Stand Up World Tour Ubatuba Pro 2013

Final day

Leco Salazar storms to victory at 2013 Ubatuba Pro Brazil

After 3 days of intense action here at Itamamabuca Beach in the beautiful region of Ubatuba Brazil, Leco Salazar storms to victory here at the Ubatuba Pro Brazil in a star studded fleet to secure the win at Stop 2 of the 2013 Stand Up World Tour.
After narrowly advancing out of Semi final number 1, Leco got on a roll during the final, finding the right waves in a tricky line-up to post a string of scores in the excellent range and secure the all important win at home in Brazil.
This is his 3rd World Tour win here in Brazil out of the 4 years we have been down here and 4th win on the Tour as a whole, demonstrating not only his supreme expertise in Brazilian beach break conditions, but also his ability to perform in front of the home crowd.
Photo credit Renato Leonardi / Fluir Stand Up

Caio Vaz posts a great result here in Brazil, finishing in 2nd

Caio Vaz (Art in Surf) fires all cylinders at the Ubatuba Pro Grand Slam, reaching the Final and finishing in second place behind 2012 World Champion and fellow Brazilian, Leco Salazar. Posting some of the highest scores of the event with fluid and critical surfing, Caio Vaz was definitely one of the stand outs at the event and this 2nd place finish boosts him into 2nd place in the overall World Rankings after stops 1 & 2.

Justin Holland steps up at stop 2 of Stand Up World Tour

Justin Holland (Starboard) was one of the on form surfers last year on the Stand World Tour as a whole, but in particular at last year’s event here in Brazil. This year proved no different, as he put on a solid display of performance surfing winning one of the toughest semi final heats in Stand Up World Tour history featuring Maui’s Kai Lenny (Naish), Brazil’s Leco Salazar and the American, Sean Poynter (Starboard).
Unable to find the waves he wanted in the final, but nonetheless driving full speed into some critical closeout sections, Justin is definitely a surfer to watch out for this year as he starts his campaign to bring the World Title to Australia.

Mo Freitas makes another final in Brazil, finishing in 4th

Mo Freitas (Focus SUP/Body Glove) is still only 15 years old! As an athlete way beyond his years, Mo Freitas put on another incredible performance here in Ubatuba, now a second home for the half Hawaii/half Brazil athlete raised on the North Shore of Oahu in Haleiwa.
Mo made it to the Final once again, advancing his early round heats alongside Kai Lenny (Naish) to make it through to the semis, then Finals of the Ubatuba Pro. In a challenging Final, an interference on Caio Vaz (Art in Surf) cut his second wave score in half, throwing the young phenom off and limiting his scoring potential, to finish in 4th place.
With a 3rd place in the racing and a 4th in the Surf, Mo’s mastery of all aspects of the sport is clear for the world to see, as is his future in this incredible sport of stand up paddling.

Kai Lenny retains rankings lead, but has to settle for 5th

Kai Lenny (Naish) posted one of the highest heat score totals in the sport to date, posting a perfect 10 and a 9 point ride in his quarterfinal heat – there is no doubt that the 2x World Champion Kai Lenny has stepped up his game in 2013 as he embarks on his World Title campaign, currently leading the overall World Rankings.
In a fiercely competitive semi final heat where the conditions were hard to read, and very few good sets came through the line up, Kai had to settle for 3rd in that semi and 5th overall here at the 2013 Ubatuba Pro. While disappointed not to make the final, Kai is still comfortably in the lead of the overall World Rankings after the first 2 events of the 2013 season.

Kate Brandi takes the win in the women’s division in Brazil

Stop 2 of the Women’s 2013 Stand Up World Tour event proved a huge success, as athletes from the US, UK, Spain and beyond matched up against the very best in Brazil, for an exciting elimination of women’s action. As expected, current World Ratings leader Nicole Pacelli was on great form, making it all the way to the final, but had to submit to the critical surfing of last year’s winner, Kate Brandi who went onto win the event.
Meanwhile, much to the delight of the local crowd, in 3rd place, Ubatuba local Aline Adisaka made the podium at Stop 2 after her 5th place finish at the Turtle Bay Women’s Pro, followed by Iballa Moreno (Starboard) from the Canary Islands in Spain in 4th.

