Breaking Ice

[Mick & Carissa Fanning, Heath Walker : photo ASL]

The world’s best surfers have been decided by their peers and top honours went to Australian surfers and world champions Mick Fanning and Stephanie Gilmore at the 16th annual Surf Life Peer Pole Awards at Bells Beach.

The Surfing Life Peer Poll Awards are the only surfing awards that surfers themselves vote for. For most who are nominated it is truly one of the highest honours around.

‘Being voted by your peers there is no better award. I am so stoaked,’ Fanning said. Gilmore said she appreciated the support of the magazine in continuing to raise the profile of female surfing.

Check out Surfers Village for all the contest results and happenings at the Rip Curl Pro

 

 

Dale Staples : photo Steve Robertson
Many of the worlds greatest 16 and under surfers competed in 1m clean surf today to decide the Rip Curl GromSearch Champion for 2008 at Bells Beach in Australia. The results are in. Thousands of spectators were on hand and Dale Staples (St Francis Bay/Sth Africa/16 years) didn’t disappoint becoming the second South African surfer to make the Rip Curl GromSearch international 16 Boys and under final. The other was Jordy Smith who placed second in the event three years ago, but this time Staples claimed top prize.

 

 

“It’s my biggest win ever and I can’t believe I’ve won. To do one better than Jordy is unbelievable and I only hope I can do what Jordy’s doing now and eventually make ASP World Tour – He’s an amazing surfer!”

 

For other contest results check out Surfers Village

 

 

 

 

Checked in on the action at Bells Beach and it looks like ground breaking surfer Dane Reynolds is making his presence felt. The 22 year old World Tour rookie from California led the pack in the second round nailing the highest wave score (9.73 out of 10) and a best heat total of 18.73 out of twenty.

“That (9.73) was just a perfect clean face,” Reynolds said. “I would have had to really blow it to not get a score. I basically connected the dots, I didn’t do anything too ridiculous, but that is all it took.

For more info on the Rip Curl Pro presented by Snickers check it out at Surfers Village

Stephanie Gilmore [Photo: Robertson/ASP Covered Images]

I caught the results for rounds one and two at the Rip Curl Women’s Pro presented by Ford Fiesta at Bell’s Beach.

No surprise that reigning ASP Women’s World Champion and defending event champion Stephanie Gilmore (AUS) netted the day’s highest heat total of a 17.40 out of a possible 20.

“It takes a fair bit of hard work (defending your title),” Gilmore said. “Everyone is surfing so well this season and everyone’s hungry for the win. It’s definitely going to be a bit harder than last year. However, I’m just taking it heat by heat. I was focusing on that last heat, and now I’m just looking ahead and focusing on my Round 3 heat.”

For a look at the standings after the first two rounds check out

Global Surf News