Chelsea Williams had the day’s highest heat score.
Chelsea Williams excelled in round two dispatching American Kelly Coward.
The natural world
order has been restored at the Roxy ASP WWLC in Biarritz, with sunny skies,
clean fun waves and the event favourites all prevailing.
The first heat of the day saw last year’s semifinalist and local surfer
Claire Karabatsos take a relaxed approach and progress through the first of
the event’s sudden death, one on one, heats.
“I wasn’t nervous, I was just enjoying the experience,” said Karabatsos. “My
local spot is Biarritz Grande Plage, just around the corner, and so I come
to surf here often. I love it. The waves, the backdrop of the mountains. So
it was good to wake up and just go surfing.”
Karabatsos has a simple, uncluttered approach to surfing and doesn’t change
it when she is surfing in competition, even if it is the biggest of the
year, like the Roxy ASP WWLC.
“I’m relaxed, you know. It is easy.” Said Karabatsos. “You wait for the
hooter and you just surf and then when the hooter goes again, you stop
surfing. That is all there is to it really.”
This laidback approach proved effective as she overcome Tory Gilkerson (USA)
to advance to Round 3. In contrast in style, if not effect, was another
event favourite Kassia Meador’s progression through to Round 3.
“I was definitely nervous. Especially surfing against Kelly Sloan (USA) who
I know from back home and who’s definitely beaten me a couple a times in
contests,” said Meador.
“I was just trying to stay calm and not think too much about it, ‘cause I
can get into my head way too easily and once I start thinking about things I
can unravel. Last night I was trying not to worry about it go and watch some
live music and hang out. It was almost better just to get it over with early
this morning and not stress in the corner all day.”
Despite the nerves, Meador surfed as stylishly and as controlled as ever and
easily won her heat.
“I’m stoked I made it,” said Meador afterwards, “and I’m looking forward to
tomorrow.”
Another surfer whose performance pushed her into favourite contention was
Chelsea Williams (AUS). The small natural footer has had an incredible
competitive run lately, winning the last four professional events she has
entered in Australia, and today kept the run going with the day’s highest
heat score, a 15.75 out of a possible 20.
“Yes, I’ve won pretty much everything I’ve gone in lately,” said Williams.
“But the standard over here is much, much higher, the best in the world, so
I’m just taking it heat by heat.”
Williams, whose local wave is the freight train barrels of the Superbank,
had to deal with quite different conditions here in Biarritz. “Yeah, the
waves were pretty slow and fat, but at least it was nice and clean.”
Another surfer forced to adapt to changing conditions and succeed was Miku
Uemura (HAW), whose heat score of 13.00 was too much for her opponent
Cristiana Peres (BRA).
“I was super nervous actually,” said Uemura who hails from a famous Hawaiian
surf family, but also has Japanese citizenship.
“I’ve just been surfing the Japanese shortboard circuit, and so haven’t
ridden my longboard for a while,” said a relieved Uemura. But I scored that
fun wave and felt good. I’m so stoked to still be in the competition.”
Halfway through the afternoon a rising high tide forced organisers to
postpone the competition. The last three heats of Round 2 are scheduled to
be recommencing at about 6.00pm local time this evening.
By that stage many of today’s loser’s, eliminated from the premier women’s
longboarding event in the world, will have one eye on the night’s
festivities. Brazilian punk pop pranksters CSS are lined up tonight, just
one of the many gigs, art shows and celebrations that are being held in
conjunction with the Roxy Jam.
For the rest of the surfers still involved in the competition, the
celebrations will have to wait. They are still in the running for the Roxy
ASP WWLC and with more waves predicted and all the big gun still in
contention, they know both the pressure and level of surfing is about to be
cranked right up.
Roxy ASP WWLC Round 2 Match-Ups – 1st to Round 3, 2nd eliminated
Heat 14: Kirsty Webster (AUS) vs. Myriam Imaz (SPN)
Heat 15: Summer Romero (USA) vs. Gaelle Szymkowiak (FRA)
Heat 16: Angela Bauer (BRA) vs. Helene Chabeaud (FRA)
Roxy ASP WWLC Round 2 Results – 1st to Round 3, 2nd eliminated
Heat 1: Claire Karabatsos (FRA) 10.90 d Tory Gilkerson (USA) 7.75
Heat 2: Kassia Meador (USA) 12.75 d Kelly Sloan (USA) 7.20
Heat 3: Janna Irons (HAW) 13.50 d. Malia Fuertes (USA) 6.05
Heat 4: Chelsea Williams (AUS) 15.75 d Kelly Coward (USA) 7.25
Heat 5: Ashley Lloyd (USA) 11.00 d Jenni Flanigan (USA) 9.00
Heat 6: Selby Riddle (AUS) 10.15 d Caroline Angibeaud (FRA) 5.30
Heat 7: Coline Menard (FRA) 13.25 vs. Rosie Locke (AUS) 4.75
Heat 8: Melanie Fosse (FRA) 13.50 d. Lindsay Steiniede (USA) 9.75
Heat 9: Claire Dereux (FRA) 14.75 d Clemence Godinaud (FRA) 8.35.
Heat 10: Cristiana Pires (BRA) 10.35 d Hanalei Reponty (TAH) 5.20
Heat 11: Julie Cox (USA) d. Marie Vigne (FRA) inj
Heat 12: Miku Uemura 13.00(HAW) d Candice O’Donnell (GBR) 7.25
Heat 13: Karina Abras (BRA) 9.10 d Nathalie Destandau (FRA) 4.90