Unlike the pretty stale WCT Tour,
the IBA has had 3 classic events in what’s been happening during the 2012
campaign. First off was the best surf Pipe saw in the winter, second was the
Box with a mixed bag of waves though intense action and third was the Stealth Arica Chilean
Challenge, which finished this past Sunday. If you missed the event, no
worries, heats on demand on the ibaworldtour youtube channel guarantee that
you’ll see every bit of action, and boy was there action.
First off, a big congrats to all
the riders in the IBA world tour. They put on a great show, local Chilean
riders showed they are to be taken VERY seriously and few if any riders failed
to put on a good showing. Injuries? You bet there were injuries, and still Ben
Player, Amaury Lavernhe and Danton Correa put on a great show. These are
serious pros who REALLY want to win and put it all on the line.
The webcast started super deep
into the trials so we were treated to
a deep look into what goes into one of the most prized events in bodyboarding.
A pool of 100 international riders put on a great show and who won the trials?
A guy from Morocco called Brahim Iddouch who flipped himself silly for the win.
So a big thanks to the IBA for letting fans see an event in its entirety.
Then came the main event. Conditions varied intensely throughout the week with waves from
3-12 feet and conditions that varied as well. Often ridden with overcast skies,
El Gringo is a wave that goes left and right and has high consequences either
way, though the left is even sketchier. The scoring criteria adjusted superbly
and the judges really deserve a shoutout for making the right call 99% of the
time.
If I could use three words to
describe the air one could grasp through the webcast they would be focus,
determination and joy. Bodyboarders are a friendly bunch of guys most of the
time, but the blast they seemed to have in Chile just permeated throughout the
whole event. Then again, that’s what happens when you have thousands of people
lining up to see the world’s best face off against one of the best waves on the
planet. Some standout things I saw were:
1. The
Lan ladies - Promoters from Lan Airlines that kept what few males were there
smiling from ear to ear. Having a representative of Lan Airlines was also
awesome since it pretty much shows that bodyboarding is a serious and popular sport in Latin America.
2. A
mummy replica they brought to the booth. Super weird moment and I don’t know
how Manny could eat on that table after they brought that thing out.
3. The
mayor of Arica giving an interview.
4. All
the riders doing commentating. Everyone put in their time in the event and
highlights in the booth are too many to name, though my vote goes for Mark
McCarthy since his enthusiasm was infectious.
Then there was the riding.
Although I have my 5 favorite waves from the event, please make sure to see the
entire event. This was quality riding from the highest quality of riders. Then
again, there are always waves that standout and here are my top five:
Top Five waves of the Stealth Arica Chilean Challenge:
5. Jeff Hubbard’s ARS to barrel
in round 4: Jeff pulls into a big right hander that looks a little fat. Then he
hits a massive ARS and lands in the barrel, which he pulls out from into a
roll.
4. Ben Player’s round 6 reverse
to barrel to flip: One of the most technical waves ridden in the event, Ben
Player pulls into a big right, thinks it’s not going to pitch so does a reverse
to stall for time. As he finishes the reverse, the wave throws, he gets a sick
barrel and comes out with a flip.
3. Guilherme Tamega Barrel for
the win in Semi Final #1. PLC had Guilherme on the ropes at the end, but the
Brazilian behemoth was not going to be denied a Final berth. He pulls insanely
deep on a right hander and I’m pretty sure he yelled at the wave to stay open.
I really didn’t think he was going to make it, and he did.
2. Dave Hubbard’s MASSIVE Boost
in round 3. In this round, people were looking for Nick Gornall to boost big.
After he hit a section a little late, Dave Hubbard grabs a quick left and
proceeds to go higher than his brother did the entire event with the biggest air
in Chile. What’s crazier is how smooth he landed it and that he even had
the presence of mind to launch another roll afterwards.
1. Mike Stewart’s spinner, to
barrel to HUGE invert in Quarterfinal #4. Vintage Mike, that’s what you’re
going to hear for a long time. Stewart smoked Ben Player in the quarters
starting out with a beautiful looking left hander. He proceeds to do a textbook
smooth spinner into the barrel, grabs a long drawn out tube and even while he’s
shacked, you see him eyeing the section coming. It was a 2-3 ft section and he
boosted like 6 feet in the air, completely inverted and landed on barely
covered rocks… rightfully so, this was the highest scoring wave of the event.
It was a hell of a contest, and
like I said… everyone was riding so well it was a sight to see. Now there were
some riders that looked more in form than the rest, and here’s my list:
Brahim Iddouch – Took down the
trials and though he didn’t progress very far in the event, he showed he
charges and that he’s a welcome addition to any event.
