Mr. Price Pro

ASP 6-Star WQS Mens event
ASP 6-Star WQS Womens event
Ballito, KZN South Africa
29 June - 5 July 2009

Live Coverage  |  Results/Photos/Videos etc

ACTION PACKED START TO MENS MR PRICE PRO BALLITO

Surfersvillage Global Surf News, 29 June, 2009 : - -  KwaZulu- Natal, Ballito -- Thrilling rides, spectacular wipeouts, broken surfboards and nail-biting victories were the order of the day as the Men’s 6 Star Mr Price Pro Ballito got underway in a powerful two-meter swell, that lashed the Ballito coastline today.

After a two-day wait for the world’s best to perform in Ballito, spectators were rewarded as the men shone in the Round of 144 at the event’s new mobile home. Stylish Durban surfer Simon Nicholson stood out in the wind ravaged waves, his experience and knowledge of the Ballito break translating into a winning performance, that proved the first of five heat wins for the South African contingent.

“Ballito’s not an easy wave to ride and I’ve been surfing here for over ten years,” said Nicholson. “I didn’t manage to get out in time when the heat started because I got caught by a big set, by the time I got out I was exhausted. I think I just got lucky because I managed to get two long running rights. I tried to put in some decent turns and I got those scores so I was stoked.”

Former Mr Price Pro Champion (2006) Ricky Basnett (Bluff) looked comfortable in the sizey conditions edging out Hawaii’s Torrey Meister with a series of clean carves and a controlled floater. “Conditions are pretty hard today – there’s a lot of swell around, it’s super windy and icy cold,” said the former ASP World Tour campaigner. “There’s a lot of power out there and some good surfing.”

Basnett, South Africa’s only Mr Price Pro Champion since Shaun Thomson’s six year reign in the 1970’s, fell off elite ASP World Tour competition in 2008 and will be looking to emulate his 2006 form on the North Coast this year.

“The change of venue is pretty amazing,” continued Basnett, “It’s similar to the Bluff where I live because it’s got a lot of power to it. Hopefully I can win it, make some money and get back on the ‘QS full time in 2010.

Cape Town’s Brandon Roberts captured a bittersweet victory for South Africa, narrowly advancing ahead of WQS No. 3 Adam Melling (Aus), while eliminating Shane Thorne (Bluff) and Dylan Stone (Port Elizabeth) from the event.

“I was a little bit nervous before the heat,” admitted Roberts. “I surfed against Adam in Scotland and he smoked me so I knew what I was up against. I’ve spent a lot of time in Ballito surfing Surfers and I kind of know the wave, I just got lucky to score that 6.50 so I’m stoked to make it through.”

WQS No. 51 Rudy Palmboom (Bluff) had no problems tackling the powerful surf, capturing a convincing heat win over Nicolau Von Rupp (DEU) and eliminating fellow countrymen Shaun Payne (Cape St Francis) and Beyrick De Vries (Umhlanga) from the event.

“It’s pretty rough out there but my game plan was just to sit further out and try to pick off the bombs,” explained Palmboom. “It took a while to get them, but I ended up with some little nuggets so I’m stoked. This is actually very similar to how Anstey’s gets back home so I felt really comfortable out there.”

2008 Pro Surf Tour Champion Devyn Mattheys’ (East London) clean and powerful carves earned him a win in the second last heat of the day, finishing ahead of Australia’s Dale Lovelock.

Advancing in second places were Devyn MacNicol (KZN South Coast), Kyle Lane (Umhlanga), Kyle Beach (Durban) local Ballito surfer Byron Lindsay, Gavin Roberts (Scottburgh) and Sean Holmes (Cape Town).

The international contingent showed their force with relatively unknown surfer’s Puerto Rican Dylan Graves and Jean Sebastien Estienne (Caribbean) top scoring with the day’s highest heat scores. Estienne’s power gauges earned him the highest individual wave score of the day, an 8.5 (out of 10.00) for a 15.00 heat total (out of 20.00).

Graves stroked into a long right-hander, performing three strong maneuvers to capture an 8.17 (out of 10.00).

“I just got lucky,” said Graves. “I was able to sit in the right spot and be in the right place when the sets came in. I love Ballito, it’s a good change and there are so many good waves and so much more power in the waves so it is quite a difference from most of the other WQS events.”

Former ASP World Tour campaigner Luke Munro (AUS) was in top form during his Round of 144 heat, posting a 6.17 and an 8.00 (both out of 10.00) to trounce his competitors with a 14.17 heat total (out of 20.00) . The afternoon saw adverse winds and a dropping tide that made the paddle out almost impossible spelling heartbreak and disappointment for many surfers who  could not find the waves they needed to advance.

