Dane’s about to rock them.

Dane Reynolds scores a wildcard entry into the 2013 Quiksilver Pro Gold Coast.

Dane Reynolds and girlfriend Courtney before a heat at the Quiksilver Pro France where he finished 2nd behind Kelly Slater

The announcement yesterday of Dane Reynolds receiving a wild card entry into next month’s season opening Quiksilver Pro at Snapper Rocks on the Gold Coast no doubt sent shivers through a lot of the ASP’s new Top 34.

Reynolds didn’t enjoy the grind of touring the world competing in WCT events when he was a member of the Top 34 but he does love competing and it shows when he turns up at an event, competing as a wildcard and goes about winning heats.

He cut a swath through the Quiksilver Pro in France last year, finishing second  to good friend and mentor Kelly Slater and all but ending any hopes that Mick Fanning had of a 2012 World Title along the way.

Dane getting shacked in the beach breaks of Hossegor France.

Reynolds was the Vans Wilds card for the whole of the Vans Triple Crown in Hawaii last season and while he didn’t get close to winning an event like he did in France he certainly caused a few headaches for his fellow competitors along the way. An equal ninth at the Billabong Pipe Masters in testimony to that.
With virtually no ratings points to his name Reynolds will likely draw either the new world champ and hometown hero, Joel Parkinson or the #2 seeded surfer, 11 times world champ Kelly Slater.

“As a wildcard you’re automatically the lowest seed in the contest so you get a really tough draw in the first three rounds which makes it really exciting but really difficult,” he said. “Joel would definitely be a fun heat but I like to surf against Kelly too.”

The draw for the Quiksilver Pro wont be worked out until the results of the Trials are known because the other wildcard will go to the winner who may or may not have a higher seeding points than Reynolds. The Quiksilver Pro Trials will run on March 1st, the day before the beginning of the waiting period for the Quiksilver Pro.

Reynolds is a crowd favorite partly for his enigmatic reputation and also for his devil may care attitude which results in some of the craziest moves ever attempted in contests. he sent the internet into melt down last November when he pulled off an amazing snap to reverse at Haleiwa during the Reef Hawaiian Pro. Fans will be watching via the webcast or flocking to Snapper Rocks to see what he can do this time around.

Dane smacking his way through a heat in the Reef Hawaiian Pro at Haleiwa last November

Gabriel Medina Looks Forward to Bells

 

Wonder Kid has a contest he’d rather forget:

Last year at just 18 years of age Brazilian Gabriel Medina split open a huge hole in the ASP world tour. As a teenage giant killer, Medina went from young grommet to full-fledged world title contender in the blink of an eye with two World Tour wins from four contests.

At 15 years old Medina is the youngest surfer to win a WQS event and amazingly had only begun competing in pro surfing events at 14. Last years ASP mid-year rotation made it possible for him to jump straight from the WQS and into the 2011 ASP Top 34.

2012 should be shaping up as a big year for him but an =25^th place at the Quiksilver Pro Gold Coast is not what was expected by him or his fans. What went wrong? Snapper Rocks can be a tricky place to surf at times especially in less than ideal conditions. Medina couldn’t find any rhythm in either of his heats and paid a heavy price being knocked out in Round Two by fellow rookie, Aussie Yadin Nichol. But there is one thing for certain about the year ahead, Medina wont be down for long. The Rip Curl Pro at Bells Beach is just around the corner.

Ace Buchan Fires Up

 

 A lions roar from Ace:

Adrian Ace Buchan, the goofy footer with the gnarlest backhand snap on the tour today always greets you with a smile. When Ace came up against Tour Rookie and fellow Hurley team rider Brazilian Miguel Pupo in the Quiksilver Pro Gold Coast there weren’t too many smiles going around in or out of the water.

In the battle of the goofy footers Ace came out on top and moved into the quarterfinals on the very last wave of the heat. He was wadding to the beach as the final scores were read out from the judges. Ace’s reaction to his wining ride was far from the usual smile, more like a lion’s roar and an emotional fist pumping. Ace was very happy but his normal smile was missing.

