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Hot Surfing Action Continues At 2008 ISA World Masters Surfing Championship
Wednesday 2nd, April 2008 - Hot surfing action continued to set the beaches of Peru alive on day three of the 2008 ISA World Masters Surfing Championship, despite heavy fog hampering the early morning’s proceedings at Punta Rocas today.
A devilish haze covered the entire event site mid-morning, hindering the scoring of surfers and eventually halting competition before clear conditions prevailed.
Once underway, day three of the prestigious competition saw the world’s hottest masters surfers tearing it up in clean 2-3 metre point break waves across the Masters (0ver 35), Grand Masters (Over 40) and Kahunas (Over 45) repercharge divisions.
1988 Pipeline Masters champion Rob Page is back on track in the Grand Masters division after netting the event’s highest individual wave score and combined heat score en route to winning his round two-repercharge heat this afternoon.
The Wollongong charger was at his dominating best mixing his trademark rail carves with a vertical approach to beat Tahiti’s Heinere Paez, Trinidad and Tobago’s Keith Wyke and Jamaica’s Michel Mair.
Page ignited the Punta Rocas waves with a powerful backhand approach, locking in a 8.77 and 9.50 to finish with a two-wave combined total of 18.27 (out of a possible 20).
1988 Pipe Masters Robbie Page, on his way to score the
highest single wave score of the contest so far.
Picture: Jake White/ISA
“I’m very excited with my performance today,” said Page.
“I haven’t got any expectations heading into the business end of the competition. I’ll just do what I can do.”
Page, who competed on surfing’s world tour in the1980’s / 90’s, is excited about competing in Peru.
“I feel at home in Peru. I love the people and the waves. I have many good friends here.”
He even told ISA President Fernando Aguerre: “I love this event. It’s the best surfing contest ever.”
After an impressive performance in the morning’s round one heats, Page backed it up to progress through to round three of the Grand Masters repercharge division.
Joining Page in round three was Brazil's Roberto Cavallero, Argentina’s Horacio Ipucha and fellow Australian Mark Harrison, who all enjoyed victories in the day’s closing Grand Masters heats.
South African star Andrew Banks kept his 2008 ISA World Masters Surfing Championships campaign alive, notching the Masters division’s top score (16.26) today to advance through to round three of repercharge.
The stylish natural foot wreaked havoc on the long walls of Punta Rocas, linking a series of potent forehand turns to defeat Puerto Rico’s Gustavo Betancourt, Trinidad and Tobago’s Alan Davis and Jamaica’s Eugene Miller.
Other Masters to win their round two repercharge heats included Argentina’s Santiago Di Pace, Brazil’s Ricardo Toledo and Uk’s Clayton Lidster.
Trinidad and Tobago's Che Lovelace is enjoying his time
in Peru and putting some points on the board.
Picture: Jake White/ISA
Meanwhile, Frenchman Michel Larronde stamped his authority on round two of the Kahunas repercharge, topping the division’s scorecard to storm into round three.
The French ripper got straight to work in the 25-minute heat, bagging a 6.67 on his first ride, before posting a 7.33 to finish with a 14.00 (out of a possible 20) total.
Competition will resume tomorrow with the main qualifying rounds of all divisions being completed by noon, before repercharge heats are run in the afternoon.
The 2008 ISA World Masters Surfing Championships will be broadcast live on the Internet, at the ISA website, www.isasurf.org. Photos, news and results will be updated continuously throughout each day of competition.
The ISA World Masters Surfing Championship is a team competition. The nation who places highest in each division will win the gold medal in the team standings, earning the status of the best over 35 surfing country in the world. Individual standings will add points towards the team totals.
The divisions are:
Masters: Over 35 years old
Grand Masters: Over 40 years old
Kahunas: Over 45 years old
Grand Kahunas: Over 50 years old
Masters Women: Women over 35 years old
A complete team is formed by eight athletes: two Masters, two Grand Masters and two Kahunas, a Grand Kahuna and a Master Woman.
The top four finalists in each division are awarded gold, silver, bronze and copper medals, as well as the top four national teams.
Media Contact
All media interested in getting information about this event, please contact Pablo Zanocchi: pablo@isasurf.org. High resolution images will be available everyday at the disposal of the media press.
About International Surfing Association:
The International Surfing Association (ISA) is recognized by the International Olympic Committee (IOC) as the World Governing Authority for surfing, bodyboarding and surfriding. It was originally founded as the International Surfing Federation in 1964 and has been running world championships since 1964 and the Junior World Championships since 1980.
ISA membership includes the surfing National Governing Bodies (NGBs) of over 50 countries on six continents. Its headquarters are located in San Diego, California. It is presided by Fernando Aguerre, first elected in 1994 in Rio, and re-elected six times since. The ISA's four Vice Presidents are Alan Atkins (Australia), Robin de Kock (South Africa), Maile Aguerre (Hawaii) and Mike Gerard (USA).
International Surfing Association (ISA) / tel: 7609310111 - www.isasurf.org - news@isasurf.org