Hideyoshi Tanaka (Japan) fell victim to the stormy seas after leading with one wave for almost the entire heat. Tanaka was caught in the rip and left paddling for over fifteen minutes, before being swept the length of Surfers beach only to have to paddle out a second time. The unfortunate Japanese surfer needed a second scoring ride of just 0.66 to make it through the heat, but simply couldn’t even find a wave to stand up on to get the miniscule requirement.

All 16 heats of the Men’s Round of 144 were completed. The competition will continue tomorrow with the remaining 8 heats of the Round of 144 followed by the Men’s Round of 96 that will see the first of the seeded surfers take to the surf.

Check the Live Action

Men’s Round of 144
Heat 1: Lincoln Taylor (AUS) 8.53; Byron Lindsay (ZAF) 8.17 ; Craig Anderson (AUS) 7.17 ; Miguel Pupo (BRA) 6.14
Heat 2: Alejo Muniz (BRA) 9.07; Tatsuya Fukagawa (JPN) 8.36; Allan Johns (ZAF) 7.94; Stanley Badger (ZAF) 7.06
Heat 3: Simon Nicholson (ZAF) 13.83; Russell Winter (GBR) 10.10; Sebastien Zietz (HAW) 8.23; Manfred Adrio (ZAF) 7.34
Heat 4: Brandon Roberts (ZAF) 10.57; Adam Melling (AUS) 10.43; Shane Thorne (ZAF) 9.63; Dylan Stone (ZAF) 8.60
Heat 5: James Taipan Wood (AUS) 12.43; Kaisa Kawamura (JPN) 7.24; Hugo Savalli (REU) 6.00; Sancha Hullett (ZAF) 5.67
Heat 6: Ricky Basnett (ZAF) 12.34; Torrey Meister (HAW) 12.30; Dallas Petersen (AUS) 6.00; Jaco Kapp (ZAF) 2.26
Heat 7: Nick Riley (AUS) 9.50; Victor Ribas (BRA) 6.40; Rowan Aish (NZL) 5.97; Ryan Balfour (ZAF) 3.97
Heat 8: Dylan Graves (PRI) 14.67; Gavin Roberts (ZAF) 7.90; Josh Salie (ZAF) 7.27; Christophe Allary (REU) 2.13
Heat 9: Luke Munro (AUS) 14.17; Thiago Camarao (BRA) 5.60; Ryan Payne (ZAF) 5.07; Chad Schwab (ZAF) 1.00
Heat 10: Rudy Palmboom (ZAF) 12.50; Nicolau Von Rupp (DEU) 10.43; Shaun Payne(ZAF) 5.54; Beyrick De Vries (ZAF)
Heat 11: Vincent Duvignac  (FRA) 9.24; Jeronimo Vargas (BRA) 8.67; Keegan Nel (ZAF) 7.84; Charlie Brown (BRA) 7.00
Heat 12: Paulo Moura (BRA) 10.34; Devyn MacNicol (ZAF) 6.44; Chad Du Toit (ZAF) 6.43; Izuki Tanaka (JPN) 6.40
Heat 13: Shaun Burrell (USA) 8.50; Kyle Lane (ZAF) 5.33; Hideyoshi Tanaka (JPN) 4.67; Romain Cloitre (FRA) 4.10
Heat 14: Jean S Estienne (Blm) 15.00; Kyle Beach (ZAF) 6.47; Lee Bisset (ZAF) 5.84; Nick White (NZL) 1.10
Heat 15: Devyn Mattheys (ZAF) 11.10; Dale Lovelock (AUS) 9.90; Daniel Redman (ZAF) 5.83; Ryan Bissett (ZAF) 4.73
Heat 16: Mark Mathews (AUS) 13.00; Sean Holmes (ZAF) 9.00; Haydn MacNicol (ZAF) 2.23; Kenichi Kurosawa (JAP) 2.20

Previous reports:
# 1 : Mr Price Pro comes to Ballito on the KwaZulu-Natal coast
# 2 : Record number of women entries at Mr Price Pro Ballito
# 3 : Surfers sight on Ballito for the R1.4 million Mr Price Pro

# 4 : Mr Price Pro Ballito Festival to run along with WQS event 
# 5 : Women prepare for massive swell at Mr Price Pro Ballito
# 6 : Mr Price Pro called of due to dangerous surf conditions

# 7 : Gale stops competition at Womens Mr Price Pro Ballito
# 8 : Womens Mr Price Pro ends with 24 riders at equal 13th

www.mrpricepro.com
www.aspworldtour.com

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Mr Price Group
Pierre Tostee
PATostee@mrpricegroup.com

Issued By
Kirstin Scholtz
kirstin@coveredimages.com

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