Women’s Stand Up Surfing continues to grow globally

As the sport of stand up paddlesurfing develops, there is a clear and significanct increase in both the passion and performance level of women in the sport: we are excited to be in the inaugural year for the Women’s Stand Up World Tour as we will head over to California in September for the all important 3rd stop, where the Contenders will once again meet to do battle.
Stay tuned to www.standupworldtour.com for the latest from the Women’s Stand Up World Tour, rankings and all other highlights, photos and more.

Ubatuba Pro Grand Slam brings the world’s best to Brazil

The Ubatuba Pro Grand Slam saw an incredible display of both World Class Racing and Surfing as the World’s best descended upon the beautiful region of Ubatuba, Brazil for the first Grand Slam event (Surf & Race) of the 2013 season
Supported by the Prefeitura of Ubatuba, this event saw the Stand Up World Series descend upon Praia do Centro in Ubatuba itself, as the World’s Best came into to do battle with Brazil’s leading lights.
In a dramatic 2 days of racing, we saw the Hawaiians dominate the leaderboard, with Connor Baxter (Starboard) from Maui taking the win in both sprint and long distance racing, to secure the overall victory, followed by current World Series Champion Kai Lenny (Naish) from Maui and Mo Freitas (Focus SUP/Body Glove) from Oahu.
Meanwhile in the Surfing event, we saw 2012 World Champion Leco Salazar come back to form in 2013 at home in Brazil, taking the win at stop 2 of the Stand Up World Tour, followed by fellow Brazilian Caio Vaz (Art in Surf) in second, Justin Holland of Australia in 3rd and Mo Freitas (Focus SUP/Body Glove) in 4th.
So a big thank you to all our sponsors and partners of the 2013 Ubatuba Pro Grand Slam as well as the Stand Up World Tour and Series Patrons. Stay tuned to www.standupworldtour.com/brazil.php for highlights, photos and look backs at this incedible and groundbreaking event in Brazil.

100,000 webcast views and overall standings on the Tour

With over 100,000 views of the webcast and highlights still to come from the Ubatuba Pro Grand Slam, stop 2 of the Stand Up World Tour brings the world’s best stand up paddlesurfing to the world.
After two events so far for the 2013 season, Kai Lenny (Naish) is still in the lead of the overall standings on Tour with a 1st and a 5th place from stop 1 and 2. Meanwhile in second place, Caio Vaz (Art in Surf) from Rio climbs up the rankings following his 2nd place finish here in Brazil and 9th at Sunset, with Maui’s Kody Kerbox (Naish) now lying in 3rd, with a 3rd and a 9th.
Filling in the Top 5 are Beau Nixon (Naish) from Australia in 4th, finishing in 9th here in Brazil to compliment his 5th from Sunset and in 5th, Sean Poynter (Starboard) from the USA with a 9th and a 7th so far this year.
CURRENT & UPDATED WORLD TOUR TOP 5:
1.    Kai Lenny (Naish) – HI
2.    Caio Vaz (Art in Surf) – BRA
3.    Kody Kerbox (Naish) – HI
4.    Beau Nixon (Naish) – AUS
5.    Sean Poynter (Starboard) – US
To give credit where credit is due, we wanted to announce the overall Champions from the Ubatuba Pro Grand Slam – not an official Title yet, but we nonetheless wanted to recognize the athletes who competed across both World Tour and World Series events. At the top of the leaderboard we have the following athletes:
OVERALL COMBINED WORLD SERIES & WORLD TOUR RESULT IN UBATUBA
1.    Kai Lenny (Naish) – HI
2.    Mo Freitas (Focus SUP/Body Glove) – HI
3.    Zane Schweitzer (Starboard) – HI
4.    Kody Kerbox (Naish) – HI
5.    Connor Baxter (Starboard) – HI

Day 1 – 2

The Trials reveal a whole new hotbed of talent for the Tour

The Trials component of the Ubatuba Pro, Stop 2 on the 2013 Stand Up World Tour, saw over 40 athletes battle it out for the final 8 places in the main event. With a strong show of talent, both young and old, it came down to the performance of each athlete on the day, as the 40+ athletes became 8 and the Trials were wrapped by the end of Day 1 of the Ubatuba Pro.
Stand outs from the Trials included Luis Fernando, Lucas Medeiros and Michel Jonas, not to mention the young Kainoa Teixeira from Brazil and Sebastian Gomes from Peru. Another youngster who really stood out throughout the Trials, but faltered in the last all important qualification heat, was Kai Bates (Fanatic) from Australia: definitely a name to watch out for and destined to be a real force on the Stand Up World Tour.

