Oney Flawless at Rip Curl Mentawai

Oney Anwar Bests Garut Widiarta in Flawless Lances 
Right to Win the Mentawai Pro Presented by Rip Curl 

27 April 2013, Katiet-Mentawai Islands:  In flawless 4-5 foot barreling Lance’s Right 
this afternoon, Sumbawa’s Oney Anwer bested Bali’s Garut Widiarta to claim victory on 
Day 3 of the Mentawai Pro presented by Rip Curl, receiving the winner’s check for 
Rp 25 million (approximately $2,500 USD) and a specially carved Mentawai boatsmens 
paddle as a unique souvenir to take home. 

 

Anwar currently resides on the Gold Coast of Australia but hails from Lakey Peak 
in Sumbawa, and was over the moon with his victory today saying, "To win this event 
is so important to me. I'm from Indonesia, and for Rip Curl Asia to put on this event in 
the Mentawais, in Indonesia, at one of the best rights in the world, and to win it, is a 
dream come true. Thank you to all the people of Katiet and the Mentawais for letting 
us come here and surf their beautiful waves. I can't wait to come back next year!”  
And when asked about how he felt getting a win over Garut Widiarta in the final he 
replied, "Garut is a really good surfer. We've been teammates at Rip Curl for a long 
time and gone on a lot of trips together. The final just came down to who got the 
really good waves. I just feel really lucky right now.” 

 

Widiarta, the lightning fast goofyfooter from Kuta Beach in Bali, was very in form 
all day and certainly deserved his final’s berth.  He bested veteran Pepen Hendrik in 
Quarterfinal 1, then Oney’s older brother Gazali Hamzah in Semifinal 1 on his way 
to meet Oney in the 45 minute final, where both he and Anwar got 9 waves apiece. 
But when the horn blew, a very close score of 16.00 points (out of a possible 20) 
to 15.50 had Anwar the victor. 

 

Lance’s Right is known to be an extremely challenging wave for a backhand surfer, 
especially for long barrels rides, but Widiarta was up to the task with several 
beautiful barrels as well as some incredibly tight vertical backside hacks, scoring 
the highest single wave score of the day in his semifinal heat, a 9.5 out of a possible 
10 points.  When asked if he felt like the underdog in the final being a goofyfooter 
he replied, “I heard a lot of talk about how it was going to be a disadvantage for the 
goofies out at Lance's Right, but I felt like it was really good for me as a goofy going 
backside, especially when the tide gets low, you can really wind up and do some big 
hacks.”  And about the event as a whole?  ““We've spent the last seven days on the 
island and every day has just been perfect waves and nothing but fun. Well done to 
all the surfers, judges, event staff, and especially the locals here at Lance's Right," 
he said with a big smile. 

 

The Mentawai Pro presented by Rip Curl was the first Premium Grade Asian Surfing 
Championship event, and the first event of the 2013 tour season, with the top 16 
ranked ASC surfers competition against 8 international invitees.  A perfect start to 
the season in the world’s surfing Mecca of the Mentawai Islands, this event truly set 
the benchmark for quality waves in exotic locations.  Rip Curl SEA CEO Jeff Anderson 
had this to say about the event, “We could have chosen different waves to surf in the 
Mentawais, but given the opportunity to take the best right hander here we did, and 
with the support of the surfers, the government, and the ASC we are putting Lance’s 
Right back on the map.  Theses barrels are world class, and it’s a dream wave for 
any surfer that can ride a barrel, so this has been the best contest I’ve been to in 
my life…I don’t know how it could get any better than this!” 

 

In addition to all the great surfing action that went down over the last three days 
out in the water, the Rip Curl crew has also been busy in the village of Katiet with 
some important Corporate Social Responsibility projects that will have a lasting 
importance way beyond just putting on a surfing competition. 

Rip Curl, in partnership with the Mentawai government, is supporting three 
separate social development projects in the village of Katiet, on Sipora Island 
in the Mentawais. The first project is a donation of school supplies and toilets 
to the Katiet Elementary School. The second is a 30 million IDR donation to A 
Liquid Future, an NGO in Katiet run by Elizabeth Murray. A Liquid Future provides 
free English classes for local children, as well as surf and swimming lessons, and 
art classes. 

Finally, Rip Curl is providing technical support and materials, in conjunction 
with A Liquid Future, to start a ding repair workshop in Katiet, owned and operated 
by the local villagers. Rip Curl has donated 5 million IDR worth of surfboard repair 
materials, including resin and fiberglass, and provided training and technical assistance 
to local villagers. The objective is to develop a sustainable cottage ding repair economy 
for the locals of Katiet, to repair visiting surfers' broken boards. 

Rip Curl and the ASC would like to thank the crew of the Indies Explorer, the official 
channel boat of the Mentawai Pro presented by Rip Curl. The Indies Explorer provided 
excellent angles for the event photographers and video lensmen to capture all the 
action from the 2013 Mentawai Pro presented by Rip Curl. 

 

Rip Curl would also like to thank the Quest 1, official boat of the Search, for 
transporting event officials from Padang, Sumatra to Lance's Right, on 
Sipora island, Mentawais. 

Mentawai Pro presented by Rip Curl ASC Premium Men’s Open Results:

1.  Oney Anwar (Sumbawa, Indonesia) – Rp. 25 million (approx. $2,500 USD)

2.  Garut Widiarta (Bali, Indonesia) -  Rp. 15 million (approx. $1,500 USD)

Equal 3^rd:  Tipi Jabrik (Bali, Indonesia) and Gazali Hamzah (Sumbawa, Indonesia) – Rp. 8 million (approx. $800 USD)

  
The Mentawai Pro presented by Rip Curl is sponsored by the Government of West Sumatra, 
the Tourism Department of the Mentawai Islands, Tourism Indonesia, Andalas Internet, 
Indies Explorer, Quest 1, and Losman Ombak, with media support 
by Magicseaweed.com, Indosurflife.com, Surftime Magazine, Juice, and Lines Magazine.

Share this article

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.