15 November 2010, Kuta-Bali: In a nail biting climax to both an epic Rip Curl Surf and Music Festival event and an incredible 2010 Coca-Cola ISC tour season yesterday, Marlon Gerber’s first ISC tour win resulted in 18 year old Putra Hermawan’s 2010 Coca Cola ISC Open Division Championship victory, as in the last seconds of the 30 minute final championship contender Dedi Santoso’s last wave score fell just short of the 8.65 points he needed to beat Gerber and take the title away from Hermawan.
FINALS HOD from ISCPROTOUR on Vimeo.
Hermawan was anxiously waiting on the beach, having been eliminated earlier in the semifinals, when MC Tai Graham announced that Sentoso’s score of 6.20 was not enough to overtake Gerber, and then the crowded erupted around Hermawan as he was handed the 2010 championship trophy by 2009 ISC Champion Lee Wilson.
“I am so stoked right now, it’s really hard to describe it, said Hermawan. “I was so nervous watching this final here on the beach, and when Marlon went into the lead right away I started hoping he would win. But with Dedi, Raditya and Prayit out there I knew it would be very close, and Dedi had been getting such good waves all day, so it was really hard to just sit and watch and wait. Now I’m so happy that it was Marlon, because he gets his first win and I get my first championship! To be the youngest champion of the ISC tour and to hold this trophy right now is a dream come true!” he added ecstatically.
Virtually every possible championship race scenario was exhausted during the jam-packed day of competitive surfing at Halfways Kuta Beach on Sunday, with first Number 2 ranked Pepen Hendrik narrowly going down in the quarterfinals to Number 3 ranked Dedi Santosa, and Number 1 ranked Hermawan getting eliminated in the semifinals by Wayan Suprayinta and Lee Wilson.
So it all came down to Dedi Santoso in the final. If he won the Rip Curl Surf & Music Festival he would be champion. If not, Hermawan would win the championship.
“I got such good waves all day long and especially during my semifinal heat, so I my confidence was high going into the final,” said Santoso. “So I tried to be patient and wait for the good right handers like before, but Marlon jumped out in front with a good scoring left but nothing was coming to me. By the time I starting getting some waves he was way out in front and I never did catch up. For sure I’m disappointed to be so close and not win, but last I year I was 4th in the rankings and this year I’m 2nd so I’m making progress. I’m committed to that number one spot and my name on that trophy, so I’ll be working very hard next year to make it happen,” he said determinedly.
Marlon Gerber simply ran away with the final, tapping a nice lefthander to jump to the lead with 6.9 points out of a possible 10 with his first wave. Mid way through he added a 7.65, the highest wave score of the heat, to post a combined 2 wave score of 14.55 out of a possible 20. Santoso finished in second place with a combined score of 11.90.
“I wasn’t really thinking I was going to win until I got to the finals,” said Gerber. “But I got that first good wave and then it was easy to just relax and surf. The waves kept coming and I just kept surfing, having fun and trying to get in as many maneuvers as I could. It was a great comp and the waves were pumping, and of course I’m super stoked to get my first win here at Halfways, so close to my house and where I surf all the time. Finally I won something,” he added laughing.
Gerber not only won the event, he posted the highest single wave score of the event, an 8.5 out of a possible 10 for punting a massive aerial in semifinal 1. This also got him the highest combined heat score of the event, a 16.15 out of 20, and the Coca-Cola Best Wave Award of Rp 1 million to add to his Rp 10 million paycheck from Rip Curl.
Later from the podium, Gerber dedicated his victory to his friend Andy Irons, the three-time world champion surfer who passed away tragically on November 2nd.
This Sunday afternoon drama was the culmination of two days of incredible surfing action and entertainment at Kuta Beach for the annual Rip Curl Surf & Music Festival.
A substantial increase in the size and quality of the surf on Day 2 saw what many of the Kuta Beach locals calling it “the best day at Halfways in a couple of years at least,” with 3-4 foot set waves rolling in non-stop, allowing aerials, big turns, and all manner of high performance surfing maneuvers to delight the crowded beach.
In the Rip Curl GromSearch National Finals, it is 14-year-old Jeren Kiring who will be taking at trip to Australia next year to compete in the World GromSearch Finals at Bells Beach. He put on consistently high level performances on both his forehand and his backhand to finish with a total score of 12.45 points out of 20, just ahead of Koko Mitsua who had 10.75 points. For his runner up finish, Mitsua wins a custom surfboard from Light Surfboards.
