WATCH LIVE Rip Curl Pro Bells Beach Presented By Bonsoy 2024 – Day 1

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Bells Beach on Victoria’s South Coast is the longest-running surfing competition and will host the 61st edition this year. With the hope of scoring long-period, groomed walls, the surfers will need to display the perfect combination of power, precision, and timing. The biggest surfing legends have had the honor of winning and ringing ‘The Bell’ and 2024 will see a new generation vying for the opportunity to cement their names in one of surfing’s most prestigious events.
Watch live March 26 to April 5 on worldsurfleague.com.

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E morning everybody number w e e e for e e e e for e for for the world’s best up at sparrows as they say around these parts on dark in the Red Bull athlet Zone preparing for what looks to be like an incredible opening day of competition getting the legs

Loose is Jack Robinson Lakey who’s an adopted local to these parts is preparing for 6 to8 foot Bells Bowl on opening day massive day of competition ahead of us the world surf League arrives in Australia for the fourth stop on the 2024 Championship tour the Rip Curl pro

Bell’s Beach presented by bons soy in Portugal the veteran women answered the youth movement is the champion and title favorite surged G Medina aggressive colao into daylight at Bells defending Champions are ined poised to repeat and three repeat Tyler R second year in a rad at one of surfing’s most iconic

Venues for those struggling to find results the midseason cut looms near with two events left pressure is mounting on the rookies to seize their opportunity a win changes everything and at the ri CR Pro Bells Beach presented by Bon soy you’ve got to win it to ring it [Applause] [Applause] Thanks for watching Don Patrol on opening day of competition for the rip Crill Pro Bells Beach presented by Bon soy we are going to focus on Tyler rights her goal to go three in a row can she accomplish that feat it’s only been done twice by chisamore and Gail Cooper

We also focused on the best on the men’s tour equal second ying and John John Griffin colapinto back in yellow for stop number four also looking at the midseason cut it we got to focus on it now since we’ve started the Australian leg some big names under pressure to perform

At Bells and then margar River to Surf an entire season here in 2024 on the championship tour good morning everybody how good is this the state of Victoria providing and Bell’s Beach looking groomed nice offshore the swell was pumping yesterday and every Surfer on tour is really warmed up and prepared to

Compete today thanks for being with us Joe Trel alongside Felicity paler and Richie love it gosh I missed you guys it’s great to see a flick first of all what time did you wake up this morning because I know opening day provides uh a little bit of excitement for all of us

My alarm was set for five but I woke up at 4:00 so that was a bit rude however we’ve been Creed with some beautiful conditions this morning I haven’t been here in about 10 years so it’s nice to be back it’s cold this morning and uh

We’ve got just some great Heats and also the cut looming so a lot on the line gosh this is a big event Rich obviously we could talk about so many things with you you’ve surfed in over a hundred CT events I lost count but Bells I mean

Does it compare to any other place in the world no it really doesn’t that uh you know the annual pilgrimage down here it’s it’s a special one you know you drive around the cliff you see the amphitheater that is bills Beach and it’s an incredible feeling there’s an

Energy down here uh 10 years I’ve been doing it for over 30 which is a little bit scary but uh looking forward to calling the action Stoke to be back oh it’s on let’s H get the official word downstairs big good morning delura en with Rado hickle yes good morning

Everybody we are down here on the iconic Bells Beach uh stairs Canoa just getting ready to head out for his heat the waves are pumping it’s actually pretty empty cuz every Surfer is out there right now Renardo tell us what we’re going to do today it is so pumping it’s so firing

Couldn’t wish for a about it stuff for this iconic event it’s 6 to8 foot uh Bells perfect Bells offshore winds maybe the odd bigger Set uh we have the bottom tide right at 8 so we’re going to have that the whole morning towards the afternoon that pushing tide we hope it’s

Going to even increase this well and iconic conditions so we’re going to start with men opening round Then followed by the women’s opening round and men’s elimination round a huge schedu schedule today 30 minutes hits and we’re going to have jet ski assistance to maximize spectacle for the fans and obviously more opportunities

For the surface wow you heard it guys a huge day back to you guys let’s go massive day today thank you Laura thank you ronado ronado has seen Bells probably more often than most he’s been been around this event for many years a former head judge as well as you can see

These conditions that are making them so excited to kick things off real groomed lines but let’s get more detailed bringing up the surf line MCH Rick what are you saying uh saying a lot of energy uh overnight we had that uh that big South Southwest swell uh it peaked it

Was big yesterday sort of 8 to 10 foot a couple of even bigger ones uh so this well it’s peaked but it’s totally groomed as we saw it’s going to produce some incred contestable conditions over the next few days uh you can see here 6

To 10t faces uh in the afternoon it is going to back off a little bit and perfectly offshore conditions this morning it’ll go a little sideshore this afternoon there might be a little Ripple on the face uh but it’s going to be a classic day no doubt classic day for

Today and then looking for the next four days flick maybe a potential to even look at winky pump tomorrow we’ll see yeah from what we’re seeing here it seems like we’re still going to have a little bit of SWR left over tomorrow and potentially running at winky which be

Cool different location just down uh just down the beach there but then further on the week you’re seeing it starting to drop drop off a little bit but we are seeing that SW will start to kick more through that Easter weekend so maybe some potential action then gosh I

Just love kicking things off on opening day and how about a little look at the track this morning Ying looking connected he’s looking to go back to back this year Rich uh and you know he could uh the conditions last year no maybe not so favorable but uh you know

Ethan is so well-rounded now uh he’s proven uh in any condition he’s a real threat and of course at 6 to 8ot Bells uh you know definitely one of the favorites he’s got that beautiful smooth style that power approach and certainly one of the favorites in my mind did he

Just get barreled I think he just got a bad Ethan looks really calm at the press conference you know I asked him hey is there a more important event for you on the calendar he said no this is it this is where it’s all in the line it’s

Special to him and his family as he looks to go two in a row let’s now look at the heat draw to see who’s in and who is out congratulations manly Beach yeah Georgie George pitar winning the rift Cur trials then you have the local trials which is a huge Tradition at

Bells it’s Tully Wy once again the big man will be dealing with the world’s best more you know focusing on Griffin Kinto actually in that heat then Ellie Harrison is in the mix featuring in her first CT debut she’s got molly picklum in that matchup Janka still looking to

Recover from his injury at pipeline will bring back a familiar face number five in the world in his rookie debut Morgan sick is back and he’s going to be dealing with Jack Robinson in the opening round flick oh wow big hate stacked there I’m really excited to see

Ellie happiness in the Red Bull athlete Zone and Morgan’s not worried about his hair at the moment he’s working on big Power carves in the bowl see him kicking things off on opening day N for for day e good morning everybody we are on on opening day men’s opening round women’s opening round and men’s elimination round all calmed on for this first day as Surfers like Kate Madson are preparing for hopefully a big result Keno gashi getting set for the first SE

Of the morning we’ll also be with Ramsey bulam from Morocco to kick off the event this year all focus is on Tyler w on her run that she’s had beautifully here at Bell’s Beach but before we get there we had an amazing event at Super tubos it really tested your grit and surviving

Some cold conditions and making it into finals day and we saw a Resurgence from the veterans they kind of changed that whole storyline for a moment with that youth movement owning the Hawaiian leg of the tour Joan de feay went all the way to number two in the world with that

Big win Tyler jumped up to number eight making the final but when you focus on the semi-final that we had out there it was some of the greats the veterans that had put in the time and they got to send that the Young Guns packing a little bit

Early uh out of stop number three yeah I think uh maybe that youth movement sort of needs to do a little bit of homework in those sort of beach breaks those grubbly wayss because uh the tour is just so diverse these days you just can’t count out um that veteran and that

Experience uh yeah in wayes like the the marathon type fashion surfing the jetty one day then back at Super tubos I mean that’s typically when experience pays off yeah absolutely that ability to uh to adapt uh you can’t discount that you know there’s a reason these veterans

Have been here a long time it’s that consistency that ability to be able to uh to really you know adapt to whatever conditions are put in front of them uh and put their best foot forward on the day and that’s exactly what they did and then we look at Bells there’s eras we’re

Living in the Tyler right era now and we know Steph taking a year off with Chris kind of undisclosed about when she might do competitively Courtney’s off tour now it’s just you know we got Sally in the draw from back in 2011 2012 and then

Tyler trying to go three in a row only Gail Cooper and Carissa have done that in the past are we see an anybody that’s going to disrupt Tyler’s run this season at Bell’s beach for me and in my opinion it’s got to be Molly I mean she runner

Up here last year to Tyler and I think the most informed female surfer this year on the tour that I’ve seen so far she’s so committed she’s just come at this year and I I I really don’t think anyone is has got a shoe in even asked earlier

On this year who was going to win a world title I just said it straight away I just feel like it’s Molly’s year a I mean she made the final last year she’s back in yellow in Australia just like she was last year as well Richie well

Yeah I I don’t disagree with you I think um Molly’s in great form I think we’re yet to see her best surfing down here uh I’m going to go with Betty Luca Kur Johnson I think uh she’s starting to feel comfortable on the tour now we’ve seen her grow we’ve seen her experience

Start to come into play over the the last couple of Seasons I think she’s surfing better than ever uh she’s got Ross Williams in her Corner a ton of experience down here as well uh and I just feel like she’s on a bit of a role right now great point there Betty Lou’s

Got a big opening round te with some local knowledge of India Robinson and also that kind of adopted local of laky Peterson since Lakey hus husband is a local here to Bell’s Beach big one for Betty Lou as we now focus on the men in that top three picture of who’s really

The most in for Medina felt like he switched fire at Portugal and he’s ready to try to ring his first Bell this year we’ll be right back for e we gathered here at jerak jerak is the traditional name of Bell’s Beach it truly feels like the backbone of Surfing

It’s been there before any other event on the calendar and it’s still going you have an opportunity to go and paint the most amazing picture for the fans on the hill there’s so much history behind this wave there’s so many great performances so many you know past

Champions and greats in our sport that have that have won into this event it’s the one trophy that’s lasted throughout time that that Bell everyone wants a bell honestly it’s the only trophy I want it’s the only trophy I want to win knowing that every great has come

Through it’s what everyone fights for what everyone dreams about for me it starts at the stairs you walk down the stairs and you look at all the names of the people that were lucky enough to ring the bell Let’s celebrate 50 years with a great partnership with Rip Curl and the world surf League uh it’s such a beautiful story born right here in toque from Doug claw warbrick and Brian Singer the founders of rip Cur back in 1969 doing so much for the sport of Surfing they’ll

Be watching every single heat oh my goodness it’s pumping Keno gashi Ramsey bulam and Kade Madson will be kicking things off in the opening round of competition how good is this Joe Trella flick and Richie love it here for the Don Patrol report we’ve been really

Excited to see a few different names win the first three stops of the Season you know we’ve got Baron mamia then Jack Robinson then Griffin when we look at the first three stops of the year and we focus in on the top three in the world

At tied for second is ying and John John coming into Bell’s Beach Ethan with a bell John with a bell and Griffin with all this motivation being back in yellow finding his happy place super zenful type approach for Griff as you can see their average placings this year Kinto

Getting almost a 10-point ride in the final over Ying loved his heat with Medina in the semifinals as they said they wanted more at the press conference so there’s some big big rivales uh coming into stop number four this year but if you could try to pick out one

Name there start with you Rich of who’s looking the most inform out of that crew who are you going with uh I’m going with Ethan Ying I feel like there’s a consistency to his performance at the moment uh he’s really starting to lean into that uh but his performances as a

Surfer are anything but pedestrian he’s his consistency at a high level is extraordinary uh and he’s proven even with his uh latest result in Portugal there in those smaller Beach Break conditions he was on fire on point really energetic in those little waves and then when you get him in stuff like

This that you’re seeing on his on the screen that is right into his wheelhouse uh and I feel like this Aussie leg is going to serve him well uh those big open face right handers here at Bells and then maybe in the right handers at

Uh at Margaret River as well uh I think he’s going to be really hard to stop here through the Aussie leg gosh he’s evolved too where he used to make mistakes now he’s forcing his competitors to make mistakes against him true vet are you going to agree with

Rich cuz that’s totally fair flick look that agree but I’m going to go with the other world number two we’ve got John John yeah I feel that he was surfing really well in Portugal he got a second obviously at the start of the year at

Pip went on to Sunset he got that fifth place got a ninth at uh in pen there at Portugal but I just feel like this year I mean he’s looking in really good Nick so to say you know he’s had a couple of years where he’s had a few injuries

They’ve been niggling hasn’t finished a couple of Seasons this year I just feel like there’s a different energy he looks really fired up there’s a different approach a different sort of mindset that he’s taking into this year and even in his postate interviews I’ve just noticed this sort of mindset shift and

He just feels really hungry to me that’s what I’ve been seeing so yeah coming here to Bells obviously you can see with surfing like that that big huge forehand arcing cve I just feel like it goes part and pass so hand in hand here gosh great

Choices both of you guys and I was just looking at John’s he John John Florence Seth monise Kelly Slater in that opening round heat as we get prayer prepared for a massive day of competition quick break here on Don Patrol and we’ll be right Back e the Rip Curl pro acknowledges we are here at JRA on water rung country we acknowledge water rung people as the traditional owners of the land and waterways we are on today we pay our respects to water rung people their Elders past present and and emerging and extend this acknowledgement to first

Nation peoples here today oh such a beautiful opening ceremony just yesterday morning a beautiful sunrise Happening Here live and pumping conditions on the South Southwest are just greeting the bells bowl a beautiful opening day setting up for us with Canoa Ramsey Kade mson kicking things off for us this morning

Morning and water Patrol starting to clear the lineup for a quick start one thing that we’ve been trying to avoid talking about in deep length this year is that mid-season cut well we’re here we’re in Australia it’s all going to happen in Margaret River where the tour

Goes from 17 women to 10 34 men to 22 so it’s unavoidable now as uh we look at where we are in the rankings there’s going to be some Surfers that are really going to need to fight away that pressure and put on a huge performance starting with the women inside uh flick

Who are you going to see make a big charge and get past that mid-season cut line look there’s a lot of good names that I could pick out there I see a lot of surface with potential but for me I’ve got my eye on Sally I feel like

Obviously she’s won backtack Bells out here in 2011 and 12 and she’s just got so much experience she’s been coming here for years and years and years since she was a grommy and I just feel like she’s been on a bit of a journey she’s fell off tour she smashed the Challenger

Series she’s back on and yeah I’ve got to go with Sally there yeah seeing also uh Sally with her intensity that she brings every single year she’s redefining herself once again she’s got so many laps out here at Bells that’s a great choice there uh Richie did one

Stand out for you kind of on the wrong side of the the cut line at the moment just under the the wrong side was Gabriel Bren I feel like her surfing this year has been on point but the results just haven’t converted yet and it’s going to happen any minute uh she

Had that breakout event in uh in Margaret River a couple of seasons ago and and and really found some form there uh and I feel like with this forecast in particular that big open uh face power carve that she has is going to come into

Play I’d love to see her jump a few spots it’s gotten more powerful oh turn that crazy carve and joined with Richard dog March for the coaching responsibilities that’s going to be a good one there on the men’s side we look at The List member cut is at 22 there’s

Some ties that will be broken at this event kind of a traffic jam right there on the cut line flick who’s going to make a charge oh wow the same thing again there’s so many names I can pick out here and I feel like the tour is so

Diverse these days that you just can never really pick you know your clear winner but I’ve got to go with just right underneath that cut line you obviously in his rookie year he had a final out here which is an amazing um amazing performance and yeah I think

He’s going to be a massive threat out here great call there runner up to Felipe to Callum was that Underdog Story as he’s already fresh out of the water nice little warm-up session for for calex but yeah he’s got some Heats to win heading here into stop number four

Uh going to you Rich are you going with Calum as well as you as your focus uh no I’m actually going to pick uh Jacob Wilcox who who Rook a year but maybe a veteran Wild Card performer uh you know so much experience down here and I was

Just expecting a little bit more from Jacob I feel like his surfing is so suited to the CT format uh and we just haven’t really seen him click yet and I feel like uh he’s got to get a move on but coming into a place where he’s super

Comfortable obviously here at Bells and then we’re going home to he’s home break at Margaret River as we look at your choice there Callum Robson he’s got Crosby colapinto Jake Marshall The Californians that really stepped up and made finals day over there in Europe and Jacob Wilcox he had a wild card

Performance that took him to the final series here in the past he’s going to have Tully Wy also world number one Griffin colapinto wow it’s uh crazy how seating Works W you get to this part if if you’re not making Heats you’re going to have to deal with you know the top

Five story oh and that at the moment they’re just looking all so in form you got Ethan Ying you got John John there and I think about Ethan he’s just so incredible out here today’s going to be jam-packed like I’m really excited and you haven’t even had a Cofe yet I

Out hey you know what Rich enjoy the next couple of Heats grab a cup of tea and we will wait for the countdown to kick off the opening heat of the morning Keno gashi Ramsey bam and Kade Madson holding their positions and we’ve got about 5 seconds before we kick things

Off there it is now we’re up and early and ready to go I just got a little bit of Spike of adrenaline heing that sound along with these guys Cano Ramy and Cade looking to get a jump right into the round of 32 you want to avoid third

Place position here so you don’t have to deal with the elimination round ronado hickl and all officials and Surfers are hoping that the elimination round will be out there later on well I should even say this afternoon it might be tonight running from dark to dark today flick oh

We arrived in the dark and we won’t be leaving until it’s dark I think uh maybe that last Heat goes in the water at 6:30 tonight so yeah really really big day of action here and I’m just stoked to see that uh yeah the swells still hung around and we have got beautiful

Conditions this morning it’s looking so groomed and uh when you when you drive down the hill here this is exactly what you want to see those corduroy lines wrapping into the bay and yeah it’s it’s going to be great oh absolute perfection to kick off this event all three Surfers

Looking to position themselves as the Southern Ocean is showing its power this morning stretched out walls the Corduroy lines out to the Horizon and now heading towards the bowl the goofy footer is Ramsey will K him from Morocco connects with an aggressive Arc off the top look

At the size of this one double overhead bomb and he lights up that section on his back end great start already as he’ll do a nice setup hook to see if he’ll get an inside track here Perfect Trim on the fading cutback now Ramsey getting down to the bottom

Going Square Off the lip and a well R wave to kickoff opening day whoa I absolutely loved that fell goof we’re both fell goofies in the booth here and yeah what a way to open up the day and what a way for Ramsey to open up his

Account I I think that was really really well surfed that wave actually had a couple of little lumps and bumps in it and he dealt with that really really well obviously uh Ramsay is surfing so synonymous with those right hand Point braks coming from Morocco and he’s

Looking very at home here gosh he looks incredible um flick I’m actually a natural footer but it’s kind of heavy because when I ride waves people think oh he must be going switch really as we look at Ramsay on this opening ride okay we’ll get back to that in a second I’m

So confused here we go I mean that beautiful first turn there arcing off the top that turn there was so so late he sort of got a little bit hung up there but he got around this section here wave obviously starts to slow up a bit and he’s really just waiting for

This inside section doing a little bit of uh back and forth here but this section here can be really hard to hit time that really well bit of lump and bump as he came down there they obviously have that back wash um right on the inside there that could be really

Hard to hit but yeah I I really loved what I saw from ramsy here and sometimes this first wave of the morning can be you know you got Jitters uh first wave of the event but yeah Ramsey put this together really well and it’ll be interesting to see where the judges go

On this I’m assuming they might take their time first wave of the morning but just look at that technique it was just so beautifully surfed for some reason I just had it in your head that in my head that you’re goofy I disort the goofies a

Lot yeah okay sorry mate no not at all I don’t know where that came from ramsy looking so sharp 717 already on the screen what a way to kick things off he’s still so new to the tour because he missed out on his chance to have a rookie season when he hurt

Himself the morning of uh pipe starting then he worked himself back into great physical condition and he’s been really smart making really good veteran choices there the waves have been pumping the last couple days I saw him on the stairs I was like you’ve been there he’s like

You know what I am so stiff from all the airplane rides I’m just going to wait loosen up my body I he kind of knew he could watch all day at his level he didn’t need to over surf like a lot of the tour was he wanted to save it all

Really just fine-tune his back and make sure he was nice and loose and prepared and it looked like it really paid off with that that start this morning oh beautiful start 717 that’s a great wave great opening wave and I fully support that I these these guys and women have

Been since that very first event of the year we had pipe Sunset then obviously a lot of the Surfers went over to Puerto Rico and then now here you know some of these Surfers haven’t even had a chance to get home yet so I fully respect just

You know taking taking a sort of an easier approach coming here it is colder in the mornings not just running straight out there for that Surf and I mean it’s paying off right now that that’s a beautiful way to start your account here I mean that that’s

Definitely I think going to go into one of his top two waves today it’s great way to start well done for Ramsey straight out of the gates a 717 we got to see so much support for Ramsey at the last event in panish Portugal his brother Sam was there um

All of his friends that he he’s known in Europe as we know he’s from Morocco but he his journey through Junior series competition was all over there in Europe so it was like being at home and we saw him get all the way into a finals day

Appearance he said it’s really hard for him to wake up early and get called off he said when he wakes up at 4: in the morning or 5 he wants to go so he said the biggest challenge for him and panish was getting the off on off on so for him

Waking up this morning knowing it was on it just worked right into his favor wave on the way here and we’re seeing the setup work from Keno gashi on the sharp by storm model throws down a beautiful wrapping cutback and now he’s starting to just gun for some open face

Another section’s going to keep him honest and now out in front just a quick top turn pushing him down to the bottom of the wave and sets up a nice clean lean back hack there it’s a really familiar looking type of turn for that section Cano has accomplished some big Maneuvers

On the end section in the past and now we’ll get a comparison to Ramsey 717 I think that obviously that wave was a little bit smaller than than ramsy’s but he surfed that really well he’s looking very very on point very fast I think um Canoa is looking you could see

That he took off he could see that that wave was really stretched out down the line so there was that bit of you know room where he had to get going get that speed but I think another great opening wave I think it in my opinion probably

Just be under Ramsay’s wave I loved the size that Ramsey had on his wave I think his turns were a little bit more critical and committed you can see kenoi here uh he just looks really fast getting a lot of whip out of that first carving maneuver right here he just has

To get put the pedal to the metal and just get around this section you can see that wave just as it comes through to this bowly section just really didn’t stand up the same way that uh Ramsay’s wave did and I mean it brings it through to the inside

Here gets the finish and that layback jam there up under the pocket gives a little bit of variety but yeah I just Ramsay’s wave was just that clearly better for me just so much uh bigger in size and uh a lot more critical in those especially in his

First maneuver yeah well done for kenoa getting that finish but yeah that section kind of delayed more Maneuvers but looking sharp this morning saw him in the warm-up sessions the last couple of days he looks real Happy Looks loose and it reminded me that he’s been at Bells

Before wearing yellow he had that classic heat with Mick Fanning where Mick came back as a wild card and yeah canel ended up going down in that matchup but they were going blow for blow where he was very confident and really switched on that season Canoa

Kind of had that recovery type year uh last season where he missed out on the final five but you kind of have to feel for him I mean he was battling with you know going for the Olympic gold and Tokyo came close he had the whole country you know almost but hoping that

He’d bring it home and he got silver he was trying to compete for a world title at the same time and I think last year was almost that year to regroup and get back to the form that he is in today joining forces again with Jake The Snake

Patterson another clean Blast for Ramsay already on Wave number two nice clean carve and looking perfect so far nice carve and touches the foam on that JS nice smooth backand surfing from Ramsey surfing like a veteran as he will just step off two waves ridden two great

Rides for the Morin that was really well served the pace that Ramsey had to that wave is just so nice to watch every turn he just wasn’t over pushing it you know he’s really waiting for the section and you it’s just so evident here that he’s

Just spent a lot of time on rightand point breaks right like timing’s impeccable but just not forcing any issue just really waiting for that section to present itself and then I think that’s just when you get beautiful timing here that one looked a little bit funky there but just great great

Decision to get this backup wave right now he’s already knows that he’s got this 717 this one here is a little bit smaller it’s obviously an inside wave but got to Echo what you said I I feel like this is sort of Veteran surfing that we’re seeing here from Ramsey and

Uh yeah just his backhand surfing on these rightand point breaks it’s just the timing is impeccable really solid surfing I’m sure a lot of the goofy Footers on tour are getting really excited to see what Ramsay’s doing to the wall here at Bell’s Beach as we send

It down to the stairs with Von Blakey day Joey yeah mate it’s absolutely cooking the excitement is building down here and uh Ramsey has uh absolutely lit up a couple of ways and a couple of big Goofs with Big Dreams at Bells this year Ryan Kalin Connor oi welcome to Bells

Boys how you feeling we just heard the uh akaaka flaring over the loudspeakers gets you pumped doesn’t it yeah definitely it feels uh pretty special when you hear that song come on and the waves are this good so it’s always good to be back it is good to be back mate

Now we’ve just seen a couple of big backside snash but yesterday uh the Surfers cooking and uh the Raging ball Mark okalo turned up and absolutely sent one he just koed this section Connor what does it do for you when you see oie at bills flaring that hard I actually with him yesterday

Afternoon it was like a real random little solo session me him and like two other guys and I actually said to him I’m like got any tips for me Y and he kind of just looked at me and went you’re doing all right mate I was like

It’s not really what I wanted but thanks but give me more classic well um what it allow the last goofy to win Bells I think it’s time for another one yeah I reckon it’s about that time you can do it well uh best luck in the comp boys thanks uh for joining us

This morning back to you guys yeah vono thank you so much how cool is that Conor oir he’s from kenola uh the great Mar o calupo from kenola as well and uh wanted to get some of that backend magic uh AI still the guy we all compare the great

Goofy foot AE to you know we have EO in the mix for goofy recently Maddie Wilkinson of course who I was chatting with last night and I know he’s watching a special performance that he had when he was wearing the yellow Jersey a few years back yeah it’s a funny thing the

Goofy out here I think obviously we saw um Ryan who was just on screen he got second out here last year but you know the contest moved down to winky when that happened I feel Winky’s a different type of surfing I always want to back

The goofy here and I always want to say yeah Goofy’s going to win obviously we had ILO a few years back but I don’t know just these natural Footers on this right hand ball they just looked so good and you know with Griff Ethan and uh

John up there in those you know first and second places on the rankings I feel like they’re just going to be so hard to beat out here one person though who’s a goofy that I think is actually in great form is Gabriel Meda and I feel like

He’s sort of a dark horse pick for me is someone who could go all the way here at Bells wow Gabriel Medina coming up in heat 10 today of the opening round he’s got Liam O’Brien and Cole hman in this non-elimination format first and second move to the round of 32

Where they’re receded and third will go to the elimination round as it’s time to say a big good morning to our friend kipo Guerrero out in the water watching these beautiful lines come through oh bless jerac Joe it’s beautiful Bells offshore long walls it is beautiful it’s

Like stunning out here and get into the conversation Ramsey playing a very very smart heat he and the open in the open priority point at the very beginning of the heat positioned himself got a keeper score he’s already got that backup well played so far from the Moroccan yeah so

Many different types of waves coming through as well as from where we’re sitting on the bluff kypo it’s like non-stop action how are they doing with positioning at the moment out halfway through this seat Well we got Kate up in riding right now and let’s see what the

Rookie can do Joe good man kypo here we go Kade Manson and he looks like he had a bit of a stumble there off the bottom but recovers out in front setup work on the open face and Ko’s looking for a big hammer big section drills it with

Control so a solid one to finish off on kick out of the next one is Keno igarashi igarashi had the 483 start Ramsey 467 on his backup and now the rookie Cade mson finally getting his opener in his first appearance here at Bell’s Beach yeah he obviously needed to

Get away this Heat’s sort of starting to get away from the guys right now I mean we got 15 minutes or just over 15 minutes on the clock sort of seemed like that wave selection sort of let him down a little bit those first two sections he

Tried to make it work got a little bit hung up there about all the points for Kate are going to come from that last turn it was super critical and uh yeah put it all on the line there but yeah I’ve just got to Echo what uh kypo was

Saying I think rams’s putting together really good and really smart heat right now sort of what we were talking about before very veteran like uh 717 and then quickly backed it up with that 467 this Heat’s almost halfway through and back to Cades wave here flick yeah so this

Wave here you can see just that wave selection I was talking about sort of had to go to that carving maneuver to start there that wave didn’t really stand up and then just here on that bottom turn of that second turn there he got a little bit of a ball ball there in

The face of the wave and then he then got stuck up on that second turn so that last section though that was a really hard section to hit a lot of Point like the most majority of points will really come from that but I think uh he’s defin

He’s got a score on the board which is great however I think he’s going to have more work to do Kade Madson such a solid kid he’s a big kid as well and he’s worked so hard to get himself on tour a crazy back injury that some were

Suspecting might kind of change his plans for his career but he knew what he was capable of put together a solid year on the Challenger Series feeding off his friends from s Clementi as we watch kenoa gashi beautiful Arc well timed first turn well overhead section in these groom conditions he’ll just kind

Of redirect and now a little wrapping cup back out front sets the rail into the pocket again and now really stretching this one out end section approaching fashi and hits it off the top and Rides Away Canoa first turn looked brilliant there you can tell he’s hoping for more

As it really stretches out but staying so full on the face his turns weren’t as big as he was hoping they’d be yeah uh for sure it’s funny you can just tell from body language how he was just hoping for more you could see that and he looks really on point here his

Timing’s impeccable he’s fading to Perfection that first turn there was so crisp really sharp you’d see that he just wanted to lay into that second section A lot more than what that wave offered even this this third section here I mean if he gets the sort of wave

That Ramsey had on his opening wave I’m really interested to see what Canoa is going to look like because for me he’s looking so on point his feet looks glued to that board he he looks on point so I mean I think obviously it’s going to go

Into his top two but this first turn here was just so critical it’s just timed really really beautifully and just looks so smooth here too I mean if he had two sections like this I mean timing does not get better than that I mean look at that beautiful Arc look at the

Technique that backham really coming around he threw so much spray and in conditions like today where there’s not a drop of water out of place those sort of turns just are so beautiful to watch Ramsey still leading the charge and this seed is going to kick out of his now

Third wave of the matchup for six SS is low score as we see kenoa gashi getting the lift back looks like Lyon ringrose driving the Red Bull ski from Philip Island and formerly in this event recently as a wild card but competed for many years on tour Cano’s last wave of

407 is keeping him on us there still chasing a 702 to get the lead off the Moroccan Kade Madson is opener of 4.57 on his first number scored in his career at Bells David Silva world number 28 hoping for a big result here at Bells and Margaret River to survive the cut

We’ll be right Back 43 4.7 need 02 to move first you need a 4.34 to move to second on your next wave priority white second priority blue third priority third get this one out wide the rip Pro Bells Beach presented by bonsoy is brought to you by Rip Curl the ultimate surfing Company by visit

Victoria Melbourne every bit different by event bright proud sponsor of women’s surfing on the WSL Championship Tour by oakberry Fuel yourself with the official sa of WSL Australia and B official sunscreen partner of the world surf Lake you’re watching opening day and the opening round of competition world

Number six digs in again Keno gashi representing Japan looking to get out of the fours as he lights up a section under the lip hangs on to that layback carve and there’s that perfect top turn that he’s got on lock into the inside track for garage

She hoping for a 702 to get Ramsay’s lead so much time to enjoy the styles of the world’s best on wave like this as he’ll punch out the roof real quick and now inside tracks looking great welld deserved low road here for igarashi to kick out and he’s hoping not to repeat

Himself to get out of the force that he’s been getting from the panel this morning and the man that kicked off the season with a win and wore yellow North Shore of waho Zone Baron Mia preparing for two Brazilian goofy foots in the next te David Silva and

Miguel poopo yeah that’s a big heat coming up and uh like who said Baron obviously with that wi there at pipe and the 10 in the final I mean does it get any better than that it’s just so amazing is this wave here from Canoa this I think he was in third priority

Here when he took off the other two guys they will I think they actually ducked out of this wave but this two- turn combo here where he goes up into the lip layback hack I thought he was actually going to lose it there and then around this section into that beautiful arcing

Carve feel like that was really really well done it was a smaller wave though took off a little bit wider on the bowl too and the wave did kind of fatten out here but I do think you know I think it’s going to better at this four for

Sure I don’t think it’s going to challenge Ramsey 7 that’s for sure but just smart surfing from Canoa and smart decision to take off that one a little bit wider the other two guys weren’t going thank you I’ll have a crack at this and I just really want to see him

On a bigger wave I mean if this is what he’s doing on these sort of smaller waves and getting you know these fours and things like that I just feel like with turns like this one here I mean this was very critical super lay jams it

In the lp really uses that arm sort of as a bar and just gets really hung up there you can see he almost lost it there that rail almost sort of getting engulfed by that water but did really well to regain here and then yeah straight back up into that beautiful

Aring cve ah such a cool read from Cano no in the bonus section could pay off and like you thought there flick we did see Improvement Canó out of the fours 567 still second as Kate Madson is third needing a 593 this is our heat leader Ramsay seeing something in this wave to

Improve on his 467 out front nice sweep into the pocket this is all just waiting for a better section to line up on the end section here now he’s hoping to really unload Standing Tall crushes it that’s what Ramsey is famous for growing up on the

Rights at Anchor Bay and the rest of them in Morocco his back end’s always been his most powerful weapon competitively that that last turn as we just see uh Kelly having a little few words to micro there on SC yeah it’s been really cool uh Kelly and micro have

Been chatting actually quite a bit this year uh Kelly reached out to him they’re playing golf and he said next thing you know let’s let’s try to hang out together at Bells and flew in a couple of nights ago and micro is really happy to to work with the goat as uh Kelly’s

52 now he’s seen a lot he’s worked with a lot of people and was really cool for him to check in with micro and break down this wave here at B Bell’s Beach as we look at the replay last of Ramsey yeah this was this was a pretty slow

Sleepy start to this one I think Ramsey took off and thought that there was going to be a lot more down the line obviously we we watched this waving live and right at the end and there he gets that amazing backhand hit however I’m not sure I don’t think it’s going to

Actually improve on his situation I mean that was beautiful turn there just doesn’t get any back uh better as in terms of a backhand hit however just the one and just that one big inside hit I I would be very surprised if he improves on his situation here if he’d had a

Couple of big backhand belts like this well then now you’re talking I mean right there that’s textbook I mean anyone at home who wants to learn how to do a backand turn right there that is it that is what you want to study that was just so beautifully done uh yeah look

Out if he gets two like that that’s all I’ll say it’s an impressive turn isn’t it you know it can gain a lot of points even on one big section for his size he uses his his size and power so well but they’re precise turns there’s no wobbles

In it there’s no second guessing it even when he dislodges the fins he’s in total control it’s a one of the best power hacks we have on tour ramsy working hard through about a decade to earn his spot on the champ ship tour kind of the surfer surfer where

Everyone that saw him compete throughout the Qs and Challenger Series were like wait till you see this guy everyone was trying to will him to get wild cards and it finally happened this season last score for Ramsey like you thought flick 383 but we got to enjoy

The hack it was an absolute Hammer but didn’t change his lead out front no no but uh I think the 383 honestly just came from that one big backhand belt at the end there and like I said I mean look out if he gets two of those you got

To be thinking you’re doubling that if not a little bit more so I just I can’t wait to see more of Ramsey surfing I feel like at this stage with you know just under four minutes on the clock he’s looking really really good right now uh if we get another opportunity I’m

Hoping for one more big set I mean Kate at the moment he’s searching for that 5.93 he’s lucky for him right now really good position for him he’s sitting at the back with priority so you got to think if that sets come through he’s going to get another roll of the dice

Here and uh 5.93 with today’s conditions I think is uh very doable definitely for Kade he’s had one of the strongest head on his shoulders through his Junior series if he was ever in a position as an amateur where he needed an eight he could just do it it didn’t matter what

The waves looked like he just had so much confidence and he had this energy where he could take on anything and right now you just be wondering okay after having such a great celebrated Challenger Series year with all of his best friends celebrating qualification and now you’re here in Australia where

You start really feeling the cut knowing that you want to extend your trip on the championship tour to continue to hang out with Griff and cros and the rest of the crew you’d wonder where that pressure would be be you know coming from and how he’s going to handle it you

Know Ed bells and Margaret River for sure I mean we we’re coming down to that nitty-gritty sort of moment in the tour right now we’re in Australia so we can start thinking about the cut U Margaret River obviously being that cut ofen I think I’ve seen moments of Brilliance

From K obviously we saw him smash the Challenger Series and you know um with that San Clem crew they had a really good vibe going but I think he’s just made a couple of little mistakes so um now that he’s been on the world tour he’s obviously that crazy wipe out that

He had at pipe or back door sorry um at the first event of the year and then I think it was the Heat against uh Griffin where Cade was actually winning at Sunset and then the last dying moments of the heat actually ended up giving the

Wave to uh Griff and Griff ended up getting that 9p ride that Barrel to Big turn combo and I just got to think it was just like tiny little bit of an era there where you know he’s probably thinking about those moments now like ah I just you know but that’s you know

Comes with being a rookie on tour and I think he’s probably learning so much and obviously hanging out with you know Crosby and uh and Griff learning so much as well while being on here but yeah you got to be thinking right now he’s thinking about that cut and probably

Very very hungry to stay on because those San Clem boys having a good old time I’d want to beang out with them if I was on tour oh definitely they’re having The Best Time Ever they’re all there to celebrate uh Griffin’s win in Portugal and think Griffin’s happy that

His crew has just doubled you know and increased in size and they spent a lot of time with guys like Jake The Snake Patterson who’s in Cade’s corner or Tommy Whitaker snake’s best buddy who’s coaching the rest of them it’s a it’s a really cool family type aspect happening

On the road they’re not afraid to laugh they’re not afraid to have a good time but they definitely are putting their head down for some hard work to keep the dream alive we’re entering the final minute here Kade is the one with priority just had that 457 and then just a 23

Backup if he stays in third he’ll have to stick around till tonight to surf in the elimination round almost be surfing in the dark this afternoon I think I think we’ll be finishing right on about almost 6:37 p.m. tonight so strap on in folks it’s going to be big old day today massive

Day and if you see our host set here by the winky pop car park drop off some coffees some snacks I’d love a coffee as we have 30 seconds Kade starting to panel and change his position here thinking about putting up one last effort it’s an interesting type of venue though it’s

Hard to force big scores like even see with Cano’s act where he’s been ripping Bell’s always leads and the Surfers got to react with the right timing the right turns and Ramsay’s done that the best in this first matchup of the contest Ramsey will take the win and

Be receded into the round of 32 along with kenoi gashi and Kate Madson will be in the elimination round later on today needing a huge result here at Bells to avoid getting cut off the tour at the halfway mark But Ramsey looking solid making quarterfinals in Portugal

Moving up to number 16 in the world now he’s looking at the top 10 if you can keep that back at nice and hot throughout this event 30 minute Heats all day scored on their top two with the Red Bull skis on the assist it’s going to move very

Quickly Baron mamia up next against Miguel poopo and David Silva snap out of that you have than I’ll be back on there second heat in the water this is how he kicked off the season Baron mamia a 10-point ride in the final with his longtime hero and friend John John Florence Baron getting the 10 flexing in front of his friends

And family he called this day the best day of his career winning at a way that he loves more than anywhere else on the planet right at home and good thanks to Yeti he’s got a 110 Tundra filled with Yeti gear for a kick things off with our

First 10-point ride on the men’s side Molly picklum got a 10 as well was a sensational start to the season flick oh that that start to the season was absolutely incredible uh yeah ABS just there’s two 10 that went down I think uh the real story for me was the women the

Women were just absolutely incredible and uh this whole year actually the start of the year so yeah it’s been a cracker of the beginning of the year Baron Mia also has the highest heat total of the the season that was actually not the final came in the

Semifinal when he beat Connor o he had a 907 to 977 18.84 combined total best heat of 2024 Baron Mia he’s got Miguel poopo and David Silva in the lineup and baron traveled with one of his best friends here to Bells M Pang who you guys have probably seen MC’s

Clips at pipeline and all over the NorthShore hard charging goofy foot that was out with Baron yesterday at winky pop both of them absolutely ripping Baron was actually trying a couple of new boards a rook 15 model that the Australian uh Channel Islands crew made

For him and he was saying it was feeling pretty good he wasn’t sure if he was going to ride it today but he was absolutely ripping really lighting up the conditions at winky yesterday yeah it’s been kind of an interesting thing with I was talking to uh Brit during

Sunset and you know Baron actually was surfing the same board that he was riding at pip at Sunset as we see Baron up and riding again setting up the wrapping turn to kick things off nice Pace on The Roundhouse for Mia and now just setting up this in Side

Track his second wave so far in the matchup nice tight arcing turn again for for the Hawaiian and he will end up kicking his way out of there on the end section Bar’s so talented he can ride just about anything famous for riding uh small boards in his early stages of his

Career and mixes it up a little bit now this is his first wave of the matchup came in at of 417 yeah smaller wave here but I I kind of like this uh approach because in the last Heat we saw saw the other two guys you know Cano and Kate

Kate kind of just waiting around for a wave to happen and that set kind of didn’t eventuate so I think smart decision by Baron to kind of get the ball rolling he’s already got a couple of um smaller scores you know he’s going to have a couple of smaller scores on

The board which are most likely going to be a backup now he can just sit and wait and sort of be a little bit more selective and get one of those bigger set waves here was sort of a slower wave you can see that he’s kind of just You

Beautiful rail transitions here but as he moves through to the inside there’s a lot of tech there’s a lot of uh foam like that white on the face of this wave here that turn there was really beautifully done but you could kind of see here he just bobbled a bit and then

Sort of lost interest so I think yeah that that was his second wave there and uh yeah couple of smaller scores but I think it’s smart because I think we’re going to see a few long levels today and that is synonymous with this wave you

Know you can it can be sort of um what’s it you know sort of in rhythms you know you get 20 minutes on 20 minutes off it pulses and I think obviously the surf is going to be in tune with that today really locking into that Rhythm of the

Ocean now he trying to stretch this one out quickly Miguel poopo has a big wall really bowling up and there’s that famous backand float for poopo where he could almost get inverted and get speed throughout that lip line float now big hack there well timed finishing move for the veteran W

That was really really well done that first section that he hit was so hard to do makes it look really easy but technically when you’re on a wave trying to he used that as a transition move to move through to that next section it was

A hard section to hit it was a bigger foamier section wasn’t actually as clean as what it looked to like when we have a look at this um for the second time you’ll see that that was a bigger section sort of had a little bit more

Lump and bump in it as we look at this section here you can see really lining this up here goes up to hit it really floats comes down and that was a really really tricky section to and then straight up into a foam climb also another really hard maneuver to do I

Think it’s severely underrated in my books and then finish is so strong on the inside there just for me the word that comes to mind is commitment I mean that that was just so committed I loved it and from best wave of the heat so far I

Mean that right there does it get any more critical coming down there look so much air underneath the board regains control and then goes straight up into a foam climb I’m I mean was really well done I loved that maneuver for Miguel poopo then into the climb I know that

Combo right there just so beautifully surfed and then comes through to the inside here timing is perfect he eyes up this inside section and releases the fins there you can see that his hand almost touches the front of his board there really to just accentuate that release of the

Fins wow that’s going to be a great score so impressed with Miguel poopo Guerrero you had a great view of that big hack from the water there what’ you see I’m I I’m loving what I’m seeing from the goofy puss this morning Joe the longer radius you know the sloper face

Out here at Bells really give I feel the the goofy foot some Advantage because they can get more vertical like you saw with Miguel they can pick their sections delay that bottom turn classic stuff for the Surfers with the right foot forward um good on Miggy on that one and also

That back end Flo K would cover space we’ve seen floaters where it’s kind of a filler move that one was was pretty radical yeah floaters you know a connective maneuver but when you do a radical floater it’s a scoring maneuver you’re kind of getting two for one you’re getting the connectivity you’re

Getting a a radical maneuver at the same time so again the goofy Footers uh putting on a show so far this morning good man kpo 667 for Miguel poo and sticking with the goofy foot theme Ramsey took out the opening heat of the day Ramsay’s already on the glass with

Laura I’m okay so what’ you do to warm up I don’t know yes guys down here with ramsy first heat of the morning so we just have a bit of a chat then but uh your first time surfing the bells Bowl in your first he and you’ve taken it out

Talk us through your morning you’re not working with the coach here how how are you taking on the bells Bowl this morning well I got here this morning I mean everyone was you know we knew was going to be really good and um I could

Just see some big lines even in the dark and uh and yeah it’s pumping but it’s way harder than it looks it’s kind of like you know full of water a little bit fat but you got to find them and U I guess my first wave yeah they had the

Insight on me actually and then they gave up and the wave came so uh that was pretty pretty lucky for me and uh yeah I try to do my best on the first one and try to back it up but hard to find two good waves out there and I’m sure you

Watched this contest for so many years how incredible is it to be here feel the energy be walk down the stairs this morning yeah now I’ve been watching this since I’m a kid actually since a week I I’m here I watch YouTube I watch Owen W’s clip here all Every Day I’m I’m

Looking at Owen’s clip from from bells and getting psyched so uh yeah I’m really happy we got classic Bell ball I guess and um yeah let’s see I’m stoked to to make the next round and uh happy to be here and uh enjoying Australia amazing well we’ll see you into round

Three congratulations Ramsey thank you guys thank you thanks La thank thanks so much Laura Ramsey looking sharp and flick I think you it’s something you hear at Bell’s maybe more than any other event where current modern-day Surfers on tour are often looking at old vintage footage of their Heroes because the

Surfers that did well here in the past it still would be scoring today it’s one of those waves that just doesn’t get old doesn’t get out of date uh often times you’ll hear Owen Wright mention but also you know the great Mark o calupo for

People just rewind the tape on on how to perform on the ball for sure well Bells it caters to that traditionalist sort of style surfing that vintage style surfing the rail surfing which so many people love I love to watch it as we look here

We got some live action we got a goofy up and riding again nice set up here for Miguel poopo Fresh Off The 667 off the bottom squaring up attacking it this time now he’s got a race to set up another big whip knew he had to get

There quickly before it got really full but he stumbles right after that last maneuver checks his board his fins looks like they’re all there and he’ll regroup didn’t need much for the lead off Baron so we’ll see that change with 1820 to go it was a smart decision and once again

He his timing’s looking really good until that last little b ball there I I just think as we have a look at this those takeoffs like that they’re hard to do they you made that look really easy but they really hard those whitewash takeoffs carving maneuver there but

Straight up into that se second section you can see he just cut that maneuver a little bit short cuz he could see that it was running off into the ball and beautifully timed third section but yeah it’s going to be unfortunate that he’s going to be a bit annoyed about that I

Think he probably just wanted to milk that one through to the inside make it really cement it in the judge’s mind that this hey this is my backup wave here nonetheless he’s definitely going to obviously go up into that first position he only needed a 1.07 he had three really well-timed Maneuvers there

So definitely going up into that lead but yeah he’s probably wishing that uh he didn’t bble on that last section there and just got the clean finish last year poopo was out in the elimination round and he’s had about a handful of exits in round two at Bells it’s been a

Tricky for him a tricky event for him uh result wise he had one quarterfinal back in 2022 but you can tell he’s got a great connection on this wave he’s been here a lot he just the results haven’t really gone his way except for that one event

Where he really showed that he could be in the mix on finals day with the w of the stumble to follow that final turn it’s a 343 he gets the lead off mamia David Silva now with priorities looking for the roll in with the Whitewater section landing on his heels

But he’s got ah he’ll just get clipped short ride there and throws away priority when he doesn’t have anything on the board yet yeah I think that’s that’s going to be a bit of an error definitely an error we’re coming down to the halfway point of this heat and just

With watching how that first heat played out with Cade kind of you know there was about 10 minutes on the clock when there wasn’t a set that came through and now with just you know coming up to halfway in this heat knowing that you know levs

Today can be up to 10 minutes that’s scary especially when you haven’t really got a score on the board not even really a backup so yeah definitely an error there one thing I did see D David Silva get a warm-up wave yesterday when we

Came down here and had a look and wow he was looking so good he was looking on fire so really hope that we see another couple of sets come through we see that rotation move through with priority and yeah because right now I mean it’s

Looking like a hard task for David oh it certainly is yeah I agree with you though he’s so spring-loaded he’s so powerful really strong lower body and he could actually belt the lip four times before you can even blink he’s very fast in transition just needs the right type

Of wave to show it here he goes again with priority first blast snap to slide fit that in very quickly and now just busy work on the open face now nice entry midface bottom turn and slaps it shut so great job having third priority after the error falling

On his wave that he used first priority on recovered well yeah that was a great recovery he knew right there that hey okay there’s only 15 minutes left of this heat if I don’t get a backup wave now I could be you know in that same

Situation as Kade looking for a set wave so this was just really really smart surfing you know a couple of Errors straight up into the lip there on that first turn really well timed wave gets a little bit sleep here it’s obviously a smaller wave cuz he was on his way back

Out but he eyes up this end section and the timing here for the Finish was impeccable releases the fins there on that last turn so that was really great a couple of errors but recovered really well so David Silva dealing with the midseason cut he’s been a journeyman on

The Qs he’s uh one major events around the world remember a double alleyoop wave he had in Manley during the Oz open series years back but also has spent some great time on the CT almost won an event in Mexico uh showed up on finals day and was absolutely ripping ended up being

Jack Robinson taking the win that day but came very close to his first CT win fell off tour again back to the Challenger Series last year so Silva has earned it year after year trying to keep his spot on the top 34 3.4 for the last of Silva now needs a

434 to take Baron spot and still 1350 on the clock poopo leads at the moment as John Florence prepares for Seth monice and the Goat Kelly Slater in he number three we’ll take a bonsoy brew break we’ll be right back 34 you’re in third you need a 4.3 second3

Welcome back to bills Beach the Rip Curl pro presented by bonsoy and right now we’re going to meet the most important people at this event it’s the bonsoy board caddies and a veteran of The Craft is AA good day AA welcome back to bills hi how you going good how are you

Fantastic so look being a board caddy it’s so important I mean you’re literally carrying these weapons of mass destruction down to the waterers Edge for the Surfers how heavy is that responsibility for you guys uh I guess it’s pretty important um they definitely need their boards if they’re going to go

Something but yeah I thought it was pretty cool when I heard about it I was messaging a niece and she asked if I was doing board cing was like oh what’s that yeah yeah it sounds a little bit trippy but then also when you get the opportunity to come down here and carry

The boards of these Elite athletes it must be a pretty big Stoke out yeah it’s pretty cool and all you guys are from t board Riders and I know that you all shred do you dream of actually pulling on the rashy here one day like Indie Robinson did yeah yeah

Definitely that’s great and uh whose board are you the most excited about carrying down these stairs uh maybe like Isabelle Nichols or Molly Pam Molly pck or Isabella what about you um Bria or Sophie mccullock oh good good choices you guys all right well look we wish you

All the best I know it’s a long staircase but we back you bonsoy FRS to get the job done thank you no worries back to you guys in the booth yeah vono how cool is that the bonsoy boor caddi ready for the big responsibilities it’s

A it’s a rare treat to have you know for this event it is a tradition for these young grommets to actually carry the backup boards for their Heroes to be that close in their their space when they’re focusing to follow him down the staircase it’s it’s a moment that

They’ll never forget and India Robinson did speak to that at the press conference how she was one of them just a couple of years ago now she’s in the the main event oh and that is an incredible Story I mean I personally myself as well I think back to Margaret

River when I was a grommy and I got to carry Melanie Redman car’s board and Heather Clark’s board and it was like a highlight of my young life one of the best days of my life got to get an autograph from Lane beachley like these events mean so much to the

Oh it’s huge as we see a huge committed Hammer from Baron mamama fell out of the sky controlled it and then the lip just took him down so we see where the judges land with him having control on an aggressive finish it definitely could uh argue for his best

Number because he had a bower section to work with put a lot of meat into it as he chases a 5.94 for the lead here flick yeah a bit of a frothy takeoff here but he was was on the money I mean this wave was just definitely going to stand up

Here knew what he saw down the line laid into a couple of big sections and was that a ride out or was that not a ride out I don’t know that’s going to be definitely touch and go he also fell on that last one as well so B almost didn’t

Look committed enough then right there just getting clipped I mean it’s the dream tour it’s the championship tour I don’t feel like they’re going to give it to him oh unfortunate for Baron because uh that was a hammer of a move right there just really dropped that wallet

Kind of looked like it was home and hose and he was definitely going to ride out of this but you can just see there that tiny little bit whitewash just exploding from the right there hits the side of his board and ah taken out by that invisible Ninja incomplete oh that’s

Hard cuz he had it too but at this level you know you’ve got to ride out with control cuz that’s what they’re doing they’re making comparisons if he does another one where he rides away they want to really reward the commitments and people who can ride away to show that guaranteed

Completion Baron mamia though in a short period of time two major championship t tour wins the first one has a wild card at Sunset he said that was the best day of his life then he won pipeline he’s like n that trumped it uh pipeline is

Favorite wave in the world and kind of where his reputation began as a young kid and everyone knew that he’d win that event one day but to have it a final over John John and when it’s pumping you know he couldn’t have scripted it any better for himself honestly I think uh

The icing on the cake is you you know you think of the alltime greats at pip and John’s name is 100% in there and to have a final with him and to beat him out there and to get a 10 I mean does it get any better I really don’t know I

Mean it’s going to be hard to top that Victory but I mean I can think of one event we’re sitting here right now Bell’s Beach and you know you know every Surfer has a list of events they want to win when they get on tour and I you know

More often than not that Bell is very high on the list so I’m sure that’s high on Baron’s list as well W and there’s been so many great performances from Surfers from Hawaii that have really turned up and took apart Bells you you look at you know Sunny Garcia multiple

Bells uh trophies to his name uh Shane Dorian was dangerous out here ended up winning Andy Irons was out of control on these walls those open ocean type powerful waves that they grow up on it’s uh really cool to see how you know Surfers from Hawaii deal with colder

Conditions and wet suits and still can take out this trophy more often than not so funny you mentioned the cold water and the colder wet suits um I grew up with a Lessa quis on and when she was on tour she’d always make fun God come into

Australia it’s so cold I hate putting on wet suits this sucks like it was just the funniest thing ever she just hated serving in a wet suit was just like the most foreign thing to her so but yeah I mean they’ve performed well here over

The years I mean Megan abubo uh also got a win out here rang the bell so I mean they’re no stranger to it yeah definitely traveling around the world their whole life they they’ve had to do it at some stage but it’s cool to see uh Baron in this part of his career

Definitely benefiting from the schedule change of pipe first Sunset second it can you know he could put all the hard work into the other events on tour because he’s got those on lock uh fun heat still with six minutes to go kypo and Miguel poopo still out in front

Miguel’s out in front uh but I did want to get into the Hawaiian conversation and that the power out here right so that’s why we’ve had so much success in the history uh at Bells with Hawaiian surface the only challenge you talked about it is the temperature is the cold

But luckily I’m in my Rip Curl F flash bomb Fusion so it’s nice and warm out here for me Joe we got the fusion seams watertight 96% stitchfree on this suit and I got the Cozy flash bomb lining so this Hawaiian is nice and cozy out here

In the water thanks the Rip Curl go you do look warm that is like a awesome uh place to be sitting and when you’re taken care of by Rip Curl you can last for those long days doing the water reporting uh Rip Curl is just the corest

Of core when it comes to a surf brand the ultimate surfing company which actually started with making surfboards with Doug claw warbrick and Brian Singer they brought in the wet suits the following year and it was the whole story was about you know taking what was already happening in the diving world

And making more functional for surfing you know back in those early days and they wanted quality control so they did it themselves and look where we are today in 2024 Kelly Slater thank you the greatest of all time and just made that bonso board Caddy’s day Ava holding the backup board for the

Goat passes Chris Gallagher there then to Glenn micro Hall they’ve been talking quite bit in the lead up to this event and all morning almost tripped by his friend Ross Williams and he passes his own name on the staircase he’s got uh the record well he shares it with Mark Richards and Mick

Fanning with four bells of piz so Kelly does have a shot at hold that record if he could win this event he’ll get a fifth Bell 344 to go we’ve got David Silva throwing the wrapping cut back needs a four 34 to avoid the elimination route nice

Glassy open face quickly a bit of a two for one as he goes under the lip to finish jeez blink and you’ll miss it that was unbelievable the transition and just how quickly he went from that second last maneuver to the last I mean who that was so fast I super impressed

By that I was a little bit you know not I won’t say underwhelm but the wave was a bit small and I was like he he’s looking for a 4.34 here you know as we review this one right now just get to see the start of this here it’s a bit of

A sleepier start and I was wondering oh what’s he seeing down the line here but kind of knew what he was doing and just got all this speed went straight up into that one just he didn’t even he cut that bottom turn short so he didn’t even

Allow himself to drop straight to the bottom he just went straight back up into that uh last maneuver super impressive as we look at this super slowmo here was really really well done and uh really C like reflexes and uh really quick decision- making you can

See that was where he cut that bottom turn really short just to allow himself to get so late and so critical up into the lip there sort of drifted the fins on the way down to two quick turns and succession I think the wave height is probably going

To let him down a little bit just also the beginning of that wave just not having that critical aspect but wow it was great surfing that’s right and his team manager paddling out next David Silva and on the boards from Kelly Slater surf boards uh with Trav Lee and

Dylan Slater doing a great job with the program but he’s been loving these boards getting a nice healthy quiver for Bell’s Beach but yeah those transitions are definitely what stands out for me when he performs how quick he can get to sections it’s like the updated Travis

Loi how quick they that Trav was in between turn Silva might even be quicker as we see him chasing a 4.34 it’s all about Surviving the Cut for Silva that last wave of 363 and it might be coming down to the wave selection again like you mentioned

Flick for sure I think you know if that first if the start of that first wave would have given him a little bit more criticalness if it had a little bit more steepness a bit more of a bowl I think he was definitely going to get that

Score it was just the start of the wave was a little bit sleepy it was a little bit horizontal uh but yes it’s going to be tough right now I mean he’s just got out the back he’s heard the score 3 63 he ended up getting and still chasing that

4.12 with only a minute on the clock and knowing that uh Miguel and baron both have priority of him it’s going to be a very very hard uh ask right now for sure I think we might see one more roll of the dice here from one of the Surfers say Miguel’s got

