Hamilton, who suffered the loss of her left arm during a Tiger Shark attack in 2003, put in an inspirational performance, beating Australian favourite Laura Enever and Hawaiian Leila Hurst to make the final.

Ado now joins the prestigious ranks of past ASP World Junior Champions Jessi Miley-Dyer (AUS), 22, Nicola Atherton (AUS), 22, and Sally Fitzgibbons (AUS), 18 – all three past champions qualifying for the prestigious ASP Women’s World Tour within one season of claiming the Billabong ASP World Junior Championships.

In addition to being crowned ASP World Junior Champion, Ado will also receive a guaranteed seed into the second-to-last seeded round of all ASP WQS events in 2009, giving the young natural-footer a great advantage as she vies for a position on the elite ASP Women’s World Tour in 2010.

BILLABONG ASP WORLD JUNIORS (WOMEN) FINAL:
1 – Pauline Ado (FRA) 13.43
2 – Bethany Hamilton (HAW) 12.47

BILLABONG ASP WORLD JUNIORS (WOMEN) SEMIFINAL RESULTS:
SF 1: Pauline Ado (FRA) 12.17 def. Courtney Conlogue (USA) 10.00
SF 2: Bethany Hamilton (HAW) 11.50 def. Leila Hurst (HAW) 10.07

BILLABONG ASP WORLD JUNIORS (WOMEN) QUARTERFINAL RESULTS:
QF 1: Pauline Ado (FRA) 16.33 def. Arini Mason (NZL) 11.87
QF 2: Courtney Conlogue (USA) 18.23 def. Paige Hareb (NZL) 10.33
QF 3: Leila Hurst (HAW) 11.17 def. Diana Cristina (BRA) 9.23
QF 4: Bethany Hamilton (HAW) 14.83 def. Laura Enever (AUS) 12.77

December 29, 2008

While the surfers on tour will include 11 Women’s World Title holders represented over four competitors - Stephanie Gilmore Layne Beachley, Sofia Mulanovich and Chelsea Hedges – there are also five rookies joining the vets — all teenagers.

Sally Fitzgibbons, 18, made history earlier this year by becoming the fastest surfer ever to qualify for the world tour in a season.  She will be joined by Brazil’s Bruna Schmitz, Kiwi Paige Hareb, Hawaiian Alana Blanchard (all 18) and Coco Ho, 17.

Aussies will dominate the tour, with Fitzgibbons and current world champ Stephanie Gilmore leading eight of their compatriots.

Seven-time world champ Layne Beachley remains on the tour, though she previously announced her retirement.  The move allows her to still compete at some events, though she will not participate in all events (there are eight total events).

The new season kicks off on Feb. 28, 2009 with the Roxy Pro Gold Coast.

Here are the 2009 World Tour Surfers:
1 – Stephanie Gilmore (AUS)
2 – Silvana Lima (BRA)
3 – Sofia Mulanovich (PER)
4 – Layne Beachley (AUS)
5 – Amee Donohoe (AUS)
6 – Samantha Cornish (AUS)
7 – Melanie Bartels (HAW)
8 – Rebecca Woods (AUS)
9 – Jessi Miley-Dyer (AUS)
10 – Jacqueline Silva (BRA)
11 – Chelsea Hedges (AUS)
12 – Sally Fitzgibbons (AUS)
13 – Rosanne Hodge (ZAF)
14 – Bruna Schmitz (BRA)
15 – Paige Hareb (NZL)

December 4, 2008

Surfing: “Do women belong in the kitchen or the barrel?” Jessi Miley-Dyer writes in Surfline. It’s a question she asked herself on a recent girly girl surfari in Mirconesia. The Aussie ripper teams up with fierce friends Stephanie Gilmore, Karina Petroni, mom-to-be Chelsea Georges, Nicola Atherton and Leilana Gryde to explore the tropical paradise, get some sick shots and shoot down old-school cliches… (kind of an old link but have been meaning to post it for a while)

Skiing: The Women’s World Cup hits Lake Louise this weekend and defending World Cup champion Lindsey Vonn posted the fastest time in Wednesday’s first training run for the opening women’s downhill race of the season. The downhill races at Lake Louise are scheduled for Friday and Saturday and the season’s first World Cup super-giant slalom is set for Sunday. Last season, Vonn became the first American in 25 years to win the overall World Cup title and the first in more than a decade to win the downhill.

December 2, 2008

Ripping through the three-to-five foot waves  Gilmore defeated fellow finalists Silvana Lima , Jessi Miley-Dyer,  and Nicola Atherton.

Event No. 7 of 8 on the 2008 ASP Women’s World Tour, the Roxy Pro proved the most decisive event of year, seeing shock eliminations on the final day before Gilmore soared to victory to claim the 2008 ASP Women’s World Title.

After winning her first Championship at just 19 - the first ever surfer to win such an accolade in their rookie year - Gilmore made it two-for-two by beating overall points leaders Sofia Mulanovich, Silvana Lima and Layne Beachley to win the most prestigious prize in women’s surfing once again.

