New swell expected for Pipe finish
Source: www.ibaworldtour.com
posted on 22nd February 2009
After an astounding opening day at Pipeline the event has been on-hold as organisers wait for the next swell to hit the North Shore of Oahu.
"We have most models pointing towards a significant swell event for the early part of the upcoming week and we feel confident that we will wrap up the final two days of competition by Wednesday", said IBA General Manager Terry McKenna.
After an epic first day competitors of the Turbo Bodyboards Pipeline Pro have been making the most of fun sized Rocky Point and Beach Park but now it seems the bar is about to be raised as we head into the second day.
After the first four rounds of competition the Australians have dominated the field with two of the top three highest scores.
Chris Wilson from the coastal city of Newcastle (NSW, Australia) was the day's top scorer posting a 9.40 in his round 3 heat.
"We get some big clean lefts around where I live so I felt at home out there. Big perfect Pipe is a dream with 4 guys out so I was loving it mate", said the elated Aussie.
Next best scores of day one went to Hawaiian Bud Miyamoto (9.33) and Simon Ormerod (9.10 Australia) but both fell before R4.
Oshi Grady (Hawaii) and Damien King (Australia) Rueben Quinones (PRC) were also standouts using their experience to flare up on day 1.
Round 5 will hit the water at 8am on the next day of competition and we will finish off R7 at 4pm.
All eyes will be on the wild cards for this event.
Sponsors wildcards Garth McGregor (Australia) and Andre Botha (South Africa) are two feared competitors and seasoned campaigners.
McGregor is completing an amazing return to the competition arena and is regarded as one of the most powerful riders in the world whilst former world champion Andre Botha is in a similar position after a year or two off the IBA World Tour.
The local Hawaiian Wildcards went to Jerrett Lau and Kianoa McGee.
Jerrett is emerging as one of the most talented riders in the Islands and is always a standout at Pipe whilst Kianoa has a long rich history at the event and the venue.
Kianoa did the reverse of Jamie O'Brien when he contested the Pipe Master's stand-up contest and successfully made the transition from Pro Bodyboarder to Pro surfer.
Round 5 heats are as follows:
Heat # 1
Red Yoshitada Kondo JPN
White Paul Benco HAW
Yellow Tom Wilson AUS
Blue Josh Garner AUS
Heat # 2
Red Mark Parsons AUS
White Herman Ano HAW
Yellow Damian King AUS
Blue Francisco Aguilar SPA
Heat # 3
Red David Phillips HAW
White Cade Sharp AUS
Yellow Michael Ostler ZAF
Blue Willy Petrovic HAW
Heat # 4
Red Thomas Rigby AUS
White Rui Ferreira POR
Yellow Ruben Quinones PRI
Blue Jake Stone AUS
Heat # 5
Red Stephan Stamm BRA
White Gastao Entrudo POR
Yellow Toby Player AUS
Blue Chad Jackson AUS
Heat # 6
Red Ivo Machado POR
White Jason Bitzer USA
Yellow Chris James AUS
Blue Dallas Singer AUS
Heat # 7
Red Jared Houston ZAF
White Glen Sullivan AUS
Yellow Oshi Grady HAW
Blue Max Arent AUS
Heat # 8
Red Jerome Bats FRA
White Drew Erichson USA
Yellow Timothy Hamilton HAW
Blue Chris Wilson AUS
Competitors will be on standby from Sunday morning for a possible 8am start.
The event is being webcast at
www.ibaworldtour.com/live
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