[i]Saturday, 10 December, 2005
Honolua Bay, Hawaii, USA
BILLABONG PRO MAUI (8 December 20 December)
Live on www.aspworldtour.com and www.billabongpro.com
The next day Honolua Bay plays host to the best women surfers in the world, the Billabong Pro Maui and the 2005 Association of Professional Surfing (ASP) Womens world champion will be crowned at days end. Today wont be that day. [/i]Small surf with more promising conditions on the horizon have seen competition on this third day of the Billabong Pro waiting period called off. Yesterday, four to six foot (two meter) conditions saw rounds ones and two and some sensational surfing run. The remainder of the competition takes only one day to complete.
In addition to deciding this years world champion and next years womens World Championship Tour (WCT) roster, the Billabong Pro is also the third and final jewel in the womens Vans Triple Crown of Surfing series.
Leading the charge in the Triple Crown standings is Western Australias Melanie Redmann-Carr. Redmann-Carr made the final and came third in the first of the three Triple Crown competitions, the WCT event held in Haleiwa,Hawaii, and went on to win the specialty event in SunsetBeach, Hawaii the week after. A bonus $10,000 purse is awarded to the Triple Crown Champion.
The Vans Triple Crown of Surfing women’s standings after two events are as follows:
1. Melanie Redman-Carr
2. Chelsea Georgeson
3. Claire Bevilacqua
4. Megan Abubo
5. Rochelle Ballard
The next call on competition status will made tomorrow morning.
Round Three Heats
Heat 1: Megan Abubo (HAW) vs. Maria Tita Tavares (BRA)
Heat 2: Melanie Redman-Carr (AUS) vs. Serena Brooke (AUS)
Heat 3: Trudy Todd (AUS) vs. Claire Bevilacqua (AUS)
Heat 4: Chelsea Georgeson (AUS) vs. Silvana Lima (BRA)
Heat 5: Sofia Mulanovich (PER) vs. Melanie Bartels (HAW)
Heat 6: Samantha Cornish (AUS) vs. Jacqueline Silva (BRA)
Heat 7: Keala Kennelly (HAW) vs. Laurina McGrath (AUS)
Heat 8: Rochelle Ballard (HAW) vs. Heather Clark (AUS)
Make sure to logon to www.aspworldtour.com and www.billabongpro.com daily to see when this thing will go down!
[b]What went down yesterday![/b]
Relegated to round two after failing to put together a combination of scores in her wave-starved round one heat, Georgeson barreled herself repeatedly to post a near perfect 19.10 out of a possible 20 point heat total in the elimination round.
I felt a lot better just being able to go out there and surf the wave, especially after that last heat. I really didnt get to surf much in that one and I love this wave. Its good to get some barrels and gain a bit more confidence, said Georgeson.
Though conditions were much more consistent in the second heat Georgeson surfed, her opponent in round one, trials winner and event wildcard Silvana Lima (BRA), managed to find a wave with enough scoring potential to make her first-ever wave ridden in World Championship Tour (WCT) competition a perfect 10. Lima emerged from a deep barrel and attacked the lip before grabbing her rail and performing a carving roundhouse turn to finish off the wave.
I saw the wave coming and it looked pretty good, so I thought it must be a good score, an 8.0 or 9.0. I knew the wave was pretty fast, but I went for the barrel, came out and am pretty stoked about it, Lima said.
I got a 10.0 and the judges saw that, so Im really confident going into the next heat and next year too. I think the judges see that Im here to stay, surf with the best girls in the world and fight for a spot in the final.
The 21-year-old Brazilian who has qualified for the 2006 ASP Womens World Tour via the World Qualifying Series (WQS) won the trials this morning to earn a wildcard into the main event. Lima overcame world number seven Serena Brooke (AUS) and defending Billabong Pro Champion Georgeson in heat three of round one to advance straight through to round three where she will again meet Georgeson.
World number two and current world champion Sofia Mulanovich (PER), the only other surfer mathematically capable of catching Georgeson, survived her wave-starved heat but had plenty of time between sets to come to the realization shes not ready to relinquish her crown just yet. Mulanovich led the ASP ratings for most of the year, but fell into the number two spot after Georgeson won in Haleiwa, Hawaii.
Before this contest and after Haleiwa, I was like, You know, theres no pressure going into Maui, whatever happens, happens, but now that Ive been in the water, Ive realized Im really nervous because I still have hopes and anything can happen, Mulanovich said.
Mulanovich must come first or second here if she hopes to retain her title, otherwise her best friend Georgeson will win her first ever world championship trophy.
Its good even if I dont make it, because Ive had a really good year and Im only 22, so Im just enjoying it, Mulanovich said.
Forecasts are currently showing Tuesday, December 13th, as an excellent day to resume competition and run through to the final, but event coordinators will assess conditions daily to see if contestable surf is on offer. With only one day necessary to run the rest of the Billabong Pro Maui which will double as the final day of competition for the 2005 ASP Womens World Tour, the world title race will be decided the day competition resumes.