Final results of the CWC Tasmania

Stuart Kennedy wins the O’Neill Cold Water Classic Tasmania

March 28, 2010 – Marrawah, Tasmania, Australia – In some of the best conditions this competition has seen so far, Stuart Kennedy took out the 2010 O’Neill Cold Water Classic Tasmania in emphatic style with the highest combined heat total of the event.

“I guess I just got super confident towards the end,” said Stuart who was surfing in his first ever 6 Star ASP event final. “I was really nervous out there,” he said. “But I was almost crying when I got that 9.5”

The 20 year old from Lennox Head, Australia scored 18 points in the final heat to beat the sublime talent that is Wiggolly Dantas, and formally announce his arrival on surfing’s world stage.

I’ve been training really hard recently,” said Stuart. “I guess I thought it was time to grow up and start trying to win.”

The winner, Stuart Kennedy from Lennox Heads © O'Neill.

As well as doing just that and walking away with the $20,000 prize money, Stuart also picked up the Tasmanian Tiger trophy – a carved wooden sculpture that every surfer has been eying up over the week.

And to top it off, Stuart now sits in the in the lead on the Cold Water Classic Series in line for the $50,000 prize money for the series winner.

Sublime talent Wiggolly Dantes

“I am definitely going to Scotland for the next event on the series,” said Stuart. “Then after that I will have to see where I am at.”

The O’Neill Cold Water Classic Series has a habit of producing epic conditions for the finals in every event in every corner of the world. And here in Tasmania was no exception. “It’s some sort of surfing utopia out there,” said surfer and commentator Sam Lamiroy.

Three meter swell, strong offshore winds and right handers peeling almost all the way to the beach from way out to sea provided the perfect platform for some of the most talented young surfers in the world to showcase their skills.

“The conditions out there are amazing.’ said Uruguayan Marco Giorgi, who yesterday defeated Jordy Smith, and this morning won an awesome quarterfinal against Royden Broyson before being knocked out by eventual winner, Stuart Kennedy, in the semis.

Whilst Giorgi is off to Bali and choosing to avoid the cold of Scotland; “I don’t like all the layers and hoods and everything,” he said, fellow semi finalist and World Tour Surfer Chris Davidson, has decided to enter to chase the cold wild conditions in the hope of winning the $50,000 prize money. “I am not afraid of the cold,” said Chris.

“It was so good to come over here as a warm up for Bells. There were just no waves in my semi final so I was a bit disappointed to not get to the final,” he said. “I really wanted that Tasmanian Tiger trophy. But now I am definitely going to try to enter Scotland and see if I can go for that $50,000,” he said.

The O’Neill Cold Water Classic Series now heads up to the northernmost event in professional surfing in Thurso, Scotland from April 13 – 19. And just off the back of one of the coldest and longest winters in Europe there is every possibility that this will be the coldest event in professional surfing as well.

Tasmanian Tiger © O'Neill

Stuart Kennedy Wins CWC Tasmania

Stuart Kennedy wins the 2010 O’Neill Cold Water Classic, in epic surf. The whole event was blessed with good waves and there was red-hot surfing throughout. One thing noticeable was that there was a bunch of new-comers frothing for a win. Many of them did well and pushed through to the later rounds and the final day of competition.

Check out the video highlights of the event to see what it was all about.

Jordy Bows out of the Cold Water Classic

In a cruel blow, defending O’Neill Cold Water Champion Jordy Smith broke his board in a tight heat and was knocked out of the Cold Water Classic. Jordy talks us through what happened.

As the call for the round of 16 came straight after Brandon Jackson’s heat,  (which he smashed), I could see the waves were really starting to settle, as  the wind had just turned offshore and the light winds were making the waves run off the  point.

Early into my heat I picked up  my 1st wave, which I could see had such  a wall on it and just went big, pushing power turners off-the-bottom and off -the-top before I went too big on the finish, with too much rotation, causing my tail  to give away and not allowing me to hold the turn.

Jordy was on fire © O'Neill

However I was still rewarded with a good score of 7.67, which I was happy with. The  heat was a little slow after that, so I was allowing Marco to surf his own heat, in which he still didn’t find a good score, so there was still no real pressure on me at that  time. At about the 12 minute mark into the heat  I was sitting  right on the peak, ready to pick up a bomb that I knew would allow me to  obtain another good score. As I picked up this wave I was so  amped to just go off!  In so doing I hit the lip, and as I threw out my tail I felt my front foot stretch out in front of me and saw the nose of my board flying  down the line of the wave. If you have never  experienced this believe me, it comes as quite a shock!

