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29/10/14 Take a look at some of the best action from all year that took place right here on the final day of the La Torche Pro in France. Congrats to all the winners and the two new world champs!
Men’s Top 8 event results
1. Sean Poynter (Starboard Stand Up Paddle Surfing) US
2. Leco Salazar (New Advance Surfboards) BRA
3. Kai Lenny (Naish Stand Up Paddling) HI
3. Zane Kekoa Schweitzer (Starboard) HI
5. AIRton Cozzolino (Fanatic SUP International) IT
5. Mo Freitas (Focus SUP) HI
5. Caio Vaz (Art in Surf) BRA
5. Kody Kerbox (Naish) HI
Women’s events results
1. Izzi Gomez (Starboard Stand Up Paddle Surfing) US
2. Caroline Angibaud FR
3. Sophia Tiara Bartlow US
4. Roxy Davis (Starboard) RSA
4. Tinina Etinne GP
4. Maili Tahar FR
7. Bowien van der Linden NED
7. Lori Park US
Men’s Overall Stand Up World Tour 2014
1. Kai Lenny (Naish Stand Up Paddling) HI
2. Caio Vaz) (Art in Surf) BRA
3. Sean Poynter (Starboard Stand Up Paddle Surfing) US
4. Poenaiki Raioha (F-One) PYF
5. Zane Kekoa Schweitzer (Starboard) HI
6. Mo Freitas (Focus SUP) HI
7. Keahi de Aboitiz (JP AUSTRALIA) AUS
8. Leco Salazar (New Advance Surfboards) BRA
9. The Vaz Brothers (Ian Vaz) (Art in Surf) BRA
10. Kody Kerbox (Naish) HI
Women’s Overall Stand Up World Tour 2014
1. Izzi Gomez (Starboard Stand Up Paddle Surfing) US
2. Nicole Pacelli BRA
3. Candice Appleby US
4. morenotwins (Iballa Moreno) (Starboard) SP
5. Aline Adisaka BRA
Full heat results here
SUPboarder Team News
After a good run of competition surfing for Ollie Laddiman and Aaron Rowe they unfortunately couldn’t find the waves in their heat to put them through to the next round. Despite being knocked out the competition, all the riders from the UK can hold their heads up high and be proud of their performances. Competing against the best SUP surfers in the world it’s never going to be easy!
A big thanks to everyone at home and on the La Torche beaches who have been supporting our riders.
28/10/14 Press release Waterman League
The Title Race intensifies as both Kai Lenny & Caio Vaz continue onto the Quarterfinals
Another amazing day here at the 2014 La Torche Pro France as we get a few steps closer to crowning the 2014 World Champion after what has been an epic year of competition.
The battle between Kai Lenny (Naish) from Hawaii and Caio Vaz (Art in Surf) from Brazil is only intensifying as both athletes made it through to the Quarterfinals today with epic performances.
Kai started off the day with a strong performance in Round 3 Heat 1 posting one of the highest heat score totals of the event. However, Caio then answered back by a victory in his 3rd round heat to move on.
Round 4 started with plenty of drama and action, as Kai took to the air a few times, but needed a complete to secure the scores he needed to advance, eventually posting enough to make it through to the Quarterfinals. While Caio managed to string together 2 excellent rides and one of the highest heat score totals of the event, with a 17.17 overall heat score.
If they both continue their charges, they won’t meet until the Final, and this will determine the World Championship Crown. If either of them don’t make the final and the other does, this will have serious repercussions for the World Title.
Make sure to check out the highlights from today and stay glued to the LIVE broadcast as we close this dramatic season in style here at the 2014 La Torche Pro France. Next call will be at 8am CET as we wait to see what Pointe de la Torche will have in store for us in the morning.
Team Starboard fire all cylinders on Day 4 of the 2014 La Torche Pro France
It was a great day for the Starboard International Team, as we saw Sean Poynter (Starboard) from the USA come to life in Round 3, posting one of the highest scores of the event, with 2 scores in the upper excellent range. Going to work on his backhand, he found the waves he needed to advance into Round 4, and then again in the quarterfinals where he will come up against the on form Mo Freitas (Focus SUP) in Quarterfinal number 2.
Meanwhile fellow teammate Zane Schweitzer (Starboard) put together a couple of strong heats, wowing the judges with his performance riding to make his way through to the quarterfinals where he will come up against Title contender Caio Vaz (Art in Surf) in what will be a pivotal man on man heat.
Make sure to check in tomorrow morning at 8am CET for the call that will be posted on Facebook, as we will see whether tomorrow is the day for culmination of this incredible and historic event here in Finistere at la Pointe de la Torche. Stay with us at www.watermanleague.com
The young guns battle it out and push each other to the max in Round 4
Mo Freitas (Focus SUP) and Poenaiki Raioha (F-One) are without doubt the stars of the future and continue to set new boundaries for the sport. As a result, to see them match up in heat one of Round 4, and alongside 3x World Champion Kai Lenny (Naish) and powerhouse Beau Nixon (Naish) made for an incredibly exciting show.
Poenaiki gained momentum through the heat, posting the single highest score of the exchange with a radical backhand attack. Meanwhile, Mo remained consistent, posting a couple of medium range scores as he searched for something bigger.
The drama came when they both paddled for the same wave, with Poenaiki going left and Mo right, on a predominant righthand wave, with Poenaiki dropping in in front of Mo, impeding his performance potential on the wave. A unanimous inteference was called, meaning that Poenaiki, who was leading the heat up until that point, slipped back to 4th, with his second wave score being cut in half as a penalty.
