Surf For Bali Kids Charity Comp

ISC
Padma Beach, Bali
20 August 2008

Dede Suryana Wins Surf For Bali Kids Charity Comp at Padma Beach in Exhilarating Dual with Lee Wilson

Surfersvillage Global Surf News, 20 August, 2008 : - - Legian-Bali --  In a day jam packed with riveting duals between Indonesia’s best pro surfers, Dede Suryana came out on top in a toe-to-toe final exchange with last year’s ISC Champion Lee Wilson to take a well-deserved victory at Padma Beach Bali on Tuesday afternoon in front of the cheering fans on the beach.
 
“I’m so happy to have won another event, and to come out on top against a guy like Lee is really surprising.  He is such a great surfer and all day he’s been going crazy in each heat, so for me to win today is almost too much,” said the grinning Suryana after the trophy presentation.
 
Suryana, who hails from the town of Cimaja in West Java, won the first event of the Coca-ISC Tour season back in April, the Quiksilver Open at Keramas, and with this win brings up his ranking to take the Number Two spot in the 2008 season thus far. 

For his win, he received a trophy and a check for Rp 10 million (20% donated to charity) and 3,000 ISC Championship points.  Runner up Lee Wilson received a trophy, a check for Rp. 5 million (20% donated to charity), and 2,750 ISC Championship points.

Dede Suryana : photo Tim Hain

 
With Lee’s second place finish, having come in second in the Oakley O ROKR Pro just this last Sunday, he is once again sitting on top of the rankings for 2008.  When asked about how he felt about his two second-place finishes, he replied “For sure I would like to have won, but to be consistent like this is really what makes me happy. 

At the beginning of the year I set my goal to be ISC Champion again, and just to surf my brains out and do good in each event.  You can’t always win, because sometimes you just don’t get the waves you need to score the points, but for me if I can keep being this consistent that’s what will win me the championship.”
 
The next event on the Coca-Cola ISC Tour schedule will take place in West Sumbawa at Scar Reef, the Rip Curl Scar Reef Pro West Sumbawa, from the 27th of August to the 5th of September.  It is a six-star prime event, so all the competitors will be going hard trying get up their points and rankings in their run for the 2008 championship.
 
Day Two of the Surf For Bali Kids got started with the 11 women in the Women’s Division taking to the water first in the low tide conditions at Padma Beach.  After battling it out in the often tough conditions, Yesco, Sena, Bone, and Jasmine remained to wait until the Men’s semifinals had been run to get their chance to compete in the final. 

Women's finalists : photo Tim Hain

When their turn came, it was Yesco coming out on top, her previous contest experience in Japan doing her good in choosing the best waves in which to rack up points.  Yesco was also hot off her recent win at the Oakley event just a few days before, but the waves in her final at Padma were much larger, showing off her versatility.
 
From the start if the first heat of Round 4, the competition was fierce and most heats were decided in the closing minutes and by the slimmest of margins. Leads were exchanged numerous times, and the crowd on the beach could be heard cheering their surfers on and screaming after big maneuvers.  Often the competitors would surf right up to the beach until their fins dug into the sand, knowing that the judges would be giving them big points for these dangerous and critical moves.
 
Amazingly, two young local Legian surfers made their way from the Trials the day before all the way into the quarterfinals, Dylan Amar and Darmayasa Tonjo.  They both took down several of the high-ranking surfers to the cheers of their home crowd on the beach before their runs ended in the quarterfinals.

Dylan got one over on Made “Bol” Adi Putra in Round Four, but then was stopped dead by Dede Suryana in the quarterfinals.  Tonjo stopped Mustofa Jeksen in Round Four, but then got taken down by Pepen Hendrik in the quarterfinals.
 
The Padma Beach setup certainly seemed to favor the natural footed surfers, as on the mid to high tide the righthander was the longest and most consistent choice with which to exercise a variety of maneuvers, including deep bottom turns, big round house cutbacks, lip smacks, floaters, and the occasional aerial. The waves really started to pump about mid morning and kept pumping through the finals.

Yesco : photo Tim Hain

 
Coming in equal thirds were Pepen Hendrik and Made Awan.  Made Awan already has a win under his belt this year, the Rusty Rumble in the Jungle at Sanur Reef, and looked to be a candidate for another, but couldn’t keep pace with the charging Lee Wilson in the semifinal.  A controversial late horn stopped Pepen Hendrik’s run for the final, as Dede Suryana got exactly the 7.0 point score he needed on his last wave, just 30 seconds before the horn blew.
 
The event was held at Canggu last year, and was planned to be at Kuta Beach this year, but an invitation by the Legian Beach Festival to hold the event earlier and at the Padma location precipitated the move, and it was certainly a good call.
 
The creator and main sponsor of the event, Ben from Villa Mana, was absolutely stoked by the vibe and the incredible action at the event.  “I’m so glad we decided to move here to Padma. 

The waves have been insane both days, and the level of competition is the highest I have ever seen.  These boys are doing some incredible surfing, and every time you think you have seen the best of it, someone ups the ante and you just can’t believe it.  And the fact that it is charity event and we are raising money for a good cause is probably the reason why it’s been so great.  When you give, you always get more back!” he said.
 
At the trophy presentation, Ben was delighted to hand over a check to the Dharma Jati Foundation for Rp 70 million, far more than the original goal set of Rp 50 million.  The money came from a combination of cash donations at the event, sales of T-shirts, the contestant’s entry fee’s, and 20% of the prize money from the contest.
 
The evening’s entertainment at part of the 2nd Annual Legian Village Festival in live music by Bali’s supergroup Superman is Dead, Psychofun, and Freddy and Friends, as well as a live turtle release, a photography competition, and cultural performances.
 
Many thanks to the event sponsors, especially Villa Mana, the Coca-Cola ISC Tour, ABC, Five Elements, Villa Ba Jabula, Made’s Warung, the Chocolate Factory, SurfTime Magazine and Magic Wave.
 
ISC Men’s Pro Results:
   1. Dede Suryana
   2. Lee Wilson
   3. Pepen Hendrik – Made Awan

ISC Women’s Pro Results
   1. Yesco
   2. Bone
   3. Sena
   4. Jasmine

www.isctour.com

Survey: Map Surfing’s future 

More Australasian Surfing News available here
Check the latest Australasian Surf Reports and Forecasts

New! B2B News ASBE-Surf   |  Receive News-Alerts

Tim Hain

Contests - Surfersvillage