In his last episode 23-year old Moroccan surfer, Ismail Benlamlih, sold his prize possession and only means of transport, his bike, to get to Indo. In this episode, with no sponsors and no transport, he tries his best to keep his dream alive and enjoy the ride in his home country surfing slabs, outer reefs and of course point break barrels.
Oli Adams has been on a mission, as always, this winter notching up sessions whenever and wherever there’s been good conditions. He’s working on a film and these are a few that didn’t make the cut. Which means the keepers should be cracking…
The wipeout of the year award is a hell of a battle. Watch the clip and try and make a call, it’s flipping hard.
Garrett’s Mav’s beasting damaged him, unsurprisingly, but will it be the winner on the night? All five contenders are brutal as hell…
Let us know your pick on the social: Twitter/Instagram/Facebook.
The remaining nominations for the 2016 World Surf League (WSL) Big Wave Awards have been released, with video of the five most spectacular wipeouts of the year leading the way along with the top overall performer lists for men and women. This year’s event features over $250,000 in total prize money, and with four categories already public, the highly anticipated TAG Heuer Wipeout of the Year, the Surfline Best Overall Performance, and the Women’s Best Overall Performance award nominees have been announced today.
The performance awards acknowledge the top ten men and top five women over the course of the last 12 months based on every ride captured on video or still images all around the world. Shortlisted surfers include big wave heavyweights Shane Dorian, Keala Kennelly and Mark Healey, as well as the 2015/16 Big Wave Tour Champion, Greg Long. The nominations also include up-and-comers Will Skudin, Kai Lenny and Emi Erickson. Photographs and motion pictures of all the Surfline Overall and Women’s Best Performance nominated surfers can be viewed at WorldSurfLeague.com/BigWave.
While the performance categories salute the most successful rides of the past year, the TAG Heuer Wipeout division presents the most amazing unsuccessful rides for online review. Video of the modern surfing’s greatest aquatic mishaps has become a popular viral staple among surfing fans worldwide, often attracting millions of views and taking its place as a good-natured fixture in the Big Wave Awards proceedings.
“Since the first surf movies of the 1950s, celebrating the best wipeouts of the year has been a time-honored tradition in the surfing community,” said Bill Sharp, event director for the WSL Big Wave Awards. “It’s not a category anyone intentionally sets out to win, but at the end of the season the surfers themselves appreciate being honored for showing their mettle even if it went wrong along the way. This El Niño year produced the best big waves in history and you can probably say the same thing about the TAG Heuer Wipeout nominees — most of them have become internet sensations individually, but all five together are two minutes of magnificent mayhem and must be seen to be believed. It might be hard to fathom, but all the nominees came through their ordeals OK and will be happy to be joining us at the awards show.”
The 16th annual WSL Big Wave Awards competition window ran from March 21, 2015 through March 15, 2016. Every wave ridden at every big wave break around the world in this period was eligible for consideration across seven categories. Now that the nominees have been selected, several judging panels will review the photographic and video evidence and determine the final placings. This year, more magnitude than ever rides on the Surfline Overall Performance rankings as the four highest-placing surfers not already qualified will gain seeded spots on the 2016/17 WSL Big Wave Tour which spans six one-day events in locations around the globe.
The winners will be crowned at a gala awards show at the Grove Theater in Anaheim, California on April 23.
The TAG Heuer Wipeout of the Year Award goes to the surfer who displays the most committed — yet least successful — wave of the event window. Truly epitomizing the courage needed for big wave surfing, the surfers nominated for this accolade show no shortage of heart and commitment. The winner of this award will receive $3,000 and the videographer who captured the wipeout will receive $2,000. Two of the five wipeouts took place at the Maverick’s California during some of the most massive El Niño winter swells, including Matt Becker, the young charger from Santa Barbara, California, and Garrett McNamara from Hawaii. Pedro Calado joins this year’s shortlist with a massive nosedive at Puerto Escondido, Mexico, as well as Niccolo Porcella for his over-the-falls drop at Teahupoo, Tahiti. Rounding out the nominations is Tom Dosland for his must-watch-tethered-dangle at Jaws, Maui.
TAG HEUER WIPEOUT OF THE YEAR AWARD NOMINEES:
(Surfer prize $3,000 – Videographer prize $2,000)
Matt Becker (Santa Barbara, California, USA) at Maverick’s, California on February 4, 2016. (Video by Dan Norkunas.)
Pedro Calado (Rio de Janeiro, Brazil) at Puerto Escondido, Mexico on May 3, 2015. (Video by Daniel Balbuena.)
Tom Dosland (Honolulu, Hawaii, USA) at Jaws, Maui, Hawaii on January 27, 2016. (Video by Bruno Lemos.)
Garrett McNamara (Haleiwa, Hawaii, USA) at Maverick’s, California on January 7, 2016. (Video by Chris Wilson)
Niccolo Porcella (Sardegna, Italy) at Teahupoo, Tahiti on July 22, 2015. (Video by Tim Pruvost.)
For more information, log onto WorldSurfLeague.com.
‘Come to Iceland!’ they said. ‘Don’t like the weather? Wait 5 minutes!’ they said.
