The Billabong Cloud 9 Invitational is on hold

Saturday, 24 October 2009 13:39


The Billabong Cloud 9 Invitational was put on hold in the Philippines today with diminishing conditions on offer for the unique, specialty tube riding event.
After two days of big, flawless barrels, contest organisers opted to call a lay day with epic conditions expected to hit the region into next week.
Typhoon Lupit, which generated 2.0-2.5m hollow, barrelling waves for the opening two days of the event before tracking WNW towards the northern region of the Philippines, has turned ENE and is now likely to produce epic conditions towards the back end of the seven day waiting period.
The opening three rounds of competition has already turned out multiple 10 point rides with some of the most insane conditions seen for an event this year.
12 heats remain until the 2009 Billabong Cloud 9 Invitational champion is crowned.
Remaining round four heats include – Ht4 Sam Page (Aus) vs Makua Rothman (Haw), Ht5 Shinpei Horiguchi (JPN) vs Carlito Nagolo (Phl), Ht6 Gavin Beschen (Haw) vs Dionisio Espejon (Phl), Ht 7 Joel Nantes (Aus) vs Agus Frimento (Phl), Ht8 Rodolfo Alcala (Phl) and Garrett Parkes (Aus).
Due to Siargao's proximity to the Philippine Deep, big swells from the Pacific Ocean roll in from the second deepest stretch of water in the world to create flawless, hollow barrelling waves.

The 2009 tournament will run from October 21-27,2009.

The tournament contest site is Siargao Island’s 'Cloud 9', a powerful, hollow right-hander that has been frequently compared to the renowned surf of Hawaii and Indonesia. (Billabong)

Typhoon Lupit lighting up Billabong Cloud 9 Invitational

 


Jamie O’Brien : photo Jake White



Billabong Cloud 9 Invitational

Surfing Australia
Cloud 9 Siargao Island Philipines
21 - 27 October 2009

Typhoon Lupit Continues To Deliver Day Two of Billabong Cloud 9 Invitational
Surfersvillage Global Surf News, 22 October, 2009 : - - Typhoon Lupit continued to deliver the goods in the Philippines today, with big, perfect barrels on call for day two of the Billabong Cloud 9 Invitational. Cloud 9 provided the ideal forum for a world-class field of surfers with multiple 10 point rides going down in rising 2-2.5 metre (6-8ft) waves.

After rising to similar conditions to that of the opening day of completion, contest organisers decided to run rounds two and three, before completing the opening three heats of round four. Reigning champion Edito ‘Peso’ Alcala (Philippines) rose to the occasion netting a perfect 10 in his man-on-man round four heat against Australia’s Tai Graham.

Peso, who defeated 2007 event champion Wade Goodall (Caloundra, Qld, Aus) in last year’s final, used his local knowledge to get an edge over his international competitor, scoring a 10 and a 6.90 to defeat Graham’s 13.83 combined total. But it was the Jamie “O” show once more with the former pipeline master collecting his second perfect 10 for the event in his round four showdown against Australia’s Dru Adler (Palm Beach).

The freakish natural foot was in tune with the Cloud 9 line up from his opening wave collecting three near perfect rides (9.93, 9.70 and 10.0) to finish with a total of 19.93 (out of a possible 20) to oust Adler, who could only manage a 12.16 two-wave combined total.
 

Tai Graham : photo Jake White
 
Post heat, O’Brien said he was thrilled to bag another 10 point ride. “It looked so perfect in the beginning. I started pumping and was really deep, but the whole lip fell down and made this big foam ball. I came out a little off balance, but setup and got another barrel. It was so good.” O’Brien will now take on Peso in a highly-anticipated first quarterfinal.

New Zealand ace Jay Quinn (Gold Coast, formerly Gisborne) is also through to quarterfinal contention after disposing of fellow Gold Coaster Chris Bennetts (Main Beach, Qld, Aus). The talented surfer utilised superior tube riding skills en route to jagging a 9.23 and an 8.67 to best Bennetts – 17.90 to 12.87.

