Rip Curl Pro Search
ASP World Tour event #9
Peniche Portugal
19 - 28 October 2009
Peniche Portugal Announced as Location for 2009 Rip Curl Pro Search Event
Surfersvillage Global Surf News, 23 June, 2009 : - -
Peniche, Portugal -- Rip Curl International has today officially
announced that the coastal town of Peniche, Portugal, will host this
year's Rip Curl Pro Search, Stop No. 9 of 10 on the 2009 ASP World Tour
- to be held October 19 to 28.
The location has been a mystery to most all season, but
today's official press launch in the Portuguese capital of Lisbon
unveiled the secret to media and the surfing industry.
"We're excited about today's announcement and even more
excited to see the industry's reaction to our decision to hold this
year's Rip Curl Pro Search in the beautiful country of Portugal," said
Scott Hargreaves, Rip Curl Event Manager. "The country has a lot of
great waves and we've decided to lock in Peniche's 'Supertubos' as our
event spot. It's a five-star wave and one of the best beachbreak tubes
in the world!"
Supertubos is a powerful A-frame barrel that feeds off deep
Atlantic Ocean swells and handles waves up to the 12-15ft (4-5m). Many
surfers have nicknamed it the "European Pipeline" due to its
similarities to Hawaii's infamous Banzai Pipeline.
"The wave breaks all year, but the North Atlantic Ocean swells
peak in the later part of Europe's summer," continued Mr. Hargreaves.
"This is why we've created the event window in October, instead of the
June-July period we've had for the past four years."
The change of schedule will also make this year's Rip Curl
Pro Search the second-to-last event on the ASP Men's World Tour
calendar, meaning for the first time it could be the event where this
year's ASP World Champion is crowned.
"The hype of possibly crowning the ASP World Champion is an
awesome by-product of the date change, but the main reason the ASP
surfers love the Rip Curl Pro Search is because it has delivered
perfect waves and amazing experiences in each of the four years its
been held in Reunion Island, Mexico, Chile and Bali," said Mr.
Hargreaves. "With that said, we'd definitely like to present both the
Rip Curl Planet Trophy and the ASP World Title Trophy on the same
stage!"
Current ASP No. 3 Mick Fanning (AUS) is the only past Rip Curl
Pro Search champion competing this year's ASP World Tour, with Hawaiian
brothers Bruce Irons (2008 champion) and Andy Irons (2006 & 07
champion) now retired. Fanning is enthusiastic about packing his boards
for Portugal:
"The Rip Curl Pro Search is always exciting for me and I think
it's a favourite for all the lads on tour because it really breaks
things up," said Fanning, the 2007 ASP World Champion. "I haven't been
to Peniche before but when I found out we were going there I had a chat
to my mate Tiago Pires [Portugal's first ASP World Tour surfer] and he
told me the waves in the area are world class.
I got a win in the first ever Search Pro and I've always done
reasonably well in them, so hopefully Peniche cops plenty of swell
during the event waiting period and the Rip Curl Pro Search continues
to deliver some of the best waves we ever see for World Tour
competition."
The date move of this year's event has also allowed Rip Curl
to include an ASP Women's World Tour contest during the Rip Curl Pro
Search. The event will run from October 26 to 30 and is Stop 5 of 8 for
the ASP Women's elite.
"The Rip Curl Pro Search has had incredible success since is
started, so I think it's really exciting that the ASP Women's World
Tour is jumping onboard for the adventure," said Stephanie Gilmore,
reigning two-time ASP Women's World Champion. "I'm sure it's only going
to make the best event on tour, even better!"
The entire Rip Curl Pro Search will be web live on ripcurl.com
and aspworldtour.com, with multiple cameras and professional commentary
documenting every wave, thrill and spill throughout the event. The 2009
Rip Curl Pro Search is presented by the Institute of Tourism Portugal
and proudly supported by TMN and Buondi.