There goes the front half of Jordy's board. © O'Neill

I knew straight away that the swim was going to be a full-on haul before I would reach  the beach, especially with me having had ‘flu and suffering with a rather  tight chest the last few days. The whole time I was swimming all I could think about was to just  get back out there as fast as possible. I knew that time was of the essence, and that this  would be Marco’s opportunity to fight back..

Garth handed me my back-up board and announced that I had like 8 minutes  to get back out and find a bomb. On my way out Marco managed to pick up a  good wave and posted a 7.00 point ride, which left me needing a small score of a 4.66  to take the win.

I got to the back line and sat for a while with time ticking away,  hoping something would come through as I had priority . The ocean went  dead and with minuets to go a took a smaller wave and opened up a strong off -the-top tail slide and then went into another one, which I pushed too hard, and  as a result only was rewarded with a 3.5  –  not enough.

Jordy was looking like a winner until the board snap. © O'Neill

My frustration regarding the ocean not delivering a set really broke  my spirit as I knew that if  Huey had just given a little pump of ocean  swell I would have had a better chance of coming away with a win.

Regarding my boards – creasing and snapping at the tails has not being a  common thing in the past. It is just that I have being wanting my boards as  light as possible, which are in the same weight frame as the other  smaller pro surfers boards. It’s all about having Formula 1 equipment now  days! I do need them light so my performance stays up there, allowing me  to get speed  off the mark, which is so important.

While having an interview with  “Pottz”, he was saying that possibly  the way to go would be to use a 6 oz glass cloth, which would put some more  strength into the bottom deck and allowing  me to push harder. However  I know that Jason from JS is working on some new “Astro” glass cloth high tech that  will hold the Flex and keep my bottom decks  from giving up and  snapping.

Anyway, well done to Marco.

Jordy Smith.

another rugged day in tasmania

Wild rugged conditions force the O’Neill Cold Water Classic Tasmania back to basics as it gears up for the round of 24

In stark contrast to yesterday’s perfection, heavy rain, strong winds, and freezing temperatures reminded all involved that this is indeed the O’Neill Cold Water Classic Series.

“I went to bed last night and looked up at the stars and thought today was going to be a good day,” said World Tour surfer Chris Davidson who came top of hjs heat in the round of 48 this morning. “Then I was woken up at 5am from the rain pouring down on my caravan as this huge squall came through.”

Chris Davidson at the competition site © O'Neill

It was not the easiest day for the surfers with the conditions on offer, and to add to the ruggedness of this six star ASP event, they were forced completely back to basics when the rain came in horizontally to flood the judges tent.

As the squall came through soaking the computer system and flooding the judges area, it was deemed unsafe to use the computers, and the judges were forced back to pen and paper, not logging in the scores until the end of each heat in the one dry corner of the tent.

“Its sort of back to basics out there,” said Cory Lopez. “With no scores you just have to keep going for it on every wave,” he said. “I don’t think I really like it though. I like to know what’s going on.”

“Even at the end of a heat when we’re out of the water, we are all standing around without knowing who has gone through waiting for them to log the scores,” said Cory. “It is a strange feeling.”

Corey Lopez went big in his heat © O'Neill

“It’s what this series is all about,” said contest director Matt Wilson. “We go to these really wild remote places around the world and I guess this is what we have to expect as part of it.”

Whilst the conditions wreaked havoc on the competition site set up, the surfers were out in the water, making it look almost as rewarding as the near-perfect set up of yesterday as the final 24 were decided.

Among them was last year’s Cold Water Classic California runner up, Heath Joske, who came through top of his heat with a last minute high scoring wave.

Wiggolly Dantes is another surfer having a good run © O'Neil

“It’s actually not as bad as it looks out there,” said Heath. “After yesterday I wasn’t expecting this today. But that I guess that is just what you get in these places. But I enjoyed it!”

With receding winds and sun forecast on the horizon, all eyes are on the ever-changing forecasts of this region in the hope that calm is soon restored. Tomorrow will kick off with what is bound to be one of the heats of the event featuring World Tour surfer Jordy Smith, former World Tour surfer, the in-form Shaun Cansdell and the upcoming talent of Hawaiian Casey Brown.

