23rd May 2011
The final day of the Arica Chilean trials was contested at El Gringo this morning with the top 7 riders securing a birth in the main event.
The morning started with some smaller but cleaner 3-5 feet waves as an early offshore groomed the waves into perfect peaks.
The trials were used to showcase a new 4-man priority system that would see less hassling and more focus on getting the best riders on the best waves.
IBA World Tour manager Terry McKenna explains.
" This was driven by the riders that wanted a system that would be user friendly and make sure that no waves were wasted by excess jostling in the line-up, and it worked perfectly"
First up was the semi finals of the trials and the main mission of the remaining competitors was to get the 2000 GQS points on offer as well as steer clear of 8th position, as this was the only spot that would not be going through to the main event.
Semi 1 was a heavy exchange between 4 of the most consistent competitors in the event going at it with Jones Russell (Aust) & Charly Chapelet (Reunion) proving too strong for the South American trio of Roberto Bruno (Brazil) and Emiliano Tabre (Argentina).
The second semi was a battle of the heavy hitters with the Australian duo of Mitch Rawlins and Tom Rigby sneaking past the two locals Alan Munoz (Chile) and Renato Arellano (Chile) to set up a predominately Australian final.
Semi 1
Name Info P
Charly Chapelet Reunion 2
Emiliano Tabare Argentina 4
Jones Russell Australia 1
Roberto Bruno Brazil 3
Semi 2
Name Info P
Thomas Rigby Australia 2
Renato Arellano Chile 4
Mitch Rawlins Australia 1
Alan Munoz Chile 3
By this time the waves were pumping and El Gringo was serving up some perfect lefts & rights in the 1.5 - 2 mtr range providing a spectacular arena for the competitors to showcase their skills.
Mitch Rawlins looked hungry for a win and picked the best waves to claim victory and snatch the 2000 GQS points that were up for grabs.
"Finally it all came together" laughed Mitch.
"It's been a while and it feels good but with the first round of the GSS coming up, I don't have much time to enjoy it" said Rawlins.
The Trials final results are as follows.
Name Info P
Jones Russell Australia 3
Charly Chapelet Reunion 4
Mitch Rawlins Australia 1
Thomas Rigby Australia 2
With the surf still pumping and the crowd building organizers decided to run straight into the first round of the main event.
The first heat of the GSS leader-board round set a blistering pace with former World Champion Damian King (Australia) firing in the gaping tubes.
" I lost my board when I was in front and just kept cool" said King.
"There are a lot of young guys coming through the ranks so that challenges me to keep on top of my game and keep fresh" he added.
The leader-board section of the event offers riders 6 points for a win, 4 points for second, 2 points for third and 1 point for last across the first three rounds with the Top 16 moving into the round 4 man-on-man heats.
Heat 1
Mark McCarthy Sth Africa 2
Diego Cabrera Canary Is 4
Damian King Australia 1
Roberto Bruno Brazil 3
The second heat was a see-sawing affair with all 4 riders holding first place at various stages of the heat but in the end Ben Player (Australia) showed great determination and contest savvy to come home in the dying seconds.
" I saw that wave coming and knew it had the potential to get the score" said Player.
Heat 2
Jared Houston Sth Africa 3
Ben Player Australia 1
Manuel Centeno Portugal 4
Alan Munoz Chile 2
Other results from round 1 were as included
Heat 3
Magno Oliveira Brazil 3
Dallas Singer Australia 1
Mitch Rawlins Australia 2
Thomas Rigby Australia 4
Heat 4
Name Info P
Jeff Hubbard Hawaii 1
Michael Novy Australia 3
Jake Stone Australia 2
Cristian Fernandez Chile 4
Heat 5
Ryan Hardy Australia 4
Uri Valadao Brazil 3
Dave Hubbard Hawaii 1
Jose Otavio Brazil 2
Heat 6
Guilherme Tamega Brazil 3
Mike Stewart Hawaii 4
Guillermo Cobo Spain 1
Jones Russell Australia 2
Heat 7
Pierre Louis Costes France 1
Eder Luciano Brazil 3
Lucas Nogueira Brazil 4
Charly Chapelet Reunioin 2
Pierre Luis Costes (France) wooed the crowd with a fearless approach on the shallow reef that included a deep barrel and a highflying invert to post the day's highest combo of 16.40 out of 20.
" I like the 4 man priority" said Pierre. "It let me focus more on high performance riding rather that positioning"
In the final heat of the day current World Champion Amaury Laverhne (Reunion) looked like he owned the break stamping his authority all over the lefts to take first place.
Heat 8
Amaury Lavernhe Reunion 1
Dave Winchester Australia 2
Gastao Entrudo Portugal 3
Renato Arellano Chile 4
The leader-board after R1 looks like this
Equal 1st
6 Points Pierre Luis Costes
6 Points Ben Player
6 Points Dave Hubbard
6 Points Jeff Hubbard
6 Points Damian King
6 Points Guillemo Cobo
6 Points Amaury Lavernhe
6 Points Dallas Singer
Equal 9th
4 points Alan Munoz
4 Points Jose Otavio
4 Points Charly Chaplet
4 Points Jones Russell
4 Points Jake Stone
4 Points Mark McCarthy
4 Points Mitch Rawlins
4 Points Dave Winchester
Equal 17th
2 Points Jared Houston
2 Points Uri Valadao
2 Points Eder Luciano
2 Points Roberto Bruno
2 Points Michael Novy
2 Points Guilherme Tamega
2 Points Magno Oliveira
2 Points Gastao Entrudo
Equal 25th
1 point Manuel Centeno
1 point Cristian Fernandez
1 point Tom Rigby
1 point Ryan Hardy
1 point Mike Stewart
1 point Lucas Nogueria
1 point Renato Arellano
1 point Diego Cabrera
Tomorrow's forecast is shaping up well with a strong chance of the second round getting underway.
Here is the plan for the rest of the event
Day 2 4 man R2 - 8 heats 30 minute 7.3O 11.3O
4 man R3 - 4 heats 30 minute 11.3O 13.3O
Day 3 4 man R3 - 4 heats 30 minutes 7.3O 9.3O
2 man R4 - 8 heats 25 minutes 9.3O 12.5O
Day 4 2 man 1/4 Finals 30 minutes 7.3O 9.3O
2 man Semi Finals 30 minutes 9.3O 10.3O
Expression Session 10 minutes 10.3O 10.4O
2 man Final 30 minutes 10.4O 11.1O
Presentation 20 minutes 11.1O 11.3O
The event will be web-cast at ibaworldtour.com/live and redbull.com
For regular updates go to the IBA facebook page where you can win World Tour paraphernalia just for joining facebook.com/ibaworldtour
When the contest is off, fans can have fun playing the wave of the event on YouRiding BODYBOARDING online game
The link to the game is youriding.com/bodyboarding.
MUSIC// Lonesome Ghost - MyDear - None of these songs are about you (or anyone you know)
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