Open Nationals in Porto

After two events close to home, this one was all the way north of Portugal.

Sometimes its good to travel away from home and be able to surf waves we are not used to, it offers a bigger challenge to everyone and opens up the event :)

Porto is a beautiful city with lots to offer, from the obvious and the reason we went there, being the waves to the culture, food and the ever so popular river front.

The contest was run over 3 days but due to the small conditions, we had a few hours to become " tourist " so we took a trip to Porto and sampled the local delicacies :)

As for the event and results, both Luis and Keshia had a great performance. Both winning their first rounds heats convincingly with scores high in the double figures.

The last day was left for the 1/4 finals of the boys and finals of the girls.

Luis did not manage to get through to the semis, the waves were tricky and Luis was staying on the outside waiting for the set to come to get a good scoring wave, Marlon Lipke opted to stay on the inside where he managed to find some small wally waves. The scores were very close but Luis did not get the set wave he needed and ended up finishing his run in Porto with another good 1/4 final finish.

That means that in the general rankings, he is holding 13th place :)

Keshia was already in the finals on the last day but had strong opposition and although she did not need a high score to move up to 1st place, she also did not have Neptune on her side.

Rankings for Keshia are still high and staying put in 2nd place.

Thanks to everyone that follows the comps and results and we will keep you posted as usual :)

1st Euro PJ of the year with a good start :)

The first PJ of the year has finally started, and Las Palmas was the host.

It has been a long time coming due to the economic restrictions etc as some events got cancelled.

Gran Canarie has always been a great spot with good waves, weather and friends.

As it was a men only event, Luis traveled alone to Porto and from there to Las Palmas. Its the best way to go, although there is lots of traveling involved as, the other option is to go from Lisbon via Madrid but, that means that your boards will not arrive so...... not a good option when you go for a contest.

As this PJ is the only 3* event of the season, it means massive points and cash :) so lots of Juniors were prepared to make the trip.

The first round saw very little waves and almost not contestable but the organizers managed to get the contest on the way.

Luis was not in for a couple of days due to seeing and rankings from last year so he managed to get plenty of water time around the many spots available on the island. As well as sampling the great cuisine that the Canaries has to offer :) There was time as well for some sightseeing, going to the top of the mountains and enjoying breath taking views.

If you have instagram, you can follow Luis and Keshia around their daily activities :)

Swell picked up for the final two days, but due to the tricky conditions, we saw some top seeds being knocked out in the earlier rounds.

Luis battled all the way to 1/4 finals, earning him some nice Euros and points.

A great way to start the season . With the next European PJ not being until middle of July, in Royan, there are many training and traveling days with some other contests in between.

Will keep you posted as usual

Thanks everyone

ISA World Junior Games

After many hours of competing, traveling and surfing, Keshia is back from Panama :)

It was a great even for team and individual performances.
Keshia finished 25th in the World rankings and 3rd in the European rankings. As a team, they finished Top 8 overall and the girls claimed 3rd spot in the World so, a fantastic result with Keshia still having 2 more years yet to claim that much wanted title :)

No word yet as to where the next World Junior Games will be but, as they finished Top 8, they get a trip to China for the very new but very exciting China Cup Challenge which will take place in January 2012.

More next to come when we have them :)

Thanks for all the support during the event. now its back to Europe for the rest of the summer to compete in the Nationals and European events !

Luis WQS opening campaign

Luis opening event in the WQS season started today at La vendee, France.

After many hours driving ( 16 hours from Portugal ) a quick stop in Zarautz and many degrees below the temperature he is used to, it did not seem to affect him much.

After just missing top seeding spot by one place, Luis went all out in the 2nd round of the event.

The main site was not working in the morning so the call was made at Les Dunes.

With waves around 5 foot, Luis was not prepared to stand still and scores the second highest score of the day with two 7.5 waves.

Also the photographers, videographers and ASP staff seemed to have liked his performance too as he is all over the site. Opening page shot, opening page interview, photos on the daily report, instagram, twiter.... you name it :)

Lets hope tomorrow the conditions stay similar and Luis gets to show what he has been training for during the winter.

Call is again at Les Dunes at 09:00 so, fingers crossed for Luis.

You can follow the event, see photos, interviews and videos, on the link below :

Vendee Pro 2012

1st day of competition for Keshia

Keshia just finished her debut at the Dakine ISA World Junior Championships in Panama.

A good start for her, she moves into round 2 :)