Congrats to our new 2017 APB Tour World Champs! Joana Schenker & Iain Campbell both clinched the title in Nazaré, Portugal this week, before the last stop of the tour! Yewwww Massive congrats to both of ‘em! Well deserved titles! (Last tour stop is gonna be in the Canary Islands this month).
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In an un-expected end of the APB 2014 Tour in SINTRA, Portugal (controversial end of the tour with stops left to go and actually very few comps this year) here are your 2014 World Champs, all well-deserved of course, but we wish (as bodyboarding fans and pro tour supporters – that there had been a few more stops on the 2014 Tour – Unfortunately the lack of finance and sponsors have kinda cut short the pro tour this year – bummer)
Amaury Lavernhe is the 2014 World Champ (the french man is now a proud 2x World Champ, oui oui!), Dave ‘Dubb’ Hubbard is the 2014 Dropknee World Champ (Dubb is no stranger to being a DK world champ and his talent and skills on the knee and prone are un-matched on tour anyways!), 16 y.o Alexandra Rinder from Canaries is the new 2014 Womens World Champ (congrats Alexandra! Only Andre Botha managed to clinch a world title at 16 y.o if we’re not wrong!) and Tristan Roberts is the new junior World Champ (incredible talent from South Africa). Yewww
Log on the APB Tour Website for more info.
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Here’s a cool selection of vids to watch this week: Read the rest of this entry »
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Ben Player has done it again, winning the Pipeline Pro 2014 edition. Congrats champ!
Lilly Pollard wins the Womens Pipeline Pro, congats Lilly! On the DK division it’s Dave Hubbard who won the contest, congrats Dave!
Below are the results:
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Ok, so here’s the recap of what’s happening for the 2014 Bodyboarding World Tour:
There is a World Tour in 2014 – That’s good news. The World Tour is organized by the APB – Association Of Professional Bodyboarders (https://www.facebook.com/apbodyboarders) and not the IBA.
The APB is basically a non-profit organization managed by professional bodyboarders. The APB is here to stay, they will organize and rule the 2014 world tour by themselves this year while waiting for the IBA to re-build a proper world tour with bigger/better sponsors and everything. The IBA is a private company (making – or supposed to – make profit). If the IBA has a well organized tour scheduled for 2015 the APB will agree to give the tour back to the IBA. If not, the tour will keep being ruled and run but just the APB.
We hope this all make sense for you guys as we tried to explain in a very simple way what’s happening for the tour in 2014. Basically the pro riders have decided to run the tour by themselves while waiting to see if the IBA comes up with a cool tour for 2015.
Note that there is only one ranking in 2014: no more super tour + qualification tour. Just one tour with all events and riders.
First event of the year: Pipeline from Feb 18-28
Next events to be confirmed.
More about the APB etc.
*APB: The governing body that represents the worlds Bodyboarding athletes, Event promoters and officials of the sport of Bodyboarding. Company Overview: This group is a collaboration of athletes, officials and event promoters to represent the athletes of the sport and to steer the sport into a positive direction and protect its credibility.
The APB Structure:
Alex Leon (GM & events Rep)
Mike Stewart (Hawaiian athlete Rep)
Guilherme Tamega (Latin athlete Rep)
Craig Hadden (Technical Operations)
Jeff Hubbard (USA & DK athlete Rep)
Mark McCarthy (Sth Africa athlete Rep)
Chico Garritano (Head Judge)
Ryan Hardy (Australian athlete Rep)
Karla Costa (Womens athlete Rep)
Diogo Marquez (European rep)
2014 Star Rating Event System for the Men’s World Tour
The minimum prize-money to be rated on the world tour will be US$25,000.
The final make up for the end of year rankings will be to include your best half plus one (rounded up) event points total. In the event that more than 1 rider has the same or equal points all ties will be broken by going to the next best result on the 2014 tour.
If ties cannot be broken by counting up wards then a tie will be broken by counting down events results. Finally and only if the tie is unbreakable, then a surf off heat will be contested at the earliest chance between the tied riders.