Quinn will take on the winner of Sam Page (Aus) vs Makua Rothman in quarterfinal two. Australian surfers feature heavily in round four, taking up 7 of the 16 spots. 12 heats remain until the 2009 Billabong Cloud 9 Invitational champion is crowned. Contest organisers will meet at 5.45 for a possible 6.00am start.

Remaining round four heats include – Ht4 Sam Page (Aus) vs Makua Rothman (Haw), Ht5 Shinpei Horiguchi (JPN) vs Carlito Nagolo (Phl), Ht6 Gavin Beschen (Haw) vs Dionisio Espejon (Phl), Ht 7 Joel Nantes (Aus) vs Agus Frimento (Phl), Ht8 Rodolfo Alcala (Phl) and Garrett Parkes (Aus).
 

Dale Richards : photo Jake White
 
Due to Siargao's proximity to the Philippine Deep, big swells from the Pacific Ocean roll in from the second deepest stretch of water in the world to create flawless, hollow barrelling waves. The 2009 tournament will run from October 21-27,2009.

The tournament contest site is Siargao Island’s 'Cloud 9', a powerful, hollow right-hander that has been frequently compared to the renowned surf of Hawaii and Indonesia.
The Billabong Cloud 9 Invitational 2009 is proudly supported by Billabong, Province of Surigao Del Norte, Stoked Inc, Von Zipper sunglasses, Nixon, Kustom footwear, Friendster, and Sagana Resort. (Globalsurfnews)

D-Day Looms for Surfers in Next Week's Billabong Cloud 9 Invitational in Philippines

D-DAY is looming for an international cast of surfers with the Billabong Cloud 9 Invitational in the Philippines less than a week away from starting.

'Cloud 9', a powerful, hollow right-hander located on Siargao Island will again be the focus of the global surfing community with entry confirmations from some of the world's hottest surfers including pipeline master Jamie O'Brien (Hawaii), 2007 runner-up Nick Vasicek (Coolangatta, Australia), 2006 champion Ryan Hipwood (Gold Coast, Australia), New Zealand's first ever World Champion surfer Jay Quinn (Gisborne, now Gold Coast, Aus) and Hawaiian surfing royalty Makua Rothman.

An invite to compete in the 2009 competition was made all the more attractive with USD $20,000 on the table and the allure of flawless, barrelling waves.

48 surfers from Hawaii, Japan, Australia, Indonesia, South Africa and 12 local wildcards will compete in a specialised format, which culminates in man-on-man heats from the quarterfinals.

Reigning champion Edito 'Peso' Alcala (Philippines), who rode barrel after perfect barrel to beat 2007 title holder Wade Goodall (Caloundra, Qld, Aus) in last year's final, will don a competition vest to defend his title.

Local ace Alcala, who learned to surf at the revered break, will again prove tough competition for his international riders after putting in plenty of practice at Cloud 9 in the past month.

"It's been pumping for weeks," said 20-year old Alcala.

"We've been experiencing plenty of typhoons that have created some great waves. Hopefully it'll continue into next week."

What separates the specialty event from standard competitive surfing is that invited contestants are involved in deciding what conditions they will surf in.

With only two full days required to finalise the competition and a seven-day competition window, organisers have the luxury to wait for ideal conditions in which to run the event during Cloud 9's prime swell period.

Due to Siargao's proximity to the Philippine Deep, big swells from the Pacific Ocean roll in from the second deepest stretch of water in the world to create flawless, hollow barrelling waves.

The 2009 tournament will run from October 21-27,2009.

The tournament contest site is Siargao Island's 'Cloud 9', a powerful, hollow right-hander that has been frequently compared to the renowned surf of Hawaii and Indonesia.

The Billabong Cloud 9 Invitational 2009 is proudly supported by Billabong, Province of Surigao Del Norte, Stoked Inc, Von Zipper sunglasses, Nixon, Kustom footwear, Friendster, and Sagana Resort.

source: billabong

Sports Tourism Destination: Philippines

October 3, 2009

Do you want to see the Philippines? Or do you want to experience the Philippines?

The Department of Tourism (DoT) has been promoting the country’s adventure and ecotourism destinations and activities as it aims to position the country as an exciting outdoor travel destination.

