Rip Curl Cup on High Alert for Tuesday Start at Padang Padang; Opening Ceremony this Sunday
July 29, 2016
Bali, Indonesia – The world’s greatest tube riders are on their way to Bali for the Rip Curl Cup at Padang Padang – and so is the swell.
The 16 invited surfers to the Rip Curl Cup will gather at Bali’s most revered wave on Sunday (July 31) for the event’s opening ceremony, heat draw and blessing. Meanwhile, a large Indian Ocean groundswell is currently following them to Padang Padang and contest directors are targeting a potential Tuesday morning (Aug. 2) start to run the hallowed Rip Curl Cup.
Bruce Irons (HAW) is among the elite cast of surfers en route to Bali for the contest. The first-time invitee has been tracking the swell and said he can’t wait to make his return to compete in the waves of Bali’s Bukit Peninsula, the site of his last WCT event title.
“I’m super psyched to be a part of the Rip Curl Cup,” Irons said. “I don’t do many contests, but this is the type of contest and the type of wave that I love to compete in. I love Bali. It’s the place where I won my only WCT comp at and it holds a special place in my heart.”
The Rip Curl Cup holding period runs the full month of August to ensure competition is held in the finest waves possible at Padang, but with a powerful storm now spinning in the Indian Ocean and sending swell straight to Bali, the one-day WSL specialty event could potentially run on Day 2 of the month-long waiting period.
According to official event surf forecaster Coastalwatch, the swell is expected to make landfall in Bali on Monday evening (Aug. 1) and build rapidly, peaking Tuesday afternoon (Aug. 2).
“The swell is currently being generated by an intense low pressure system situated deep in the southern Indian Ocean that’s forecast to support an expansive area of 30 to 50 knot winds over the region throughout Thursday and Friday,” Coastalwatch Chief Forecaster Ben Macartney said Friday. “A long period SSW groundswell arrives from 200 to 210 degrees at high peak intervals of 16 to 18 seconds on Tuesday. A moderate, ESE tradewind regime will see winds blowing offshore at Padang, making for excellent wave quality throughout the day.”
The event opening ceremony will be held at Padang Padang this Sunday, July 31. The heat draw presentation will begin promptly at 3 p.m., followed by a press conference with the surfers and contest organizers. The evening will conclude with a traditional Balinese Kecak dance performance. Rip Curl will host a beach barbeque for everyone in attendance.
Joining the invited surfers at the opening ceremony on Sunday will be 23-year-old Uluwatu local Agus “Blacky” Setiawan, who was officially granted the final surfer spot in the main event after the local trials were cancelled due to a lack of contestable conditions at Padang this week. Setiawan won the local trials last year but never got his shot to compete against the world’s best on his home turf because the waves at Padang never reached the high standards of the Rip Curl Cup in 2015.
Setiawan will join such heavy hitters as Irons, Mason Ho, Damien Hobgood, Jamie O’Brien and Clay Marzo who are preparing to gather in Bali to put on the best barrel-riding show of the season at Padang Padang should the contest be given the green light.
Stay tuned to www.live.ripcurl.com for the latest Padang Padang swell forecast from Coastalwatch.com, breaking contest news, real-time event status, and to watch the live global webcast when the contest is ON.
Padang Beach Cleanup
Padang Padang was the site of a beach cleanup organized by Rip Curl on Friday, July 29th. Volunteers were joined by Rip Curl team riders, the Padang Padang Boardriders and members of the Indonesian Armed Forces. Together they collected a 2-ton dump truck’s worth of trash from the beach, the car park, and the valley behind the beach. Thanks to all the volunteers who pitched in and got their hands dirty on Friday to help clean up one of Bali’s most beautiful beaches and the home of the Rip Curl Cup.
2016 Schedule of Events
Event Waiting Period
Aug. 1 – 31
Red Bull Night Riders
July 30 @ 6 PM, Finn’s Beach Club, Berawa Beach, Bali
Opening Ceremony
July 31 @ 3 PM, Padang Padang Beach, Labuan Sait Desa Pecatu- Bali
Meet the surfers; press conference; and traditional Balinese kecak dance.
Rip Curl Cup Volcano Party
Aug 19 @ 8 PM
Rooftop extravaganza at Rip Curl Asia headquarters, Sunset Rd., Kuta, Bali.
Tom Curren Live Performance
Aug 27 @ 6PM, Uluwatu Surf Villas
Live performance by celebrated musician and three-time world surfing champion Tom Curren on the cliffs above Uluwatu.
