The 2014 Rip Curl Cup Padang-Padang Opening Ceremony Kicks Off Waiting Period

The 2014 Rip Curl Cup Padang-Padang Opening Ceremony Kicks Off Waiting Period 


July 8th, 2014 -Padang - Padang, Bali – Last Saturday July 5^th at Padang-Padang Beach, the traditional opening ceremony for the Rip Curl Cup 2014 kicked off the waiting period that will run until August 17^th.  One of the many highlights of the program was the announcement of list of lucky 24 competitors who will be surfing Bali’s most iconic barrel almost all to themselves, and the posting of the heat draw. 

The event on Saturday started with a private Balinese prayer ceremony, where the Rip Curl crew prayed and asked the gods and mother earth to bless the event and provide the epic waves that the Rip Curl Cup is known for during the coming 6-week waiting period. 

Hundreds of spectators packed the beach to watch the announcement of the competitors and to see who was matched up with whom, cheering for the favorite surfers.  This means that all 24 invited surfers are now on-call to be at Padang- Padang within 24 hours notice, and get ready to surf once the official Surfline swell forecast team and event director Pete Mathews give the green light to run the contest. 

There were Rip Curl product, and sponsors giveaways during the afternoon, as well as the presentation of the artist who made artwork for this year’s event, and as always the amazing traditional Balinese Kecak dance performance wowed both the audience and the surfers to close the event. “It's a cool showcase of the local culture and gets everyone fired up for the biggest contest of the year at one of the best waves in Bali,” said Francisco Alves, one of Rip Curl’s international team riders from Portugal. 

Stoked surf fans will be frothing to get on-line and view all the action when the green light calls the competitors into action, as the 2014 Rip Curl Cup will be broadcast globally at live.ripcurl.com,and it can be viewed on smartphones with the Rip Curl Live Events App.   

In a departure from the previous year’s format, this year’s Rip Curl Cup will see 24 rather than 32 competitors: 12 international icons and 12 of Indonesia’s finest barrel masters.  “With the world watching via our live webcast, we see the 4-man heat format detracting from the purity of surfing a virtually empty Padang-Padang lineup.  Having just two surfers in the water allows both the surfers and the audience to really focus and enjoy this exciting event,” cites Rip Curl’s SE Asia Marketing Manager James Hendy as the reason for this year’s change in format.   
This year the heat draw will see two Indonesian wild cards in the draw as well, Rahtu Suargita from Kuta who won the Trials event, and Koki Hendrawan as the highest finished Padang-Padang local who was also in the Trials final. 

The 24 competitors will be competing not only for their share of the $10,000 prize purse but also for “The Cup”.  The local Balinese artists at MOD Jewelry, who have also made Association of Surfing Professionals championship rings and awards in the past, designed this coveted trophy. Hand carved from teak wood and inlayed with silver, the bowl is carved into the shape of a flower and is mounted above a piece of wood made to look like a craggy chunk of the Padang-Padang reef. Each year the cup is filled with Bintang beer and the winner must skull it all down on the victory podium.  That is truly the Grand Prize of the event! 

Official 2014 opening-round heat draw: 

Heat 1 
Jamie O’Brien (Hawaii) 
Alik Rudiarta (Indonesia) 
Koki Hendrawan (Indonesia) 

Heat 2 
Lee Wilson (Indonesia) 
Kekoa Bacalso (Hawaii) 
Bethany Hamilton (Hawaii) 

Heat 3 
Anthony Walls  (AUS)
Raditya Rondi (Indonesia) 
Pepen Hendrik (Indonesia) 

Heat 4 
Mega Semadhi (Indonesia) 
Ricardo De Santos (Brazil) 
Francisco Alves (Portugal) 

Heat 5 
Made Adi Putra (Indonesia) 
Flynn Novak (Hawaii) 
Jacob Wilcox (Australia) 

Heat 6 
Luke Hynd (AUS)
Dede Suryana (Indonesia) 
Wayan Merta (Indonesia) 

Heat 7 
Rizal Tandjung (Indonesia) 
Bruno Santos (Brazil) 
Jack Robinson (AUS)

Heat 8 
Chris Ward (USA) 
Made Widiarta (Indonesia) 
Rahtu Suargita (Indonesia) 


It's On when it's On 


2014 RIP CURL CUP - Opening Ceremony - Wrap up : http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cYraR1UutnM 

 
Mick Curley Photography 

 
Mick Curley Photography 


  

 
Mick Curley Photography 


 
Mick Curley Photography 

 
Photo Credit : Hamish 

 
Photo Credit : Hamish 

 
Photo Credit : Hamish 

 
Photo Credit : Hamish 


 
Jeff Anderson CEO RIP CURL ASIA - Photo credit : Hamish 



Rip Curl Cup Padang Padang 2014 is sponsored by: Speedy, Simpati, Bintang, Hidden Valley, Albens and Beach Hut, BAM, BIMC. 
with media supports by: Australia Surfing Life, Surfline and Surf Time magazine. 

www.ripcurl.com

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HISTORY

About the Asian Surfing Championships

The goal of the Asian Surfing Championships is to grow the sport of surfing in Asia from the grassroots level by assisting each country in creating organized and sanctioned events that will develop the skills of their surfers in healthy competition as well as to draw attention to their area for the progression of surfing locally, nationally, and throughout the Asian region. 

Organized surfing competitions have historically been the best medium for the development of surfers and for the sport of surfing.  Learning how to compete fairly and to being disciplined in training and competition key assets needed not only for surfing but also for life.

The ASC works with the local, national and multinational event sponsors and organizers to maximize the results of these competitive surfing events towards accomplishing the goals of sharing the sport of surfing and bringing positive economic, social, and environmental benefits to the people in these Asian countries.

With a multi-stop and multi-national surfing tour, Asian Surfing Champions will be crowned each year in multiple divisions including Open, Women, Longboard, Junior, and Master.