 ROXY PRO SUNSET FINAL RESULTS:
1 – Stephanie Gilmore (AUS) 15.83
2 – Silvana Lima (PER) 14.16
3 – Jessi Miley-Dyer (AUS) 9.00
4 – Nicola Atherton (AUS) 6.46

ASP WOMEN’S WORLD TOUR RATINGS:
Following Roxy Pro at Sunset Beach
1 – Stephanie Gilmore (AUS) 6348 points
2 – Sofia Mulanovich (PER) 5233 points
3 – Silvana Lima (BRA) 5138 points
4 – Layne Beachley (AUS) 5006 points

Check the official report from the ASP website:

November 24, 2008

Seems that Moore, who just dropped her longtime sponsor Roxy and signed a huge sponsorship deal with Nike and Red Bull, is making history on all fronts.

Moore won her way through every round of the competition from the preliminary trials heat that awarded one wildcard spot into the event. She now leads the 2008 Vans Triple Crown of Surfing series ratings.

Three teenagers and a 36-year-old, 7-time world champion featured in the 30-minute final. Moore won, multiple world champ Layne Beachley (Australia) was second, 17-year-old Laura Enever (Australia) was third, and North Shore local Coco Ho, 17, was fourth.

While Moore’s rise to the win came with calm, sure-footedness, there was no shortage of drama around her to help pave the road to victory.

First came the fourth place elimination of reigning world champion Stephanie Gilmore (Australia) in quarter final one.

Next came the quarter final defeat of Alana Blanchard (Hawaii), who was hoping for a final finish today to guarantee her qualification onto the 2009 ASP women’s World Tour.

In the final, 17-year-old Coco Ho was at the center of drama. A win here would have guaranteed Ho a start on the 2009 elite World Tour, but after finding herself in fourth for most of the heat, her focus shifted to securing the win for Moore. With less than a minute remaining, Beachley was in need of little more than six points to steal the win from Moore. Ho took off, dropping in on Beachley, popping an air above her head and effectively shutting down Layne’s scoring potential in a classic case of schoolgirl tactics.

While it will never be known if Layne would have earned the score she needed to win, its indisputable that Moore earned the victory on the merits of her surfing alone.

As the final ASP women’s World Qualifying Series (WQS) event of the year, all eyes will now shift to the next two stops on the Vans Triple Crown to determine the final lineup for the 2009 women’s ASP World Tour: the Roxy Pro (Nov.24-Dec.6) and the Billabong Pro Maui (Dec. 8-20).

In addition to being the second of three stops on the 2008 Vans Triple Crown of Surfing, this week’s Roxy Pro at Sunset Beach carries the added weight of potentially crowning the 2008 ASP Women’s World Champion.  Will Aussie Stephanie Gilmore, 20, reigning ASP Women’s World Champion and current No. 1 on the ASP Women’s World Tour successfully defend her title?

November 18, 2008

Recently split from her longtime sponsor Roxy, the Hawaiian teen has signed two major deals - one with Red Bull and the other with Nike 6.0. 

According to Surfing Magazine,

All said and done, the 16-year-old Punahou junior will likely be enjoying one of the most lucrative contracts in female pro surfing history (estimated to be in the range of three-quarters of a million dollars by one anonymous source). “Carissa’s new agreements have for the first time ever shattered the glass ceiling of surfing sponsorship, opening up new and never heard of before possibilities for other surfers to eventually emulate,” says [agent Bryan] Taylor.

Moore is apparently also close to making a deal with a major department store - kind of like the deal snowboarder Shaun White made earlier this year to “design” a fashion line for Target.

And as a “head to toe” Nike rider, Moore will likely be marketed not just in the surf world, but in some of their more mainstream campaigns as well joining the likes of well-known Nike athletes Tiger Woods, Maria Sharapova and LeBron James.

After eight years with Roxy, Moore’s split from the sponsor who’s been with her since the beginning is truly the end of an era. It seems a bittersweet transition but it’s great that Nike and Red Bull are stepping up to the plate with women’s surfing and Moore seems a great choice to represent the sport.

To other brands looking for the TNBT - there’s a whole new generation of super groms stealing the show.

Like much of this year, where super groms ruled in women’s professional surfing, the teenage new wave of women’s professional surfing is stealing the show. In the opening day of competition, the ladies enjoyed solid overhead waves and two rounds of competition as they whittled the 44-woman, 11-nation field down to 16 quarter finalists.

From the first heat -a wildcard battle among six young Hawaii surfers- it was clear that the new crop is determined to rise to the top at this year’s Vans Triple Crown of Surfing.

Wildcard winner Carissa Moore, 16, and winter room-mates Laura Enever (Australia), 17, and Coco Ho (Hawaii), 17, administered the major damage against some of the top seeded surfers and are all through to the quarters.

