Everyone is pretty psyched for next year’s ASP World Tour. There’s a certain level of excitement in the air unlike any year prior.  Is it because of the tour locations set of next year?  Or perhaps it’s because surfing has taken a backseat to KITE SURFING and surfers are ready to take back their spot.  Nope, it’s because the ASP’s new tournament format should lead to more suspense and excitement.  And it’s for damn sure, well hopefully, dominant surfers like Kelly Slater would monopolize the competition, as he did this year. 

Here’s a rundown of the major changes that are the framework for the new format:

- 48-man format consisting of two opening elimination man-on-man rounds. This gets rid of the free three-man round-one heats, which all surfers advanced out of.

- Round one will consist of 32 surfers, those rated 17 to 27 on the ASP World Tour, three tour/injury wildcards, the top 15-rated surfers on the ASP WQS, and three event wildcards.

- The top 16 on the ASP World Tour are seeded directly in round two where they’ll meet the sixteen victors from round one in the re-seeded draw.

- The top ten from the previous year’s Dream Tour will be guaranteed a round two seed all year long, while the next six seeds have to maintain their seeded position and can be replaced by better performing back 32 surfers after the third ASP World Tour event of the year.

These modifications all serve the purposes of maximizing swell windows for events, creating a one world ranking system, making it crucial for surfers to surf every event, and of course, increasing the excitement throughout the entirety of each contest.

Tentative ASP World Tour 2009 Schedule

Feb 28-Mar 11 Quiksilver Pro (Gold Coast, Qld-Australia)

Apr 7-19 Rip Curl Pro (Bells Beach, Victoria-Australia)

May 9-20 Billabong Pro Teahupoo (Teahupoo, Taiarapu-Tahiti)

Jun 27-Jly 5 Hang Loose Santa Catarina Pro (Santa Catarina-Brazil)

Jly 9-19 Billabong Pro (Jeffreys Bay-South Africa)

Sep 11-20 Boost Mobile Pro pres. by Hurley (Trestles, California-USA)

Sep 23-Oct 4 Quiksilver Pro France (South West Coast-France)

Oct 5-17 Billabong Pro (Mundaka, Euskadi-Spain)

Oct 19-28 Rip Curl Search (Somewhere…in Europe?)

Dec 8-20 Billabong Pipeline Masters (Banzai Pipeline, Oahu-Hawaii)

Three surfers coming from all over this vast country competed for the top spot in the Barrel In Billabong Freewave Challenge but it was Jesse Hines of Kitty Hawk, North Carolina, who surfed the best barrel to capture the summer surfing season in the Billabong Freewave Challenge Mainland edition. The wave was caught near his home along NC’s Outer Banks, Hines challenged one of the thickest tubes ever seen on the East Coast and his successful escape from the spitting beast earned him the respect of the surfing world and $3,000 in Freewave prize money. Joe Cheshire of Digital Wunderland will receive $750 for capturing the epic moment on video tape. The wave was ridden on September 7, 2008 and was generated by Hurricane Ike as it tracked across the Atlantic Ocean.

Watch the winning clips here. 

The Best Barrel award is just one of five divisions which acknowledge the finest freesurfing to take place in the USA this summer outside of regular surf contests. Other category winners to be revealed over the next few days include Small Fries (16 and Under surfers) and the coveted Monster Maneuver Award. The placings in the Heartbreaker Female Performance Award and the Longest Ride were announced yesterday.    In total, the event offers $40,000 in prize money for the surfers and videographers. Full rules and event format details can be accessed at the event website at www.FreewaveChallenge.com

Second place in the Best Barrel category went to Geoff Moysa of Newport Beach, California who slid into another long left-hand tube at Newport’s 52nd Street on a southern hemisphere-generated swell on June 20 — the opening day of the summer-long Freewave event.   Moysa collects a cool $2,000 for his weaving West Coast cover-up and escape through the doggy-door as the wave closed out. Local underground filmmaker Lugo Lugo of Shorescrew.com takes home $500 for providing the visual evidence.

