 Filipe Toledo. Photo: WSL via surfermag.com The ASP is now the WSL (World Surf League) and the first stop on the tour is in the books. Brazil's Filipe Toledo took out Julian Wilson (AUS) in the final by scoring a near perfect score of 19.60 out of 20 in lackluster conditions at the Quiksilver Pro Gold Coast. Toledo scored one perfect 10 ride by ripping a few fins out, off the lip smacks and ending with a spinning reverse before the wave closed out. Even more impressive is the Brazilians knocked out the favorites; Italo Ferriera (BRA) eliminated Kelly Slater (USA) in round 3, and Adriano de Souza (BRA) eliminated Mick Fanning (AUS) in the quarterfinals.
Adriano de Souza also eliminated Freddy Patacchia (HAW) in round 3 since Freddy couldn't catch one decent wave to post a good score. Freddy took out his frustrations on his board by doing a hard ollie onto a rock as he came in from his heat (see vid below). It went viral and #Freddysrock was born. His good spirits returned the next day and gave a free surfboard to @harleywalters to posting the best pic on #Freddysrock. A nice reminder that the win or lose, all these surfers are really great to their fans.
Kelly Slater, photo: aspworldtour.com
The 2014 season has begun, Slater is back and looking for his 12th world title. The ASP and ZoSea Media have finally put the the streaming contest video on the ASP website, aspworldtour.com, (instead of having to go to each contest sponsor's website). It took a decade for them to figure out that 1 website to view all contests was a good idea? Someone give the ASP/ZoSea the 2014 Captain Obvious Award. Slater, Fanning, Flores, and Logie are all surfing strong. Round 3 should continue tomorrow, when the eliminations will start and the fun really begins.
 Kelly Slater, crouching, focused at sea and on land. photo: http://www.golfdigest.com/magazine/2014-03/max-adler-surfers-who-golf After the 67th winter storm this year, summer has never seemed so far away. If you're like me, when the temperature goes below 50 degrees or the waves go flat, you begin to look towards other hobbies to keep you busy. Most of us will pick up another board sport that mimics the movement of surfing, but what about a sport that improves the mind game and mental focus? It should come as no surprise that Kelly Slater is 2 handicap golfer. His mental focus allows him to succeed at almost anything he does. But golf is growing among the younger crowd on Hawaii as well. Golf Digest is reporting a new found love of the sport among surfing's next generation like Julian Wilson and Dusty Payne. Hawaii has some of the best golf courses within a short drive from the best surf spots, making it easy to take a break from the waves while improving focus and body awareness on the greens.  Shane Dorian in Australia. photo by Adam Greentree, http://www.grindtv.com/outdoor/nature/post/shane-dorian-is-your-neighborly-bow-hunting-big-wave-surfer/ For Shane Dorian, bow-hunting is more than just a hobby outside of surfing, it's necessary to protect the agriculture on his property. Deer and pigs are a real nuisance and potential health threat on Hawaii, since they have no natural predators. Shane Dorian was hooked after his first hunt. Bow-hunting certain animals (like deer) requires extreme focus and breath control, because you have to get within 40 yards for an ethical kill shot without being detected. This mental focus goes hand-in-hand with Dorian's big wave surfing when focus on every detail is a vital to survive a ride or a wipeout. There is a code of responsibility that all hunters should follow, and Shane Dorian embodies the best of that code. Grindtv.com has a great interview with Shane on his journey into bow hunting.
 Photo:http://www.volcompipepro.com/ He's done it again. Kelly Slater won the Volcom Pipe Pro. The writing was on the wall in Round 4 when Slater air dropped into a meaty barrel, almost submerged his entire board, then pulled in, got covered up, spit out, and scored a perfect 10. Then in the first minute of the final he pulled a clean barrel and put up a 9.57, no one else even stood a chance. His past 2 wins at Pipe (the Billabong Pro in December and the Volcom Pro) prove he is still #1 and I'd say he's just getting warmed up to surf one more year on the ASP. Highlights and pics can be seen at volcompipepro.com. And for some super crazy hi res photos check out surfingmagazine.com.
