Amaury Lavernhe wins Turbo Pipeline Pro - Jared Houston gets third

posted by Gareth White on 28th February 2010

What a sensational few days for South African bodyboarding with the entire Saffa crew putting in amazing performances in the Turbo Pipeline Pro, on Hawaii's North Shore, culminating in Jared Houston surging his way into the finals and claiming 3rd place overall!

For those of us lucky enough, or insane enough, to tune in for the webcast from the Banzai Pipeline on Friday night, the action was intense with solid 8 to 10 foot bombs imploding over the world's deadliest reef.



We had a scare early on when Michael "Ratt" Ostler had to withdraw for the competition with a dislocated shoulder after getting caught on the inside by a solid 12 foot beast while paddling out for Round 7 against Hawaii legend, Kainoa McGee, Ozzie hell man, Mitch Rawlins and Christopher Kalima (HAW). It was incredibly unlucky for Michael because it was the first rogue cleanup wave of the day and he had been in remarkable form during his previous heats earlier in the week. Having chatted briefly with him yesterday I am glad to report that he is doing well and other than having a sore arm should suffer no long term effects. Wishing you a speedy recovery bud!

As I mentioned earlier, the South African contingent in Hawaii this year really did go all out and have impressed the hundreds of thousands who tuned in online as well as those lucky enough to witness the action first hand.

Jared Houston, the man of the moment, and someone who has been ripping the SA bodyboarding scene apart for what seems like an eternity was a man on a mission with a point to prove - to both himself and the world!

Let me start off where the action kicked off on the final day with Round 7. Unfortunately I missed Jared's heat in this round, but I know that he surfed well and both he and Brad Hughes (AUS) progressed into Round 8. Two time world champ, Andre' Botha was up next and he went all out from the buzzer dropping into the meanest Pipe bombs he could get his hands on. Unfortunately for Dre he couldn't pull through any of the hell pits and ended up finding himself chasing his fellow competitors, who had all set themselves a couple of scores. It didn't pan out and Dre's elimination from the comp was somewhat of a shock as we all know how he dominates bigger surf.

Sacha "Spex" Specker was in the final heat of Round 7 and he owned it in typical Spex style setting smooth lines through the barrels and busting some insane flips and inverts. This was the theme of his campaign notching up wins in each of his 5 heats leading up to the Quarter finals, where he was unable to find his rhythm in the shifty surf against Ben Player (Aus), Spencer Skipper (Haw) and eventual finalist, Diego Cabrera from the Canary Islands who progressed to the Semi's with Player.

Round 8 and cue Mark McCarthy, who had an incredibly tough heat against his mentor, 9 times World Champ, Mike Stewart. Stewart and McCarthy appeared to team up during the heat and both managed to forge their way into the Quarters with a couple of solid bombs. Mark picked up a death pit of note at Backdoor, scooped into a keg of a barrel and rode out cleanly scoring a 9.5 from the judges - a well deserved 9.5 I might add. That thing was nuts! Stewart also managed to scoop into a Backdoor bomb in the dying moments and most unlike him claimed it so hard. No-one could blame the guy as he had just secured his spot in the top 16 with a solid ride.

"I was super stoked to get that Backdoor bomb! It's just amazing feeling getting a good wave when you really need it. The heat with Jerry was a really bad heat for waves and I guess I should have gotten busy and not waited for the good waves, but rather just get any waves under my belt. It was such a slow heat and I was not able to get a single scoring wave the whole 20 minutes! That has never happened to me before! Jerry has been riding really solid and used Backdoor as a potent weapon through all his heats. I was really stoked that one of us made that heat, but I also wish I could have joined Jerry in the Semi's", said McCarthy.

Quarter finals and McCarthy meets current World Champ, Pipe maestro Jeff Hubbard, Brazilian powerhouse and former World Champ, Guilherme Tamega and our very own Jared "Jerry" Houston - we don't have a problem. To say that it was a stacked heat would be an understatement it was insane! Two world champs and an in form Jerry versus McCarthy made for an unmisable affair and how great would it have been to see our boys both progress. Unfortunately for Boeti this wouldn't be the case and he had to settle for 4th place followed by Hubb leaving Jerry and Tamega charging into the Semi's where they would meet once again in a super stressful heat for Jerry's supporters.