Although Hurricane Ike may have been the third most destructive Hurricane to strike the US, it was a boon to Freewave surfers, and as the Category 4 storm continued on into the Gulf of Mexico it provided the juice for the third place finisher in the Best Barrel category. Alexander “Zander” Morton of St. Augustine, Florida, drove across the state to catch Ike’s surf in the Panama City area of his state’s Panhandle and was rewarded with an exceptionally deep backside tube (on yet another left). Although Morton slipped from his feet and recovered at the end of his ride, it was still enough to secure third place in the virtual free-surfing challenge and $1,500. Highly mobile surf videographer Jerry Ricciotti of Maryland now pockets $400 for capturing the image on camera.

According to the published Freewave rules, the “The surfer executing the most skillful demonstration of the art of surfing in the tube shall be the winner. Length, depth and overall degree of difficulty will all be considered.”  The rankings of the finalists were determined by a large voting panel made up of the surfers and videographers registered in the event along with select surfing media members from around the world.  Over 150 video clips of spectacular surfing were uploaded to the Freewave website with nominees qualifying from a diverse number of surf breaks from all over the East, West and Gulf Coasts of the USA.  All the original clips can still be viewed by clicking on the  Freewave Video Hub.

BEST BARREL AWARD FINAL RESULTS
1.  Jesse Hines (Kitty Hawk, North Carolina) at the Outer Banks on September 7 ($3,000). Video by Joe Cheshire ($750)
2.  Geoff Moysa (Newport Beach, California) at 52nd Street, Newport on June 20 ($2,000).   Video by Lugo Lugo.
3.  Zander Morton (St. Augustine, Florida) on the Gulf Coast on September 11 ($1,500).   Video by Jerry Ricciotti ($400)

Aussie surf brand Billabong has bought the SoCal skateboard company Sector 9, which is best known for its longboards.

We’re not usually that into longboards, but we like Sector 9 for two reasons:  Erica.  Hosseini. (pictured above)

The skate brand has a nice team, including female surfers Hosseini and Holly Beck.  Sweet.

Check out the full release below and go to the Billabong or Sector 9 sites for more…

Billabong acquires Sector 9 skateboard brand

Billabong International Limited today announced the acquisition of Sector 9, a Southern California-based skateboard brand. Sector 9 was founded in 1994 and has emerged as a market leader in the design and manufacture of skate longboards, a fast-growing niche segment within the skateboard market.

Billabong International Limited Chief Executive Officer Derek O’Neill said Sector 9 operated in the specialty boardsports channel with a unique product offering. “Sector 9’s products, primarily its longboards, really differentiate it from other brands in the boardsports channel and have appeal to surfers, skateboarders and the broader youth market,”  said Mr. O’Neill.

“The company has not only proved the viability of the longboard segment, it has experienced sustained growth over the past decade and has become synonymous with the California boardsport lifestyle.”

Paul Naude’, head of Billabong’s North American operation said, “Sector 9’s innovative skateboard design has positioned the company as the market leader in this hardgoods niche and makes them a great addition to our strong portfolio of boardsports brands.”  Co-foundersand owners Steve Lake and Dennis Telfer and co-owner Dave Klimkiewicz are being retained as part of the acquisition in their current roles.

Mr. Lake, Sector 9’s President, said he was excited by the prospect of teaming with a boardsports industry leader. “While Sector 9 continues to maintain solid growth in the US, we are most excited at the prospect of combining our brand’s growing international awareness with Billabong’s proven global distribution network,” said Lake.

The purchase of Sector 9 includes its Gullwing skateboard trucks brand. The bulk of Sector 9’s revenues are generated by skateboard and associated hardgoods sales, while apparel is a small but emerging category. Sector 9 operates a vertical business model, with its primary design, manufacturing and distribution all based in San Diego.

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