In the Women’s Division final, Dyah Rahayu Dewi raced to her second consecutive ISC Women’s Division Tour victory, posting scores of 5.0 and 6.5 to eclipse her competition with a total heat score of 11.5 to her nearest rival Stella, who finished with a total score of 3.90. “I’m so thankful to my sponsor Rip Curl and to my family and friends that always support me in surfing,” she said from the podium. “This is a very special win and I hope I can do even better next year. Please everybody, keep supporting women’s surfing in Indonesia! She won Rp 2.5 million for her first place finish.
Last year’s ISC Longboard champion Husni Ridwan narrowly retained his title for the 2010 season, going blow for blow with fellow West Java surfer Mencos and just winning the event. Both finished with combined heat scores of 11.60, but Husni’s third highest wave score of 4.5 just beat out Mencos third highest of 4.3 in a countback. Ridwan brings home Rp 2.5 million for his win.
The final category of surfing action that really wowed the crowd was the Mirage Airshow, sponsored by Kawasaki. Ketut Yoga “Mega” Semadhi pulled out all the stops and bested Indonesia’s top aerial specialists to claim a brand new Kawasaki motorcycle. “That was great fun and I’m going to have a blast with this new bike,” said Mega. “During the final I just jumped around like a rabbit and hoped that I could make one of my air’s. Maybe I’ll learn to jump this bike like that too,” he said laughing. Great prize for a few minutes of fun practicing aerials at Kuta Beach with just 3 other guys in the water!
During this weekend event, Rip Curl also launched their new Rip Curl Test Drive program, setting up a tent with dozens of brand new surfboards, fins, leashes, and grip and letting the public try them out in the water in a unique “Try Before You Buy” program. Hundreds of happy surfers got to paddle out and see which boards, fin, grip and leash combinations worked best for them before they laid out cash, and according to manager Pete Matthews, all equipment was present and accounted for at the end of the weekend!
The Awards Presentation was delayed slightly by a sudden and heavy rain shower, but after cooling down the beach for about 30 minutes the awards were presented and it was on to the nighttime entertainment. Local bands Devil Dice and Dialog Dini Hari and Tol Band Tol warmed things up to start, and then with the beach filling up to maximum capacity, Efek Ruma Kaca kept things simmering until Seringai blew the crowd away with their hard core guitar blasting brand of rock and roll. A BBQ feast by Goko, barrels of Bintang beer, and some of the best rock bands in Indonesia made for an epic finish to an extraordinary weekend on Kuta Beach.
Rip Curls’ Marketing Manager James Hendy was extremely pleased with the outcome of the event, saying ““This was the most perfect event we could have ever hoped for, ending the year and the event with great waves to give the crowd on the beach great surfing to watch, coupled with the drama of our youngest team rider Putra being crowned the champion and Marlon winning at his home break in front of all his friends, it was nothing short of incredible. And we must have had about 5,000 on the beach last night as the live bands played until almost midnight, so it really lived up to its name as a surf and music festival.”
Rip Curl Surf & Music Festival Contest Results
Open Division
1. Marlon Gerber (Bali)
2. Dedi Santoso (Bali)
3. Raditya Rondi (Bali)
4. Wayan Suprayitna (Bali)
Junior Division – Rip Curl GromSearch National Final
1. Jeren Kiring (Bali)
2. Koko Mitsua (Bali)
3. Mansur Ramlin (Sumbawa)
4. Andre Julian (Java)
Women’s Division
1. Dyah Rahayu Dewi (Bali)
2. Stella (Java)
3. Gemala (Java)
4. Yasnyiar Gea (Nias)
Longboard Division
1. Husni Ridwan (Java)
2. Mencos (Java)
3. Afan Bin Syaban (Sumba)
4. Saiful (Java)
Kawasaki Mirage Airshow Winner – Ketut Yoga “Mega” Semadhi
Coca-Cola ISC Best Wave Award – Marlon Gerber
Coca-Cola Custom Surfboard Award – Irawan Wau (Nias)
Skate Competition Results
Mini Ramp
1. Rangga
2. Dewa
3. Yogi
Street Beginner
1. Kyiri
2. Quik
3. Putu
Street Open
1. Rangga
2. Yogi
3. Richie
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