Priority no one’s no one’s going that one that’s right they’re letting it run through 45 seconds to go all the pressure on Silva Cade Madson in the first heat was stuck in third so CAD already in the elimination round still planning on running that round later on today priority with poopo second

Priority with Baron mamia so a tough spot for Silva to be needing a score and these guys are allowed to play some defense to try to shut it down big Heat next John Florence Seth monice Kelly Slater always a big one for Kelly and all he’s given to the tour

Missed out on Portugal because he had some serious hip soreness but now he’s back to compete at Bell Where it All Began for him at the CT level back in the early 90s it will be poopo and baron receded into the round of 32 and Sila will be

Back later on this evening to compete in the elimination round the 667 was the difference and kind of like the first datat with Ramsey having one major score it’s kind of coming down to one Banger and been tough to find a backup in these first two Heats of the

Day but it has been goofy foot dominance as Poo’s trying to at least match his personal best of a quarterfinal of bells as he wants to win this event with big backand turns like this John Florence Seth mon C Slater and Heat number three will bring in Ronnie

Blakey Richie love it and Von Blakey for the Call be the right very important Welcome back to the show day one of the rip kill Pro Bells Beach presented by bons soy and we are into it the opening round and we have just seen an impressive performance from Miguel poopo getting the jump on Baron M David Silva is going to be related to that

Elimination round but pumping conditions here on day one as we get set for the Big Show a fantastic heat here the 11 time World Champ Kelly Slater here at Bells Beach once again he’s taking on John John Florence and Seth Mony and he throws everything at the section still bouncing around in the

White waterer here looking for one of those impossible slate Alik recoveries and it did prove impossible he didn’t get back to his feet there but we are very excited about what’s coming our way here in this heat Kelly Slater just so many reps here at Bells Beach and looking for a fifth

Victory up against John John Florence and Seth mon is joining me in the booth is vaugh Blakey former editor of the now defunct waves magazine also surfing World magazine ain’t that SW podcast Fame vno so good to have you on the team thanks Ron good

To be back uh the onear qss that I was commentating in white pools in southeast AER have obviously paid off mate mate you took the next step you’re qualified and don’t worry I’ve been on the regional Qs myself so it’s good to be here but uh Richie L joins us as well

Many years competing here at Bells Rich good to be back great to be back Ron uh it’s always a good day when you get to roll down into the bills car park and see 6 foot 8T groomed lines coming through and what a heat we have in front

Of us here a this is awesome stuff uh vaugh for for you this must be a bit of a throwback cuz your first couple of years coming down here as a journalist Kelly Slater was making his first appearances and in fact breaking through for his first CT win yep yep I’m uh

Pretty fossilized coming down to RC Kelly Sur his first Heats but I was just a grum myself and the the excitement the Slater Mania that was going on at that time was insane man it was such a Trippy feeling to sort of walk down the beach

Just then and see the 11 on the back of Slater’s Jersey just about to paddle out might be his last Bells who knows but yeah it does seem like a while ago and he’s put in some memorable performances Edie for sure sorry I’m a bit puffed I had to run up

The take a breath take a moment yeah you’re right uh but uh yeah Rich I mean Kelly sler let’s let’s have a look at his form it’s been a tough year for him so far results wise but we’ve seen him free surfing in the leadup to this event

And he’s looked like click back into something yeah absolutely I think just for a second we need to really appreciate that this man is uh you know uh half a century and then some so to be out here mixing it up with with uh the youngsters basically and still competing

At a high level is something that is just absolutely extraordinary uh he’s lost nothing of that flare and form as we see him hit the lip here just over rotates ever so slightly and then for one second I just thought you know he’s going to pull off that slate of magic

Somehow catlike get back on his feet feet uh but unfortunately just a little bit too much turbulence to deal with uh for a moment there looked like he stuck it and uh but just got the better of him well for a moment there pretty much there’s a little shot there that looks

Like Kelly slay 9 94 that was his sort of go-to turn that blow tail it wasn’t really seen a lot before he came along so pretty cool to see Kelly still busting the fins yeah definitely Kelly is a competitor who’s obviously surf so many events surf so many Heats that

There’s certain matchups that get his tail up and this is one of them this is an exceptional matchup here Rich this is the kind of of heat that he’s just going to relish well I I think Kelly’s probably held uh John John anth in his hands as babies you know watching these

Guys grow up on on the NorthShore certainly we know the history of uh that famous final a couple of uh years back uh with Kelly and Seth at Pipeline and obviously a lot of history as well but yeah Kelly’s juices will really be flowing here you know joh John’s in in

Abolute World title form at the moment uh and has to be one of the favorites out here at bills given the conditions so uh Kelly will be looking to to peg him back and a win here against these two guys would be huge at this point uh

In his career it’s going to be it’s going to be tough I think getting that uh early start is going to be crucial for Kelly you’d have to say that he’s probably let that go a little bit just taken that wave in the opening stages here and not banking a number John John

Florence highest Heat score average of the year so far he’s in incredible form despite the fact he hasn’t had a win yet this season vno Kelly sler his Heat score average he hasn’t broken double digits yet with that uh so you know he’s going to be up against it I I think just

Going off what Kelly has said maners have kind of been the challenge in his recovery from that hip surgery but did see him drop an absolute vintage slight of carve At Kira in the free surfing and the lad up to this event yeah I mean it’s funny with Kelly isn’t it you kind

Of I don’t know he goes through these sort of Peaks and troughs of of popularity and Peaks and troughs of what’s he going to do is he going to stay on T is he not personally I just never get sick of seeing him in a rashy I think it’s awesome for everyone that

He’s still competing like rich said it’s just extraordinary that he’s at this Elite level still doing it um yeah I I feel like he I do understand what he’s saying there if the Maneuvers are are really tricky when you when you get a little bit older and you’re recovering

From an injury especially oh God knows I can’t well you you can speak speak to this but you can speak to this the the hip injury which required surgery actually suffered that injury back in 2022 here at Bell’s Beach um but a full laborum Reconstruction had some uh bone

Spurs taken off the femural head uh surgery that you’ve been through yeah absolutely um you know Kelly was fortunate enough to not have any bone removed it was more of a reconstruction but uh uh uh Warren Kramer uh Dr Warren Kramer who who performed the surgery

Dear friend of of both Kelly and myself uh he got in there and he said it was an absolute mess they thought it was going to be about a 4-Hour surgery I think it took them upwards of s hours in the end uh but they cleaned it all up and and

The recovery has been good for for Kelly you know I I think he’s uh feeling in good form again he’s feeling in good health again uh we’ just need to see him just unlock that special thing that used to just set him apart from everyone else

Um and maybe bills is where it’s at you know this is a tricky wave we’ve said it so many times she has so many different personalities uh and Kell’s dated bills for so long you know so so he he’s wh and DED it he understands it and that’s

Maybe the edge that he’s going to need to bring here is is potentially finding those little diamonds out there y 56 wins four of them coming here at Bells Beach had a 10 in the final here at Bells and kind of really reinvented the way Surfers approach this wave that was

Uh against Mick fenning in that amazing final oh one of the all-time great moments of this contest in the history of it even our prepr professional era when you go right back we were having a great chat actually with some uh former Legends at a Rip Curl celebration night

Just recently but yeah you’re right that did change everything and and we’ve seen so many more a uh John John did a massive oop out here just a couple of years ago and and A’s a they’re a real go-to after the Kelly copter but I remember sitting next to uh I think it

Was Matt Wilkinson when he did that and he said what do you reckon what do you reckon he’ll get for that and I was just like oh well it can only be one thing really and it was a 10 and uh but far out how good was that final cuz Mick

Just put together probably the most perfect three waves you’ve ever seen surfed oh amazing yeah only only two Surfers in the men’s draw have had a 10-point ride here at Bells Beach and they’re both in the the lineup at the moment John John Florence he had a 10 in

2014 and it was in a heat a three-man Heat against Kelly seder and gabri Medina so hopefully uh we we see some some Brilliance out of these three competitors John John Florence mentioned his form uh Rich at the start of the heat he has looked so good this year

Yeah he has and uh there’s something about John I feel like you know when he’s in it and he’s invested in in the competition and the world title race and I feel like 2024 he’s in it and uh I was just down in the competitors area watching the warmup and John John was

Serious man he looked like he was just Man of Steel you know going through his routine stretching Ross Williams was right there as well uh obviously leaning into that uh Bank of knowledge that Ross has having competed here so many times uh but he he’s come to play No Doubt

Yeah he looks uh really focused of course John John like Kelly has had to overcome injuries the the last sort of five years um but we haven’t seen John John have a crack at the rip WSL finals yet seems wild to me that it’s been that

Long since he’s been in a you know a fully fit World title campaign uh and it must get annoying when you surf that good and you you just watching people sort of get to that finals day and you’re not a part of it and you know that you’re that good like of course

It’s going to sort of get under your skin and just make you start getting itchy for a shot at it but I agree with Rich I was just uh John John walked past us when we’re on the stairs and I felt like I had to step further away than the

Width of the stairs I was like waa this guy’s coming steaming down here and yeah the intent is is right there Rich this year I reckon just a force field an aura that you fully sense thick thick Aura uh but yeah he is currently sitting in second place equal second place with

Ethan Ying on the ratings John John Florence and um yeah go to world Surf league.com and check those rankings out uh they’re adjusting live as these Surfers progress through heat so it’s a lot of fun to watch and also a a great thing to keep an eye on as we get closer

To that impending cut as we see Slater up taking a mediumsized ride here just transitioning through the first turn to set up this big flare on the tail whips it right around oh almost loses control can still touch his toes impressive stuff but slate up you know

Not going to bank a huge number on that but he has just given us so many highlight uh moves out here especially in bigger conditions Rich some of the big years that we’ve had here at Bells Kelly has done you know some of the the best rail turns that we’ve seen on the

Tour yeah and I was just thinking back to your comment vno that whole tail release uh era that Kelly sort of introduced and really really bought into the four here on the world tour as we watch the replay here so Kelly just takes a bit of a Highline track this

First section and then comes into this baly bit here and then just hammers it gets that tail release that we’re talking about drifts that tail all the way gets a little off balance as he re-engages those fins got the Thruster set up we’ve seen him do quad we’ve seen

Him do five fin out here even nice deep bottom turn and that’s uh perfect setup maneuver here Kelly great arm extension watch how low that back uh that back knee gets right almost touching the deck of the board re-engages and then shifts all that momentum back onto the front

Foot just incredible stuff flexibility at that age is just uh you know something that we can all Aspire too right as soon as you releas the tail you’re engaging and putting weight on your hips like you cannot believe like uh you could see it there as the fins go

Backwards everything starts to push down into that swivel part of your body and far out he doesn’t look too sore at all he doesn’t have ginger no let’s uh let’s check in with K over a bon university health check KES what you got for us thanks Ry yeah the the health check

Right now is with Kelly Slayer we know he had that work on his hip had to sit out Portugal looking pretty good in this heat so far are speaking of Health John John Florence this year looking healthy and fit and ready to go we talk about John John with two two World titles

Question mark could it have been more World titles for John John he’s missed 24 CT events due to injury but this year is a whole different season and John John uh coming into Bell’s healthy surfing at a very very high level could it be John John’s

Year that’s open to you guys to discuss well KS you’ve been watching him closely I mean since he was a Grom but he he’s in rare form at the moment like really looks to be back to his best doesn’t he yeah he’s comfortable he’s matured he’s

Got the high heat IQ he’s got the hunger Slater on the paddle here run here goes Kelly again let’s see what he can do so Slater let’s see if he can build here that last turn that he threw at us was an absolute Jam if you can find a

Combination with a couple of those moves he’ll Bank a decent number but this way it’s just been a little sleepy from the outset as he works it over sticking with that white water you can get yourself uh some real credit on that final section but this

Wave it just sort of laid flat the whole way through the ride yeah it can be a little slopey bells at times and and that’s one of the hard things to figure out as a surfer you you’re looking at it you’re sort of Mind surfing in the lead

Up and you’re going I’m going to do my Maneuvers there but when you’re actually riding the wave and it is slopey like that it’s incredibly hard to go go top to bottom and that’s where you were talking about that big open face carb that Kelly has leaned into for so many

Years now and uh we’ve seen Ethan Ying do it JN John’s another one who just has that in the Wheelhouse and can draw on at any time so much power uh and it’s an it’s a really functional maneuver and the judges eat it up Slater on the back

Of the Red Bull ski let’s check in with the winner of the last Heat with Laura en migy welcome back to Bells everyone has a different way of warming up getting ready for the event you Sur for 7 hours yesterday how you feeling I feel

Tired you know but I had a nice warm bath uh before going to sleep so I feel fresh right now and I was just stok to see the waves and I wish I could get more waves in my heat but it was a lot of wash through so I was waiting for one

Of those steti inside ones but I got just one and it was enough yeah yeah that first wave took us through the start of that heat and picking off the best wave of the heat there that that got you through um actually we were pushing each other deep so I was like

The deepest guy so I was afraid of uh missing out the first few sets and I think Baron got the first one and I guess he wasn’t a good wave and I had to capitalize on that and I did in the first wave so I was happy with that for

Sure amazing we know you love Bell’s Beach your daughter always uh you know her birthday this time of year uh you know how good is it to be back yeah it’s funny cuz uh all my three daughters their birthdays on on this event so it’s

Funny I just missed out the first one on the 23 and the third is going to be my mid one and then on the 11 my my oldest so yeah it’s a funny event you know I wish I was home but at the same time I’m happy to be here competing and doing

What I love Yeah amazing we’ll see you to the next round yeah thank you freezing let’s go get you some nachos yeah for sure warm bath maybe thank you Laura Miguel poopo and you can see how happy he is that this is obviously a key event for those Surfers who are hanging around

The that cut line and even a first round win can help relieve some pressure and really push it back on the Surfers who haven’t hit the lineup in this opening round just yet during the interview we saw John joh Florence get into the Mi

Ridge and it was a good one Ron loved it uh smart with only 12 minutes to go he really needed to capitalize uh on the opportunity and certainly did uh that big open face wrap that power carve that we’ve been so used to seeing from John

Over the last couple of years he just put it on show here this one stood up out the back beautiful carve off the opening maneuver there timing so important can’t uh stress that enough here at Bells John gets the big roundhouse cutback gets to this section

Up and through it drives off the bottom again another roping turn just cutting that uh that wave in half and then does a little work through this inside section and doesn’t quite convert on the last turn but some really aggressive cares on the outside and that’s where

All the points will be banged yeah it turns into 6.67 and you You’ think he’s probably left a maybe a point out there with uh without the Finish but Vaughn this first term he he just got the quill out and just drew this beautiful big line didn’t

He a just uh the feelings you get when you see this guy take off and Engage The Rail it like all of a sudden you know the the pure Surfer in here just starts to get excited you’re like wow this is just such epic surfing look at this off

The bottom and just full extension drives through it a thing of magnificent Beauty what’s it feel like Rich uh it’s honestly that feeling of carving and holding a rail to me almost is equal with you know getting a tube or um you know doing a nice air but for me the

Rail game I I can’t help but move with him in my chair as he’s going through the motions here this one was a bit more spectacular as he hit the lip harder to control uh he sort of disconnected there but uh perfectly came down re-engaged that inside rail but so balanced look at

The arm movement just brings that back arm around helps that pendulum swing brings The Bard around under him again uh this is just a thing of beauty to watch well we’ve got 10 minutes remaining in this heat we’re yet to see the Hawaiian set Mony take his first ride more action come your Way up e day one of the event window here at the 61st running of the ri Pro Bells Beach presented by bonso and Seth money coming to life here on a good size wave big hit in the pocket there as he flexes on the tail and now going to some carving turns

Mixing things up wants to really show that full repertoire show the flow and a nice little layback Jam to finish right behind him we’ve got Kelly Slater up beautiful looking wall to work with banks on the rail off the bottom little sticky on the top here but he’ll drop

Into the bow now and see what kind of work he can get done and rips one under the lip so a nice exchange there and good to see Seth get in on the me Kanani puts her hands together and uh loving her time just watching this one F unfold because Kelly

Is currently sitting in second position with a decent number on the way Seth getting in the mix two let’s have a look at some replays vaugh the Young Hawaiian getting started here yeah well he got waited and waited and he got rewarded this is a nice tall wave for Seth one of

The biggest sets we’ve seen in this heat so far and unfortunately it didn’t really get very steep for him so it was lots of cut backs he came through onto the inside big end section and he gets a pretty decent snap in but never really got to unleash the full fireworks on

That one came through it a five-point ride for Seth and Slater he’s just dropped his best number on this one rich yeah nice big wrapping carve to start things off for Kelly you can see just not 100% sure footed at this moment but nice hack under the lip there drives that

Long bottom turn again that big slopey face so Kelly just has to do a little midface work but really all the points coming at this final moment here and uh on a day like today it really have to pick that moment and and capitalize on those sections when they do stand up

This is John well sler dropped the 557 Florence had a 6.67 looking for his backup number now this wave starting to steepen he’s been super patient so far in this heat with these options to attack the sections you can see he’s just waiting for this wave to steepen down the line

It’s not really working out for him at this stage but he’ll stick with it knowing that with the strongest number of the heat so far even a minor backup score can help strengthen his position here as he drives through to the inside now starts to accelerate hangs on for

The finish here 5 and 1/2 minutes to go and a nice little golf clap there from Ross Williams he knows that the conversion of that backup ride was incredibly important he needed to stick that final maneuver uh and that’s going to put pressure on both Seth and Kelly at this

Point yeah John’s just looked really patient in those in between moments Kelly When The Wave steepens is looking on but uh in just linking the flatter sections to get together Kelly’s had a couple of little trip ups that he’ll want to clean up but Florence

I think he didn’t do much at the start of this ride vaugh but knew that he he really didn’t need to do a whole lot to to back this strong 6.67 up yeah and uh like you said Ron just a pretty good tactic to get it all the way through and

Just make sure there was going to be some points on it often wonder you know when you you get these waves just fatten out the temptation to just get off it must be so massive but you get a good little finish on it and you got to have

A backup score and that just applies more pressure Rich I’d love to know from you you know if you pick a d out here you like how tempting is it to just pull the rip cord and get the heck out of there yeah it’s it’s a a calculated risk

Really because you have to sort of weigh up do I go to the end do I try and Bank those points get the ski back out which is probably a more efficient way of getting out the back uh rather than pull off and do the paddle and try and battle

For priority in the lineup so I think JN did the right thing made the right choice uh in finishing that wave we do know that he’s uh he’s actually riding uh that pel ghost model the 62 uh that he won here exactly the same model that

He won here a couple of years ago so he’ll have good memories of that he’s that board is just so reliable for him in these type of conditions especially uh it’s what we’ve seen him uh just take apart the Margaret River break as well uh but certainly working here at the

Bills bowl 4.17 for that last wave so uh the decision to to take it through to the inside and book and the rod nicely with that finishing turn has worked in his favor Kelly sler in second spot at the moment Seth well within Striking Distance of both second

Place and the lead at this point in time only after a 3.58 to get ahead of Kelly but uh great water Patrol team down here at Bells Beach always and um on the Reigns of the still Pony making their way back to the takeoff there with John John Florence was Dan

Ross a former CT Surfer who’s living down here these days and whenever bill shows it’s true face Dan Ross is there to lay some serious rail but uh yeah great to have him involved in the the team this year just under three minutes to go here

What a treat to be able to come here and watch Kelly SL out again perform his 27th bills rip girl celebrating 50 years sponsoring the event here at Bells Beach Kelly slat has been here for more than half of them amazing yeah it’s kind of the birth of the professional era in

Australia a lot of uh sort of amateur events all run by the local administration of the time and uh you know I think it was George Downing and Claw got together for a meeting in Hawaii claw got home and went we’re doing it we’re going to uh put some

Prize money into this thing we’re going to slap Rip Curl on it um it all came together and all of a sudden you know you had the world’s best Surfers coming from all over for that huge prize purse of $3,000 at the time but uh you know

That was big money of course and um you had all the you know crew coming down from Queensland and it really it started what the ri Cur Pro is today that that was really the birthplace of it and it’s just so sick I think Brian Singer mentioned the other day Ron that they

Were only going to sponsor it for 3 years and here we are 50 years later so an amazing Legacy from the event most definitely yeah only two events on the championship tour schedule that adopted the tour not the other way round so uh that’s pretty cool pipe of course and uh

This one the Easter Classic now the rip Co Pro Bells Beach presented by bonso Slater up trying to get rid of a three here only needs a 528 to get himself into the lead great rail work good speed to get started and he looks more alive on this

Ride and with a big finish could certainly turn in the number he needs to get to the number one position nice floating re-entry there and Slater looking a lot more short footed there you got to think too rich you know with a couple of trips here and there I’m

Sure there’s nerves for Kelly he wants to put in a good show he wants to bag a big result here yeah absolutely you know Kelly would be thinking about his performance es over the last couple of years and he would know that it hasn’t been up to scratch for his standards uh

A smart decision to take this wave you could see this one hitting the ball and as it stands up Kelly big roundhouse cutback to start things off and another one you can see there’s more intent with this wave there’s a bit more energy into the effort again beautiful roundhouse monno

I just love the fact that uh he sort of moved away from coming deep around the foone ball and up into the lip and punching through it those tail slides and went more to the rail sort of took a little bit further into the ball started

Leaning on that on that Rail and that turns just looked Dynamic he looked more in sync with the wave and H yeah just watching you know big sheets of spray fly off his rails that’s the slider I like to watch yeah 20 seconds to go here

And Kelly’s going to drop a good score might even get himself into the number one position he does a 6.1 so with just over 10 seconds to go sler might be getting his first big Heat win of the Year solid staff and the crowd loves it

He’s still the Pod Piper and it doesn’t matter who he’s up against one of the uh the current title contenders when sled is in a heat people turn up to the beach they follow him down those stairs and that was a solid performance and he really did piece it

Together on that final ride rich is here wiping tears out of his eyes well it’s it’s pretty special you know we haven’t seen Kelly get too many heat WIS in the last uh you know little period so it’s great to see him uh get the win this is a huge thing for his

Confidence um you know Kelly’s always got different boards and he’s kind everyone’s wondering what he’s going to do he keeps us all guessing uh smart competing there he didn’t over surf that wave he just he he up the Andy a little bit and then got it done really solid

Stuff cleaned it up on the final ride we’re going to take a quick break here and we’ve got another big Clash for you here at the rip Pro Bells Beach right after this I think ni they the rip Pro Bells Beach presented by bonsoy is brought to you by surf Coast Shire head to surfcoast events.com Au to find out what’s on by bonsoy the official milk of the world surf League by Bon University not for profit and not to conform Bon University exists for you

By weather guard official portable storage of WSL Australia and by hydrolyte official oral rehydration partner of WSL Australia welcome back to the show Ronnie Richie and Vaughn here as we dive into heat four the opening Round Here on day one of the competition the ri Pro Bells Beach presented by bonsoy another great

Lineup as we see Jack Robinson hitting the lineup here in the red jersey well situated on the rankings at the moment in fourth position riaa he is going to be out there in the blue jersey the first Indonesian to qualify for the championship tour and the return of

Morgan sibl getting the call up to compete in the event with Janka still recovering from his injury sending all our best to xia but Morgan sibl a real Danger Man in this contest he’s all teeth and when they’re on show and he’s got that confidence rolling he can

Really take down some big names vaugh I totally agree the best morgi is when he’s cocky when he’s flexing when he’s got a bit about him he uh he gets out there and you know that year that he just blitzed was all about the front like he was walking down the beach he

Didn’t care who he had to Surf against he couldn’t believe he he was there and he just went so mad he was an instant cult favorite uh with Surfers not just in Australia but all over the world and um this is the morgs I want to see out

Here at Bells today yeah it was already a cult hit after uh he featured in the the movie that you directed postcards from morgs yeah we had a great time hanging out with morgs it was it was classic cuz he was still such an unknown quantity uh you know he had qualified

For the CT and no one even knew really had to pronounce his last name at that stage and uh next thing you know he he’s turning up on this search trip and yeah the idea was to sort of get to know him a little bit and no joke mate he was

Hilarious he’s just such a uh a character and uh really shown through in that film but the thing that I loved more than anything was just how hard he went at the lip like he’s really from an old school sort of uh 90s mentality and I think you would recall pots telling a

Yan about the first compliment he ever gave Kelly Slater or Kelly tells the story maybe where he goes you know what I like about you you whack the lip and whacking the lip was this huge I don’t know massive compliment from your peers at that stage when power surfing was you

Know right at the four so morgi got the big tick of approval from a lot of old school crew yeah absolutely that uh that crazy run that he went on uh you know it was really unrestricted wasn’t he had no pressure on him he was surfing just

Pressure free and well he took down so many big names and upset the whole tour at that point and got a shot at the uh the WSL finals finished fifth in the world John joh Florence he is going to skip that elimination round he looks strong that was a difficult heat it was

Inconsistent not many sets and I don’t think JN really made too many mistakes really he’d be coming in Going H I’m not too sure what happened was there a couple good ones in those really good so out they’re so far out got impatient the end no did the

Right thing yeah I was like took off on that wave right to the bottom second I know but it made the difference solidified your bounc yeah Ross Williams there just validating John’s decision making in the the later stages of the Heat and uh yeah it was

You know the right move to back up that score and not wait too long yes he could have bet his position but there would have been a bit of pressure that came with executing had he not taken that backup number um interesting to note though Kelly Slater busy at the start of

The heat didn’t get too concerned about that priority and in the end the Rhythm worked in his favor and I think with the the repetitions it really worked in Kelly’s favor he he ironed things out he’s his approach got smoother with each ride he built through it didn’t he what

About this guy Jack Robinson he has been on fire six career CT wins it’s pretty remarkable when you think about it Kyo touched on it before John John Florence you know has missed a lot of events due to injury but Jack’s only been on tour four years and he has already had six

Wins he’s you know really chasing John down for for CT victories here and he’s won at some of the the favorite stops on the championship tour we’ll see how he goes here at Bell’s Beach how do you like his chances Rich uh I like them a lot actually there’s a we were talking

About it last night at dinner there’s a there’s an unpredictability a rawness to to Jack’s style of Surfing he’s competent certainly in the bigger stuff he’s done a lot of work in the smaller conditions and I don’t think there’s any chinks in his armor anymore you know

He’s a threat in any type of conditions uh when it gets big and Hollow I’d say he goes straight to the top of the pack along with John and a few others where he becomes a real favorite um I’ve heard through the room although he’s not 100%

Might be a little bit uh suffering a flu or a bit of a cold so let’s see how he performs yeah uh it’ll be interesting but uh vaugh what what dimension does Jack liveing yeah well um good question uh I you know we call him the vortex Sharman because uh he has

An understanding of just heavy water that few others do I feel like he actually does sort of meditate and go to other places when he’s in big thumping heavy cones and um but yeah as Rich touched on you know his whole approach is about being as good as he can be not

Just as a surfer but as a competitor and we’ve seen that you know come to light many times over the past few years uh had an interview with him earlier on this year and we were talking about and he goes I just love being backed into a

Corner he loves it he thrives on the challenge of you know dying Heats in the dying seconds and needing a big score and needing a big performance and what he’s got which he can really lean on because he backs himself so hard is that X Factor so we saw it at Margaret’s

Against John I think was that the final where he just throws this gigantic air to win the comp and so he will just go I will do whatever it takes to get it done and you know that he backs himself great dinner last night by the way fantastic restaurants around the area Victoria’s

Got it all but uh we were talking a lot about the competitors on the tour and what we we like as Spectators and we touched on that that one thing eviction and and Jack Robinson just has it in Spades there’s no one on tour he doesn’t

Believe he can beat even when they’re at their best and you know that’s a rare quality and it doesn’t feel like he’s just saying it for the benefit of the audience he truly believes it and um you know what I don’t think everyone on tour does yeah that’s a fair call for sure

Yeah I look I can only talk for a bit of experience here you know I was I was scared stiff of my other competitors there was only you know a few on tour where I’d paddle out and I’d go yeah I’ve got this um and a lot of the time

When I was competing against the the more favored Surfers or the higher rated guys I was sort of beaten before I even went out there and I think that’s a real uh knife in your confidence and your jack clearly doesn’t have the issue that

I had he knows that he can win any heat uh as does that man you know he’s done it for so many years on the tour where he knew he was going to win every single heat that he paddled out in there for so long 10 minutes are you kidding me at 15

I was like okay they now they’ll move in and just try to like get something started but then sets kind of started coming and then that one I my second wave I just kind of went all to get one and see if I can get a score and you

Guys got cleaned huh or did it go wide no yeah there was one big set I was inside it was just kind of like a burger oh there was like but I think there’s like five waves in it that were like big ones we’re starting like the 8 yeah yeah

Yeah beginning of the heat like after my first yeah we got caught good there a couple in there on the wide part they looked okay but they were so wide like they were like over there we got CAU yeah all right good luck later bud thanks babe know popping

Out thanks thanks they got a lot to celebrate at the moment Kelly and Kanani big congratulations to them expecting and uh Kelly also expecting uh a place in that third round now with a a really solid performance in that opening he had a a bit of everything didn’t he

Got the big deep bottom turns to a vertical approach some nice openface carves right now though we are seeing Morgan up let’s see what he can throw at these full-time campaigners on the season beautiful carve has spent a lot of time down here a rip kill team Rider with a

Whole lot of CT experience and he is going to be campaigning on the Challenger Series again this year as he works this one over just looking for extras now what kind of finish can he put on this ride oh just got a little ugly there a few

Bumps but Morgan’s been so close to getting himself back onto the CT the past two seasons last year finished 16th the year before that 12th Place just two spots off it’s probably a couple of heat winds so um we’ll be watching him closely as he attacks the Challenger

Series this year but that was a decent ride but on the outside some bigger wall here for Jack Robinson to work with nice carve to get started in transition now just waiting for the wall to steepen up again here it comes and he’ll start to accelate uh accelerate through the lip

Here and gets a solid fin finish so a good start here for Jack with 172 minutes remain yeah two good rides there um and I think the word is patience both of those Surfers just timing those sections to Perfection we talked about that tricky ball section as it comes off

The roof you got to hit it yeah you got to hit it bang on uh it’s you heard Ramsey saying it this morning in in the first St he was like it looks like it’s pumping you walk down the hill you’re so fro and then you take

Off and you’ve got a bottom turn for like an extra two seconds sometimes he just like I was was just coming off the bottom to really draw out that turn and then you only get that one little section where the lip kicks up on that particular wave those insiders sometimes

They’ll give you one or two but he uh you know on on that occasion you saw more sort of unleash a couple and then get stuck on a couple yeah well Rich touched on it earlier it’s it’s got many different faces plenty of characteristics out there the the best

At Bell’s Beach have always had amazing management of speed and power off the bottom and the ability to hang on a long bottom turn and size up each section and when the wave’s not presenting these steep parts of the wall then they they do a mid Face bottom turn almost and

Reath the cares through as Morgan has a couple of times on this Rod epic combo to get going and that angle really showed you just how committed to the rail morgs was high speed too I really love that morgs was really pushing through the ra through the turn sorry

And uh it sort of yeah flattened out a little bit as you say Ron uh little bit of shatter on the face there that sort of prevented a clean finish but these first two turns are so crispy oh just so critical as he hits that top section of

The wave that’s nice I feel like he’s on a slightly longer board than normal and I think it’s served him well out here helps to hold that rail line a little bit longer and again that upper and lower body moving in unison there gets nice and low in that transition gets the

Board back under his feet Jack also had a beautiful wave stand up in front of him nice carb to start things off wraps it back around there’s that patience just stands there waiting for the wave to Bow up again uh and at this point the wave has just come off that bold section

Of the reef there’s a little sleepy section through here now it hits the inside critical moment here Jack just gets a little weightless off that final hit and great completion yeah solid staff back to live action now let’s see what Rio can do nice little Hook off the top again

Attacking it not going for the full length steamr just liking some Freedom out here the water not too cold down here at the moment and R couple of nice turns on the outside no massive numbers locked in for his Rivals just yet just a couple of fivepoint rides and Rio gets a solid

Finish there which we’ll see him match his opponents and get himself right in this heat it’s going to be a close one yeah this is going to be a great heat all Surfers uh dropping what what we think is going to be a mid-range score

We got a 5 five for for Jack and and a flat five for Morgan I feel like Rios is going to be right there as well uh great variety of Maneuvers on that wave maybe even a little bit more flare on that end section we’ll see if he turns in a

Better score but right now we want to hear from the goat he’s with Laura yes guys fixing Kelly’s head down here first event back here sorry not first event back you but first heat of the morning heat of the event well getting your first hit win of the year

Coming back we missed you we missed you at uh uh Portugal but wow you’re really turning it on here this morning talk us through that magic board feeling pretty good A little time off for me and I actually worked on boards and this is the board I was kind of working on um

Same one I wrote a Kira you might have seen a couple ways I got um we were talking about that before but um it’s uh no it’s it’s a Mike woo design and my buddy trinko and Hawaii uh finished it off for me and then Steve vikner glassed

It up in a couple days for me so just last second I was able to get him before flying to Australia and uh feels good um pretty good start you know I started deeper than the other than than John and Seth and kind of played that game and I

Was hoping maybe a deep one off Ron would would line up because there’s some West in this well and um I did get the first wave it didn’t really weigh into the scores but it put me in the right sort of uh float right sink to get the

Good waves and yeah amazing and you have just uh announced that you guys are expecting some amazing news how is that how’s that feeling obviously you guys have kept that hidden for quite some time but amazing to hear we’re all so absolutely stoked for you guys yeah yeah

I’m super happy having my second child Clown’s first obviously um having a little boy and uh this this summer well winter Australia um and I think we’re going to have him in Hawaii and uh really looking forward to it and uh we’ve been super excited it’s been been

Really fun it was fun to keep it a secret from everybody for a long time even we kept it secret from family for months and um and then one by one we’re telling friends and kind of filming their reactions and stuff and it it’s just been been a fun time wow and you

Know back here in Bell’s Beach you absolutely love this place 27th event you got four Bells how good would it be to just bringing another Bell yeah 30 years since I uh 30 years since my first win here wow 32 years since my first event here um my first heat I ever had

Here was with Tom Kern and Todd Holland and we’re surfing high tide ringcon like one foot and uh uh it’s it’s good to be back you know it would be you know a real dream for me to bookend it and try to win here again 30 years later but for

Now I’m just trying to enjoy the event enjoy the people and and the family I stay with alen green who started Quicks and his wife Barb we’ve been staying with them I’ve been staying with them now since 96 and uh Good Vibes down here you know

We have dinners at home with the family and I got a dog there and everything so um no but fun good way to start the day just get the Jitters out and um you know I don’t always win Heats but when I do I try to beat JN John absolutely

Absolutely yeah absolutely that was a stacked first heat go enjoy the rest of the day and enjoy this amazing time in your life all right thanks guys one more Kelly Kelly slay up just seems super cool and relaxed and you heard him say that had to get the Jitters out well he

Certainly did it on that last wave and that board is looking sharp so it’s going to be fun to watch him compete once again here at Bells Rich a it’s special and you know he was talking about bookend so is that a little insight into maybe not coming back to

Bells again we don’t know or keep it was guessing but yeah you know again let’s appreciate the fact that the goat is here and and let’s lap it up also vaugh just interesting to hear him break down Heats just how much da is in that that melon it’s unbelievable it was funny

When he got the hustle on in the start of that heat I was like wow look at him go he’s just hunting around for everything it’s worked for him uh a final against B derage where he was just going from the bow over to ringcon then

Back and he stole a win famously I think that was 2008 and then it worked against him where he had that final against Mick and he was just he puts together a video part when you look at all the waves put together but Mick just had the uh the

Two waves that mattered so yeah the hustle working for Kelly on this occasion and I think he really did build into some really good momentum and I did like when he sort of went back out just slightly further out into the pocket and just got that rail work and you can see

The full power of Kelly on show you sure could well we’ve got 10 minutes remaining here at the moment Morgan SI has the lead over R waa and Jack Robinson E for day one of the event window and we are a go here as Ethan Ying makes his way down the steps he’s coming up in the next Heat looking to go back to back here at the rip call Pro Bells Beach presented by bons soy and he passes all those

Incredible names on the list including his mom Helen Lambert and this event we heard joeel say it on the morning show this morning after talking to Ethan at the press conference this is the event that matters and no sitting too deep what we talk about so Ethan this is the one that he

Wants to win and uh he’s done it once already as we see on the outside Morgan looking to get rid of a five here he’s had some good moments already in this heat some big turns and there’s another one hammers the section will he dump the

Five and increase his lead here rich I think he might three big turns on that uh substantial set wave and uh I think we’re going to see a a fairly decent number a couple of critical moments on that wave he looks good doesn’t he his timing looks perfect he looks unreal

He’s got a plenty of mongr as he’s flying off the bottom he’s in attack mode and Jack Robinson on the way behind big open face cares he just looks so classy doesn’t he unrushed and uh he oh my goodness missed that one big Larry into the ball in

Section and a nice finish yeah he like the feel of it too did yeah I think he liked it I liked it did you guys like it sure it R’s out there just wanting uh the situation he’s going to have to wait a sec still got scores coming through

For Morgan and Jack here R AA Rich he’s just such a talent he’s had some big moments he’s going to be representing Indonesia again at the Olympics this year but he wants to maintain his place at the moment in the top 22 sitting in 20th uh 21st position equal 21st

Position on the ratings at the moment this is a big heat for him yeah this is a huge event for him and uh we’ll just get back to that in a sec here goes Morgan so gets around this first section and uh just watch how he cut that one a

Little short because he had to get around this huge section drives around it big wrapping cut back and then the wave stood up again morgs just does that big layback hammer perfect timing there and you can just tell by the body language he likes it as well similar

Wave here for Jack yes such a nice carve again just cuts it short a little bit doesn’t engage all the way back into the whitewash but uh backs it up with another smooth turn and then this thing just a huge Larry under the lip and he just looks composed and the other thing

Is about Jack you know he matches the energy ocean every time if it’s small and Twitchy he’ll he’ll fire up into that mode when he’s got a bit more wall to work with he’s just in a perfect Tempo here a this final maneuver here you can see just leaning back that back

Arm acts as a pivot point Jack just all pressure on the back foot there now he uh yeah moves everything forward accelerate out of that section but uh you sort of looking at the replay comparing the two I feel like Jack’s opening carve was maybe a little bit

More on rail a little bit deep this will be good this will be good both these guys love getting in a little bit of a tussle here but Jack what’s happened here he’s just they’ve taken the got second there you go Morgan got it and as

Is often the case in in those paddle battles once the exchange is played out it’ll often go to the surfer who was on that first ride they were shoulder toh shoulder there it’s like a pug and a French Bulldog going at it good scores 6.1 there for Morgan sibl

Jack Robinson 6.83 three just edging ahead look at the numbers are so close for these competitors but it’s Rio has got work to do and he’s also got that pressure of sitting at the back end of the ratings at the moment looking to maintain a position in that top 22 and

You know even though you know no one’s going to lose in this opening round you can avoid the elimination round take a lot of pressure off yourself and uh just get the edge transfer that pressure on to those uh Surfers who are below that cut line at the moment it’s a really

Good feeling getting getting that first Heat win you get to skip that round and instantly it sort of gets the momentum of your event up and running uh transfers good energy you start building your confidence and you were talking about we were talking about Jack in his moments you know critical situations and

Pressure moments well it’s shifted onto Rio right now let’s see if uh the young Indonesian can perform with three and a half minutes to go looks like he’s going to have a multitude of waves to choose from here and uh needing that score I think

The judges have got this spot on at the moment that last exchange the 683 for Jack and the 61 that spread perfect I think Jack’s wave was just a little bit better than Morgan’s well here we go on the outside having a look at it but we’ll have to

Surrender that prior to the surle with priority Rio opting for this one he’s got to make up some ground here really flares out of the lip there finds the Open Face cutting back now he is after a 5.67 and he’s going to have to Surf out

Of his skin here you got to look at the size of this wave and compare it to what Jack and Morgan had on that last exchange really clean surfing I just wonder if there’s enough size in that wave no there wasn’t enough done out on

The back uh on the back section I I just feel like he he lacked that big open face carve that big initial section to hit put some points on the board big set starting to roll through the lineup well it was the the big sell too from the head the current Front

Runners and Jack both just went okay we’re looking at this one it was a mediumsized wave and uh when you you take those ones Vaughn you you have to just surf outside of yourself you’ve got to really throw everything at it first first term was pretty solid oh it was sick but even

Still you know going through the lip here is is so high risk and if you’re not throwing big plumes of spray like oie when he hits the lip for example which very few people do but that’s the example of someone who can push their board vertically up through the lid thr

A huge rooster tail and often you know if you attack it even though it’s so tricky and treacherous and high risk it doesn’t look that great sometimes you don’t get that big moment where you’re just blown off your feet and uh it can look a little sticky like Kelly at the

Start of his he had a similar thing going on big blow Tails yeah but just looked a bit sort of Stark and out of rhythm with it and then you know I don’t know it sort of just looked a little bit like that with Ros wave then yeah it’s

The difference between sort of climbing up and drifting with the lip and coming down or or just totally severing it into pieces and uh you know one looks really good and Banks points and the other one the judges kind of go not so good yeah at a 4.17 so the requirement Remains the

Same for Rio he’s after a 5.67 and uh it’s it’s a stressful one kyo’s out there watching this one play out Kyo Rio just sold on that last wave yeah I mean well there’s a contrast going on right now right you have the patient surfing in the broad canvas with

Morgan siick as well as Jack Robinson real surfing looking a bit more rushed you know and and and fanatic when he’s when he’s on the wave and so uh there’s a certain Pace I feel out here and I feel that you want to be patient in your

Turn placement and really kind of draw things out so there is a contrast between real surfing and that that we are seeing from Morgan sibl as well as Jack Robinson still 30 seconds to go how do you like Morgan’s chances uh in causing some upsets through this draw KS

This way fits his style right Ron I think Morgan sibl coming in here pressure-free already has that CT experience and the fundamentals that really helped Morgan you know Ascend to number five in the world on his rookie year those that fundamental surfing is really what’s on the menu for Success

Here at Bells yeah well uh I think too his back end is what got him his big results in 2021 on he’s run to that fifth place finish but he’s from Merryweather also spends a lot of time up at Angar two great right-handers Merryweather can have you know similar

Conditions to this at times and he’s just read it beautifully here for a second place finish but taking out the Heat and if he is a little under the weather Rich you wouldn’t have picked it with that performance Jack Robinson strong yeah he looked really strong on

The wave and you know that’s the power of someone with that experience and and that Shaman type effect where he can just block everything out they always say but where the the wounded athlete and uh you know can either can sometimes just focus your energy into exactly what

You need to do is Leandro and matd benrose in the corner of Jack Robinson we’re going to take a quick break here we got more coming your way from the opening day competition here at the rip Cur Pro Bells Beach presented by bonsoy e for opening day continues here at the rip c

Pro Bells Beach presented by bonsoy Jack Robinson getting the win 12.33 combined total and Morgan tick was competitive was exciting 12 point plus total as well to take the top two spots into the round of 32 remember these results in the opening round are incentive based if you’re

Getting wins you can move up in your seating bracket Morgan siick being a low seed will be happy to skip the elimination round and Jack looking like another great season already winning at Sunset Beach putting himself in a great position yeah in the final five I know andori enjoying the fans here on

The beach after a successful heat Victory remember he said had some tough ones here at Bells the injury was the hardest to watch in recent memories cuz he was in yellow at the time and that sidelined him injuries kept coming his way but this is a new Jack Robinson a

Dad nowadays and and ready for battle in the round of 32 brand new heat getting started Ethan Ying looking to go back to back this year with his Bell’s trophies taken on Matthew mcgil from South Africa and a wild card named George patar rep representing Australia and manly Beach

And excited to be in a big CT event here at stop number four of the Season Joe Trel with Felicity paler for the call Ethan Ying’s really been the focus this season for a true shot for Australia to bring home a world title you put him in conditions like this at

Bells man is he going to be hard to beat oh incredibly hard I think for me I think about Bell’s Beach and sort of that type of Surfing that suits here and I mean Ethan Yan goes hand in hand he’s just got that real tradition

Sort of style his rail game is on point he’s yeah he we saw it in finals last year in September just the variety he’s able to get out of his carving Maneuvers I honestly think today when it’s so groomed it’s so perfect it’s in the bow

It it’s going to be a hard task for these two other Surfers and you look at Matthew mcil raised at Jeff’s Bay uh one of the best right-handers on the planet he’s proved that he’s got depth though in Big Hollow conditions even going backside as a serious weapon for him but

When you look at the calendar of the CT events on tour you’d pick bells to be a strength for Maddie for sure I mean obviously coming from another right-and Point Break spending a lot of time on waves like this and and surfing a Point Break it’s a different style of Surfing

It’s a different pace to your surfing you’ve got to have a really good read on the wave and you’ve got to know when to actually just wait for the wave because I feel like sometimes you come here and you see a lot of surfers sort of over

Surfing it or people that haven’t come from those sort of point breaks and it sort of feels like they’re forcing turns so you’ve got think that Matty is going to have a good connection to this wave obviously coming from J Bay but uh yeah

We we we know that he loves to uh he loves a bit of adrenaline Matt as we know loves a bit of cliff diving bit of skydiving fan of base jumping you name it he he’s all over it so yeah waves a consequence big aerial maneuvers he’s he’s really well-rounded MADD he’s a

Really well-rounded so far so true as we’ll put George Batar in the mix he came out of the Rip Curl trials so couple different ways to earn your wild card in this event they have the local trials and then the ripl trials as well and George coming on top of that one we

Will get things started throwing a slice on the open face and pushing down the line is mcil looking for a big section to throw the tail to The Sky Had connection with his board for a moment through the turbulence but ends up incomplete kind of has that surprise

Element with his airs cuz he doesn’t doesn’t force them all the time and when he pulls them out you’re always like oh yeah he’s good in the air as well oh he’s great in the air he got a great body awareness obviously was just sort of mentioning it before but mty’s a fan

Of uh yeah those sort of sports where you’re jumping off things and spending a lot of time in the air so just having that body awarness um yeah he’s great as we saw him take to the air on that last section there for a split second I

Thought he actually was going to ride out of it we saw him sort of reappear through that phone but sort of just getting the best of him so Migel working his way back into the lineup uh conditions Flawless this morning nice offshore conditions it’s you know forecast to may go on Shore this

Afternoon but the water’s really warm you know especially when you’re wearing Rip Curl wet suits I wore a 32 last couple days and with all the paddling that you’re doing out there I think you could probably get away with you know a short arm full and saw some spring suits

Out there at winky pop and then the the hardcore victorians couple out there in board shorts as well as we look at M start again flick yeah a bit of a smaller wave here but opens up that account you can just see he had that second turn there was a bit funky lines

Up this end section goes for a lofty air there just see he sort of reappeared but yeah just getting gobbled up in that foam there but yeah I’ve seen I think I saw a photo of kale B Warren the other day in board shorts out there and this

Is before I came here I was like thinking about okay what wet suits do iing if I was to Surf and I was like surely a steamer and then I was scrolling on social media I saw Kay in board shots I was like excuse me it’s what you get with those uh hardcore

Victorians you’re going to hear about kale quite a few times throughout this event uh he’s been in the event as a wild card he coaches not just the local crew but a lot of the traveling Surfers he was actually the coach for Ethan Ying through his win last year in his

Semi-final before that Ethan now with Jake Patterson in 2024 but Ethan learning a lot from the local knowledge of of kale Bell Warren as he’s in a position I to try to go back to back with his Bell’s trophies last year it was all about winky pop and

Smaller conditions in an all Australian final beating Ryan cin last year yeah and I think obviously Ethan getting the win was ABS it was incredible uh but when you think about Ethan surfing traditionally I think about Ethan going hand in hand with the bow so when we

Moved to winky pop last year it was quite small and more challenging conditions i’ think maybe not as suited to sort of Ethan’s style of Surfing so it was very cool to see him get the win there uh but today I I really can’t wait to watch him open

His account here this is almost you know it’s it’s getting close to as good as it gets here at the bowl it’s big it’s open open face and I just can’t wait to see that silky smooth uh trademark Ethan Ying yeah his rhythm is just uncanny the

Timing he has is brilliant in Beach breaks and point breaks a true World title threat this season falling off tour as a rookie a few years back and learned so much studied the game one of the more focused athletes that I’ve ever met on tour still waiting for

His first to come through Matty’s opener a 2.33 and George patar interesting story with this guy representing man landley Beach for the first 10 years of his life were spent on Vanuatu a remote island and I think most people they’re they learn how to surf on maybe a nice

Comfortable soft wave and they learned to get to their feet and you know the difference for George who was learning to surf on a perfect ride ER that you dream of Surfing as an adult and he just uh learned to Surf world class waves kind of first and then moved to manly

And worked everything else out to be a really well-rounded competitor sometimes that can be a really hard thing to do you know you come from a place with such good waves and I can sort of speak to this you get used to the the power on

Tap and just how good they can be and then having to you know obviously we’ve got the qualifying series and then the Challenger Series and Challenger Series there’s some few good ways on there but the qualifying series you know really having to battle out in some trickier

Conditions so can be really hard when you come from a place with such good waves to sort of be like okay now I’ve got to improve on that small wave game you know last te Was Won by a man from the West Jack Robinson and join Bells

This morning he’s hanging out with Laura yes Jack great start to the hit you were saying that you were feeling a bit under the weather during the week didn’t look like it out there paddle battle with Morgan you were pretty stoked to get the

Win with that yeah I got him too I was like even though they didn’t call Priority I was like just just going for it trying to get my energy back so yeah was it was fun I only caught two waves was all I needed but um yeah I

Thought actually we were going to get a bunch of big sets and then it just the ocean just went for asleep so yeah talk about coming into the event and feeling a bit crap but having to you know mentally pull together and and get the job done you know you serve so amazing

Out here what have you been doing in the leadup to just really get back to today to do your work for sure yeah just trying to build the energy again spend time with the family at home enjoy this place and uh yeah back at Bells so I’m

Always always happy to be here and um yeah enjoy this place a lot amazing well into the round three we’ll see you not today but hopefully tomorrow perfect see you tomorrow thanks Laura well done for Jack you could tell he’s still recovering he was a bit under the weather last few

Days as we see a nice snap to little rooftop climb George patar trying to light up that first section on his opening wave here as a wild card at Bells but yeah Surfers have been battling with some illness after just a crazy run of events and traveling I saw

Seth in the water the other day and his first surf after Portugal was just a couple days ago and he had some time at home but it was all about just trying to recover from his illness as he’ll be really fighting for some key heat WIS since the mid-season cut has approaching

Quickly oh it is and uh we have a look here so just having a look at that wave but yeah it’s been a massive start to the year me we were speaking about it in the first couple of Heats of the day but these guys and women they they haven’t

Stopped really you know pipe Sunset few of them went over to Puerto Rico as we break down this first opening ride of George he really put it all on the line here it was a really critical turn sort of went from went to be a snap up in the

Lip then to a th throw then to a bit of like a floater so just coming unstuck there at the end maybe getting up there a little bit late maybe but I I like the commitment I like that he he’s going for I mean he’s coming up against Ethan

Newing and MD MCG so he’s got to put it all on the line if he uh wants to get through this heat yeah it’s been fun watching George in the the last couple years especially on the Challenger Series as we look at Ethan Ying preparing for his opener as he’s looking

To defend his Bell big whip there right into his second turn great flow once again driving into a third maneuver belts it off the lip and the man from strat’s on a roll already Rec covers that wrap as he completely disappeared in the white water and he’ll just keep that Tempo and

Flow way down to the inside you have the advantage of the Red Bull skis picking you up so you might as well Dry Dock these waves but Ying’s looking strong like he has been for the last couple of seasons on the world tour runner up in the world

Last year to Felipe too and that first title match might have been one of my favorites that I’ve seen at lower so you know that venue’s been at the regular season level for a long time but the back and forth from to to Ethan was incredible back to this one flick

Yeah beautiful Pace on this wave and an amazing read this was a smaller wave but Great Wave selection you’d see that this wave just kept standing up it had a really nice steepness to it the whole way through smaller wave but just surfed it really beautifully I was just really

Looking forward to seeing him open up his account and yeah just that silky smooth vintage tradition traditionalist type of Surfing that uh we love to watch with the bells bow what a glorious day here on the first day of competition all Surfers that got down here were greeted

To beautiful waves here from winky pop to Bell’s Beach some events you never know what you have and sometimes your best waves are happening in your heat you don’t get to warm up and figure out your boards but this last few days were just perfect to pick out the right

Equipment as we go to a special place on the stairs Helen Lambert Ethan’s mom passed away when he was really young he had her Bell’s trophy by his bed his entire life and his dream was to bring another Bell home for the family he did that last season and it was a pretty

Emotional celebration on the podium last year oh it’s such a special special Victory and and what a special story and just to be able to do that too I mean it’s easy to dream about something like that but to really go out and do it is another thing

And to keep progressing through Heats and you know as that event kept progressing people were talking about it and to kind of just block all that head nose out and actually go and do it and let your surfing do the talking is so hard to do so yeah super special win for

Uh Ethan last year and you can tell he once more as we lock in with Matty mcgil his second wave of this matchup trying to find some lines to work with a lot of foam on the face there as he trims it setting up a bottom turn a little

More of a wall to work with with that off the top carving through on the open face s section approaching and M Gil of heading that direction hits it hard and the South African rides away next wave setting up for Ying world number two with a speed turn almost

Getting taken down by the White Water now looking to just fade find his Pace again nice clean Arc for ying and now heading for a big end section maneuver hits it off the top and Rides Away not the easiest to run from start to finish but managed to find his

Feet and snake likes it snake does like it I think if you’re taking off on a wave today obviously they’ve got the jet ski assist you kind of want to see it to the end you never know what kind of points could be on that inside section

Ethan that whole wave was kind of just playing with it that first cutback that he went for he actually I think he wanted to hit it pretty high and then he identified that hang on a sec this wave isn’t actually giving me that opportunity I’m just going to change

This halfway through and hit that first roundhouse a little bit lower so that was cool to see that little redirect he kind of then bobbled a little bit almost fell off but it was a good read good finish to the wave I know that Jake would like that his you know solid

Finish and yeah just backing up that uh 4.83 one more look here at that last exchange McGill getting his best number so far yeah this way had that little bit of texture on the face quite a bit of foam to deal with that makes that board really really kind

Of bobly on the face of the wave you can sort of see it here starts to steepen up through this inside section that was a better turn there and kind of you just see this whole wave you just didn’t really have that real nice one clean face moment but

With 12 minutes on the clock I mean not a bad score it’s probably going to be thinking it’s going to be one of his backups here we have a look at Ethan just see just pulled that roundhouse a bit short there into that second one I

Just love his style there the way that he’s able to just open up his arms it just looks so beautiful to watch and just sort of waiting for this inside section he knows he hasn’t had a steep section yet and he knows that a lot of points are going to come from

Probably this last section this was really well timed that that last section there can be very very difficult to hit sometimes you got a little bit of backwash to contend with so well done for uh Ethan then all Surfers knowing that no one’s really got a score of

Magnitude yet so if you’re taking off in a wave you want to be finishing it kpo Guerrero we’ve got Ethan Ying in motion trying to build on his lead at the moment you got some insight for us on his surfboards I I well first of all the outside cares from the water perspective

Look smooth it look like an F1 racer going through the turns pulling some G’s on that but yeah Ethan’s on a new model with DHD it’s called the Juliet the Juliet um a romantic model actually for Ethan ying and that board actually won a blind taste test in the sa the dark uh

Competition that actually happened with Klo Andino picking that board out of OA surf boards as his favorite and obviously it’s Ethan’s favorite too so looking sharp I like the DHD under the feet of Ethan Ying um and just the control that you see throughout his turns is very impressive very impressive

Thanks Kaio yeah big congrats to to Darren it’s a really amazing series we love it that stab magazine puts out it’s called stab in the dark where they pick a world class Surfer none of the Shapers know who the surfer is they know their height and weight you know and they so

They work out their dimensions and they try to create a model that’ll win and Koh had no idea which shaper was which he’s trying to guess and next thing you know it came down to Darren Hanley with a new model release that Juliet that Ethan’s on right now as we look at world

Number one preparing Griffin talking to his coach Tommy Whitaker he’s taking on Jacob Wilcox and local Wild Card Tully Wy coming up Next come e Griff goap pinzo preparing for Jacob Wilcox and Tully Wy as he runs down the stairs wearing bright yellow now for the second time in his career he’s wearing earlier than last time he got it towards the end of the season in the past after

El Salvador now he’s in bright yellow here at Bell’s Beach his parents just showed up just talked to his mom Camille she’s so proud of uh both of her boys representing on the dream tour how rare is that to have both your kids worldclass athletes both traveling

Around the world she said they were playing a very silly game this morning kind of sounds like the brothers they have a lot of laughs they don’t mind being goofy and I think they make people crack up more than anyone else and it’s working for them keeping things light

Behind the scenes and having fun Griffin number one in the world coming up next 7:43 on the clock and Ethan looking can afford to look a little longer when you have last priority kind of look over the edge you can even Glide in a bit if you

Want you know there won’t be a priority switch since at the bottom but his last wave 507 was enough to get the lead mcil that second wave he caught 4.9 and the wild card with priority George needs a 6.43 and yeah the good reminder that we’ve seen mdy for a bit now 32

Appearance at the CT level it’s funny because I still feel like he’s sort of like you know he’s not a veteran on tour yet but that’s a lot of uh events clocked up already uh and he’s young he’s a young guy one thing I wanted to

Note I feel like the ocean is getting a little bit sleepy we heard it Jack Jack Robinson say it in the post interview with Laura but he’s like yeah I thought we were going to get sets and I thought it was going to pulse and then the ocean

Just went to sleep kind of seems a little bit sleepy looks like there might be a couple of lines coming but only got 6 and A2 minutes left in this heat and very minimal scores on the board so it’s still wide open you kind of hear that a

Lot after you know post seed interviews you know of like you’re trying to forecast so much in this sport from what the waves might be like to how many sets going to get and then you have to trust your instincts and react I mean Ramsey

