Mine! — World Tour priority rules, part one

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In an ASP World Tour event, who has the right of way in a three man heat?  Once again, I turn to my trusty ASP Rulebook.  Though the man on man heats following Round 1 of a given World Tour competition have a completely different set of rules governing a surfer's right to a wave, the rules for a three man heat are pretty straight forward.  The rules of the three man heat pretty much follow the unwritten laws of the lineup, where the surfer on the inside position has the right of way, snaking … [Read more...]

Cruisin’ with Rob Machado: Dailystoke Interview

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I’ve been a huge fan of Rob Machado for years. Like his legion of followers, I've watched him mature from his OP Pro Junior win back in 1991, to his tense World Tour runner-up finish in 1995, to his heartbreaking 2001 season and beyond. I even had the good fortune of seeing Rob completely own a solid day at Seaside reef back in the earliest of his Momentum days. As a youngster myself at the time, I was grom-abused (at the threat of a serious beatdown) into ringing the doorbell of Rob’s parent’s … [Read more...]

They’re still just your average pro.

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While watching the recent ASP World Tour event at Trestles on the interweb (Gosh, when are they ever gonna get on t.v.!), I started to notice one trait that pro-surfers possess that has seemingly drifted past the majority of us "mortals": Pro surfers are actually human. Yes, it's shocking, but true. The curtain of movies, highlights, magazines spreads, and youtube clips that has been drawn over our eyes actually hide the truth that surfing is hard - even for pros. It's sorta like how Hollywood … [Read more...]

2009 Hurley Pro at Trestles – Fanning wins, Reynolds goes down fighting

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The 2009 Hurley Pro at Trestles concluded on Saturday in inconsistent conditions, running through all of round four and the finals. While waves and conditions were less than stellar, the final day's performances were solid. Former world champ Mick Fanning returned to his machine like form, taking down all challengers and improving his chances in the title chase. Many think Mick was just focused on shutting down the other hopefuls, to help his good mate Parko have a clear run at the title. Unfortunately … [Read more...]

2009 Hurley Pro at Trestles – Slater dominates, Parko exits

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Day three of the 2009 Hurley Pro kicked off with a exciting start on Wednesday, with clean but inconsistent conditions. Local Californian and fan favorite Dane Reynolds through a huge frontside reverse air to take the first win of the day over Australia's Ben Dunn.  Former World Tourer and fellow Californian, Rob Machado followed, shutting down the current world tour leader and man who would be king, Australia's Joel Parkinson. The third heat of the day was the one to watch, with Kelly Slater … [Read more...]

Hurley Pro at Trestles – Slater surges, Taj falls

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The 2009 Hurley Pro at Trestles got off to an exciting start on Sunday in small and textured conditions. Opting to use the old contest format with all surfers surviving through the first round, there were no shocking first round upsets, but there were a few surprise wins. Kelly Slater posted the highest heat score of the day with an 18.50. He got an early 9.0 and backed it up just moments later with a 9.5, leaving his California cohort Rob Machado and Australia's Ace Buchan virtually helpless … [Read more...]

2009 World Qualifying Series rankings following the 6 Star Prime Nike 6.0 Lowers Pro and the 6 Star Prime O’Neill Cold Water Classic Scotland

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Two more high ranking contest down and we see still more changes in the top of the World Qualifying Series rankings. The 6 Star Prime Nike 6.0 Lowers Pro and the 6 Star Prime O'Neill Cold Water Classic recently wrapped up, with each offering 3500 ever so important points to their respective winners. Taking the wins and the big point hauls were Hawaiian World Tour surfer Fred Patacchia at the Nike 6.0 event in San Clemente, and Adam Melling of Australia in the O'Neill Cold Water Classic in Thurso, … [Read more...]

6.0 Lowers Pro wraps up with twin Hawaiian victories

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The 2009 6 Star Prime 6.0 Lowers Pro went off last week in San Clemente, drawing in big talents from around the globe. While the Californian hosts put on an impressive early show, Hawaiian boys proved victorious in both the 6 Star Prime WQS event and the Junior competition. Congratulations go out to Freddie Patacchia who powered through the WQS event, and reigning World Junior champ, Kai Barger, who won the Junior event.' Freddie P. started off his campaign in Round 2, where he narrowly topped … [Read more...]

TRESTLES SAVED – Department of Commerce rejects appeal by Transportation Corridor Agencies

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BREAKING NEWS: The Trestles Surf break has been saved, at least for now. Today, the Department of Commerce rejected an appeal by the Transportation Corridor Agencies (TCA) to the Secretary of Commerce. The TCA, a private organization, had appealed the California Coastal Commissions decision to reject the project earlier in 2008. In its ruling, the Department of Commerce noted that "there is an available and reasonable alternative to the project [that would be consistent with the policies of the … [Read more...]

Bye bye Boost Mobile, Hello Hurley!

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Hurley gets the rights for the Trestles contest beginning in 2009, the ASP informed the surfing world, over the weekend. Boost Mobile had requested the transfer to its co-sponsor earlier in the year, and the request was granted. We'll be seeing the Hurley Trestles Pro starting September 11-20, 2009. This will be the first Hurley-branded event on the ASP World Tour. Said Pat O'Connell of Hurley, "Every event has its own trademark and Trestles has been the place for high performance surfing. Each year, … [Read more...]