September 5, 2010
PRESS RELEASE
Australias Asher Pacey claimed victory yesterday at the inaugural Good Vibrations Retro Surf and Music event held at Canggu-Bali, taking home a new Deus surfboard and the memories of a day full of fun and good vibes as promised by event sponsors RAW, Deus, Drifter, Rhythm, Mattuse, and I Magazine.
Pacey and finalists Mike Rommelse (Aus), Mattia Morri (Italy), Sodok (Ind), Tai Graham (Aus) and Tipi Jabrik (Ind) surfed their way through a field of 50 contestants that included Australians, Hawaiians, Italians, Americans, Indonesians, and one German to end up battling it out in the 25 minute final.
The surfers ran the gamut from ex-world tour pro surfers (Rommelse) and well-known free surfers Pacey, Mikala Jones, Daniel Jones, and Mark Matthews to expat locals Tai Graham, Kane Faint, Andy Campbell, and Harry Radcliffe, as well as Indonesias Tipi Jabrik, Made Kina, Sodok, and Jeren Kiring (the youngest competitor at 14), and then just a bunch of normal everyday surfers who were attracted by the idea of joining in a retro surfing event at Canggu.
The oldest competitor was Philip Coral, in his 60s, who made it all the way into the semifinals. He also was the proud recipient of the Donut Award for best wipout!
The weather and surfing conditions were certainly less than ideal, with the sun refusing to appear and the threat of rain on the horizon most of the day, combined with sideshore winds and 2-3 foot waves. But nobody was bothered much, and what resulted was one of the most fun and memorable events on record for contestants and spectators alike.
It was an eclectic collection of surfers and surfboards that came to join in the event, billed a retro event, as they were required to follow a couple of rules: First, their surfboards must be a pre-1982 design, and second, must be either single fin or twin fin. The boards could be old or new, but they must follow those two rules in order to be allowed.
Throughout the days surfing heats that began at just before 10 am and finished up at 5:30 pm, the contestants were allowed to use their board of choice, some borrowing and swapping from each other just for a change. But for the final, the organizers decided to mix things up a bit, choosing six surfboards and numbering them from one to six. Then each finalist had to draw a straw to determine which board they would be riding, starting from the shortest (1) to the longest (6). It was great fun and an interesting twist that made for a challenging and entertaining final!
After the horn blew and the event shirts were hung up for the day, everybody left the beach and headed to the Deus Gallery and Temple of Enthusiasm for the trophy presentation and after-party festivities. It was actually the opening party for the venue together with a very cool Single Fin Art Exhibition, so there were plenty of drinks and finger foods and the place was jam packed in record time. Needless to say, the after party went off the hook!
In addition to the surfing awards that included the Deus surfboard and various framed vintage photos given to the finalists, there were also fun awards given in a few different categories:
The Jerry Lopez Award for the best barrel - Asher Pacey.
The Donut Award for best wipeout Philip Coral
The Froggy Award for shortest shorts Shane Dawson
The Michael Peterson Award for best cutback Daniel Jones
The Bohdi Award for the biggest wave Mike Rommelse
With the success of this years event, its safe to say that you can look forward to seeing this become an annual institution for years to come.
The Good Vibrations event was sponsored by Tipi Jabriks new RAW store, the Deus Gallery and Temple of Enthusiasm (Dustin Humphrey and friends), Tim Russo and Jake Mackenzies Drifter store, Rhythm Clothing (Tai Graham), Mattuse (Mikala Jones), and I Magazine with support from the Coca-Cola Indonesian Surfing Championships, Lines Magazine, and the Canggu Surf Community.
Good Vibrations 2010 Contest Results:
1: Asher Pacey (Aus)
2: Mike Rommelse (Aus)
3: Mattia Morri (Italy)
4. Sodok (Ind))
5: Tai Graham (Aus)
6: Tipi Jabrik (Ind)
More photos of the event will be available soon at www.isctour.com
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