Said oh it’s a lot harder than it looks even though we’re like wow he’s ripping and then you kind of clean the Slate look at what’s in front of you and see who can adapt the best into these conditions 6 minutes on the clock still wide open George patar the wild card for

Manley Beach getting this one going driving off the bottom nice wrapping turn to start needs a 643 to move into the top two another whip in the pocket there from George staying connected and now winding up off the bottom and absolutely ripping that section off the top good timing with a

Lot of speed and power for George to finish yeah that that was a really really well surfed wave from George it was a smaller wave and he I think he surfed it to the best that he could however I don’t think I don’t think it’s

Going to be that 643 I just think back to waves earlier today I think to Miguel I think to Ramsey they were dropping six and seven I mean as we reflect here he surfed this wave really well beautiful arcing turn there really well timed goes straight up into this

Roundhouse carve you just see this wave here just this height sort of lacking and this that steepness to this wave brings it through to the inside finishes it really well but I don’t think it’s going to be that 6.47 he’s obviously only got a 0.8 so it’s a

Wave it’s a start but he’s still going to need another wave after this one I think you know you got to be thinking that Matt and Ethan are probably going to get another roll of the dice here as well and uh yeah another set coming through might move up into uh that

Second place but yeah I I think uh he’s not safe so George throwing down his best wave so far had a look before at a point8 and now enjoying the luxuries of being on the dream tour getting the assist on the Red Bull ski and the sets

Are pouring through one of our favorite parts of bells being up on top of this Bluff you just look at the stacks of the Horizon especially with these clean conditions and you’re just wondering which one is going to really refract into the bowl and be the ones the

World’s best want to take apart going 100 miles an hour and laying that rail over it will be Ethan Ying scrapping into this one just a brief moment for eth to go up and out didn’t like the rest of it Matthew still holding priority with 355 to go

Really interesting when you focus on George and you’re we’re all getting to know this guy the last couple of years He got interviewed when he started getting some good results through the Qs qualified for the Challenger Series and they’re like okay what’s your dream Heat this is a couple years ago he’s like

Okay I’d be at Bells it’d be offshore it’d be Easter Sunday the bluff would be packed and I’d be in the final with Kelly it’s such a rad prediction of hey it might end up being able to happen this year as we enjoy this Melbourne flight camp and really get to know how

Big this playing field really is at Bell’s Beach oh it is it’s it’s honestly like a football St it’s like it’s a big Stadium here and the the lineup’s so big the area the pl the playing field so big knowing where to sit even we touched on

It earlier uh today but this is a wave where you know experience pays a lot and to have the right people in your corner is also really imperative I think you know who you have as your coach here is also really important I was actually really interested to hear that Ramsey

Didn’t have anyone in his Corner this morning and he seemed to put together a really good heat so that was really impressive but yeah a wave out here just Sur putting together a heat out here can be really tricky especially with a wave like Bells where you get really long LS

Trying to make a decision on as those corduro line lines wrap into the bay what one do you want to choose what one’s going to stand up in the bowl as we see mie picking this one out with priority for a bit needs a 5 Z1 for the win nice cool

Connection with that hack off the lip now he’ll flow into the open face again and just do some busy work hoping that he gets an inside track only needing that mid-range number he’s going to kick out and hope that turn out the back was enough George patar now

Whipping it back into the pocket at a 453 on his previous so that W for matd was important cuz George was only chasing a 271 before mcil took off now rushing this inside section the 21-year-old will slide out and just miss that final section but he’s definitely improving on his top

Two and snake with a sneaky little orange shirt there what do we think that means don’t see him do that all the time is he trying to throw us off maybe oh there different little codes man different things and maybe maybe set’s approaching I’m not sure it looks like

There’s a couple of lines on the screen at the moment wow orange rashy there we go obious we’re coming down there to find out more details on that keep an eye on that orange shirt minute 10 on the clock maybe it means it’s also go time for

Ying with a minute to go Ying will use his priority to try to keep his lead nice whip on that DHD Juliet model nice snap off the lip again now a big vertical to set up the fade in transition solid approach there from World number two and last year’s Bell’s

Champ will fall in the Finish Jake wasn’t happy with that one of his famous saying is is uh not at this level he tells that to all of his athletes definitely was hoping for Ying to finish but did some great work until he got to that point for sure I mean it

Would have been nice if he could just finish that one off but it’s kind of rare actually to see Ethan fall so yeah it wasn’t very much like Ethan but yeah 15 seconds on the clock and mdy obviously improved on his situation with his last wave so keeping George out of the

Conversation Ethan’s always so efficient with managing his energy doesn’t really take off on un unnecessary waves he can be very selective and like you said he doesn’t fall so he could could really rely on that approach especially knowing how most of these vents but especially

Bells can be a bit of a marathon to end up in the final as we stand by for the numbers from the last few waves coming through it looks like Ethan Ying is able to hang on to that win mcil hanging on to Second and George patar will be sent to the

Elimination round which is scheduled for later on today tonight tonight dark massive day ahead of us just getting started Ying looking for a second Bell to go back to back and build on his legacy here in Victoria up next World number one hits the lineup kapino

Taking on wi Co and wildcard Tully Wy be right Back get 217 it’s time for the pulse we’ll get you caught up with the major highlights of the day so so far things got started off in a great way for Ramsey and the event his opening wave this morning first wave ridden of the contest a 7.17 the Moroccan feeling solid Keno

Igarashi had a good pace and Tempo on these stretched out walls at Bells and his best score 567 enough to hang on to second to advance Cade will go to the elimination round then we saw Slater this is where it all started for him back in the early early 90s his first CT

Victory so many great memories he’s going to be a dad once again as he’s expecting there’s a lot to catch up with the goat you know the 52-year-old though had a big heat Seth monice and John and he won it a big win for Kelly as he’s

Still hoping on breaking that record he shares with Fanning and Mark Richards here at Bells action continued sicks back with a wild card opportunity and he battled with Robinson both with 12 plus totals they left out Rio waa so the Indonesian will be in the elimination round later on today but jack’s looking

Comfortable especially knowing that he’s been under the weather the last few days turned into nice Victory receded into the round of 32 Jack got the rest of the day off to relax and recover and build his energy levels as we get started here in Heat number six Jacob Wilcox used to

Saying that he’s a wild card but this is a full-time rookie on tour these days he did have a quarter final out here when he was a wild card now he’s really trying to make it count to feel more comfortable with that mid-season cut approaching happy to be back in Oz

Obviously from the west but living on the goldie these days he hopped over there after Portugal came down here to Bell’s Beach he’s been busy but active in the water as well he participated in the rising star awards here locally here in T and handed off some amazing

Trophies to some local kids and then finished that went right back into the water at Bells to try some equipment so this will be a big event for will Cox for sure I think this is going to be a really big event for him he’s I think

Right now sitting just above that cut line right on the bubble and it’s a scary place to be but if anyone’s going to do it I mean right now we got up we’ll get back to that point because Griff’s up and riding he got a nice Flow State right now

Griff cool look an arc to cover some ground throws down a nice wrapping cut back another quick fade for world number one and now rushing that endsection he slams it and stays on his feet COA Pinto on the board always enjoying this kid’s approach he’s had some interesting

Moments at Bells because he’s had to try to Surf through injuries hurt his miniscus in the early part of his career so I think he’s really looking for forward to this year at Bells has a nice obviously Rhythm being number one with heat winds but also just feeling 100% as

We look at his opening right again yeah there’s nothing worse than coming into an event and uh carrying an injury so nice to see he’s just silky smooth carrying that yellow Jersey and looking like he’s in form really feet looks like they’re really in the wax looking

Connected and yeah coming through to the inside there solid finish and by today’s standards I mean we’ve seen some pretty slower Heats in the last couple so I think this was a good move just bringing this one through to the inside finishing off probably going to be that mid-range

Sort of score and good backup already love how much wall you have out here flick and and what’s the secret secret to success on a wave like this I think it’s Tempo and I think it’s Pace I I think it’s the moments between the turns that really make the wave look

Really good it’s the I guess the moments between the turn that style right and you think about the Surfers that are your favorite to watch out here I mean I look back in time and Joel comes to mind as one of my favorites and I think it is

His style it’s the way he approaches the wave it’s those little moments between the turns that just make everything so silky smooth I think back to Ethan in that last Heat and he’s quickly one of my favorites at waves like this as well Griffin already off and running

Looking really smooth on his opening ride Koo yeah looking smooth Joe and you know the talents there for Griffin it’s what he’s doing also framing a heat and and and mentally where he’s coming through is where I feel like the strength is with Griffin this year he’s

Already got freakish talent but even the way he prepared at the beginning of the heat Joe he most of the Surfers are paddling out rencon and kind of backdooring the the bowl Griffin paddled wide through the channel took a good look at the wall good look at the

Playing field to set himself up it’s those little nuances in preparation I feel that actually end up with results and so Griffin playing the game really well thank you Kyo Griffin such a great head space kicks things off with a 5.5 and the lead on the opening exchange will Cox 467 Tully Wy

2.17 yeah it’s all those things that you start learning when you’ve been on tour for a bit uh it was interesting for Co lento when he was a rookie on tour success was just kind of heading his way it was kind of started actually before his rookie debut Snapper where he got

The tanic Kira he he won the Triple Crown you don’t want to say on accident cuz he was trying but his goal was actually just to learn everything from Koh and ends ends up being the first Californian to win a Triple Crown he got a cover a Surfing Magazine got a 10 in

His rookie debut and this magic kept happening but it kind of led him to trying to understand how he can develop an attitude a demeanor a just that inner voice that will help him succeed cuz it happened so quickly so fast and then when the injuries came he was trying to

Figure out how to get it back I think there’s two things there I think it’s age I think it’s you know Coming of Age story sort of growing up finding yourself finding your voice starting to feel really comfortable with who you are and how you show up to an event and how

You like to compete and then also dealing with injuries and just what that teaches you right and what that gives you and it gives you perspective sort of get to sit there you get to be like okay wow like this is really what I want to

Do maybe have a different way that you want to you know approach events sort of a different way to evaluate things uh but I really think it’s an age thing you know every year we just see Griff come back and he’s refined his approach more

And more here comes toly Wy local boy in his second start as a wild card representing everybody at Bells big whip there 87 kilos about 191 lbs of strength for the backhander now Tully will light up this endsection and get everybody on their feet especially the Rip Curl crew his

Father’s worked for rip cill for about two decades as a general manager and that’s what makes this event so fun the Wild Card Stories the local crew that own this wave and every free surf year round get to compare their surfing to the best in the world for

Sure I me my favorite story about that is Adam Robo I just think back to the year when he made it all the way through to that final that was so incredible to watch really like tul sty it’s really unique and it’s something we don’t

Really get to see too much of these days lots of people end up looking very similar but he’s got that really unique sort of arm throw on his backand when he goes up to hit the liap you really get to see it here on that end section there

A nice wave from T got a good finish on there probably sort of going to be around that four range in my opinion I think got a score on the board now and 20 minutes left on the clock you got to be thinking it’s a it’s a good move he’s

Got to finish didn’t fall but he’s going to be wanting more especially coming up against obviously world number one Griff but then Jacob as well who’s had a ton of experience out here I mean even before he qualified for the tour he I think he had served in something like 12

Or 13 World Tour events as wild cards which is actually insane it’s almost like it surfed a full year on tour I mean over a full year on tour with 12 or 13 events which is it’s incredible it’s like you always like second guessing yourself when you’re calling him a

Rookie with all that experiences Ethan walks up the stairs we talked about solid start [Applause] Ethan thank you got love a bit of brutal honesty that’s what they’re there for at this level of the you know it’s Ethan wants to hear it straight he wants

To know how he can pick up and be even better in the round of 32 there all those just little mistakes that are hard to recover from at this level I was at the swell Cafe the other morning and everyone working there is so invested in

This event have a lot of the tour has coffees there after surfs and breakfast and they were just one of the conversations we were happen is at this level just the littlest mistakes can cost you your entire year or the cut or a world title just a your momentum in

The event for Ethan he wants to make sure that Bells is his on tour he it’s is his time to create a legacy and an era here as he looks to go back to back for sure and I think at this level you want to be dotting all the eyes you want

To be Crossing all the teas and I think even in the last couple of years the tour is so diverse now everyone is so good I mean we saw it happen on the women’s side you know we saw obviously that youth movement run away with it at

The beginning of the year at pip and Sunset and then the veterans just fought back at Port that nahhh experience P you just can’t pick a winner at these events and you you know you look at Heats I feel like a few years ago especially on

The women’s side of the tour you had those few Breakaway women you had your Kissa your Steph your Tyler they were always you know going to be in that sort of finals day conversation but now everyone is just so good and this the samees to be said on the men’s side you

Just can’t be affording to you know falling on those last turns or or bobbling there or making those mistakes at the start of the Heat and I feel like it Bells especially I mean it was interesting to hear what kypo said uh that Griff actually chose to paddle out

Through the channel as opposed to the other two paddling out you know down at ringcom because they’re two very different approaches if you paddle up up the reef you know you’re coming into the back of the wave you’re trying to dominate that inside position it’s very

Different as what Griffin chose to do is paddle out looking at the wave and really evaluating it so it’s interesting to hear yeah I love the insights there as we see 17 minutes on the clock tally wy’s last 573 is taking the lead as we’ll now get a chance to hear from

Ethan Ying on the glass with Von Blakey yeah well here we are with the defending Champion Ethan Ying who uh mate I swear you would have come down this morning looked at it and just gone this is unreal been licking your lips and uh you said you found it a little

Tricky out there yeah it was um I think that’s always Bells it looks so good from from land but once you get out there it’s uh such a big playing field it’s um I think we missed a few at the start we’re out of position

And um yeah it was a kind of a pretty tricky heat tricky heat but uh get the job done yeah feels good to get the win um scale’s really low so we didn’t get huge scores but yeah getting the win and through that next round feels good mate

Uh number two in the world uh we talked about the other night at the trilogy premere it sort of just feels like you’re idling like you haven’t even put the foot to the floor yet uh where do you feel like you’re at at the moment this year um yeah definitely feel like

I’ve got a lot more to to give which is of a good feeling it’s what I’m working towards and um but yeah being up at the top end of the rankings is at this stage of the the year feels pretty good and yeah came to keep it going and bills

Obviously a favorite wave of yours sentimental meeting is huge here but uh you know the fact that we’ve come down here and day one is cooking it must get you really ramped up to get a good result here for sure yeah this is um I love coming down here and competing in

Australia is uh the Highlight for my year and um yeah just happy to be back down here with my dad and got some friends here with me too so yeah all’s good the straty crew they’re going to send it again aren’t they for sure yeah

Mate uh just before you go I did cop Trilogy the other night far out it is a masterpiece you might have be fro and congratulations on that yeah thank you it was um honor to to do a movie like that and um it’s been a while like to to

Bring it out but I’m really happy to to have it out now and yeah Keen to see what people’s thoughts are hope they like it oh they’re going to love it mate it’s it’s incredible uh thanks uh again for your time mate and a great result to get your campaign going this year

Perfect thanks V yeah V thanks e Ethan looking comfortable calm noting that the the scale is low at the moment as he won that with a 99 total he’ll take that and move on into the round of 32 but kind of a scary sign if he’s equal second on the

Rankings and he still feels like he’s idling I mean that’s an incredible start if you know that you have a lot more in the tank wow it’s it’s scary for everyone else in the field it’s scary for anyone else that wants to jump up into that uh top five seed position

Because I mean I I kind of get where he’s coming from though I mean I even watched that last sat and night I just say wow he’s got a lot more to give and I think just watching him at finals last year was incredible and knowing the

Variety that he can give on those carving maneuvers you know his forehand is razor sharp and just goes hand inand with right-handers so yeah I I’m I’m looking forward to seeing more of Ethan I’m really impressed with Ethan in a lot of ways but one thing I picked up on

Well we’ll get back to this because we had an important ride here for Jacob Wilcox during the interview yeah this this was a good wave too this was this wave stood up really good little read on that section there that’s a really difficult section to turn on kind of

Helps being on your backhand there he had the ability to really pivot super tight in the pocket sort of sticking with this one knowing he’s only got that one wave on the board he needs to get a finish here at the end and he doesn’t

Want to fall so he gets like a nice tight turn there waves still giving him a little bit more there that section was super tricky to deal with but got the finish and with this little time left on the clock he couldn’t fall there he couldn’t afford to fall and I guess

That’s sort of echoing what uh Ethan was talking you know even Jake saying oh you know he can’t be falling on those end sections Jacob really just cementing that there on that last wave I was just thinking about Ethan walking away from you know some finals that he hasn’t

Closed out in the last couple of years going to J Bay last year with too uh even going to the final he just had with Griff he can move on so quickly and respect the result I’ve seen him congratulate too on the podium and it was really meaningful it wasn’t like he

Was like oh I went all that way and didn’t win he he didn’t need to hide in a corner and he was really respectful to Felipe gave a great speech to Griffin at the dinner table after Portugal and it was really mean you could tell he he

Knows where good surfing is he knows if he got second he’s got more to get and I think it’s just such a great head space he doesn’t wear his losses it reminds me a lot of of Mick Fanning when he was on tour I think also that’s a real big

Testament to his character and just the way he’s been brought up because uh you know in those moments where you could be just feeling absolutely shattered you know you you first Los it you got second you know and he has come in and had that ability to you know be so Sportsman

Likee and really you know note that and sort of obviously I’m sure behind clo doors there’s emotion but to really not let that show and just think about this okay logically like let’s you know let’s be a good human first and and then the athlete second and yeah that really

Shines through for uh for uh Ethan he’s also pretty softly spoken very humble guy yeah I really like that about him just really letting his surfing do the talking he is as we need to get caught up flick on the Rookie of the Year race

I think we all at Pipeline and there was uh so many great stories and Rookie of the Year picks going to Cole hman for good reason because of how Cole surfs uh obviously a champion of the Challenger Series which is a huge accomplishment and I think you kept wanting to remind

People of wa and this guy with experience Jacob Wilcox right now though he’s in a crazy tie break situation with Frederico Marias Matthew McGill who did advance to round of 32 earlier poopo got a win Miguel uh earlier this morning as well so that tie will be broken but he’s

In a hot spot I mean he’s right there on the cut and he really needs to make sure he’s getting Winder at Bells and Margaret River how would you kind of break down his year so far heading into stop number four I don’t think Jacob’s year has anything to do about his

Surfing I just feel like it’s been a few sliding doors moments I feel like Jacob surfing is right there and I know I’m a West dozi and I’m not just saying it because I’m you know West do he proud but I think Jacob surfing’s been at the

Level of the world tour for a long time we talk about how well-rounded he is too coming from Western Australia and just we were talking about it on the Challenger Series just how well suited he’s going to be to the tour you know feeling so comfortable at home in these

Waves of consequence going in a pipe I was like wow he’s a sure bet I I kind of thought okay he’s going to smash this but yeah just not really getting the results that he probably thought he wanted and coming home now to Australian soil got to be thinking that he’s

Feeling comfortable and then the next event is his backyard so you know he’s got all tools there to make it happen it’s just uh if maybe the ocean’s going to cooperate you’re starting to just hold your breath for these guys that are battling with this midseason cut at the

Moment though it is the rookie Jacob Wilcox leading over Tully Wy in world number one Griffin Cola Pino will take a bonsoy brew Breck and be right Back for we you’re watching the opening round of the rift CR Pro Bells Beach presented by Bon so bright yellow Jersey of world number one Griffin Kinto setting up his first turn nice tracking down carve smooth in transition into another wrapping cutback and now Griff sets the rail that

Surfboard shaped by Matt biolis to now stretch out this inside section off the bottom and off the top he’ll create some space to kick out well red Wade for Griff who only needed a 2.41 moving to the top two it’s in just so fun to enjoy him on

A wave for this long enjoying his style his Pace this was a great wave and very important at this time in the heat he’s obviously sitting down there in third he only needed a 2.4 he’s definitely done that but yeah great Pace to the wave great read you can really see that he’s

Slowed he surfing down he’s really waiting for that section to present itself and finish is so strong there he didn’t want to fall I reckon it’s going to be the best wave of the heat so far just really well surfed and for me it was all about the pace you could I could

Just see that he slowing his surfing down here was just really noticeable and yeah just not over surfing it and just making sure that uh he put that nail in the coffin so smooth with all of his power turns and I think the judges always recognized that complete flow

From start to finish they don’t really enjoy when you have to chase sections or you pick up your rail it’s always nice when it’s just one fluid transition for sure there wasn’t a lot of Bing going on there yeah enjoyed it 55 now to a 65 go Griff goes from third

To First will Cox drops to Second and Tully Wy the local wild card has priority chasing a 467 now Griffin already growing on tour in front of our eyes 52 now CT starts and gosh he’s accomplished so much picking up big wins around the world from waves like El

Salvador picking up a couple of wins now in Portugal in his career uh pushing the world title race last season on his home court which was the big goal and going through heartbreak as well missing out on a spot the season before and really diving deep into his head space to to

Believe in his ability to be a world champion this year for sure I think uh what’s going to be interesting here at the end of the heat is uh Jacob’s not safe right now you know T’s sitting out there he’s got priority and there’s 5

And a half minutes left on the clock he only needs a 4.67 and look T’s highest wave that 573 so he doesn’t have to do actually better than that he just has to do that and he’s going to better that he’s going to get up into that advancing

Position into that second so a bit of pressure right now and you know obviously not having the experience as to what Jacob does and you got to be thinking what he what his mindsets like right now is he nervous when this set starts to roll throw I mean you can see

Those waves coming from a long way away you know the the dead giveaways you just look up the point to you look up the right to the point at ringcon and you see those lines starting to come through maybe looks like something smaller coming through the lineups we’ll see if

They maybe start having a look for it 4:30 on the clock priority with tly Wy the whole local contingent down here trying to root him on into a big finish like we saw years ago like flick mentioned from Adam Robertson going all the way to a final against Joel

Parkinson that was one of the favorite memories for the locals having Robo almost go all the way Adam Robinson now in charge of things at surfing Victoria and even the following years after that final Robo could have done it again and again and he actually started giving up

His spot in the trials he’s like I’ve had my fun and he wanted the Next Generation to get their shot to represent the local area I thought that was so cool and he loves giving back as a coach and insight for the best Surfers in the world that come down here he’s

Famous for helping World Champs like Carissa Moore in the past uh tally Wy was right next to kale Bell waren before this heat started and a couple other friends started showing up and I was looking at their wristbands I was like wait where’ those come from they’re just trying to get all their

Mates down here on the stairs I think there was one from two years ago that they tried to make work and they just didn’t want to miss the seat for the world oh yeah I I just feel like like waves like Bells I mean you get wild

Cards at every event obviously but Bells is very specific right there’s a there’s so much that goes into it I mean so much experience and I feel like these are the events your specific events like this one where experience pays off that you can get those Wild Card Hero Stories

Where they do go all the way to the final I mean happens a bit at Margaret River we’ve seen it when Margaret River’s moved over to the box as a second location we’ve seen Surfers like Jack Robo do really well before he was on tour there out at the box but so you

See Adam Robo on screen now there he is absolute Legend I think he gets more out of the Next Generation now and uh getting his kids in the ocean but always fun to talk surf talk Bells still rips charges 2:30 on the clock rolling into this one off the bottom Tully Wy getting

A little bit stuck can he recover section he’ll throw that vert climb to transition into an open wall picks up the rail again as he’s looking for another big major winds up and hits the lip again tally makes it Robo likes the finish and then Griffin kicks out so

Tally putting up a few different turns you can see his flow was disrupted a bit but didn’t need a whole lot down to 2 minutes on the clock it’s going to be interesting there was a couple of bobles there I definitely saw saw that as well

Get to break it down right now goes up into this first turn you can see that he just had to sort of two stage that there he couldn’t keep that rail all on board and it almost looked like I was like okay he’s two stage the first turn is

This going to you know generally if you don’t get that first turn right the pace of the rest of the wave doesn’t quite flow but he ended up pulling it off and they were two clean a backhand hits after that first one so only needing a 4

67 I think it’s going to be and they have a direct comparison cuz Willcox already has a 467 that they can compare it to Here Comes Jacob now the rookie on tour from wa 22nd in the world sitting right on the cut wants to avoid the elimination

Round and he definitely would have heard some Hoots from everyone on the stairs back in the local wild card as will Cox winds up hacks the finish and steps off so looking nice and aggressive at the tail end of that wave Jacob’s got to improve on a 467 and T need a

467 I just like how you know you’ve got video replay if you need it you know it Bells you have definitely some time in between sets to to bring up previous scores this is going to be really really interesting Jacob didn’t get a lot of work done on the on the outside section

Of his wave a lot of the work was done on the inside section I’m not sure if he’s going to improve on that 467 cuz it was quite a smaller wave I’m not sure uh tul on the other hand I feel like that’s going to be touch and go just the pace

Was ever so slightly off because of that first turn he had to sort of two stage that couldn’t keep that board completely on rail I’m just not sure where the judge is going to go I I know what you’re thinking with that flick cuz it was just

Disconnected but when he got there he was turning in some so you know decent turns but will they look at that disruption of flow and getting a bit sticky there will that keep that score down remember Ethan acknowledged how low this the scale is today so 467 you

Actually have to do quite a lot as we look at Willcox on this last one yeah so is this this is his this is that last wave okay I didn’t actually see the beginning of that so he did get a couple of turns in look it’s going to be touch

And go this wave here went super sleepy through this inside section he’s sticking with it he knows that he’s going to make some sort of magic happen on the inside if he wants to improve on that 467 you know what after rewatching this I’m thinking maybe he might may I

Think he’s improved on that 46 he just so much more connected yeah yep as we look at toally see had to pick up the rail again judges aren’t going to like that they’re not and you know what bigger wave but just wasn’t looking connected and just that flow wasn’t

There where yeah when you compare it to Jacob’s sort of little bit night and day in my opinion so tally making the most of the sections he had and got stuck at different times almost looked like he had some uphill battles but he got there Tully chasing down a

467 and it comes in at a 4.60 so not enough will Cox last wave of four didn’t even factor in but he’s safe in second moving to the round of 32 and world number one Griffin kapino flexes that yellow Jersey 65 and a 55 nice Pace performance from the

Californian to be receded well into the round of 32 solid effort there Jordy Smith’s coming up against Kyo that was a final the PED Bells now it’s in the opening round they’ll throw an Ian Gentile as we bring in Ronnie Blakey Richie love it in two time Road champ

Bell’s Champion Tommy Carrol’s in the house we’ll be right back that first the ri girl Pro Bells Beach presented by bonso is brought to you by Cooper’s Brewery the official beer of WSL Australia by Boost Mobile official tele commmunication partner of WSL Australia by biog gland official vitamin partner of WSL

Australia by gwm official Automotive partner of WSL Australia and by Mofi the official portable power bank partner of the ri Pro Bells Beach presented by bonsoy Mofi stay power welcome back to the show day one of the event window here at the rib Pro Bells Beach presented by Bon soy and stepping

Back into the booth Ronnie Blakey joined by Richie L it and a special guest here we’ve got the 86 bills Champion Tom Carol with us how are you Tom oh it’s great to be here Arnie yeah Rich yeah Tom man you said to me before we got on

Camera I don’t know what the hell I’m talking about just know none of us do so let’s just run with it but uh great to see as always and uh I know you love coming back here to Bells each year this place it’s got that energy about it

Doesn’t it so much history yeah well so yeah I gravitated down here on that that history back in 76 and served in the quicks trials and got smoked I didn’t know there was just mud down there it was just mud from top to bottom there

Was no no sealed sort of nice sealed car park so every time you went for a surf here at bills you had to try and wash the Soapy mud off your feet you’re just slipping off in every section you know it was a different world mate you

Figured it out eventually that year was a special one 86 amazing semis obviously and then the battle of the two Toms and you got the job done over the reigning world champion well Tom was on fire he was he was at his Prime and man beating

Tom at his prime was really really hard and I I if I saw him in that se I watched that semi really closely between him and O which was one of of those just mindbending uh semis and I uh I must admit I was just going I car I got to

Drop everything here and just find whatever I can and get on top of Tom quick in the Heat and uh and the and it was it had a bit of grunt so I knew I had a little bit of sort of bit of a chance because I knew that I had

Something on him in in a bit of Grunt in a bit of power even though Tom was surfing beautifully he he’ lifted his game up in the last in the years previous to that he was well of a sudden he had strong legs and he he just s of

The power source was coming in and so it was a really good win uh you know to be Tom out here that’s for sure a famous Victory and uh we’re going to see more history written again here on these long walls as we see andil wow really

Solid big lanky Surfer 6 foot one in tall and uses all of that frame in leveraging those big front side carves really positive start for him up against South Africa’s Jordy Smith and Brazil’s Kyo belly and Ian had a really good start to the season semi-final finish at pipe and uh

That is an unbelievably strong start to this heat rock solid uh this guy continues to surprise me he’s not one of those guys that is out in The Fan Fair everyone’s talkinging about him but uh you know he’s one of those guys that you actually should put on your fantasy Surfer

Because he has has Surfing like this the rail game is exceptional uh but he has a bit of spice to it as well let’s look at the replay here so starts off strong gets that first tap and that sets up this big carve sort of a double pump off

The bottom but uh roping power through the first one and a second one really engages that Hillside rail all the way through so three very strong turns through the bow section and he gets a little bit of work done here throws the layback hack right at the finish so nice

Book end to that wave and we had Jordi Smith getting into the mix early on too a former winner in this event and Jordy threw some big turns on the outside yeah Jordy just going through the motions on this one we caught up with him uh top of the car park a little

Earlier and he was uh a little sliit there but Jordy was definitely in good spirits and it’s got to be one of the favorites out here again you know he’s he’s had the win he’s already uh got a bell on the mantle piece just hit a little bump there in the foot

Disengaging with the tail pad then goes into the goat po position full goat oh I feel for uh Jordy there he was really in lovely rhythm with the wave he found himself a nice scoring ride and uh and that was just a real uncharacteristic for Jordy at the moment he’s in form by

The you know by the look of how he’s been moving through the events going back to Ian gen though I I sense something really strong coming from him here he’s like uh you know he had that Blinder of an event over there in at J Bay last year and and just started to

Sort of pick up momentum in his feel for being in a heat with the best Surfers in the world yeah he’s a semi-final before and again kicking off this season with uh a solid finish at one of the toughest events but certainly looked comfortable on that first right here 6.33 for him

Jordy Smith a 3.83 Jordy and Kyo out there in the lineup together once again they have Sur to final against one another here at Bells Beach and uh yeah Jordy got the victory in that exchange back in 2017 Kyo has some serious work to do to get himself above that cut line sitting

In 32nd position and he uh he hasn’t gotten past that that third round yet this year so he is searching for a huge finish here at Bells Beach and he’s got a tough draw here he hasn’t taken a w just yet out there with priority potentially some set waves approaching

Here yeah Kyo is one of those uh those Surfers he seems to always deliver a really consistent performance in his heat as you mentioned Ronnie has had the uh the final up against Jordy it was macking that that final as well some solid waves and uh coyo definitely held his

Own he’s had a couple of years where he started really well but this one he’s got work to do well here he goes let’s see what he can do climb straight up over the lip on that first section nice bit of wall here to lean into a nice rail carve starting

To build some speed down the line nice big lip line float there he’ll get back out in front of this one and work it over through to the inside and try and get a strong finishing turn just Glides over the foam rebounding now with a nice little cut

Back and Kyle Bell is going to get a score on the board here 21 minutes remaining yeah a little bit of shake off the nerves I’d imagine what he’s feeling you know it’s a very important heat for him event for him do you do you feel uh

I mean the introduction of the cut Tom do you do you feel that intensity coming into the you know the fourth and fifth stop sure do it’s like feel for these guys it really is where the where the men are really sort of sorted out and um and the girls but it’s like

You know just referring to that aspect of ourselves we’re going to really commit to every turn like doing here right now talk about commitment that’s pure rail commitment he’s got a beautiful technique it’s almost like faultless technique and and he’s a surprise package to me I

Oh yeah that was good and Ian gentil behind him looking for a backup to go with that 6.33 bit of f on the face here here but no dramas for the surface see in 18th position on the rankings coming into this heat and Ian does well to hang

On to a tricky finish there plenty of bump on the face it’s such a such a tricky finish huh it’s like that crucial finish isn’t it it’s like it’s reminds me of maret river to you know there’s a lot of credit in finishing off your

Rides at this stop and at the next it it invites you in that that last section of bills doesn’t it it lures you and and you got to be patient with it because if you go too soon you can butcher it so easily you’re right timing’s got to be

On point that was lovely by K showing a nice looseness and freedom in his first wave which is really lovely to see really critical floer giving him plenty of momentum to get around and sort of like I was just mentioned he was sort of washing off the nerves a bit

Perhaps yeah uh and kind of get himself into the groove of the Heat and impressive to see that as you said that looseness and freedom when the pressure is on and you need a huge result and uh it starts with getting some momentum in this opening round Jord look at this

Section that was one of the turns of the the day so far just so critical that carve and uh Jordy understands this wave so well he’s got a great Pace to the way he surfs it and uh super strong that rail game this is spicy off the top bit more

Of a vertical approach approach here now he gets horizontal with the cut back just staying with the power source and then we know the result of this wave just does a bit of foam work all the way through gets to the Finish but uh smart move we’ve seen a few inconsistent Heats

In the last few hours and Ian now banking two scores on the board so he’ll potentially go out in front but Jordi Smith he’s going to drop a good number for that F that last wave well Jordy really showed his form looking like a really solid score here Tom

Who there we go they’re rewarded you know that classic Jordy rail turn what do we got there like a 81 17 and he’s just finding it this year I feel huh I was thinking when we were coming into the booth this morning I was going the waves are pumping and we’ve

Seen a lot of good waves but we haven’t seen a lot of Great Waves yet uh so nice to see Jordy opening up so still got a number to come through for Ian genti as we see Kai on the outside on the attack Kyo Bank to five on his first ride Jordy

Well out in front just looking to get rid of a 3.83 to increase this lead but Jordy the SE second longest serving member on the championship tour now behind Kelly Slater this is his 17th year on the tour uh six victories all coming on the forehand uh and yeah this

Event especially with J Bay off the schedule now might be jordy’s best chance to break through for a seventh win this season wow well well the way he surfed that last wave the way he chose the wave way he was in position for every turn he sort of ironed out that little mistake

That he made in that first wave went to the goat boat that’s right yeah see how he just stalled right off the takeoff there just hit the brakes and that him set himself up for that nice car but all the points are going to come right here just that

Power hack so committed uh a really steep part of the wave too and as you know Tom super hard to keep that railing age when that when that pocket really starts to cup out and it did have a couple of ribs through it there was a

Period of time there Rich where you know we we came to events like Bell’s Beach and and you talk favorites and Jordi Smith was on top of the pile um in this heat he’s certainly the favorite just based on on how strong his forehand is

But it it has felt like in recent years there’s a whole another crew of strong flowing rail Surfers that are they’re ready to you know Challenge and maybe even a more favored than Jordy coming into this stop yeah um just like the the the surfing above the lip and the

Progressive Progressive nature of Surfing has evolved over the last several years the the rail game and the power game has evolved and and I think about what Ethan’s doing think about what John John has been doing at Margaret River over the last couple of

Years so Jordy has had to step it up as well you know he had that uh you know even 5 10 years ago he was probably the most powerful rail Surfer on the tour um but now he’s being matched and he needs to evolve as well and uh what is

He the second oldest second longest serving yeah yeah yeah but he for me Jordy you know he needs the Stars to kind of align for his forehand to truly come into play and what he’s been trying to do is align them himself uh realign them you could say he’s been training

The house down uh this year it’s paying off great start to the season for him quarterfinals at pipe Sunset a third and yeah I’ve always thought Tom and give me your thoughts I’ve always thought for for Jordy to to get to the top end of the rankings and give himself a shot at

That final five where he’d have a great chance at trestles he would he has to make the rightand point breaks on to a count absolutely this is a very big one for him and and but I can see the different kind of posture with him this

Year it’s like a it’s a new Jordy I I I don’t I haven’t seen this sort of element within him um I don’t this is a different Jordy we’re speaking about today uh in competition the ways his posture has been a f the pipes tricky you know for him you know

Pipes like and he really turned it on and yeah and that that third place at Sunset I mean I thought he was in in for a big final showing here we go still certainly get out of there yeah and just uh yeah sold a lemon there the boldest

Yes the ball did a thing said oh yeah maybe you’ll be able to make it nah yeah so 40 minutes to go here still plenty of time for Ian genel and Kyo belly to make a strike at the number one position but taking out that last Heat was the

Current rankings leader Griffin Cola Pinto with Vaughn well the world number one is back at Bells Griffin Co of pinto gold looks good on you mate but uh one of the dangerous things about wearing that rashy as you up against these local wild cards who can really throw a spanner in

The mix of your campaign oh for sure yeah that was a scary heat it was so slow and you know I I saw a couple guys earlier get only one way of heat so it’s you know anything can happen when it’s like that and and the boys are all

Repping so yeah it’s a it’s a battle when you’ve got locals out there are you keeping an eye on sort of what interests them where they move or have you just got your own game plan yeah I was I was staying close to uh Tuli and or t t t

Sorry it’s some American accent T and uh yeah I was kind of like watching the ways he was looking at and um yeah if he if he was like you know I was kind of paying attention to where he was sitting and and what waves he wanted and and uh

I felt like it kind of helped me a little bit so yeah I was stoked to having the heat M it’s been a fantastic start to the year uh some good results through Hawaii but then a big win in Portugal tell us a bit how you’re feeling um in your space with your

Momentum so yeah I feel good I feel like I’m just kind of focused on bells now and portugals in the past um a little r down actually the Portugal you know that whole thing happened the last day and then it was home and then here and straight into swell and surf all day

Every day and now I got a scratchy throat I can barely talk kind of run down so um low energy today but I guess it worked out that it was a slow heat yeah look we won’t keep you mate but uh congratulations on a good result here in

Your first heat thank you thank you you good to see Griff Kento not a feeling he best but still very composed Looking all the bit the the rankings leader there certainly running off a lot of confidence it feels like he just Surs so beautifully within himself you know and

That’s his game you know and and it’s a very fine refined sort of approach to rid in the wave and it’s super alive too he this is no not one dead spot yeah unbelievable uh 11 and a half minutes remaining here Jordy Smith got some serious momentum dropping an

Excellent score earlier in the heat will he be the Mofi charger on day one of the event window here at the rip c pro Bells Beach presented by bonsoy as he makes his way out here the back of the ski Dan rossing control getting him back to that takeoff

Zone let’s have a look at the replay here for Kyo Kyle belly went on the attack on the outside yeah didn’t he he almost did a re-entry maneuver as the lip was coming down that first section gets a big wrapping cut back and then comes through to the

Inside section here so you can see surfing with a little bit more urgency now Kyo starting to string it together and then just went over the handlebars and Jordy on the outside wave Choice experience coming into play another huge hack I just love seeing those uh those

Lines that Jordy lays down on these big open faces of bells here comes through to the inside so the one big turnout the back lots of points there and he gets to the Finish as well just slams it shut as the wave stood up so uh that’s going to

Be another big number jordy’s going to be way out in front on form that’s all I can say well how’s that first turn yeah amazing really really good so let’s uh let’s talk about it the Mofi power charger of the day it’s an impressive uh award that we’re going to

Be giving out each day the competition and Jordy might you might have a couple of rides in the running impressive stuff here in heat Seven B me chese I don’t know welcome back to the show we have seven of the opening round underway and we’ve got one of the former winners out there in the lineup at the moment Jordy Smith looking so sharp we’ll have a look at some of his light highlights

In just a moment but right now we’re going to hear from one of our wild cards T Wy is with vaugh welcome to the Red Bull athlete Zone where the mood in here is actually quite intense isn’t it it’s uh very quiet all the athletes getting ready for

Their first round Heats uh with me a guy who put in a great show just there winner of the trials tally Wy mate how’s that experience your second time here at the rip copra yeah it’s epic um I love it here at home and it’s so yeah epic to

Be get an opportunity to be able to surf in the event here it’s always been a dream of every single Grom growing up here so to get to do it again it’s yeah it’s epic and definitely feeling a lot kind of stronger and more sort of ready this time around but um yeah

Unfortunately didn’t really didn’t quite get the score on the last one but I was close and yeah I’ll keep pushing it was so close mate um I know that you can hear the crowd you had so much support down here I was actually sitting in the

Grand stand and it was like footy fever it was absolutely amazing uh what does it mean to you and did you feel your performance lift with every cheer that you got yeah it’s amazing all my friends and family um are down here in the one grand sand and like sometimes I’m coming

Down from a turn and I can literally hear my dad whistling and like everyone just gone crazy and I got to sort of like try and calm down a bit cuz I can hear them like on the wave sometimes so it’s pretty cool to have that and um

Yeah to represent my hometown and um try and do them proud it’s it’s pretty cool for sure mate and um just a little bit about your role this year you know you anchored the t board Riders at the ABB finals um you won the Wayne rabbit by

Meta there for the standout Surfer of the event you come into the trials and now you’re in the rip Cur Pro I mean it is a magic year for you so far yeah yeah so I’ve about it last kind of 3 weeks of been crazy and just kind of been trying

To enjoy it all and not let it fly by but um no there’s something going right for me so hopefully he’ll put on a show this a keep it rolling mate we can’t wait to see in the next round thanks mate yeah tally a big powerful goofy

Footer and he could really wreak some havoc in that elimination round if he can connect with some of those big bowl sections out there in the lineup at the moment just over 5 and A2 minutes go and Jordy Smith is putting on a classic performance here an excellent score an

8.17 he’s backed it up with a 7.67 and at this point the battle for second place is on yeah absolutely uh vintage Jordy at the moment I think we can say that because he’s been on the tour for quite a while and uh see a tiny shift in the conditions here Tom things

Are starting to change a little bit looks like the winds starting to come a little bit more round from Center side now uh just break breaking up the the wav line a little bit but um definitely contestable amazing conditions all morning amazing conditions just looking at the Heat score averages for the CT

Field here at Bells Beach two Surfers sort of really lead the way here John John Florence Jordi Smith both have a Heat score average here 15 points plus and jordy’s done it again here in the opening round it’s you know it’s not a Heat score average that’s collected

Necessarily in perfect conditions too so they are kind of the Premier rail Surfers on the CT obviously Ethan’s kind of building his Heat score average uh as well but they’re just going to be so hard to overcome there’s there’s no backup venue where you’re going to be

Tested on your back end you know you’re going to have to beat some of the I think most iconic rail Surfers of all time to get the win here absolutely no doubt about it it’s that that kind of canvas isn’t it you get this sort of raw

Southern Ocean power sort of you know coming around the corner and just presenting itself on the roef and it just stands up perfectly and just broadens out the the the face of the wave so you can see where Jord is just like he’s in heaven you can feel like oh

This is it I’m going to I’m laying back into that heel uh is vertical you know see how J J um John John Florence he he does that sort of starts his turn initiates it before he even gets into the top Arc of the turn or towards as he

Going towards the lip he’s laying into the rail instead of sort of waiting till you get to the top of the wave and then lay laying the rail in he’s and so Jord starting to sort of put that uh into the into his surfing really clearly in this

Heat yeah it’s awesome isn’t it starting that rail turn almost inverted and having the you know the the speed to bank and the the force the to lean into your board in that position and then draw it right down into the ball it’s sets them apart from the rest of the

Field 3 minutes remaining here Kyle belly we know he needs a big result Rich uh he’s done a number of years on the CT now he looks so fired up last season at the start of the year really made his intentions clear wanted to you know not waste his opportunities as a

Championship tour campaigner but this year’s proven so difficult for him yeah and it’s a hard thing mentally to to deal with if you’ve done all the preparation you feel like you’ve trained appropriately and the board’s everything’s feeling right but the results aren’t coming and that’s as a competitor the most difficult thing to

Deal with you can see there just a a throwaway maneuver for Kyo there so perhaps a a sign of some desperation in his approach well let’s dive into the recap now with just over 2 minutes to go and it’s been an exciting start to this heat everyone had pretty equal rides and

Gentile laid one over here Rich yeah he certainly did some great surfing from from Ian just spicy carves uh quite tall stance uh and his approach to the W but really it’s been Jordy who we’ve seen shades of uh a much younger Jordy and a mature Jordy now just taking to these

Walls of bell some big Power hacks that one in particular just uh so pretty to watch just manhandling these uh conditions here at Bells not looking phased at all just sort of ironing out those bumps as if they’re not even there and and like you can see like I genti is

A little bit uh you know like higher up on his straighter legs so Jord is just a little bit more crouched down throughout the whole turn in throughout his whole ride he’s got a little bit more of a squat he also his rotation from his feet

All the way through to the ends of his hands is really powerful rotation that’s sort of pulling that whole board around in the turn the JY working on his Surf and you can see it’s coming to fruition right now really refined rail surfing there from Jordy and probably uh for the

Rest of the the field that are upcoming in the remaining Heats of this round Tom the judges really letting them know what they expect to get those uh excellent scores those bigger numbers will come with those bigger turns and it’s not like Jordy went Progressive that was

Just an old school approach sink that rail in deep but do it with a lot of speed and unload some just pure big bloke Rhythm yeah right a bit of gr they they got a bit of a noise to them what is it always a buzz to uh to chat with you

Tom uh you managed to get a wave out at winky yourself mate oh yeah I slipped into the uh a couple of beauties this morning and it was a really cool crowd down there too so it’s lovely i’ I’ve been out of the water quite a bit in the

Last sort of year or eight months and um so I’m just starting to get back in and just to get a nice long ride like winky under the Bell today’s a really good film I just love Sur how good surfing oh it’s awesome and and riding a local

Shapers board um yeah Sharma butaw um uh who’s a local shaper brilliant shaper he actually you know went to the lengths of spending time with Pat rosson one of my favorite Shapers uh in Hawaii and he spent time with him Pat you know gave him some of the gold then he spent some

Time with Simon Anderson I mean Shaman did his work and so it you know when I’m surfing one of his boards I feel those guys you know you feel the richness of his shaping uh and It just fits into the line of the wave down here beautifully

Beautiful mate well we’ve just seen a magic performance from Jordi Smith that’ll surely make the highlight real we’ll be seeing more of it throughout the day but stay with us we got more big Heats coming your way on day one of the ri girl Pro Bells Beach presented by Bon Soy E e still the rip Pro Bells Beach presented by bonsoy is brought to you by rip Cur the ultimate surfing Company by event brigh proud sponsor of women’s surfing on the WSL Championship Tour by Yeti built for the Wild and by Bailey ladds official ladder partner of WSL

Australia there he is Jordy Smith with one of the greatest performances we’ve seen on the opening day competition here dropping an excellent score backing it up with a high range seven for a Heat score total of 15.84% up against Emi Kanani Dev Vault Eli hanaman should be a good Clash this

One Leo had a solid start to the year Rich yeah yeah he’s uh doing really well actually and um you know I like his approach on the on the forehand here uh it’s not as smooth as some let’s just say like he’s got a real high energy to

The way he approaches the wave um the bottom turns aren’t as deep he doesn’t sit on that rail as much but the the turns are really Dynamic and I think the the judges by into that um yeah and Leo he’s he’s been performing well over the last couple of years he’s definitely so

Involved and so dedicated to it all always looking to to try and improve uh working on his equipment yeah very uh very committed to just evolving his performance each season he’s got to evolve it here at Bells Beach four four previous events here hasn’t been past the third round yet Eli hanaman much

Like Kyo in that last Heat well below the cut line at the moment he hasn’t been past the the third round yet this season so he needs a big result here to take some pressure off heading over to stop number five Margaret River as he whips the tail on the end section a

Surfer capable of amazing things rich but uh Bells you know doesn’t always give you that big ramp for the huge air well you know exactly we think of Eli hanaman we think of uh real Progressive above the lip style of Surfing and it’s uh in terms of what the ocean is

Delivering up this today and what bills has on offer it really is all about power rail surfing as we see uh the replay here of Eli’s first wave connects with that first section drives around but see that two-stage bottom turn instead of sitting on that rail a little

Bit longer uh and just sort of taking a smoother line you get more speed that way uh but he gets a couple of nice wraps all the way through and uh well Tom you you’d agree with me it takes years to figure out this wave it does

The rhythm of it as it comes through that bowl section and if your timing is out by a millisecond you kind of toast flow like you can wait for that insection for way too long like sort of just fiddling around in that fat bit of

The wave you can get a couple of smooth turns in like it’s you talked about that two Stager that Eli did off the bottom little check turn sort of start to sort of smooth surfing out at BS and then you start to actually get more out of the

Wave uh it starts to present itself much much more clear of that end section where to hit it and how to hit it Tom is there I mean finding a way that can kind of simulate what you’re going to be presented here at Bells is is there

Anywhere like it really is there a training funny ask that Ronnie my home break in in in in at Newport where I grew up at there’s this wave at the Sou in Newport pool we call it it’s a really just a bad wave right but it’s but it’s

And and but when it’s low tide and it’s and it’s just the right kind of swell it hits just like bells and you come from way on the inside and you can get this very very similar wave to Bells I practice for bells a lot yeah okay so

Yeah you you got to kind of tap into that and and and find a different sort of pace off the bottom and uh we do see rookies in particular come here and as you said Rich they they’re kind of trying to work out how to get something

Out of the top and arrive at the section at the right time without those kind of in between two stage bottom turns yeah it’s a really difficult thing to do um especially when you’re you’re sort of in it you know it’s hard to to sort of

Break your habit of of doing that style of bottom turn if you’re not used to doing it I remember you know watching Parco and and Tom Caren particular and the greats and on the back hand you know oy even taking influence from there it’s

Really hard to do um but it does set up the the flow of the wave a lot better uh and you you get more speed you’ve got more power off the top it’s it’s one of the riddles that that you know bills delivers you that you need to figure out

I think Jordy was really spoke to that in the last Heat uh he even though he does a few check turns here and there he was basically when he was doing his best when he was laying down those big carves getting his high scores he was there was

No check turn in there it was beautiful to watch uh let’s find out a little bit more about jordy’s approach out here an impressive winner thanks Ron yeah the world number seven he’s looking lean mean he’s got his rail carbon machine out and he’s uh just far out flaring back at Bells mate

Thanks yeah it feels good feels good to actually like come here and have a bit of swell for once I feel like the last few years we’ve kind of had really smaller conditions uh we haven’t been on the ball so just feels really good to be

Back on the ball it’s nice mate Ronnie mentioned that uh yourself and joh John have some really high heat averages out here uh you obviously love Bells you’ve got such a great connection with the wave what is it that you think you tap into out here um for me it’s probably

Similar to kind of where I’ve grown up surfing the style I’ve kind of like to try and surf like and then um yeah it just really lends itself to that big open face kind of Surfing and that’s and that’s really what I love so um yeah

It’s kind of bre better for me it is mate it is um number seven in the world at the moment it feels to me like you are just in a really good place like you you mentioned before that you did a bit of training in the offseason you look

Relaxed you look really happy in the results are coming in on the back of that yeah thanks uh I put a lot of hard work in uh on the offseason fortunately we had uh and unfortunately we had like one of the worst seasons for swell in Africa over the offseason so that just

Everything just honed to training um and I guess that’s where kind of my biggest percentage was going to come at this stage and yeah just um in love with competing traveling I feel really good I’ve had you know two good results Portugal G didn’t go my way but um

Everything else felt great I felt like I really surfed well competed well so um yeah like you said things are feeling good family’s great healthy yeah bro sun’s out guns out awesome well I know that everyone loves watching you compete here at bills everyone loves you watch

Sur here at bills best of luck for the rest of the event I appreciate that thanks M thanks BR yeah Jordi Smith he seems to have tapped into sort of the the title Contender sort of mindset again and we uh we mentioned it earlier you know he’s one of those guys that

That had a fantastic track record at trestles when it was a permanent fixture on the the old schedule now it’s that destination for the the WSL finals if he can get into that final five conversation you know he’ll fire up yeah absolutely uh there’s a couple of names

Who I feel that haven’t been there John John and Jordy if they get the chance to make that final five uh and lowers turns it on they’re real threat but that to me reeks of a man who’s confident who’s happy in his life at the moment who’s uh

You know who’s who’s very confident in this style of wave and and the style of Surfing that it produces here so look out for Jordi Smith in this event well let’s have a look at some replays now during the interview Eli hanaman oh beautiful this mediumsized wave and just

Went big on it oh two huge turns back to back really critical and you can tell by the stance the end of that wave he felt good about it as well he goes Leo what do you think Tom oh I think Leo sort of started to light it

Up couldn’t find much more than those first two moves but he had really nice rhythm in those first two turns you can see a Leo he’s very he’s great athlete Leo’s got a very very strong L part of his body he can handle heavy hits like that last section of the

Wave beautiful timing in the shore break very smart competitor Leo here we go imay that was a great rra to start off for Emi wasn’t it and uh just hammer time on that second uh section there gets a nice wrap on the inside looking to get a little

Stuck here in the foam Pats the kitty a little and uh looks for something down the line here and uh I think he just comes unstuck on this final section but some uh some good signs in that opening moment of that wave beautiful that first turn here we go look at that sweet

Timing right in the pocket of the top of the wave giving him plenty of speed to re-enter into another turn nice powerful classic HEI Kanani Devol really beautiful surfing timing of the wave impeccable yeah representing Maui beautifully as is this man as we see Eli climbing up into the

Section critical wave it is kind of sectioning off down the line though making it hard to piece combos together but he’s sticking with it just on the off chance he can get one of his big explosive finishing turns in didn’t really happen for him on that

Occasion but uh yeah it is fantastic to to see Eli starting to realize his potential in making the championship tour it’s been difficult these first three events for him but he he’s on the Challenger Series to earn his place on the the CT e Kanani too I’m loving his return to the the

Championship tour when he was on the CT um at the start of 2022 Bells was where he had his best result it was a ninth in the opening stages of that season had a a Heat win over Kelly Slater that year that’s right um but yeah he he kicked off the the

Year in pretty good form he had a quarterfinal finish at pipe so he’s one of those guys who’s at the moment sitting pretty nicely on the rankings and and really with just a couple more heat WIS should be completely fine heading into Margaret and you know that

That probably was a a nightmare in the back of his mind and um you know approaching stop five just on the the cut line again would have been hard to overcome hard to perform under that sort of pressure especially as a rookie when you’re staring down the barrel of of

Being excluded from the tour uh so quickly after joining it and uh this is Eli hanaman he was sort of behind uh for the entirety of this ride and uh a little frustrated here whenever you’re coming behind and floating kind of up and through those sections it never

Really uh gets that flow going of being connected right in the pocket there this was Leo and uh got a couple of nice turns out the back and then I think he just thinks uh no I’m going to need more than that that wave really

Laid down so he gets out Rich you were picking up on the the just the wind having an effect on the conditions definitely has looked a little bit more broken up in the opening stages of this one yeah it was always forecast to uh to come around a little bit more towards

The South and uh you know these are the things that the these athletes these Surfers they need to adapt to and and adaption is is a huge thing in professional surfing being able to you know before your heat it might be offshore and then once you hit the water

Things change and you need to be able to moment to moment just shift that game plan uh and uh and adapt to the conditions as they change 15 minutes uh remaining here at the moment Leonardo fanti chasing a score to get himself up into the top two we’ll be back right after This We 5 Second [Applause] It is always a treat to return to Bells Beach each each Easter for the ri Pro Bell Beach presented by bons soy and we have a great opening day of competition unfolding here at the moment we’ve seen some big scores dropping some great performances so far and uh

Great lineup out in the surf at the moment Eli hanman leads this heat in need of a desperately in need of a huge result to get himself above the cut line sitting in 28 spot the 21y old is at the moment and doing a good job so far and

Really getting the job done on medium siiz waves out here at the moment so making that that change shifting his Focus to some of those scoring mediumsized rides not not getting caught up waiting for the big sets here rich uh well the big ones can actually go a little wide flatten out a

Little bit but um I dare say Eli is feeling anything but safe at the moment uh given that uh sorry Eli Emi only needs a a small score 3.34 and and Leo only needing a four-pointer so um you know there’s a lot to go there’s a lot

To happen in this heat so far in this next 11 minutes and uh Eli’s also third in the pecking order in terms of priority so you know we’re going to see an exchange go down here that’s very interesting in for these guys I mean there there’s some

Experience of bells out here but also Eliz like this is first run at sort of understanding the ball really and you can see how it’s sort of starting to crumble down and we got CL devault hitting that first section nice and smooth very confident trying to find something to

Sort of build up into the inside section here what do you love about Emi surfing Tom I think he’s just he’s got spontan 8 in his surfing which I really loved it’s just you know and he’s and he’s really oh he got that was an interesting move

Like have you ever seen anything like that no that see see that was the inside section of bells that’s that last bit it got him right and and with all his creativity and all his kind of spontaneity still got it still surprised him still surprised him and uh and he

Might just got natural beautiful natural Hawaiian Talent that’s uh just oozing out of him I always love watching him surf um and um that was a real surprise for him yeah he’s got a great style yeah beautiful style and it’s it’s real natural there’s nothing contrived at all in it it’s just

Beautiful it sure is so that that one didn’t really pan out for him though and uh he like you said Rich didn’t need a whole lot to get himself into that that number one position yeah look it’s not going to be a big score but certainly

Enough I think to oh as we see the uh and the ski here just um having a little dance on this inside section let’s check the replay let’s break it down here so drives around this first section comes late but manages to project through itce swooping cut back there and this wave

Lays down so this was one of those set waves that uh kind of went wide of the ball didn’t really stand up like normally on a good day you’ll get those three sections where you can produce multiple Maneuvers through the ball you get some work done through this inside

And this is where that little funky backwash tied coming up and the backwash off the off the sand created that wobble some good turns out here for for Leo on the outside section always very difficult to keep that rail those fins engaged when there’s that uh that foam that

Disturbance on the face you can see a little fist pump there he knew that that uh that little three maneuver combo that’s going to serve him well Tom yeah there’s a smart competitor um very composed and also flare too you can see you know he can really flare up

Especially those beautiful Ary sort of um wrap rounds he gets in and he you can see actually keeps himself down low in the turn and strong legs and able to to extend even the slightest bit of extension out of that low position you can actually create a

