Jordy Smith (Zaf) won today the first 6 Star WQS event of his career, defeating Spanish Basque surfer Arits Aranburu (Euk) in a 35-minute final, where the two men had to face testing 5 to 7 ft messy waves. Scoring a heat total of over 16 points, Smith was unbeatable throughout the battle, keeping a confident smile on his face while he was running on the beach to paddle back out due to the strong currents.

“I’m just so stoked… I’ve been chasing this victory for the last months as I made a few finals this year but couldn’t get the crown. It’s done now so I’ll just enjoy this result and still keep going to Hossegor to try and go further.”

“It’s good to be that close to the Foster’s ASP World Tour, it’s been on my mind and I’ve done it almost. I will still be going for a possible WQS world champion title so I’ll try to keep it away from Tiago Pires (Prt),” said the 19-year-old man with a large smile on his face.

With his victory in the 2007 Sooruz Lacanau Pro, former ASP Junior world champion Smith rushes up to first place on the international WQS ratings and secures 12 200 points, more than enough to be relaxed for the rest of the year. Asked about the ratings, Smith ended “I don’t really care… I’m not going to think about that because I haven’t until now and it’s been working good so I’ll keep having fun, that’s it.”
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Romain Cloitre (REU) has outclassed a quality field of 96 young professional surfers to win the Rip Curl Pro Junior 3 star contest in Seignosse, France today, in great 3-4ft (1-1.5m) waves.
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Fistral Beach, Newquay, UK: The Men’s Rip Curl Boardmasters 5 star World Qualifying Series (WQS) surfing contest came to a close this afternoon, with former Foster’s ASP World Tour surfer Ben Bourgeois (USA) defeating Brazilian excitement machine Heitor Alves in tricky, 2-3ft (1m) surf.

The Rip Curl Boardmasters started one week ago with 168 surfers, but at 4pm today there were only two competitors left standing on the winner’s podium. For Bourgeois, the win launches him to second on the WQS Ratings, just 24 points behind WQS Tour leader Tiago Pires (PRT).

“I haven’t won a contest in so long, so just being up there and getting that feeling is so awesome. I’m stoked,” said Bourgeois after the presentation.

“I’ve been on a little roll lately and I just wanted to keep it going here in England. I was just trying to take it heat by heat and it all came out my way at the end. I’m so happy.”

Bourgeois took control of the 35-minute final from the very start, locking in 5.33 and 7.33-point rides on his first two waves. The North Carolina-born surfer then posted an 8.67 on his fourth wave to cement his spot in first with a two-wave combined score of 16.00 points.

Alves fought hard to come back, but the high scoring waves he continually found all week eluded him when the time mattered most this afternoon.

“I am disappointed to not win the final, but I am so happy to finish second to Ben here in Newquay,” said Alves. “I think I surfed well this week, but just didn’t get the right waves today in the final and missed the opportunities.”

The Brazilian’s road to the final was no easy task, facing current WQS No. 3 Jay Thompson (AUS) in the semi-finals and Foster’s ASP World Tour surfer Dayyan Neve (AUS) in the quarter-finals before that. The small, fast conditions were perfectly suited with his radical style though and the goofy-footer overcame both hurdles with ease.

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Professional surfer Nathan Hedge rides the latest Eden Project eco surfboard - the most sustainable board in the world - on Fistral Beach, Newquay for the Eco Tag Team Contest at the Rip Curl Boardmasters Surf & Music Festival.

The vast majority of the 750,000 boards sold each year are made from oil-based plastics with little thought to the environmental impact of either their manufacture or disposal. The Eden eco board project has been running for four years with the aim of seeing all boards manufactured using sustainable materials and processes.

Newquay’s Fistral Beach resembled a lake for most of the day yesterday, but action at the Rip Curl Boardmasters was well and truly back on today, with Round 3 of the Men’s 5 star World Qualifying Series event being held in contestable 2-3ft (1m) surf.

