Home town hero

Jordy has beaten Mick at J-Bay. No home town Brazillian judging here, he was on fire for the whole event.

The event will shake up the ratings coming into the mid year changeover.

Jordy v Mick

Its a Jordy Smith vs Mick Fanning final at J-Bay. The conditions are very average but still surfable despite the wind and rain. Jordy has been the form surfer of the contest so far but Mick hasn't been far behind. Both have racked up big scores in the nine point range.

There is a little gap till the final, hopefully long enough to watch the final quarter of the derby. If not it looks like a TV/iPad combo - thats why you have two eyes !

Dawnie

The Billabong Pro started this morning at first light. With only two days left in the waiting period and only two rounds run there was a need to get going. Luckily there are waves and they are cleaning up and getting better as the day goes on.

No surprises as yet and the great surfers are really showing their class in the last few heats. Julian Wilson got a ten, Jordy was throwing huge off the top snaps and got three barrels on one wave (making two and snapping his board on the last) and Fanning was running at twice the speed of everyone else.

Parko is in the water at the moment and Taj is in the last heat of round three.

The contest is being broadcast on FuelTV for those with Foxtel as well as on the net. It is worth watching, especially as there are no decent waves locally (even though there is swell).

Round two

Round two on at J-Bay in smallish and inconsistent waves. The forecast isn't great for the next few days so they have run today.

Taj is through to the next round and it looks like Slater didn't bother turning up.

The current heat between Freddie P and Owen Wright is very slow with only one wave ridden after a heat restart and less than 20 minutes left. It will be interesting to see how much longer they run for.

The event is live on Fuel TV and the web.

No J Bay today

Swell drop overnight so it's a lay day in SA.

When they get into round two Taj will be up against local wildcard Sean Holmes. Holmes has been the recipient of more home town scores than even the Brazilians. Taj was underscored in his first heat (but probably still would have lost)but hopefully it won't happen again.

The judging continues to be impossible to work out. The variety criteria seems to have been forgotten and they seem to have found a new love of floaters. Guys catching the bigger waves but doing less because the wave is too fast are getting higher scores than the guys getting the smaller but better waves.

Check out Jordy's heat on demand because he threw two massive airs. The lay day might give Slater time to make his heat. I hope so because he rips at J Bay.

J-Bay starts

First round heats have started at the Billabong Pro at J-Bay. The waves are small and the wind side/onshore and pretty inconsistent.

Taj has to surf in round two after not getting through his heat. At least he turned up which is more than can be said for Kelly Slater who decided to stay in Fiji and surf massive waves. He is expected to make round two but you never can be sure.

Coverage on the web, iPads, iPhones and FuelTV for those with Foxtel.

I'm finding it very hard to watch J-Bay, the Roxy Pro, the Tour de France and the footy all at once !!

Jordy wins

Jordy Smith has won the Billabong Pro at J-Bay beating Adam Melling. This is Jordy's first ever win on the WCT and he is now number 1 in the world and one world ratings.

Taj was knocked out in the semis when he made probably his first mistake all contest on his last wave. Needing a mid six with less than 30 seconds to go he caught a wave that would have been good enough for the score and started well but blew it on a big hack towards the end of the ride and was out.

Next event is Chopes in about a month.

Finals at J-Bay

The Billabong Pro flows straight into its fourth day and the finals. Jordy Smith is in the water against Adriano De'Souza and with two monster airs has a 9 and a high 7.

Bede Durbridge takes on local wildcard Sean Holmes. Taj has Dane Reynolds is probably the hardest quarter final. Damo Hopgood, the last goofy in the event, then takes on Aussie rookie Adam Melling. 

With Slater out in round three and Mick in round 4 both Taj and Jordy could put themselves in a great position for the world title. They have been the standout surfers of the event so far and a bit a little margin. Both have been able to find the best waves, hunt the barrel and their lip hits are more critical and more fins out than anyone else. The difference between the top guys and the next rung down is the smoothness of their surfing. The next tier seem to always need to double pump their bottom turns where the best surfer hold their rail in one move off the bottom.

