Fistral Beach, Newquay – England (Monday, August 8, 2011) – The
ASP 3-Star Tuaca Longboard Pro and the ASP 6-Star Tuaca Ladies
Longboard Pro opened proceedings at this year’s Relentless Boardmasters
in assoc. with Vans in testing wind affected 4-5ft peaks with local
favourite Ben Skinner (Cornwall, GBR) 26, leading top seeds through to
the semi-finals which were decided today.
Europe’s finest male longboarders are doing battle at the iconic
Fistral beach Newquay, for a place in the top-two ASP European Longboard
rankings to thus earn the right to participate in the upcoming ASP
World Longboard Tour which kicks off in Sri Lanka later this month. The
women’s division will decide the top two ranked female longboarders for
the 2012 ASP Women’s World longboard Tour.
Skinner was on fire from his opening Round One appearance through to
his quarter-final clash scoring 9-point rides in all three rounds. Local
knowledge and a clearly visible focus towards achieving qualification
allowed Skinner to finish with the highest single wave score of the
event, a near perfect 9.73 out of 10. Performing radical above-the-lip
surfing combined with classic hang-fives and full-rail carves, the
power-house natural footer left a clear message that he is looking for a
win on home soil.
“I feel really good at the moment and my board is amazing and it
feels great to be surfing at Fistral. I’m at home and it is such a big
event. I have had a big build up and I am glad to get through those
heats and I hope I haven’t peaked too early in the event.”
Skinner, who currently leads the ASP European Longboard rankings,
knew conditions to perfection and made sure that he waited for the
quality waves to take control against some highly skilled competitors.
Into the semi-finals, Skinner now needs to make the final to guarantee
his spot on the ASP Men’s World Longboard Tour.
“It is definitely difficult as there are peaks coming up all over the
place. It is a bit of a lottery but you just have to read the right
waves which have the bowls on them. It is quite hard out there and a lot
of paddling so I am going to wear my short arm next time. These O’Neill
suits are so warm and I will go for a lighter suit and I can’t wait for
the semi-finals.”
Antoine Delpero (Biarritz, FRA) 25, ASP World Longboard ranked nº2,
was another top seed to tame conditions and find himself in semi-final
nº1 matched up against Adam Griffiths (Newquay, GBR) 23. Delpero took
his time to find quality waves selecting the longer rights to rack up
his solid heat totals and has quietly worked his way through the event
to find himself in a perfect position to make his assault on the Tuaca
Longboard Pro title.
“They are really physical conditions and it is not really easy. It is
hard to find the waves which are opening so you are sitting out the
back and you don’t know what the wave is going to do. It is a mystery
out there. (laughs) I got a couple of good waves and pleased to get
through.
Delpero, who has already qualified for the ASP World Longboard Tour,
is using this event as an important warm up event looking towards the
upcoming World Tour as well as a chance to be with his fellow
longboarders and his younger brother who is also looking to qualify.
“It is always good to do longboard events because there are not a
lot. So it is a warm-up and I am happy to be here with these guys and
there is my brother here as well and I hope he qualifies too.”
In the ASP 6-Star Tuaca Ladies Longboard Pro, Jennifer Smith
(California, USA) 25, former two-time ASP Woman’s World Longboard
Champion, showed her true skills in the testing conditions to move
through to the semi-finals where she will face Emilie Liber (Vieux
Boucau, FRA) 21. The talented natural footer had to fight hard to find a
high scoring wave after failing on several earlier attempts to get her
heat account underway.
“I am thrilled to be through to the semis for sure. I have never
surfed in England before so it is interesting to come and see how the
waves are in other places. Today it is like ‘victory at sea’ out there.
Yesterday it was beautiful and glassy and today it is big and onshore. I
am glad that I got two good waves out there. It was really hard to
first of all to get outside and to second of all pick a good wave. It
took me more than half the heat before I got a good one.”
Smith amassed a two-wave combined total of 15.60 out of 20 which
included and excellent 8.33, the highest single wave score of the Tuaca
Ladies Longboard Pro. A combination of nose rides, carves and a
close-out floater demonstrated her ability where other competitors
struggled with the conditions. A recent visit to family members in
England has not taken the edge of her competitive skills.
