Women's surf title still up in air
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Advertiser Staff
While Kelly Slater has all but wrapped up the 2008 men's world championship, the race for the women's surfing title is still wide open.
The Beachley Classic at Manly Beach, Australia, is scheduled to run Oct. 9 to 14, and will be a crucial event on the 2008 women's world tour.
It is the fifth of eight stops on the women's tour, but will offer 20 percent more points than the other events because it has a larger prize purse.
Australia's Stephanie Gilmore is the defending women's world champion and currently ranked No. 1.
Peru's Sofia Mulanovich is ranked No. 2, just 12 points behind Gilmore.
Wai'anae's Melanie Bartels won the last contest in Brazil and is ranked No. 6. She could move into title contention with a strong showing in Australia.
What could help Bartels is that the final two contests on the women's tour will be staged in Hawai'i — the Roxy Pro at Sunset Beach in November, then the Billabong Girls Pro at Honolua Bay, Maui, in December.
Waialua's Megan Abubo is currently ranked No. 11. She and Bartels are the only Hawai'i surfers on the tour this year.
HO, MOORE FINALISTS FOR VIDEO CLIP CONTEST
Hawai'i surfers Mason Ho and Carissa Moore are among the finalists for the Billabong Freewave Challenge Mainland USA contest.
It is an Internet-based contest that features video clips of surfers riding waves anywhere in the Mainland USA during the past summer months.
Ho is a finalist in the "Monster Maneuver" category for an aerial move at Huntington Beach, Calif.
Moore is a finalist in the "Female Performance" category for two separate waves at Lower Trestles, Calif.
A total prize purse of $40,000 will be divided among the winners.
The winners will be determined by a panel of surfers and videographers.
To view the videos of the finalists, visit freewavechal lenge.com.
LONGBOARD CONTEST MOVED TO NEXT WEEK
The final event of the Steinlager Shaka Longboard Series has been rescheduled for Oct. 11 and 12 at Kewalo Basin.
Most of the state's top longboard surfers — professional and amateur — are scheduled to participate.
The event was originally scheduled to run last weekend, but was postponed due to a lack of waves. For information, visit www.hspsurf.com.
