Hello
to all of our subscribers from us at the IBA,
We hope you all had a relaxing time over the festive
season and are as excited and invigorated as we
are here for another action packed year. This
New Year means you get a brand new website, along
with a couple of new departments: Manny Vargas’s
Manny Vision and my show, The Shaggy Show. Follow
these weekly uploads, as we take you to parts
of the world tour never seen before.
Press Release – THE IBA 2012 Pipe Challenge
The International Bodyboarding Association (IBA) is
pleased to announce that the IBA 2012 Pipe Challenge
has secured the sponsorship support of some of
the industry and Hawaii’s leading brands.
Ocean Current, Dave & Busters, Aqua Hotels
& Resorts, T & C Surf Designs, and go!Mokulele
Airlines have committed to the sponsorship of
the event, which is shaping up as one of the most
anticipated events in the history of the IBA World
Tour.
Press
Release – 2012 IBA World Tour Launch
Thursday 2nd February saw IBA athletes, staff, media and
corporate partners along with industry leading
brands and personalities officially launch the
2012 IBA World Tour at Star City Casino, Sydney
NSW Australia.
Presentations by YouTube’s Richard North
on the evolution of sports on Youtube, along with
presentations by Morrison Media General Manager
Craig Simms, IBA Managing Director Gregg Taylor
and a candid interview of Damian King by IBA Tour
Manager Terry Mckenna, were all features of the
launch.
The Australian Leg of the IBA World Tour (March – April 2012)The
IBA world tour events have been positioned in
2012 to entice International riders to Australia
by scheduling 3 IBA events back to back. This
will give contestants the chance to compete
in an IBA Grand Slam event as well as a 6 Star
Primary GQS in the one month and potentially
the Shark Island Challenge.
The attraction is enhanced further for Australian
riders with dual sanctioning applying to both
the IBA Box Pro and IBA Port Macquarie Festival
of Bodyboarding events. This means that the
maximum 3 Star points are allocated for both
contests on the Rebel Sport Pro Tour.
There are also Grand Slam World Tour events
for the Women’s World Tour and the Drop
Knee World Tour.
Dates for the events are March 26th till April
24th and if you ever wanted to see Australia
then this is the best opportunity you could
ask for. This time of year is renowned for warm
weather and consistent swells, on both the east
and west coasts of Australia.
West Australia is home to some of the best waves
on the planet and will give tourists a real
taste of the “Wild West” whilst Port
Macquarie is positioned in the middle of the
NSW east coast and has produced some of Australia’s
best Bodyboarders, mainly due to the nature
of the iconic break-walls and the churning barrels
that run down either side.
The 2012 IBA BOX Pro
The 2012 IBA Grand Slam Series arrives in Australia
in late March with the IBA Box Pro in Margaret
River, WA. Dates for the event are March 26th
– April 4th and the prize money on offer
is US$35,000. This is event 2 of 8 of the IBA
Grand Slam Series. The
IBA Box Pro event rose from the ashes last year
to establish itself as one of the most exciting
venues on the tour with heaving 10 feet slabs
on the final day. Local rider Ryan Hardy had
an emotional victory in from of passionate home
crowd. The
IBA Box Pro will see the top 24 Bodyboarders
in the world joined by 2 wildcards and 6 successful
qualifiers from the official trials event. The
trials event will be held at Gas Bay and will
carry valuable GQS world tour points and will
double up as a maximum rated Australian Pro
Tour event. This is your opportunity to take
on the world’s best riders on the world’s
biggest stage and position yourself with valuable
GQS tour points.
The
2012 IBA Port Macquarie Festival of Bodyboarding
The
Port Macquarie Festival of Bodyboarding is shaping
up to be the largest Bodyboarding event held
in Australia and the World. The event will feature
3 International Bodyboarding Association (IBA)
World Tour Events along with the 25th Anniversary
of the Port Macquarie Australian Teams Challenge.
Up to 500 professional and amateur competitors
are expected to attend from all corners of the
globe.d US$60,000. The event
will be held over 10 days from Saturday 14th
April to Monday 23rd April 2012. This period
falls in the second week of the NSW Easter school
holidays. (Easter weekend is Friday 6th April
to Monday 9th April 2012). The event will be
held at Port Macquarie on the Mid North Coast
of NSW. Port Macquarie was officially granted
the Bodyboarding Capital of Australia status
in 2011. The event will be a mobile event held
across the following beaches; Town Beach, North
Beach, Flynns Beach, and Lighthouse Beach
An
interview with Roberto BrunoRoberto
Bruno is one of the eight new faces in the top
24 on the Grand Slam Series Men’s World
Tour. We phoned him in Brazil and this is what
he had to say about himself
IBA judging Update
The International Bodyboard Association (IBA) are
pleased to announce that its introducing some
former professional and high profile riders
onto judging panels in 2012, starting at the
IBA Pipe Challenge in Hawaii. Judging offers
riders who have finished their competitive careers
an opportunity to continue their association
with the sport. It also puts the IBA in line
with other professional sports that offer their
athletes career pathways when their competitive
careers are finished. Heading up the “new
faces” in the judging tower is Tahitian
local Simon Thornton. Simon had a strong presence
on the Australian Pro Tour prior to relocating
to Tahiti in search of big perfect barrels.