About Rip Curl
Rip Curl is one of the world’s most recognized and respected brands, consistently at the forefront of the surf and snow scenes since its creation in the late 1960s.
Started by Brian Singer and Doug ‘Claw’ Warbrick in the coastal Australian town of Torquay in 1969, Rip Curl was initially a vehicle for the perfect lifestyle – a never-ending search by two mates for perfect waves, adventure and the fun that inevitably follows. They called it “The Search.”
The Search is the driving force that led to the creation of Rip Curl. It’s the one true thing that Rip Curl has that no one else does and it lives in the spirit of everything the Rip Curl crew do. It’s what makes Rip Curl unique. It defines who we are.
Rip Curl remains a company built by surfers for surfers. Endeavoring to make the best products, run the best events, support the best athletes, deliver the best customer service, communicate the best brand message and socialize with the best crew of people helps Rip Curl hold a vision of being regarded as The Ultimate Surfing Company.
With 3x WSL World Champion Mick Fanning, 2014 WSL World Champion Gabriel Medina, and fellow team riders Owen Wright, Matt Wilkinson, Tom Curren, Tyler Wright and Alana Blanchard all surfing with Rip Curl, and a global events platform including the historic Rip Curl Pro Bells Beach, Rip Curl Pro Portugal and the unique Rip Curl Cup Padang Padang, the brand is the leader in professional surfing.
For more information on Rip Curl, please visit www.ripcurl.com
Facebook: www.facebook.com/ripcurl
YouTube: http://www.youtube.com/ripcurl
About the Rip Curl Cup
Now in its 13th year, the Rip Curl Cup Invitational at Padang Padang is Indonesia’s longest-running surfing competition and the first World Surf League invitational contest to feature top international surfers alongside Indonesia’s best.
Having joined forces with the WSL as an officially sanctioned specialty event, the 2016 Rip Curl Cup will feature the most exclusive field in event history: just 16 invited surfers; eight of Indonesia’s finest and eight of the world’s elite. The official invite list will be announced on July 18th.
The reduced number of competitors ensures this will be a “one-day, one-swell” event, increasing the likelihood of spectacular conditions and incredible performance. When official forecast partner Coastalwatch alerts contest directors of an ideal Padang swell lining up in the Indian Ocean, the green light will be given and competitors will have 24-hours to make it to Bali’s Bukit Peninsula.
The waiting period for the 2016 Rip Curl Cup spans the entire month of August, the peak of Indonesia’s prime swell season, providing the event with the highest chance of scoring the spitting green barrels the Balinese Pipeline is world famous for.
“The Rip Curl Cup Padang Padang is the highlight event of the year for us, providing an amazing opportunity to be able to showcase the best Indonesian surfers against some of the world’s most renowned and talented tube riders in pumping conditions at Padang-Padang,” Rip Curl Southeast Asia marketing manager James Hendy said. “With the live webcast into its fourth year, surf fans from all corners of the globe will again have the chance to witness the insane level of world class surfing that is coming out of Indonesia right now.”
With an exciting lineup of invitees including Tom Curren (USA), Mason Ho (HAW), Bruce Irons (HAW), Jamie O’Brien (HAW) and Jacob Willcox (AUS) lining up to take on last year’s winner Garut Widiarta (IND) and the rest of the Indonesian contingent, surf fans will be excited to get online and view all the action when Padang Padang turns on. The unique invitational format, a $15,000 prize purse and the superb quality of the barrels on offer at Padang, makes the Rip Curl Cup the most anticipated event of the Indonesian surf season.
Following is the complete surfer lineup for the 2016 Rip Curl Cup:
International Surfers:
1. Tom Curren (USA)
2. Pat Curren (USA)
3. Mason Ho (HAW)
4. Damien Hobgood (USA)
5. Bruce Irons (HAW)
6. Clay Marzo (HAW)
7. Jamie O’Brien (HAW)
8. Dillon Perillo (USA)
9. Jack Robinson (AUS)
10. Bruno Santos (BRA)
11. Jacob Willcox (AUS)
12. Tim Bisso (FRA)
Note: Only 8 international surfers will receive a spot in the event; entry granted on first-come, best-dressed basis.
Indonesian Surfers:
1. Bol Adi Putra
2. Raditya Rondi
3. Mega Semadhi
4. Rizal Tandjung
5. Usman Trioko
6. Garut Widiarta
7. Lee Wilson
8. Agus “Blacky” Setiawan
The 2016 Rip Curl Cup Padang Padang will be webcast live to the world at live.ripcurl.com. Fans can also visit the site to check real-time contest status and video updates from Bali.
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