stop No. 7 of 11 on the 2016 Samsung Galaxy WSL Championship Tour (CT), continued today in three-to-five foot (1 – 1.5 metre) surf at Teahupo’o. The day saw top scores and exciting match-ups as the world’s best surfers battled through Rounds 3 and 4 to avoid elimination and earn a direct advance to the Quarterfinals.
Event wildcard and 2008 Billabong Pro Tahiti winner, Bruno Santos (BRA), lit up the competition today with electric performances in both rounds. The Brazilian, who gained entry into the event after winning the Trials, looked unstoppable today as he not only knocked out the top ranked surfer on the CT in Round 3, but also posted highest heat score of the day, a near-perfect 18.30 in Round 4, to defeat two former event winners.
Santos began by causing a huge upset in Round 3 Heat 6 by defeating Matt Wilkinson (AUS), Jeep Ratings’ Leader. With limited opportunities during the heat, Santos got busy on the inside to earn a 12.33 combined heat score to take the lead. With only five minutes left in the heat, Wilkinson had yet to put points on the board. A set out the back gave Wilkinson an opportunity to challenge Santos, but the Australian failed to make it out of the barrel.
“I was watching the last heat and the end of that heat was really good, so in the beginning of my heat I was trying to get the first good wave,” said Santos. “Wilko [Matt Wilkinson] and I fought for the priority, but when the sets came I was too deep. I started to get the small ones and just made my scores enough to put me in the lead. I am feeling really good. It is hard to surf against Wilko who is doing really well this year. I feel stronger that I beat the big guys. I just want to keep going, step-by-step.”
Wilkinson is eliminated in equal 13th place and will relinquish his first place position on the Jeep Leaderboard to John John Florence (HAW) if the Hawaiian is able to make the Quarterfinals in Tahiti.
“I started just as I wanted to,” Wilkinson said. “But, on that first set, we were both too deep for it. Obviously, I would have loved to have been on it in the perfect spot, but I made sure he did not have an easy line into it. The heat just slowly ran away from me. I was happy letting him get those 5’s and that 6 because I decided that I wasn’t settling for anything but an 8 or above. I am disappointed, but good luck to Bruno [Santos] in the rest of the event. There is so much of the year left and I am going to focus on getting big results. Hopefully I can get on another little roll and win a few. For Lowers, I am going to work on high performance surfing and being as consistent as I can.”
Santos advanced on to Round 4 Heat 2, which saw a stacked match-up of former event winners — 11-time WSL Champion Kelly Slater (USA) and Adrian Buchan (AUS). Four-time event winner Slater showcased why he is the most decorated surfer on the CT as he miraculously came out of a cavernous barrel to earn the event’s first perfect 10.00. Santos challenged the veteran with two near-perfect 9-point rides to take 0.13-point lead over Slater and the win. Santos will advance to the Quarterfinals, while Slater and Buchan will battle again in elimination Round 5.
“I am super stoked to win that heat,” said Santos. “There were three event champions in that heat. Ace [Adrian Buchan] is so good here and Kelly [Slater] is the man. It actually was a dream for me to beat Kelly. I’ve surfed against him maybe four or five times, but as a kid I always dreamed of beating Kelly somewhere, but here it is special. It was a crazy heat with Kelly’s perfect 10. I am super stoked to be in the Quarterfinals and beat two of my favorite surfers here.”
Kolohe Andino (USA), Josh Kerr (AUS) and Julian Wilson (AUS) also earned a direct advance to the Quarterfinals following Round 4 wins.
Andino took on Keanu Asing (HAW) and Jordy Smith (ZAF) in Round 4 Heat 1. Smith held the lead for the majority of the heat, but Andino scored with an excellent 9.53 in the last two minutes. Andino’s patience paid off as he edged a narrow victory and his place in the Quarterfinals.
“That heat was scrappy – I was waiting and waiting and finally I got a couple of waves,” said Andino. “I knew that a good wave was going to come and then it did, so I tried my best and held. I was really amped up when I made it because it means I go straight to the Quarters, which is a result for me. This is the first event my dad has been to all year and I’m stoked he’s here. I’m having a really fun time here this year but I know the Quarters will be tough.”
Kerr earned his first Quarterfinal berth of the 2016 season after defeating CT superstar Florence and Jadson Andre (BRA) in Round 4 Heat 3. Florence and Andre will be relegated to Round 5, where they will battle to stay alive in the competition.
“I am feeling great, but what a weird heat that one was,” Kerr said. “There was so much seaweed and coconut sticks in the water. It was not dangerous for waves, it was just dangerous to catch a wave that was half a foot because you would get hit in the heat by a coconut or something. The best wave of the heat was John’s [Florence] one and he got all of that seaweed and it just stopped him in his tracks. I am just stoked to keep rolling through and keep the vibes going.”