 Kelly Slater drops in during round 4 Day 2 of the Billabong Pipeline Masters finished today, and the ASP World Title is still up for grabs. Wave conditions were about 6-7 feet, with a few barrels coming in on some of the bigger sets. Kelly Slater, John John Florence, Joel Parkinson, and Yadin Nicol all advanced to the quarterfinals. However, Mick Fanning made a very uncharacteristic error in the final wave of his 4th round 3 man heat, when he dropped in on John John Florence and got an interference call. Fanning was penalized and dropped from 1st to 2nd in his heat, handing John John Florence the top spot and a pass to the quarterfinals. So Fanning will have to compete in round 5, keeping his world title chances alive.
Other highlights include; Yadin Nicol scored the only perfect 10 of the day with an amazing barrel. Joel Parkinson eliminated Dusty Payne in round 3 despite Dusty's amazing performance, he couldn't get a 2nd high scoring wave. And Miguel Pupo had an amazing barrel scoring 9 points when he eliminated Josh Kerr in round 3.
 Slater starts round 3  Slater pulls under the lip in round 3  Slater carrying speed  Dusty Payne  Dusty Payne and Joel Parkinson come in together after a hard fought round 3
Photo: Hugo Silva/Red Bull
Kelly Slater was eliminated in the 2nd round of the Rip Curl Pro in Portugal by wild card entry Frederico Morais. Now Mick Fanning can clinch the title if a few scenarios play out. Fanning needs to finish better than 3rd, and Taj Burrow, Jordy Smith, and Joel Parkinson all need to fail to make it to the finals.
Even if Fanning doesn't clinch the title in Portugal, Slater still has to make it to the finals at Pipeline to stay in contention. It's going to be interesting to see how this plays out, but as of now Fanning is looking like the potential champ this year.
Photo: ASP
Taj Burrow defeated Julian Wilson in the finals of the Hurley Pro at Trestles. It came down to wave selection. Most of the day was mushy waist to chest high sets, but Taj choose the good ones and ended with a high scoring wave. Late in the heat an outside set that broke early, Julian Wilson had to duck dive under it, but Taj was still able to catch it as it reformed and threw 2 fins out, frontside snaps securing his victory.
Mick Fanning now leads the ASP Tour with 41,900 points and Kelly Slater is in second place with 40,700. The Quiksilver Pro in France starts on September 26, let's hope Slater wins in France just like he did last year and takes back that #1 spot.
Joel Parkinson. Picture: Kirstin Scholtz/ASP
In a very uncharacteristic round 3, Kelly Slater and Joel Parkinson were knocked very early at the Hurley Pro today at Trestles. Slater lost to Pat Gudauskas, and poor conditions are slightly to blame. Slater lost by less than 1 point, but could only muster a 7.7 and 7.1 on almost a dozen waves. Whereas Gudauskas only got 3 waves, but they were waves of the day, and his 8.50 and 7.07 were enough take out Slater. Parko lost to Adam Melling by a total of almost 4 points.
With Slater and Parko out, Mick Fanning looks like the favorite to win the event, and will very likely take over the number 1 spot on tour after this event.
About midway through Round 4 in the Billabong Tahiti Pro, Kelly Slater was getting towed back out to the lineup when this happened. A scary moment considering the shallow reef and a 400lbs waverunner could have made a Slater sandwich. Tthe water patrol should pull you out of danger, not put you back into it, so it's no wonder the former champ was a little rattled. Luckily Slater was able to walk away and finish the non elimination heat in 3rd place, and eventually made it to the final.
After an entire day of surfing, the Billabong Tahiti Pro wrapped up with Adrian Buchan crowned the winner. He had 2 great waves scoring over a 9 on both, and Slater just couldn't find the right wave to take the lead. What's even more amazing is that in Round 4, Kelly Slater was on getting towed out by the jet ski when an incoming wave flipped it over and pinned Slater under it briefly. Despite coming in 3rd in that non-elimination round, Slater went on to defeat Joel Parkinson in round 5, Freddie Patacchia in the quarterfinals, and Kai Otton in the semi-finals. The guy truly is a machine. Congratulations to Adrian Buchan, and Slater's 2nd place finish which should put him back in the #1 spot on the ASP World Tour.
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