Lot of speed and and especially exit speed out of turns so I think he he did a really good job there in Leo on that last wave I felt got a 367 for eani Dev Vault to jump up ahead of Elo hanman into first position and Leonardo waiting for his

Score to drop it’s a 4.48 yeah get himself up in a second it’s going to be a little Leap Frog Leap Frog situation here here we go Eli hanman and there we go best wave of the heat so far 6.73 yeah like you said uh Rich Eli hanman sitting in that number one

Position but thought so you take those medium siiz set waves you’re always going to be vulnerable because they’ll only take you so high on the scale unless you do something truly uh out of body but uh Eli now with a score to chase a 4.51 vorno is racing around the

Competitors area down there let’s see what he’s got into well there’s lots of energy down here in the Red Bull athlete Zone and uh far out everyone is so stoked to be back at the rib Curl pro and one punter just some average fell I bumped into is

Scotty James the two time World Champ two-time Olympic medalist nine times X Games gold medalist mate welcome back to belts well my hat I’m going to have to adjust my hat after that intro now jeez thank you no it’s good to be um good to be here it’s been a couple years that

I’ve been in bells and obviously love surfing myself um been trying to fine tune my surfing lingo it’s a little out of touch at the moment I heard someone say you went for a Larry and I wasn’t sure what that meant it’s a layback so yeah good learning things watching it’s

Great yeah man don’t worry we have no idea what the snowboarding terms or jargon are so all good there um your last trip here mate was Mick Fanning’s farewell what do you remember from that trip uh pretty much nothing actually yeah no last time was uh yeah when Mick

Retired that year so we had a quiet dinner just a few friends couple of wers and um yeah that was it but no it was that was the last year that I came down and watched here so since then it’s obviously been amazing to watch the progression of Surfing and the Aerials

And everything but it’s um yeah nice to be back I love Bells it’s Australia always put on great events for surfing for sure it does mate and just give us a little window into your career at the moment um you know everything you’ve achieved but obviously a few more goals that

You’d love to tick off yeah we’ve um I mean it’s been been an awesome Journey so far and had some really good uh some good Feats and accolades have been able to conquer which has been awesome on the competitive side and been able to open up some other opportunities in my career

And um yeah but I think the elephant in the room is the little bit of a sore spot which is not the Olympic gold yet so we’ll see how we go we’ll keep chipping away at it we’ve we’ve got the other two in the pool room the silver

And in the bronze so um Dad won’t let me in the front door till we uh bring the other one in now so yeah we’ll see how we go but regardless still stoked it’s been fun unreal mate well it’s an Olympic year for surfing we’re going to

See a lot of these competitors hit and shopes for the the first time in the Olympic Games but all eyes will be on you at the next Olympics as well mate all the best and uh Australia will be behind you thanks guys and uh yeah thanks for having me good on you Scotty

Cheers man Scotty James just uh one of the best in the halfpipe and uh just an incredible athlete also a very funny man worth a follow on Instagram for sure got some classic vids but uh yeah he’s uh he’s chasing down that Olympic gold you back him he’s a super committed

Athlete puts a lot of work in awesome to have him here to watch the opening day competition here at the rip Pro Bells Beach presented by bons soy 4 and a half minutes remaining here heat is on for Eli hanaman a lot of pressure chasing down a score got to make the right

Choice and not leave the door open for Emi to increase his heat improve on a 3.67 yeah it’s a big moment uh for a rookie you know in a priority situation where you need the score four minutes on the clock at Bells Beach where you’re probably not that familiar with with the

Ins and outs of this this break and I think back to jordy’s heat when he had priority he actually left a couple of waves go by and the other competitors got them and he just knew exactly which wave to take and that’s through years of experience being down here so uh let’s

See if Eli can unra unravel the riddle and uh and pick this winning wave must be so hard Tom in that situation because he he surfed those mediumsized waves brilliantly and they’ve kind of worked to his style but he’s looking for something completely different now because if he takes one of those medium

Ones again and in that last three minutes something bigger comes it’s going to be one turn for Emi Kanani to Vault to to improve your situation yeah yeah really Eli has to really move on a good set wave even a bit further out than where they’re sitting right now get

That chip in from outside and hopefully that uh bowl that at a higher tide now as the tide fills in tends to create a little bit of a close and a shutdown then goes flat in the end end section just like we saw on emi’s last wave

Tends to do that now as the tide fills in so you you know Eli needs to get that little chip in from outside and get plenty moves straight off the bat and start moving and putting putting some scores on the board straight away then open up some

Canvas on the inside hopefully if it’s if it backs off but it’s It’s Tricky conditions right now it’s going the other way rather than sort of in favor for him so it’s very tricky and then jumping into the mindset of Emi there Rich you know you can see what he’s

Looking for he’s looking for all that those mediumsized ones now where you know under priority he’s able to increase yeah he wants to put pressure yeah absolutely he’s trying to uh add some numbers and uh make the requirement for Eli hanaman just that little bit more difficult with two minutes to go you’d

Have to think that it’s going to be uh you know he probably won’t get back into the top position in the priority order so he’s going to try and make do do some special surfing but it is Eli hanaman he’s pulled the trigger it’s a good wave

Good looking wave drives up into the first section hangs on to that tricky turn here’s a section that it’s going to allow him to go a little harder and now the wave will start to flatten a little bit but it’s going to steepen up again here and he gets a

Solid finishing turn in but how’s it going to measure up to the the more solid waves that we’ve seen ridden in this heat well I feel like he wasn’t convinced cuz he is normally one of those guys that’ll that’ll give you a little fist pump uh you know he’ll

Really try and sell it and he didn’t really feel I didn’t feel like there was a confident kind of uh body language once he’d finished that ride but um well it’s you see he actually picked the best wave out of the whole set which is really nice but he struggled a little

Bit here he fought his way through that nasty bit of white water and then collected himself beautifully for that turn you know bounced off the and then returned himself to the power source for that end section kind of like he hit it but he he it was just he gave exactly what he

Needed to do on that wave but it just didn’t allow him to really get on edge in that last part it’s going to be right there the 4. uh 51 it will be right there it’s not convinced like I don’t have a convincing feeling like yeah he’s

Definitely got it uh i i w hindsight whether he had just High lined that first section instead of going for that first turn to do that big roping uh uh turn at that second section rather than being a little bit late to it so uh there’s 20 seconds to go though we

Haven’t seen well we’re about to see em on another wave now but nothing much much has come in really since because Emi would have been on it already so he’s on now big combination on the outside here only looking to improve on a 3.67 Leo up as well the score is

Starting to roll through for Eli hanaman on his last shot at it it came through a little short 4.33 so this is Leo fanti finishing off Leo looks solid solid relaxed and you know threw himself out there in that last wave yeah and you felt he just looked confident to me yeah still

Waiting on that number to come through for Emi Rich he needs a a 561 to get to to First yeah again could be right there uh we we’ll no doubt get a perhaps get a look at the replay I love how he just threw himself into it he did like you

Know I just went right i’ got to do something extraordinary here well he without knowing what Eli hanaman did you know he he could have even thought that he was uh backed down into critical move very very critical big High Line lift drift beautifully controlled like really

All the way through to the inside gets that final hit nice and vertical so yeah I think he is going to actually increase his score there may even take the lead well the number just dropped it was a 4.83 so it wasn’t quite enough but eoo won’t mind he is going to be

Through well done H thank you Adriana DOA former Bell’s champ coaching Leonardo fanti to success in his opening round heat and he will Dodge that dreaded elimination round and power through to round three Tom Carol mate thank you so much for joining us such a pleasure it turned out you didn’t know

What you were talking about too it’s it all came back here yeah you just never know what’s going to come out to but now it’s just just an absolute pleasure being here with you guys and uh you know watching the guys surf doing their thing looking forward to women’s

Surfing they come on and uh yeah we got a special afternoon coming everyone’s way thank you Tom good on your rich and we’ll see you in just a moment we’ll bring in Joe and Felicity for the [Applause] [Applause] Call we for I’ve been going to the surf Coast since I years and get to go back every year now on the CT it’s really special I love the Tranquility of the surf coast and just the beauty of that whole Drive is just spectacular it feels very peaceful the

Waves are really fun everyone’s very welcoming when Bells is on it’s so iconic feels like a good reset so I love it down there thanks for being with us it’s opening day of the CR Pro Bells Beach presented by Von soy just heard from Ryan Kalin on how much this means to him

To be back here at Bells fresh off a final from last year had a semifinal before he loves this wave he loves goofy Footers and speaking of goofies I’m surrounded by him today Felicity paler and one of the greatest maybe the greatest goof of all time Mark aaloo oie

Good morning Joey thanks for joining us a it’s not a problem at all thanks for having me out it’s just so good to be back at Bells uh Love talk and surf with you uh first off the year so far on tour so many highlights what’s really

Standing out for you popeline uh yeah and that turn that Molly down at sunset uh you know we spoke uh in Hawaii and uh and pipe just did not disappoint you know and uh you know that big day that they didn’t run that was you know debatable and everything but um you know

All in all Hawaii was epic epic two events and Portugal was great too you know was hard for me to watch at night time um but I pretty much watched it all oh I love it AR and then just here all I’m hearing about is your sessions that

You’ve been putting on at the ball everyone’s saying that you’re winning the Heat uh tell us about the Wes you’ve been getting the last couple days well yesterday I did um have a couple surfs uh one long Surf and Jake Patterson came up um he said you made me come out he

Said you got a 95 and I’m like coming from Jake that’s you know big cuz he doesn’t really lie and uh I feel good when that you know get that compliment because you know I feel I still feel like I’m surfing good like most of the

Time like um maybe as good as I did you know the body’s feels that’s only when the body’s feeling good you know it’s most of the time it’s not all the time now but to get an accul ulation is it um uh maybe a uh what’s the word acknowledgement

Acknowledgement I can’t I can’t bust out big wordss sorry about that I got lost in the story too well oh no I was let’s say I was a lady with the compliment does that make sense it wasn’t I think it wasn’t even a compliment it was a

Fair score 95 Connor and Ryan are on the stairs they said we can’t do that that was another great compliment to your performance o last couple days thanks for joining us Ryan Connor also Sammy poopo as we get started with cin stretching this one out catching this

Wave during the break flick yeah this was a nice opener from Ryan really loved the type of Surfing I’ve seen from him this year he had some amazing moments sunset earlier on uh second stop on the tour with turns like this dropping major scores at Sunset so I think he’s on his

Way to a bloody good score gosh his coil up on his back end he’s been almost maxing out the scale at certain venues when he get a heavy wall he can really wind up and attack it we’ve seen him do that here at Bells we’ve seen him do

That at main break Margaret River how would you kind of break down his back end approach Arc it’s different that’s why I like it you know he’s really powerful and uh he’ll just always draw some kind of different line and do an extra kind of Jag to a turn and just

Make it look you know like you know difficult you know and make it and that’s what the judges love and that’s I’m a big uh you know I I love him and and Connor too I you know cuz Connor’s from canala and Connor came up to me

Yesterday and said come on give me some tips and I said you’re you’re surfing just fine that’s what I said he said you didn’t give him anything no well I know I heard that this morning he said you’re doing all right and it was way better than that I said you’re surfing just

Fine cuz he’s been ripping he’s so powerful and I you know I love them both and uh Chron chrona magret I’m not I don’t give much away I mean I don’t know why but you know there’s a few things cuz I was watching today you know and you see the guys in

Between sets like stand up on their boards look for sets I mean that’s really important that’s what I’ve always done here I don’t really stand on my board but every time I go over a top of a wave I look at the set just decipher

If it’s a big set a medium set or a small set and then and position myself you know accordingly um that’s important here you know to sit I like to sit back deep that’s really important but sometimes you know if you can’t be there and it’s bigger the wide part’s good too

Because you can get a big wide take off and get a big end section but it’s kind of one of the two that’s you know some little secrets right there yeah just let us uh let us in a little bit there AR okay it always seemed like the way the

Stories go from your relationship with this wave that it was very a natural thing but was there more homework that you’re actually doing of actually studying the place to to get your relationship going it’s mainly with the quiver you know cuz every time I come

Back it always takes a good surf to get used to it and maybe going through my whole quiver to find the board that I’m I’m actually going to ride that event you know and it mightn’t be you know you step up you know sometimes you step up

One year doesn’t feel that good and you’ll go to your magic small board and that’s fine it just depends but every year over all those years I competed here I always took a surf at leas and then just and just to find that right board in the quiv of surf yeah that’s

What it’s all about and I was surprised to find out you didn’t get that 95 yesterday on a channel bottom that was not a channel bottom no it was a flat bottom the only reason I wasn’t rting my channel bottom is I could find a fin key

Uh cuz it’s a the old FCS system because you can’t put the new plugs in the channels they to um the angle’s too severe uh anyway I love it oh gosh I’m just thinking of boards uh 65 dollberg Channel bottom was that written like was that like the Skins event that was the

Skins event yeah so that was the board with set fins U really deep channels that that um that everyone talks about that sesh yeah it seem so that era let’s so we had the pro event right before the skins that would have been Matt Hoy probably winning right before it was

Matt Hoy yeah that year he won in 1998 and then the Skins was like a week later so we got to party um with Matt had a big party we ended up at at Wayne Lynch’s Tepe down near lawn somewhere and it was a massive party what’s that

TP like a huge TP one of those big ones and uh everyone was playing music it was a huge night and uh we you know got a couple days to recover and then that swell came through for the Skins best swell I’ve ever seen at Bells yeah it

Was and the grandstands were all still here but pretty much empty because you know bills was over Easter was over we didn’t have big crowds uh uh maybe on the weekend there was a bit more but you just to have be in the VIP stands and

All the stands with no one in it you know was stretching dancing around you you have sung some songs that night at Wayne M’s TP for sure definitely definitely and then you won the Skins 50 something th000 but then a car that came with it yeah it yeah I uh will just take

A look at this quick wave here from Ryan Ryan Kin throwing up his first turn to the White Water had the 65 on the opener he’ll sink on that effort in transition in the pocket there so the 65 will stand is the the biggest score we’ve got so

Far and our Cal finding a backup quickly there flick yeah and I think that’s smart for today I mean we’ve seen a lot of guys get you know there’s been slower periods in these Heats go through and we get back to that in a sec looks like

Sammy was having a look at that one but there’s been slow periods in this heat it’s really easy to get caught up being like it’s pumping today it’s big it’s consistent but when you actually looked back at the heat totals and the Heat scores there’s kind of only that one

Really good wave I mean the JY heat was a bit of an exception he found two but I just feel like there’s only been that one really good wave come through and then it’s sort of been that you know fours fives that’s that second wave the

Guy guys are getting so yeah I think Ryan’s smart and trying to get the ball rolling quickly and obviously fell on that second turn but I’m liking what I’m seeing from him already it’s interesting flick that you’re saying that too cuz it’s a common theme at Bells when you’re

On the cliff and you see Stacks out the back on the Southern Ocean and you’re thinking you’re going to see rapid fire surfing and sometimes the pace slows down quite a bit here’s Conor oi representing kenola representing Japan on tour big whip great connection there extended slide but he ends up losing

It a tough one to fall on because that was a massive backside hanger attempt there o it was and it was a little bit bigger than Ryan’s turn but on those particular waves you’ve got that one it’s not a big wave so you got to jam

You got to go as hard as you can on that cuz they’re in the bowl there and after that it’s going to go flat so they got to go big on a particular wave like that otherwise there’s not going to be going to be a score so I’m not surprised on

What they did and it’s not crucial at this time the heat that they do that Conor Al celebrating the best start of his career uh finals day at pipeline uh semifinal finish went ended up losing to Baron mamia then an equal Ninth at Sunset then he’s he’s kind of falling

Down a little bit but he’s still in the top 10 uh really still enjoying that big start at pip flick for sure I I love he will just break down this one one more time this was that big backhand belt from Connor and you could just see

Released the fins there that that front arm really came down onto the front of his board really to just maximize that fin Drift But sort of overcooked it a little bit but going to Echo what you were saying O he just kind of had to go

For it cuz it was that one biggest steeper section to just put it all on the line but yeah I loved watching Connor at the beginning of the year I think he had a really strong start at uh pipe and sunset uh pipe especially and even back door on that on that finals

Day I mean it was as good as it gets right and I remember even Conor before he put I was like oh it’s a bit scary out there but it was big it was it was throaty and Connor I remember pulled into this one on his back hand just got

This amazing tube in one of those first early Heats of the morning so great start to the year in Hawaii you know 17th in Portugal but he’s come home here he’s in Australia homec court advantage things are looking pretty good for Connor oh it looking great I remember

That back door pit against Ethan Ying in in the morning heat that was massive for Conor uh at the moment just a two Ryan out front 1715 on the clock let’s catch up with Leonardo fante with vano well the world number nine has just racked up uh an impressive victory in

The opening round Leo congratulations but you’re saying it’s a beit tricky out there thank you yeah it’s always uh I think B is always tricky uh this morning was definitely some pumping Heats still really really fun but the ball is never easy yeah it was a dangerous heat uh Eli

And em I we know what they can bring uh you’ve got Adriano in your corner a former Bells Champion what does he bring to your strategy and and heat prep um yeah it’s been a couple of years where working with Adano thanks to the Italian Federation who you know um got in touch

With him a couple years ago and it’s been amazing I mean he’s got so much knowledge most of the stops we go to he’s won at so he has so much experience uh Heats that he’s won but also Heats that he’s lost and you know sharing um

Some of that knowledge but also some of the mistakes that he made so that I don’t make the same mistakes and I am very lucky to have him in my corner for sure mate and what about your year so far you know entrenched in that top 10

At the moment it’s it’s been a good start yeah you know last year I had um the best year of my career but I think it’s uh even harder backing up a good year and going into the season I wanted to make sure that step back down you

Know be humble and just know that the level is so high that it’s not because I finished top 10 that it’s going to be the same thing again uh just been telling myself that that I got to fight that I got to try to make no make no

Mistakes surf hard uh keep improving and um so far I’m really happy with the start of my season well it’s cool man uh it was great to see surf so well in that opening round I know it just shakes everything off and gets you into some momentum yeah excited for the next few

Rounds I don’t know if it’ll be winky um Bell’s bow whatever it is we’re ready good stuff congrats see you next round thank you happy birthday Jimmy how good is that Leo in a good spot 12-point total getting the Heat win there’s something a little bit extra

About Lao this year you know he’s matured a lot and he’s gone through his injuries he’s had to fall off and re-qualify I I truly feel like this is lao’s year to turn in his best performance on tour flick yeah I think it was pretty telling in that post

Interview with vaugh when he said you know obviously I had my best year last year but that doesn’t mean that I’m just kind of sitting on that and I’m I’m stoked with that like I’m just reevaluating just because I finished in the top 10 last year doesn’t mean it’s

Going to happen this year everyone is so good you know the tour is so diverse you can’t just rock up to an event and think yeah I’ve got this home and hose and I just feel like he’s fired up he’s yeah going from strength to strength and yeah

The last ha was definitely something to show for that pretty fun start with the world title race you’ve got Griffin now back in yellow world number one you’ve got a tie now with Ethan ying and John John Florence kind of got Medina Catching Fire Aquin while we were

Speaking on the phone at the start of the Season we we both were talking about the fitness and kind of the beast mode kind of appearance of of Medina which you know was kind of dampened by those early losses at pipe and sunset but he truly feels like he’s going to be

Emerging into the top 10 maybe after this event yeah well I’d like I’d like to think so I talked to him in the surf this morning and you know I just complimented him on Portugal because he found some form there you know he didn’t win but I think he made the semis right

Yeah and uh some of those Heats were amazing like the Gabrielle evolved maybe even better so that was really good to see so yeah I mean that final five I mean you know Philipe is not going to be there now uh so you know like it’s

Already shaping up and uh if John John can be in there it’s going to be fantastic but I’d love to see it t forer in there too so many great topics to discuss with Mark aupo as we see Sammy poopo trying to put a little bit of everything into

That first turn as he ends up incomplete just a moment ago on the stairs you saw Gabe stepdad Charlie he was always around back in the day younger sister’s also been shadowing him at this event she was in the trials uh just a few days

Ago as well and then Andy King his coach speaking of crenella uh seeing some just a cool family kind of vibe now once again for the Medina crew great to see Flick for sure and and I think I’m just echoing what Ox says I think he’s

Coming into some fine fine form if we even just think back obviously uh pipe and sunset probably didn’t get the result he was hoping for but I don’t think that has to speak further the way he’s surfing I mean we saw him go to Puerto Rico and win there carry that

Incredible momentum he had to serve a lot of Heats there to get to that final and then take that to Portugal and it just feels like he’s on a heater at the moment I just he looks strong he looks composed uh last year obviously was that comeback year after that year off and

I’ve got a good feeling about him and especially you mentioned that um Felipe not obviously competing this year there’s a spot open up there in that final five conversation great conflict big hammer on the back end kin now a nice clean little wrap back into the pocket there’s the lip again and he’s

Able to connect ourcal out in front into some clean water throwing a little bit of water off the top belting that section and climbs the Finish ourcal will be able to ditch a 2.5 and now it’s Connor’s turn two good friends both coached by Richard dog Marsh speaking of

Crenella as we see another wrap into the pocket and now blitzing the lip again well timed stretched out bottom turn to follow into the pocket again and throwing down a big hammer but another fall for Connor on backto back wave Zach yeah he surf it was a Pity he fell off

At the end cuz he was timing was great you know like that first turn was really good and you know and then he hit the flat bit and it’s all about you know when you hit that flat bit the turn’s never going to look that good but you

Have to do the turn you know and make it look as good as possible to get to that final turn and and he knew that you know that was that flat period there and went extra and you know just didn’t need to cuz that was going to be a good score

Guys gosh when he whips it off the top and Falls his wipe outs are aggressive on backside turns have you noticed how quickly he’s like getting whiplashed down to the bottom he put so much into it we’ll start with Ryan’s here flick yeah I mean I thought Ryan’s wave was

Really well sured too it was a smaller wave good timing but yeah just I think this section here he allows him to go back up into the lip there so that was nice gets around this section wave gets a little bit slower here Ryan gets the finish on the inside so good little

Finish for Ryan just a little bit awkward it’s kind of like maybe instead of fitting those two turns in at the end he should have just waited a little bit longer waited for that lip to present itself and just go for the one yeah kind

Of feel like it was just rushing it a little bit um but yeah back to Connor if you go to his socials he posted something the other day it was pretty hilarious um he went went up I think it was just a couple of surfs ago here at

Um the bow he goes up to hit this one section and um yeah he I think the captions are Bell’s ball one Conor zero and the board just absolutely Kies him in the face it it looks bad but I mean it actually it also looks funny it’s

Quite funny gosh he’s so committed I feel like he has a lot of crazy wipeouts when you’re least expecting it when he’s just going straight up vertical as we see him now on the wave behind Ryan Z yeah so this first turn here really lighted on his feet and I love that

Because that it’s an important turn to do on the bow if it’s no lip it’s steep so you got to climb the white wash and that turn there was really spicy and this one just went flat so you had to kind of maintain it and then just

Thought I’d go extra so that was got maybe going to match Ryan scored there if he made that but it’ll probably be a bit less I guess after the fall and yeah so this yeah so probably not as good a score what do you think for the city

Yeah I don’t think it I don’t think it’s going to be as good I think maybe just under I think he was on his way to a really really good number his timing and Pace was perfect I don’t know what happened on that last section he kind of

Hit like a little bit of a wobble as he was coming down yeah well you thought that he’d really get all of that turn but I know that section you think you’re going to get a steep part and you don’t yeah you try and make up for it on that

Last turn like I keep saying but here we go who’s this Sammy poopo getting started his first completion in the match up with 8:30 to go throws down a wrapping cutback lays it down again on the open face poopo number 28 in the world needs a big result here and at Margaret River

So he can avoid getting cut halfway through the season like what happened last year he’ll find a final section to work with but looked like he was really trying to force that endsection now a little bit more flow and connectivity to Conor start another wrap back into the pocket

For o now winding up for the oncoming section he’ll tag it and this time stays on his feet that was nice that was really really well done and probably the Finish he was looking for on that uh previous wave for sure I liked it what

Do you think o I liked it a lot you know it’s always dangerous you know when cuz these two guys stay together right Connor and Ryan and do a lot so when you when I used to draw Heats like that and I knew that it was always dangerous cuz

They feel so comfortable they do so many Heats together they surf every day together three times a day so for this for them it’s just another free surf so it’s always dangerous for the other competitor so true back to Conor start flick what did you see there oh just

Great timing and and this wave I feel like it’s just good to be on your backand right now it’s allowing him to sort of pivot in the pocket a lot a little bit tighter and now that that wind’s sort of wafting around too it’s kind of giving him that little bit

Coping just to go up and hit which I think’s actually easier on your backhand when it kind of gets that little feather you kind of can spot it you can pivot tight in the pocket as we see Richard dogm on the screen there looking pretty happy after that wave of Connors looking

Really happy and Medina with his family with his coach Andy King preparing for Liam O’Brien and Cole hman coming up at Heat number 10 minut I just about to hit at the 5minute Mark here in Heat number nine Ryan K and Connor oir two big Goofy Footers that are really good friends coached by a goofy footer named Richard dog Marsh dog a 17-year-old finalist back in the day

Nikki wood won that day he was 16 still the record for the youngest to ever ring the bell very young final they’ve got a great coach and Ryan’s out in front remember we had a couple of Great Waves ridden from Ryan and Connor it was a 583

For oi as he’s in second kalinin 717 to extend his lead out front putting more pressure on Samuel poopo as you can see the positioning from the Melbourne flight cam big playing field but always want to be right on the ball o pretty easy to find your position

At a wave like this you got to keep looking in for sure I mean the steps are a great uh lineup you know cuz you know if it’s kind of big and maybe you know high tide it’s kind of good to sit right in line with the steps but tide goes out

A bit you can get further back uh and but yeah those steps that you walk down is a great marker but you always got to be looking in you know where and where you are interesting see Sammy poopo starting to inch a little bit closer towards

Renon and we just caught up with the guys made do a lot of Beautiful Boards uh Jason Stevenson at JS Industries and he’s like it’s so interesting for Sammy going to pipe going to Sunset super tubos really high impact closeout type Barrel sections on a real shallow sandbank sami’s not breaking any boards

All year and then he comes to bells and he’s broken three boards in the last couple days really that’s surprising JS was running down this morning with about a four pack of brand new js’s just to give Sammy some more backup interesting much just be pushing really hard here or

Something because I mean you know you look at the tour and you think okay yeah you’re going to break WS in Hawaii pipe Sunset I it’s really powerful don’t get me wrong it’s still powerful here but you’ve just yeah that’s really interesting I’m shocked by that yeah I

Think we’re he was surprised as well but JZ well prepared as we see Connor oi was he repositioning there AR well I maybe that was the previous the Heat next because it might be a move from Gabrielle I can’t tell who that was right yeah that was Gabriel Medina okay

So he was just kind of getting out of the way Conor still got his position there in the red jersey needing a 784 to catch up with Ryan kinan Sammy poopo 733 interesting though just focusing on Sam well his first call up to the CT was a wild card performance

At Bells back in 2017 he lost to Joel Parkinson he had a stellar rookie season one Rookie of the Year Final in and Rio with fipe too and we started learning a bit more about Samy remember he was looking at the crowd and hitting his chest and beating off the energy of of

All the Brazilians that day as we see his big bro migy watching but he almost feel like he wants needs to channel energy from the beach at different events around the world cuz it definitely works in his favor when he competes at home yeah that’s an interesting topic because I feel every

Surf is so different you know and and what they talk about to getting in the flow or getting in that moment before they need to go out and heat and I think the majority of surfers will probably say they want to be pretty cruisy maybe

A bit more on the you know the lowkey side but You’ definitely got the Surfers out there I can think of another one ELO comes to mind really loves to channel that energy of the crowd really loves to get involved youve got claims and you know what it’s personality and I really

Like it I feel like sometimes we we lack those characters those big personalities and yeah I love it when they’re interacting with the crowd just makes it really fun AR did you ever feel the crowd change your performance I mean especially here at Bells the the classic

Heats with you and Curran did you feel like it brought you to another level yeah for sure I really did um like surfing in front of big crowds in here in the you know the crowd Roar after a good wave uh it did help you know um you

Know other Sportsmen say the same thing and it’s true like you feel it in your in your bones here we go Ryan leading the heat coming off a big first turn and just little slingshot wrap into the pocket again great transitions between Maneuvers for arcal and the man for Mary weather Beach

Still with some room to move starting to run after the Whitewater again little redirected now looking to find a finishing move AR Ryan counten winds up and shuts it down looking to improve on a 6.5 with 20 seconds to go great surfing again and I think the best

Thing about his wave selection but that’s also allowed him to have minimal transition between his turns the only bubling he did was just before that last section where he kind of just whiteed for it whiteed for it as we say Connor Connor taking off with 5 Seconds on the

Clock trying to protect second top two will move to the round of 32 and he’s looking back seeing Sammy not finding a wave so Connor celebrates taking the top two spots coach loves it Gabby Bryan forri maras it’s a part of their job but they love it they want to come down watch

Each other’s Heats create some good positive winning energy so dog happy with that one AR getting a solid win we brought Ryan into the booth in Portugal after he lost in the elimination round and he said he was still trying to digest that loss he said

That was pretty hard to move on from so he was probably so happy to get the Jersey back on couldn’t wait for this heat this could fire him up to go to another finals day perfect uh result for dog uh both his guys getting through to

You know the M the don’t don’t have to do the elimination round so couldn’t have worked out better for dogs so that’s a perfect heat for him well done we’re going to take a quick break we’re still going to hang out with Mark Ok calupo We’re going to find his

Secrets to longevity and ripping as you grow up Medina Liam O’Brien Cole hman in the water coming up Next there of it’s time for the pulse we’ll get you caught up with the major highlights of the opening round of competition Slater comes out charging wins for the first time this year in the opening round getting a big Heat win John John Florence also advancing and this was

Just great to see a four time Bell’s champ the greatest of all time his girlfriend Kanani they’re expecting their baby boy to come in a few months that was one to celebrate then we saw the defending Bells champ Ethan Ying set the pace he noticed it was kind of a a

Low scale 9.9 combined total getting the win advancing on with Matty McGill but he’s looking solid in his Bell’s defense and number two in the world Ying passing his mom’s name on The Bell staircase and how about just vintage Jordy Smith former Bell’s champ but this is always

One of my favorite events on the calendar for Jordy those big turns are looking incredible his flow he looks more inspired than ever I mean overnight he became the the second oldest guy on tour just next to Kelly we’ve seen a lot from him from those early years on tour

But he looks more focused than ever to fight for a world title this season Joe Trel Felicity Paul Mater and Mark OC calupo here for the call in Heat number 10 Medina’s out there with Liam O’Brien and Cole hman I was talking to flick earlier o about Cole hman and all the

Great energy he had from winning the Challenger Series he basically got to carry that through the off season and everyone was just counting his cting the days for him to compete he’s in a tough spot now for the midseason cut before we get there though Liam already got away yeah I’d love this

Whole heat you know cuz I really like the way Cole serves and obviously I’m a you know fan of Gabrielle but Liam has been ripping you know like what he was doing in Hawaii like surfing you know W May surf that big day at pipe when they

Didn’t have it uh I didn’t realize I mean I’ve been on the same team as Liam for a while now obviously he’s changed to Vista but you know he’s really impressed me so if he can win this heat um you know with what I feel you know

Goofy putter has you know kind of have their advantage here on the bowl I believe that anyway but so I I think it’s a massive heat if Liam can win this he’s going to take some huge confidence out of it you’re a special breed AR you

Know a lot of goofies say the opposite you see this in a different light Here Comes Gabriel Medina stretched out float covering some ground now going off the bottom and drills it off the top great combination holding the bottom turn and smashing the lip again great read throwing some variety the three-time

Road champ now Fades got a not lot of zip off that surfboard shaped by Johnny kabanka and there’s that belt to finish great start very impressive from Medina wow it’s my favorite wave of the day so far I think there beautifully surfed we got we got variation we got power speed flow what

Did you think HW I loved it I really did I mean I when we get the replay I’ll kind of try and get technical for for you guys and uh just the way he approaches it and I mean I kind of surf it you know like I think I surf similar

I mean maybe not as good but you you just notice that he like transitions the weight in between his two feet so he’s kind of pushing back feet but using his front foot at the same time so when you get in that position you’ve got a lot of

Like variation you can do you know so he’s got his feet wider so when he gets that hook off the bottom he can just slide it and just by using similar way with the feet you can get further and do more um than rather surfing the traditional way I mean people it’s

Really Technical and people will be like what is what is he talking about but I mean good Surfers know what kind of talking about and it’s a way to Surf Bells it really works I like that breakdown that made sense that neutral stance yeah yeah it really looks solid

Especially with how he transitioned right here H and it’s a wider stance too I mean the rock and roll floater is just perfect for for him to get here and then he’ll just wait off the bottom just really wait the bottom turns perfect and just the wide stance he can just Jag

That right there just with his wide stance and just do whatever he kind of want you know cuz you know that lip’s going to really do different things you know at the last minute but he’s just adjusting to it perfectly for sure I think just to Echo what you’re saying

That wide stance when he’s coming down from those turns it just gives him that better center of gravity see Liam O’Brien go straight into the liop attacking there now setting the rail back into the pocket he’s got that wave kind of growing a bit throws the tail out and

Has a little surprise for us mixing it up with well with variety as Liam O’Brien from Burley heads and he’ll just flow through the last bit of this wave kind of that down carve check and there’s that endsection attacking the lip that breathes on him Liam ends up

Going down on the finish a lot of creativity in the lines that he chose to lay down o that’s how he’s going to you know beat these guys is doing something like that that layback you know just really radical get the judges attention get out of you know almost out of

Control and make it even though probably it’s not going to be a great score it’s just this one move here that you know that is great but uh there wasn’t a whole lot so I mean you know it’s not all about winning today you know as long

As you get second you know uh you win right you get that better kind of seed I I noticed John John didn’t win so it’ll be interesting to see he’ll who he’ll draw um next round these guys do think about that a lot right it’s seeding for

The next round it’s such a good point off because I think some people watch the opening round you kind of think okay they’re warming up but it’s incentive Base by first or second by your bracket uh your matchups could be really tough you’re not if you’re losing your Heats

If you’re in the elimination round you can have some scary matchups as early as the round of 32 which has kind of been happening to a lot of the rookies and guys like Cole hman who needs a huge result kpo yeah yeah Joe so in that exchange

Right there with the open priority I feel like the rookie uh Cole hman gave a lot of respect to Gabe Medina he didn’t really contest them for that wave and what happened Gabe just point uh posted an eight-point ride so that kind of you know rookie mistake I don’t know if

That’s going to come back and bite Co hman in the rest of this heat your guys thoughts yeah it’s interesting kypo good read there Gabriel seems to be able to catch waves where other people won’t catch waves you know when you watch him in free Sur

He uses a lot of the lineup and his positioning is is really incredible where I was with Jake Marshall in the water in a warm-up session he was just watching Gabe going how is he catching a wave over there then over there it’s like it’s not breaking and he’ll create

Magic for himself I feel like gab’s positioning was solid there it was Cole was too deep I mean it’s hard to tell from where Kyo is on the ski from that angle but yeah Cole was too deep for that wave and he knew it Gabrielle was

In a perfect spot Gabrielle can read the ocean so well now looking at an opportunity right out front Cole hman getting his first wave of the matchup deep on this one and just an out of position moment for Cole a throwaway score Liam out front Gabe in second

Let’s see from arcal with Von Blakey yeah thanks Joey great to have oie in the commentary box and he’s fired up the goofy Footers because Medina’s going mad out there and a guy who absolutely Kaboom that last Heat Ryan Kalan well done AR thank you made a runner up last year

Here a little Bill uh how was that gred when you got back to Newcastle Bo Matt ho a former winner probably not enough but yeah I mean everyone was so stoked to have you know just to make finals anywhere obviously everyone wants the win but just to you know to get that

Phone and a van and to Surf against someone like Ethan and to be able to take that home and you know ride it I mean even still feel like I’m riding it this year coming back I just you know almost feel at home here so it’s uh it’s

Very special it was a good start to the year um sunset in particular you know we really got to see what your backand surfing can do in some juice uh but then you got to Portugal and things went pretty Ary there like do you sometimes

Go oh my God what is this surfing Caper it sucks absolutely yeah uh it was definitely I don’t know why some nerves in Portugal I had some nerves in that heat um I think just you know maybe like you get a good result and then you feel

Like you’re maybe the pressure goes up in a way cuz you want to keep getting them and and and you know the not the the ends in sight but that top five and everything it’s like it’s right there so I guess just I didn’t manage it very

Well in Portugal but um yeah I’m feeling better um I’m like I said I’m really happy to be back here and I guess just working through the nerves and uh hopefully can free myself up a bit mate didn’t look too nervous out there just there and a couple of really nice

Backside hits uh congratulations on that opening round win thank you very much back to you go thanks V thanks Ryan you could tell Ryan was just about to burst into big laughs he’s just waiting for Blakey to throw a little surprise for him there the whole time they’ve known

Each other for years and Ryan happy to be back at Bells a lot of great success last year the final day was at winky pop but he’s uh made a semifinal and big pumping Bells Bowl he could go the distance in this one Arc I’d like to see

It again yeah for sure that was epic to see those two guys in the final and and Ryan last year but back to the seat guys like that was a 75 for Liam so the other if I was the other Surfers i’ take note of that cuz that was the first wild

Radical term we’ve seen so far and it was the only real big one he got he got a 75 for it it was bigger than I thought that’s big and and and I’m thinking the judges probably saw the risk going for a maneuver like that when you still have

So much wave left you know a score will get just squashed if you just leave points going especially at Bell’s Beach for sure I think that turn was a very fine line between getting crucified because it was too out of control or deemed yeah okay he’s got complete

Control there cuz he was able to go straight into that next maneuver I think that’s what got him over the line here’s it’s a replay of um Gabby’s uh second wave and he’s just a bit out of sorts here see this one had a lot of lump and

Bump in it and just that timing was just a little bit off on that one but I I love what I’ve seen from that first wave it just looks like he’s carrying that sort of form from Portugal to bells and uh look out if he gets another clean

Face wave I’d say yeah that wave looked really hard to serve did lots of love there was lots of lumps and mowles in that I even no matter how good your timing is I don’t think that was makeable that last turn but he went for

It but yeah i’ would love to see him on another groomed nice clean one I mean the wind has come up a bit but and the Tide’s quite high so these are difficult conditions no doubt excuse me um we I surfed yesterday it was a lot bigger

Yesterday and when the tide went out in the late afternoon it got um pretty good uh today’s probably going to get better cuz it’s a better size so today this size low low tide bowl is going to be epic this afternoon anyone really impressed you yesterday in the in the

Free serves yeah you know what actually David Silva was ripping like and it was quite big you know uh um also Miguel was surfing really well they were out there together uh Connor uh was surfing great and that he was out there with Ryan but

Yeah um I didn’t get to see John John yesterday you know John John L tends to other places doesn’t he you know uh he doesn’t really like to free surf the comp areas I I from what I’ve kind of got but everyone impressed me you know like you know ER everyone’s ripping uh

Tour is in a great place right now is in a great place you know like you were talking about Cole hman he’s one of my favorite Surfers and and um you know and just these guys that results and and that you know just because he looked Unstoppable you know and now he’s kind

Of hit a brick wall so uh you know let’s see what happens I mean just I always kind of feel for those guys that get on tour and bounce off and get back on because they’re always in such a hard seed you know like just can’t get out of

That you’re just back on tour you’re drawing the best guys you don’t get the results you’re back on that tour you’re ping ponging back and forth but you just get that breakthrough and get a middle seed and a bit High and then you get your groove and you can

S on to it and uh it’s one or the other it’s so true it’s like if you get just crushed in the early rounds your seat is so low you’re going to be against guys like Medina all the time here comes Cole trying to really show off this back

End couple of nice moves to cover some ground now out in front he’s forced to go a bit horizontal there he probably wanted to get there a little bit earlier but doing a lot of hard work and then he buries a red Liam O’Brien on the next

Wave quick Whip and he’s down so his lead stays the same with a 75 and a 65 Cole’s really the one feeling the fall as he might be headed for the elimination round if he can’t get back in this heat Cole’s been working with Luke Egan uh Luke’s been really enjoying

The time with Cole and passing on all of his knowledge but as a rookie you’re trying to pick up everything so fast Cole’s saying though he’s enjoying the challenge he’s enjoying just absorbing it from a guy like Luke uh Luke famous for coaching Joel Parkinson in in that

World title Year back in 2012 y yep Luke’s a great coach he uh subc subconsciously coached me when we done the tour together for years and this is before coaches and we used to kind of Coach each other and caddy for each other certain spots so Luke helped me a

Lot when I won my world title uh traveling together that year and yeah he’s a great coach coach Jo to a world tile coach Caroline to a world title he’s got a good strike rate doing pretty well Lou was emotional last year in September at lowers with Caroline winning all the

Hard work that they put in as we see a little breakdown with K Bell Warren the local boy who’s been in this event in the past working with Callum Robson uh Callum really popped out on the rankings this morning on Dom Patrol flick when we’re seeing him just one spot on the

Wrong side of the cut does have a final here in the past so he’s got some positives to lean on for sure I think another positive for Callum is that he’s on home soil he’s come back to Australia you know you’re drinking your coffees here that are really good you’ve got

Your veggie Mite on your toast your avocado your fancy Brees um so he’s probably feeling right at home Marmite I had I had veite on toast this morning oh you did I did actually and uh in South Africa I have Marite on toes but may remember at home is promite yeah I like

The sweet sour prite promite you haven’t tried promite I will never be from the veggie Mite promite is all time so how do you set it up a piece of toast and then butter pizza toast butter and promite and that’s it or Vite that’s it you can

No but oh avocado on top yes yeah but this morning I didn’t have avocado didn’t matter still good here we go look at this wave oh my goodness slide big wall for Medina crushing it every section more of a transition move off the top there but

Just setting up a big tail blow it looks like he was trying to ring an imaginary Bell there stepdad Charlie back here by his side uh famously jumping in the ocean with his clothes on for big moments in Medina’s career remember that yeah I do I do there’s been some crazy moments so

Good so pass so much passion so much passion but that was fantastic that was my second favorite wave of the day second well maybe my first I don’t know man I think this is the highest score of the day first yeah I think this is going

To go nine yeah it’s amazing yeah for sure like it was the best looking wave I’ve seen today just surfed it perfectly big long turns and this last turn that he had to get up quick and then got that yeah you’re on the money yeah you’re on

The money yeah it’s got to be a nine it beautiful it was beautiful it was beautiful even just this just so perfectly T and here that was like really hard to Surf he almost lost it on the nose but just I don’t know there’s something about him right now he’s

Looking so strong those legs look like they’re made of steel at the moment nothing’s going to Buble him and I think back to what you were saying O it’s that real that wide stance that’s really helping him transition through those sort of fatter sections yeah Felicity

Like I do it a lot when the even though this wave is perfect but if I’m kind of struggling look at his board pop out there off the bottom grab um but when that stuff’s happening it’s better to have a wide or lower stance often if I’m

Having a bad surf or the conditions are testing I’ll wi in my stance and and go lower and and it works it it really does the work and this guy is amazing are you kidding me that finishing maneuver and even just those two little grab route

Bottom turns that he did on those last two sections you at that 9 through three spot on AR 933 to go with an eight-point ride a monstrous performance and there’s still 1020 to go 17.33% wav together from start to finish and he was at the press conference there’s his stepdad Charlie

Celebrating but he was at the press conference and it was like you know Bells hasn’t been easy uh for Gabe in his career got wild cards from Rip Curl when he was about 16 he’s 30 now he kind of had a laugh about that but he I was

Like what do you remember about those wild cards and he’s like yeah getting smoked by MC Fanning and he’s in good spirits just looking back at those days now one thing I’ve noticed though with these waves that gave him trouble result results wise he’s learned how to win

He’s still studying the game he won Margaret River last year another wave that was really tough for him when it turned into a CT in 2014 he won J Bay you know years after struggling in the early rounds and maybe Bells is next and with this kind of for Market his time

Might be now so he hasn’t won Bells he hasn’t won Bells you’re kidding me he hasn’t that really I mean I just I I didn’t realize that I thought that amazes me it really does we go see call the rookie from s CL won the Challenger Series still struggling yeah well you

Know you mentioned mck fny I just want to you know uh softly touch on um there’s been a you know there’s been some really sad news mix’s brother Ed passed away and I texted with Mick this morning um Ed was living in Madagascar and um Mick said he was finally really

Happy over there you know he’s been struggling a bit and uh and it’s really sad news you know um his poor mom Liz you know there’s been Three Brothers now yeah so it’s just really sad I can’t wait to go and give uh her a big kiss but sad news um today

Ed Ed Ed was a great guy man he was so good he was a really good Surfer back in the day too so sad news yeah always love running into Ed and uh our just our hearts our thoughts our prayers with the entire Fanning family and everyone close

Uh to to that whole crew uh they’ve been through so much uh they’ve given us so much love and we’re thinking about you uh throughout this entire event and Beyond let us know if there’s anything we can do as we transition to Gabriel Medina with a wall to work with throwing

Down that snap off the top pushing hard off the bottom and forced to kick out as he has been Stellar here in Heat number 10 933 and an eight-point ride remember uh we’re looking for that Mofi hardest charging award potentially could be featured from Medina’s performance here

In the opening round letting the fins fly free bonsoy Brew break time and back for more of heat 10 right after this for six minutes to go and Heat number 10 the fans are just glued to the action cuz Medina has a 933 and an eight putting

Together a super heat here at Bell’s Beach Laura is always the one that’s having the most fun let’s see where she’s at upstairs all right guys we’re down here at the place to be the oakberry truck people come here for the best post surf snack Ethan ying and Morgan s have already got

Their post Heat win snacks and Lenny how many oak berries have you had today I’ve had about three what’s your favorite topping granola oh all right I’m in let’s go get one absolutely amazing I’m going to have purple teeth by the end of the week 100% well deserved L having a blast over

There it’s easy to get go by there that little truck and oakberry people are so kind look Laura didn’t even have to wait in line they’ll just they’ll just keep throwing these asai at you and they are incredible they’re really really good that was Lenny that was Jack Perry’s son

Right there so that was Lenny Perry that was Lenny and I believe he’s had three but Lenny’s ripping now Jack’s taking himself in so much and uh I stay with the Perry family so Joe um yeah and Gage and bian yeah so I’ve been staying with

That family for a long time long time I think everyone remembers when Jack Perry was a wild card in this event not he was and Steve Perry you know we miss him yeah he was a all timey absolute legend legend especially in this part of the

World as we look at the recap the back end of Medina really has been LS out oh this Heat’s been incredible it’s been my favorite heat to watch so far I mean we’ve had had Gabby just absolutely lighted up on his back hand we had this one moment from Liam that was just

Insane it was sort of touch and go whether he was going to come out of that layback hack and you Liam with the 65 and the 75 but it’s been The Gabby show dropped that eight-point ride on his opening wave but it was this one right

Here that got us all like sitting up on our seats 9.33 and really impressive surfing I I feel like the start was beautiful but the way he finished that was so much the best the start and the finish I like that first slow motion slide I just loved and then just to get

Up and jam that last one yeah I loved it yeah 933 was well deserving the way he set up that last bit of the wall where it felt like a a transition snap but he was seeing the opportunity to blow the tail on the Finish just so much in that

933 a glorious ride for Medina yeah well I mean so many people ask me like how to surface wave and you know Gabriel does it perfectly you know it’s almost is slow motion you know what I mean you kind of cuz the wave is slopy and it

Doesn’t move fast like other waves but so you kind of adapt to that you know it’s but when you’re surfing it it feels like you’re going really fast and it looks like you’re going fast so it’s all about gliding with it and then surfing

Slow with it but it it when you do it like Gabrielle it just looks so good I got to agree with that I think you just can’t rush it you know there’s some people that just try and over over surf it as we look to Cole here now big

Blast there for hman he’s comboed so he needs to get out of it very quickly with 230 to go it felt like he had a bit of a sense of urgency there but another fall for hman and a tough position on the rankings and you can see there’s the frustration

AR yeah well I mean he’s got a massive Heat next Heat the elimination round’s going to be this afternoon and his nerves are going to be high tied because if he doesn’t make that uh he’s he’s looking like he’s back on the Challenger right yeah it’s it’s crazy how fast it

Can happen and we’ve had some brilliant success stories from people that have been cut in the past you know Molly picklum screams out to me chanka his his turnaround to compete for a world title the year after he fell off tour leir vonti uh won the challengers series and

All of a sudden had his best year to date last season there are those real positive uh comeback stories which are great but there’s also the ones where you’re like maybe we’ll never see this Surfer again you never know how gosh it goes on the challenges there’s so many

Good Surfers these days oh yeah it’s so so tough and now that we’ve come to Australia I mean we’re talking about it now at Bells there’s only a couple of events left we got here then we go to Margaret River and it’s really do or die and it it’s unfortunate because everon

Is so good these days you don’t want to see people getting cut but it also brings the level of Surfing so high from the very beginning of the year because you just can’t slack you can you have to bring your A game from the beginning minute 10 on the clock Liam O’Brien one

Of the best Styles in the game really tries to throw down the gouge to start lips kind of moving around a bit with the backwash but he’s still ironing things out with that DHD he’ll wind up for the bit of a lean back finishing move for Liam to try to better a 6.5

With 50 seconds to go little bit of movement on that last wave a yeah look nice for sure he’s just totally secured he’s uh well he probably won’t better at score but he’s he’s sweet he’s into that round to 32 just where he wants to be I

Wonder who he’s going to get you know I yeah he might get John John that’ be a good heat that would be a crazy heat back to Liam here on his last couple of moments here final turn flick yeah interesting I’m not is it going to improve on that 65 I don’t

Think it’s not going to be his highest we I think it’s going to be pretty similar maybe be just under in my opinion not quite sure but the hero for me in this head obviously is just Gabby just seeing that form continued from Portugal it’s just beautiful to watch

And put on a clinic and demonstration of how to do it on your back end running out of time for Cole hman he’ll have to deal with a high pressure situation tonight this evening in the elimination round uh along with a couple of his friends Eli hanaman there but you got to

Applaud that performance Charlie happy with gab’s performance his little sister there enjoying the action as he put together a dream heat the best we’ve seen today absolutely 933 and an 8.0 Liam O’Brien will move on in second into the round of 32 as things will continue in the lineup with Jake Marshall Crosby

Kapino who’s leading the Rookie of the Year charge and Callum Robson a former finalist who’s looking for a big result to make it past the midseason cut o it’s always a treat to hang out with you my friend no worries Joe Felicity everyone thanks uh you know that was fun and uh I

Might I’m off tomorrow maybe I could come and do a heat in the morning if you want I’ll have an early surf but these guys are doing fantastic job the whole broadcast these days is just Next Level I love it you’re my hero AR hey you know

What this is a long day so I’m going to send you a text okay unless you got I’m going to be watching every single but you never know you could get me get you back in you could get me you never know all right we’ll take a quick break

Action continues in the light up now Jake Marshall Crosby colapinto taking on Callum Robson we’ll be right Back one r Prov Welcome to opening day Gabriel Medina turning in one of his best Heats in his career at Bell’s Beach a 933 looking lethal on his backand looking for his first win of 2024 looking to compete in the WSL final five as he’s trying to equal Mark Richards with a fourth world title this

Year what a glorious day to kick things off Jo repel ficity paler and also joining us in the booth Laura en Laura thanks for hanging out with us for this matchup oh so good these are some comfy couches you guys got the best seat in

The house I mean I’ve had an aome day today couldn’t speak to Kelly in his posted interview but that great his eyes were just dazzling couldn’t talk he does that to people doesn’t he still got it what an absolute cracker of a day to start this event off uh Gabby obviously

In that last Heat uh in such amazing form and I’m just so stoked that Bell’s beach has delivered and we just have such incredible waves here today so thanks for joining us for the call you’ve competed here for so many years yourself but also for the reporting responsibilities it’s pretty awesome

Place to to be on the steps oh on the steps is just it’s such a Vibe it’s uh it’s like nothing nothing else and I think when you’re down there this morning you know the Bells Beach song starts playing and it’s just yeah it’s really really cool and iconic those STS

Yeah it’s great too it’s just a great place to watch cuz you can just take a higher level everyone’s got a great view of the bowl you kind of can play remember when when you look at all the big names that you’re walking past there

Tom Carrol we had him in the booth we just past O’s name there’s Lisa Anderson Lane beachley Mel Megan MC Fanning four titles there Parco remember the Parco Mick final or I think Parco got a 10 even after falling but he deserved it that was uh so many great moments and

Then leading up to what we saw last season with Ethan Ying you can really feel that beautiful energy at this event flick oh it’s absolutely iconic and I I just always you know growing up surfing and I remember when I first Ed surfing watching this event my dad was obsessed

With this event he spent a lot of time here and just always saying you know floss this is one of the best events on tour and I remember the first time I came here as a grummy for the rip kill National grum search Final or something

I think we were there at the same time and just how cool it is to be up close and personal with the pros it’s it’s an iconic event as we see how this one got started Jake Marshall got this wave during the break Laura yeah froy wave to

Start here but he got a really nice score on it he just got to connect with a few few of these turns he’s looking so good so H so flowy here and just finishes well a lot of bump to negotiate but he holds on and that was a 633 so

Nice start for Jake Marshall out there I was out there in the water with him a couple days ago in the afternoon there was like no one out for some reason you know how you time those things right that comps where you’re going oh there’s

Going to be everyone out and it was like whoa there’s nobody here you don’t want to get out of the water and Jake’s going oh shoot I’ve got to like manage my energy he’s like what do I do and he was thinking about it to himself and he’s

Like you know what I’m just going to send it he’s like the waves look too good I’m just going to surf as much as I can just let the real Surfer in him that kind of come out he said that might just feel more natural cuz that’s what I’d be

Doing anyway so totally and I know Miguel poopa was speaking to him after his post he and and he was like I’ve just I’m actually tired because I surfed so much yesterday I had a 2hour session in the morning and a 5our session in the afternoon he’s like I just couldn’t come

In and so uh they ever on the last few days just been getting a lot of waves and a lot of practicing I know Kelly was out there yesterday just you could tell he was just so in love with that board he was on and he was just looked looked

So beautiful out there at the bowl and he got barreled yesterday what yeah photos pop up with the goat U really impressed when you find a nice Hollow cave to pull in it’s pretty rare at a venue like this but it does happen Marshall with a 633 start as uh we’ll

Get some inside from kpo well you know what it was interesting at the start of this heat Crosby called Pinto took a page of older brother Griffin’s Playbook and Crosby paddled out wide so he’s approaching Bells from the front so he can study the waves the other two Surfers Callum and

Jake palled up from rencom from behind right now it looks like we got Jake up in riding he’s off to a quick start Joe that’s right kpo already into a foam climb to back up to 633 and he’ll end up throwing it away uh Jake feeling really

Strong he said he’s riding a sharpy surfbort known as the the storm model he said he just loves how the flow is on a wave where you’re going to be on it for a long time in between turns you can just get into that flow State really

Well long drawn out Point Break he said he almost didn’t bring any other models with him cuz he knew exactly what he wanted to ride said he’s always making little tweaks though like throughout his season he’s just ordering the same model but like with little adjustments to the

Tail or the nose or the thickness said you’re always just trying to find maybe a little Edge you you never want your surfing to get stale or flat you’re just always looking for an extra feeling and so he said it’s kind of constant you get really addicted to that feeling of of

Trial and error even if it’s a a model that you know you can trust at Bells he said it’ll always be just making little tweaks and and working on finding maybe something a little extra special in the future I think that’s the funny thing about surfboard design you know you

Think you’re on an absolute Banger of a board you’re like yep let’s keep this one on I it’s going amazing but you know then all of a sudden a different shaper starts to run off with a few event WIS and you’re like hang on a second what’s going on there like and everyone’s

Taking little bits and pieces from each other and refining the quiver I don’t think you ever no Surfers fully ever just satisfied especially if you’re surfing at this level you know and you’re always just wanting to get that little bit extra out of your craft uh

But back to Jake Marshall I had the chance to watch him at uh Portugal last year in iriser which was sort of a similar looking wave to here and I feel like his surfing is pretty conducive to these rightand point breaks he just looks like he flows really well out here

He really does and someone that did incredibly well one of my favorite Heats of Medina bells vano that was insane to watch M Gabrielle Medina a 9.33 and an eight are you kidding me bro that was a demolition out there how good did it feel feels amazing uh yeah I knew I was

Going to we were going to have a good start you know with a lot of waves uh this morning was pumping and uh yeah I was lucky to get catch two waves before the contest and uh yeah my board feels amazing uh it’s good to pick the right

Waves and just go with the flow um and yeah I’m happy with my performance uh I’ve been doing this all week you know it’s good to put everything together in a heat it is mate um start of the Year probably not what you’re expecting but really caught fire at the ISA and then

Uh it’s turned in some amazing performances in Portugal do you feel like you’re building momentum as your world title campaign fires up yeah it feels like uh yeah I’m going to in a good mood I would say uh and uh it happens sometimes in a in a athletes

Life you know you got to enjoy when you you have the moment because he goes and goes away so it’s a holler coaster so yeah right now I feel really good and I’m happy with my performance my boards uh Johnny thank you so much uh I’ve been

Getting some good board so I’m really happy with with that and uh yeah just happy to be surfing really uh the water is amazing it’s so good so Portugal is so cold and this is good so I’m trying to enjoy it the most that’s awesome man yeah well you look happy your your

Energy is happy but in the water you are just absolutely devastating um bills is an event that’s alluded you in the past seems almost impossible to leave Oki was in the commentary box he couldn’t believe you haven’t won here so I mean you look so determined yeah I mean it’s

One of these events that I haven’t uh win yet um yeah I’m looking for it uh to to win an event like this uh just too much too much history you know all my heroes won here before uh and uh yeah I just want I

Just want it so bad you know so I just want to serve enjoy my moment there and try to to to have the most fun uh the ways are just incredible so hopefully keep going like that and we have a great contest outstanding round one performance m a shout out to all the