A week in the land of Ice and Fire with Josh Mulcoy, Dane Anderson, Aaron Bierman, and Ian Battrick. Special thanks to Kevin Walsh, Mark McInnis, and all the hospitable locals who shared their frozen paradise with us.
Music by: Rhiannon Giddens – “Shake Sugaree”
The Rip Curl Pro Bells Beach witnessed high drama today as a bevy of top seeds were knocked out of the competition in the back half of Men’s Round 3.
The second stop on the World Surf League (WSL) Samsung Galaxy Championship Tour (CT), the Rip Curl Pro Bells Beach, saw massive scores and hard-fought match-ups go down in four-to-six foot (1.5 – 2 metre) waves at the world renowned Bells Beach.
Mick Fanning (AUS), three-time WSL Champion and four-time event winner, blazed through Round 3 to eliminate event wildcard Dusty Payne (HAW). Fanning and Payne charged for waves in the opening heat of the day, but it was Fanning who solidified the win with two eight-point rides. The Australian will continue to chase a fifth Bells Title.
“Down here at Bells you can see the huge crowd and it’s amazing, and you hear everything out there, which is really cool,” Fanning said. “Just looking back on this whole grandstand and this natural amphitheater, it is such a beautiful place. This is one of my favorite events. I am just wanting to put on a performance and enjoy my time here.”
The 2016 WSL rookie class came out swinging today with huge upsets in elimination Round 3 with Conner Coffin (USA), Caio Ibelli (BRA) and Davey Cathels (AUS) eliminating Joel Parkinson (AUS), John John Florence (HAW) and Gabriel Medina (BRA), respectively.
Conner Coffin (USA) knocked out CT veteran and three-time event winner, Joel Parkinson (AUS) in Heat 9. Parkinson unleashed a variety of clean maneuvers to earn a 14.56 two-wave combined score, but the Californian rookie turned on his power game to defeat the CT veteran with two eight-point rides.
“The waves are really fun when you get the right one, but you have to pick them,” Coffin said. “That was my goal against Joel, just to pick the right waves and give my best. The last time I surfed against Joel, man-on-man, was at Trestles a couple of years ago when I had a wildcard from Hurley, and he smoked me. I learned a lot from surfing against him that time, so it is nice to have had those opportunities in the past and use that going forward.”
Caio Ibelli (BRA) charged against John John Florence (HAW) to defeat the CT superstar by only 0.04 points. Florence locked in a 15.50 two-wave combined score, but Ibelli chased to better his situation right until the final buzzer to secure the win.
“I found those last two waves halfway through the heat,” said Ibelli. “I decided to trade my board for a bigger board than I was riding yesterday and it worked. I am really happy to make it through this heat.”
Davey Cathels (AUS) defeat Gabriel Medina (BRA) to end his run for a Bells victory with a 15.40 two-wave combined score. Medina, the 2014 WSL Champion, experienced a slight hiccup with a lost board in the last ten minutes of the heat and was not able to find the waves for a comeback against the rookie.
“When I’m up against those good guys, I am not worried I am going to get beat because it can happen,” said Cathels. “I am excited to come up here and take out some big names. I am happy the way I surfed that heat. I had a gameplan and stuck to it. I was trying to sell Gabriel on some bad waves and I just tried to pick smart with bigger ones.”
Heat 10 saw Kelly Slater (USA), eleven-time WSL Champion and four-time event winner, eliminated from the competition by Michel Bourez (PYF). Although Slater dropped the highest scoring ride of the heat, an 8.37, he could not find the 6.46 required to close the gap on Bourez.
The day’s action was capped off with the WSL Heritage Series heat between 1988 World Champion Barton Lynch (AUS) and two-time World Champion (1987, 1991) Damien Hardman (AUS). Despite the challenging lineup, but icons surgically dismantled the tricky Bells conditions on their backhand, with Lynch walking away the victory.
High Res Images from this event available for editorial use via Reuters
Highlights from the Rip Curl Pro Bells Beach will be webcast LIVE at WorldSurfLeague.com.
For more information, log onto WorldSurfLeague.com
Rip Curl Pro Bells Beach Remaining Round 3 Results:
Heat 7: Mick Fanning (AUS) 16.60 def. Dusty Payne (HAW) 11.57
Heat 8: Jordy Smith (ZAF) 15.33 def. Kai Otton (AUS) 13.26
Heat 9: Conner Coffin (USA) 16.27 def. Joel Parkinson (AUS) 13.26
Heat 10: Michel Bourez (PYF) 14.83 def. Kelly Slater (USA) 13.70
Heat 11: Caio Ibelli (BRA) 15.54 def. John def. John Florence (HAW) 15.50
Heat 12: Davey Cathels (AUS) 15.40 def. Gabriel Medina (BRA) 12.07
Rip Curl Pro Bells Beach Round 4 Match-Ups:
Heat 1: Italo Ferreira (BRA), Nat Young (USA), Julian Wilson (AUS)
Heat 2: Matt Wilkinson (AUS), Wiggolly Dantas (BRA), Mason Ho (HAW)
Heat 3: Mick Fanning (AUS), Jordy Smith (ZAF), Conner Coffin (USA)
Heat 4: Michel Bourez (PYF), Caio Ibelli (BRA), Davey Cathels (AUS)
The Rip Curl Pro Bells Beach witnessed high drama today as a bevy of top seeds were knocked out of the competition in the back half of Men’s Round 3.