Round 4 Heat 4 saw an intense clash of CT heavyweights, as Wilson took on WSL Champions Joel Parkinson (AUS) (2012) and Gabriel Medina (BRA) (2014). The thrilling match-up up saw each of the three surfers charge and post 9-point rides. Wilson opened his account with a near-perfect 9.70 and Parkinson quickly followed suit with a 9.37. Wilson locked in an excellent 8.27 back-up score and held the lead for the entire heat. Medina fought back with a 9.27, but like Parkinson, could not find the second score required to take the Quarterfinal spot.
“That was great to start the heat with a few waves,” Wilson said. “The heat before had nothing in it at all. We were even super deep at the start of the heat, too. We were hassling each other a bit. That real south wave popped up and I was able to get a score out of it. Joel [Parkinson] caught one that was really good. Gabby [Gabriel Medina] came back into the heat with a 9. It was pretty much wide open until the end, but the waves just shut down after Gabby’s wave.”
Wilson previously eliminated defending event winner Jeremy Flores (FRA) in Round 3 Heat 10 with a buzzer-beater barrel ride to score a near-perfect 9.20.
Round 3 also saw another shock elimination when Asing took down 2015 Rookie of the Year, Italo Ferreira (BRA), in the opening heat of the day. Asing secured a 5.67 on his opening exchange to take an early lead. The top-seeded Brazilian took control with a 12.58 combined score, but the Hawaiian came out of a deep tube ride to earn an excellent 8.40 for a narrow 1.64 lead. Ferreira will walk away with a 13th place finish from the event.
“It was like I said earlier, ‘Kill or be killed,’” Asing said. “I am coming out as hard as I can. I came prepared to this event. Even though I do not have any results this season, that does not mean that I am going to give up. I came ready and I stuck to my game plan. I feel like Italo [Ferreira] thought he was going to walk right through that heat and he thought I was probably an easy draw, but I am giving it the best I can. I am fighting for money, my career, my work, and I will not let these guys take my money and take my job.”
2016 WSL Rookies Alex Ribeiro (BRA) and Kanoa Igarashi (USA), the last two rookies left in the draw, were eliminated in Round 3 by CT superstars Florence and Parkinson, respectively.
BILLABONG PRO TAHITI ROUND 3 RESULTS:
Heat 1: Keanu Asing (HAW) 14.07 def. Italo Ferreira (BRA) 12.43 Heat 2: Kolohe Andino (USA) 15.03 def. Adam Melling (AUS) 5.67 Heat 3: Jordy Smith (ZAF) 7.00 def. Matt Banting (AUS) 5.17 Heat 4: Adrian Buchan (AUS) 15.50 def. Alejo Muniz (BRA) 7.33 Heat 5: Kelly Slater (USA) 17.50 def. Nat Young (USA) 12.50 Heat 6: Bruno Santos (BRA) 12.33 def. Matt Wilkinson (AUS) 6.83 Heat 7: John John Florence (HAW) 13.33 def. Alex Ribeiro (BRA) 8.57 Heat 8: Josh Kerr (AUS) 17.44 def. Dusty Payne (HAW) 4.37 Heat 9: Jadson Andre (BRA) 12.07 def. Sebastian Zietz (HAW) 9.57 Heat 10: Julian Wilson (AUS) 16.03 def. Jeremy Flores (FRA) 14.77 Heat 11: Joel Parkinson (AUS) 15.53 def. Kanoa Igarashi (USA) 5.20 Heat 12: Gabriel Medina (BRA) 15.66 def. Kai Otton (AUS) 7.83
BILLABONG PRO TAHITI ROUND 4 Results:
Heat 1: Kolohe Andino (USA) 15.30, Jordy Smith (ZAF) 12.63, Keanu Asing (HAW) 11.63 Heat 2: Bruno Santos (BRA) 18.30, Kelly Slater (USA) 18.17, Adrian Buchan (AUS) 8.33 Heat 3: Josh Kerr (AUS) 11.00, Jadson Andre (BRA) 10.06, John John Florence (HAW) 2.96 Heat 4: Julian Wilson (AUS) 17.97, Joel Parkinson (AUS) 13.04, Gabriel Medina (BRA) 10.60
BILLABONG PRO TAHITI ROUND 5 MATCH-UPS:
Heat 1: Jordy Smith (ZAF) vs. Adrian Buchan (AUS) Heat 2: Kelly Slater (USA) vs. Keanu Asing (HAW) Heat 3: Jadson Andre (BRA) vs. Gabriel Medina (BRA) Heat 4: Joel Parkinson (AUS) vs. John John Florence (HAW)