Retired Foster’s ASP World Tour surfer Jake Paterson (AUS) paddled out in Heat 1, matching up against current Foster’s ASP World Tour No. 23 Adriano De Souza (BRA), Wade Goodall (AUS) and local Mark Harris (GBR). The Brazilian was the standout in the small conditions, but Paterson did enough to secure second and a spot in Round 4.

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Sunny skies, a favourable wind and clean 2ft waves welcomed the Rip Curl Boardmasters to Newquay’s Fistral Beach this morning for Day 3 of the week-long surf and music festival. Although the swell size did drop overnight, competition did start at 8am this morning - with event organisers running the final eight heats of Round 2.

Tour veteran and 2002 ISA World Champion runner-up Frédéric Robin (Reu) handled the small waves well this morning, unleashing his quick back-hand attack to defeat Nathan Carroll (HAW), Michael Marjanovic (AUS) and Norman Landa (EUK) in Heat 19. Robin recorded a two-wave combined heat score of 13.50 points out of 20 to book himself a spot in Round 3.
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Despite some early wet weather this morning at Newquay’s Fistral Beach, the Rip Curl Boardmasters launched into action at 8am this morning with the opening round of the 5 star Men’s World Qualifying Series (WQS) contest.

The opening round featured 12, four-man heats, with the event’s unseeded competitors battling the tricky 2-3ft (0.5-1m) surf in 20-minute spurts.

Eight British surfers paddled out in Round 1, all hopeful of winning through their opening heats and impressing the large local crowd.

Mark Harris (GBR), Sam Lamiroy (GBR), Matt Capel (GBR), Oli Adams (GBR) and Johnny Fryer (GBR) all won through their Round 1 heats, advancing to the ‘Round of 144’.

Lamiroy was one of the early standouts, defeating former ASP Europe Pro Junior winner Josch Scmeltzer (ZAF) and Joss Ash (GBR).

“I’m glad I made this one, I just checked the heats yesterday and realized I would be out in the water very early,” said Lamiroy. “It ended very good for me, so I’m just happy to get through.”

Lamiroy was later eliminated in Round 2 by former 2004 European Pro Surf Tour champion Justin Mujica (PRT).

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Four revolutionary eco-friendly surfboards are being exhibited by the Eden Project at the Rip Curl Boardmasters Surf & Music Festival at Fistral Beach, Newquay, until Sunday (August 12).

The boards are being heralded as “the most sustainable in the world to date” and two will be surfed by professionals in the Rip Curl Eco Tag Team Contest during the festival.

Every year approximately 750,000 surfboards are manufactured worldwide. The vast majority of these are made from oil-based plastics with little thought to the environmental impact of either their manufacture or disposal at the end of their life.

Eden has been working on its eco board project for four years with the ultimate aim of seeing all boards manufactured using sustainable materials and processes.
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The Davidoff Cool Water Wave Women’s 5 star World Qualifying Series (WQS) event hit the water at Newquay’s Fistral Beach at 8am this morning, launching an exciting week of action sport and music mayhem at the 26th annual Rip Curl Boardmasters.

The WQS surfers faced wind-blown 3-4ft (1-1.5m) waves throughout the morning, competing in front of a massive crowd who were also enjoying one of the more warmer days Newquay has seen in recent weeks.

WQS events always showcase the exciting young talent moving through the surfing world ranks, but the Boardmasters is also blessed to have some of the ASP World Tour’s elite in town for the week. Tour veteran Megan Abubo (HAW), Sam Cornish (AUS), Jacqueline Silva (BRZ) and 2006 ASP World Tour ‘Rookie of the Year’ Jessi Miley-Dyer (AUS) are four of the higher profile surfers who competed today.
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Saturday night saw the arrival of a solid 4-5 foot swell. A light off-shore which only lasted until the end of the morning gave way to a steady side-shore. The waves continued to pick up with the out-going tide, making the paddle-out difficult for all the surfers.

The contest started at 8 o’clock with the girls. They had the good fortune of taking advantage of the best of the conditions to finish the semis and the final.
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