Semi final time and it was Jerry carrying the South African flag on the world stage. By this point the surf was grinding through and according to Hawaiian legend, Kainoa McGee, it looked a lot easier than it was with a lot of movement out in the water which makes reading Pipe all the more difficult. His point is illustrated by the fact that all of the Hawaiian boys had been knocked by this stage of the competition!

The first Semi saw Jerry going head to head with former World Champ, Damian King (AUS), Guilherme Tamega (BRZ) and Brad Hughes (AUS). If I remember correctly it was Damian who opened his account early on, followed by Tamega and Jerry scoring a sick barrel ride somewhere in the region of 6.3. Jerry's second score came from a high flying invert over Backdoor, a wave he effectively made use of during his heats to administer the "death blow" to his competitors. Kingy was leading the pack with Hughes struggling to catch a keeper and Tamega going for broke in order to overtake Jerry. We had another scare with just over 5 minutes to go in the heat when Jerry took off on a bomb of a Pipe set and got caught the mutant lip while trying to boost.

"I was so lucky with that wave at Pipe because it was a big North wave, it only peaked on the end of Pipe and closed out on the sandbar section so where I hit it, it was actually totally safe! I penetrated the water and came straight back up, didn't even sniff the bottom!

That semi was really nerve racking. I had just surfed against Tamega in the quarters and had seen him all season, everyone knows what a madman he is, but I can quite honestly say that no one back home really understands just how good this guy is and how fiercely he competes. Once I had those 2 scores and knew I was in second with 6 minutes to go I was actually so bummed! All I could think was that I have come too far to get into a bad position. Tamega needed a 7.3 or something to get ahead of me, something very achievable for him. God really smiled upon me and no real sets came through, the only one that did get he got too adventurous and never made the barrel. From there on I just did my best to ensure I was close enough to him to be able to get the wave before he did. When that buzzer went I completely freaked out!"
, said Jerry.

"Jerry seemed really overwhelmed with the whole situation and I just wanted him to relax and surf like never before and HE SURE DID!! I now know Jerry is unbreakable as he hit every section he could at Backdoor. It was one of the best finals I have ever watched and I felt so proud", commented McCarthy on the build up to and events during the Turbo Bodyboards Pipeline Pro.

With a smile wider than the Cheshire Cats Jerry prepare himself for the heat of his young career against Damian King, Reunion Islander Amaury Lavernhe and fellow dark horse, Diego Cabrera. Pipe was still on and we were set for an action packed 30 minutes of mind blowing bodyboarding. I was as confused as ever for the first five minutes because the online results showed that Jerry was in the yellow singlet and Amaury was supposed to be in white. Something must have changed on the beach, or someone must have gotten it wrong online because I was, as I can imagine all of Jerry and Amaury's supporters were, going nuts seeing yellow scoop into solid Pipe pits and boost near perfect flips on the way out. Either way Amaury owned it wave after wave and was justly rewarded with a perfect 10 point ride. Hot on his heels was Canary Islander, Diego Cabrera, who also made use of the Pipe ramp to throw down a couple of flips. After Amaury had set himself a total score of 17.5 it would have taken something spectacular to catch him, so the battle was on for second place. Cabrera had a couple of good scores and for the first part of the final Jerry struggled to find a decent ride. True to form he dug deep and pulled together a couple of gems and ended the heat was a meagre 0.45 behind Cabrera, who took second, with Damian King in fourth and Amaury Lavernhe rightfully claiming his place in the history books as Pipe Champ!

"When I came in from the final I was just in a state of euphoria! I cannot describe how I felt. I just knew that it had come from hard work and determination and at the same time I felt so blessed and lucky! Seeing all my friends in such a state with me was second to none and I just couldn't wait to get on the phone back home! This has always been a major dream of mine, but funnily enough not something I thought I would achieve so early on in my career. The boys were phenomenal on the beach, I couldn't have done it without them!" said Jerry.

Final results are as follows:
1st Amaury Lavernhe (17.50)
2nd Diego Cabrera (14.65)
3rd Jared Houston (14.20)
4th Damain King (10.75)

A massive thank you to all those who supported the Saffa crew over in Hawaii this season!



IBA PRESS RELEASE:

The 2010 Turbo Bodyboards Pipeline Pro presented by Body Glove has beeen won and run, with Pipeline saving the best for last with the competition wrapping up on the final day of the 2 week waiting period.