Crew at home uh all for me thanks by thank you guys it’s one of my favorite sayings in Portuguese tunto you hear it specifically in Brazil more often than not lately you know it’s h we’re on this together we’re they feel each other it’s a it’s a really special

Phrase that’s kind of I feel like popped up in the last couple of years binaa is happy he looks great he looks dangerous I was just thinking about his performances here in 2018 he did get a third so that’s his best so far couple quarterfinals and then kind of every

Other result Under the Sun uh throughout his longevity that he’s enjoyed I mean this guy has been around for a long time now and it’s given us a lot of entertainment we’ve seen him go through some lows and some highs so it’s cool to see him kind of at that maturity looking

Back and knowing hey I’ve got to really enjoy every minute of this and uh it’s great to see him in this kind of form for sure I think as we’ll just have a look here this is Crosby aen Riding on His opening wave so just jamming it in the pocket there nice

Layback to start hits the lip there for a second turn so it’s looking pretty good gets a little bit of a thin throw there coming through to the inside this wave shapen up to be a really nice one for Crosby’s opening wave if you can get this finish

Here on this inside to make it nice and clean I think he’s on his way to a pretty nice opener and does he get it he does so that a nice wave but I think back to what you’re saying about Gabby and he mentioned it before he’s like yeah I’m

In a good mood I’m in a good mood at the moment and sometimes when you’re on that moment You’ got the momentum in Australia we kind of call it a Purple Patch you know you’re in The Purple Patch you kind of just got to keep that ball rolling because it’s not often that

You know you’ve got your alltime greats that just continue on that role but some now with the level and the caliber of Surfing that’s on tour when you get that ball rolling and that momentum you kind of want to stay in it that’s so true and looks like Jake Marshall just made a

Board change after his last wave so a 633 and then his last wave a 2.0 and we’ll find out why he made the switch but Jake got a healthy quiver from sharp I so back for more still being coached by Chris Gallagher at this event those two are best friends they’ve

Known each other for a very long time and G’s a great shaper as well so when Jake and his brothers were going through those growth spurts as really good amateur Surfers from Southern California you’re always trying to update your quiver with your with your growth and your weight and your body changing and

Gosh I remember looking in their garage years ago and there was like every Dimension from 311 all the way to like 5T for all the brothers to share as we look at Callum Robson former finalist at this event 23rd and in the world just pacing his way down the

Line now just waiting for this end section see how full it is on the face but he knows a little carve into the pocket could set up some gold here for him tough section of time with the backwash but he did well to hang on to

That one Laura yeah I love watching Cal here you know that that huge finally had his rookie year it just seems like he wants more he’s down in 26 on the rankings now so this is where he’s going to have to do some some work to to

Really climb up the rankings and try and make that cut as we look at how Callum scrapped into this one hard one to catch there flick yeah it was he almost didn’t get it but uh Callum this morning we spoke about him in the morning show he

Was actually one of my picks earlier I mean he’s you know sitting below that cut line he needs a result here and obviously he got that win on his rookie year uh it’s it’s you know 40 minutes on the clock and already Crosby and Jake have both got you know Sixers which you

Know is a great backup score for today or even you know great score already in their score line so it’s it’s going to be a little bit tough for Callum here I feel like that score isn’t going to come through I think it’s going to be just

Under a six you know it’s not really going to quite cut that mustard there so 13 13 and a half minutes on the clock see the scor sort of coming through now Callum Robson 467 Crosby Kinto open with a 6.0 that board looks magic but Richie love it man

Rick loves talking about surf ports and he’s on the steps finding the backup for cros what you see there Rick yeah I I do like talking about surfboards Joe thank you I have found Crosby’s backup board here and I can tell you it is a 64 shaped by Matt biolis it is their

Whiplash model which uh is their go-to model for when the waves are a little bit bigger couple of things I want to point out here one is the narrowness of that tail uh a really pulled in rounded pin and what that does is it gives you that ability to knife into these waves

Really sit on that rail for a long long time uh and have all that confidence coming off the bottom and driving through the lip and doing those big open face carves uh he’s actually got the the John pisel fins which are a really big Bassy fin but a super narrow tip to it

So again this is all geared to all that drive all that speed off the bottom turn and then allow that uh that agility and that maneuverability off the top slight single to double concave uh super thin Tail as as well again this is all about getting that uh that sensitivity and

That control uh when these guys are going through these Maneuvers so uh this is the 64 backup cros is on an identical model to this uh but an inch shorter the 63 so uh the boys are on the on the steps here we got uh Tommy wits Griffin’s obviously watching on his dad

Mitch uh the whole Camp is down here to cherim on he started pretty well yeah he certainly has thanks for the inside Richie love it longtime competitor on the championship tour one lower trestles one haliva what a legend and he loves surfboard still does a lot of Designing

In the shaping room himself he’s been through a lot there’s a book about him written by Shawn dhy called the big sea I feel like they should add a few more chapters because he’s got more of a story to tell but for cros yeah he’s uh noticing the support crew on the stairs

The kapinos his parents are in town now as we see a chip in how about that from Callum Robson attacking that big first section unfortunately he’s going to have to step off but how did he get into that thing wow that was almost a really cool move for him unfortunately that wave shutting

Down and looks like Crosby right behind him also slightly too too deep but uh yeah Cal just got the chip in from way further out outside his two competitors and and sort of weaved through them just making sure hey do you want it making sure you don’t want it you guys with

Priority and then uh would have been cool if that was able to turn into something special and now jakeob and now and just kind of brings up a nice easy topic of wave selection Laura you know from competing out here for so many years did you find it really difficult

To pick the right wave on a day like today or did you kind of have a nice easy recipe to follow I feel like you know Bells especially today it’s you see these lines coming through and there’s a lot of you know it looks really good from far but then speaking to the

Competitors today they’re just saying that it is really hard to pick the wave that’s going to really hit the reef correctly today and I I think that has a lot to do with the short per short period well uh speaking to kale B war and just saying yeah what is it about

Today why is it not hitting the ball every wave and just being uh you know sort of that easy classic bells to to select good waves but uh so these these guys have to really like search around and uh find find the waves that are going to give them that connection it’s

Interesting because this event specifically seems to have a ton of like local knowledge that people try to lean on like kale Bell Warren like Adam Robertson you know kind of like surfing in Hawaii as well but this one definitely it seems like the demands you calling up someone that surfed this way

Of their whole life yeah absolutely and I mean yeah you can see all the coaches down on the Coach’s Corner there’s team Griff and Crosby right there I love the stairs it’s in the morning all the coaches just the banter is classic they’re all just yelling across down the stairs it’s like

Just Good Vibes with that crew those guys pulled up in a van and said hey jump in you’re jumping in right you’re coming with him where are we going you’re having a good time gar fun if you’re getting in that b like you’re never going to say I’ll drive separate

You’re going I’m coming we’re going to ride this thing out we’ve got 9:30 on the clock Jake leading so far with a 633 as his High Mark we’ll take a quick break we’ll finish up opening round Heat number 11 right after This first Happ Jake Marshall still in the lead Callum Robson second Crosby of pin holding priority let’s get some insight from kpo in the water Kyo what are you noticing right now I’m just noticing that these waves are are fairly difficult to paddle into right now uh Cal did get that chip

Shot on those but also Joe you can see these sections rearing up the higher tide uh it’s just pushing everything further out into the channel the guys are pushing back deep there’s this one section happening right here that it seems difficult to get around because the waves are hard to paddle into but

Once you’re up and r the sections come down very quickly so that’s the challenge right now that’s going on in this heat thank you kypo for the insight and also with the tide still on the rise I think for another 20 minutes or

So till we get to the high as we look at Jake Marshall rolling into this wall looking to better a two under the lip hook wow surviving that first turn laying low To Go the Distance out in the open face got himself there and now setting

Up a nice off the top chasing another section hard wave to Surf but did well to stay on his feet flick yeah and I think he’s got the he’s got that two-point ride as he’s back up and knowing with only you know six minutes basically on the clock he kind of was

Like okay I’m stood up let’s milk this wave right to the end cuz I’ve got to replace that too yeah well all all of the guys in this heat looked at that wave and Jake Marshall had second priority at the time and he swung and

Looked a bit foamy at the start it was an absolute Journey this wave it had a bit of backwash in it but look at this first snap that was huge disconnected from the board did so amazing to get around this section and then was like you know what that’s already got a

Better as two that turn so let’s just try to finish this thing off see what it does through the inside and he uh he did well into another nice lip line but uh I think he’ll be stoked with that little tail release at the end there so that’ll

For sure better his two-point ride so I think that was an awesome awesome move move there for him look at this this was crazy it was like a big backwashing section fully dis that his back foot almost fell off the board disconnect from the board so upright and then uh

Just had to compress there to really land that also just being a to get your footing back in the right position and uh yeah that was that was a job well done there by Jake Jake’s been here a couple of times in the past had a 17th

And then a 33rd but I think what I’m noticing he’s feeding off a lot of confidence from his performance in Portugal making finals day ended up losing to Crosby kapino that day but he’s known Crosby and the whole California crew his whole life so he stuck around wanted to make

Sure he was there to to show his support you know he could have booked flights and snuck out of there but he wanted to hang in for finals day went to the dinners and was there to just share some speeches you know I think Jake Patterson Tommy Whitaker forced everybody to give

A speech and Jake’s was just awesome really proud of every everyone that he grew up with and I just think he came to Australia feeling different you know he’s been on tour he’s been off tour he’s learned a lot um along the way and I think he knows he’s got a great shot

For making finals there at Bells for sure I think uh something to be said about hanging around and really just embracing the rest of that contest and I mean he didn’t need to do that and he did but I mean he’s looking really good here just exactly what you said Laura

He’s definitely going to replace that too he dropped a 4.57 so improved his situation in this heat out in the lead now which is pretty good because there’s only 4 minutes left on this clock and I mean Crosby’s got that six locked in he’s down in third but he’s sitting out

There with priority so looks like there sets on the horizon too yeah Crosby only needs a 0.97 so that’s basically to his feet and a little little wiggle and three and a half to go but uh back to say back to Jake you know he’s in eighth

On the rankings best year of his life on tour and you know you say you know what different sort of shifts and changes that you can make and and what works and just seems like being more relaxed and and enjoying these places on the road it’s once you get into that you know

That Mo that moment then you can just really enjoy it and the results show look at these big wash throughs coming through gosh that’s just just bells for you isn’t it it just goes quiet for a while you might be thinking things are calming down and then just the set of

The day comes and washes everybody out of the lineup crazy right now because everyone’s getting this wash through I mean there’s 3 minutes on the clock you got to be thinking that Crosby is going to get another opportunity but they all just caugh that last set on the head and

He’s got priorities having a look here yeah he’s going to go Crosby doesn’t need much just a completed turn and he’s going to move into the top two throwing down the carve it’s not making it easy for him little bit of movement on the face Fades again he

Should be solid for the top two and now he’s looking for more he has to hit that section early to make sure he rides away so really smart surfing for cross trying to make sure that he was guaranteed to move into the top two yeah wow we just

Had to hang on to that only hting such a small score uh but that was such a hard wave to ride uh but he you know two and a half to go I think just knowing that there can be these lulls out here he wouldn’t want to not go this wave had so

Much foam and froth in the face being the third or fourth wave of that set so he knew it was just going to be frothy that whole way through but only needing a one-point ride he’s obviously got it did such an amazing job to hold on to

This last turn oh that was just so hard to hit so hard to negotiate this is like Runing a bucking ball right there hold on Crosby just really SM smart surfing getting there early making sure he had control the finish and he’ll be putting Callum Robson into a tough situation

Callum remember the surfer that’s 23rd in the world one spot behind the midseason cut wants to avoid any chance of losing in this event if he stays in 30 is in the elimination round this evening Laura so that would be a lot of pressure on the man from Evans said yeah

It would be I mean just go it’s going to be a huge day I mean whoever’s going to be down here in the elimination round they’ve got obviously women’s opening round coming up next so they’ll have a bit of time but yeah they’ll be serving this afternoon and really having to

Compose themselves and uh I mean I’m sure all these guys in the leadup to this event last few days have been serving at all times of the day to just really see how their boards go cuz when that lump and bump gets into it in the afternoon you know you need to make

Those switches with your equipment and know what to expect in all different you know conditions Crosby jumping off the red W ski he’ll be in the top two but he still doesn’t know what he has yet waiting for the judges to put in the score priority is with Callum Robson

Callum’s probably trying to feel his way through the situation probably realizing he’s going to need to do some work scores it now for cross he’ll go all the way to First with a 533 Callum paddling into this wave needs a 624 to avoid the elimination round Robson trying to cover some ground here

Kind of a m hit on the Whitewater section carving onto a real soft shoulder but he’s still committed hugging the pocket a bit and still nothing major yet and now chasing maybe an aggressive finish if he could do him something really massive misses the punt section and Callum will be in the elimination

Round Jake Marshall fitting in a final wave trying to get his lead back off his friend Crosby big wall section there nice clean snap off the top into another foam climb and looks like Jake shut it down way down the beach his coach Chris Gallagher is going

To be proud of that performance and The Californians will be in the top two moving on to the round of 32 flick yeah it’s that’s a tough loss for Callum as we were talking about before he re he really needed to advance through that obviously he’s got the elimination round

Coming up basically tonight don’t go anywhere everyone we’re uh in for a very very big day we love it first day of the comp running all day it’ll be a tough day for he’s going to reset he’ll have some time to think about that heat

And what he’s going to have to do later on today to put himself in a better position before we get to Margaret River that’s when the goes from 34 men to 22 for the rest of the season then we focus on the WSL final five we do have Italo Ferrera yod Dora

And Fredo Marias as that last Heat of the opening round for the men then we get into the opening round for the women EO a pass champ yodora looking for some momentum this year Fred R maras is always really really fun to watch on a wall like this on his fore hand really

Impressed though with Jake Marshall on his last wave looking like he still put a lot into this one to try to get the lead off Crosby and scores coming in at enough for Jake Marshall 693 on the buzzer to take first off of cros yeah it’s got to

Feel good too knowing that uh he’s going to get into that next round it’s going to help his seating a little bit more so yeah getting the win over his mate on that last wave huge one there for Jake Marshall that’ll carry him into the round of 32 he’s been looking strong in

His free surfs even stronger with his competitive performance today as you get the official numbers Marshall kapino into the round of 32 and Robson another big name in the elimination round later on today opening round Heat number 12 coming up next very special time to be watching the event the queen eight time

Road champ four time bells champ Stephanie Gilmore join Ronnie and Rich for the call we’ll be right back oh yeah AB heav well rip recently announced an 8-year multi-million dollar deal with eight-time world surfing champion Stephanie Gilmore this deal comes at a pivotal moment in Stephanie’s career as

She embarks on a year-long sabbatic all from professional competition to embark on on the search traveling the world to feel that freedom to discover the most exceptional waves adventures and experiences the duration and scale of the agreement underscore the magnitude of Stephanie’s influence on the sport

And the confidence rip has in her in continuing to build on this Legacy Gilmore’s relationship with Gip Cur began in 2000 when she first signed with the brand at 12 years of age she then went on to win four World Championships in 2007 rookie of the tour that year

2008 2009 and 2010 welcome back to rib curl Stephanie Gilmore and welcome to the booth your shout for dinner congratulations for the next eight years right oh you bet you bet congratulations uh incredible timing with you uh taking that time off from the the championship tour where’s your first trip tell us

About the location reveal all right here my gosh okay yeah pull out the map um no I’ve been doing a lot of uh Google Earth thing just to see where we can go what we can do but yeah this is a really amazing opportunity for me at this stage

In my career to partner with a brand like rip girl who they really you know they they have such a passion for surfing and for me at the end of the day I love winning world titles I love competition like it really is a wonderful stage but the True Heart of of

My love for surfing is adventuring around and getting good waves as I’m sure every Surfer you know if you can take off on an adventure and find yourself a new destination maybe find an Undiscovered wave and I don’t know just all those sort sorts of things they get

Me excited so I’m really happy to be here and and uh to launch the search again with rip kill so much fun awesome stuff I want to know on the first trip are you even going to take a high performance shortboard well I was packing my board bag to come down here

And I was like oh this is weird I guess I can take this small board bag and uh I put in a shortboard and then I had a twin Fin and then I had like a asymmetrical Ryan Birch pickle fork thing and and then I

Took a few out because I got weird about it and then I added some other things in anyway I um I figured that the cool part about what people know about me and that I love surfing different boards is that everywhere I go I have a lot of people

Reaching out saying hey I got a cool board you want to try it so it seems like I won’t even have to take anything they’ll be they’ll be there I’ll find them and maybe a skin board maybe I’ll be to try a little Tom car and skimboard

Somewhere that sounds that sounds like a lot of fun so this last h of the opening round for the men let’s have a look at the lineup 2019 World Champ and a former winner here at Bells Beach itala Arrow will take on yod Dora another Brazilian

And Fredo Mor has made his return to the championship tour this year after a brief Hiatus and it was Italo getting things started early here Rich this is where he won his first CT it was an emotional Victory he’d love to tap into that winning feeling again oh absolutely

And and he did it in conditions not too dissimilar to what is on offer here today and Ito took this wave miles up the point almost up at the ringcon section you can see here driving all the way through frothy wave to deal with little bit of action outside as well but

We’ll focus our energy on Ito gets that final finish tricky as the high tide continues to come in this is yod Dora hasn’t this guy really improved and impressed over the last couple of Seasons uh one to really watch and almost feel like it it’s only moments

Until we’ll see him in a world title race at some point yeah he keeps uh keeps climbing those ranks certainly got everything required to go to the top end of the rankings fredero maras chasing a huge result sitting right on the cut line at the moment in 22nd

Position and you could see when he he cracked the the code on the Challenger Series last year just how bad he wanted to be back here he’s had some big finishes on the CT before uh as high as 10th place in 2021 14th as well another high finish for him on the

Ratings but uh yeah he’s up against it needs a big finish in this contest but Steph back to equipment I mean we’ve already seen you on some pretty fun looking boards um the East Coast of Australia has been lighting up in the New Year mhm yeah we have been very

Spoiled up there on the East Coast uh around koling snappa rocks has been on fire Kira has been back to its old beautiful ways and um Dura I mean everywhere I’ve been Surfing by and Bay down the pass and lanx it’s just everywhere you look there’s been a

Consistent East swell that just seems like it doesn’t want to stop and the water’s warm and I definitely thought to myself well I don’t really need to travel too far I’m uh I’m on a surf holiday right here at home that’s awesome I can’t wait to pick your Brian

Throughout these next couple of Heats but uh we do have some people that we want to have a chat to as well 22 1/2 minutes remaining here scores in for Italo’s first ride solid start for him a six not too far behind yodora Banks a 5.33 and fredero he had himself a four

To kick things off here so uh can’t wait to watch this one play out but uh pretty impressive in that last Heat Rich Jake Marshall just continues to kind of upset more fanc opponents I mean pretty evenly matched in the last one you’d have to say but

Jake’s just a a sneaker he just kind of you know flares up and drops solid scores against people that you expect to do really well at this location uh I think we’ve seen shades of Jake’s best over the last few seasons but in particular this year I think he’s he’s

Flicked the switch on something and found it he seems like he’s in career best form at the moment uh and I feel like the tussle between Crosby and and Callum Robson at the start of that heat where they were jocking for position they were were messing around up on the

Inside trying to get the inside track and it sort of gave Jake free reign of the lineup for half the Heat and uh he took full advantage of that got the lead early and that was enough he maintained we’ll try and have a a chat to him in

The not too distant future but out there at the moment we’ve got Ito who’s uh starting to really uh get back to I think that win winning form uh he’s sitting in 13th uh but his surfing’s been improving he’s got one of the highest Heat score averages for someone

Outside the top 10 at the moment this year his best result this season it was a fifth this is actually his 84th career Championship Tour event this is where he had that first win Stephen it was amazing year was Mick’s last contest as a a campaigner well not a campaigner on

The championship tour he took a wild card in that event but yeah it meant so much to Ito didn’t it yeah seeing him win that event oh yo is insanely talented he’s such a big guy but he’s somehow off like sections with no speed is able to throw his tail and you know

Boost really high airs and um yeah it’s always fascinating to me watching yo do his thing but back to Ito to see him win and basically shake down the whole contest Zone with uh cheering and being so proud of himself it was really a special moment to see that go down and

And then he just went on to tear you know he was well champed not too soon after that so got the ball rolling and and it was um obviously a very important win for him crazy Flare from yag go on that last move waiting on the scores to roll in for

That will queue up a replay no doubt but uh there it is 4.77 let’s have a look at it again yeah I think AB Bells they the judges really love to see you piece together a whole wave you know and I think unless it’s a I mean that was a

Fantastic maneuver and really difficult to do but unless he had some some other stuff before it then it it wasn’t going to score any higher than that but um um yeah we’ve seen yo do it though in conditions that are really tough it’s like oh there’s not much going on and

Then he’ll just throw an incredible air and get a 10 and you’re like wait a second but um he did it at J Bay got a a really high nine on like just from one maneuver on a Point Break which is quite hard to do but yeah he seems to do it

And he trusts himself he can see that he knows he can do it so it’s cool great control for a lanky guy 60 and uh just compresses beautifully stays over the top top of his board most of the time kind of got completely upside down on that last move set waves approaching

Here at the moment ito’s got that priority on the outside Richie love it and Steph Gilmore here in the booth and Steph um no one taking this one just quickly uh what’s it like this is really the first event that you’ve kind of been at since you obviously made the decision to

Take a year off um is it hard to be around an event is it enjoyable are you relaxed what’s the feeling I think I’m pretty relaxed most times but uh starting the event in watching pipeline in Hawaii there was a lot of lay days it

Was sort of rainy and I it looked a bit cold and windy and I was like yeah I’m not missing it and then the finals day happened and the girls you know Molly and Katie and Betty Lou were just sending it so hard and I was like oh

I’ve blown it you know I want to I want to be there I want to be a part of it as we see yo trying to get another little or I guess a good score decent score to get started oh he’s got a six so 5 SO3

He can back that up with something decent here well you can see what he’s thinking as he stands on the tail now just waiting for this wave to steepen on the inside going to go for something big here drives up into the lip solid finish will probably be better than the the 477

Just a bit more of a a combo through that ride as Steph said they want to see you piece those moves together and flow down the line here at Bells but yeah that was an amazing way to kick off the year the women stole the show and it just feels

Like the women’s sports never going to be the same after that totally yeah something really changed and I I mean to be at home watching it was uh devastating cuz I was like oh man I want to be a part of it for sure but at the

Same time I was so proud of all of the young women who are out there doing it and and I yeah I I was feeling like that real shift had just happened and and like we’ve all been saying give us an opportunity and and we’ll go for it and

Um and that was the the perfect example of that so as we see Yo smash this inside here yeah that would be a pretty decent score for him yeah well the exciting thing is we get to to see that Evolution continue after this heat cuz we’re going to dive into the opening

Round of the women’s event and it’s going to be a really fun narrative to play on now Rich CU we’ve seen the Young Gun steal the show through the the first couple of events of the season and then we saw the veterans fight back over in Portugal and this is an event that

Favors the veterans I mean Molly did well here last year but when you look at at who isn’t in the draw this year you’ve taken a lot of um the the common finalist semi-finalist in particular out of the mix so you know I think it’s it’s

Going to be a very even battle between that that younger group of charging competitors and the established guard yeah and there is a real gap between the two and and obviously with the the absence of of Steph not in the event and Carissa and who they take out of the

Event along the way uh it it does spell opportunity for all the other women um that cutline is brutal and it’s looming and you know you look at names like step um like Sally Fitz Gibbons uh Isabella Nichols who was in a really similar position last year she needs to get

Moving and secure her spot uh this is going to be a real pivotal event on the tour it’s going to be fun to to touch on as we dive into that first round but we still got this last Heat of the opening round for the men unfolding 15 1/2

Minutes to go here yo has the lead at the moment with a couple of mid-range scores we’ll see if he can hang on after we chat with the winner of heat 11 Jake Marshall with Vaughn well last year the CT didn’t go quite to plan for Jake Marshall but uh

Requalified through the Challenger Series and mate here you are number eight in the world and winning your opening round Heat at bills what’s changed for you um I don’t know I feel definitely a big switch up from last year I mean I got a 33 here last year so

That was pretty rough and I was definitely in a lot different place uh mentally I would say and now I’m just feeling like I really have gotten better and I’ve I’ve worked really hard to improve my surfing and I feel like that uh in turn has made me a bit more

Confident and I’m starting to beli in myself a little bit more so that’s really good and yeah I don’t know I just feel like really stoked on um how I’m surfing right now and feel like I’m surfing good heat so it’s uh it’s coming like naturally for me right now and it’s

Always good when you feel like you’re in that like good competitive competitive State you know you kind of just got to like let it happen while while you have it yeah that’s an awesome Insight man you had the Grom coming at you there he tried to pinch the lead

Crosby in the uh dying stages of that one but that last wave you just look so composed and that board looks really good especially after you uh crushed crushed your magic one at the start of the height yeah that was brutal I was like so amped on that other board and

Then kind of had to reset like I was like a bit pissed getting on the jet ski like are you kidding me like how but that’s just competing sometimes that happens and I really like this board as well it’s like a/ in smaller and um yeah

I was stoked I ended up kind of getting that last wave just to get uh get a little bit of Rhythm on it like it was weird after that first wave it seemed like everyone was kind of a little we were all maybe like a little out of

Rhythm but it didn’t seem like there was a ton of really good waves coming in that heat so felt good to put one together on that last wave and um wasn’t anything crazy but always nice to get a Heat win on the in the first round for

Sure yeah man well I think everyone’s looking at you now and if they’re underestimating you they’re having second thoughts about it because uh yeah you really having a great start to this year and we look forward to seeing you in the next round yeah thanks a lot

Appreciate it good on you Jake thank you easy to get behind characters like Jake Marshall who you know missed out on qualifying in the early stages of their career by maybe a heat or two and then went back and worked for Jake he worked in Hospitality to keep funding those

Campaigns on the qualifying series broke through found it difficult for sure but ultimately now finds himself in the dream position all the hard work paying off love a battler love a battler Jakes has an amazing uh wave Choice Talent yeah he did so well in Portugal didn’t

He when everyone else was struggling to piece it together Sunset he Serv brilliantly yeah here goes Fredrico moras he’s another guy who’s just not ready to give up on his dream to maintain his place on this Championship tour and he is at the moment looking for a 4.34 out of this one

He’s had big Heat wins against world champions before in world class conditions and today he’s just having to grind through this one to stay alive for some uh some cleaner wall to rip into Rich look at Richard dog Mar there that’s freder Mor’s coach and clearly

Not happy uh not going to plan but it’s a gold seed on the stairs today forg can we get a top view the uh notebook there I would love to see what he’s just written down it’s brutal you know whatever whatever words of advice and and Direction dog gave him

Perhaps writing exclusives in his book at the moment um but you know frto Rico is such an astute competitor you know he he’s very consistent um you know we don’t often see him break into those kind of nine and 10 and even eighto rides but it but he’s capable of it you

Know and and perhaps that’s what dog is just thinking maybe open up a little bit more go for it have seen him go there before early you know I think I I mentioned earlier that uh he’s been to some pretty lofty Heights on the rankings before back in 2017 he was like

Just all big full rail cars I think he was didn’t have the the kind of scar tissue of of poor Seasons at that point he was young he was fresh and he was leaning into those big front side cares and just consistently getting big scores but they’ve been a little harder to come

By for him and at times as Zago again kind of just chipping away here seems to have like made a decision to not get overly selective in this lineup it’s definitely been pulled apart a little bit by this wind out there Steph the wind and the high tide like it’s it’s

Really filled up and the hard part about Bells is you know even on a low tide it seems like it doesn’t have a bottom you kind of have to do surfing in the top 2/3 of the wave and um you know unless you Mark ocupo and you have half muscles

The size of trucks but uh yeah so see how full it is you can’t really get a full bottom turn and and to be able to really rip in and and it seems like yeah Fred on your forehand too it’s quite difficult to be able to just hit the lip

You have to stick to your calves and and it yeah it added in a bit of onshore wind and it seems to um just hard to control your board and to be able to look like you’re doing that really nice clean surfing which Fred’s really he’s

Good at that’s his strength so tough to do but I’m sure on your back end you can kind of sneak in under the lip and do those snaps so being against these two goofy Footers for Fred is is going to be a tough challenge yeah I really like the

The observation there and just the experience of yours in reading this wave off the bottom um you you’ve got to get that deep bottom turn in when the wave steepens but like you said it sort of seems cutting it short and carving down off the the pocket of this wave can

Really help you flow some turns together we’re going to take a bonsoy brew break here Jo F coming off the back of a victory over in Portugal we’ll be out there Next Le and in third Let’s dive into the pulse here day one of the rip kill Pro Bells Beach presented by Bon Soy saw Kelly Slater making his 27th appearance here at Bell’s beach with the Jersey on searching for his first Victory this season and he found it in a tough matchup with John John Florence and Seth

Mony Slater was absolutely buzzing Jordy Smith returned to Vintage form some of the biggest turns laid down today looking fit on a good board Jordy achieved excellence in this lineup a very healthy Heat score title for him as he powered past the elimination round and into the round of 16 and then what

About this guy Gabriel Medina he found something in Portugal he looked deadly he hasn’t had a victory here at Bells before but this performance suggests that in 2024 he is going to give it a red Hot N he put together the biggest Heat score total of the day busted the

Fins on the end section and looked every bit the three-time world champion very relaxed very happy and ready to do damage in this draw back into the final heat of the opening round for the men 6 and A2 minutes to go and yodora has just been

Chipping away at his rivals in this heat hasn’t established a massive lead but he in a pretty decent position as he looks to improve that Heat score total with a strong start driving back into the pocket solid work on those first two sections but this wave breaks in half

And he’s going to ditch it so Ito has been Ultra patient out there and just looking for his second second score but I think maybe during the break he took a W that’s not going to really eventuate into much of a number that’s going to leave the door

Open for this man the pride of Portugal fredero maras after a really low number to get himself up into the top two here couple of nice carves try and put a smile on Richard dog Marsha’s face with this one as he just chips away at it waiting

For that steep section on the shore break it really is a test for these competitors especially with the tricky tide and he times it beautifully he gets the nod from Steph Gilmore Steph talk to us about the challenges in riding through all that dead water and then finding the momentum for a solid

Finishing turn yeah the the other thing I keep noticing is the foam on the face you know it Bells it’s one of those things you just don’t want to take off on those waves that are after a set there’s a lot of white water on the face

And it’s just makes it extra difficult to get your rail in set your fins all that kind of stuff um but you know he so when he took off on that wave there I thought that’s probably not a good choice but it seemed like after this first maneuver things cleaned up and he

Was able to really get to work so that was actually a really good choice of wave for him that second car was awesome nice and strong and came through here the wave flattened up but he didn’t look too um uninterested you know he really kept busy and then he’s come through the

Inside here and this finishing maneuver was awesome lots of power so you got another Manu in here and then smashes it right here yeah that was great really good score for him you can tell it meant something to him he he knew it was his best yet and the pressure was on he’s

Also made Ito pay for a fall here Rich by the looks at things yeah Ito just getting stuck behind the section here you can see how much warble and bump uh was on the face of that wave and through the lip as well so this high tide we

Talk about it high tide and wind at Bells like oil and water they just do not go together and un fortunately uh has a long way to ride for Ito to uh to bank a two-point ride so behind the eight ball here and Under Pressure he is

Back out the back with priority so he will have an opportunity with just under four to go needs to find that open face Steph you you’ve won all over the world 33 incredible CT victories uh obviously a a handful of them here more than a handful but um bills be

How does it stack up against some of your other victories there’s so much history here and so many of your surfing Heroes on that trophy yeah it really is one of those places that has an extra feeling to it when you win you get this

Iconic Bell you get to give it a ring um I think all the names of the past winners and the history there is really what makes it extra special um yeah as we see Ito trying to get one last chance at uh backing his uh his Sixpoint

Right up he’s got two okay turns here just getting stuck behind the white water and this wave I’m sure he’ll do the little uh dead water dance and then move to the inside and try and finish it off it’s not doing too much for him but it’s a nice snap there

He’s so strong you never know what he’s going to do that’s my favorite part about watching Ito there’s always some kind of surprise but oh what of the dry sand surely that’s an extra point it’s spectator sport when you’re watching Ito isn’t it you just don’t know what he’s

Going to do never turn away um but yeah winning here at Bells is just fantastic it’s it gives me chills thinking about it I think 2008 was my first win here and I just fell in love with it getting chaired up the beach going up the stairs

The whole lot all of it was one of my favorite did you take a while to get used to this wav and figure it out or was it something that came pretty naturally quite quick I think it took you about what three events Steph and then you it took me it definitely took

Me a few events you win 2007 did I I don’t know I can’t remember is that one of the four I think I did or maybe I did yeah I think you won pretty early in the that up okay but I just felt comfortable here because it was a rightand point

Break I’ve grown up surfing yeah this wave um coming down here for Pro Junior events and my sty are surfing perfect seems to suit this wave well we got the gwm 2minute warning here and it’s a is going to be really hanging on on you know where this score Falls he’s after a

3.33 probably be enough to to get him back up there but you know what I think uh Rich Ito just sort of in a lot of situations these these past couple of years hasn’t sort of made world champion like decisions in heats it’s sort almost like

He he took that wave and and took himself out of that lineup then and even if he turns the heat fredrico’s really going to have a a great shot at getting back in front yeah well he has he’s just actually jumped up into the second position now but I get what you’re

Saying in his Reign the world title years and even around those years he seemed so dominant and he always seemed to drop big numbers all the decisions he was making were were the right ones and his surfing was just so strong um and normally you’d expect him to be way out

In front of a heat like this you know be miles ahead but um you know he’s right in the mix here and he’s under he’s under pressure St if you can you can speak to it after winning a world title you know you you have an expectation of

Where you should get to in events and sometimes just desperation kind of creeps in a little bit Yeah defending well title is really difficult as you see yo go absolutely ham to really strong Maneuvers and uh yeah just dealing with this foamy White Water here but he’ll come through to the inside

This is could be a pretty good score for yo so yeah Ito could prove me wrong here and this could be the the decision to go that wave might get him through this heat or or maybe Fred rco’s on one on the outside but it is that thing you

Know you’re really trying to defend your title and you’re sort of holding on to this feeling like y got to be the best I got to do everything right and you sort of don’t surf like you like you’re on the attack you seem to be defending and you start stressing with decisions and

It’s yeah it’s tough to do I feel like you can kind of see it in a few of the the defending champs sort of decision making but yeah Ito he’s so strong He he’ll definitely come back oh let’s let’s have a look so this was frederico’s opportunity to perhaps get

Himself into the top two but not really looking like the number is it nope no no way um a 468 needed a 468 we know that that’s not going to go there so unfortunately so it was spot on with his decision making the absolutely nailed it yeah and yodora signing autographs

There he got busy in that heat and it paid off for him so he’s going to to be powering through to the round of 16 and we’ll see Fred rco Marias in the elimination round we are waiting on some numbers to drop still yo dropped a 4.9 on that last wave which only

Strengthened his position we’re going to take a quick break here when we return we are going to kick off the opening round of the women’s event here at the ri Pro Bells Beach presented by bonsoy Two want to do another Del the rip girl Pro Bells Beach presented by bonsoy is brought to you by Rip Curl the ultimate surfing Company by visit Victoria Melbourne every bit different by Eventbrite proud sponsor of women’s surfing on the WSL Championship Tour by oakberry Fuel yourself with the official

S of WSL Australia and B Sho official sunscreen partner of the world surf League well the opening round of the men’s event is a wrap the elimination round matchups are set and they are heavy now we’re going to dive into the women’s event with the opening heat featuring the winner from Portugal Jo

Anda Fay she’ll be out there in the red jersey Lana Silva will be in the blue representing Brazil and Alissa Spencer from anonas California she is going to be out there in the white jersey should be a fantastic Clash Richie love it alongside me and the eight time world

Champion Steph Gilmore great to have you company Steph uh Jo Anda you must have loved watching her return to the top of the podium over there in Portugal I think six Championship tour wins that she’s uh she’s had now she can get it done yeah Joanne surfing seems to be

Getting better and better and she is a fitness itic so you know she’s always training extremely hard and and her body shape and stuff she’s just so solid on her feet and she goes for those like really strong end Hammer Maneuvers and she seems to ride out of them all the

Time and and the judges love it so I’m really excited to see her get that win over there and I think she’ll be I just saw her in the car park she’s feeling very confident and we’ll see what happens here but she’s getting the first opening ride here she’s uh

Got a couple of nice turns um try and move into the inside here no it’s just filled up too much so I’m sure she won’t be counting that wave big big jump up those ratings too in the second position um right there behind Molly and it’s it’s been an impressive start uh but

Quarterfinals are you know they’re kind of Fool’s Gold almost on the Women’s Championship tour you know you don’t need to sort of surf a lot of Heats to get to those quarters and we’ve seen people before or get in that quarterfinal Trend you you’re included and find yourself around this time going

Hang on a second I’m on the bubble I’ve been in quarters at every event and I’m like on the cusp of getting bumped off the tour here um so you know Joanne made her move at the perfect time to relieve pressure and now she can just focus on

Finishing the year in the final five again yeah for the last few years I was starting to look at the quarters like they were around three you know and just trying to be like okay yeah quarter is cool that’s that’s nice and all but the final it shouldn’t even be on next to

The word quarter just uh just keep going as you see Lana here that was a nice car from her um it’s awesome to see these young girls getting an opportunity to surf the bowl because you know sometimes the conditions have been difficult and and uh but yeah to see them open up here

In the bowl is is a really nice I’m probably the first for a few of them to have heat out here cuz I think they surfed to winky lot last couple years and didn’t even get a chance to surf on this side so an okay St but um yeah I um

You have to be in the semis in the finals you just have to quarters is just quarter of the way there exactly there you go but Jo Anda feay eight previous events performances here at Bells and she is consistent M very consist but hasn’t been out of the quarters at this

Venue yet so with a bit of space in the draw would you uh have pegged her as as one of the ones to watch out for this year coming off a win and uh at Portugal I I actually thought you know I think Joanne would would just have a a real

Confidence where she’s going to be out there making really strong decisions and um she’s got the experience out here she’s also even looking at the back end of the year she’s got experience um in the final five too so if she us to get there again she’s been there she’s and

For me that was a huge thing having experiened it once and then going into it again knowing what to exp like what to expect and and it just helped me a lot so um yeah we’ll see what Joan can come up with but she’s obviously very

Strong in left uh waves so I’m very excited to see her in somewhere like Fiji oh yeah that’s going to be huge we’ll folks on bells for now yeah I like it uh Lana Silva Rich uh you were mentioning on the DOR Patrol show this morning Gabriella bran you’re liking her

Chances Lana is another Surfer with a big forehand WP a lot of power uh she’ll be fun to watch in this comp yeah absolutely and uh Steph as you said you know the experience the more you come down here the more you get comfortable with this wave and start to understand

The moods of Bell’s Beach and be able to adapt quickly is super important uh Lan is sort of I guess you know she’s been at college for a few years now she’s starting to figure it out um but yeah she does have that beautiful uh front

Hand attack and and you know I just don’t feel like she’s had that big breakthrough performance yet where she’s gone okay I’m I’ve arrived um so perhaps this is going to be the event and like Joe and he’s got a couple of quarterfinals so there’s a foundation

She can build on there but a crucial event in relieving pressure but also you know getting the the lion tamer’s chair out and just sort of fending off those just below the cut line trying to get ahead of you on the ladder heading into that fifth stop before the cut so Lana

Every heat is so important for her at the moment and just avoiding the elimination around here will really set her up nicely Alysa Spencer is one of those Surfers below the cut line at the moment in equal 13th position and uh she’s had a run of Ninth Place finishes

Through the first three events um she has found herself up against you know the the title campaigners this year in Molly pum Caroline marks and Tyler rght they’re the ones that have bumped her out of the drawer at each of those first three stops but the uh the 21y old you

Know she lost a big heat over in Portugal um just surfing so well it’s it’s in her to to bank a couple of big results in these next two events but it’s it’s the confidence in coming up against form Surfers that you got to get past yeah it’s a difficult one and and

Steph I don’t know whether you agree but you know if you go through a string of nights then all of a sudden that ninth round becomes a bigger hurdle than it normally is and you start going my gosh it’s the pressure the pressure of getting through this round that keeps

Stomping me so uh if she can break through that I think she needs to take a lot of confidence in that some of her her heat scor and her wave scores have been really good she’s actually been doing some really great surfing in the Jersey so uh if she can take that and

Sort of eliminate the cut pressure and just free yourself up to perform and you know perhaps she can do some really special things down here at Bells here are the rankings for you and you can see that cut line it looks all pretty and yellow it should be red brutal exactly

But Gabriella bran she she’s actually along with Isabella Nichols you know they’re they’re in a pretty good position add if they drop a good result here at Bells to to make a a solid skip up up the the rankings you know obviously you’re relying on people ahead

Of you to trip up a little bit but when you look at the the Heats the the rankings totals they’re not that far off the pace it’s you know it’s a heat wind basically you’re behind the the people ahead of you it’s a difference between a quarter and a semi exactly but yeah

That’s a it’s a funky place to be in when um yeah you’re just trying to be confident enough to think that I’m I’m uh in the top 10 I’m sweet let’s just keep pushing let’s focus on the next few events and don’t worry about the cut but

Like you said um like a Ninth Place when you’re just consistently in that zone you’re like I just need to break through it and that becomes the biggest hurdle in the end it’s just like making that one heat and then you’re taking away your focus from thinking about winning

An event you know and aiming higher and sort of expecting more from yourself but uh yeah these girl they’re all learning and they’re all fantastic Surfers very talented so I’m sure just yeah that experience and not letting those moments be overwhelming that’s kind of the key

Being able to let go with those losses to be like okay new event let’s start fresh and and keep moving forward did you change your mindset when you were actually facing the cut and go and need to approach this a little different or did you just go okay I’ve done this a

Zillion times before I’m just going to keep going at it yeah it was it’s a weird place to be and not comfortable at all uh heading into margar Riva yep I was at on the cut and I just knew I had to stay on the attack mode yeah that was

Really important and just yeah not trying to sit back and defend and not not expecting others to or waiting for them to trip up but focusing on what you can do and that’s all you can really control and just ping out there and be

Like all right I need to get to work I need to get the D Damage Done myself and um yeah get the result hard to do your best surfing when you’re surfing defensively right very much so yeah that’s seems to be when you start stressing and making weird decisions and

Not just not capitalizing on those opportunities when they arise but it’s yeah it’s all about the frame of mind it’s like you can go out there and just be so confident and and um and it seems like the ocean sends you the right waves and you’re just on a roll and you’re

Thinking about okay this I just want to do really good surfing I’m on the attack this is it or you can sort of be out there and hoping that the other girls are falling off or thinking about the girl in the next Heat who might be ahead

Of you in the rankings and there’s so much going on in your head and and you seem to just trip up on yourself so thinking about how the ocean hates you exactly just under 19 minutes remaining here and making the most of that last Heat in the men’s opening round was

Yodora and Laura big flare up on the back hand kicking that tail out the way we love absolutely Ronnie just saying he loves it when you kick your tail out you know last year the men’s round today you out there bright and early this morning how did you approach it you know the

Winds come up you’ve seen conditions change what were you what were you doing out there yeah it changed a lot from this morning but I was already expecting that I I knew the SWAT was going to drop a lot so I actually went out this morning with my regular shortboard it

Was still pretty solid I could probably uh have r a step up but I I I chose to ride my shortboard because I knew I was probably going to ride that in my heat so I was I was just prepared like ready ready for anything and that was a tricky

Heat the way were really flat and really hard to find a good wall there so I just I just stayed easy and try to get a lot of waves and building like couple points like it was really hard but I’m glad to get true yeah you got the job done

You’re looking really sharp yo and talk to us about the start of this year it’s been a huge one you know you said you went to Hawaii January 10th and you just went home for 5 days how good was it to get that little reset and uh obviously

Be back here very quickly yeah yeah it’s been a mission I went to Hawaii in January 10th and went from there straight to Puerto Rico and then straight to Portugal and then and got to go home for 5 days before coming to Australia so that was a good little

Reset and yeah I’m I’m ready for this Australian leg I’m I’m really excited about it and can’t wait to make some more Heats amazing we see you into the round three yeah thanks and uh anything you want to say back to your family friends in Brazil

Thank you Laura yeah gotora he’s uh he’s happy with that avoiding the elimination round is the ultimate goal for the surface in the opening round and out there in the lineup now we’re seeing that first heat of the women’s event unfolding we are loving being back here

At Bells or JRA that is more commonly known as these part in these parts and we want to give our respects to the people of the Wang country thanks for having us we love and appreciate this Zone it’s beautiful and we plan on keeping it that way as we see Alysa

Spencer on the replay here Rich yeah lyser uh got a nice first turn off and then the wave just goes a little bit sleepy in here and I feel like the timing coming into that inside section was a little bit off uh there was an opportunity there to hit that close out

Section she got up a little bit too early and uh unfortunately she left some points on that wave but um yeah she’ll need to she’ll need to get going although no one has really dropped a big score no one’s just run away with this one still plenty of time on the clock I

Think for Alissa just to get her feet in the wax you know first heat at Bells and and uh oh no she’s she’s I’m sure she’s done to trials event stuff here but to being the main event and to you know it’s like you nervous you’re a Grom but

She she’s a fantastic so far I’ve actually lost a few Heats to her in the ISA events she’s always made um yeah she’s just Mak smart decisions in Heats and and she’s has that really low Center gravity on her backand and and uh yeah she’s a great style so um I’ve always

Come up against her in some competitions and being very worried because she’s a really strong Surfer so I’m pretty excited to see her get that chance to open up and the ball I think she’s going to do some great surfing she has a bit of Caroline um in her surfing she

Squares up yeah she she really aims up vertically um so hopefully yeah you’re right she she finds that steep section out there to should be dangerous let go one of those big verts but here we go 4 minutes 45 seconds ago Lana Sila just having a sort

Of a tough time out there getting yourself in position at the moment it’s even a little more section with the that onshore flow coming up a little bit Rich yeah this is what Bells does you know this wind a little bit more out of the South and uh it’s creating a difficult

Moment there so the Oak Bar surf conditions swell 6 to 10 ft it was well tril in the 10t zone overnight and early this morning uh temperature 60 66° F wind 18 milph out of the South uh ultimately we want a little bit more West in it which we saw this morning

Gives us those beautiful groom conditions but uh as you said this was expected to come through this afternoon uh and just adding to the challenge that is Bells Beach you’re rarely going to get it St um the conditions that that you crave at any location really so uh

Being being able to adapt is the key to success and and you did it a number of times in all kinds of conditions out here who who else are some of the the best Surfers in your opinion that could surf bells in all its different faces

Yeah I mean as yo said you know what’s coming with the forecasting now so you you pretty much have it in your mind even in your free surfs like okay the waves are pumping now but later it’s going to be different as we see Alyssa

There just get bumped off um and most of the time if unless you have an early morning low TI heat you probably going to be surfing something pretty lumpy and bumpy but I actually enjoy Bells when it has this light on Shore because it you want it to come around more straight on

Shore because it gives you these little pockets that you’re able to really open up on or actually go up and hit the lip on your forehand which when it’s a light beautiful offshore you find yourself babying your Maneuvers a little bit more because I I found that I’m like oh just

Holding on I don’t want to slip out but when it’s onshore you seem to be able to find these moments that you can actually push as hard as you want and uh the wave pushes back to you so um yeah as we see Lana here she’s got a little frothy one on the

Inside uh that was a nice maneuver there she might get another one to really nope that was it yeah I think um I the great out here um I think of yourself and and Carissa obviously both you have you had that ability to kind of pivot and throw

A variety of forand snaps into the pocket when condition’s got a little more action in there was that coping on the wave but when it was that groom condition you you had room to let go of a full committed rail turn that was drawn out from the top of that big total

Bowl right down to the trough of the wave and it’s much the same on the men side oi had incredible variety on his backhand rich and was able to hit the pocket but could lay down a big carve backside as well yeah I was going to say

Mick Fanning Fanning one of the best yeah he really was able to make it work in all conditions and for the first part of my career the women were mostly at ringcon you know when it was small and high tide they put the women out at

Ringcon which I I really love that wave it’s it’s super fun much more fun in a little twin fin but um but yeah just being able to uh get going and on those waves and you’re doing like 25 Maneuvers it felt like you get to the end and your

Legs were dead but but sort of looking at that and then being ready for maybe the bowl at some point that’s what I love about surfing is like you get all these different conditions and you never really feel like you’ve mastered them all but there’s always something to

Learn that’s pretty cool there is just uh over 11 minutes to go uh one of the other unique things about Bells is just so many familiar faces turn up to watch this event unfold uh who are some of the surfing hero or or well-known industry icons that you’ve bumped into in in your

Time down here this week already I mean I just love seeing Gail Cooper I see her around she’s here from sun up to sun down and she is a such a fan of Surfing and and such a supporter of the women and you know to win Bells 10 times is

Phenomenal probably never ever to happen again but I love just how much passion she has for it all and and then of course oie I did the swans with with Okie the other night and he’s a character but um I don’t know of course I mean Ronnie Blakey Ron and Rich of

Course there’s so many great great people around and that’s it’s a real uh surf community at these cont and a huge part of me when I said oh I’m going to take the year off I’ve really missed my friends it’s like it really is a second family and everywhere we go around the

World we get to of course we’re competing against each other but I just have loved seeing all the girls in the car park and everyone’s like oh we miss you and and uh yeah it’s really it’s a warm feeling to get to see everyone again that’s nice even when the redel

Skis pick out the competitors on the inside they’re oh Tay oh Glendon Rossy how are you exactly all former CT Surfers something standing up on the outside here for Joanne defay low scoring heat so far but that might change in just a moment as Joanne loads

Up some speed can she find the open face on this one she doesn’t she’s going to get out of there just on 9 and 1 half minutes remaining here still plenty of time for Alissa Spencer to get herself into a qualifying position we’re going to take a quick break you’re watching

The RFI Pro Bells Beach presented by bonsoy day one at competition Le good com Welcome back to the show Surfers just holding their positions on the outside at the moment this is the opening heat of the women’s event Joan defay up against Lana Silva and Alysa Spencer who’s scrambling to the inside just trying to find some space here needs a

Very low number to get herself up into the top two in what is so far being a pretty grindy heat Rich yeah pretty Scrappy Affair and interestingly enough uh Lana Sila has actually got the high scoring uh wave in the heat so far with that foamy one where she took off and

Got a few nice Maneuvers down the line so she’s kind of in the box seat at the moment with only that two as a backup with a decent uh Second Ride she’ll go straight to the fr to uh the top score this side let’s see what she can

Do here she just taken a chance on some of these insiders St it’s interesting you get a heat like this um you know conditions are obviously proving a little difficult for the three competitors at the moment but it doesn’t make the heat any less important it’s still like you’re chasing that big

Result yeah it seems like the conditions right now you don’t really want the big sets cuz they seem to be going out quite wide and they they’re not giving you much opportunity to do big Maneuvers but the inside when it’s a bit Fuller like this it tends to come inside and wide on

The reef when you think on a high tide you could go deeper and up the point but it seems like um the girls haven’t quite figured that out because they keep getting caught behind on these waves that that normally would stay open so we’ll see what this set does here but um

Yeah if I mean right now it’s just a matter of getting that one clean section to get one really good maneuver and just finishing it off and whoever can do that will probably jump into the lead it’s interesting at the moment with the Lesser on theide I I can see what she’s

Doing but she’s not playing any part in in selling or or putting any fear into the the competitors with priority over her at the moment so both of them got a free look at that wave and and were able to size it up and see that there wasn’t

Anything in it whereas if Alyssa was pushing them on the outside section of the wave she might have forced one of them into one of those crappier waves y yeah here we go theana is up at the moment and this is a good looking section Banks into that pocket and it’s

Standing up again she’s got a timing pretty nice of this one and just misses the end section but it had a lot of bumps into that wave and she was hitting it in all the right places just couldn’t execute on the final murve Jo and defay she’s uh sizing up a big finish

Here trying to get rid of a 3.67 bit of Chop on the face read it nicely and Alyssa might get her opportunity on the outside with priority now yeah it seems like the first wave of the sets that a little bit too full and bumpy and fat and then the the ones

After it just don’t you know they should be cleaner but they’re not they’re a little bit too foamy so yeah it’s the conditions are tough but here we have Alysa she’s got the out the back she’s got the takeoff to herself and maybe there could be I don’t know Bells does

Weird things it’s like there there’ll be a set and then there’ll be like another set behind it really quickly and sometimes when it’s like this it’ll be that clean water from the previous set but it won’t be too foamy and you can kind of sneak in a good score as we see

Alysa now oh this looks like a a much steeper wave and maybe she can line something up here that an okay turn she’s sort of coming through to the inside and she’s trying to take her time and and uh not do too much hopping but yeah maybe should get one big hit here

On the inside oh no she just caught her edge it felt like she was doing such a good job of kind of setting up the start of that ride without you know double pumping her bottom turns and and she was trying to link it together it just never

Gave her that that nice steep section to lay into I think she’s actually got one of the best bottom turns in the whole of the women’s field yeah especially on a backand she just sits on that uh Hillside Rail and she can hang on there

For as long as she want sort of oish you know and how he does it um but unfortunately you know she’s just not finding that steeper section where she can just drive off the bottom and Hook It Off The Top This was Joann’s way just

A little slopey out in the face but nice and controlled can see here even in this Foy section she’s able to just keep that board moving side to side gets that little flick right at the end of that turn just puts a little bit more of expression in here and this one you’re

Just going hang on a minute why is she taking off on this but then it starts to steepen up gets a nice hook to start things up nice and composed here hits the lip straight back down again cleaner Ward up for this third turn belts it again and I’m just

Thinking if she had just got that final maneuver off she could have almost put this heat to bed here’s Alysa just does that big uh sort of fade and you can see there how long she hung on the bottom turn it was even on that flatter section she was

Able to get some speed in the carve off the top and again just a wobbly little section here she drives all the way through to the inside plenty of bump on the face and just uh just lost her edge fins just skid it out and unfortunately couldn’t

Get that last turn you can see the board just flicking across the face of the wave there but Lana Silva dropped the best number at the heat 5.83 so the 19yearold has jumped up into first place Joe and defay after a 6.4 to track her down at the moment and alysa’s requir

Still not huge but it’s gotten a little bit bigger 4.14 you can see they’re they’re just really paying attention to to any opportunity that’s in this lineup at the moment wondering if some of these insiders are maybe going to be a little smoother Lana gets herself back into a

Position here to dump the 4.9 and increase her lead Works her way through that carve just a setup turn really this one a bit more more committed holds the rails through the turn the wave flattens out but she’s been ril a rail so far we’ll see if she can finish this one

Off gets on that front foot gathers some momentum and does well to hang on for a finish here that should better the 4.9 even if it’s by up just the slightest increment it all helps in holding a position in the top two yeah it’s still anyone’s heat right now I

Mean uh Joanne to get a 6.4 and and Alyssa a four is you know that’s not a big score at all so there we go 65 for Lana yeah they liked it I mean she did time these first few turns beautifully Rich she really did and uh this steeper

Section here beautiful carve staying right in that power source and again staying with it and then she knew at this point she’s like I’ve got points I can finish this if I just get to the end section complete this maneuver which she does does really well with that

Backwashing section to make that one yeah I think that’s been the difference in this heat Lana seems to be holding a line and a rail all the way back into the power source and the other girls I feel like are and you see a lot of

People do it they get hesitant um with holding their line too long because they’re thinking about the last section they’re thinking about the close out they got to get there and uh and sort of yeah just hold on and they they get ahead of themselves instead of just

Staying really close in the pocket but yeah Lana really well then so stoked for her and and can’t wait to see the other girls they get another shot in the next round yeah Alissa Spencer she’ll be looking to farther way out of that elimination round Jo to Fay still some

Promising signs for her Steph Gilmore it was an absolute pleasure to have you in the booth with us thanks for having me can we get you back in here at some stage you going to hang around for a couple of days I’m around I’m uh I’m

Enjoying the show as a spectator and uh you’ll yeah you’ll catch me actually out at winky for most part had a great session this morning so yeah I’ll be around say hi twin right n no no just ripping on my DHD there you go well congratulations again on the the new

Deal with rib curl it’s going to be fun watching you attack the search thank you so much I’m really excited about it thanks for having me beautiful we’re going to take a quick break more to come from the opening round of the women’s event here at the Rip Curl pro bills

Beach presented by Bon soy every per the the rip Pro Bells Beach presented by bonsoy is brought to you by surf Coast Shire head to Surf Coast events.com to find out what’s on by bonsoy the official milk of the world surf League by Bon University not for profit and not

To conform Bon University exists for you by weathergard official portable storage of WSL Australia and by hydrite official oral rehydration Park of WSL Australia you’re watching the opening round of competition this is seat number two and what a glorious afternoon this whole area is actually protected a

Surfing Reserve uh so happy to check it all out from the melan flight cam as you can see some cars parked there they can hike down this Trail and watch all the action there’s a lot of different waves that you can walk by if you actually

Come all the way from januk and check out all the different set setups a lot of right-handers to enjoy getting past winky pop and then right here to the bells Bowl higher tide so a bit tricky but we’ve got Sophie mullik coming down with a nice clean finishing move to

Start building her way in a big heat got Gabby Bryan out there representing the island of kaii super powerful Surfer that’s getting some reps around the world these days and then also the reigning world champion Caroline marks Joe Trel Felicity paler for the call a big wave charger a CT standout as well

Starting with Caroline marks you know on a world title defense she she’s looking like really comfortable really confident as well it doesn’t feel like she’s surfing with something to lose even though she’s you know outside of the yell Jersey I feel like Caroline’s in a really good position coming into stop

Number four for sure she’s had a great start to the year already hasn’t missed a finals day yet a fifth at pipe a third at Sunset and backed it up with another fifth at portal I mean that is some consistency right there queen of consistency is uh the call I think she’s

Just yeah gone from strength to strength you know what I still feel like she has a lot left in the tank yet I feel like we haven’t seen her at 100% yet at any of these events and she’s still managing to get these results she had one really