“I was already in Europe from the Roxy Pro and I have a cousin in
Surrey,” explained Smith. “So it was cool to go visit before coming
here. I got to stay out in the country between France and this event for
a week and that was great.”
The Relentless Boardmasters in assoc. with Vans starts Tuesday August
9th along with the Tuaca Longboard Pro, with the world’s best short
board surfers coming back once again to fight for the prestigious
Boardmasters title. Stepping up to a full 6-Star category, this year’s
edition is set to be packed with some spectacular surfing action in this
145,000\\\$US event.
The Relentless Boardmasters in assoc. with Vans is scheduled from
August 9-14, 2011. For more information, and all upcoming results,
photos, video highlights, press releases log-on to; www.aspeurope.com
Upcoming ASP 3-Star Tuaca Longboard Pro Semi-final Matchups
Heat 1:
Antoine Delpero (FRA) Vs Adam Griffiths (GBR)
Heat 2:
Ben Skinner (GBR) Vs Remi Arauzo (FRA)
Upcoming ASP 6-Star Tuaca Ladies Longboard Pro Semi-final Matchups
Heat 1: Jennifer Smith (USA) Vs Emilie Liber (FRA)
Heat 2:
Georgia Young (AUS) Vs Candice O’Donnell (GBR)
ASP 3-Star Tuaca Longboard Pro Quarter-final Results
Heat 1: Antoine Delpero (FRA) 16.07 Def. Matt Thomas (GBR) 12.26
Heat 2:
Adam Griffiths (GBR) 11.43 Def. Ben Haworth (GBR) 11.33
Heat 3:
Ben Skinner (GBR) 17.83 Def. Zak Lawton (GBR) 10.37
Heat 4:
Remi Arauzo (FRA) 14.20 Def. Edouard Delpero (FRA) 11.33
ASP 6-Star Tuaca Ladies Longboard Pro Quarter-final Results
Heat 1: Jennifer Smith (USA) 15.60 Def. Alice Limoigne (REU) 5.83
Heat 2:
Emilie Liber (FRA) 5.50 Def. Natalia Smith (HAW) 2.67
Heat 3:
Georgia Young (AUS) 7.77 Def. Victoria Johnson (GBR) 1.80
Heat 4:
Candice O’Donnell (GBR) 5.13 Def. Rebecca Stanhope (GBR) 4.83
ASP 3-Star Tuaca Longboard Pro Round Two Results
Heat 1: Antoine Delpero (FRA) 14.53, Ben Haworth (GBR) 12.40, Ashley Braunton (GBR) 6.37, Angus Murray (GBR) 6.34
Heat 2:
Adam Griffiths (GBR) 15.17, Matt Thomas (GBR) 6.67, Yohann Anerot (FRA) 5.07, Craig Butler (IRL) 3.63
Heat 3:
Ben Skinner (GBR) 18.00, Edouard Delpero (FRA) 16.04, Ben Howey (GBR) 10.00, Tomas Fisher (GBR) 4.14
Heat 4:
Remi Arauzo (FRA) 14.36, Zak Lawton (GBR) 10.23, Nicholas Dowrick (GBR) 8.67, Raife Gaskell (GBR) 5.63
ASP 6-Star Tuaca Ladies Longboard Pro Round One Results
Heat 1:
Jennifer Smith (USA) 7.33, Natalia Smith (HAW) 4.74, Claire Smail (GBR) 2.30, Nicola Bunt (GBR) 2.03
Heat 2:
Emilie Liber (FRA) 4.70, Alice Limoigne (REU) 4.36, Emma Neuschwanger (REU) 3.63, Grace Davies (JEY) 2.80
Heat 3:
Georgia Young (AUS) 12.34, Rebecca Stanhope (GBR) 5.27, Victoria Vergara (FRA) 2.00, Marine Ah-Kouen (FRA) 0.67
Heat 4:
Candice O’Donnell (GBR) 6.60, Victoria Johnson (GBR) 2.24, Ashleigh Bennetts (GBR) 1.97, Anna Gooding (NZL) 1.90
Article courtesy of ASP
