Kelly Slater (USA), 38, former nine-time ASP World Champion, has claimed his fourth Rip Curl Pro Bells Beach presented by SNICKERS title over reigning two-time ASP World Champion Mick Fanning (AUS), 28, in clean three-to-four foot (1 metre) waves at the backup venue of Johanna Beach.

The second stop on the 2010 ASP World Tour, the Rip Curl Pro Bells Beach was completed over four different venues this year, with Round 1 at Bells Beach, Round 2 at Thirteenth Beach, Round 3 and the opening half of Round 4 at Winkipop before the final day was completed at Johanna Beach.

Following a relatively slow start to the highly-anticipated Final, Fanning unleashed with a 7.17 to take the lead. The lightning-fast Australian strung together a series of high-speed maneuvers to pull ahead and put the Floridian on the ropes.

However, Slater would answer back with an incredible Alley-oop aerial maneuver, boosting so high his feet separated from his board before he recovered for an 8.93. Slater then paddled out into another excellent wave, scoring an 8.10 to bring his total to 17.03 out of a possible 20  a lead that Fanning would not surpass.

“It was a lot more difficult than it looked out there,” Slater said. “The tide came up and the takeoff was a lot deeper than we thought it would be. I was getting bumped and bounced and falling, and I had five or six waves before I got something going. On that 8.93, I was up in the air and when I landed, I kind of fell on my butt and did the one-footed shuffle, but I recovered there. Then I paddled straight into that second wave and that was it.”

story via asp

PENICHE, Portugal (Saturday, October 17, 2009) – The Rip Curl Pro Search will culminate the European leg of the 2009 ASP World Tour in the wave abundant Portuguese region of Peniche, hosting the world’s best surfers from October 19 – 30, 2009.

Event No. 9 of 10 on the 2009 ASP World Tour, the Rip Curl Pro Search is poised to deliver high drama with projected sizable swells setting the scene for a possible ASP World Title showdown and several requalification campaigns.

Mick Fanning (AUS), 28, former ASP World Champion (2007) and current ASP World No. 1, has been on a rampage during the back half of the season, claiming back-to-back wins in California and France before taking the ASP ratings’ lead last week in Spain. If Fanning finishes higher than 3rd at the Rip Curl Pro Search in Portugal, the Australian could claim the 2009 ASP World Title in Europe, contingent upon the finishes of other frontrunners.

read more at aspworldtour.com

The event schedule for the 2009/10 Rip Curl GromSearch Series presented by Snickers has been released and grommets across Australia will be waxing their boards in anticipation of Stop 1 in Victoria this September.

The Rip Curl GromSearch is Australia’s only national junior event series and gives surfers aged 16 and under the opportunity to test themselves against their friends, peers and interstate visitors alike. Each of Australia’s surfing states score a spot on the series calendar, with the timing usually coinciding with school holidays to ensure everyone gets a chance to surf an event in their own backyard.

The GromSearch series makes use of a unique national ratings system that gives competitors the opportunity to gauge their level of surfing against other surfers on a national scale.

Individual event Champions in the 16’s division from each of the seven events earn an invitation to compete in the National Final, which is held during the Rip Curl Pro at Bells Beach over Easter. The male and female champions of the National Finals are then invited to represent Australia in the International Final.

One surfer who knows just how valuable this experience can be is teenager and 2009 Rip Curl Women’s Pro wildcard Nikki Van Dijk (Phillip Island, VIC). Van Dijk was the star of last season’s GromSearch, powering right through the 2008/09 series all the way to the International Final which she won at the record age of 14.

2009/10 AUSTRALIAN RIP CURL GROMSEARCH CALENDAR:

VIC, Jan Juc Beach, 22-25 September 2009
NSW, Coffs Harbour, 14-17 October 2009
WA, Mandurah, 24-25 October 2009
TAS, Clifton Beach, 7-8 November 2009
SA, Middleton, 21-22 November 2009
QLD, Duranbah Beach, Gold Coast 14-18 December 2009
NSW, Cronulla, Sydney 22-25 January 2010

Australian Final: 28 March 2010
International Final: 1-5 April 2010 – Rip Curl Pro at Bells Beach

The 2009/10 Rip Curl GromSearch series is proudly presented by SNICKERS in association with Waves Magazine, Fuel TV, and Surfing Australia.

Further information on the GromSearch series can be accessed at ripcurl.com  Surfing Australia can provide competition entry forms as well as updated information on each of the events proceedings and surfers ratings which is accessed at surfingaustralia.com

more info and story at surfingaustralia.com