It will be an interesting day in waves that aren't great for J-Bay but obviously the forecast for the rest of the waiting period isn't good.

Holmes at Home

Sean Holmes has surfed his second heat for the day and taken his second big scalp. In a really tight heat he just sneaked past Kelly Slater in round three and has just beaten Andy Irons in round four. He will be taking on Bede Durbridge in the quarters.

Taj is in the water at the moment and has just blasted out the doggie door on a long barrel for an 6.8. His second wave had a tube and a series of massive, fins out hacks for a 9.77 leaving Tiago Pires in a combo with half a heat to go.

Jordy Smith destroyed Owen Wright and took advantage of being out at J-Bay with only one guy out by catching a fistful of waves.

Dane Reynolds, Mick Fanning, Damo Hopgood are amongst those left to surf in this round. Mick v Damo should be a good heat.

J-Bay Hat Trick

Day three of the waiting period and the rest of round three is being run. AI has just snuck past the stink bug style of Luke Stedmman and Slater is in the water against local wildcard Sean Holmes. The winner will take on AI in the next round.  Taj is in the next heat against Frances Joan Duru.

The waves are similar to yesterday although smaller and not quite as clean. Still you would die happy if this was as bad as your local ever got !

J-Bay Day Two

Into the second round at J-Bay after yesterday's non-elimination round one. Most of the seeds got through easily in the classic surf and so far today the heats have been okay but no stars.

Although the surf has dropped to about three foot plus it is still cranking and probably better than anything you've ever surfed !!!! Still that hasn't stopped the first ten of the event being scored by Bottle Thompson. With some big carves, a deep deep tube and a floater it deserved the ten. Check it at the heats on demand on the website.

As the day has progressed the size hasn't really dropped but it has become a little inconsistent with some heats being a little starved for waves. CJ Hopgood is the only significant loss so far, losing to Timmy Reynes, who was Parko's injury replacement. CJ is having a horror start to his year with his second 33rd to go with a 17th and a 5th. This means he will hold the 17th for the rest of the year.

Unfortunately some of the South African spectators have brought along those stupid bugle things from the soccer world cup. Luckily they only seem to blow them when a local is in a heat and only Jordy and Travis Logie (who seems to have learnt how to surf this year) left.

Looks like they will run to round 3 heat 5 today and hope for more swell tomorrow. Watch it live on FuelTV or the net.

Heaven

The Billabong Pro J-Bay has started in classic 4 - 6 foot offshore conditions. These are the waves you dream off, long fast open sweeping sections with a tube ride thrown in for good measure.

The heats are bashing through but the last four have been classics. Jordy Smith just smashed his heat, Slater threw a lazy carving 360 to score 15 Plus for his two waves. This was despite his filght being delayed and him not arriving in J-Bay till this morning, with boards but not clothes as his bags are still travelling. He rode a 5'8" ish round tail with five fin plugs.

Taj was next up and ripped out two big layback snaps and a coverup or two. Mick Fanning then tore the roof off some for the highest heat score so far in round one.

As usual for a Billabong event the webcast is top notch but it is also being broadcast live on Fuel TV for those with Foxtel. If you missed it there are heats on demand on the Billabong Pro site.

J Bay Tomorrow

The ASP world tour finally kicks back into life for event 4, the Billabong Pro at J-Bay. This event always seems to get waves although the wind can be an issue sometimes.

It will be interesting to see how the long lay off has effected the surfers. Kelly always seems to be able to switch it on and off as does Mick. Taj will be the most interesting as he was on a roll prior to the break but J-Bay is a place he generally does well at and really suits his style. Interestingly Taj, Mick, Parko and Slater have basically owned this event in the last few years. Between them they have had 40 starts in 13 events for 9 wins, 3 seconds, 7 thirds and 6 fifths.

Parko wont win this year as his foot injury will keep him out. Below is news footage of the wave that has probably killed any chance of him being world champ this year.



THE TOECUTTER from Joel Parkinson on Vimeo.

Ouch !!!!