The next call will be made tomorrow March 27, 2010 at 7.30am to start with the round of 24 

Tasmania Gets Going

Down in Tasmania the O’Neill Cold Water Classic is rocking on. Cold weather, some rain and wind hasn’t slowed down the red hot surfing that’s going down. Jordy Smith and Jon-Jon Florence have been taking to the skies in their respective heats. All the excitement is captured on the video clips that Jarrad Howse is producing. Check out his latest…

Ugg Boots down in Tasmania and the rain comes down…

O’Neill surfer Jarrad Howse is running a video blog from down in Tasmania at the O’Neill Cold Water Classic. So we’re going to be able to get a sneak on what it’s really like down there. South African surfer Ricky Basnett took to the air in his heat yesterday to get a nice result.

While the world waits for Jordy to make his first appearance. From Tasmania it will be a breakneck speed run over to Bells for the Easter Classic for Jordy.

in the meantime, check out Jarrad’s vid. Jarrad goes around the camping site, showing where the competitors are bunking down, who is staying with who, who got the camper vans and who is staying in the cabins. Looks cold and a little cramped, but that’s how it has to be done in Tasmania .

Cold Water Classic Tasmania Kicks Off In Rugged Conditions

March 23, 2010.

Windy wild conditions might have set the scene for the first day of the 2010 O’Neill Cold Water Classic Series, but it was the surfing that took centre stage.

In the remote northwest corner of Tasmania, Australia, it was the likes of the Hawaiian John John Florence, Byron Bay’s Jarrad Sullivan, and local trials winner Ben Richardson, who shone through the grey rugged weather to light up this 6-Star ASP event – the O’Neill Cold Water Classic Tasmania.

Ben Richardson came through top of the local trials and then followed that up by finishing first in his heat in the main event’s round of 144. “I came here hoping to get through one heat,” said Ben. “And I did, so I am pretty happy with that at the moment.”

Day One Of The O'Neill Cold Water Classic Tasmania.

As for the wild conditions on offer on this West Coast today, Ben said: “I usually coordinate it a bit better with the weather when I come over here from the East Coast where I live. But it probably helps a bit to have an understanding of these conditions.”

The first day of the O’Neill Cold Water Classic Tasmania saw the competition kick off at Nettle Bay – a slightly more protected beach break on these wild shores. “The rugged conditions dictate we go in here,” said contest director Matt Wilson. “It’s just a bit more manageable and there is a bit more opportunity here than anywhere else.”

The wind and rain have deterred no one though. Mark Mathews returned to this coast of Tasmania for the first time since last year’s competition with plenty of enthusiasm. “I have been at home in Sydney for a few weeks with warm weather and small waves so it’s good to get out here,” he said. “This comp is a good start to the whole series. No one has really got into winter yet – and this place definitely delivers that cold wild wintery feel.”

Among the surfers slightly wary of the wild element to the series, however, is the American, Eric Geiselman. Eric was at the Cold Water Classic Series California when he had a close escape after his board was “nudged” by a shark.

“Yeah. I try not to think about that too much,” said Eric who also went through top of his heat in this round of 144. “It’s pretty wild and remote out here. Hopefully I can just continue to surf through the comp and avoid one of those critters again!”

With the forecast showing the weather starting to settle, it should be the waves that the surfers can focus on over the coming days of competition.

The next call will be made tomorrow March 24, 2010 at 7.30am to start with Heat 15 in the round of 144.

Cold Water Classic Trailer.

So the time has come, as mentioned in all the previous posts, for the O’Neill Cold Water Classic Series 2010. We’re going to be traveling to some pretty cold and dark places in search of contest victory. So here’s a sneak peak at what to expect for the 2010 season.

O’Neill Cold Water Classic Official Press Release

Following the resounding success of the inaugural Cold Water Classic Series blending adventure, exploration, surf and competition, the O’Neill Cold Water Classic Series makes a much-anticipated return for 2010.

Last year saw the series push the boundaries of surfing in a way never seen before with five ASP World Qualifying Series (WQS) events exploring spectacular surf spots throughout remote corners of the globe with the word’s best surfers competing for the prestige of winning the O’Neill CWC Series and the $50,000 prize money.

“It’s pretty much the next best thing to winning the ASP World Title,” says World Tour star Jordy Smith.

It’s not only the prize money and accolade, but the integration of exploration and adventure into surf competitions that the surfers themselves relish. “To bring that feeling of searching out waves with your friends into competition is amazing,” says Jordy Smith.

With each location on the series serving up some of the most challenging high quality waves on the tour last year, the CWC Series will once again return to the start in the wilds of Tasmania, Australia on March 23rd before heading to Scotland, South Africa, Canada and Santa Cruz, California.