An extremely dissapointing finish for Poenaiki, but a lucky break for Mo, as he advances onto meet Sean Poynter in quarterfinal number 2. There is no doubt that both of these incredible young talents are already and will only continue to grow as leading forces here on the Stand Up World Tour and there is no doubt that there will be many a battle between the two for the years to come as they lead the new generation in the sport.
The Women’s Competition gets underway today with Round 1 & Repechage complete
The Women’s competition got underway today with some great action in ideal conditions coming from all athletes here at the 2014 La Torche Pro France.
2014 World Champion Izzi Gomez (Starboard) had a shaky start, but pulled it back in the closing stages of the heat to take the win in her first round heat, followed closely by the French favorite, Caroline Angibaud.
Meanwhile in heat number 2, it was Sophia Tiare Bartlow who had the edge, putting on a solid performance to take the win and advance directly to Round 3 along with the newcomer from South Africa, Roxy Davis (Starboard).
In the Repechage, it was Maili Tahar who fought back to earn her place in Round 3 along with Tinina Etienne, sister of the young phenom Leo Paul, as the Etienne family have lots to celebrate here at the 2014 La Torche Pro France.
Leo Paul Etienne wins the Na Kama Kai Youth Challenge in epic conditions
It was an exciting day for the sport today as the stars of the future took to the water for the quarters, semis and finals of the Na Kama Kai Youth Challenge. With a solid fleet of young talents assembled from all four corners of the world, it was one of the more impressive collections of future stars that we have ever witnessed, with a battle to the end for our contenders in epic conditions.
As expected it all came down to the final heat, and a serious battle between Leo Paul Etienne from Guadeloupe and Camille Bouyer (Naish) from right here in France, joined by Nicolas Walker from Australia and Christian Andersen (Fanatic) from Denmark to decide who will be crowned the Na Kama Kai Champion for this year’s event.
In the end, it was Leo Paul’s day, and while he was disappointed to get knocked out of the Main event in Round 3, he has to be happy with an amazing and well deserved victory here at this Na Kama Kai Challenge.
27/10/14La Torche Pro 2014 Main Event Day 1 Highlights.
SUPboarder Team News
27/10/14 Aaron Rowe is interviewed by Fanatic UK rider Glyn Ovens after day one of the main event.
Great day for the SUPboarder team…The two young guns Aaron Rowe and Ollie ladderman both did well today. Aaron got a 2nd place finish in his heat which saw him battling it out with other top riders including Mo Freitas and Arthur Daniel. This 2nd place finish has now put him straight through to heat 3 in round 3 tomorrow.
Ollie finished a fantastic 3rd in an 8 man heat in the youths and goes through to the next round as well.
Well done boys... Photo courtesy of Tim Rowe
26/10/14 Words by Glyn Ovens : Day one of the event showed an increase in swell size and a low tide, not ideal for the summer beach break peak, that is La Torche. This had created a lot of currents, and water was moving all over the place. The call was made that the trials were on.
I elected to surf of my larger board 7’11” as it is a little wider and stability for the paddle out; as there is no prone paddling aloud during the heats on the Stand Up World Tour. The big sets were closing out, and a long ride would guarantee an arduous and energy sapping return paddle to the line-up. I was lucky enough to snag a couple of waves, crack of a few turns, and make it through to the second round. Unlike the trials in the Huntington event, there was no repechage in round one, so failure to pass left no second chance.
Round two: the tide had come in a little and this would hopefully stop the close-out sets from breaking out the back, allowing them to run through to the inside bank forming some nice bowls. I went back to my 7’6”, which although is less stable, surf’s so well…. I was frothing to get going and just get a wave as I knew the board was going to fly. But this overzealous approach put me onto smaller waves, in eagerness to start surfing, it resulted in me being caught inside or in a bad position for almost the remainder of the heat. As the time ticked by I knew that my chances were getting slimmer and slimmer, and as the hooter sounded the end of our allotted 20 mins, I knew, that I had not done enough. To have progressed would have got me into the main event, but alas, unlike my USA event it was not going to be.
Ultimately, it was my positioning within the line-up that cost the heat. An injury to my foot which I had stayed out of the water for also didn’t help, as I hadn’t been able to get in the water to train during the two weeks leading up to the event. At this level, even in the trials, you have to have your whole game in place. Lessons learned, onward and forward.
Many thanks to Fanatic SUP International and Fanatic UK for the amazing boards and equipment they tirelessly support me with. ION for their amazing wetsuits and surf essentials. Thanks to Supboardermag for all the support they give to all the British SUP Athletes.
Next up is the main event with a first call at 7.30am (French time) and will probably start with the men’s main event in which Aaron Rowe will be competing in. Ollie Laddiman is also still to compete in the Na Kama Kai
25/10/04 The La Torche Pro is underway and here is a quick look back at the Long Distance race from Sainte Marine to Quimper.
Athletes and fans are arriving here in North West France for the Final Stop of the Stand Up World Tour. The La Torche Pro will see either Kai Lenny (Naish) or Caio Vaz (Art in Surf) crowned 2014 Champion. We caught up with some of the riders as they get used to conditions here in France. Words : Stand Up World Tour
25/10/04 SUPboarder riders Aaron Rowe and Glyn Ovens have been putting in some early training out in France. Best of luck to all the boys including our young rider Ollie Laddiman in the trials on Sunday 26/11/14. Thanks to Tim Rowe for sending us the photos.