Dede Suryana Wins Aceh International Surfing Championship 2015 on Simeulue Island
6 September 2015, Simeulue Island, Aceh – Indonesia: West Java’s Dede Suryana successfully defended his title on September 4th, winning the 2015 Aceh International Surfing Championship on Simeulue Island in the Aceh province of Indonesia over Bali’s Raditya Rondi (2nd), Rio Waida (Japan), and Casey Grant (South Africa) in glassy low tide 3 foot (one meter) waves.
Suryana won the inaugural 2013 event and Rondi took the runner up spot, making this an especially exciting final for both the competitors and the hundreds of spectators gathered on the beach for this late afternoon 4-man 30-minute final.
But Suryana showed no nerves and just waited patiently for a wave with high scoring potential before posting a 6.8 (out of a possible 10 points) for a rare righthand barrel and treacherous floater on an inside closeout section for his first wave. He later followed up with a 7.23, ripping apart a glassy righthand wall to jump into lead with a total of 14.03 points (out of a possible 20) and take out the final.
It was a last minute decision to come to the comp, so I’m really glad I came! It’s always a tough final when you are up against Raditya, and then with Casey, who has been on the QS and knows how to compete, I was just crossing my fingers that I could keep my momentum going and win it again. I got a couple of really good waves, so that helped a lot. I was also stoked to see Rio in his first ASC open final,..it made for a really great final I think.”
He was chased hard by Rondi, who stayed mostly on the left hand of the peak using his well-polished air game to post his two highest scores of 7.23 and 6.63, but as time ran out he was still chasing a 6.9.
“I actually feel great about my second place finish,” said Rondi. “As I haven’t been in a final for awhile so it felt good. I hope in two more years when they have the event again I can come back and win it. It’s such a great wave, both lefts and rights and you can get barrels and do airs and big turns, so you can do everything on this wave, it’s perfect for everyone really,” he explained.
Young 15 year old Rio Waida found himself in a see-saw battle with Rondi for 2nd, and although he came close to nipping Raditya with his last wave after posting a 7.5 for a big air reverse and deep carving turn. Unfortunately his second highest score was only a 4.6 and he needed a 6.68 to take over second spot but ran out of time.
“This is my first time to Simeulue and my first time in an ASC comp final, so I’m super stoked,” said Waida. When asked what he though of the wave, he replied, “This wave is absolutely fun, the best wave in Indonesia maybe. For sure I’m going to come back here again.”
Fourth place went to Casey Grant from South Africa, who as in Simeulue on surf trip with some friends and decided to enter the comp just for fun. “It was quite exciting and a lot of fun, to finish of my surf trip with an event like this,” said Grant “A little bit of pocket money was a nice bonus too!”
When asked to rate the level of competition he experienced at the event he replied, “The guys were all surfing really good, it wasn’t easy at all. You couldn’t let down your guard if you wanted to get through your heat, you had to give it 100 percent. Dede won and I only got fourth in the final, the guys really outsurfed me in the final. You can’t take anything away from them, they’re brilliant surfers. I was just happy to make the final! Grant has been surfing World Surf League Qualifying Series events around the world during the last several years, so is an experienced international competitor.
The Aceh International Surfing Championship 2015 saw surfers from Aceh, Nias, Padang, Bali, West Java, USA, Japan and South Africa competing for Rp 50 million ($3,500 USD) prize purse in the two day competition which was held at Nancala Beach, arguably the most consistent wave on the island.
The competition was opened on the 3rd of September by the Regent of Simeulue Drs. H. Riswan NS and host of other dignitaries on Nancala Beach at the Mahi Mahi Resort, just in front of the waves. After some great local performances the competition began as the wave were 4-5 foot with excellent shape, and ran until the afternoon light began to fade.
Day Two saw some great performances by all the competitors on the way to the final, which was completed in the late afternoon on a dying swell. The closing ceremony was held at the Mahi Mahi Resort on September 5, where Simuelue’s Tourism Minister thanked everyone for coming and supporting the event, and promised to support an even bigger event in 2017.
Contest Results:
ASC/ISC Men’s Open Division
1) Dede Suryana (West Java, Indonesia)
2) Raditya Rondi (Bali, Indonesia)
3) Rio Waida (Japan)
4) Casey Grant (South Africa)
The Aceh International Surfing Championship 2015 was sponsored/supported by the Indonesian Ministry of Tourism, the Aceh Government Department of Culture and Tourism, the Regional Government of Simeulue, the Mahi Mahi Resort, Heca Nation Tees, and organized by the AESC (Aceh Extreme Sports Championship).
About the Asian Surfing Championships (ASC) and Indonesian Surfing Championships (ISC)
The Asian Surfing Championships was established in 2010 as the progression of the highly successful Indonesian Surfing Championships that began in Bali, Indonesia in 2004. The mission of the ASC is to develop and progress the sport of surfing in Asia by assisting in the organizing and sanctioning of professional surfing events, which will help their growing surf communities and draw more attention to their areas for the progression of surfing locally, nationally, and throughout all of the Asian Region.
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