“The inaugural year of the O’Neill Cold Water Classic threw up incredible waves in some of the most remote and wild locations you could ever imagine to travel let alone host a surf competition,” said O’Neill Global Event Manager Bernhard Ritzer. “These are locations where most of the professional surfers who spend their lives travelling around the world have never even been,” he said.

“And within each location the quality of waves was beyond anything we could have even wished for,” said Bernhard. “This year we want to delve deeper into each location. With the mobile event format we can discover more potential and share this globally with the live webcasts.”

O’Neill Coldwater Classic Tasmania March 23 – 28, 2010

Starting in the northwest corner of Tasmania – Australia’s Island state – the series will commence with all the ingredients of an explorative surf trip as Jarrad Howse – last year’s CWC Series runner up discovered:

“Landing in Launceston I had that grommet like feeling I used to get when my dad would take us camping as kids – excited about exploring, surfing new waves and happy to be off the beaten track miles from the city and out of phone reception,” said Jarrad.

Exposed to the savage weather and the abundance of Southern Ocean swell, the O’Neill Cold Water Classic Tasmania encapsulates all that this series represents. In the isolated town of Marrawah, both uncrowded on land and sea, the world-class powerful reef and beach breaks are fully exploited with the mobile format of the event.

Jordy who plans to return to retain his title said: “Winning the event in Tasmania was cool. I’d never been there before, so it was good to experience their waves and culture. The waves I got in Tasmania were some of the best waves I had all year.”

And are the cold raw conditions in any way a deterrent? “Yes, yes and yes,” says Jordy. “But with amazing waves you can definitely deal with it.”

O’Neill Coldwater Classic Scotland April 13 – 19, 2010

The cold is one of the defining features of this, the most northern event in professional surfing. Straight from Tasmania, the CWC Series heads to Thurso – the most northerly town on the British mainland. With the powerful reef breaks of Thurso East and Brims Ness, as well as a multitude of beach breaks available for the mobile format, the quality of the event is worth the endurance of the water temperatures which hover around 7 degrees celsius at this time.

O’Neill Coldwater Classic South Africa July 26 – Aug 1, 2010

A South African winter in Cape Town awaits surfers on the next stop of the Series. Last year represented the first time in 25 years that an event had been held in the Cape Town area. It was also probably the last time that a storm of that scale blew into the area to create a perfect final to the event, and also reiterate its billing as the wildest event in professional surfing.

O’Neill Coldwater Classic Canada October 9 – 15, 2010

Then it’s up to the northern hemisphere’s winter for the fourth stop on the series, on Vancouver Island, Canada. Better known for its snow than surf – and thus justifiably the coldest event in surfing – last year saw this series stop mark the first ever ASP sanctioned event in Canada. And in a fairytale ending it was local Tofino surfer, Peter Devries who won the competition.

O’Neill Coldwater Classic California October 19 – 24, 2010

And finally to Santa Cruz, the birthplace of O’Neill and the home of founder and wetsuit inventor Jack O’Neill as well as the perfect point break of Steamer Lane. Santa Cruz plays host to the final stop on the tour where the series winner will be crowned in October and awarded the $50,000 prize money.

Check out the live webcast (when the events go live), photos, videos and results at: www.oneill.com/cwc

Follow the cWC on your favourite social platform:

www.facebook.com/oneill

twitter.com/oneillcwc

2010 EVENTS:

O’Neill Coldwater Classic Tasmania
March 23 – 28, 2010
Marrawah, Northwest Tasmania / 40 Degrees South
6-Star World Qualifying Series, Mobile Surf Contest

O’Neill Coldwater Classic Scotland
April 13 – 19, 2010
Thurso, North Coast of Scotland / 59 Degrees North
6-Star World Qualifying Series, Mobile Surf Contest

O’Neill Coldwater Classic South Africa
July 26 – Aug 1, 2010
Capetown, Western Cape Area
4-Star World Qualifying Series, Mobile Surf Contest

O’Neill Coldwater Classic Canada
October 9 – 15, 2010
Tofino, Vancouver Island / West Coast Of Canada
6-Star World Qualifying Series, Mobile Surf Contest

O’Neill Coldwater Classic California
October 19 – 24, 2010
Steamer Lane, Santa Cruz
Prime 6-Star World Qualifying Series and Finals of CWC Series 2009

Joseph Webster At Long Beach

Young Joseph Webster is a new signing on the O’Neill team. At ten years of age, Joseph has been surfing since he was three and a half.

Joe is the of Neil Webster, and with twenty – five odd years of surfing the Cape waters the surfing gene obviously runs strong in the family. Here is young Joe getting a few runners at his home break Long Beach