Heading into the quarter finals, seven of the 16 ladies remaining are 18 years of age or under: Bruna Schmitz (Brz, 18), Ho, Enever, Courtney Conlogue (CA, 16), Sally Fitzgibbons (Aus, 17), Moore, and Alana Blanchard (HI, 18).

Defending Reef Hawaiian Pro and Vans Triple Crown champion Megan Abubo (Hawaii) was the biggest casualty of the day, eliminated in round two by Ho and Enever.

Full details

After three back-to-back days of superb competition at the Reef Hawaiian Pro, the event is currently on standby awaiting better conditions. Assuming a northwest swell arrives shortly, this month should be one of the most exciting ever as we head into the final countdown of the Women’s Association of Surfing Professionals (ASP) World Tour and find out whether Stephanie Gilmore hangs onto her title.

November 10, 2008

Luckily Transworld Surf has compiled a list of the top 10 surf colleges in America. They describe what makes a great surf school and what to look for when choosing a one. Obviously location is important but good to look at academics, life experience and costs as well.

The top 10 list includes obvious choices like the University of California - Santa Cruz, Santa Barbara and San Diego campuses along with Pepperdine (Malibu), University of Hawaii (Manoa), Flager College (St. Augustine, Florida) and University of North Carolina in Wilmington. For the hearty, the list also includes schools in Rhode Island and New Jersey.

If you’re looking for a school with stoke - you’ll definitely want to check out the list.

At the same time, you might want to also surf for scholarships. College money has been offered to surfers in the past by the Wrightsville Beach Longboard Association and the Duke Kahanamoku Foundation.

Also check out the Surfrider Foundation Thomas Pratte Memorial Scholarship for students with an interest in coastal environmental science, such as oceanography, marine affairs, environmental sciences, public policy, community planning and natural resources.

Other scholarships with a connection to surfing include:

• TJ Stockdale Memorial Scholarship sponsored by the Jersey Shore Chapter of the Surfrider Foundation.
• East Coast Surfing Scholarship by the Buddy Pelletier Surfing Foundation.
• National Scholastic Surfing Association.
• Joshua Dean Hall Scholarship. Three $500 scholarships for high school seniors at Huntington Beach High School who are members of the HBHS Surfing Team.
• Eastern Surfing Association Marsh Scholarship. $8,000 scholarship. May 15 deadline.

Good luck and good surf…

November 6, 2008

With three total wins on tour this season, Gilmore now is in the driver’s seat going to Hawaii where the final two tour events will take place.

“Now that I’m ahead, I feel great,” she said after the contest.  “But I know there are still two more events and a lot can happen. I excited for Hawaii and am looking forward to a great end of the year.”

Peruvian powerhouse Sofia Mulanovich, who was leading the overall rankings going into the contest, slipped to No. 2 after getting knocked out in the quarter-finals.  She is still in the running for her second world title but with just two events left in the 2008 ASP Women’s six-stop World Tour, she’ll have to win both to remain a contender for the crown.

For more about the contest, visit the official contest site and read on for the press release from the day’s action.

(more…)

October 24, 2008

The first event of the college surf season got off to a great start last weekend. The swell at Blacks Beach, La Jolla California was about 1-3 feet with fun peaks, and the weather was perfect.

The National Scholastic Surfing Association (NSSA), the organization that creates competitive experiences for young surfers, runs more than 80 NSSA events nationwide culminating with the annual National Championships.

This season, a new format seeded the college’s A Teams and forced the final 10 teams to battle out the last five remaining spots in the main event. The new format was well received by coaches because the teams were no longer worried about “knocking off” their own teammates. The event one was a “nail biter” until the very last heat.

Even though the surf was a little inconsistant that didn’t stop the college surfers from ripping!  In the women’s division, Hawaii native Lipoa Kahaleuahi from UCSB A Team was the girl to beat setting the pace early in round one posting a combined two wave score of 12.5 (6.5, 6.0) with a combination of blasts off the lip and roundhouse cutbacks.

Lipoa wasn’t tested until the last part of the final by Darlene Connolly of Mira Costa Red Team.

Lipoa excelled gaining an early lead with a backhand smash earning a 5.83 and a roundhouse followed by a re-entry posting a 4.83. In the second part of the heat Darlene would make it close by receiving a 5.5 for a slash off the top followed by a re-entry and later add a 4.0. Time however ran out on Darlene and Lipoa would win final number one.

Here are the results from Event #1:

COLLEGE TEAM POINTS
1. SDSU A 137
2. Pt. Loma A 136
3. Mira Costa Red 132.5
4. UCSB A 103
5. CSUSM A 101

COLLEGE WOMENS
1. Lipoa Kahaleuahi-UCSB A
2. Darlene Connolly-Mira Costa Red
3. Lilly Howard-UCSB A
4. Chelsea Rauhut-UCSD A
5. Sunshine Makarow-CSUSM B
6. Allie Brown-SDSU A

The season runs from Sept. to June. Next college event is Nov. 8-9 at San Fernando Pl. in San Diego. Check out the Southwest schedule here.