A maximum of 2000 points will be available to events that meet bonus requirements. Events will effectively start at 1000 points and work upwards.
Prize-money Bonus: Events can increase their star rating by adding prize-money. 200 extra points for every US$15,000 over the minimum $25,000 prize-money.
Infrastructure and Historical Standing Bonus: Events will be allocated 200 extra points based on the event set-up (i.e., web cast, contest structure and media) and the historical standing of the event.
Waiting Period Bonus: Events will be allocated 200 extra points if they include a 10 day waiting period.
Premier Wave Bonus: Events will be allocated 200 or 400 extra points based on the wave quality.
Star Events Points Comparisons
1 Star = 1000 points
2 Star = 1200 points
3 Star = 1400 points
4 Star = 1600 points
5 Star = 1800 points
6 Star = 2000 points
Congrats Ben! Also congrats to Amaury Lavernhe. It’s been a weird, short year with only 4 events and it was hard to tell who is the 2013 World Champ as both riders had equal points in the ratings. In the end it’s the 2012 ratings that helped put Benny on top and announce that Ben’s the 2013 World Champ. Congrats Ben!
Here are a few clips you’ll need to watch:
Ben Player World Champ 2013 Clip (sick clip by Tyge Landa)
Ben Player 3x World Champion – Presented by NMD & Stealth Fins
TIEBREAKER – A STORY OF THE YEAR THAT WAS 2013 (20 min. IBA World Tour 2013 Recap)
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The Fronton event is cancelled (Was scheduled in Dec 2013) – The Fronton event was the last event of the year (Stop No5 on the IBA World Tour). Without this event the tour this year has had only 4 events which is a bit light for a decent world tour. Too bad. The 2013 world champ will be decided soon, based on the 2013 ranking (and apparently the 2012 rankings as well because Amaury Lavernhe and Ben Player both have the save exact number of points in the 2013 rankings, so the IBA will look at the 2012 rankings to determine who’s 1st and who’s 2nd this year. Ben Player has a higher ranking in 2012 so chances are he will be crowned 2013 world champ – this is apparently how it’s going to happen but it needs to be confirmed by the IBA).
SYDNEY, AUSTRALIA – Richard Nimmo the General Manager said It is with great disappointment that the IBA has decided to cancel Fronton.
The team at the IBA has worked tirelessly to pull the event together, yet a last minute withdrawal of a key sponsor has meant that we can no longer contemplate running it. Events must be profitable or at worse break even.
It’s been a tough year for the IBA, the riders, technical team and the media team.
Though this is disappointing, we will now focus on 2014 to make Pipe the success it deserves to be.
Richard Nimmo
General Manager
International Bodyboarding Association Pty Ltd
More: http://ibaworldtour.com/2013/11/fronton-cancelled/
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The GoPro IBA Annaëlle Challenge is on ! From all over European coasts, all riders are making their way to the end of French Brittany to confront themselves to the notorious slab of Annaëlle, the contest will be launched on Wednesday and Thursday. Forecasts are announcing a big swell, with offshore winds making the perfect conditions for Annaëlle, with a sunshiny bonus on the little deserted island that will host the competition !
Will the Bask rider Alex Uranga keep his trophy? The locals are all waiting for this event since a year so they will not be easy to defeat !
As the island can’t be reached easily, like each year at the Annaëlle Challenge, the organisers cannot accept spectators or bring a live webcast.
Live results and photos will be published as mush as possible on the facebook page : www.facebook.com/Annaelle.challenge
Complete report with photos & detailed results of the GoPro IBA Annaëlle Challenge will be published few days after the event, followed by video highlights.
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Congrats Isabela, 2013 Womens Bodyboarding World Champ! It makes Isabela a 3x World Champ!
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Amaury Lavernhe has won the 2013 Itacoatiara Pro in Brazil. Congrats Moz!
In 4-6 feet waves at Itacoatiara Beach, He edged out rival Jeff Hubbard with an amazing backflip off a heavy closeout section which earned him the points he needed to take a stunning victory.
This event was the 4th stop, on the GoPro IBA World Tour 2013.
If you missed the action you can view the highlights clip:
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