Leading Contenders make waves in the opening rounds

The Main event got underway first thing today, as the world’s best embarked on stop 2 of the 2013 World Tour here at Itamambuca Beach in Ubatuba, Brazil.
With beautiful blue skies and a rising swell, the action was impressive, as one of the most competitive first rounds to date got underway. In the early heats, we saw 2 x World Champion Kai Lenny (Naish) from Maui and Brazilian Champion Renato Wanderley put on strong opening performances, as did 2012 Ubatuba Pro Champion Mo Freitas (Focus SUP/Body Glove), followed closely by an on form Adriano Trinca Ferro.

Ian Vaz and Kody Kerbox continue their great 2013 form

Ian Vaz (Art in Surf) put together a strong performance in his opening heats, continuing on his form from the Abu Dhabi All Stars in early April to secure his place in the 3rd and then 4th Rounds. Ian was followed closely by Kody Kerbox (Naish) from Maui, who continues his impressive form in 2013, advancing onto the 4th Round.

Justin Holland, Carlos Bahia and Mattheus Salazar excel

Justin Holland (Starboard) and Carlos Bahia dominated their heats to advance through to Round 4, while Dave Muir started out strong, but faltered in Round 3 when faced with an unsurmountable performance from the younger brother of Leco Salazar, Mattheus who scored an 8 point ride in his 3rd round heat.

Leco Salazar starts strong and Fernando Stalla impresses

Leco Salazar starts well here in Ubatuba, with another display of fluid and radical surfing, while Fernando Stalla (Rogue) from Mexico puts on a stand out performance in Round 1, only to stumble in Round 3, narrowly missing out on advancing through to the next round.

Zane Schweitzer on top; Keahi de Aboitiz takes harder rd

Zane Schweitzer (Starboard) continues his impressive form form Abu Dhabi, dominating his heats to advance through to Round 4, while Australia’s Keahi de Aboitiz (JP Australia) is forced to pass through the repechage in order to make it back into Round 3 and then on into Round 4.
With a strong performance from this Australian performance surfer, we can expect great things when competition resumes tomorrow, from both Keahi and Zane.

Caio Vaz on form; Miyakawa, Steinfath & Martino advance

Caio Vaz (Art in Surf) puts on a strong performance in his Round 1 and 3 heats, clearly making it through to Round 4, followed by Eric Miyakawa (Art in Surf), while Tamil Martino and Casper Steinfath (Naish) convincingly earn their places in Round 3.

Sean Poynter starts well, while Noa Ginella finds form

Sean Poynter (Starboard) started well to earn his place directly into Round 3, as did Noa Ginella (Naish) from the North Shore of Oahu, the Italian Airton Cozzolino (Fanantic) and Connor Baxter (Starboard) from Maui.
More known for his racing expertise, Connor showed himself to be every bit the contender in the World Tour Surfing event here at Itamambuca Beach, ousting Jackson Close (JP Australia) and relegating him to the repechage. However, Jackson would end up fighting back, earning his place back in the action in Round 3 of the Main Event.

So it was an amazing day of action and a beautiful day here at Itamambuca Beach for Rounds 1 – 3 of the Ubatuba Pro Brazil, stop 2 of the 2013 Stand Up World Tour.
Make sure to join us tomorrow morning live from 7.30am Sao Paolo time, as action will pick up again with the last 4 heats of round 3, into Round 4 and then the Women’s competition, featuring current ratings leader Nicole Pacelli, last year’s winner here Kate Brandi and top European contender, Iballa Moreno (Starboard). Join us live from 7.30am at: www.standupworldtour.com