Stephanie Gilmore wins Roxy Pro Gold Coast

Roxy Pro Gold Coast 2012 - Images by Peter 'Joli' Wilson

Steph is Back:
The first Women’s World Tour event for 2012, the Roxy Pro Gold Coast, is all wrapped up with Aussie girls filling the top four spots. Four times world champ Stephanie Gilmore was back on the podium holding the winners trophy and lighting up the crowd with her infectious smile.
Steph, the local heroine, defeated North Narrabeen’s Laura Enever who was surfing in her first tour final, with a excellent nine point plus wave right on the siren.
Fellow Aussies Tyler Wright and Sally Fitzgibbons bowed out in the semi finals. The tour rookies put in solid performances and it looks like it will be an exciting year ahead for women’s surfing.
Check out all the action in this Gallery. Also check out the latest issue of www.18seconds.com.au for a cool multi media interview with yours truly.
The next big event is the Women’s Six Star rated Telstra Drug Aware Pro at Margaret River in Western Australia. I’ll be covering all the action so keep an eye on this blog.
Cheers
Joli

Taj Burrow-Back On Top

Quiksilver Pro Gold Coast 2012 - Images by Peter 'Joli' Wilson
Happy Vegemites Aussie surfers scored a double victory at Snapper Rocks with Taj Burrow winning the Quiksilver Pro and (former world champion) Stephanie Gilmore winning the Roxy Pro. “I’m feeling great mate!” said Burrow after defeating Brazilian Adriano de Souza in what was a tense see sawing 35 minute heat battle in front of a packed Snapper Rocks beach. “I felt like I was in Rio [Rio de Janeiro],” said Burrow about the massive crowd that spilled into the water. “There were so many Brazilians here chanting for Adriano and I was a bit unnerved at first but it got me revved up, and I heard the Aussies bounce back with a really good roar on a couple of my waves, I could actually hear them as I was going through my turns. That’s a pretty special feeling.” Burrow’s definitely needed some local support after de Souza had opened the final with an eight point ride nailing an air reverse on his very first turn. “I was freaking after Adriano’s first ride, it’s quite an exclamation mark to come out on the first wave and try an air on your first turn,” explained Burrow later. “He did a sick turn and got eight (points) for just that one turn which is quite intimidating for sure but I knew I could get those scores too, if not better, if I could pick the right waves, but he (de Souza) sure makes it hard for you.” Adriano de Souza, who had avoided a lot of the contest hype that focused on Joel Parkinson, Kelly Slater and Jordy Smith has come second in this event and would have dearly liked to have won, but Burrow got the better of him again today. “We’ve met about 10 times now and Taj has won about six times,” said de Souza as he watched Burrow being mobbed by a massive media scrum. “I had the heat of my life against Taj last year and I would have really liked to have had a win today. What can I say, he belongs in the top three or four in the world and he has been knocking on the door (of a world title) for pretty much like 10 years. I’m sure we’ll met again and maybe next time it will be different.” Both third place getters, Josh Kerr and Jordy Smith would have liked to have the results go differently too. “If you’d told me a week ago I was going to get a third I would have told you I’d be stoked, “ said Kerr as he watched Burrow and de Souza battle out the final. “I really wish I was out in the final right now,” he continued with a shrug. “I had that heat this morning against Adriano and I really wanted to get through so I’m really disappointed right now, but I’ll take a third.” Jordy Smith had his own reasons for wanting a win at Snapper Rocks after the news last week of the downgrading of the World Tour event at Jeffreys Bay (to a six star); Smith would have been the defending champion. “I had an added incentive to win here because they’ve taken JBay (Jeffreys Bay, South Africa) away and I wanted to win one of the right hand point breaks this year.” Smith was runner up two years ago at the Quik Pro and made the semis twice in the last three years so he was more than a little disappointed about his result. “@#%*, I’m just really bummed, I wanted to make the final so bad. If you want to win a world title you’ve got to win finals,” he said. “I guess it’s a really good start to the year and now I hope to go and do really well at Bells, hopefully win or make the final at least.” When asked about the conditions today he answered with a smile, “It wasn’t perfect Snapper but I’m happy to have beaten Parko out here (Joel Parkinson’s home break). He’s probably beaten me 10 times and I’ve only beaten him three, so I don’t think I’ve got it over him yet, (laughing) but those three times are all out here at Snapper.” The 2012 Quiksilver Pro Gold Coast didn’t have perfect waves and for a lot of the Top 34 surfers it was a nervous start to the year. The tour rookies didn’t really get a chance to shine with the seasoned pros filling the final top eight spots. Taj Burrow has led the world tour ratings at this stage of the year before, but it’s another long year ahead. He just laughed when asked how he felt about his World Title chances this year? “Right now, it’s all about rating points and having a few beers with my mates.”

Happy May Day

It's the last day of April and the surf has returned to the Gold Coast after a week of tiny waves. Cool south westerly winds early and an easterly swell made for some fun conditions this morning. I figure it caught a lot of people by surprise as the line ups were fairly sparsely packed early. The dropping tide made a bit of difference and the news of the 'weekend' swell arriving a day early started to filter out.
We've got a long weekend here in Queensland for May Day so today could be a little entre for the next few days. Get out there and enjoy it.
Cheers
Joli