Damian King – Runner up in the
trials, Kingy looked downright deadly in his riding and just came up short in
the heat he lost. Still, his riding was tight and focused and it’s awesome to
see him charging.
Sacha Specker – Riding tight and
quick, flipping, tubing and still with enough energy to click some land and
water shots. The man is on fire and I wouldn’t be surprised if an in form Sacha
makes the Semis or Finals of an event this year.
Nick Gornall – The scariest launch of the event has to go to
Nick Gornall, who threw an invert off a section that would have people pooping
their pants.
Andrew Lester – Lester made it to the Quarters until he met
up with the eventual event winner. His riding was focused and technical and he
showed he’s someone to take serious in any heat you’re in.
Dave Hubbard – Biggest air of the
event, Dave missed the quarters by .06 pts… it’s a harsh loss because he was
ripping and you can probably make a case that he deserved the win… then again
you can also make a case for Lester deserving the win. It’s one of those heats
you’d hate to have to judge. That aside, Dave looked sharp, fast and motivated
to go big. He did a crazy flip on the rocks to stay in the event and was always
looking to go deep and big.
Jake Stone – His lowest scoring
heat was 13 something… he was looking sharp and deadly and can always take you
out when you least expect it with a huge flip when you think a wave won’t get the
score. Just ask Stewart and Mark McCarthy.
Jeff Hubbard – Hubb has looked
great in two events. One of the few air reverses in the event, he’s known for
busting for a reason or twenty. When he was on, he was way on and he bowed out
to a scarily determined Guilherme Tamega.
Dallas Singer – Dallas looked as
good as I think I’ve ever seen him in a contest and it was a shame he got nipped in the end
of his heat against PLC. Consistently spinning out of the barrel, the smoothest
air reverse of the event was his. I hope he uses this loss to keep the momentum
up because he was riding awesome.
Amaury Lavernhe – That’s twice
Amaury has been caught up in the Tamega storm at Arica… and to be honest, it was more
the ocean than his skills or will. He just didn’t get the rides he needed when
he needed them. That aside, I don’t know if he needs to be injured more often
because I hadn’t seen him riding that precise in a while. His heat wins were
borderline inspirational and if GT gets him in another heat, he should know
he’s going to have to go even bigger.
Mitch Rawlins – Mitch brought the
momentum from the Box and launched some crazy big rolls and deep tubes. PLC
shut the door on him, so look for Mitch to look for redemption.
Ben Player – What corked thigh?
For a second I thought BP wasn’t going to ride the event, then I remembered that
these guys aren’t about to fly thousands of miles to complain about an injury.
With a strong promotion for Coke, he used cut off patches from 2 liter Coke
bottles to protect his thigh and he was riding excellent even when he was
steamrolled by a wizard.
Pierre Louis Costes – Riding
tight, going big and flipping like crazy… though I have to admit, it’s getting
to the point where I want him to launch something other than a backflip… and he
did. He did a wonky air forward, a textbook perfect reverse off the lip and
some big rolls that made me enjoy his flips more when he mixed it up.
Guilherme Tamega – Tamega’s focus
was downright scary. Really, I’m glad heats aren’t full contact because he’d
put you in a jiu-jitsu hold in the first 30 seconds, for sure. Up to the final
he was winning on pure will and determination. Look at the Semi Final against
PLC for pure evidence of this where you can almost hear the wave weeping as he
whips it into submission. I’ll say this for Winey, thank God he left the big
score for the end because with more time, GT might have done something to top
his 2011 antics for a win.
Mike Stewart – At 49, Mike is
riding just like or better than he did ten or more years ago. No one in the
event was putting up better combos than Mike in my view, even going as far as
doing an ARS on the rocks on a wave he’d done a spin, done a roll and gotten a
barrel on. It was a treat to see him charging so hard and it’s just a shame he
didn’t make it into the final, then again, unlike other occasions, more than
any, it was all on the ocean since every good wave he got, he completely
shredded and he’s gone back to being one of the last guys you want in your
heat.
Dave Winchester – Wave magnet…
that’s Winey for you in two words. Flipping, barreling, inverting and rolling
his way to victory, Dave Winchester wrestled the Arica title from GT’s hands in
the last minute of competition. It’s a hell of a victory for Australia and
Winey is the in-form rider of the year, placing 3rd twice and now
winning an event in the first three events of the year. Two more good results
should do it, and I’m super stoked for him. Great guy and another asset to the
sport.
So there you have it, 3 events down, 5 to go… Expectations
are high and Brazil is coming up… I’ll write my predictions throughout the
week.
Viva La Bodyboarding!