The second stop on the World Surf League (WSL) Samsung Galaxy Championship Tour (CT), the Rip Curl Pro Bells Beach, saw massive scores and hard-fought match-ups go down in four-to-six foot (1.5 – 2 metre) waves at the world renowned Bells Beach.
Mick Fanning (AUS), three-time WSL Champion and four-time event winner, blazed through Round 3 to eliminate event wildcard Dusty Payne (HAW). Fanning and Payne charged for waves in the opening heat of the day, but it was Fanning who solidified the win with two eight-point rides. The Australian will continue to chase a fifth Bells Title.
“Down here at Bells you can see the huge crowd and it’s amazing, and you hear everything out there, which is really cool,” Fanning said. “Just looking back on this whole grandstand and this natural amphitheater, it is such a beautiful place. This is one of my favorite events. I am just wanting to put on a performance and enjoy my time here.”
The 2016 WSL rookie class came out swinging today with huge upsets in elimination Round 3 with Conner Coffin (USA), Caio Ibelli (BRA) and Davey Cathels (AUS) eliminating Joel Parkinson (AUS), John John Florence (HAW) and Gabriel Medina (BRA), respectively.
Conner Coffin (USA) knocked out CT veteran and three-time event winner, Joel Parkinson (AUS) in Heat 9. Parkinson unleashed a variety of clean maneuvers to earn a 14.56 two-wave combined score, but the Californian rookie turned on his power game to defeat the CT veteran with two eight-point rides.
“The waves are really fun when you get the right one, but you have to pick them,” Coffin said. “That was my goal against Joel, just to pick the right waves and give my best. The last time I surfed against Joel, man-on-man, was at Trestles a couple of years ago when I had a wildcard from Hurley, and he smoked me. I learned a lot from surfing against him that time, so it is nice to have had those opportunities in the past and use that going forward.”
Caio Ibelli (BRA) charged against John John Florence (HAW) to defeat the CT superstar by only 0.04 points. Florence locked in a 15.50 two-wave combined score, but Ibelli chased to better his situation right until the final buzzer to secure the win.
“I found those last two waves halfway through the heat,” said Ibelli. “I decided to trade my board for a bigger board than I was riding yesterday and it worked. I am really happy to make it through this heat.”
Davey Cathels (AUS) defeat Gabriel Medina (BRA) to end his run for a Bells victory with a 15.40 two-wave combined score. Medina, the 2014 WSL Champion, experienced a slight hiccup with a lost board in the last ten minutes of the heat and was not able to find the waves for a comeback against the rookie.
“When I’m up against those good guys, I am not worried I am going to get beat because it can happen,” said Cathels. “I am excited to come up here and take out some big names. I am happy the way I surfed that heat. I had a gameplan and stuck to it. I was trying to sell Gabriel on some bad waves and I just tried to pick smart with bigger ones.”
Heat 10 saw Kelly Slater (USA), eleven-time WSL Champion and four-time event winner, eliminated from the competition by Michel Bourez (PYF). Although Slater dropped the highest scoring ride of the heat, an 8.37, he could not find the 6.46 required to close the gap on Bourez.
The day’s action was capped off with the WSL Heritage Series heat between 1988 World Champion Barton Lynch (AUS) and two-time World Champion (1987, 1991) Damien Hardman (AUS). Despite the challenging lineup, but icons surgically dismantled the tricky Bells conditions on their backhand, with Lynch walking away the victory.
High Res Images from this event available for editorial use via Reuters
Highlights from the Rip Curl Pro Bells Beach will be webcast LIVE at WorldSurfLeague.com.
For more information, log onto WorldSurfLeague.com
Rip Curl Pro Bells Beach Remaining Round 3 Results:
Heat 7: Mick Fanning (AUS) 16.60 def. Dusty Payne (HAW) 11.57
Heat 8: Jordy Smith (ZAF) 15.33 def. Kai Otton (AUS) 13.26
Heat 9: Conner Coffin (USA) 16.27 def. Joel Parkinson (AUS) 13.26
Heat 10: Michel Bourez (PYF) 14.83 def. Kelly Slater (USA) 13.70
Heat 11: Caio Ibelli (BRA) 15.54 def. John def. John Florence (HAW) 15.50
Heat 12: Davey Cathels (AUS) 15.40 def. Gabriel Medina (BRA) 12.07
Rip Curl Pro Bells Beach Round 4 Match-Ups:
Heat 1: Italo Ferreira (BRA), Nat Young (USA), Julian Wilson (AUS)
Heat 2: Matt Wilkinson (AUS), Wiggolly Dantas (BRA), Mason Ho (HAW)
Heat 3: Mick Fanning (AUS), Jordy Smith (ZAF), Conner Coffin (USA)
Heat 4: Michel Bourez (PYF), Caio Ibelli (BRA), Davey Cathels (AUS)
