AgustÍn “Chingu” Bollini wins the Quik Pro Argentina

The Argentinean Quiksilver Pro was defined at La Paloma, in the presence of a large crowd. Bollini prevailed over Max Siri during the final heat. Juan Arca was one of the outstanding surfers of the day.
Source: Surfpress

For the first time in history, the Quiksilver Pro Argentina title went to Miramar when Agustín “Chingu” Bollini won the final heat against Maxi Siri and became the first surfer in his town to win this classic crowd-summoning surfing competition held at Argentina. In a close final, Bollini finished the last heat of the day with a 9.85 score, against Siri’s 9.10. Miramar’s triumph was cheered by a loud group of fans that traveled to Mar del Plata to see their idol’s accomplishment.

“I dedicate this victory to my sponsors and my parents”, said Bollini at the podium, while his emotion mingled with the general euphoria and the noisy cheering of his supporters that never ceased applauding him during the entire event. The podium was completed with Siri in second place, and Juan Manuel Arca and Diego Conti in the third positions.

DAY OF SURPRISES
The third and last day of the Quik Pro Argentina presented by Samsung left several surprises in the competitive scale and also confirmed that experience is one of the main weapons when having to cope with a wave such as that of La Paloma, that presented changing conditions but was close to 2 meters at all times and in certain occasions a bit higher too.

The fourth round of the play-off , took charge of stirring up the action about 9:18 of Friday, April 24, with the sun fully shining and mild winds coming from the land. Of the 16 surfers that participated in the last play-off heat, eight remained alive: Maxi Siri, Nacho Rojas, Santiago Di Pace, Andrés Di Marco, Juan Arca, Santiago Garamendy, Matías Crego, Diego Conti and Gerónimo Usuna.

Immediately, and on a man-to-man mode, the battle for the last 16 took place. Santiago Di Pace battled against Ignacio Rojas, and “Aguja” used and abused his experience to ensure his passage to the quarterfinals. In the following heat, two strong men disputed the right to continue to the next phase. This time, Maxi Siri took revenge of the 2007 Quik Pro final and dethroned Leandro Usuna – the La Perla glory opted for ensuring his first waves on the lower side. Executing very precise and wise maneuvers, he was accredited with a score of 8.55 against “Lele’s” 8.25. Siri signed then his passage to quarterfinals. Usuna was not very precise in choosing the waves and lost a lot of time waiting for a wave that never came.

“I could do business with a smaller but more open wave to fill it with maneuvers. Conditions were difficult – the bigger waves came with a good deal of water and it took long to break them. So, we had to ensure entering it”, said Siri to journalist Sebastián Chacón. The complete interview and webcast can be seen and heard (in Spanish) www.quiksilver.com.ar

The last eight classified were Santiago Di Pace, Maxi Siri, Juan Arca, Marcelo Rodríguez, Martín Passeri, Agustín Bollini, Horacio Ipucha and Diego Conti.

MORE SURPRISES AT THE QUARTERFINALS
The second bell of the day came by the hand of Juan Manuel Arca, with a deep and long tube that left Marcelo Rodríguez out. The later could not compete with the excellent bursts of the 17-year-old surfer that came from Hawaii with plenty of tube experience on his back.

“I am very happy of being in the semifinals of an event as important as the Quik Pro. To tell you the truth, I was not expecting it. The wave was in a good position to tube it and I did not hesitate. Luckily, the barrel opened and I came out easily”, expressed the Quiksilver team member after his heat.

Martín Passeri, Santiago Di Pace, Marcelo Rodríguez and Horacio Ipucha had to say farewell to the Quicksilver Pro in its quarterfinals. Meanwhile, Maxi Siri, Juan Arca, Agustín Bollini and Diego Conti classified to the semifinals.

THE FIRST SEMIFINAL RUN INVOLVING SIRI AND ARCA
Maxi Siri and Juan Arca, both belonging to the Argentinean Quiksilver team, were in charge of fighting for the first of the two tickets to the final. Siri carried out the same and effective strategy of the previous heats to ensure a new final in his career. He managed to score 10.5 units against Arca’s 5. Anyway, Arca’s surfing left a good feeling facing his presentation at the ISA World Junior Championship that will take place next month in France.

BOLLINI AND THE END OF CONTIS HOPES
In the second semifinal, Bollini profited from this potency to beat Diego Conti, who from the long path of the play-offs managed to place himself third in the general classification. Bollini, when exiting the water showed his excitement for having the possibility of obtaining the championship during the final battle against the Argentinean three-time champion native of Mar del Plata.

BOLLINI MADE HISTORY FOR MIRAMAR
Two very different surfing styles were seen at the finals. Siri’s line and speed on one side, and Bollini’s power on the other. Wave after wave, both surfers fought to impress the judges, and also struggled to overcome the fatigue of a day where La Paloma gave no respite to competitors.
Due to the uncertainty of the tight outcome, immediately after the final bell, the finalists and third-place athletes came to the podium. The event’s presenter, Jorge Delachiesa, called Freddy Tórtora and Horacio Ipucha to present their prizes to Juan Arca and Diego “Foca” Conti for their third place.

Then, Counsellor Santiago Bonifati was in charge of handing his check to Maxi Siri, at the same time that Bollini started a contained celebration and was cheered by his fellow Miramar backers who had ensured a place near the podium. Sebastián Loustau, Marketing Manager for Quiksilver Argentina, gave Agustín Bollini a check for $4,000 and a Quiksilver board manufactured by Ale Carricart especially for the Miramar hero who did not disappoint his fans at the fifth edition of Quik Pro Argentina presented by Samsung.

The fifth edition of the Quiksilver Pro Argentina presented by Samsung reached several parts of the world thanks to the people of Royal Blue that broadcasted the event live.
Good waves, a record number of participants, excellent organization, great surfing level and a large expectant crowd were some of the keys to the success of this classic competition that continues writing substantial pages for the history of Argentinean surfing.
The Quiksilver Pro Argentina will return next year for more action at La Paloma.

On Quiksilver Pro Argentina
The Quiksilver Pro Argentina is the closing event of the official Argentinean Surf Association (ASA) calendar since 2004 and has become a surfing classic in the country.

The Quik Pro Argentina is carried out at La Paloma beach, mythical breaks at the south of Mar del Plata (Buenos Aires Province) where different generations of Argentinean surfers have been launched to fame.

Andrés Di Marco (04), Maxi Siri (05), Maxi Prenski (06), Leandro Usuna (07) and Agustín Bollini (08) are the present and past champions of this competition.

The 2008 Quiksilver Pro Argentina was sponsored by: Quiksilver – Samsung – Gatorade Fierce – Roxy – DC.

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).

BACK TO HOME