Amazing heat with Sawyer in Portugal where they were going blow for blow when I was like okay this is marxy you know um in her true form but I just feel like we really haven’t seen it yet and to be putting through such good results this

Early in the year scary for uh what’s to come if she’s got more left in the tank what a big day she had last year in September at lower trestles coming in as the number three seed getting past Tyler Wright getting past Carissa Mo and backto back Heats

Her backand was on fire and it reminds you of her early nickname Carol Lupo Uline I think was another one that came up there that was on a surf trip with the hob goods and Frankie Deandrea they saw some something in that backand approach that was compared to the

Alltime great oy who joined us earlier for the call he loves that that’s her nickname she loves that she’s being connected to one of the great Goofs of all time as we check out the replay from Sophie’s start yeah I was interested to see if she got anything done before

Those couple of carving Maneuvers but it kind of looks like here she’s got that one sort of carve carve back to the source and then she just waited here for that inside section lined it up and uh that score came through a 4.33 so sort of a higher number than where I thought

It would go this is uh Gabby Bryan she’s someone who’s really impressed me I feel like she’s just getting I mean she fell here but in my opinion I feel like she’s probably one of the most powerful Surfers on the tour at the moment I’m

With you we should have a power off just see who can throw the most water with the most precision as you see Gabby Bryant in motion now a kind soul but very committed wanted to beat everybody on the tour working with Richard dog Marsh as she’s stalling

Waiting and then throwing in a beautiful Arc in the pocket really had to earn it there as you can see that face is really filled up on this higher tide I saw dog just a second ago walking up the steps and I was like what are you looking at he was

Just looking at the challenge of the conditions at the moment he said there’s nothing really to go look at up at ringcon we got to stick to the ball and Gabby Bryan um made some sense out of this last wave she did this was a really

Tricky wave to Surf I mean you just look at the the face of this wave there was a lot of lump a lot of bump and she had a good read on it it was a tricky wave though I don’t I don’t see it going too high obviously here on the score going

Too high obviously here on the inside just things gotten pretty slow and sort of see a little bit of disinterest there from Gabby she’s going to kick out of there definitely wanting something a bit bigger and a bit better I’d say as we Caroline maybe a quick up and down from

Her she tries to work her way through this whitewash here so we’ll get to see what happened she had a paddle and she starts moving down the line here first little snap off the top Just Hits that wobbly wobbly little backwash so yeah conditions right now are looking

Tricky they really are so you look at the positioning of Caroline through the inside side working her way out the back way out there Sophie molik opened up with a 433 and she’ll use her priority on this wave Sophie from the Sunshine Coast way up North is Now setting up a nice bottom

Turn ATT attacking that Whitewater section really well gets out in front but there’s nothing waiting for her so she’s just got to reset on that pisel and Going the Distance nice connection there she’ll get that little redirect slingshot left go back right Phil in a

Finish so she had to get a bit creative with picking her turning points there but did well to now back up the 4.33 for sure it just feels like the pace has changed a little bit I think maybe that tide it just feels a bit full

At the moment a lot of lump and bump uh but yeah I mean she’s going to car open second wave for S and she’s going to be out in the lead solid Victory there the opening round for Lulu Lana Silva is hanging out with Laura yes Lulu you’ve

Been so convincing and and strong this year in the world tour you know just fell short in the quarterfinals over in Portugal but you’re surfing amazing and here a hate win at Bell’s Beach how was it out there yeah it was pretty tricky at the start I think that was a pretty

Scrappy heat for me in the beginning and then I kind of put it together at the end this morning looked absolutely dreamy for the guys and I thought the conditions would hold up for us as well but that’s all right it’s Mother Nature so um yeah we just have to adapt and adjust

And really grateful to make this and it’s been a long year for you so far with your campaign and uh you know back here at Bells you’re in ninth place on the rankings so how have you been approaching coming into this event and what have you been focusing on yeah I

Think I’m just trying to just take it heat by heat and just staying in the moment staying present at each event um enjoying my time with family friends um everyone that we travel with the crew that I travel with so yeah I’m trying not to focus on that cut cuz that cut

Really sucks um but yeah just staying present amazing we’re looking strong we’ll see you into the next round and a shout out to your friends back in uh Brazil yeah thank you thank you great job dulu thank you Laura as we catch up with the finish and The

Cannonball kick out from Gabrielle o Brian then to Caroline marks he’s got that patient stance emerging out front setup slash there Gathering some speed once again on that last turn and just kind of fading really looking for a lip to hit she finds it there so nice patience from the reigning world

Champion as a few scores are starting to come through we Fun World title race kicking off in a much different way this season Caroline looking to go back to back representing Florida but living in sanl California for a while now but it’s fun to talk about her

Battle with now Molly picklum who’s got the yellow here at stop number four we’ll catch up to this wave though the last replay of Gabriel briyan yeah I loved what I saw here from Gabby this happened uh during that post hit interview with Lulu and it was bigger

Wave she connected to that second section really well that timing was just there and right now I just got to say it again but it’s It’s Tricky out there there’s so much lump and bump and she negotiated that pretty well had a really good read on that wave I’d say it’s in

My opinion probably going to be the best wave of the Heat this is what Caroline got done out the back we didn’t get to see this so I was really interested to see what it looked like and okay wow maybe maybe this one could uh Trump

Gabby’s way for the best one of the heat so far there were two beautiful back and hits from Caroline sort of just waiting for this wave to stand up here on this inside she’s got a nice read on it and as we know she gets the finish here so

That’s a great wave for the current World Champ beautifully surfed gosh really well done Caroline just addicted to pro surfing she said she’s obsessed with it that was her word that she uses of just preparing is one of her favorite things even in the off season when she

Was going on TV shows and handling all these interviews she said she absolutely loved it but at one point she was just like all right time to prepare I want to go back to work she didn’t want to celebrate for too long she really wanted to get back into just focusing on

Another world title year and it happened she said pretty early she she actually didn’t want to have too much time off and that’s when you just are in love with your job you’re in love with surfing everything that comes with it you could tell she’s got that forever

Grommet type type spirit for sure I was just about to say I mean that that’s what youth gets here just still really really excited about everything you know I mean she’s got such a long career ahead of her she’s still so young and already with a world title it’s so

Incredible and it just speaks volumes to her work ethic and yeah just putting wanting to put a head down and really put in the work and as I mean we’re seeing numbers drop through for both of these women on their last waves and uh yeah I liked what I saw waiting for a

Couple more judges to lock them in as zi was saying earlier he was like okay with the Footers having an advantage here and we had to stop him because a lot of goofies would actually disagree and one comparison to Caroline she might actually see that as well cuz Bells was

Kind of instantly one of her favorites as she had a semifinal here in a rookie season as we go to Sophie mccullock now little bit late to that section and she’ll go straight down her way before though was a 4.4 so she’s holding second last wave

For Carol Lup the 6.67 so Caroline marks turning in a solid number the best number of the heat though Gabrielle O’Brien’s last a 733 yeah that they were three really well-timed turns a lot of power it was a bigger wave as well and yeah I was interested to see where that

Would go uh I I personally thought maybe Caroline’s wave was a little bit higher but uh obviously the judges really rewarding um just that precision timing and just those three big turns from Gabriella and yeah got that seven 33 but yeah I I I back to that conversation

About the goofy versus regular I mean I we’ll just break down this one again this is that 7.33 so she goes straight up into the lip on that first turn and then this one here was really well timed this was my favorite turn on that wave

Just so much power it’s a really hard section to meet it was so wobbly and she matched the power of that wave brings it through to the inside here gets another finish so there’s that’s the 7.33 yeah back to that argument about the goofy regular I always want to pick a goofy

Coming here to Bells because I I think back to oie who we had in the booth and I that’s some of my best memory like just watching that footage of him surfing out here it’s just so amazing but for some reason it’s just hasn’t quite converted and I always want to say

You know goofies have the ability to get tighter in the pocket to Pivot harder but yeah it just doesn’t sometimes come to fruition that way I mean who knows maybe this year we could have some goofies I mean Gabby was looking so good earlier today in that opening round of

The men he hasn’t yet rang a bell maybe this could be his year well it’s interesting on your point going to the the women’s surfing history at Bells there’s been 51 regular foot or natural foot Surfers that have won this and two goofy Footers and it’s the same person

Freda zambo winning it twice wow and that’s it isn’t that crazy that’s wild uh that could change especially with uh Caroline marks in the form that she’s in and how close she’s come to getting there tati came close as well runner up to Steph Gilmore a few years

Back Gabby Bryan belting that section showing her power another big rooftop hack for Gabriella she’s going to try to lay low to show the judges she’s got control and she will step off on the sand oh Caroline at the back Caroline with a healthy looking wave there lot of open

Face to play with she’ll just continue to S back and forth in the pocket you love those transitions just rail to rail not hopping and then she’ll just kind of work her way into a rhythm until she finds a lip to hit so she’s been earning her sections in this seed she

Kind of had to manufacture the moment to get a 667 on the wave before just by tracking staying in the pocket until the lip shows up and she kind of did a similar type of performance there yeah she did I I feel like she’s maybe got a

Little bit of a different pace to the usual surfing we’re used to seeing from Caroline it seems like she’s really waiting for that section uh that was a great uh wave that we just got she’s obviously going to replace that 1.5 she’s done that easily uh I’m going to

It’s I think my judging’s been a little bit off in this heat uh we’ll have a look at break down this one and she goes straight up into the lip there sort of a big floater to transition through to this second section cuts that car back a

Little bit short and she just keeps weaving back to the set back to the power source really waiting for this last steep section she gets up into the lip there so yeah that 1.5 that’s going to disappear and here is Gabby a bit of a hard take off those ones they’re in

The white water and you’re on your gut sliding around trying to push back up is super hard to do so bit of time went by until she got got to work here so we’ll see if she’s going to better this 4.23 it’s the score she’s got to

Beat gets it through to the inside I don’t know I’m touch and go for me I’m not sure if she’s going to improve on that 4.23 with that last one and I don’t know if that last turn was considered a make yeah it’s interesting on those ones

Where we’re watching a finish and then in surfing it’s interesting where you actually run out of room with the beach coming up and so there’s not much more she could do try to show your the judges you have it but you don’t want to have your board explode on the

Beach there’s been some wild finishes on the sand in the past I always think of one when I see the O family got Connor’s wife a contender growing up competing in the Grom search Steph did a crazy crazy finish years ago and actually just body slammed herself right on the sand I’ll

Never forget it cuz it was at first we were really nervous she got up and just laughed it off and kept trying to compete we’re like wow she’s got it she was the will to win we had to take a moment to see if she was all right it

Was so wild but uh Gabby Bryan kicked out with plenty of time and she was able to get a 510 she did improve her lead out front Sophie mccullick hanging on to Second and Caroline marks though saw has one more score to come and not needing much 206

We’ll probably see that change once again fish sure I’m I’m really interested to see where this second score goes uh I don’t think I have a good read on this head um back back I think you’re doing great for I don’t know no I always like

To be a bit critical of myself where am I sitting oh yeah you got to find your scale in the heat what you’re enjoying and I think your scores are fitting into the five on the panel yeah maybe they drop the high and the low they do that’s

What’s great L PR the head judge of the men and women’s tours this year also the head judge of the Olympic Games Paris 2024 heading to Tahiti tupo Caroline Marsh will be representing USA once again as we’re still standing by for her number to come through focusing on bells

In the region since we have USA Hawaii and Australia represented here Hawaii Having Eight eight bells in surfing history on the women’s side you think of great performances from Margo oberg Megan abubo had a big win out here back in 2000 the three straights for Carissa Moore in that conversation for the USA

We have 11 bells and you think of like Lisa Anderson the Courtney conlog domination years we Debbie Beach him from way back in the day Freda Zamba like we mentioned just earlier and then you go to Australia 32 Bells wowers congratulations man thanks M feel pretty

Good about that yeah it’s a waing number isn’t it so domination for the Aussie Sophie mccullock trying to channel that energy at the moment as she has priority chasing an 803 to move into the top two we’re going to take a bons soy Brew break be right Back e all not as a part of our Global W1 ocean initiative we are partnering with Hartwood Habitat to create nesting boxes to restore the habitat for the local endangered species a donation from WSL pure who’s going to support hardwood habitat throughout the year to help create habitats and Hollows for local

Species install next nest boxes to provide canopy access training and conduct Wildlife re research tell us what you’re doing around the world to protect our oceans by posting on social media with the hash wl1 ocean and tagging WSL and wsl1 ocean in your posts and really cool to see the connectivity

Through the local habitats on land a lot of species but a lot of birds as well we’ll have great homes right on the hill so a cool partnership here at stop number four down here in this beautiful state of VI Toria which has just given us a beautiful afternoon things got a little

Bit tricky with the higher tide and conditions changing a touch but we’re still seeing big scores Caroline marks took the lead her last score came in at a 65 as we said talked about those habitats for these birds there’s some Wildlife right there in front of us yeah beautiful I absolutely love this

Coastline every time I come back I I think I said it this morning on the morning show it’s been 10 years and you just it’s just so beautiful and it’s just spectacular The Cliffs the coastline the trees the birds the animals and yeah it’s it’s really got

That untouched feel makes it so special and it’s really special to see that this is is a a reserve as well and knowing that it won’t be touched and it’s going to be preserved for future Generations it’s just uh cool when you talk to some amazing Surfers like yourself and what

This place means to them you know and uh getting a message from Ace buckin this morning he was just talking about Bell’s Beach he said groomed corduroy refracting into the bowl and stacked to the Horizon framed by Limestone Cliffs radiating golden Morning Light and I

Just was Baff I was just sucked into his story of what it was like just coming to Bells he just painted such a beautiful picture he said hearing the soundtracks playing and the grand stands buzzing he said it’s just to none on tour pardon that was Ace

That wrote that Ace yeah beautiful yeah I mean he always was known to have a high IQ and uh an author himself a absolute scholar in school uh one of the kindest humans and the most lethal goofy Footers that enjoyed longevity on the championship tour yeah another one of my

Favorite goof go favorite goofy Footers to watch on tour I absolutely loved watching Ace and it’s consistent and in all different types of conditions and waves too you know it’s just like when you talk about class you know as as is that goofy footer that just represented with longevity on tour through multiple

Generations like you said like obviously great performances on the rights on tour but winning at waves like chopes uh making finals day at pipe uh one of the most well-rounded on tour and he’s watching every single heat unfold and really just uh hooked on pro surfing

Like a lot of the legends of the sport like you come to bells and you get to catch up with everybody like o like Tommy Carroll you know Steph Gilmore taking a year off she’s down here to hang I can’t cave everyone away it’s like it’s like the one spot where you

Get to meet up with all the Hall of Famers no it’s so so good it’s a special thing a special thing about surfing too and I think also when you grow up on tour and this becomes your lifestyle and it’s all you’ve ever known it’s it’s a

Really hard thing to be like oh yeah I’m done I’m not ever going to go to go a surfing event you kind of just get addicted to it you just want to keep coming back you know oh it’s the best thing on earth and they all want to win

The Bell uh there was a bell family that uh moved to this area back in the 1840s and that’s where the name Bells came from uh the original name jerac from the water rung people there was a Bell’s family that lived here and then that became the name of this whole region but

It was really hard to get to and so back in 1957 a bunch of the torque lifesaving Club crew kind of hik back in here and that’s kind of documented as maybe the first surfs that were happening but soon after a guy named Joe Sweeney got a big

Bulldozer and made a nice little dirt track and created better access to the area a year later they had the Easter rally and had first competition so it was pretty immediate once there was access to get to Bells the tradition began where competition was happening basically every year after wow I love

That little bit of History Joe thank you this Region’s a an education but the cool part too when you talk to people about you know that generation in the 60s and 70s they were camping in the bush things got a little messy you talk to that older crew there’s like it looks

Better now like all the plants and vegetation the Flor and fauna are just thriving it is protected and they’re saying you know what it’s not like hey it looked better back then it’s it’s actually prime time in 2024 how good is it to hear something like that that is

Really good that’s rare to hear that you always hear the same oh it was better back then or it was better you know 20 years ago but that’s beautiful to hear Joe yeah love that 215 on the clock Caroline out front still leading this one Gabby Brian chasing a 5.84 for the

Win it’s all about avoiding third so you’re not in the elimination round for the women that won’t be today it’s looking just for the men for their ER rounds later on this evening now we’ve already passed the gwm two-minute warning so pressure on Sophie mccaa good news for her she does have

Priority but she does need Excellence she does eight point right and that’s that’s tough right now I mean conditions are pretty challenging and we haven’t seen many excellent rides in sort of the last hour maybe I think the last one was the last one we saw Gabby in his heat

The eight and the nine sorry eight and N yeah that that was a big heat total but conditions have deteriorated you can see there’s a lot of lump there’s a lot of bump wave selection is crucial right now I mean what sh Sophie has got going for

Is she’s got priority which is great it’s just whether or not the ocean’s going to cooperate it’s going to get another roll of the dice uh yeah right now just having a quick little look over my shoulder maybe she might get one more go tough start for Sophie molik replacement

Surfer this year for Carissa Moore chissa surfed in the first event of the season so Sophie got the call up for Sunset then got knocked out in the elimination round but itur kind of reminded me how she started her rookie debut when she won Hol Eva to put

Herself on tour and then hurt herself in the off seon so then she had to miss events back then so she’s just been working working going through adversity and trying to pick herself up to compete so hopefully she can make it a bit easier on herself and

Avoid having to deal with the ER oo looks like this set’s just going to clean them all up sort of looks like bit of a big wi Roga when I was we see Caroline Caroline grabbing this wave looks like she’s just snowboarding on that wall fading there’s that neutral

Stance that oi was talking about then an aggressive whip vertically to shut it down cool cool performance from Caroline you know she’s got a lot more to give I felt like she just did well manufacturing some sections on her back end and her coach Luke Egan a longtime World title threat when

He was on tour and talk about longevity back when Luke was on tour it was a kind of a common theme like you wanted to move on on your own terms you didn’t want to fall off tour or get sent packing so he he still had some years

Left in him but he had a great SE and he’s like okay I’m GNA move on he’s still here and he’s still here yeah still here watching but yeah not competing like he used to helping out Caroline marks in another world title year potentially we’ll see how the year

Goes Caroline getting the win Gabby Bryan in second and Sophie will have to deal with the elimination round coming up next World number one hits the line of Molly pum takes on Isabella Nichols and a wild card named Ellie Harrison be right Back Cor e Today’s going to be a bit different first of all in a beautiful restaurant well no wait surfing yeah yeah yeah we’re surfing then after that we go to beautiful restaurant then we never get time to really do it so heading to a spa I’m excited looks fun let’s go huh let’s

Do it all Right it is amazing to be back in Australia right the coffee wins worldwide I think one of the coolest things about the state of Victoria is that you have the city of Melbourne which is such a cool City the coastal part of things and The Great Ocean Road rough edges Cliffs beautiful waves

Hiking and seeing waterfalls and cute little towns with great food you just feel so far away from the city yet you are quite close rip Cur Pro Bells Beach it’s the longest running Surf Contest on the calendar Our Heroes have rung that bell Easter time everyone eats chocolates and hopefully R

Bells that’s my Plan don’t get too comfy we’ve got a facial appointment in 15 minutes let’s Go what a day hey so good such a good way to end it I’m coming back here for sure well it looks like Molly Pam and ly petson are loving their time here in Victoria as a way as we get into the opening Round Here of the Rick Pro Bell

Speech presented by bonso for the women and the world number one is currently out there in the lineup in that yellow Jersey and she has really made it her own and made some huge statements this season she’s going to be up against Isabella Nichols in the blue and Ellie

Harrison the local here from BN heads Victoria the Grom will be out there in the white jersey let’s see what she got done on this opening ride Rich yeah what an incred incredible experience here for for Ellie her first wave against two uh well the number one in the world at the

Moment and Isabella Nichols who’s been a force for a number of years now so she gets a pretty decent ride to start things off 5.67 on this ride comes all the way through to the inside and belts it so uh a really well constructed wave there for

Ellie and that’ll uh be a real confidence booster for her as she gets uh that nice wave in the opening minutes of this heat yeah super uh big opportunity for Ellie she’s had a fantastic run of late obviously went pretty well on the Challenger Series in

Her first crack at it last year finished 12th but getting the uh the call up to compete on the Challenger Series again taking a wild card spot with her her place on the uh The Challengers last season she also just had a huge win in the I think the most regarded qualifying

Series event of any region surfest up there at Newcastle a huge win for her meant a lot so she comes into this contest with a whole lot of confidence yeah it really has been an incredible event over the years um it’s even had sort of CT status and then uh you know

Now a qualifying series event and so many greats have won that event up there at Newcastle you were there Ronnie to watch it on hand and uh some amazing surfing all week long Ellie performing incredibly well she’ll have a huge local uh fan base down here cheering her on in

This event she’s going to have a hands full though Isabella Nichols had a good run in this event last last year got herself for third place finish and Molly pin went all the way to the final and finished runner up to Tyler right and Molly’s just been on this uh this

Amazing rise to this position uh since joining the championship tour ranks here in 2022 didn’t survive the cut got on the Challenger Series got herself back on the CT and you know within a couple of events was sitting on top of the rating so uh it’s been

Remarkable but really the big story for Molly this year even with the win at Sunset is a performance at pip rid yeah it was uh it was one for the record books and in my opinion it’s probably changed uh women surfing at that location uh forever more yeah at Caitlyn simmers uh was

Another one that had a hand in that as we see Molly up and riding now can’t leave Betty Lou out either the the three of them it felt like we’re just pushing one another to to just you know per rides and performances we haven’t seen at that venue before but Molly she’s got

To perform at all the venues on the CT this season to get herself another shot at a world title at the WSL finals and uh that wave probably not going to cut it in this heat there’s been a couple of low scoring Heats but we are expecting a

Lot from these three competitors yeah yeah know we certainly are and uh I’ve just um sort of flabbergasted really at how the Improvement in her trajectory over the last uh just two two years really just in the way she surfs and her performance and um the level has just

Been incredible with Molly let’s listen in here with Luke And just had a little bit of open face it was nice you had priority other than that you did really well so it looks so tricky to get timing out of the limpy really tricky so so one turn on the second six but n cuz it was like so

I just went for it and I like timed it and I kind of glided even the first Flo and it kicked you off really fast it actually looked really sick yeah I know I was like oh no started with a one but he started to be able to aim up at it

And know where it was going to give you a little back yeah in the beginning you’re be oh my God where is it but then you you you work for it’s like a whole different yeah looks really reactive felt like an entire different day than morning like how was it at Max

Speed did it feel so really stable yeah right felt really good it was clean like that it would have been so fun yeah yeah it was like like piecing together the waves it was like super hard to link together you did well though you were patient and you stayed with it you

Stayed close to it so it came to you you didn’t race off to it which was really important is yeah I felt good I was stoked sweet coob two of the best goofy Footers of all time there breaking down that performance from Caroline marks Luke Eagan really drops it an octave doesn’t

He he really does and uh I reckon that whole conversation is pretty much summed up summed up in the word patience you know she was Luke was just explaining that that Caroline wasn’t trying to get ahead of the the wave and and uh she just really had to be patient coming off

The bottom picked that moment off the top she found it and the World Champ goes through yeah looks uh looks solid yeah I like uh when Luke said you’re aimed up yeah you know that that’s the goal for these competitors you know get through those carves find that flow but

When this wave steepens aim up attack the section Caroline did it nicely pretty decent he scored title for her numbers in on the opening exchange here Ellie Harrison solid start for the uh the Grom you’d have to call it 18 years of age just up the road and she has dropped

To 5.67 Molly Pam just a three for her priorities with Isabella a this could be a good looking wave that second wave of the set if anyone can get on it as we see Molly just trying to get there uh in conditions like this Ronnie when it is

Blowing this hard on Shore that second wave of the set third wave of the set seems to be better uh all those bumps smoothed out a little bit more just gives you that opportunity to set that rail a little bit easier Rich it’s been spoken about so much but I can’t talk

About it enough I mean the the performance from Molly at pipe in particular was just so unbelievable wasn’t it that 10-point ride it’s it’s just seared into my memory as we see now Isabella getting started here couple of nice turns for her using a priority wisely this wave stood up nicely on that

Outside section she sticks with it now looking build some speed 26y old sitting outside the top 10 at the moment needs a big finish here has survived the cut has fallen victim to the cut and uh doesn’t want to end up on the the wrong side of the the

Cut line at the end of the fifth stop and getting a big result here could really take the pressure off here’s the replay well here’s step step one in the campaign not a bad wave All Things Considered that was a beautiful turn there almost a

Two- stage car but she got the work done third one wraps it back into the foam and then does all this work through the inside you can see pumping pumping the board all the way to that last section Isabella does well it’s a good opener for her she’ll take some confidence out

Of that see the slow-mo here you can see there just gets that wrap the wave steepens up here this is that second one lays it on rail putting all that pressure and uh the face just laid down a little bit she got right on the back foot put

Uh bunch more pressure on that tail pad drove through it and almost disguised somewhat of a uh a wobble in the wave there and and actually turned it into a functional maneuver yeah just under 18 minutes to go and we listened in as Luke and Caroline broke down there heat before

Let’s see what vorno can get out of the Running World Champion yep the queen is in the house the World Champ reigning world champ Carolyn marks getting a round or an opening round win always feels good little bit wobbly at the start but as we heard you uh discussing

With your coach Luke Ean before right at the end there just able to square up and clobber a few in sections to get that Rhythm happening yeah for sure it’s um it’s definitely a lot different than my firste serve this morning it was like super nice and clean and um and then

Yeah by the time I he came around it got super bumpy out there so I was just trying to get my timing right in the first one I just snowed do and I was like oh it wasn’t very great but um I’m stoked I was able to link um a few

Together and I’m running a new board for Matt it just felt really nice through the flats and when the section got steep so um yeah I’m stoked to get a heat web last year obviously you know a life goal that you would have dreamed of since you

Were just a tiny kid uh this year kind of a mixed bag of results but uh pretty good stuff there at Sunset Beach I think the semi-final um how hard has it been to sort of just wash off all that energy of reaching such a pinnacle moment and

Get back into a new campaign yeah it’s definitely I feel so different coming into this year than I did last year actually even though I I did better at Sunset last year but overall result result wise I I had like a couple throwaways already last year so this

Year I’m a bit more consistent which which feels nice and I haven’t haven’t been able to make a final yet but I I’ve cons been more consistent which is really good but um I don’t know I just feel really happy and stoked to be here

And I didn’t really feel like I had much of an offseason I just kind of kept going out and having fun and celebrating and surfing and so um I don’t know it’s just the it’s crazy we’re already back at Bells it’s crazy been it’s been a

Year already but I’m just happy to be back in Australia and just hanging out with friends and family and just just enjoying myself and trying to enjoy every moment and hopefully do it all over again this year yeah that’s so cool when you’re having fun it shines in your

Surf and there’s no doubt about it um you mentioned a new board tell us a little bit more about that yeah um I actually I left for the airport at like 5:30 and Matt got me the board at like 5:00 p.m. so I just snuck him in my bag

It was my bad too I ordered them really late but um I had a magic board in Portugal and I just really wanted another one and um so I just yeah I don’t know it’s just a 57 round tail driver 3.0 and um pretty straightforward but just feels really nice so thanks

Matt and Gian and everyone from lost it feels really good well congratulations always good to get an opening round win I know you are desperate to ring that Bell one of the few trophies not on your cabinet yet yeah absolutely I think um a lot of my favorite servers have won here

Ai’s been serving out here the last few days that’s been really cool to see and um my first couple years coming here I I was working with Mike Parsons and he was always like I think Belle’s will be your best event like at some point in your

Career I think you’re going to win that event so um obviously it’s a tall order but I believe I can do it and um if if it happens this year that’d be amazing but definitely like a bucket list one to win for sure for sure yep the Goofs are

On fire and uh Caroline keeping up that form thank you yeah looking sharp she’s got a good track record at this event couple of semi-final finishes here 2018 2019 a quarterfinal finish last year and she just uh she just has everything required to to ring the bell here rich just a

Really strong approach off the the bottom great variety on the backand she could do it she could easily Do It um I love the attitude as well it was just she’s so like bubbly and fresh and doesn’t feel like she’s got that pressure of a world title on her

Shoulders at all she’s she’s surfing freely so that that’s awesome well we had Steph Gilmore in there before and she was talking about you know the challenge of backing up a world title and you’d have to say Caroline’s done a great job so far couple of quarters and

A semi-final in those first three events and getting a victory here in the opening round that was Ellie Harrison just uh Bell’s getting the better of her on that last wave and Molly Pam got into this one looking to drop her first decent number of this heat a look at

This thing down the line nice big carving Hook from Molly driving off the bottom again and just over over accelerates out of the lip and just unable to hold on I do feel like she’s riding a slightly longer board running in this heat and uh maybe just

Trying to adjust to that extra length on the board Isabella Nichols goes down got to love the commitment though giving it a red hot dig on the uh the final section there yeah absolutely and she’s done well in the opening exchange that 6.5 uh which I think the judging it was

Spot on she did enough work to uh to drop that score she’ll be looking to build on that now and feeling confident that she has a a good score on the board Ellie Harrison let’s see if she can clean things up after falling on that last ride already has a decent number

Mid-range five that board almost skipping there she Glides off the bottom and off the top piecing it together just flowing at this point banging off the foam now she’s starting to put it together through the inside if she can put a finish on this wave it could be a

Pretty decent number oh nice yeah a little mix up a bit of variety here from Ellie this W still going and she uh she gives it some on the inside can’t ride out didn’t have a lot of speed once she reached the oncoming section but that’ll

Be a much better score for her it’ll Shore up her position in that top two yeah she definitely seems like she she’s not uh overwhelmed or overcome by the situation uh being out here in in a championship Tour event uh must feel comfortable here at Bells but um

Certainly you know sometimes you look at these wild cards and they freeze up uh they surf you know quite restrictive and she doesn’t look like she’s being affected at all now Surfer that never really seems two phased as Katie simmers she’s making her way down the steps here

The iconic stairs the current world number four will be out there Next to I the current world number one is out there at the moment but all over the compsite like a rash is VN Blakey let’s see what he’s up to well we know how awesome Yeti are as supporters of pro surfing with the 10-point rides being rewarded with the

Tundra and uh but mate down here the activation is all about these guys the Ramblers and uh Greg from Yeti is here to tell us a little bit about an activation mate that not only gets you a personalized Yeti but can also help contribute to some pretty cool charities thank

You uh buy your Yeti tumblers over in the rip kill tent behind us bring them over here and we will mark them with your name on it for free and we’ll be also uh giving a donation off to the local charities that’s so cool mate and those uh Charities are the Heartwood

Habitat which provides Hollows out in the wilderness for all range of diverse Wildlife to sort of make homes and basically help continue on the success of their species and one way of which of course is uh you know uh contributing to positive mental health through getting

In the water so great Charities mate so it’s just get over there to the Rip Curl store get your uh your Yeti Rambler tumbler come on over to base camp get it engraved it’s personalized something to cherish for the rest of your life mate beautiful Cheers Cheers thank you boys yep got my

Yeti personalized psyched mine’s coming apparently it’s in the mail Rich it’ll get here mate but it is a beautiful day down here at Bell’s beach now J in uh just all its Glory we had uh pumping conditions this morning has the wind has come up it’s been a little trickier the last couple

Of hours but there’s still opportunity out there and tapping into that opportunity at the moment is Isabella Nichols with the highest ride of this opening round Clash heat tree here at the moment Isabella needs to back this number up though because Molly Pam she’s not far behind but leading this heat at

The moment is the wild card Ellie Harrison has a 5.67 and a 4.7 here’s a replay of her last wave wow she got this one from way out the back rolled in and streaking down the line here sets up this first section tags it a really turbulent and foamy section there but

She manages to to get through it this is Isabella Nichols and just trips up oh that was a dangerous fall almost looked like she connected with her board back to live action now Molly Pam finds herself rarely finds herself in third position but here in this opening round that’s

The story and she needs a 3.18 to get out of trouble here 7 and a half minutes to go Molly’s been down here enjoying everything that’s been unfolding around the event checking out the as well as she CLS up that final section can’t make it stick so she uh could

Still find herself in third place as we get down to the 7even minute Mark pressure’s going to be on here for the current world number one as Isabella looks to finish one off she had some big committed efforts and uh not been able to make them stick just yet Isabella but

She’s still up in that top two at the moment I I like her approach she’s got that 6.5 she’s looking to put this one away and uh we’ll tea up the replay here cuz I’m very keen to see what she did if there was any opening work done on that

Wave and here we go takes off not a bad looking ball here running off a little bit staying patient gets the first carve stays with the power source and again out on the open face comes through this foamy section stays with it with it obviously sees something down the

Line coming through the inside staying nice and low that weight on the front foot then gets it’s that little tag uh on the fo and this was Molly Pam you can just see all those bumps and ridges on the face making it very very difficult for our women to find these

Little uh moments of Glory on these waves so at this point Ollie really hasn’t collected too many points now she starts to open up gets a little flare with that foam hit bringing it all the way through to the side section the legs are burning

Right at this point and uh well she just got uh she got bucked off with that backwash didn’t she yeah a bit of Reverb on the shoreline there for Molly scores coming in though might momentarily bump her up in a second spot but Isabella has

Got a number on the way as well 5 and a half minutes to go here yeah Molly looks on you can see it in just the way she’s kind of cutting across these waves but she hasn’t really had the the face to work with yet to let go of some of those

You know world class turns that she possesses so 4.5 for Molly she jumped up in first for a second but Isabella dropped the 3.77 and that was enough to see her hang on to that second spot Ellie Harrison still leading at the moment Ellie’s a classic she’s super uh

Shy uh shuns the spotlight somewhat um was was actually you know you hear people say I’m speechless but they can spit that out at least but after she won up it’s surface she was properly speechless could talk but it was really cool she just giggled her way through

The um acceptance speech when she was getting a trophy it was great well you can do no wrong as a winner so uh yeah uh well great to see her out in front this is huge for her to be you know sort of Win Lose or Draw in this one it

Doesn’t really matter but the fact that she’s out in front at this stage of the heat uh on the big stage is just a huge feather in her cap and you know she may go on to win this heat and then uh that’s a that’s a big confidence boost

At this level in your career yeah it’s also you know prize money is a big factor for someone who’s about to fund a Challenger Series campaign the more he she gets through the more she wins and yeah just gains the uh attention of obviously all her

Peers but also really becomes a a worry for those Surfers on the Challenger series Once someone gets into a CT and gets through some Heats they are certainly marked and feared to come up against just over three and a half minutes remaining Now set waves approaching Ellie’s got that priority

She’s only looking to improve on a 4.7 seems to to be pretty comfortable and and know what kind of wave she wants in this lineup would have no doubt surfed plenty of Heats out here at Bells over the years yeah great to see that experience and not uh not getting

Frantic at this point she’s got Isabella and Molly breathing down her neck trying to to take that top POS position there’s a couple of nice waves moving into the lineup looks like Isabella is going to take this one on the inside oh oh she goes down he kind of fell awkwardly there

Too bit of a wash through set coming through and again we keep mentioning it it’s almost like uh Bill’s beach has a a personality disorder it just doesn’t know what it wants to do throughout the day it can start off being you know 6 to 8T and perfect groomed wall and now

We’re looking at tricky 3 to 4T onshore you know sort of jumbled up conditions so um yeah really testing the uh the the adaptability of these Surfers throughout the day two and a half minutes to go Ellie Harrison on the outside she likes the look of this one it’s a tricky

Takeoff stays prone for a moment rides through the Whitewater now hangs on that rail this wave might steepen up on the inside at the moment it’s very chattery it’s a tricky ride but she’s doing well the 18-year-old as she gets to this final section climbs to the

Roof it’s sort of uh actually just drops out from underneath there she does well to hang on there she’s got a good little support crew down here no doubt full of family and friends cheering her on in this one trying to get rid of a 4.7 there she looks confident on the

Feet doesn’t she she does the two-minute warning coming up and that’s you know that is seriously a warning for Molly Pam here she’s got some work to do she needs a 5.45 to get herself up in second place here doesn’t want to lose any momentum now but here’s the replay of Ellie’s

Ride yes so Ellie this was a a foamy monster as we call it right from the opening uh moment here and Ellie doing very well just to keep that board engaged keep the fin set you can see just uh really quick-footed uh action that she has

And uh gets to the finish so uh yeah not a bad wave I don’t know if she’s going to uh Eclipse that 5.7 I don’t think so my gut feeling is no but um but still she just dropped the 5.07 so just pushed her CL up a little so Isabella Nichols after a

4.24 but Ellie always it might be the way she stands on a board but always sort of seems to me like she rides a probably from her sides a slightly longer board than uh some of her opponents uh it’s just her preference it just looks nice

Looks like she’s got quite a bit of board out in front of her and uh yeah it looked great on De feat that was a very bumpy tricky to Sur yucky Ro really really hard to Surf I think most of the Surfers today riding a step up um Medina

Was one of the ones that rode a short board yo also on a short board but Medina uh interesting fact put extra large fins in the side of his board today okay yeah yeah just to get that added stability uh he was talking to KY

About it and just said yeah I just want to be able to fit in those turns on my backand and not have that longer board through that fatter section but I want the security off the bottom and off the top that’s the drive well this one’s

Coming to an end and the world number one is still in that third position and Molly pin’s going to have to fight her way out of the elimination round but listen to the local crowd for Ellie Harrison she is on her way to the third round that’s huge with a very strong performance

There and look at the absolute smil splitting across the faces of her family and friends down here on the beach they are buzzing and for good reason well uh local girl makes good and uh the youngster what a moment in her career this is just a a huge

Confidence boost for her you know she’ll have her her sight set on being a full-time campaigner on the world championship toour uh and this will do her wonders impressive staff for the 18-year-old as we get set for yet another big Clash here don’t go anywhere up next it’s Caitlyn simmers Bria

Hennessy and soy Lim Blad why e the rip girl Pro Bells Beach presented by bonsoy is brought to you by Cooper’s Brewery the official beer of WSL Australia by Boost Mobile official telecommunication partner of w WL Australia by biog gland official vitamin partner of WSL Australia by gwm official Automotive

Partner of WSL Australia and by Mofi the official portable power bank partner of the Rick kill Pro Bells Beach presented by bonsoy Mofi stay powerful what a moment for Ellie Harrison 18 years of age her first CT event she’s just got the jump on the world number one

And one of the semi-finalist from last year’s event and she is absolutely buzzing right now and why wouldn’t she be rich oh what a moment uh you know to be that uh to get a little taste of success against some of her Heroes who she’s probably looking at going that’s who I

Want to be I want to emulate these women I want to be doing exactly what they’re doing and in doing it in front of your home crowd in front of friends and family that’s like the one of those moments you dream about seriously composed performance too it just sort of

Seemed that she she worked out the formula for success in that lineup she didn’t go the the high the low percentage play she was smart she chipped away to rides and she got the victory out there in the lineup now we’ve got the current world number four Katie simmers in the red jersey

Representing Oceanside California Bria Hennessy who’s been on a roll this year she’ll be in the blue jersey surfing for Costa Rica and then of course soya limbad another competitor from California she’s going to be out there in the white jersey as we see Brea getting things

Started early on the replay Rich had an amazing start of the Year couple of semi-final finishes let’s see if she can get back to the uh the later Heats of this event ah she’s got Good Vibes out here she’s got good memories and good feelings I

Think she’s suited to this wave this is uh Caitlyn up and riding on her opening wave here nice big swooping turn let’s just watch the uh the progressive lines that this lady takes oh jeez that almost looked like there was a bit of ski wake there unfortunately but uh well this is soya

Lindblad so the lone goofy footer in this heat this one standing up on the inside comes through hits that final section live action yeah Bria looking to back up her first ride her first Rod was strong 7.17 so she’s uh looks like she is reconnecting to the form that that saw a

Semi-final in the first two events of the Season nice finish there on the inside solid stuff here it was just a pace to Bruce’s opening ride that in the previous heat we just didn’t quite see you know brista was just attacking those sections nice and fast through the

Snaps as we watch this one here strong off the bottom great wrap night nice and tight in the pocket and again really confident stable on her feet driving all the way through to the inside staying patient knows there’s more she likes heavy water Rich we’ve seen her obviously achieve great things

At Sunset lay down big carves she she seems to really be able to lean into the power of a a steep wall and a wave that’s got a bit in it and uh that was a great great turn there yeah yeah you saw that back arm go right up vertical uh

And that allows her to to turn a little tighter almost like uh keep referencing it like a ballerina doing that pirouette as they uh as they go tall uh put that back arm down it’s going to elongate that cut back Brisa stay nice and tight the pocket which I think is a good

Formula in these tricky conditions CU you almost have to fit those Maneuvers in between the bumps out here it’s a different story this morning where those uh where the turns were were longer you were holding that rail line with this onshore wind and this surface bump uh it’s all about a short

Up more snapping type of turn let’s get a a bon University athlete health check in here BR a Hennessy of course ruptured her eardrum in Portugal forcing her to withdraw from the event it was a devastating um injury for her because as I mentioned before just was on an incredible roll through

Those first couple of events and couldn’t surf complete her heat in Portugal so left there injured it’s only been a couple of weeks a lot of surfers getting support messages of support to Brer including Mick Fanning Carissa Moore yod Dora and here she is in Bells

Just a couple of weeks later so you know Really Brave to turn up here ready to compete for one of the most sought after trophies in the sport yeah and just a a super positive lady on the tour as well you know she has been through a number of sort of

Health adversities and she’s been able to come through it uh with support of of friends and family obviously but that that uh positive mental attitude uh really going a long way in in helping her recover quickly and getting back into uh what she wants to do and and

Fulfilling her dreams here yeah Dad Mike is character M Katie just an absolute R Sunshine around the events as well but you know they’d be super proud of and just you know how resilient she’s been these past couple of seasons and just this mad runs through the first few

Events of the the season have been very impressive and we’ll see if she can continue to build on this impressive Heat score title kicked off with a 717 backed it up with a 5.33 soya lindblad is in a pretty decent position here too 617 to start for her

And she had a heat in Portugal um where she lost out early that she she probably would have progressed through any other heat in the round she just had a really tough draw there and she was devastated she sort of knew that at that point it

It was going to be hard to survive the cut she’d need to do really impressive stuff at these next two venues which are so difficult this has been a strong start to the heat for her she’s got Jake Patterson in a corner yeah and uh Jake Patterson obviously has years and years

Of experience down here but Jake and I have been uh coming to bills for over 30 years now we’ve competed here as Juniors and obviously Jake has coached many of the top athletes over over the years since his time on the tour and uh he’s pretty straight and

Direct with his instructions if he had his own scent if he had his UNC colone it’ be called competitive Mongrel he just sprays it all over the place he is an animal and um the thing I like about Jake is his succinct game plans that he

Gives to his athletes yeah you know he he gives them the opportunity to Pivot on those decisions but um you know adapt to what the situation uh becomes in the heat for sure but go out there and just attack the end section he would have said to Sawyer you got an incredible

Backhand vert hit that endsection you’ll score do that I promise you’ll get through absolutely and as as direct and succinct as he is with his advice he’s also like that with his feedback as well so you need to have a bit of a thick skin if you’re in snake’s Camp there’s

The men on screen right now obviously did a lot of years coaching with Stephanie Gilmore and yeah well so looking for a big result here at bills and let’s see if she can do it just out 20 minutes remaining here and uh yeah it’s it’s going to be fun to

Watch priority play out here in the the next few stages I I love watching ktie Simons surf we were just singing Molly Pam’s Praises through that last the opening stages of the Clash uh and her performance at pip But ultimately it was Caitlyn Simmons getting the victory

There and on that first big day Katie kind of set the pace uh big back door nugget came in and Katie just swung without hesitation got herself completely barreled for an excellent score in the nine-point range there was like five waves in that event ridden by Katie Betty Lou and obviously Molly had

Other ways where when they came out of the barrel I was like that’s a 10-point ride like I just kept saying it I was like that yeah you just don’t see that that often you you got to you should stamp it with a 10 but the judges you

Know I think they felt like something special was coming and I think the the approach from Molly on the backand was worthy of the the stamp I I was going to say there was there was the two waves out of the ones that you’re talking

About and it was it was uh Molly’s wave on the backhand where she did that pig dog and knifed it and her her execution of the pig dog in that Barrel situation it could have been Kelly or one of these people who have surfed pipe you know their whole life and and perfected

Surfing Pipeline and then bdy Lou was the other one who surfed it incredibly well on her backand the forehand a little bit a little bit easier obviously because you’re facing the Wave and you can you can sort of see what’s happening down the line but to pig dog like that

Uh at pipeline is a really really difficult thing to master and they’ve done it and we’re we’re just talking up the women’s approach but you can’t not make comparisons there’s still men on the CT that don’t have that technique and that approach on the back end so it

It was a game changer it’s never going to be the same all the young surf fans who tune in and tuned in and watched that event see a new standard and you just know they’re all going to be hunting out those slabbing waves the next time the swrs roll in and it’ll

Just continue to evolve like you know I know we got a lot of things to do this year Rich a few events to get through and world champions to Crown but I can’t wait to get back to pipe next year I know well that’s like you said it’s the

New Benchmark now and and that’s the yard stick and it’s not going to go backwards it’s only going to go forwards but you look at uh Surfers um like Katie simmers who was last year in wa when the box was on she was on it she was out

There you know knifing one of the the most difficult treacherous waves that we have in Australia and she was comfortable out there Sierra out there as well giving it a a good nudge just over 17 minutes to go here and there she is Katie simmers talking to uh Stace gal

Braith um and having a chat to him uh on stab magazine uh recently one of their podcasts and we were talking about Katie and just how fun she is to watch just based on the fact that you know you take the Jersey away and the approach doesn’t

Seem to change yeah she just naturally has this free surfing flow to a surfing and it’s just so refreshing to see I remember um sitting at Snapper rocks and it was the year Dane Reynolds was up against Parco and he beat Parco in that heat and he brought something new there was a

Different line I was sitting with Pat o Connell at the time we both looked at each other and went this is something new that we’ve never seen before and this is the feeling I get when I watch Katie surfing because her lines are different the her approach is a little

Bit different it’s unpredictable almost punk in a way uh and it’s really refreshing to watch the best 16 minutes remaining here and it is uh looking like we’ve got some sets on the way but while we wait for them to arrive let’s feel the bars from Ellie Harrison here she’s

With vaugh yeah Ron look there’s been some big stories today Kelly Slater getting his first Heat win for a while the defending champ Ethan Ying getting it done the World Champ Carolyn marks getting done but by far the biggest story from today’s action is the trials winner Ellie Harrison taking out the

World number one Ellie the crowd was going mad the energy on the beach was insane you must must be freaking right now yeah oh yeah I was very nervous with that heat just not even who I had I knew any heat I was going to draw was going

To be hard um just more yeah actually being here being around the comp I’m normally here just watching being a Grom like going every run signatures and now I’m in the event and yeah everything’s yeah so much more like uh yeah I don’t know just crazier than like a Qs or a

Challenger so yeah definitely feeling it definitely got yeah big high adrenaline but try to uh turn it down a bit of safe R for you but um you are on some kind of rooll you just took out surfest you won the regional qualifying series uh you had a good stint on the Challenger

Series last year and obviously you’re going to be having another crack but I mean this must just be icing on the cake this momentum you’ve really been able to use it and capitalize on it to get a win here at the rib Curl pro you know your

Home event yeah oh it doesn’t really all feel real I still it still hasn’t really sunk in like that Newcastle win really um but yeah surfing at home feels amazing having all my friends and family here it’s just like yeah it couldn’t get any better um yeah we got windy waves

Like on Shore but I don’t know it was still fun still got opportunity but hopefully next few rounds we get some good waves cooking so and and what was it like to you know paddle out there see that gold jersey sort of sharking around the lineup you know how scary Molly Pam

Can be she’s such a fierce competitor how did you deal with that um just focused on myself really like I know Molly’s incredible um yeah she’s an insane Surfer I look up to her a lot um I knew I knew once I won the trials I

Was going to get you know number one seed so I kind of known that I had Molly for like a week now so well not a week it’s been like four days feels so we but um yeah I don’t know just kind of focused on my own performance and stuck

To it’s still just a heat still just two waves so yeah and what is it like when you you know finish your turn in that Shore you’re so close to the crowd this theater really does amplify all that noise what’s it like to hear that yeah just I don’t know huge adrenaline just

Like on the jet ski after that first wave I couldn’t even like get my breath back I was just yeah Todd was on the skin he was just like how’d you go outside I don’t even know I can’t remember the wave but I don’t know yeah

Um yeah it’s just yeah a feeling I love the feeling but yeah a feeling there’s no other like it so yeah well Ellie I’ll tell you uh you have just lit up this entire place with that performance congratulations we can not wait to see you in the next round thank

You yes Ellie yeah well she’s uh she’s found a voice she’s getting used to winning she uh she finished 12th on the Challenger Series last year um she was I think the the second highest Australian not to to make the grade Soph mulik was outside qualification but she ended up

Getting the call out with Steph uh taking a year off so that meant that Ellie automatically got one of those Wild Card spots as the top finishers but as it turned out it didn’t matter she one surface took out the regional Qs um but she’s opened up some space on that

Regional Qs for someone else to get the call up well she sounded like a Season Pro then yeah she did in that interview and this is soy limbad uh taking off on this good looking wave here squares up just gets a little caught drives around the section again comes off the bottom

And off the top sort of a midface turn and again uh doing these nice snaps on the backand but hang on oh just doesn’t quite manage to uh to finish that one off she’s got a 617 though and that’s the backup Katie Simmons on the outside she had a wave as

Well yeah some nice big open face swoops here from Katie as she comes through to the inside you can see just that forehand line it’s totally different to what the goofy Footers take Katie all the way through to the inside here just taking a big sleepy cut

Back staying with the fo waiting for it to go again bang hits the lip stays nice and low projects further down the line and gets the Finish there’s just little things that she does different y just that little cut back as you said at a moment where everyone’s so fixated and

What’s down the line Katie you know just because you know what I can fit a roundhouse in here even though it’s not done with like all the speed in the world it’s still just a mixup it just adds to the flow it adds to the variety

It’s fun to watch so did pretty well 5.23 for her so Caitlyn simmers after a 5.91 but you can uh you can see what we’re talking about with soya she’s got that backhand approach as you said Rich there was one turn in there it was kind of a

Shame that she kind of got hung up a little bit took a bit of her speed and Flow Away yeah yeah it’s there and uh if I watch that replay again and I actually just watched the board it did stay a little bit flat and horizontal so there

Work to do but definitely the foundations and fundamentals of her approach is there 10 and 1/2 minutes remaining here and we have a heat on our hands it’s pretty tight on the leaderboard here at the moment as we get set for yet another big Clash Betty Luc Sakura is out there

Next we’re going to take a bonso brew Break minutes time my go-to is the bonsoy Almond the Magic Mix the best way to start your day so starting with the morning smooth we got some great blueberries already in there strawberries they’re looking delicious banana is nice for the consistency a little bit of peanut

Butter a little bit of Honey the ch ch bonsoy almond milk it’s naturally nutty just like me it’s on we got to get going vents on and now the ride to pip it’s on the contest is on parking is getting tight there contest is on contest is on

Got my trusty bike straight line to pip line Ted he loves bonso absolutely welcome to the Lexus Pipe Pro stop number one on the world surf League Championship tour Bonsai pipeline is firing right now are we going to start with the men are we going to start with the women thank

You same time tomorrow yeah cops he’s good isn’t he he’s so good he’s fro it he’s fro it back uh back out into the lineup now with 7 and a half minutes to go here in heat for the elimination round the women’s rip call Pro Bells Beach presented by bonsoy and Bria Hennessy

Just on the the back of that really strong start maintains her position at the top Katie simmers though during the break had this wave Rich yeah Katie just driving down the line here oh of a layback jam almost under the lip wrapping cut back looking for more down the line Katie

Sets this section up slams it up and over the foam unfortunately just caught a front edge there this is Brisa Hennessy on the outside great looking wave here just racing this one down the line always so uh steady and shooted on her feet got two good scores on the board

Already looking to improve on the 533 it’s going to be very very close right there but up until this point sort of textbook competitive surfing from her she hasn’t taken any silly waves uh wave Choice has been great executions been great uh and that’s why she’s out in

Front yeah all the Surfers have you know really chosen their waves carefully and and executed pretty well on all their rid so far there’s not really those really low throwaway numbers uh it’s all pretty decent for these three competitors so we’ve got a close head on our hands Katie

Simmers she’s still back in in third spot at the moment so Lim blad is showing some really positive signs for a surfer who’s way behind on the leader board she’s performing well at the moment but she’s oh she’s right there within reach of someone as good as Caitlyn

Simmers Katie was on her way to a really big score uh she finished that endsection turn you know it’s hard to find that flare in that final section and stay on your feet she exploded out of the White Water yeah unfortunately uh not able to stick that

Last maneuver if she did uh I’d have to argue that it could have almost been the score and I just love it she keeps delivering stuff that we’re not expecting Maneuvers that we haven’t seen before it’s exciting yeah it sure is so just touching on it again you know we saw a

Surgence from some of the veterans on the the CT the final four over in Portugal all Surfers that have clocked up over a decade on the CT or almost a decade for for one but it it was you know was impressive to see it’s made the year very interesting and

This event in particular an event that you know typically requires some experience um you know are these younger Surfers going to be able to figure out the the RIS put the puzzle together here at Bells through different conditions and and get themselves a big finish here and and

Maintain their position at the top end of the ranks Sally Fitz gibons hopes they don’t yeah well s’s uh s still got a little bit of work to do here and she’s been on and off the tour the last couple of years here’s saw oh yeah great

Hit nice start there big hit fully committed so liml if she can hang on for this and get another similar turn down on the inside she might just improve on this 523 just linking it together trying to push it a little harder on that final

Move but it was quality the uh the first crack in the the pocket of that wave Ridge yeah the judges will pay that commitment and uh really attacking that section just looking to nurse it ni lip float down the line she actually went up and hooked

It well uh so she’s got a good sparring partner in her brother tar too he’s a great Surfer and let’s have another look at it here on the replay yeah you can see there squares off the bottom really critical section and it was unfortunate that uh just this crumbly section on the

Inside didn’t offer up a good open bit of open face that she could really hook into love the slowmo here look at where the eyes are fixated onto the lip now on the backand she backand she has to turn the head and then she goes by feel at

This point and you can see the board just dropping off momentarily disconnected with the wave face got that trailing arm as a almost as an extended Rudder uh for stability and balance she makes her way back onto the Red Bull jet ski most of the athletes

Are opting to get up on the sled take a moment to uh actually get up into that seated position especially in these bumpy conditions it’s the way to go oh yeah rattle you with your you’re try and ride out on that LED but yeah Sawyer’s you know made a

Habit of dropping some pretty solid numbers uh in these past two events she has improved her situation just a little push the requirement a little higher for Caitlyn Simmons here with two and a half minutes to go 593 on that final wave it was Caroline Marx who she lost out to

Over in Portugal she had an excellent score she had an amazing Heat score total 15.84% one but this has been a good bounce back she’s not safe yet but with 2 minutes to go she’s showing real promise yeah she’s looking good uh you know the the performance in isolation has been very

Good um you know she it’s not like she’s taking uh silly waves she’s not making bad decisions we referenced Jake Patterson in her corner so obviously uh whatever advice she’s he’s given her is paying off and with a minute 30 to go she just needs to hang on get back into the

Lineup perhaps put a little bit of pressure on Katie simmers who is desperate with priority so she’s in the box seat and in a position now with a minute and a half to go to find that 6.6 ride get herself out of the elimination round still plenty more coming your way

This afternoon too couple of big Heats coming Betty luur Johnson ly Peterson India Robinson up next then we’re going to see Tyler R out in the lineup Tyler’s chasing three event wins in a row here at Bells this season and only two other Surfers have achieved that Carissa Moore and G

Cooper we’ll see how she goes but you’d like her chances but she’s got a tough draw Tatiana West and Webb who’s finaled here and Sally Fitz Gibbons has got a couple of big bells trophies as well had a lot of experience in that final heat and uh we’ve seen Tyler

Around the traps a little bit seems very just calm and at ease with everything going on in her life at the moment the surfing’s there uh so she’s poised certainly uh Tatiana and certainly Sally has uh has some work to do she needs to get herself out of that

Danger zone she’s below the cut line at the moment as this one counts down looks like it’s going to be Bria Hennessy and soy in Blood what a performance here from Bria really solid Rich she uh she almost was afforded the opportunity to just kick back in the later stages of this opening round heat just based on the fact that she dropped the 7.17 and the 5.33 so early in the exchange so has made a

Great return to the Jersey here at Bells Beach once again we’re going to take a quick break we got more big clashes just around the corner stay with us we’re going to bring in Joe and Felicity for the Call 20 experience well t welcome to the pul to keep you posted on all the major highlights from opening day the goat was in fine form today Bells is such a special location for Kelly Slater a four-time Bells champ his first CT win he even broke Tom Curran’s

Alltime event winning record at Bells in 2006 so much history colani he loved the performance the magic board took him straight to the round of 32 along with John Florence but how about Medina turning in some magic at the the Bell bowl a 933 and eight-point ride oy is

Baffled that Gabriel hasn’t won this event in the past he’s had a semifinal a couple of years back he’s never made a final here but this feels like a different type of Medina his stepdad Charlie there to celebrate his younger sister was in the trials Medina’s in his happy place and

How about a local Wild Card upset we enjoy that in pro surfing don’t we we do we do at least was probably the biggest story of the day so far not done Allie Harrison sending m pick into the elimination round reminder mol’s in yellow she’ll have to deal with the ER

Later on in this event window potentially tomorrow thanks for watching the puls thanks for watching opening day and thanks for being our friends Lauren you little Legend joining us in the booth Felicity paler gosh it’s great to have your company special wave like this let’s break this one down Betty L Sakura

Johnson ly Peterson and India Robinson let’s just keep that kind of local feel feeling going with Ellie getting the win going straight to India boy she’s fun to watch I ran into her brother on the steps she’s got a ton of support right now oh 100% she does and it looks like

She’s uh I know this is Lakey up and riding yeah she’s acting like a local out here isn’t she first wave just a 317 to get started Laura yeah that wave hopefully not going to be no score line but you never know crazy things have happened but yeah as you just said Joey

