After 6 days of searing surfing action on Halfway Beach, the Reef Bali Pro had to end on a wet note as a rainstorm rolled in on Saturday evening June 26 to give the Miss Reef Bikini finalists, live bands, competitors and spectators a quick cooling off before sending them home from one of the hottest events Kuta Beach has seen in years.
The surfing action began on Tuesday morning with the Women’s Division surfers taking to the water to battle it out for a finals berth, then for the next three days the crowded beach was treated to watching 64 of Indonesia’s top pro surfers going all out to impress the judges in hopes of winning this 6-star Coca-Cola ISC sanctioned contest.
On Friday night the Hard Rock’s Center Stage was packed to the rafters with people checking out the premiere of Cancer to Capricorn and then moving over to the Hard Rock Café to cheer on the 10 Miss Reef Bikini semifinal candidates. It was an amazing evening, so crowded that the entry line trailed out the door and onto the busy Kuta street.
Surprisingly, the remaining surfers found their way to the beach the next morning for the 7:30 am start of the Open Quarterfinals, although Wayan “Betet” Mertha did have to be woken up and yanked out of bed, just making it to his heat with a minute to spare.
The crowd built throughout the day as the cheers grew louder and louder with fans rooting for their favorite surfers, culminating in the finals of the Women’s, Masters, and Open Divisions.
In the Women’s final it was Febri (Rohaye) Rahman Ningsih who came all the way from Padang in Sumatra that was victorious, getting her first-ever ISC tour win and a check for Rp 2,500,000.
Made Lapur from Uluwatu took out the Masters Division win in a tightly contested final that saw him exchanging the lead several times with runner up and Kuta Beach local Ketut Wirtawan, but coming out on top in the end.
The highly anticipated Open Division final was a beauty, with last year’s Coca-Cola ISC Champion Lee Wilson up against the younger Raditya Rondi. Both surfers can name Kuta Beach as their first ever surfing experience and are both radically explosive surfers, so it was a great matchup. Rondi took the lead early and seemed to be a wave magnet, steadily racking up higher and higher scores and putting Wilson on the ropes.
But a come-from-behind victory from Wilson was just one wave away, so tension was high throughout the 25 minute final. Unfortunately for Wilson that one perfect wave never appeared, and fortune was with Rondi who was ecstatic, saying, “I have grown up surfing this place with my hero’s like Lee and Pepen, so to be in a final and get a win over a great surfer like Lee is a dream come true. I am so stoked!” He was also stoked to receive a check for Rp 12,500,000 and get 3,000 points in his run for the 2010 ISC Championship.
After the beachside trophy presentation the Reef International pro surfers took to the water to be towed into the waves and deliver an Expression Session demonstration of how to do the most radical maneuvers possible and still live to tell about it. Jay “Bottle” Thompson, Ross Williams, Heath “Nutty” Walker, Nick Rosza, Mike Losness, Paul Fisher, and Adam Bennetts were flying through the air and carving deep gouges in the Kuta Beach waves to the delight of the spectators, then they joined Miss Reef International 2010 Natalia Baccino from Panama to sign posters for the fans that were waiting on the beach.
Then as the sun was beginning to set over the Indian Ocean, MC Tai “Budda” Graham and Rani announced the start of the Miss Reef Bikini final. It was a seemingly impossible task, as the girls were all between a 9 and 10 on a 10 point scale, but the judges finally came to agreement that 21 year old Carolucia “Carol” Octaviana from Jakarta (Number 9) was to be crowned Miss Reef Bikini Indonesia. Running a close second was Bali’s Putu Dhyah Antari.
When she was asked how she felt when she heard her named announced as the winner, Carol replied, “I was very surprised. Really happy but really surprised. All the girls are so beautiful and perfect that I really didn’t think I had any chance to win, especially because I’m not as tall as most of them.” How did she get such a great figure? “I swim, do fitness, and go to the spa. Plus I eat very healthy and I don’t smoke,” she said. Then she added, “I’m going to use this experience to share with other Indonesian girls how to live a healthy lifestyle, that you should eat healthy food and do some type of exercise each day.”
Carol received a Kawasaki motorcycle and Rp 10,000,000, and runner up Putu received Rp. 5,000,000. Both also received other sunglasses and goodies from Reef and other sponsors.
The surfing awards presentation followed, and then to round out the night as the rain was increasing in intensity but nobody seeming to care, first Bali’s own rock n rollers Superman is Dead took to the stage to everybody jumping, and then the Rockstars from Jakarta.
All in all it was an action-packed and fun-filled 6 days of Reef revelry, with everybody having a great time at Kuta Beach in Bali. Reef’s Senior Marketing Manager Jenn Kong had this to say at the conclusion of the event, “This event was absolutely amazing and I’m so proud and impressed with what a great job the Reef crew did in putting it all together. I have received so many compliments, and I think this event really sets the standard for events in the region going forward. Can’t wait until next year!”
Text by Tim Hain
Photos: Damea Dorsey and Tim Hain
Reef Bali Pro 2010 Coca-Cola ISC Tour Surfing Results:
Open Division
Made Raditya Rondi
Lee Wilson
Pepen Hendrik – Putra Hermawan (Equal Third Place)
Masters Division
Made Lapur
Ketut Wirtawan
Nyoman Wastika
Ketut Menda
Women’s Division
Febri (Rohaye) Rahman Ningsih
Yasnyiar (Bonne) Gea
Dyah Rahayu Dewi
Jasmine
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