24 September 2010, Kata Beach – Phuket: The third day of competition at the Quiksilver Thailand Surf Competition in Kata Beach, Thailand saw Round 3 of the Men’s Open and Round 1 of the Longboard Division completed in excellent 1 meter waves and perfect weather.
The swell increased slightly overnight and was consistent throughout the day, producing some intense competition in the run up to the quarterfinals that will be held tomorrow.
Standouts of the day in the Men’s Open were Mohamad Bin Mohid (better known as Mamat) from Malaysia and Tipi Jabrik of Indonesia, who both dominated their heats and won by comparatively significant margins, as well as Thai surfer Noppasit Buanchuai who won his heat over a charging Michael Anthony.
The heat of the day took place in Heat 6, which saw each of the four surfers taking the lead at least once. Mohamad Mazrin Bin Nazrudin “Yen” from Malaysia, Jamie Smith and Preetcha Takira from Thailand, and Heng Liang Kuo “Googoo” from Taiwan battled fiercely during the 20 minutes of competition, exchanging the lead at virtually every wave it seemed until at the horn it was Preecha winning the heat and “Googoo” taking second to advance to the Quarterfinals.
After a break for lunch and some games and giveaways by event sponsors, the Longboard Division got underway at just before 2:30 pm. It was tough going at times in the lowering tide conditions, but the 8 heats managed to finish up with only one broken board.
Standouts were Nopphasit Bunchuai (Thai) and Preecha Takira (Thai), as well as women competitor Chen Lin Niu from Taiwan.
Tomorrow will see the Quarterfinals of the Men’s Open and Longboard Divisions, as well as some Women’s Open action if conditions allow. Competition is scheduled to begin at 8:00 am.
77 surfers from 10 countries (Australia, England, Hungary, Indonesia, Malaysia, Japan, Taiwan, Singapore, and the USA) are competing in three divisions, Men’s Open Shortboard, Women’s Open Shortboard, and Longboard Open for a total prize purse of over 240,000 THB (approx $7,500 USD).
The Men’s Open winner will receive 50,000 THB (approx $1,500 USD), the Women’s Open winner 30,000 THB (approx $940 USD), and the Longboard winner 30,000 THB (approx $940 USD). First to fourth places in each division will receive cash, trophies and prize packs from Quiksilver and other sponsors.
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