Lakey spends a lot of time here her husband Tom Alan from this area so she is like a bit of a second local at bills ad local adop yeah she is Thomas is a contender surfed with him and Leakey quite a bit in Portugal and it was unbelievable he was

Pushing Lakey a lot they were joking around how competitive they are on the ping pong table in the water as well I was doing some kind of Shadow judging and I was like ly got the win he’s like no and they started cracking up it was

Awesome how how much fun there having on the road Lakey 317 start priority now will be with Betty L as India just had a look at that one point two for the effort just a quick up and down but uh India probably taking some inspiration I mean India is obviously

For growing up in Victoria she spent a lot of time here at the bowl got a lot lot of experience a lot of local knowledge but you got to be looking at Ellie being like a kwow like it’s doable like that that’s massive for Ellie as a

Wild card um really big upset but yeah India and beautiful surfing from India she’s a power Surfer she loves to put the board on Rail and uh yeah great heat here especi a spicy heat too with Betty in there just adding that little bit of flare that is um what’s the word I’m

Looking for it starts with an a uh oh what’s the time it’s past 400 p.m. and the wheels are falling off for me no let’s let’s think about it what is it uh aggression no it’s not that it’s like a better word for aggression I got it I got it um

Assertiveness was that it yeah ah you got there not bad for a giant day the dark like to order a couple of Red Bulls to the booth immediately I don’t know if I need any more Lake’s out front 317 just that one turn moment but this is a

Second home for her it’s uh pretty fun because they spend a lot of the year in s Clemen I was talking to Lakey hasb been they said it’s been a little bit of time before they come back to the bells region but they got here nice and early

And uh micro staying up at their house he’s coaching Lakey at this event as well and they’ve been uh really just enjoying the surf together making little improvements because uh for Ley she’s such a dedicated competitor feels like ages for herself that she’s been in the world title race it really wasn’t that

Long ago so I feel like this is a great year for for Ley to kind of make a comeback to World title for for sure and she’s she’s arrived I mean she’s had such incred incredible moments this year obviously getting that win at J Bay last

Year was just so epic to see uh yeah and it’s just been amazing to watch I guess her EV Evolution and her journey just uh and and every sort of season and chapters when you get to these veterans and uh you know being you know she’s

Down in I think 10th position right now on the ranking she’s right there so this is a really really important event for her and she’s been here before at at Bells in this same position before so I’m sure the pressure is building but she’s a veteran she knows what to do and

Then we’re seeing this paddle battle we see this a lot with Betty Lou and we we love talking about it and I’m always interested I wonder if Betty Lou hears our commentary later and goes enjoys being that one where she loves being aggressive and taking control of the

Lineup because I enjoy this approach especially for someone who’s just 19 you know really new to the tour and doesn’t matter if it’s a World Champ or like a rookie on tour she’s going to really push you competitively for sure and I think there’s a certain way to do it

That that’s why assertiveness comes to mind because I feel like she does it with the utmost respect you know there’s other competitors that come to mind I’m like oh I don’t know that was a bit dicey but I feel like the way Betty approaches it she comes at it

With respect out of her competitors and her competitors would want to you know that they want that they want to bring the best out of each other and I love it I personally watch love watching that passion yeah you either love the game or you hate it and there’s competitors that

Hate the game they they’re like you know they get they get bummed when someone’s you know paddle battling and doing this and snaking and and all that but uh you know there’s some people I know Molly P’s like Bring it on I love it I love

The scrappiness of it and and it’s so cool to see that some of the women thrive on it and some of them want to avoid it and and they’re all different types of competitors like you know Steph ymer it’s so rare to see her in a paddle battle situation ly now rolling into

This one fun looking section to lay down that CI and that almost slid out was able to maintain control to recover the first turn you can see how full it is in front of her but if she can get a solid finish it might end up going into a decent range

Tricky conditions as you could tell that first section wasn’t really reliable for the way she was opening up yeah but she recovered well to hang on to that maneuver yeah she just had to hang on onto that you know wasn’t anything too special looked like she was just a lot

Of bump there to negotiate and it was kind of getting the better of her on the wav she couldn’t really plow through through it it looked like and uh you know maybe her board just yeah not being able to slice through that that lump but these waves are so tricky to Surf right

Now it’s India first proper go let’s see unfortunately looked like they tried to go a bit of a small wave to make something happen but uh that one just shutting down let’s get a little insight from the Aussies here in the booth I mean I always think when I think of

Lower trestles or even the US Open the advantage that those kids have growing up competing in the amateur ranks because all of a sudden it’s a massive event and all the international Surfers are trying to work it out when they show up uh before we get there this is ly on

Her last 3.33 flick yeah I it’s just I’ve got to Echo what Laura said it just looks really tricky there was a really really lumpy bumpy wave I mean she did get a 3.33 I think she’s going to be looking for more she’s probably going to

Be looking for a w face that’s a lot cleaner than that yeah uh she’d know that too that that wasn’t feeling really that connected but uh what get back to what you were saying interested in this just just the history for Australian upand cominging Surfers like you guys

Were back in your grommit hood how early are you coming here to bells to to compete you know and do you remember those those first trips down here flick do you remember that first trip here to compete I do it was we probably Laura and I were probably on the same trip

Together you know we’re similar age and it would have been for a Rip Curl grum search National final I know that my dad came over your mom was here they were getting on the wines every night together a good time and Sarah uh but I think even before the r Gres National

Final where we got the opportunity to serve here at the bells Bowl we had the the r search at Jan Jack so I would come down here every year and surf at Jan Jack and then obviously the waves got good got to get my first taste of Bill’s

Beach see the iconic stairs and then oh yeah when we got to do that grum search Final it was just the best thing ever like they they used to Just Surf us you know I think maybe right before the event and we got to Surf with all of our

Heroes and uh it just felt like a stepping stone and like just got that little taste of of this event yeah what it would be like to be on the tour totally and be competing here and walking down those stairs and you really get to sort of embody that get that

Feeling and there’s people here and crowds and and because the setup was we had a pro Junior here as well and we got to come here I think one or two times a year a pro Junior event but you know I didn’t have the setup that this does and

So when you when you got to go to the grum search Final and then it had the international final oh it was just it was the best hearing stories about you know Tyler Wright and her whole family being in a big van and camping and taking the drive down the coast and the

Whole family competing down here over the years and you could see how cool that would be to be like hey this is a second home you know you guys all grew up uh enjoying what you know all of bells had to offer freezing conditions warm weather this afternoon you get all

Four seasons in one day and you do uh even on the tide change think how different the waves look from what we had this morning oh we’ve had a lot of different seasons of waves today I mean when when you were reading out the pulse I mean we look back to those early

Morning Heats it was just super glassy not a breath of wind and uh yeah looking really dreamy I think maybe as that tide starts to uh fill in it might start to improve a little bit this afternoon I think you know last Heat is heading out

At 6:30 so usually the tide I mean the the wind does calm down in the afternoon you get the arvo glass off and yeah so those last couple of hits I think will be stoked that they are later into the afternoon Ley asking for an update on

Time and on her scores she knows it’s really close at the moment 6.5 combined total her first CT win was a long time ago was when the US Open actually had the the CT status next to it and she was very Progressive really focused on doing a lot of Errors she’s evolved into

Overall performance over the years and picked up several wins and her most recent win was quite emotional jeffre Bay last year and the way she came into the beach was just uh you could tell it was a veteran kind of finding her form again and it put in so much hard work it

Almost brings tears to all of our eyes when they have such a cool comeback victory that was a special one for Ley last year for sure and I think JB is also one of those iconic events much like what Bells is that you dream of winning as a surfer it’s such a

Beautiful location and yeah just an amazing Point Break a lot of all the a lot of the Surfers and a lot of the event Crews say that that’s their favorite event on tour so super special for Lakey to get that win there last year van Blakey hanging out on the glass

With Bria Hennessy thanks Joe yeah well it’s lumpy it’s bumpy It’s Tricky as heck out there but um Bria Hennessy getting it done how tricky was it yeah you definitely feel like you’re going to get bucked off the horse just got to keep riding bend your knees and uh lean

Forward for the ride nice one I mean uh We’ve watched a lot of Heats now this afternoon and and it has been so challenging what were your tactics when you paddled out yeah I just wanted to keep busy um obviously the like the first wave of the set was pretty lumpy

So I was just looking for the clean ones that kind of like slid underneath and um I was lucky I got that first wave with like it was 30 seconds I think the start of the Heat and I ALS I actually didn’t even think I think I went too early and

I asked the jet ski driver I was like was that in the heat cuz I was like oh my gosh I went too early but no it actually panned out um I just sat a little wide and that wave came that wave came to me fantastic and last time we

Saw you you had a ruptured eardrum tell us how how you’ve been recovering from that yeah I’m I’m doing good that was definitely such a interesting situations like I I came from pipe and Sunset and of course I get a ruptured eardrum at 1 foot Portugal so it’s always interesting

But I’m lucky to be able to um way earlier than I thought I was going to be able to so I just have an earplug in and uh hopefully it it heals while I’m I’m out in the water well it’s awesome to see you get that opening round win uh anyone you

Want to give a shout out to in Spanish yeah congratulations thanks so much V Pita that’s what you hear all the time when you visit the beautiful country of Costa Rica that’s where her life began until she was about N9 years of age learned how to surf in

Some warm water and then moved to Hawaii as we have this one still running for Lakey Peterson trying to get out of the three range here section wasn’t there for her on that last effort now she’s still trying to mix it up finding the lip to connect with talk about determination

Running out of room and stepping off on the sand and now the local India Robinson laying down a turn trying to get a heat wind for her brother on her brother’s birthday today nice connection there as she gets out in front nice Arc again nice easy Pace from

Robinson throwing a nice clean Arc and belting it oh that would have been a really good finish got a lot done though one of the better waves we’ve seen in this seat so far flick for sure uh straight away first takeaways that’s the cleanest face wave we’ve seen everything

Else so bumpy that that was really clean yeah and I think that’s the local knowledge she has you know being able to identify those cleaner faces that was obviously Betty Louie saw her first wave in Lakey’s wave in uh India by the time

She got to it look it had a bit of foam on the face when when she took off but it had that clean wall and it stood up and hit the bank at Bell’s Beach sorry the reef at Bell’s Beach just perfectly and uh you know we’ve seen a lot of the

A lot of the waves go too bumpy and and not really give you anything on the inside but this just kept giving her sections to keep tagging off and I feel like if she got a finish here it would have been one of yeah one of the highest

Scores of the heat for sure I think it will be highest anyway yeah so well done and leave it to a local to find some clean water and then the rolling from Lakey here flick yeah rolling but you can just see straight away I mean there’s a clear difference between this

Wave and India’s wave I mean this one’s got a lot of lump and bum like he’s working it she’s trying to place her turns here but I I just loved India’s wave it just was so smooth it just wave selection was on point here I mean even

That last section was hard to hit like he did well to hold on there but I mean India score would have been probably I mean maybe even a point more than what she’s just dropped I mean that India just dropped a 5.67 for that you got to

Think if she made that last turn yeah up in the sevens for sure I’d say Well done there’s so many locals walking down the steps getting a good spot on the the beach to watch India compete and it was cool to be next to her brother uh Cody

Just a moment ago because everyone was coming up to him like hey how did you slip past us you know he’s like back home he hasn’t been home for a while uh from Adam Robertson to Xavier huxel they’re all ready to celebrate his birthday but also watch one of their

Favorites his sister compete and fun to talk about those you know brother sister you know they’re not just rivalry is they push each other but it’s a loving way I always think of you Laura you know with your brother Chris always with you around the world and giving you so much

Support still today even in that strike Mission recently the cloud break yeah it’s it’s so amazing um yeah Chris was awesome he used to come down here and you know the only reason I started competing in surfing was because I would tag along when Chris was doing the Grom

Searches and then the pro Juniors and then Mom just entered me and and we just evolved our you know it was you know competitive when we were grommets and then it just became became a loving support network and you know he obviously became my coach and it’s very

Emotional when you have your your brother as your coach and your sister’s just making so many mistakes I think there this amazing vision of Chris La just walking up the stairs with like three minutes to go in one of my heads stay busy get patient that was one of the favorite quotes we

We remember from those nervous moments back in the day a lot of love there and a lot of support Betty Lou finding some open face to throw the wrap in the pocket cool just relaxed approach waiting for that section to open up and she’ll step off really made her

Global debut at the haliva Challenger when she was able to own her home court in a final with cariss samore barely 16 qualified so young fell off quickly but seems like a completely different person now and just celebrated her 19th birthday a couple days ago how’d you

Like this one flick I like I think she’s surfing really well she looks super solid on that board I think she is she riding a pisel it does look like that she’s looking she’s been mixing up her boards Lately from event to event and I think that’s a pel there I mean could

Correct me if I’m wrong I did see a photo the other day of her at the ball and it looked like on socials it looked like she was on a pisel uh but yeah she looks really good she looks really strong I just think that wave selections

I mean India is on the money at the moment with that wave selection her the wave face has just been so smooth so clean and I think if Betty would have got those uh that Betty would have had one of those waves that’s super smooth and clean I feel like the damage is

Going to be done yeah very cool 950 on the clock wait for scores of last of Betty loose Aura Johnson and remember Tyler Wright is going for three in a row this year as she looks the line up with Lily she’s coming up next we’ll be right Back just of yeah we were we were dying wonderful opening day continues here at the rip Crow Pro Bells Beach presented by bons so and when you’re down here you never know who you’re going to see Von Blakey has found a couple of the matildas watching the

Action one of the great things about the Rip Curl pro being such a mar event on the Australian sporting calendar as it attracts legends from all other sports down here to bells to check out the action and I’ve got two big legends from the matildas they don’t get much more

Legendary than the tiles Elise Kell Knight and Chloe lagazo welcome to Bells Beach how are you finding the action down here so far oh it’s beautiful I mean the weather’s great it’s turned up and it’s looking great it is and uh is there any Surfers in particular that you

Can on checking in action this afternoon yeah India we’re actually I think her Heat’s taking off behind us so we keep a keen eye on her but she’s a part of our agency so we’re here down here supporting her today unreal now the uh Matilda’s last year of course the World

Cup we don’t even need to discuss it because everyone in the entire world saw that legendary push it was just phenomenal I mean I still get goosebumps thinking about it and on the back of that it just felt like women’s sport especially in Australia went absolutely turbo and there’s no better example of

That than what we saw Molly pum do at Pipeline and sunset what was it like for you guys you know being part of that energy of that incredible World Cup run yeah look it’s incredible I actually sat down with Molly and had dinner with her

After the World Cup and I think it just goes to show uh how much can be impacted and for us as female athletes come to support other female athletes it’s tremendous and I can’t wait to see where it goes from here uh you were there calling the action Elise uh far out I

Mean it really does stand up there you were saying before the most watch moment in Australian sport even eclipsing Kathy Freeman’s gold medal yeah set new records like most of Australia tuned into that game which is unreal to think of I mean we’ve really put women’s sport

On the map after that tournament so I think everyone’s been inspired by it and it’s continued on and like Chloe said getting out here and supporting fellow F athletes it’s pretty cool well guys thanks so much for coming down it’s a real pleasure to have you here and I go

India go India go India come on yes the chilies cool is that I almost lost Lauren flick from the booth just now I remember last year we were in Tahiti for the event and the matildas were playing and you guys disappeared all night watching the action that was

That was pretty cool to see you rooting on Australia and the matildas that was all time it was just the best I think it was like midnight and we just got the call that the contest was going to be off the next day and we we stayed up so late and

Somehow like hacked some sort of website to put it on the TV and and broadcast but uh yeah that yeah that that was just incredible surprised I had a voice the next day to be honest there was a lot of Yahoo going on that night oh I heard it

Through the end of the road it was it was fun though I think it was just cool just another reminder of how much Australians love their Sport and how much you guys back each other especially as athletes they there’s this common Bond you know where they want to see

That that success and you guys deserved a nice little sleep in the next day and there there was a lot to be proud of you know and I’m sure you both have had that really cool opportunity to to hang out with not just Surfers but Elite athletes across Australia um throughout your

Career flick oh for sure and I think uh one of the girls were speaking about it before that V was interviewing and it’s just been so incredible to watch how inspired the nation was and not just for women’s sport but sporting in general and I just it makes me so happy and

Proud and inspired for the Next Generation coming up watching that you know if you can’t see it you can’t be it and there’s so many different beautiful uh women on that team that just represents so much in so many different parts of Australia and yeah honestly brought tears to my eyes watching that

And seeing all the stats um eventuate from that like what we just heard I mean one of the biggest sporting moments in Australian history it’s definitely something to be proud of oh just got Shivers go the matildas four minutes on the clock India Robinson has the support

From them on the steps right now and basically all of Tori and janj and Victoria representing them so well full-time on the top 17 she’s trying to make some Heats this is a spot to get it done before heading into Margaret River try not to add up too many points as far

As the cut goes when you get started on tour but now it’s just inevitable as we get this close to Margaret River India has been through that before she’s already had a rookie season as her last number comes through to 3.33 now second Lakey down to third so

Peterson needs a 4.84 as we look at India’s wave again Laura yeah this wave didn’t have that clean face and I’m sure she was looking at but she was trying to you know just wait and see if it gave her something on the inside she only

Needed a 2.9 on this wave so not leaving it to chance in the last 3 minutes wanted to just get it done just really felt like she kind of was just in front of that in front of that wave just waiting for a section that didn’t really

Eventuate this whole wave so I think you know she got the score 33 three but uh ly on a cleaner one behind ly Peterson finding the roof that was a really cool kind of two for one did that open face hook into the rooftop hack and now right

Into a carve mixing it up quite a bit really looking to shut it down throws one into the White Water creat some space again so earning every bit of this ride as Lakey shall stumble on the exit but definitely one of her better looks in the matchup a

484 puts her back in the top two yeah that had one really nice connection at the start of that if we I don’t know if we saw the whole wave so I can’t wait to see the replay of this but uh yeah India will be kicking your you know just

Wanting to get you know sort of force and manufactured that 2.9 and then you know obviously 2 minutes to go a lot can happen and looks like Lake’s going to decide to paddle back out just in case she can sneak something off the end if she needs just pass the gwm two-minute

Warning pressure on all three Surfers to avoid the elimination round as we have another look from start to finish flick yeah this wave here just had really good promise at the beginning it just looked really strong that turn there was really well time she came around this section

Got another another carving maneuver but you just could you just know she wanted more there at the end she was sort of looking for that exclamation point like or exclamation mark finish sort of didn’t really give it to her I I’m going to be interested to see you know like

Where this score is going to go and I think it’s a really smart decision like you said Laura for her not to take the ske out and her the potent she thinks okay I might not actually get this score at least I’m giving myself the opportunity to get another swing at it

Yeah I feel like that score is going to go there that was the well like most well connected that she’s she’s looked in his head know only needing a 484 and when I think of that first opening wrap into that second lip line float she connected with it really well so I think

It could go you know maybe even the the you know mid mid fives Lakey Peterson turning in a 6.0 mid five thrown in there from one of the judges on the panel so great scoring there uh Peterson into second that’ll drop India Robinson down to third Robinson now needs a

4.51 with only 35 seconds to go Betty Lou has first priority and the lead we’ll see if she’s going to worry about India with 25 seconds on the clock it’s looking pretty flat out there right now just had a quick little squee over my shoulder and oh there’s not looking like

There’s much Motion in that ocean it’s going to be a little bit tough for India I mean she did get that 56 s and to me it was the cleanest wave that had come through she looking really good that that wave would have been highest of the

Heat if she had to completed that last turn as well she would have been know safe into the seveno range on that on that so this is going to sting for India but you know she’s hopefully I can’t wait to see her in some clean clean

Waves the second round I know I know this there’s some waves coming on the on the forecast that’s right so yeah big opportunity potentially for tomorrow for the elimination Run for the women maybe look at winky pop will will’ll keep you posted there shinobu nice and calm with

Betty lzwin she’s always so proud of her daughter 1067 combined total as she is still looking so dangerous this year she is she’s she’s a title Contender she’s in in third place just ready for more and uh she’s got everything too she really does absolutely charges the right

Amount of confidence in the water and just beautiful style to match this is going to be a great year for Betty L it already has been but I could easily see her in the WL final five 100% I got to agree with that we’ll take a quick break

We’ll have the defending event champ two times in a row Tyler Wright starts her campaign to get a third Bell this year she takes on tati and a former Bells champ of Sally Fitz gibons That for l beautiful day here for the opening round of competition things are already starting to move in the draws so kpo is all dry now and on the Baylor Bailey’s leader bracket let’s check it out kpo what are we looking at here we go hey guys here at the Bailey ladders

Leaderboard looking at the elimination round for the men and wow we got some tough Heats coming up we got the Hawaiian Seth mon Kye belly up against local boy Tully white that’s going to be a matchup that’s going to be a hard fought match up then we have an

International Affair Heat number two Rio waa Indonesia up against laa Maui of the islands of Hawaii against George pitar that’s Heat number two check this out Heat number three Fredrico Moray the pride of casai is coming up against two very talented Brazilians in the way of Samuel poopo and David Silva and then

Finally the last Clash former runner up Callum Robson up against the San Clemen rookies Cole hman and Cade Matson that’s all the elimination round thank you to Bailey ladders I got my trusty p150 model right here and you know what when you’re at Heights you want to trust

Yourself to the most Dependable ladder you can have Australia’s number one ladder punch lock technology Bailey ladders love it Kyo it’s going to stack up quickly and uh it’s uh pretty impressive how fast we’re moving through opening day a lot of Heats completed about to complete the women’s opening

Round already completed the men’s opening round and the elimination round is coming up next like kypo mentioned Tully Wy representing the local contingent for the second time in the main event he lost in the elimination round a couple years ago he’s trying to avoid that happening for the second time

Seth monice recovering from a little bit of an illness that he had through Portugal see if he’s got the energy and Kyo former finalist out here coming up next catching up to the start of this seat Sally Fitz gibons getting her first wave during the break flick yeah that

First wave come through at a 417 but uh this is the one I’m interested to see Tyler dropping an eight-point ride here massive first turn straight up into lip for the second one just looks like it was the two turn combo there so whoow Judes eating that upj maity of the score

Coming from this right here through the roof throws the tail this is classic Tyler right back in form just from her finals Place finish over in Portugal and yeah the judges just loving the commitment just pushing through the whitewash there looking so strong and powerful welcome

Back to Bell’s Ty right God how about that two times in a row and she’s already setting the pace for a third potential Bell which has only happened a couple of times you go to Chris and Moore one three in a row Gil Cooper has

10 bells one six in a row which is out of control Gil Cooper always shows up to each and every event here she passes out Rising Star Wars which is uh named in her honor from her dominance back in the day and you know for Gail it wasn’t just

Bells that she was good at she was competing in all those early World Championships remember that famous one at manly Beach not too far from where lur grew up that was when Phyllis O’Donnell won and Fairley well Gail Cooper made the semifinals that year so she was competing in Puerto Rico

As well in the Championships had a semi-final there as well went to the world Champs in San Diego she was traveling around the world I think all of her famous records are right here at Bells but it’s it was a she was a global sensation and still enjoys watching the

Event today yeah I saw Gail down there early today she’s always around and uh yeah what an absolute Legend of our sport thank you for everything you’ve done like you said earlier Joey walking down those stairs you just you see someone’s name and then this this memory

Just comes flashing back of you know performance or a final or a wave you know there’s just so many icons of this this sport that have just over the years provided such entertainment and and uh yeah light to the surfing world yeah so cool Gail’s parents were heavily

Involved in surfing as well they served as administrators uh for a lot of surf events her dad was actually a contest director at this event for for many years and her mom would kind of help all the kids from Lauren and AR’s Inlet travel around to all the events up and

Down Australia one of those groms that she would help out is a man named Wayne Lynch you know who everyone knows who he is these days obviously kind of a almost a danne Reynolds of the era uh uh so many Victorian state titles Aussie titles incredible shaper as well as we

Look at Tyler Wright laid down that rail beautiful start on that pink board whips it in the pocket quickly resets on that corner but fresh off the eight she is looking so connected as soon as we St talk about how hard it is out there a legend like

Tyler hits the lineup and makes you want to go surf one more section there Tyler will shut it down well what a performance of Tyler Tyler right those pink boards you know I feel like you know that could be the same board she was riding at pipe she loves writing the

Same board she wrote it at trestles she wrote at pipe she’s probably written it all year as we see Tatiana up on her first attack and uh wave of the heat but I just love yeah so another amazing amazing veteran yeah it’s kind of they’re all kind of jammed in this heat

When you talk about great Bells performances for sure I mean another one right there Sally backtack Bells as well 2011 and 2012 incredible performance by Sally was break down this one by Ty nice little St there just to really maximize that steep section of the wave beautiful first

Carving turn straight into the second one I mean far out first two waves of this heat and uh she’s putting down some pretty good scores already I mean if there’s one way you want to start your heat I mean this is the way you want it to go an excellent score and then

Straight into this one really takes the pressure off for the rest of the heat yeah just looking so connected to her board that tail slide loved that it just looks like you could just hit her with everything and she wouldn’t fall off she’s and this is tedy’s first go nice up into

The lip there looking fast and spicy coming off at that semi in Portugal as well so Tatiana would have just been watching all day and she knows this wave suits her surfing and yeah looking really strong at there she that’s a solid backand approach Tatiana Western Web Runner up in this

Event to Stephanie Gilmore yeah what a final that was that was exting Bell and she actually got really close she did to winning was it big that year yeah it was big and it was down to the wire and St for the score on the last wave that’s

Right and uh it was it was damn exciting then it was like on the beach and they’re waiting for tati’s last Steph let tati go and I I don’t think Steph realized how close it was because I think Steph was actually just loving the moment that it was Mick Fanning’s kind

Of retirement event it was sort of they had a dream of maybe both winning it and moving you know have Nick move on and uh Mick was runner up to eelo that day uh Steph was able to get her fourth Bell but there I remember the first score I

Saw come up from a judge had tati winning it was that close the other four were in favor of Steph but it was that close and uh tati got very close to uh getting one for the goofies but also coming close to winning one of the most

Prestigious events on the calendar as we check out the Melbourne flight cam lot to break down on this picture Laura yeah beautiful the Beautiful Coastline here down Bell’s beach look at that just goes on and on and on you surf around the corner up there a few times

Laor yeah you got in the far dist distance you got uh you got ringcon obviously that we we’ve we’ve had the event uh sort of move over there and the tide gets high and uh then around you got Center side south side and that’s as far as I

Go 1920 on the clock wow Betty loose Cura Johnson looked phenomenal Von yeah very uh strong performance there from Betty Lou the world number three and it must be so good to get that opening round win out of the wayse especially in such challenging conditions yeah I mean it’s always nice

To come out with a win but happy just to find my groove really and just get a couple waves um yeah but it was tricky hard to find a good wave that would line up and um yeah happy to get it done Betty last year you finished number 10

In the world and this year something has just shifted I mean you’ve gone from uh you know finding your way on tour and doing your best to get good results to being almost everyone’s favorite Surfer particularly after those first couple of events how’s that changed and what has

Changed yeah I mean um last year I got injured and I’m coming back this year with a new perspective on you know just competition my life really and everything um just being more grateful and more present in the things that I’ve been doing um but yeah just more of a

Better motivation and I feel like I know what I’m doing this year like I’m finally figured it out it took me a couple years um to get that sorted but yeah just want to keep going um just staying on the right path heard Laura and Felicity both say you know you are a

Genuine World title Contender do you feel that way this year do you think you’re going to M mount a challenge for that title I mean I’m always up for a challenge um but yeah definitely just going to take it um comp by comp and heat by heat and um the goal is

Definitely to get there but don’t want to think of head and yeah just want to maybe you know just heat by heat really and just f finally you know since that Hawaiian League have you felt a shift in the appreciation for your surfing even just coming down to the beach from fans

Yeah I mean I feel like back at home um it was just such an unreal like moment two events uh back to back there it’s so special to me to have comps at home and yeah just really um I don’t know just happy that we performed well and we got

Good waves and we just want to keep pushing it to the next level well you’re doing that right here at bills with a really impressive first round and we look forward to seeing you in the next round too thank you so much thanks guys thanks vano thanks Betty Lura

Johnson turning in such a great performance well all year in the changing conditions found the Glide I could tell she was trying to Channel A Flow State out there not trying to force too many turns and just waited for the sections to show up 1067 combined total

As she’s reced into the next round and there was almost this feeling I almost thought she was going to be in yellow heading into Bell she had a very wild Heat against Tatiana Weston web in Portugal where Betty Lou actually got barreled on the sandbank and that sounds

Maybe obvious it’s super tubos but it was a small it wasn’t happening that morning and she threaded one of the craziest little compact tubes and made it and you’re going I can’t believe she’s getting back in this heat and she almost came back I almost think there

Was a fair argument where that could have gone her way it was one of those close Heats that you always remember and gosh if she wins that she could have gone all the way and could have been leading the tour so her surfing’s there and uh I feel like she doesn’t want to

Like jinx anything you tell Heat by heat that classic saying is just trying to stay present not running away with it but we’re allowed to do that so totally yeah we’re allowed to do that but yeah did feel like uh Betty Lou was holding back there she didn’t want to say yep

But I’m a title title Contender even though I’m sure she knows she is yeah yeah as we look at a section popping up for a two-time b champ one of the heroes of the tour sadle Fitz gibons 417 on her opener kind of stepping into the wrap

And now has a little wall to work with just forcing her to be light on her feet all just transition moves hoping for a lip line to work with here she’s got it bottom drops out squares up off the top s’s done that so many times here at

Bells it was a fun first win for her career at Bell Beach her father Martin had a mustache her enti life she didn’t know her dad without the mustache the deal was you win a CT event I’m going to shave this thing off and he thanks her for it now

Cuz it’s never come back never come back yeah there’s a cool little thing going on cuz Sally was finishing runner up here and there for a while and they’re like they wanted to put something on the line little extra motivation as we watch this wave again Laura yeah this wave

Nice first turn there Sally got to just hook it in the pocket and then unfortunately it just went a bit flat here it just felt like she didn’t really get given a section with any oom really and uh you know just sort of cutting back into the pocket

And yeah just went a bit flat here unfortunately but she did get this this good good end uh section where she got to you know the bottom dropped out and she’s waiting for it and this is classic Sally Fitz just lip line float into the warbly shore shore break but I think

Majority of this this wave and the points will come from this nice first carve here got to think that if she would have got another section like that I think she would have been on her way to a good score I think just the rest of the wave

Sort of let her down a little bit totally I feel like the judge is going to be pretty harsh uh you know she got that finish but just a lot of downtime in between those the first turn and the last Sally Fitz Gibbons three-time runner up in the world two time Champ

Here at Bells one of those Surfers that in my mind has nothing to prove you know she’s given us so much heart so many titles from bells to Fiji busting your eardrum still competing taping up her head and just time and time again giving us so many great memories and even when

She fell off tour she didn’t even hesitate her goal to come back and still fighting for titles as we look at tati getting the back end going he had a six on her start and nice motion clean rail work now driving hard off the bottom and

Finds a nice solid finish with a nice little drift as well and a 3 through four better puts her in the top two I’m seeing that happen oh yeah that’s that’s going to be in the top two for sure that was a that was a huge wave from Tatiana

There that board looks amazing you know there was some flat sections on that wave but it just drove through with so much speed and power and and push really and she got that awesome last end turn Throwing it up into the lip and and coming down I think that was one of the

The only waves we’ve seen it was a bigger wave but it just gave her a lot of sections to work with and especially that end turn that that last section the judges will eat that up I think there was just a lot less bubling between each maneuver you know she was able to

Transition really well from maneuver to maneuver here just really nice clean lines we’ve seen a lot of downtime on these waves as conditions deteriorate a little bit maybe this is a sign of conditions getting a little bit better and I I feel like that sorry cut I feel

Like the the natural Footers are struggling too much red bull the natural Footers are struggling to you know hit this endsection the way that say the goofy as are she just was able to hit that and and almost Slide the tail there and and bring it down that was so

Committed so I think this could go up towards the excellent range as well there’s the Finish from Tatiana really classic form that she’s in right now already had the six as we stand by for that number let’s break down some surf boards with kpo thank you Joe yeah I’m

Here with Sally Fitz gibons backup board as well as Tyler wri’s backup boards let’s start off with Sally’s Glen Pang designed Town and Country surf for it’s a 58 24 l in volume interestingly enough John pisel Tyler’s board it’s a 5’8 also and also 24 l in volume so very

Similar Dimensions to these two boards but some different uh design characteristics round pin here for Sally squash tail for Tyler Tyler’s with the Felipe too large fins these are Big fins here Sally’s got her own signature FCS fins these are medium fins for Sally those are the boards backup for the

Women out there and interesting enough Joe both of these boards Hawaiian made boards here at Bells yes uh thank you kpo yeah great to see that equipment Tyler uh starting to work with John pisel for now a few years they’ve got a great relationship I I’d run into Tyler

Right on the NorthShore in the off season as she started really working on her new equipment and it’s looking solid and and Sally Fitz gibons has made some changes throughout her career as well and recently joining forces with Glenn Pang and they had a lot of success over

At Sunset Beach as well a lot of surfers calling up guys like Glenn to get the right equipment for the Hawaiian leg of the tour and always fun breaking down surfboards when it comes to fins as well I think this is always a great advice

That I received as a kid if a board doesn’t feel right at first change the fins before you move on from it cuz it can be the difference in in everything it could end up being magic if you just find the right fins to go with it Tyler already skating down the line

How about that roundhouse cutback to kick this one off already has an eight and a 717 as she is in F form to potentially go three in a row here at Bells that board is just gliding whatever John pisel put into this magic board it’s just effortless flow pink that is

Looks good doesn’t it she’s had those magic boards I feel like now for a couple like couple years since she started with pel and uh so interesting to note that she’s obviously riding 5’8 uh but she is riding those large fins so you can see that there like when she’s

Surfing these waves she has so much control and the board is so responsive but it just holds in so well and and it just has speed through these flat sections it’s uh it’s looking amazing look at this love that carve that just looked so fun what a

Cool way to kick things off and I think there’s certain events and performances where an athlete just picks the right equipment on the day or on the event and that becomes a part of the huge story along with their performance for sure and I and I feel like out here some I’ve

Heard the story where some the surf picks up and the Surfers are still on that same size board you know as long as you can get into them once you’re up you don’t need a bigger board you know so yeah I’ve heard stories where Surfers are just on that same board throughout

The whole event because it feels so good down to 8:45 on the clock and Tyler turning in an incredible performance here in Heat number six of the opening round world number eight looking to make it three in a row this season off to a great start we’ll take a bonsoy brew

Break we’ll be right Back the still 1 Always fun to get a view like this with the Melbourne flight Cam and see how beautiful this place is here at Bell’s Beach the longest running surf event on the calendar there’s a road that’s famous here it’s called The Great Ocean Road and it can take you all the way

Down the coast to look at the 12 apostles find some empty waves go through Apollo Bay and run to some really cool people as well it’s a wide open space and gosh it’s always worth the trip down the Great Ocean Road and check out this entire region on the surf

Coast everyone’s really hooked on this event though and it’s really fun when you come to town uh you’ll meet people at restaurants and you can tell they’re taking off work and their responsibility they call it their favorite time of the year and it’s fun to be a part of

Something like that when you show up into a town where they’re like this is what they wait for to see all their Heroes show up to compete on the bowl uh everyone’s really welcomed here and uh that’s definitely my favorite part of this event seeing all the locals that

Just count the days uh for the big event to happen yeah it’s a festival the old Bells Beach Festival I remember one year there was a I think one of there was there was a snow ramp remember that it was there snowboarders and like yeah it was just there been some

Unbelievable moments over the years you know bands I love it and I we’re going to have amazing moments I think there’s going to be band here going to beand this weekend and movie nights as well that’s right yeah Mason’s um Mason’s movie Sheldon through the doggy door hopefully going to play sometimes so

Yeah it’s going to be fun hopefully join us for all the festivities after the Heats are done but how about this recap talk about a highlight reel I mean M’s looking for the hardest charger of the event and Tyler just been laying down just perfection and precision on the

Pisel surfboard that’s got so much Glide 8717 tati in the mix also with a 7.0 yeah t Tyler just that spicy two turn combo I just can’t get past that with that uh eight-point ride but tati on her backand she’s been super impressive just finding these waves that she’s just had

Really nice flow to there’s been little downtime between those Maneuvers little bouncing around around just that Beau beautiful connectivity that we’ve seen from her got her a six and a seven and uh it’s kind of making the job very hard for Sally right now who’s uh in that

Third place and she’s chasing that 783 good news for Sally is she does have priority but 4 minutes on the clock I mean good good thing for S too is she knows that those scores are out there we’ve had TTI post a seven Tyler’s got a

Seven and an eight so they are out there yeah I think if Sally was going to do it right now she needs to get a bigger set that somehow has a bit of a clean wall and even if she can get the one or two turn combo or just find that end turn

That has that you know committed you know sort of nalia more push to it uh you know she had a good end turn but by the time she got there the wave was was too small so I think the Judge is just you know not really rewarding it but you

Look at Tatiana’s seven-point ride and that was all in that end turn so yeah it’s what she needs to look for right now so many amazing chapters for Tyler right in her career and I guess as a pro Surfer you you’re in the spotlight and

So the fans get an inside look on your growth and through all the titles all the losses and you remember Tyler Wright winning at 14 still has the record to be the youngest ever Surfer to win a CT event then qualified very young and she kind of just relied on her natural

Ability to win Heats and almost accidentally was runner up in the world a couple times to Carissa but losses weren’t really bothering her at the time she was still just so young and traveling K having fun posted interview you could tell her go that didn’t sting

She’s fine you know and then all of a sudden it did and then everything mattered it was a heat that she lost to Carissa Mo lowers the decision was made when they’re in the Red Bull athlete Zone well after the heat Clos and she didn’t get the score and she was

Actually devastated for the first time and she calls that moment the turning point where she didn’t want to lose anymore she didn’t like that feeling and next year she won the world title and then went back to back it was a crazy turnaround for Tyler R as we look at

Tati digging in on the back end she has a six aser low score this one staying a little bit full on the face so we’ll see if she can really spice it up on the end section but goshi’s looking great on the back end passing the dwnn two-minute warning

And she’ll belt that vertically so hanging in there to show some brilliant Maneuvers another nice vertical re-entry on the sharp ey surfboard and real positive sign for for tati’s energy and connection to this wave I felt like she was trying to force her Rhythm at Sunset she actually got a

Little angry at herself uh through some early rounds as I talked to her coach Ross Williams about he was just calming her down she just wanted it too bad and Portugal her early performance kind of looks similar until she surfed her way into Rhythm and she’s only getting

Better now fish sure I I think that was totally evident in Hawaii and I think when TTI goes to I mean obviously she’s grown up on Kawaii now represents Brazil but I think Hawaii’s in her wheelhouse she loves those waves of consequence so sometimes when she gets in those waves

She just has this maybe an expectation that hey everyone thinks that I’m going to charge here and I’ve got to charge someone else that kind of comes to mind when I think of that is courney conologue as well like they’ve just got this big expectation of bit of weight on

Their shoulders that maybe they’re putting there and other people are putting there and sometimes they almost over surf as we look to Sally at the back wow beautiful Slice on the open face face from a two time bells Champion Sally Fitz Gibbons ripping through that open face hook that was just so well

Time so precise that was just classic Sally Fitz Gibbons remember needing a 783 to climb out of that third spot to avoid the elimination R yeah can’t wait to see the replay of that because I I wonder if we got to see that first turn or if we came in on

It let’s have a look at this Sally taking off nice first turn that was beautiful hook connected another slash here she’s waiting to see if this wave gives her a big bowly end section and she goes into the Larry and she pulls it off wow that was insane well done for sa

Putting everything into it a season vet that’s not slowing down anytime soon the two-time bells champ waiting for the number needs a 783 to take toy down to third a tall order there with all the great performances we had in this seat this might be my favorite heat of the

Opening round talked about the veteran takeover at Portugal and we got a great example of that in in one match up wow that was great surfing and you got to think this is this has going to be the second best wave of the heat if she

Needs this score Tyler got an eight for two turns that was three really well-timed turns yeah so this was the last turn and uh she had a bigger nicer section here and went up pushed the tail out kicked it I think the judges are just going to absolutely love the commit look she’s

Completely laid back takes so much core strength and power to get back up and push through through that whitewash here it is oh I think it’s going to go there Sally Fitz Gibbons putting everything into her final wave as you now look at the numbers on the screen Sally’s not in

Third anymore she’s just jumped into second getting the news that she turned in the best single score of the matchup 8.43 to avoid the elimination round Tatiana down to third even with a seven and a six that was an insane heat that was the hate of the day by far Tyler way

Out front but Sally proving experience paying off saved the best for last as an athlete there’s no better feeling turning the heat at the buzzer remember we still have more action to come we’re switching back to the men after this Seth mon taking on KY belly

And local Legend tly Wy we’ll bring in Ron dog Blakey and Richie love it for the Call Happ a we gathered here at jerak jerak is the traditional name of Bell’s Beach it truly feels like the backbone of Surfing it’s been there before any other event on the calendar and it’s still going you have an opportunity to go and paint the most amazing picture for the

Fans on the hill there’s so much history behind this wave there’s so many great performances so many you know past champions and greats in our sport that have that have won in this event it’s the one trophy that’s lasted throughout time that that Bell everyone wants a

Bell honestly it’s the only trophy I want it’s the only trophy I want to win knowing that every great has come through it’s what everyone fights for what everyone dreams about for me it starts at the stairs you walk down the stairs and you look at all the names of

The people that were lucky enough to ring the bell congratulations Rip Curl 50 amazing years in Partnership and congratulations to Tyler R what an opening round performance from her finals finish of Portugal looking to go three in a row here at the ri Pro Bells Beach she looks

Good Rich she looks really good Ron and uh you know when you think about the the opening round for the women Tyler’s just gone okay well here’s the standard uh dropping some excellent numbers she looked just so free uh and ready to express her her uh you know performance

On these waves out here she’s going to be tough to beat she will be Sally Fitz Gibbons also saving herself now we move back into the elimination round for the man here at the rip Pro Bells Beach presented by bonsoy and it’s going to be Kyle belly getting things started in the

Earlier rounds here a surfer sitting well below the cut line at the moment can’t afford to trip up here he’s had some success here at Bells in the past he’s gone all the way to the the final before runner up to Jordy Smith back in 2017 he’s also had some pretty decent

Results at Margaret River but he wants to take the the pressure out of the situation with the big finish in this contest tough draw though Seth Mones he’s sitting a little higher on the ratings just inside the cut line I believe and tal Wy the winner of the

Trials into the main event for the second time Seth had this one during the break Rich yeah Seth streaking down the line here looking really energetic on this ride now he starts to settle beautiful snap for Seth to start things off driving around this Foy section here

Looking for more he’s got some points on this wave already needs to capitalized through this inside section I love the energy on this wave for Seth uh surfing with some urgency and I like it here goes Tully the big Goofy footer local knowledge here so on the

Back hand point of difference what’s he going to do with it comes around this section sort of pivots off the top there drives hard off the bottom we were commenting earlier it’s almost like he’s uh he’s like a swallen uh matd Wilco a strong uh swall and Matty Wilco very similar in

Style uh this was Kyo abelly nice big wrapping Round House cut back out onto the slopey face staying back with the energy puts on the brakes just slams all that weight on the tail pad waiting for this wave to stand up again hits that foamy turbulent section

Really hard to control but he does it well yeah Matt Wilkinson’s probably watching Big shout out to wilker winning the event in 2016 after a victory at stop number one on the goal Coast it was back it up amazing a whole event win ahead of the field after the

Second uh event ended up finishing the year I think in sixth place that year an amazing run came back the uh the next year and one in FG but uh yeah Matty Wilkins Wilkinson’s approach out here on the back hand was solid really l l into his backand uh bottom turn

Beautifully and uh unloaded in the pocket of this wave Talia do well to mirror that kind of approach here 5.83 for his first wave he gets the better of the CT performers in the opening exchange yeah interesting uh if we can I’d love to get another replay of that w

Just to break it down a little bit more just try and dissect what the judges actually saw where all the points came from yeah he did he did and it’s uh I guess the advantage of that size is that anything you do uh when you do actually

Click with it so okay tags that first section here drives around up and over the foam comes into this inside section now he starts to build up gets some open face here some cleaner water to deal with sort of tags it so uh yeah I I’m not too sure uh I feel

Like uh maybe cess wve was was perhaps a little undercooked uh not as many Maneuvers but they were crisp and cleaner in my opinion second career CT event had a 33rd here back in 2022 T Wy will be on the Challenger Series this year had a strong finished sixth position on the

Regional qualifying Series so this is a Young Man On The Rise we’ll see how he fars here this is the uh the event that he wants to do well in he’ll have the the support of obviously his family and friends t board Riders as well he’s a proud member of

That team he had a magic run on the regional Qs his best result came in Nas got second to Rio over there solid staff we’ll see if he can hang on to this lead but right now let’s check in with Tyler R chasing three wins in a row here at

Bills this year V that was a a strong performance mate yes yeah well uh grew up on the New South Wales South Coast did a bit of time on the goldie now lives in Newcastle but welcome home to Bells Tyler holy smokes I mean you are just so comfortable here and that that

Opening he I know we had to wait all day for it but it did not disappoint the three of you just went completely Looney but you brutalized a couple of SE sections out there yeah look it was um you know I know tana and S are F

Competitors out here and it’s kind of like even though the average was kind of around F and sixes earlier on I didn’t trust that at all um and so I kind of yeah honestly there wasn’t too much sort other than just kind of find a wave where you can get opportunity on and

Then roll the dice this year uh you’re doing extremely well but I just feel like you’re simmering do you feel like you you know have been sort of making your way towards the full potential of your capabilities yet or do you feel like it’s all building um yeah

Like it’s always going to this year’s always going to be a different process with the kind of changes I’ve had in my Airways and my nervous system through a um axillary expander in my mouth so honestly the the more I get used to it the kind of more I’m finding my feet I

Wouldn’t say that I completely nailed it at the start of the year I feel like as my nervous system and as I kind of relax more and more and I get more like my recovery is better I sleep better um yeah it’s a new system for me to

Actually compete with cuz I used to be kind of like hyped up and twitched out all the time and which is yeah just my system was always geared up so you know it’s a process to learn how to compete calm and what what I actually like and having so

Much more choice in how I compete now and not having to be all on adrenaline or F or flight or in that kind of hyperactive space which I’m I’m quite used to so now it’s like hey you’ve got more Choice how do you want to kind of

Show up to your job and and what actually what do you like and and how you showing up so it’s a different process for sure it kind of wig wigged me out a lot at the start but now I feel like I’m finding my feet a little bit

More a it is honestly that comfort that you’re feeling that maturity is really oozing out of you you just seem so uh within yourself uh you’ve been sort of seeing you around at different events at the contest you just look so relaxed and happy and I’m sure those changes are

Really positive changes in your life and especially with the way you compete um you know what have you made so far of this year in terms of you know your competitors because uh at the start of the Year there was just so much talk about the groms but you know it feels

Like the pendulum starting to swing to little bit of experience and uh that sort of thing coming to the fall um honestly I it’s so exciting to see them do their thing and and start making you know kind of the push for that next that

Next lift for us it’s like one of those things like I I love seeing that energy especially when they all first get on tour and and you know there there’s a couple of us that have been on tour for a while and I feel like it’s a nice

Balance it’s very entertaining um it’s kind of cool to be a part of and also actually watch in it of itself like pipe was just incredible to be an observer of that was just honestly amazing so I um I’m really yeah and for me personally I

Kind of just yeah a little little bit older i’ yeah and so I feel like I’m I’m still figuring this out so let alone the 18year olds um and every year is a little bit different every year just takes a different tone and um yeah but

And it honestly it’s just a part of it it’s part of competing but I think coming back home here to jar to Bells like on water around country it’s honestly just so nice um and it’s so calming here for me as well so it’s honestly it’s every time I walk down

These stairs now like I don’t know how much longer I’ll do it for so it’s always one of those ones like um I don’t take it for granted I I genuinely enjoy my time here and I’m very grateful for another opportunity to walk down these

STS and um trying to make the most of it a two-time winner backto back winner a three Pat hopefully on the cards for you but let’s just uh let you sit with this one for now and thanks so much for your time and a fantastic result thank you so

Much yeah thank you V great to have a chat with Tyler and and just have a dive into things and you know we we talk a lot about the the mindset of these athletes it’s you know it’s what you get from them it’s What You observe from

Them and you know for me my observations of Tyler in the past have been like wow she’s motivated for one event and then seems like she’s not really in it for the next but there’s like been a lot of contributing factors for her in these past couple of Seasons which which might

Have actually had an effect on what her motivation level is like at each of the stops on the CT so you know it’s good to hear that she’s getting back to uh her best and and the changes that she’s uh actually committed to here at the moment

Having a positive effect on her overall health and her performance as well clearly because that was dynamite in that last Heat 15.17 the Heat score total going to be hard to beat and uh as warau said she really just seems comfortable at the moment and uh you know the motivation is there with

Performances like that oh absolutely and you got to respect someone who has just that Honesty uh within themselves to to have that inner reflection and understand what they’re going through replay Seth manise here just got a little stuck on the first turn that’s a better crisper turn a lot more speed

Brings it down the line got a little stuck on the second one again and uh driving all the way through to the inside gets to the finish so four turn combination two were clean two were a little sticky uh but the scores come through at that

5.4 and uh well that’s a better number puts him straight out into the lead but really when you look at these three competitors they’ve all got that mid-range five score and uh it’s going be the battle of the backup well I don’t know what Seth had for afternoon to but

He looks super amped up um I I think Rich you you can speak to it it’s always refreshing when the conditions start to deteriorate a little bit when someone goes out with a super positive attitude and just looks alive and switched on um you know Seth probably at different

Stages was a little patient in the uh the opening round he’s trying to clean that up now 4.83 on his opener 5.4 on his second wave you know it’s not job done yet but I’m just liking the the energy that he’s bringing to this heat yeah it’s a good vibe and it’s

Refreshing to see uh from Seth because there has been a question mark around the consistency in his performance we all know how incredible he can serve uh not only in the waves of consequence but but in and and it is very stop starting there’s an art form to making it look

Smoo and I believe he has it uh and we’ve seen shades of it in this heat already uh but certainly uh on his way in this heat looking good he’ll be confident knowing that he’s out in front at the moment but certainly job not done

Yet as you said job not done but uh there is an opportunity here you know you don’t want to pit Surfers who are above the cut line against those who are below it but the reality of the situation is if Seth can you know stay ahead of Kyo here and Kyo maybe gets

Knocked out in third position that’s one less person that’s hunting him down on the ratings yeah going into the uh the the next you know the the remainder of this event and into stop five yeah well it’s all about who’s going to you know be the point Thief you know and who’s

Going to steal them at the end of the day it could be everyone above that cut line and then it’s uh it becomes a bigger task for everyone below it as we come into the last uh event before the cut at Margaret River so uh each one of

These Heats are super important make no mistake we’re sending people home in 13 minutes or someone’s going home so uh this is cutthroat hopefully not us no we’re we’re good time to step up yeah no we’re good U but it is going to be uh really fun to watch

Of course WSL has been working frantically to uh get a live ladder happening so you can watch the the scores update as the Surfers progress through the rounds and see who’s on track as Kyle belly finds a nice section here got to say from kyo’s opening round performance uh even just

You know his timing on that hit it’s it’s there but there there’s a desperation in he’s surfing at the moment that’s sort of holding him back a little bit he’s happy just to finish off a couple of decent turns on that wave yeah um there was a lot of downtime

Through the through the middle of that wave and I’m not quite buying it myself um but again I think back to the conversation we had with Steph Gilmore when it’s it’s surfing defensively rather than in full Attack Mode uh and like you said there’s a little bit an

Urgency to the way kyo’s uh just going about his business on the waves here um you know maybe it’s a millisecond behind but uh I feel like he’s trying to Surf into rhythm in this heat yeah what uh what did it mean Rich to uh to return to venues where you’d

Had success um you know where did your confidence levels go uh cuz surely K is looking at this is his best opportunity to save himself here oh totally I mean he he’s super comfortable out here at Bells he’s made the final uh he’s had second to Jordy Smith so um you know

This is a place where he had had has had some success and and as a competitive Surfer you do feel that level of comfort and confidence whenever you come back to somewhere where you’ve had a win or you’ve always made the final series uh and of course he’d be going you know

I’ve got I’ve got the wild card here that shouldn’t be a problem for me and you know he’d be he’d be pitting his chances quite well against Seth as well he’s just uh got himself up in the second spot tal Wy out there with priority the local boy even conditions

Like even in conditions like this you’d think he’ll know what what to chase down in this lineup he’s only after a 3.9 to get to second place the lead’s not much more ahead of that as a requirement but he’s on the back of that ski Mak his way back to the takeoff zone

Now so let’s see if T Wy the Grom the local boy and his second effort here at the rip Pro Bells Beach can save himself with just over 11 minutes to go F in the9 the lead as part of our Global WSL one ocean initiative we are partnering with Heartwood Habitat to create nesting boxes to ReStore Habitat for local endangered species a donation from WSL Pur will support Heartwood habitat throughout the year to help create habitats and Hollows for local species

Install nest boxes provide canopy access training and conduct Wildlife Research tell us what you’re doing to protect the ocean by posting on social media with the hashtag wsl1 ocean and tagging WSL and WSL one ocean in your post getting the uh Lowdown from kypo and the work that he was doing with

Heartwood habitat was a lot of fun helping to you know make make sure that endangered species and native species are well looked after in this area it was uh insightful as we get back to the action here 8 and 1 half minutes remaining in this first elimination Heat and the pressure is on

Kyle belly looking to save himself he’s got to make a big jump to get above the cut line currently sitting in 302nd position after a very shaky start to the year by his standards hasn’t been past the third round yet this year here did have a 33rd p a venue where he’s had

Some uh some really strong results in the past and even though he’s got himself up into a qualifying position at the moment tal Wy is a real Danger Man here he really is and I I like his strategy too he’s sitting in the box seat with priority he’s not really looking at any

Of these scraps that kyo’s messing around with on the inside he knows exactly what sort of wave he needs and more so on the backand too he’s he’s wanting one of those ones that’s going to stand up in that pockety section and and if he unleashes if he unloads uh

He’s going to drop a big number and I do like what Seth is doing too just staying in that backup position waiting to take first priority uh because he needs to protect his lead as well we don’t want to see a situation where he gets Leap

Frog and ends up down in third so he’s got to uh compete really smart these next seven and a half minutes yeah I think about Seth and just the the magic moments he’s had and and certainly being part of that Pipe Pro final with Kelly Slater is

Right up there at the the top of it what a Magic day for him and his family what an incredible final to be part of and how some of the the waves and the beatings he took on his road to that second place finish yeah incredible stuff you know it’s um he’s obviously

Comfortable out there at pipeline he’s growing up growing up uh out there and and uh the hman family that there’s just some uh you know special talent through that whole family and uh obviously they’ll be tuning in watching uh intently hoping that Seth can uh maintain the lead here but um you know

Like I said he’s been fantastic in those heavy water waves uh and he has the ability in this sort of stuff as well but I I feel like we just haven’t seen him really crack into it and open up and he hasn’t delivered his best performances in this sort of stuff yet

Yes s had three runs at bills in the past best result a ninth back in 2019 yeah while his family has no doubt tuned in along with Kyo tally wy’s entire family might be down on the beach here at Bell’s Beach his old man has worked

For rip Cur forever nickel Wy um I worked with him for a number of years in Surf publishing great guy good Surfer and obviously T’s biggest fan so what a a proud moment for for him uh if you have a look at at the Open men’s trials

Event and who T had to overcome to get the Victory and the place in this Main Event he’s kind of already served a number of Heats in the final he overcame Willis drumer Todd Roswell and Xavier hble Xavier is a gun and and T dropped big numbers in that final for a Heat

Score total of 16.46% now he’ll have no dramas if he gets the right wave in getting the turns off that he he needs in order to bank a score that’s going to see him through to the next round here uh he’s been doing some good surfing over the last couple

Of months uh through those qualifying events and also up at the board Riders battle he he was uh surfing particularly well up there he got the bugs award y the Wayne rabbit Bartholomew award up there at the Australian board Riders battle best performer in the event big

Shout out to bugs looking forward to seeing you on the goal Coast when we get the Challenger Series underway mate we miss you 4 and 1/2 minutes to go here time ticking by T surely pressure is starting to build now rid what’s that like yeah it’s tough but you need to uh really

Hold your nerve in these situations you know you got to stay firm to that game plan wait for that particular wave it’s not panic stations at 4 minutes 20 to go on the clock um you know it’s he’s got an opportunity here to lock this thing

Out or open it up for the other two competitor it is it’s critical his next wave Choice tell me was bells one of the first pro events that you surfed in did you come down and surf the trials down here one time yeah I won the trial

Similar to hell what George Pitter has done uh that got me my first uh crack at a at a championship event or a pro event um at the time it was the Australian Championship circuit and the trials was part of that um so yeah had the had the

Win it was at ringcon at the final um in the trials and yeah I came up against Shane Herring uh in the main event and and he dusted me up still pretty cool this was your first your first Pro Tour event yeah it was a great experience and

You know did the gravity of the event the history of the event sort of weigh heavy on you when you you put that Jersey on as we see K taken a fall here it absolutely did yeah I was uh not equipped um for the situation at all um

You know I felt I felt almost Unstoppable unbeatable on the championship circuit but all of a sudden I was in this event with every single one of my heroes that I’d looked up to and watched in in sort of video parts and I just fell completely out of my

League why did Pro Surfers look so different back then they they just looked a lot Fierce a lot yeah a lot scarier a lot hairier well you know it was the it was the whole era of sort of Daman Harman and Gary Kon Martin Potter

And all those guys and I was just going no no I don’t belong here not yet anyway yeah pots look like Wolverine back then just a force of course one through won the event catching up with pots on the first L day we get yeah awesome whether he

Likes it or not little hit of golf perhaps two and a half minutes to go here and on screen there you got kale B Warren he’s helped coach some people to to wins here in the past standing alongside Callum Robson who is H going to be coming up in the elimination

