Rip Curl Pro Bells Beach running from April 19th – 30th will be celebrating an historic 50 years in operation this year. Adam Melling kicks off his campaign for the coveted Bell trophy in Ht 2 vs Taj Burrow and Josh Kerr. Owen Wright starts in Ht 3 vs Heitor Alves and Bobby Martinez. As a result of Trav Logie withdrawing from the competition, Rip Curl has nominated Stu Kennedy to join Gabriel Medina as the second sponsor wildcard. Stu will surf in Ht 5 vs Jordy and Dusty. Good luck fellas.
In the Rip Curl Women's Pro Bells Beach Tyler Wright surfs in Ht 6 vs Coco Ho and Pauline Ado.
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| Mello @ Bells pre event |
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| Owen pre event media work |
UPDATE April 19th
Layday today, check back tomorrow. |
| More swell coming |
UPDATE April 20th
A great start for Mello today with a well deserved win in round 1. Adam controlled the heat from the hooter with Taj and Kerrzy unable to put together a decent total in the clean 4' - 6' waves. Have a day off and we'll see you in round 3 mate.Last minute wildcard Stu Kennedy caused the upset of the day, eliminating 2010 ASP World Title runner-up Jordy Smith and Dusty Payne.
"I've been coming here for years. I won a Pro Junior here in 2008 and I know where to sit. I don't think Dusty and Jordy know the break as well as I do so that helps. I've been up since 3am because I'm jet-lagged from coming home from Scotland. I woke up with a bunch of energy it's my shaper's birthday so I woke him up at 5am to go surfing. I had to win my heat for him for his birthday."
Watch out for Stu in round 3.
Owen had a pretty ordinary heat in round 1 and will be looking to get things back on track in round 2 tomorrow. Tyler narrowly missed out on a win and moved into round 2.
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| Owen Day 1 |
UPDATE April 21st
Owen put together his best heat of 2011 to send the Cold Medina home in round 2 today."I knew that he was dangerous out there. I got a couple of good scores and kept building on them throughout the heat. I had a few nerves in my first round heat and didn't find any form at all, so it felt great to have a good heat. I'm not a rookie anymore, I'm one of the guys in the top few that wants to get higher. It's a challenge, but I'm ready to step up."
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| Owen driving |
Check the video below to see some incredible backhand surfing.
In round 2 of the Rip Curl Women's Pro Bells Beach the girls were sent out in perfect 6' Bells. Tyler dominated her opponent for a big win with a 16.00 total and advanced into round 3.
UPDATE April 22nd
Owen came out firing in heat 1 of the day in super clean 4' - 5' conditions to eliminate the Klingon and move into round 4.Mello struggled to find the waves with high scoring potential during the first half of his heat and then had to sit through a lull until the hooter went. He finished the event in 13th.
Stu took on Slater in a heat that was fairly intense due to a lack of waves. In the dying minutes Stu sold Slater a dud to gain priority and was only looking for a 6.35 to win but unfortunately nothing arrived in time and Stu finished in 13th. Bad luck mate, you'll get him next time.
Tyler finished 2nd to Steph in the Telstra Power Round ( round 3 ) of the Rip Curl Women's Pro Bells Beach and will surf in Ht 3 of round 4 vs Jessi Miley-Dyer.
UPDATE April 23rd
Owen looked to have a spot in the quarters sorted until Parko stole it in the dying minutes. Owen gets another chance tomorrow in round 5 Ht 1 vs Bede. |
| One more chance |
Tyler had a good start to the day taking out Jessi Miley-Dyer in a close heat. Unfortunately Steph Gilmore decided to find some form in the quarters and bundled Tyler out to finish 5th.
UPDATE April 24th
Owen surfed powerful and precise in round 5 to take out Bede. In the quarters Owen did as much as he could but the waves were almost tailor made for the natural footers to find the highest scoring potential and Parko was on a roll. Owen finished in 5th. Congratulations mate.