You do not have to be an expert athlete. You just have to be physically fit and to have that adventurous spirit to test the waters of adventure sports. Beginners may be given training or orientation before they undertake the activities. These adventure destinations challenge the body and offer an exhilarating escape from the day-to-day life.

1. Surfing in Siargao

What’s a chocolate bar got to do with surfing? Cloud 9 was coined by John Callahan when he found the wave by chance, naming it after the locally made chocolate bar. From the time his article on Siargao came out in Surfer Magazine in its March 1993 issue, the formerly obscure Siargao Island located in the province of Surigao del Norte became popular to surfers and tourists alike.

Callahan describes Cloud 9 as “a thick, pitching peak takeoff over a reef shelf followed by a hollow section and a clean exit into the channel or a pinching section, depending on swell direction. The wave works on typhoon season groundswell from two feet up to eight feet Hawaiian at peak high tide. On a clean easterly swell and offshore southwest wind, Cloud 9 can be mechanically perfect, with a guaranteed barrel on every wave.”
Hmmm. Cloud nine does sound surfi-licious!

2. Wakeboarding in Camarines Sur

Wakeboarding is a surface water sport developed from a combination of water skiing, snowboarding and surfing techniques. The Camarines Sur Watersports Complex or CWC is one of the only two cable parks in the country. It is called as such because a series of tower-connected mechanical cables pulls the rider around the water. Its 6-point cable ski system is designed for wakeboarding, wakeskating and waterskiing.

Since the completion of the cable park, beginner and professional wakeboarders and skiiers from all over the world have visited the CWC to compete or simply to have fun. The province owes its inclusion in the Top 5 destinations in the country to CWC. Camarines Sur ranks 4th next to Davao, Boracay and Cebu in attracting the biggest volume of visitors for the 1st quarter of 2009. The sport has indeed taken the province by waves.

3. Whitewater Rafting in Cagayan

In whitewater rafting, participants guide and paddle a raft through whitewater, or the river’s rapids. The sport’s popularity began to grow when it became part of the Olympic Games in the 1970s. In the Philippine setting, from the mid '80s to mid '90s, locals in Cagayan de Oro used inflated tire tubes, rafts made of bamboo and banana trunks. Nowadays, this sport has evolved into a major tourism draw in Cagayan de Oro.

Part of the thrill, excitement and challenges of rapids are sailing on different degrees of rough waters, paddling through areas with higher water volume and steeper descents and navigating a number of boulders and rocks. While you ride down the river, you’ll be looking at the scenery for the duration of your trip!

4. Canyoning in Cebu

Canyoning is a combination of several sports, such as walking, trekking, climbing, abseiling, rafting and swimming. For starters, the jump or descent is made from 8 meters while for the more experienced, the jump could be several waterfalls higher than 30 meters.

Cebu and its limestone mountains provide a scenic and suitable place for canyoning. Get active, feel the adrenaline rush and delight in its surrounding landscape. As the places for canyoning are situated in the densely forested mountain valleys, you will see and enjoy nature in its pure and raw form.

A piece of advice—once the abseiling has begun, there is no way back. You must complete the descent! As all mountaineers know, “going up is optional, coming down is mandatory.”

5. Volcano Climbing in Albay

Mayon Volcano is a highly active volcano. Climbing season for Mt. Mayon is restricted to the summer months of March to May because landslides are common during the rainy season. It is also advisable to contact the local Philippine Institute of Volcanology and Seismology office before scheduling a climb for safety.

The Knife’s Edge or the level close to the summit is for intermediate to expert climbers. Camp 1 site is good for beginners planning on a day trek. Camp 1 is the base camp used by mountaineers before their final ascent. To reach the campsite at 780 meters above sea level, you’ll trek through different vegetation zones, from rich agricultural land to light Agoho Pine forest and thick giant fern forest.

Sure, there are many tourist destinations in the Philippines that are great for picture-taking and sightseeing. But don’t limit yourself to seeing the beauty behind the camera. Be active, get some action going and pump up that adrenaline rush. Participate in these adventure and nature sports.

The country’s 7,107 islands are teeming with nature’s gifts and activities to explore. By visiting these sports destinations and engaging in active outdoor recreations, you will not only see nature at its best but also experience it. (Manila Bulletin)

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