Rounds two minutes to go so KY looking to keep busy here push through requirement a little higher if not get himself up into the lead great transition turn there really projecting off the lip through that re-entry now finding the Open Face does well to hold that rail clean through the carve and

Now gets a little finish on the inside Kyo might even get extras here as he sticks with this one trying to get some more speed for a final move and does extremely well and you can see how much it means to him he knows the gravity of

The situation as we get to that gwm 2minute warning listen to the crowd Make Some Noise here for the Wild Card the winner of the trials T Wy chasing down probably a pretty decent number now just shimmy off the top here you couldn’t call those major turns he’s

Going to have to make his final moves count here on the Inside Moves a bit of water there looks at the clock and even though he’s got the 5.83 oh I’m not sure that’s going to be enough I think kyo’s got a pretty decent score on the way yeah Kyo is going to

Definitely better his 4.40 no doubt about it so the strategy of of riding a lot of waves uh has sort of worked for him uh he was lucky to pick that one up on the inside there was a bigger set outside and we saw tul and Seth having a

Look at it important number yeah I think too you know that was a an exceptional claim but there’s a lot of emotion attached to that claim it’s a surfer who hasn’t had it all going their way this year trying to turn his fate around and

You know just to connect with a wave and he had plenty of throwaways in this heat that that’s going to provide him one of his best numbers is something that he’s you know willing to to throw his hands up for but you know T what kind of work

Did he do on the outside Rich did he get enough done it’s important we need to really have a look at it again just to see whether whether he got some open face work done if there was a big strong maneuver felt to me those inside ones

Ronnie he was sort of dragging the board through the turns they weren’t Cris crisp but wasn’t completely connected well let’s have a look at K’s wave on the replay so we’re still just working out the results of this opening round heat and it’s going

To be a scary one even for Seth m is here Rich because like you said there is always a chance that he could be overtaken by both Surfers yeah absolutely uh you know that that opening turn even though it was sort of a a projection floater he almost turned it

Into kind of a major maneuver here and it was that last turn there really where a lot of the numbers are coming from okay so numbers in for Kyo 5.77 he jumps into the lead it’s Seth now who’s in danger here and T Wy he needs a 4.4 from this

Wave first turn was pretty decent the opening turn on the outside was pretty crisp he nailed it came through to the side it’s these turns there that he was kind of dragging the board through but then he picks it up again yeah it’s it’s right there it is

Going to be very close I mean through the the mid portion of that wave it did look like he had seaweed in his leg rope he was kind of dragging water but he finished it up he kind of cleaned it up the the first turn was pretty decent I

Compare it to his first score at the 5.83 and he definitely got it well this is a huge moment for him Kyo safe he is safe he he is so relieved you can see it he almost looks exhausted as he makes his way up the stairs there

Probably just from the the anxiety that he’s been living with in the lead up to this event but the numbers are starting to roll through there it is and they are looking pretty good for T Wy he needs a 4.4 and he banks a 5.23 and the nightmare situation here

For Seth mon Rich you touched on it you know he’s in danger been overtaken by both Surfers in the later stages here but look at T Wy oh my goodness so breaking things down there with kahill B waren that’s his dad Niel it feels like he’s been around for

A long time because we’ve been he was born with school shoes on he’s that big he’s a monster of kid 5 2 three yeah he is uh he is on his way to the third round so he’s done better than his first effort in 2022 and the local

Crowd is eating it up we got another big elimination round heat just around the corner there’s the Results Pry better for we knew the pressure was going to be intense heading into the elimination round Kyle belly desperation in the final stages chasing a score to just try and keep tul Wy at Bay and he actually jumped ahead of Seth mon he’s in the

Final stage as Rich a this was just uh an incredible finish to this heat the experience of Kyo a belly identifying that he needed to put a score on the board he stayed on his surfboard uh all the way to the end of this ride there’s

The claim he knew how much that meant to him then it was tul tul Wy needed a a score to get himself back into a position to qualify he wasn’t chasing Kyo anymore he was after Seth money’s spot and at this stage of the ride we

Had a huge question mark on it did good work at the start but he did get a reasonably clean finish here and it wasn’t a huge score not the best T can do but certainly enough to to get him through to the next well this just

Screams of it’s not over till it’s over you know and uh unfortunately Seth probably thinking that that second third wave of the set was going to produce something and the ocean just laid down from him total Elation there from the local boy also he took a gamble kicking

Out of that wave you just uh assume that he’ done enough and obviously heartbroken there Seth came into this one just inside the cut line and he’s going to really have to save himself now at the marget River Pro let’s throw it down and here from T now he’s with vorno

Oh yeah here we go and um you heard this headl blown up earlier today when Ellie Harrison won her heat well that was the loudest 5.23 I’ve ever heard uh here at bills mate you must be absolutely chaffed yeah I’m so stoked I was didn’t know really what to think when I was

Coming in and spoke to kale and we bit on the fence cuz I didn’t really see anyone else’s W so I didn’t really know um and then it was just like such a nervous weight whether I’m going home and or just on with it tomorrow so yeah

I don’t even know I’m so stoked and mate uh you know you had the chance to surf in the rip Co Pro last year it was sort of uh two outs and uh that was that was your experience but now to get the opportunity to Surf again and this time

In a seated round yeah I’m just just sorry to get through a heat and um just to get another opportunity like I feel I haven’t even really been able to have a proper crack yet like I’ve had two super grindy Heats so um yeah I don’t know

What tomorrow is going to be like but hopefully try and find some bigger sections and get some better scores mate I feel like the H of Victoria is going to start jumping in cars and hooting down here to Bells over the next few days it’s so exciting to have both you

And Ellie the trial winners going further in this draw yeah it’s epic and yeah we’re going to keep pushing we’re not going to stop so for thing yeah t back to you guys thank you vno yeah tally Wy you know the the dream to is to

Stay alive in the event but uh also you know a big increase in prize money jumping into that third round he’s going to fill that shoe box under his bed with cash before he hits the Challenger Series this season we’ll see how far he can go in

This contest but that is a massive moment for him something that he and his family will never forget a huge performance here at the rip Pro Bells Beach presented by bonso as we get set for Heat 2 Rio waa the Indonesian out there in the red Eli hanaman the Young

Hawaiian from Maui he’s going to be out there in the blue and George pit from love it home Beach is going to be out there in the white yeah North stain thank you very much south of the pipe and uh Rich tell us a bit more about

George who is this guy I mean we saw him in the Challenger Series last year he kind of smashed his way through to the The Challengers with a good campaign in the the last major Qs event last year Y and he did all right yeah he’s been uh part

Of the the norain uh Club there for a few years now doing very well all the boys will be watching this heat back home but he’s he’s been on the rise uh he’s started to mature into his body uh and his surfing is just maturing along

With it he’s um recently done a bit of a a move actually up to the goal Coast just to get around a bit more competitive uh atmosphere and a few of the the uh you know the better waves and the better Surfers up there just trying

To trying to really tap into that um but yeah he’s definitely got a lot of support he’s a good kid he’s got a good head on his shoulders uh he knows exactly what he wants and uh mate I I’m gunning for him in this heat well let’s

See how he fars what what are the strengths of his surfing and how does it match up to what Eli hadman and R can bring uh there’s obviously a size difference so he he’s quite a tall lad uh he’s up around that 61 Mark I believe

Uh you know he doesn’t have a whole lot of meat on his bones but he surfs big uh and I think if there’s anything that that George needs to work on is just smoing out those in between turns and really focusing on those big exclamation marks those big major Maneuvers uh the

Time on the Challenger Series last year I think taught him a lot in that regard uh and certainly as he starts to get more and more uh chances at a at a CT level event he’s really going to have to bring those big major Maneuvers so um his strength is that big forehand

Whipping turn he’s got speed he’s got power he’s certainly got a lot of style uh and and he’s really learning how to compete again too so um you know there is a formula to to putting a heat together you do have to pick the right waves uh you do have to compete compete

Well using priority and things like that so uh it’s all stuff that he’s learning he’s got a big career ahead of him well Eli hanaman will be super familiar with him having come through the Challenger Series last year and um obviously you know there might be a

Comfort in that for George too that he’s in a heat with someone that he he kind of probably rates himself up against R though is got to be the favorite in this heat right just based off his power um just how how strong his forehand arcs

Are if he can connect with some some clean wall out here Rio I think he gets the job done I’m so impressed uh with Rio and some of the performances he laid down last year uh I still do see Heavy influences of of Danny Wills uh in his

Style this is Eli hanaman up and riding well Eli won’t mind the onshore this guy has yeah every trick in the book The Phenom they called him when he was a Grom well you know he he is honestly as comfortable uh above the lip and in the

Air as he is on the wave face um Bells typically doesn’t produce that sort of canvas you know it’s not a wave that’s synonymous with that with that air approach although we have seen incredible airs done here um um you know but this sort of uh this these

Conditions of bells right now certainly uh conducive to to Really throwing that tail and flare Yeah couple of big finners well let’s see what Rio can do with his second ride here just a throw way to get started this wave looks like it might be hitting the roef nicely here

Steing for a moment nice hit there from Rio unloading plenty of water and again bashes through the foam and importantly throws up a nice fan of spray so really accentuating these turns as he gets to the end bow now just a drifting float just flowing beautifully along

This one he’s going to find something else down the line here this is basically breaking right on the shoreline as Rio just smashes into it really matches the power of that endsection with a committed hit and that should be a really solid score geez that was smart surfing uh he put that wave

Together so well uh connecting with the right moments exactly where the wave gave him opportunity tagged it uh it looks smooth it looked composed uh it had enough element there to be exciting I think this is going to be uh probably one of the better scores we’ve seen in

The past hour let’s have another look at it in particular that final move that endsection on the lower tide is is kind of all rock once the high tide comes in you’re you’re sort of projecting projecting straight out onto the dry sand up and over that first hit flare

Then the second one he built on it throwing a a ton of spray and now you can see there’s these moments where where Rio’s just waiting gets on that tail gets heavy on it projects down the line here over these foamy sections did well to see more down the

Line came all the way through to the inside there’s all these little rock ledges run right close to Shaw and Rio just pounding that final maneuver Big Score yeah that last turn you know that that’s kind of as solid as it gets on on that final section really did commit there he

Didn’t just place the turn he he just pounded the endsection and the scores are still on the way but Rio have a look at this lines it up and just bumper oh God that was great commitment he didn’t the intensity of the section he didn’t need to overcommit

To it either it was such a big gnarly section on on that little End Zone his timing just needed to be perfect all now you know he he had bigger sections uh in height to work with on the outside but I think that’s the the biggest turn on the

Way the most committed turn on the wave seven-point ride for Rio to get himself the lead here in the opening stages just on 18 minutes to go as we check in with the winner of that last Heat and uh yeah it was a desperate Heat win for Kyo

Belly well Kyo belly made it far out sometimes you just got to grind it out and you did a great job there after a frustrating first heat this morning yeah um yeah it’s been a little tough for me like the past few events um just really hard to

Have luck and then connect the dots and a lot of times the Ws are really hard and the level is always so high so if you blink you you lose um but yeah super stoked that worked out I was really nervous after the first round um I felt

Like I was surfing good I was connecting the dots I was just in a good space mentally and when you lose you kind of like back in the bottom and you know um yeah so stoked um hopefully tomorrow we got some better waves and cleaner and

Yeah let’s go man I have so much more to show like I’m so frustrated I wasn’t able to show all the work I did on the preseason so far and yeah it’s just cluttered I want to just spill it out yeah no that’s it man uh we are well

Aware of what you’re capable of when you get momentum we saw that right throughout last year do you think that this is the the switch that you’ve been waiting for yeah I hope so um if this not the switch like the you get kicked out right out on the next

Event so this got to be the switch this got to be the momentum I need um I I’m very aware where I am what I need um and I’ve done that in the past so hopefully I can pull it out again I think you will mate shout out in portone at

Home thanks M congratulations thank you there KY yes big fan of Kyo just you know he always puts in he he never backs down to a big name he’s he’s had some huge victories he’s had big wins over the likes of John John Florence here at

Bell’s Beach and at Mar River so um you know he’s a a guy that is just potentially right for a few big upsets for those Surfers at the top end of the rankings as he moves on through now to the the third round I feel like he does

His best surfing when he’s up against those top seeds and those harder competitors it seems to ignite something within him yeah uh you know some some competitors are better when they’re backs against the wall and and perhaps they take that pressure off thinking oh you know I’m not expected to win this so

I’ll just let it all hang out but um you know he seems like he’s in a good place he knows what he’s got to do and uh step one done all right so during the interview George pittar got himself in the mix here 5.17 happy with that rich uh yeah it’s

Not a bad start um you know it’s it keeps him right there right up with Rio who’s uh dropped that seven-point ride and uh you know George will will stay in this he can build from him you you’ve done a lot of work with with Surfers from the northern beaches but in

Particular Surfers from that manly area uh in recent times and and George is someone that’s kind of used you as a a sounding board um seems like a real Curious George he does he seems like a sponge though he’s really keen on learning and refining his approach to competitive

Surfing well he does you know he this he wants to do this this is what his career path is and uh he wants to get better he knows he’s got work to do and he’s open to it you know you you can’t come in uh with an arrogance thinking you know

Everything there’s so much to learn uh especially on a bigger stage like like the one he’s performing on right now this is for me I I think probably would be one of the more challenging location for George to try and you know fetch a a result what I’ve seen of his surfing his

Compact surfing in tight bows is his super explosive has unbelievable uh pocket work fin throws and variation on his forehand so it’ll test his front side carves which will be fun to see as we see Eli hanaman now and much like Kyo below the cut line needs a a huge

Result just trying to find some momentum here and like Kyo said just join the dots at this point loading up for an exciting finish and you can see the wave kind of didn’t have anything in it when he placed that board one thing Ka kind of did well in

That last Heat that he he wasn’t able to do in the first round was kind of hit hit the sections with authority and then stand back in between it all and and find some moments to really size up where those those big turns were going to be placed as we see George

There drifting the fins sticks with it still has control Glides through a nice carve doing well with the Foy sections of this wave as he get through to the inside there’s some of that F throw work that I was talking about can’t finish this one off and on the outside let’s see what

Rio can do he’s looking to back up the seven point ride from earlier on in a powerful position with his Rivals not really serving up huge numbers just yet REO with a good section here great flare on the tail not just placing the turn not just drifting the fins but powering through the

Move yeah that’s a good pickup Ron um Rio uh on the sharp eyes riding the Toledo 77 model he doesn’t stray too far away from that one and uh it looks great under his feet Fair bit of rocker in that model and uh yeah I miss Felipe at these events

Especially here at Bell so strong but in a lot of ways Rio and uh Felipe are kind of similar in that you know on camera it doesn’t look like there’s much of them you get up close to them and both of them are stocky they’re built like and

Both of them have you know massive leagues big strong leagues this is the replay of Eli hanaman driving through to this inside that was that exciting turn where he got the full tail drift so he kind of made something out of a a nothing section there wrapping it all the way through

And then gets a little bit more work done through the inside board staying a little bit flat but now he starts to open up he’s a fast Surfer lot of energy and this was George on the outside much taller you can see that’s that open face WP that he’s uh really

Starting to put into his wheelhouse as his signature move and does well to get down this little section you got a couple of bonus turns through the inside wrapping it down the line gets that speed gets a nice tail flare here and I’d love to have seen him just finish that maneuver yeah

New you know first time CT campaigners wild cards can’t make mistakes like that against Surfers like Rio and Eli as we see Rio here just so strong on that endsection sent up that big fan I think it scores well I think he’s got the second best number of the heat as well

As the the single best ride waiting on those scores to drop still 10 minutes remaining here plenty of time for a switch up in the order of things we’re going to take a bonso brew break back in just a moment We still still welcome back look at that the conditions have uh well they’ve been interesting for the last few hours the Surfers are still doing really well out here at the moment as we dive into the oakberry surf conditions report still plenty of swell out there temperatures uh not too chilly

At the moment but the windows picked up and the surfacing these elimination around Heat have got to adapt here rich and they’re doing a pretty good job of it at the moment R waa hanging on to uh the number one position you’d think when his next score drops Eli hanaman he just

Turned into 6.5 George pitar 5.4 relatively close in the score lines at the moment but like we said R’s got another number on the way yeah um we’re just having a replay here let’s have a look at uh Eli hanan’s waves up and over that foamy section connects with another one again two

Similar turns and a third this A Better Way for Eli he’s got a lot more open face to work with gets a little wrapping cut back as he comes through the inside it’s a little stuck on that finish but he’s done some good work out the back yeah really clean combination on that

Outside so this is going to help’s chances a lot as we see the competitors area there just uh watching it all unfold and people just uh you know are really aware that there’s a lot of pressure on these competitors even Rio who’s just inside the the cut line at

The moment and up at the moment with 6 and a half minutes to go Rio’s just look really strong so far through this heat just jumping trying to get the momentum to hop through this flat section looks out the back for a moment wants to re-engage with this r at some point and

Try and finish off with another strong maneuver but this wave just didn’t do it for him on the outside George pit having a look at one nice big bow here great opening turn drops out of the sky as he comes through the trough swoops into the pocket a couple of times and then

Hammers the section good looking wave for the winner of the rip kill trials here as he stands back on the tail now and just remains patient waiting for the wave to steepen again nice cutbacks really transitioning beautifully through to the inside now and finishes off in

Style and the Grom has really dropped a good one here that’s going to be an excellent number that’s going to be a huge score to me that’s the best wave of the heat so far uh George had a bit more composure on that one uh there was a bit

More space between the Maneuvers uh toned down that little wiggling uh got more flow in between the connections and uh that that is going to be a very decent number and we may even see a bit of a lead change here yeah I’m just uh feeling like with the the size of the

Wave and the fact we’ve already got a seven on the board that oh oh God that was gnarly oh sketchy situation there there’s a lot of bmps in to deal with as our water Patrol will climb back on the ski here is that ring up not sure who it is but let’s just

Check in with Georgie P here make sure he’s okay Ski’s heading back to him let’s try that again so Eli hanaman with four and a half minutes to go his number just dropped in he got another 6.5 so he’s in a in the lead at the moment but we have more numbers is

Rolling through here waiting on a score for George pitar and expecting a strong one and Rio’s got a number on the way as well yeah we Ed a few numbers here uh I just did want to mention uh Eli 65 before that one I I feel like his last

65 was probably a point better than his previous 65 uh and possibly at least a point under Rio seven so I think the judging is a little disjointed in this heat so far but I expecting a big number to come in for George pit in my mind

It’s the best score as I said of this heat so far I’d love to see a replay of it again if we can tee that one up uh and just have a look at the work that he did but uh certainly an exciting heat plenty of waves been ridden all three of

These guys uh having the opportunity to open up waiting on scores to come in let’s have a a look at it bit of FO on the face but George just poers through it rich yeah this first turn just drives through that that opening slice the second one draws it out again

And it’s this third one here where it gets really critical and for a tall guy stays nice and composed in the pocket lots of power as he drives through those turns then he got a few more on the inside nice wrapping cutbacks little check turn and then gets to the finish the

Little tail slide they strong the I mean in the context of the heat it’s a strong ride Rio fled up again he’s trying to improve on a 5.53 numbers starting to roll through for him looks like he he will better his his title yeah they seem to be having a big

Think about George’s ride yeah the third turn was the the money move on that ride the first carves were so clean he he kind of scalped his way through through those turns slic through them but the third turn he he really pushed it as we see R up again

So R is going to look to add to his tally he’s already going to improve his situation with his previous ride but this one’s looking pretty decent too bit of Fame on the face he just looks so fit and strong and solid out here at the moment yeah it doesn’t

He as he uh get goes looking for the big finish again loads up and smashes through the Section jez he’s put together a good heat there hasn’t really been a wave where he hasn’t uh just taken every section down great flow in in what is very disjointed conditions all right well the

Numbers are starting to roll through for George pitar now and we had a feeling they were going to be pretty decent just based on the fact Rio had a seven it was always going to be that that comparison game and as a result George pit has

Dropped a score 8.67 he kicks his feet he knows that’s a a really impressive number to serve up to a couple of Championship to a campaigners uh as a rookie as a wild card to drop a number like that in a in a in any wct heat is a

Huge achievement you know it normally takes a while before you can break into that excellent range but that wave was the only one in this heat where we’ve seen three major Maneuvers done in the ball outside with flow between them and each one of the Maneuvers was quite

Powerful for the most part so far in the elimination round the the approach from the competitors has been somewhat measured it’s about they’re trying to find flow out there they’re not trying to to push their moves to you know the the the craziest level that you could imagine

So 8.67 you know to some people might seem like a pretty big number but you got to remember it’s just the comparison to R 7 from earlier on uh so George pit it looks like he’s going to get the job done here 25 seconds to go Eli hanaman

Who was below the cut line coming into this event is just begging for the opportunity here in the final 15 seconds for an opportunity waves approaching to have a shot at Rio weer actually and here we go he gets swamped on the takeoff but he’s up on his feet

Now and this guy is a magician when it comes to Big individual turns let’s see if he can pull the rabbit out of the Hat on this final ride here this wave already starting to flatten out so he’s banking on a ramp here on the inside and Eli just trying to stand on

The tail B his time this way is feeling up big time it’s not even going to make it to the short break he know he knows oh my goodness but you got to tip the cap to George pit here holding his nerve had a couple of midrange fives before tapping

Into easily the best wave of the heat but also delivering on that rod yeah it’s uh it’s one thing to to have that canvas to be able to uh you know uh do your best painting on it is another thing and George is uh well he’s found

Something here and this is a huge confidence boost for him uh moving through into the next round of a CT event and your first crack at it good stuff public holiday in manly tomorrow uh not yet maybe one more one or two more Heats and we might have an extended

Easter pretty pretty impressive stuff here from George P though a healthy Heat score title Rio on fire Eli hanman heartbreakingly close but not quite enough to survive the elimination round this afternoon we are going to take a quick break and when we return we’ve got more elimination round Heats coming your

Way and we’ll bring in Joe toar and Felicity flick pal don’t go Anywhere com take Cre [Applause] The elimination round continues and what a performance from George winning the trials for the Rip Curl trials and congratulated by Xavier huxel on the shoreline hux’s been in the sent a couple of times to represent the local region George a part of the rip family representing Manley Beach and getting

That big 867 to go the distance and get the win into the round of 32 along with Rio we Eli hanaman couple of six FS to his name unfortunately is eliminated from the event losing some huge names like Eli like Seth monice and now we kick off

Heat number three one Surfer will have to start packing up and heading to the West early David Silva Sammy poopo Fred Rico maras all three Surfers need a huge result and can’t afford to lose in this round Joe Trel with Felicity paler for the call stressful situation and this

Heat heat number three and also in heat four coming up next with all three Surfers trying to avoid an early round last Fred Rico getting a wave during the break yeah Fredo open wow what a floater that was beautiful to watch silky smooth there float into a couple of nice

Carving Maneuvers looking to bring it through to the inside here gets the finish so yeah beautiful little opening wave there from Fred and that came through at a fiveo r so great way to open up his account he look to David Sila just really funky looking backhand

Hit there and then also well po yeah getting started here and uh this wave looking like it’s going to offer a little bit of clean face which is what we like to see beautiful carving maneuver there straight up into a second one and this wave already I mean I just

Like the look of it just a little bit less texture on the face of the wave compared to uh Fred’s so that wave’s come through Sixpoint ride so couple of couple of scores already on the board just crazy looking at these three names and all needing a big result here and

How devastating it would be for any of them to lose and what they would be facing at maret River to try to stay on tour David Silva up goes through the Whitewater on the first turn this guy can find speed on anything how was that little Sid slipping back and climb look

It’s not going to score much but it looked cool yeah just for entertainment purposes oh that was like a little backend board slide yeah know that was great I think we’re just got to go back to that point this is just crazy this is we’re getting down to that crunch time

We’re in Australia the cut is looming and it’s just whoever doesn’t Advance through this heat it’s just going to make that job so much harder at marget River the pressure the expectation you know you got to be thinking okay I basically need to win this thing now if

I even want to stay in contention and be on tour which is that’s it’s massive it’s a massive task oh man so much pressure now at Bell’s Beach when you talk about just this event and Margaret River as we focus on the cut line David

Silva has to has had to deal with every elimination round so far this season he has survived all of them though up into this stage but he’s been getting knocked in the round of 32 as you can see Silva this heat entering the event deep on the

Rankings right next to Cade there an equal 28th remember Eli just got knocked out so he’ll have all the pressure to really try to aim for a huge win at Margaret River Sammy poopo just ahead of Eli in the water now and you see Fredo Marias 22nd he knows that’s a dangerous

Spot to be so pretty wild focusing on the three guys in this seat and you know just coming up next Callum Robson Cole hman Kate Madson all in the back of the rankings behind the cut line a just it’s what can you say it’s just doesn’t get

Any this is these are two really tough Heats coming up and it’s going to be interesting to see who’s composed and what kind of mindset that that the guys are going to be approaching this with are we going to say a bit of passion are

We going to say a bit of emotion I’m sure we will because someone’s going to be going home it’s cool when you check out the live rankings on worldsurfleague.com because after every heat it adjusts so Fredo came into this event one spot ahead of the cut and when you look at

The live rankings he’s already dropped behind it with the success of people making Heats above him and so he’s feeling that pressure situ ation so pull up worldsurfleague.com have that on during the events it’s really interesting how much you can jump and also fall Heat by heat let’s hear

From the Wild Card George is with v that’s Joey well elimination Heats they might suck for the serers who are in a mate but that last one for the fans was an absolute Ripper and all three Surfers going at it and winning it was the trial

Winner Georgie p man oh man how good did that last wave feel getting into that excellent range we heard Richie L say you don’t see trus or rookies do that often how good did it feel when you heard that number drop yeah it was pretty unbelievable to be honest I

Didn’t the wave was just so perfect really like I just saw it coming in and it was hugging the ball so nice and I just honestly the wave did all the work but to paddle back out after getting rolled on the ski actually into that number was it was a

Pretty special feeling and I don’t know it’s just pretty crazy right now mate it was a Topsy Turvy heat the lead changed uh between all three of you guys numerous occasions I was in the Red Bull athlete Zone and Kelly Slater got to the end off the hitter and went that’s the

Best hit I’ve seen in a while that was a real fun watch was it as fun to surf in not really I was pretty I was pretty worried like I only had fs and they they were dropping big scores and I was like and I could be pretty down the gurg here

But um luckily that wave came and I don’t know just gone back and forth with these like caliber of surfers is pretty special and to be able to get the win is pretty pretty amazing feeling mate uh you’re on the Changers last year the Challenger Series and I got a taste of

That and I it’s just it’s amazing to see just how far your surfing improves and how quickly it improves and coming down to bells and getting this opportunity now it just feels like you’re ready for it I don’t know about that but um yeah I don’t know last year on the Challenger

There was so many Lessons Learned like so many Heats all year with like so many amazing Surfers and just competing all year really like it’s just the more hat you surf the better the sort sort of more comfortable you become and I know coming down here I just did not feel

Comfortable at all like that first hit I don’t know what happened on my first wave I just like I was so nervous and I don’t know I just I was talking to my coach Jimmy Mac out before we went out and we’ll just talk and just let your

Surf and do the talking and just make the right decisions on the waves and I don’t know for that wave to sort of come through and me to be able to sort of like put a few turns together was pretty special feeling mate you’ve put an excellent score on the board you’ve beat

Two CT campaigners you are on a massive rooll here at the rip Co Pro can’t wait to see you keep it going tomorrow thanks mate really appreciate it good on you George cheers how cool is that thank you vano what a great catch up with George who’s building his profile as we speak

Surfing in such a big way monster turns good flow he could tell he’s got humility really humble as he looks up to everyone on tour but he’s right in the mix moving into the round of 32 and I just got to keep remembering his quote from a couple years ago asked what his

Dream heat would be a final at Bells offshore on the bull on Easter Sunday and Kelly in the final hey Kelly’s here on tour still possible it could happen for George he had the manifestation couple years back and he’s on a roll uh the Wild Card story is a great one we

Mentioned Adam Robertson a few times cuz that’s probably the most heralded story when you come down here to Bells people still remember when and where they were watching him go toe to- toe the world’s best in the final with Joel Parkinson but you got to see how how cool it is

For you know the board Riders clubs here and for everyone to have the attention on on bells in this region you know not every corner around Australia gets to kind of live those tales and you know for all these people that grow up in the the board Riders Cruise from Tor Kei and

Jan Juck and competed Bells all their life um it’s a they could tell they know they’re pretty lucky to be from this part of the world oh for sure I think on my last break I just went stuck down into the little VIP Zone uh down uh down

The hill a little bit and I was in there during Tully’s heat and right in those dying moments when he was taking off and he ended up getting the score that whole VIP area was just erupting there was screams coming from the hill and just such a cool environment for the whole

Community to get around uh yeah these local these wild cards and uh I mean it’s been the Wild Card Story I mean Ellie Harrison with her win uh over Molly pum and then yeah t getting through we always had George in the last he so there’s been some big upsets

That’s right as we look at Sammy poopo pin throw there to start climbing into a carve and now a full wrap with a rebound so using a lot of the wave here Sammy poopo goes over the top of the Whitewater again and just setting his pace on this

Inside track had the 6.0 to start still out in front and a solid finishing move that’s going to support his lead but following him is Kish Fredrico maras as he steps off trying to back up his 5.0 I I liked what I saw from Sammy I think you know couple of really nice

Strung together turns he had a really good Pace on that wave which I really enjoyed watching as well and uh yeah definitely going to uh support his cuse there this is the replay this is Fred’s started off nice here went to that trademark hack that we know so well

With another Well time jab in the lip followed by another hack there goes up into the lip again this is a really nice wave finished off there on the inside so I mean two really good surfed waves here this is the this is sami’s second wave

And this wave I just feel like he had a good Pace to it and good timing too it looked like a tricky wave to surve you could have easily really butchered this wave but I feel like he just had a really good flow and picked the right

Turns for the right sections here can be really easy to somehow sometimes get really uh far out on the face and sort of over surf the wave but yes Samy just surfed this super well that last turn there just flaring on the hardware releasing the fins on there at the end

It was beautiful to watch I liked it yeah and it was cool to see the comparison to Freddy just really seamless with his rail work really started well showed a lot of power that’s definitely mori’s secret weapon just a big front side power carve that

Brought him to a final at J B as a rookie that’s made him dangerous on the big walls at Sunset Beach in his career and a great opportunity with the melburn flight cam to see the Red Bull skis drop the guys off right by the buoy and they’ll paddle into position there’s

Been some famous drop offs in the past like oie getting dropped off in the heat again Sandy irons back in 2006 straight into a 9.9 that was the average almost got a 10 99 when he got past Andy that day oh and you got a high heart rate too I mean I

Know they’re getting the ski on the way back out but you’ve literally just rode a wave you’ve exerted all that energy you jumping on a ski you’re trying to process what’s just gone on you’re jumping off the ski puddling off you see a wave coming and straight away boom

You’re into it that heart rate really hasn’t had a chance to to calm down so it’s hard work and I mean I even think back to when they hasn’t been jet scar assist and there’s been some epic paddle battles at uh at Bells over the years

Too I think back to one between Courtney conal and Carissa Moore actually there’s a really cool photo I was hanging with Courtney at the beginning of the year and she showed it to me she said it’s one of her favorite photos uh of her time on tour with her and Carissa you

Could just see the determination in their eyes they were just both so hungry for to uh get priority so such a big uh puddle back out and a lot of energy exerted oh so much energy that’s for sure youve you got to have your wits about you with your competitive mindset

You’ve got to be physically fit to cover a lot of ground out here even with the skis and have really good equipment Sammy poopo on boards from JS Industries trying to force that Whitewater Little Slice his last wave was a 4.8 but last of Marias bit more connected really powerful between turns a

65 so took the lead from Sammy dro him to Second David Silva still third with priority the goofy footer needs an 8.13 to move into the top two with bells having such a great history there’s a lot of famous Shapers in this area with uh some creative

Designers as well like button Shaw 40 surfboards Cory Graham Darren Dixon fipsy makes Incredible World Class shapes I think Morris Cole has been one of the most famous over the years as we get back to Samy’s last wve yeah that board so loose underneath his feet this

Was only a two- turn combo here really try to force that little foam climb don’t think that’s going to go into that top two but uh yeah it’s it’s been the Fred show so far I mean judges obviously really liking I think there was a bit

More size to Fred’s wave as well and yeah just three big turns and at that 6.5 so yeah just going to that trademark big carve that we know I’m liking what I’m seeing from Sammy I feel like if he if he chooses a bigger sort of more clean face wave and

Is is able to just put that board on rail for and maybe not so many turns but more quality turns I feel like he’s looking connected I just feel like all the ingredients are there we just haven’t seen the right wave yet yeah it’s interesting just being on the right

Wave uh judges have so much time to study your style and and your flow you can be really Exposed on a wave like this if you have any stumbles along the way I think Fredo deserved that 65 and it was great separation in my mind just seeing just clean Rail lines didn’t have

To really Force anything I think poopo kind of had to get creative with his sections kind of had to overturn certain parts of it and his ability he can create those moments for himself and now we’ll see David Silva from sou Paulo Brazil messy back at float and he’s

Getting a little bit hung up again so he’s kind of had similar waves where the whitew climbs haven’t really been working for him you know it’s it’s interesting because I mean yesterday we came down here doing a few things around the event site and I was watching the

Freeer go down and for me he was one of the standouts every time I looked up he was just doing the biggest backhand hangers throwing so much spray and I was so impressed with what I was seeing and we had Okie in the booth earlier today

And you asked o you know who stood out to you and he said you know what David Sila and it’s just unfortunate cuz I feel like he’s on it’s just something’s just not quite clicking in these Heats he just hasn’t hasn’t being able to find those waves that he’s been finding in

Those free surfs it’s such a wild sport isn’t it oh you can just be doing everything right you can be dotting all the eyes Crossing all the tear you can be fit as a fiddle and sometimes the cookie just doesn’t crumble your way and it can be so frustrating so frustrating

Well just look how tiny this tour is you know and how rare it is to be a surfer that’s on tour and can stay on tour to be called the best the top 34 in the world it’s shrinking down to 22 after Margaret River that’s tiny there’s

Sports teams that have more members on it that sit on the bench and get paid as pro athletes and live out great careers you know when you look at pro surfing it’s the best of the best it’s really tiny when you compare it to all the Surfers on this planet to call yourself

A member of the top 34 you can honestly look in the mirror and call yourself one of the best on the planet wow when you put it like that that’s an incredible perspective really framing it up like that Joe I just think and the caliber of

Surfing is just so good these days it just makes it so hard it’s a whole another level the best on the planet crowning an Undisputed world champion every year that’s what happens on the world surf League Championship tour little Whitewater crumble is going to hold our competitors

Back still 10:30 as Cole hman the rookie from s CL looks at the lineup with Luke Egan he’s coming up next in Heat number four Oh r here Thanks to hydrite and World surf League this week we’ve given 2,000 groms a chance to talk about mental health and then there’s 40 people that have showed up in a wild morning their brightest floor outfit today to raise awareness mental he at Flor Friday so I’m going to

Get out there and join them because sometimes one Wes all takes What does one wave do it makes that invisible issue of mental health visible we’ve got some that are standing up some that are on their knees they’re all supporting they’re all hurting they’re all cheering each other and that’s what it’s About often it’s the people we least expect that are suffering the most and being in the ocean riding waves and chat team mates can honestly change your life one wave is all it takes to free the funk one wave is partnering with hydrolite and WSL to bring plural Friday

To T Beach the event will run at the T Surf lifesaving Club at 7:00 a.m. on Good Friday March 29th to bring more color and awareness to mental health at the rip cro Pro Bell’s Beach so dress up in your briest surf outfit and take part in a fluro surf or Swim spreading

Awareness and making a positive impact together hope to see you there on Good Friday 7:15 to go here in the elimination round as Fredo maras is still out in front representing a really cool part of the world that we just were for stop number three over in Phish Portugal he

Represents uh such an amazing country he has so many fans when he competes in Europe but right now trying to focus on avoiding elimination to serf for complete season in smoother water and setting up the best turn so far for David Silva in the matchup punches out

The lip again now he’s off to the top and hitting the Whitewater section well out in front nice wrapping turn for Silva now just relaxing a little bit that’s that really high-fi spring-loaded energy that he’s famous for getting surfboards from the goats surfboard Company B lasting it one more time and

He will just trip on that inside shelf but looks like he’s picking himself back up but change over Knight need a board change after getting to the inside not sure if it’s something he felt before if he just did it right there on the beach that was more like it though that

Was some beautiful surfing interesting looks like is it a Finn what’s going on there find out in a moment here comes the Sprint down the beach quick switch there and David will be back out there it’s uh probably feels a little bit better doing a board change

When you just turn in your best score of the matchup so far really good backside hacks with a lot of speed and flow finished up right right on that inside shelf that’s the kind of Surfing and the Precision that I was seeing yesterday I just unfortunately we hadn’t seen it

Come together but that was beautiful was have a look at this replay it was a bit of a smaller wave but it just had a beautiful bow to it and David just surfing this with a really nice Tempo that second turn Throwing so much spray straight up into that third but yeah

Smaller wave but just timing impeccable here and really really really good surfing just the ability to go up into that foam got a little bit bit a little bit slow here a little bit sleepy but he managed to get a bit more work done on the inside

Here and this is where the damage was done I think to that fin just taking it right on through to the inside right on that inside there there is a little bit of limeston sort of rock DK there we go that was the moment he landed right on top of it

Oh that’s what happened look at that fin on the bottom part of your screen that’s got to hurt if that went into any part of your body he ran straight into it on that last wave he knew right away wow he needed a switch wow total commitment from Silva turns turns into a

5.7 from the panel doesn’t get him out of third but another one of those will 5.11 he takes second might be hard to do though without priority definitely hard to do and I mean conditions are tricky right now I mean we’ve got you know couple of good scores there but yeah

It’s It’s tricky to go It’s tricky to get a good one right now and tricky to find I think a clean-faced wave because that consistency kind of isn’t there to try and find a clean faed wave today you got to have a few waves come through to

Really clean up that wobble and you want to be going that second third wave of the set you know so 3 and a half minutes on the clock he’s not going to have priority and you got to be thinking that with do or die in this heat Fred and

Sammy are probably going to do their very very best to uh hold on to that priority David Silva an absolute Warrior grew up on a beach break where he had to hike down a trail had to earn it and get down there to typically some uncrowded conditions one lot growing up in Brazil

And then turned into a household name when he qualified for the tour turned in some good results here at Bells in the past an absolute Warrior on the qualifying series a proud father as well brings his whole crew around when he can at certain events but right now he’s

Trying to focus on keeping his spot on the top 34 getting surfboards from Kelly it’s pretty cool and you get recognized by the goat is someone that you want to put on the surf team and with Kelly’s designs and the way Kelly thinks he’s just nonstop thinking of new types of

Crafts that you could ride and all the boards that David Gets from him look brilliant beautiful shot there look at those corpuscular Rays shooting through the tents up the top there stunning well as you predicted flick it’d be uh evening surf tonight we got here at 6:00

A.m. for our meeting you were right on time proud of you and 6:45 p.m. local time and we’re still here David having to give way to Sammy D David having to step out Sam’s got a higher priority and blitzes that section with the slide picking up speed to cover some

Ground I love when Sammy just shows that extra gear that he can have even when the wave is flat now trying to force something on the inside starting to gun for an oncoming section could have some options here he’ll hit the lip into a fade on the low

Road so start off with a defensive strategy to keep Sila off this wave and turns it into what probably will be a keeper yeah that was smart that was smart surfing he had to go to with that like pretty much 2 minutes on the clock I mean you’re mad if you’re not using

Your priority there so David had to give way to Sammy and first couple of sections offer looks like there’s lines on the horizon though so I’m thinking that if the boys aren’t out of position kind of looks like this first one’s going to break on their head see if David Gets another

Opportunity here because might be a couple of waves down to a minute 20 on the clock priority with Marias and red he duck Dives along with Silva Underneath Him always interesting here if Fred Rico is going to decide to play defense on Silva he might be concerned wondering

What Sammy did on that last wave so he probably has to keep Silva off anything that comes through Fredo lunges into the first section clean hook to kick things off just like Samy a JS Industries team Rider as keik is just starting to run after some Whitewater to work with and punches it

Out finishes off on his feet and that’ll leave Silva with priority in 39 seconds to try to avoid an elimination round loss 28th in the world on the standings really just can’t afford a loss at this stage of the game Sammy poop’s on the beach fed Rico’s out of the

Lineup W now it’s up to Silva on this wave still some scores to come in from the previous ride so he’s got to Surf this wave with everything he’s got he kicks out straight away and now into the countdown Fredrico Marias and Sammy poopo take the top two spots and Silva will be

Eliminated he surfed in every ER round at every event so far this season this is the first one that he didn’t survive a lot on the line for all three athletes poo will be receded into the round of 32 as he finishes in second and Marias

Keeps his lead and closes it out with a Heat win remember check the live rankings and to see how high fredrico’s gone with that Victory as he keeps the dream alive here at the Rip Curl pro Bell’s Beach presented by Bon more pressure coming up

In the lineup in the last Heat of the day Callum Robson Cole hman and Kade Madson just like this seat will all be under pressure to perform all three Surfers behind the cut line here at stop number four Marias though looking incredibly clutch looking happy even though he’s in

A stressful situation here at stop number four of the year 65 and a 5.0 for clean rail work from the man from Portugal we can’t wait to see him compete potentially tomorrow at winky pop or Bell’s Beach we’ll be right back for the last seat of the Day got B You’re watching the rip c pro Bell’s Beach presented by Bon soy the sun is starting to set we’re into the last Heat of the day and there’s one man that’s always looking for a reason to celebrate he doesn’t have to look too far it’s time to start frothing with kpo where’s he

At hey it’s time to froth with bonsoy and what am I frothing about I’m frothing about what just happened today 61 years of competition here at Bells 50 years of Rip Curl providing the support for competition here and this year we got some extra flavor thanks to bonso

Presenting the Rip Curl beach pro presented by bonso bringing some extra flavor I’m here at the bonsoy booth and the extra flavor that I’m talking about is sparkling coconut water it’s refreshing it’s light it has all natural sugars my favorite the passion fruit of day that’s good stuff and that will get you

Frothing that’s right kpo I just had one of those actually I feel amazing about myself and my afternoon great activation site here if you live locally in the area you can meet all these amazing people these big brands that support this event bons soy the presenting sponsor of the longest

Running event on the calendar going back to the early days on longboards it saw the shortboard evolution we saw the Thruster introduced in 1981 by Simon Anderson himself and I love hearing the stories from the old boys you know hearing how big that day was there Simon introduced the Thruster and was

Untouchable but then the finals day was one foot and he could still ride the same board and beat everybody important heat getting started though for a former finalist out here Callum Robson with a big hook wow that was one big massive car there and it’s kind of what we grew

To know from Callum out at Bells will this wave give him anything else here on the inside is he going to be able to get a finish oh he’s going to be spewing that he didn’t make that turn and then Kate Madson needing a big result here really unloaded on his

Opening wave wow this was beautiful surfing from Cade this wave just had that really clean face and right now with so much lump and bump on the ocean these ones are hard to find sort of like a diamond in the rough that was great surfing and he could tell too little

Claim love it Kate Madson Fired Up Kicks off with a 733 under pressure of the mid Seas in Cut Callum Robson 4.83 and now Cole hman will have priority Cole and Cade going up together in sanl manyy they both really helped each other perform in a big way on the

Challenger Series last year when everyone saw coal success going back to back with his CH Challenger Series wins that helped everybody believe in themselves including Kade Madson to make his rookie debut this year for sure I think one of the most EXC I did a few Challenger Series events and called them

Last year and I think one of the most exciting things for me was just watching the vibe that those San Clemy boys had and it just grew from every event uh I was like you know what if I had to pick a bunch of crew that I was going to hang

Out with during an event I would definitely hanging with those guys and girls they just’s having the best time it looked like they’ll you know care um carefree and but all really supportive of each other too and I think it’s going to be a really tough heat uh for Kate

And Cole just knowing how much they both need a result here I mean Kate that’s going to feel so good for him right now now 733 in in a heat like this I when the pressure is on pressure is on just like it was in the heat before as well

Fredrico Moray picked up the big win as he’s hanging out with Laura ener yes Freddy big day one here at the Bells Beach of kpr everyone in Portugal be waking up right now to the good news that you’ve got the job done talk us through that heat uh solid surfing uh it

Was really grindy especially against two really good Surfers David and then Sammy um but it just looks like raders out there so I kind of felt at home um connected myself with the ocean and got two okay scores and got the job done and you were just saying before that uh you

Know when the waves come through there’s so much bump on the face that it’s quite hard to you know just find that that right wave how did you do that there oh it’s so tricky you just got to it’s a bit of a gamble you just kind of trust

Yourself and if you think it’s going to be a good a good one just you know just go and back up your decision H at the end of the day just you know you’re feeling good with your decisions it doesn’t matter the outcome amazing well

Into the next round a huge day I’m sure you’re going to be going getting to get dinner on the way home yeah well here in Australia we eat dinner super early in Portugal I still need a couple hours but yeah probably grab something to eat I’m

Starving and uh rested up cuz there’s a big day tomorrow again and uh anything to say to your friends and family back home in Portugal yeah sure thank you guys have a great dinner thank you see you tomorrow making us hungry up here Laura yeah we got to think about a

Feet soon and right in action with Cole hman on the back end housei looking for a nice inside wall to grow he’s got a real cool powerful backand now a section approaching hacks his way through beats the section with that maneuver right into a hack off the

Top and a bonus finishing move he’ll stay on his feet it’s cool when you see a guy that’s 63 225 that can be so light on his feet when he needs to be on those sections that are going really flat he carries his speed so incredibly well yeah he did and I

Think time was scking down there he kind of needed to get a wave on the board especially now that Kate sort of locked in that 733 drifted the fins there on that first turn cares back into that second the wave sort of got a little bit

Slower through this mid part here and I was almost thinking is is it sort of over but Cole could see something down the line floats that section there blasts the fins out as well up for a second one and quickly up for another little finish there so it’s going to

Feel good to string a few turns together and get a score on the board knowing that both uh Callum and Kade already have one locked in especially that 733 from Cade Cole hman grew up in a really cool neighborhood where his family live still lives today it’s a neighborhood that you

Could walk down these steps into a super fun beach break and there’s some really good Surfers that are in that neighborhood uh guys like Tanner runko are down there all the time uh just real cool great Surfers that always contend with it’s easy to find a sparring partner in that neighborhood

They really go crazy on Halloween and if you go by a Cole’s house you’re going to get drenched his dad’s usually up there with a fire hose just drenching everybody going past it’s awesome it’s a really festive neighborhood uh Cole’s so proud of growing up in s

Clti and get really pushed it kind of pro seemed like a a bit of an underdog growing up kind of maybe shadowed by the bigger Juniors that were coming out of the area but man as he grew and just became more and more dedicated he just

Emerged as such a rising star it made a lot of sense that he’d make it on tour and now he just has to learn all the ropes to to compete at the dream tour venues for sure I think back to even his run to get onto the Challenger Series

Was super quick I think it was something like look I could be getting this wrong but I think it was something in within five events or something he was already on tour from the qualifying series through to the Challenger Series and then you know pretty much got the you

Know you thinking after I’ve won two back-to-back events on the Challenger Series I’m pretty done like I’m I’m me I’m a shoe in you know on the tour so I I’d heard of Cole a little bit before but yeah he just blasted onto the scene

And uh I I love how he surfs I just feel like yeah he just hasn’t quite had that moment he’s probably been searching for yet on the tour Challenger Series we saw it just haven’t quite seen it yet here on tour it’s just a matter of moments

Before we really see him explode on this big stage Cole hasan’s last wave of 517 so now he’s second right behind his good friend Cade Callum dropping to third you’d think the the whole plan would be for them to go onew in this seat and sometimes you you know you have your

Coach like with Cade with snake with Cole with Luke but he basically has they ball have 10 coaches in the Red Bull athlete Zone at the moment with Griff and Crosby Eli hannaman even after a tough loss would be backing these guys to get through to represent so a lot of

Attention on the water right now in the last seat of the day for sure and I mean obviously when you go out there it’s something is an individual sport but you’ve got to be wondering as this heat ticks down and if these two do remain in

That first and second I mean it is it might be a bit hard for Callum to kind of sneak his way back in there it’s early days we’ve still got just under 20 minutes remaining and uh so we see a few of the boys on screen there we got the

Colapinto brothers got Crosby and Griff Eli representing as well good on him like after a tough loss being right there to back the support crew but yeah Cole from a classic neighborhood Ian crane lives right up the road too it’s just it’s you kind of walk around this little Loop you’d run

Into like Jason Miller uh such a standout in s CL many he still rips today a lot of names that might not be heard globally but so many rippers Kate Matson as well right in that same neighborhood throwing down a little climb and getting out in front little fad and cut

Back now starting to work through the inside remember had the 733 and the fins out beautiful connection there for Cade Callum kicks out interesting maybe a little bit of an error from Callum there I think just using that priority and handed it over to Coal but that last wave of Cade holy

Guacamole that was spicy I liked it lots of flare lots of flaring on the hardware occurring there’s something about Kate as well even though he hasn’t had the results here is hoping for he’s still joking still happy after each and every event he’s performed in this was uh the

Start of callum’s wave yeah he just got caught up on that foamy section he knew it straight away and wave selection maybe just letting him down a little bit of an error but this is the one we were talking about Finn’s free on that first turn straight up into that foamy section

There this little bit here was really hard to read but he did it so well comes through the inside here and the Damage wasn’t done he throws it up again and releases those fins looking very good they two waves that I’d be stok to have if I was in this seat especially being

An elimination round he’s going to be feeling good Kade yeah he’s got a little extra zap to his turns he’s got great energy he’s got that kind of style where he’s just anticipating something real big heading his way it’s hard to look away when kade’s up because he’s just

Always coiling up always in just completely invested in the sport of surfing and trying to learn everything he can in a short period of time 733 was his opener so he’ll be in a great position on that second scoring ride building his total out front started off

The his rookie debut falling out of a sky on a back door bomb it was a pretty radical Wipeout we held our breath he came up he went right back to do battle and moved on quickly even had a laugh with himself going well okay got that out of the way

Let’s move forward oh yeah that that was a deifying drop that one I on the edge of my like uhoh is he okay scores coming through for Cade 583 so that lead’s looking solid now Callum in second and Cole down to third hman with priority there and just needs

To really catch a wave to move into the top two so this heat is still very intense as the sun’s going down yeah it’s definitely intense however I I’m starting to feel that Kate is sort of running away with this and sort of see it even in his body posture as he’s

Paddling there he’s a little bit more upright probably he’s probably feeling good and now sort of with I mean we’re coming down to the halfway point in this heat it’s kind of a battle for second at the moment Cole basically needs to stand up to uh get into second he’s got

Priority and looks like there’s plenty of sets on the way I’m wondering if the guys are even going to be in position for this maybe the second one out the back looks to be pretty big and lot of lump and bump in that first one

So R just duck diving that but I wonder if they will even be in position for this second one cuz looking pretty Jo G Callum Robson with the most experience Out of This Crew here at Bell’s Beach a finalist as a rookie to Felipe too that always makes headline news when you just

Are on tour didn’t have a whole lot of history with major event wins through his Junior series the whole story for for C was he was actually taking up an apprenticeship and going to work and even working at the high performance centers and helping training the Next

Generation and the Juniors coming up and next thing you know he’s winning heats then qualifying for the tour and all of a sudden it felt like his whole Focus just transitioned overnight now getting some support from great Brands like Bon soy getting good boards from Darren

Hanley and he’s all of a sudden getting 10-point rides in Europe but now he finds himself in probably the toughest situation of his career result wise as he’s drifted down the rankings and he’s really starting to run out of time yeah he is and and this he is so crucial just

Like that last one I mean all three Surfers here need a result if you’re not advancing here you’re making your job so much harder going into Margaret River basically going in there being like a k kind of need a win or at least a semi-final or a win you know you needed

Something massive and however uh it can be done we’ve seen people like Isabella Nichols go into the that last cut event of the Year needing a big result she needed to win and she got the job done I mean you could it’s just amazing that she was out to pull it’s basically like

Pulling a rabbit out of a hat it was incredible really really good surfing that’s what makes Sports so fun isn’t it when you know the pressure that they have and they can perform and pull off Miracles and obviously they’re Miracles that make sense because they put in so

Much hard work but with an unpredictable ocean there’s so many variables that can happen and for people to find consistency on this tour is just incredible because you paddle out for one heat the conditions can change I mean Felicity has a longtime competitor of yourself when you lost to heat can

Are you really allowed to blame the conditions that day because someone’s got to win and in every heat oh look I I it’s the same for everyone everyone’s out there with the same conditions and somehow if you w’t the person that was winning the other person did and they

Obviously did something that you didn’t you know there’s obviously mistakes there that need to clean up of course we’re playing with Mother Nature there’s going to be that little bit of variable there but at the end of the day uh you know there’s always room for improvement

I think even back to what we were talking about before you know it’s so hard to get on that role we go back to Isabella Nichols who got that win there two years ago and saved her career but the next following year was absolute heartbreak for her where she actually

Fell off to her then had to get back on the Challenger Series to try and fight for a spot on tour again so I mean it’s just amazing how one event can just bring so much joy and so much sadness Cole hman on his second scoring wave of the matchup being very

Selective couple of wrapping cut backs but that’ll be enough to move into the top two probably hoping for a bit more there as we see the S CL crew just kind of holding their breath the colapinto brothers there to support both Cade and Cole with 11 minutes on the clock I

Think Griffin F cross are going to take a bonsoy brew break with us I’ll be right back to close out the [Applause] day and and check out this view the other day I was driving down to bells and I had to completely stop because I had a kangaroo

On the street and it just was staring at me and it’s h something to look out for definitely a word of caution be very careful around these parts of uh Australia because a kangaroo can run across the street at any time you always want to be driving safely defensively

But for a guy that’s not from Australia it’s still a really big deal when I see a kangaroo you know it’s magic on my way to the airport uh driving from Margaret River to Perth I had two very close calls oh with with a r yeah two yeah so

SC so scary just got to take extra precaution you know oh for sure like right down in those Dawn and dusk hours it’s uh it’s definitely the serious part it’s no joke you got to be careful on the roads but gosh their magic to watch

Is animals and when you get a nice safe position on them where you can enjoy them in the wild ah it’s really cool as Cade is still out in front of this one enjoying our time here in Victoria who loves their sport a lot of big sporting events

Happening in this state like the the F1 which a lot of the Surfers get to enjoy in the leadup to this event the Australian Open at tennis is a big Grand Slam that happens in Melbourne uh obviously the AFL Aussie rules uh football I think there’s about 10 teams from the state of

Victoria I like the jalong cats I’d like to support Ro yeah you can go to Great venues like the MCG and watch them perform about an hour drive or so from where we are right now at Bells but yeah they love their sport they’re amazing fans really respectful to the Surfers

When now 724 in I was mentioning Morris Cole earlier he was probably one of the more famous Shapers from this area and famous for the reverse V which I think he explained in the past as kind of a mistake in manufacturing at the time but turned into a gamechanging moment it was

Basically the opposite of what was happening at the time where the V was actually under the front foot and nothing you know between the fins which is totally opposite and there’s some famous moments like Tom Curran uh writing that design a famous shot from Tom surve back door where he’s doing

That cut back on that model from Morris Cole uh more kind of recently in the event I remember Trent Monroe when he won going left and the hold event moved to Philip Island it was about two foot yes I remember that year he had that 510 that was another magic moment for

The team who kind of Untouchable Trend was that finals day getting through everybody in the draw Lightning Fast backand whips and it was kind of rare you know you’re going left for a bell because it used to go mobile a lot back in the day up to Johanna yeah we’ go

Over to Philip island in the past uh you know Winky’s just around the corner but tell how dedicated it was for contest officials the tour Rip Curl to to find the best waves they could on the coastline W that ocean right now I just had a look over my shoulder and look out

To the Horizon almost looks like that winds picked up a notch or two it just looks pretty tricky it’s going to be really hard to find those clean face waves right now obviously got Callum sitting down in that third position he’s got priority only needing at 2.85 with time toen down

You got to be thinking that it’s just standing up in one turn basically so Cole knows that he’s definitely not safe sitting there in that uh number two spot holding it to that 25 as a backup he’s definitely going to want to improve on that too Callum is so dangerous in this

Position priority only chasing a 285 he’s shown his depth in different conditions love him in Hollow waves absolutely charges and Incredibly dedicated to his workout program dialing in his craft great head on his shoulders still really young right now You’ just be thinking man that pressure would be creeping in

With five minutes on the clock you know your spot on tour is on the line doesn’t want to leave it all to Margaret River for the final stop before the cut and it could be tough you know I mean it’s individual but there’s three guys out there and there’s two good

Friends in the top two spots I know that could be a little overwhelming at this stage for sure I sort of softly touched on that at about the 18 minute Mark of the SE uh and now it’s actually coming to fruition however Cole and Callum their backup their backup score is quite

Low so you’ve got to be thinking if his set rolls through they’re coming through in twos and threes today both of those Surfers probably well all three Surfers I hope are going to get another opportunity to uh have a roll of dice so you see it kind of looks

Actually a little bit flat on that Horizon looks very small when you watch it from this angle here you can just see how much texture is on the face of these waves that’s why it’s so important to try and pick off that second wave of the

Set just to allow yourself to get that really smooth face that it’s conducive to those arcing turns as Cole sort of had his look there yeah Cole in the position where he can kind of look at waves having no consequence already being in the back of the line for priority

Cole went that way where we got a couple wraps and only was able to get a 25 it’s not what he was hoping for number wise there’s enough to get in the top two but it’s left the door wide open for colum with priority and not needing much intense situation remember we lost

Seth monice in the first elimination round matchup that was a big name going down another guy that’s going to be really under pressure at marar River to perform there’s a lot of looking around going on a lot of back and forth scanning I mean

Cole can kind of afford to do that he is in third priority so he can have a little bit of a sniff he can have a little bit of a look but definitely nervous times right now he knows he’s in that second