Conditions were epic, with perfect 8 to 12 feet Pipe and light offshore winds all day, keeping the thousands that lined the shore thoroughly entertained.

Amaury Lavernhe of the Reunion Island was the one who came up trumps, blitzing through his final heats.

Lavernhe threw down the gauntlet to his combatants in the final with an outstanding combined wave total of 17.50, which included a perfect 10 for a huge pipe barrel to backflip. He then backed his perfect score up with a 7.5 for another huge barrel to roll.

Lavernhe took out Diego Cabrera of the Canary Island with 14.65, Jared Houston of South Africa with 14.20 and Damian King from Australia with 10.75.

"I am so stoked, I can't believe it" Said Lavernhe

"I have been here for 3 weeks and I have been training for this day.

"I just took this heat by heat and I didn't want to think too much about the final".

Diego Cabrera, who has come off the back of a win at the last IBA World Tour event at Confital in December has continued his stellar competitive run.

"This is my dream, I am very very happy as this is the first time that I have ever been in a pipe final and the second time in a Grand Slam final" said Cabrera.

Though Jared Houston missed out on second only by .45 points, he was thrilled with his performance in the competition after spending over 3 months on the North Shore in preparation.

Originally excluded for the event due to surfing in an unsactioned bodyboarding event, Houston was the one who spearheaded the campaign to the IBA riders board to have the ban lifted at the end of 2009.

"I am so stoked, this is everything that I have been working towards this year so I am so happy that it has paid off" said Houston

Terry McKenna, the IBA International General Manager, who was also one of the key drivers behind this event is thrilled with how the comp rolled out in 2010.

"There was not a better way to begin the 2010 IBA World Tour season" Said Terry.

"Winning this event is only second to winning the world title, I am thrilled that Amaury has won this event as he is the deserved winner".

The 2010 IBA World Tour now moved to New South Wales in Australia for the Soldier Beach Pro International from April 12 to 18.

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Comments

Wes PottsWesley Potts
4th March 2010 08:59
jared houston = 1x legend!!! shot jerry, ur such an inspiration to all of us back home, good hard work is paying off, amazing stuff brother!!!!
FrancoisFrancois van Rooyen
2nd March 2010 15:26
Super proud of you Jerry... Boetie - unlucky. Go Saffas!!!!!!!!!!!!
craigtrilivasCraig Trilivas
1st March 2010 17:26
J dawg u beauty!!!

Sweetass writeup G funk!
BillybusterBilly Tennant
1st March 2010 09:45
Well Done Jerry! You did SA and all the bodyboarders back home PROUD!! All the respect to all the Saffa crew over there & best of luck in Oz for the next one!! Truly remarkable & congrats once again fella's..!
KellyKelly Footit
1st March 2010 02:31
Thanks Gareth! I know you missioned to find time to put this out.

Jerry and all the SA crew - well done guys you certainly made an impression this year. Job well done. There were a few guys who lost out because they were unlucky with the waves - but I guess that's the ocean for you and adds to the drama which makes it such a great watch.

To all those watching the webcast --- great to see the support. Apparantly, Terry from the IBA kept on shouting out to Jared that there were Saffas all over the webcast. Nice one.

Gareth and Doc, thanks for helping out to keep the guys informed with the results when the scoring was down.

Lastly, all you guys reading can help out by sharing the news with your friends by hitting the Facebook icon at the top of the page.
doclachdoclach
1st March 2010 01:37
Awesome write-up Gareth! No wonder Sixty40 is such a killah mag. Such an exciting final in waves that offered what the riders deserve. The Saffas did you all so proud, as always. anyone who saw that wave hit Ratt knows what a savage beast it was. Kainoa was talking about it after, saying he wouldn't want to have been under it.
Jerry Houston, man i was hooting at the computer here, rode so strong bru. Like I said in some other places, your name is on everyone's lips now.
Spex, Mac, Al and all the Saffa riders (DK and prone), thanks for an awesome show. If every comp was like that, booger would be on another level. As it stands, the fact that the Saffas never pull back and go hard in the big stuff and fly only gets reinforced more and more. (Jerry I spoke to Dessie in the afternoon and you can only guess how proud he was)

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