Parko is out of the Billabong Pro starting at J-Bay next week after cutting his foot. If you think that sounds a bit wimpy check out the photo on his site.

Parko Rules Again

For the third time this year Parko has smashed his way into first in a WCT event. Parko started the final with a 9.47 and backed up with a 6.5. Damien Hobgood was chasing at least a high 8 from halfway through the heat and spent the 3 minutes in combo land.

Parko deserved to win and had been on all contest. He had two 10s and two of the ten highest heat scores. Only his semi-final was close

Yesterday was a classic day of contest surfing. The waves just got better and better and almost everyone was going off.

Slater was unbelievable in his round 2 heat against Nic Muscroft. He scored 18.84 out of 20 and had a throw away score of 9 ! If you only watch one heat on demand then make it this one. In round three he got a total of six and his 10th title might be on hold till next year despite there still being enough events.

Dane Reynolds just missed the final by a smidge but as a consolation won the hugely expensive Nixon watch for the highest heat total. One of his round two waves was so long he got dropped in on by a free surfer way down the line.

Not surprisingly Occy won round two of the Icons clash by less than a point. Just gives them an excuse to try again at Mundacca, a left.

The next event is the Hurley at Trestles in the US from 13th September.

Jennifer Smith from the US won the WLT title for the second time at the Roxy Jam in France. She beat Chelsea Williams in the semis in waves that looked fun but no more special that a pretty average beach break.

Round 2 and onwards

Round two at J-Bay is on. The waves are really good but not that big. They are a little inconsistent but there are long, long, long walls and some great barrels.

So far Taj has lost to a local wildcard after spending much of the heat in combo land. This is his second 17th so he will have to have excellent results for the rest of the year.

2008 WQS Champ Nathaniel Curran has finally won two heats in a row.

Mick Fanning just gotten beaten despite holding an 9 and a high 8 in the highest scoring heat so far.

Parko was on fire but is so smooth he hardly looks like he is trying.

The next heat is a killer Jordy Smith vs Dane Reynolds, the battle of the next generation. Both have smashed their first waves with huge carves, barrels and floater. 8.50 vs 7.83.

Slater will be in the heat after. It will be interesting to see what he rides.

In round one of the "Clash of the Titans" Curren beat Occy. The next heat is just before the final. Bet Occy wins for one all.

J-Bay On

The Billabong Pro has started in clean but small waves. It is offshore and quick but with the odd barrel and big whacking sections. If we rocked up to these conditions you'd be frothing but for the Pros you'd probably question if they would have run today if the waiting period wasn't disappearing so quick.

Round 1 is elimination. No surprises so far and no real outstanding heats.

The Roxy is also running. WA's Georgina Young was knocked out and the only remaining Aussie Chelsea Williams beat the current world champ. She comes up against the other Australian in heat 5. The video from yesterday showed the usual small but clean French summer conditions, ideal for longboarding.

Another Layday at J Bay

Waves are even smaller but they forecast is for a new swell tomorrow. They will need to start running heats tomorrow just to get through in the waiting period.

The Roxy Jam has just started for today. No webcast but you can follow live scores and results if that floats your boat.

Contest News

Another lay day has just been called by J-Bay contest director "Snips' Parsons. The waves are up to shoulder height but too inconsistent to run the first round. Tomorrow arvo seems to be the next likely start time.

The positive is that they will now run the new contest format and dump the losers in the first round, whilst the top seeds go straight to round 2. Less time to wait for the decent surfers and heats.

If you want a contest fix or your female, the annual Roxy Jam starts in France today. Girls riding mals isn't for everyone but it can be a good way to spend a slow night. Especially if Kasia Meador is commentating.

The contest is the World Womens Longboard World Championship and will run the first round elimination format. Seems women longboarders, most who earn little or nothing from surfing, are a lot less precious about the risk of going home after one heat than the so called elite back half of the men's WCT.

There is only one seeded Australian and a total of three in the event, including WA's Georgiana Young who draws a Hawaiian in round 1.

Lay Days at Home and Away

No waves at J-Bay and choc-milk coloured froth locally.