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RIP CURL PRO BELLS BEACH 2008 Surf Contest Headlines

Kelly Slater Rings his Third Bell at the Rip Curl Pro Bells Beach

Thursday, March 27, 2008: Rip Curl Pro Bells Beach – Kelly Slater (USA) has further asserted that he is the best surfer on earth after winning the Rip Curl Pro pres. by Snickers today. Launching a huge air to earn a last minute score and beat Bede Durbidge (AUS)in the final, the 36-year old has claimed his 36th event win and rung the bell for the third time. Rip Curl Pro Bells Beach Finals Complete Story...

Kelly Slater (USA) and Bede Durbidge (AUS) ring the bell at Rip Curl Pro Bells Beach. Photo ASP Tostee

RIP CURL PRO BELLS BEACH 2008 Video: FINAL - SLATER vs DURBIDGE

Day: 10 Final Heat of the Rip Curl Pro 2008, Kelly Slater from USA against Bede Durbidge from Australia.

Rip Curl Pro Bells Beach Runs Through Round Four in Fun Surf at Winkipop

Wednesday, March 26, 2008: Rip Curl Pro Bells Beach –The completion of six Rip Curl Pro Round 4 heats at the mobile venue of Winkipop has set the stage for Quarterfinals 1-3. The heats are stacked.

All but two heats of Round 4 were run in five foot surf (two metre) at Winkipop – a right-hand reef break three hundred meters north of Bells Beach. More Rip Curl Pro Round Three Action...

KELLY SLATER APPLIES SOME PRESSURE, RIP CURL PRO BELLS BEACH ROUND 3

Tuesday, March 25, 2008: Rip Curl Pro Bells Beach – Round 3 of the Rip Curl Pro presented by Snickers went mobile when event officials decided that the nearby break of Winkipop was offering higher scoring potential than the primary site of Bells Beach this afternoon.

Eight times ASP World Champion Kelly Slater (USA) maintained his sensational form at Winkipop today to win his Round 3 heat over Jihad Khodr (BRA). Surf Photo ASP Tostee

Americans Dane Reynolds, C.J. Hobgood and Kelly Slater wasted no time illustrating that the move was a warranted one when they posted a series of excellent scores in the first two heats held at the back-up venue. More Rip Curl Pro Bells Beach Round 3 action...

RIP CURL PRO BELLS BEACH CALLED OFF AFTER THREE ROUNDS TODAY

Monday, March 24, 2008 – Rip Curl Pro Bells Beach: Round 3 of the Rip Curl Pro presented by Snickers was slated to run post the completion of the Rip Curl Women’s Pro this afternoon but deteriorating conditions forced event officials to call off competition after just three heats.

Dane Reynolds Wows the Crowds in Round 2 of the Rip Curl Pro pres. by Snickers

Saturday, March 22, 2008 - Rip Curl Pro Bells Beach: ASP World Tour rookie Dane Reynolds (USA) was a world renowned surfer long before he joined the Dream Tour. The 22-year-old Californian brought the boundary-breaking surfing he’s best known for to Round 2 of the Rip Curl Pro Bells Beach today.

Surfing Photo: Dane Reynolds throws some spray to send Heitor Alves home in Round 2 of the Rip Curl Pro pres. by Snickers. Credit ASP Tostee

Rip Curl Pro Bells Beach Falsh Back - 1986 • Tom Curren vs Mark Occhilupo in what might be the greatest man-on-man surfing heat of all time. At that moment, it was the best regular foot, against the best goofy foot, both completely going off! Music By Hoodoo Gurus.

TIME DIFFERENCE: GMT + 10

COORDINATES: 38º20’ S, 144º19’ E

BAGGAGE CLAIM: Melbourne Avalon Airport, Geelong (GEX)

TRANSPORTATION: Rent a car or pray your team manager has a van. Melbourne airport is a good hour away from Torquay, and the break at Bells is a fair hike from most of the local accomodation.

ATTITUDE: Torquay is the birth place of both Rip Curl Wetsuits and Quiksilver Clothing… you really can’t get more core. Surf culture, and those who embrace it, are alive and well in this Down Under industry mecca teeming with folklore.

THE WAVE: Bells Beach is comprised of several breaks, The Bowl, Outside Bells, Rincon, Centreside, Southside and Winkipop among them. Outside Bells is the main break that produces a long, fast, even wall when it gets above six foot. The Bowl is the steep final section of the wave, and just east of The Bowl, Winki runs over a reef producing a quick, hollow wave that often surpasses conditions at Bells proper.

PERKS: “Ringing a Bell”, or winning one at Bells, rates right up there with childbirths and wedding days for the guys who get to do it — it’s one of surfing’s highest honors.

PERILS: Run up and down the stairway from the cliff to the sea a few times and you’re well on your way to buns o’ steel. The occasional White Pointer has been spotted around the chilly waters of Torquay, but are generally well fed.

APRES SURF: Bells is a pretty sleepy spot, but The Torquay Hotel, Rip Curl’s Media Night and a house party or two heat things up when it’s cold outside.

ASP WORLD TOUR HISTORY: The Rip Curl Pro Bells Beach is the longest-runnning professional surfing contest in existence. The event has been run around Easter time each year since 1973!

NOTABLE: The Rip Curl Pro ran in 15-foot monster sets in 1981 — one wave was even ridden from Rincon all the way to Winkipop! The same year, shaping pioneer Simon Anderson won the event on a three-fin board, ushering in the dominance of the thruster. In 1987 Nick Wood and Richard Marsh made the final…and they were both trialists! Nick won at the ripe old age of 15. Mick Fanning also won the event as a wildcard in 2001. In 1993 the move that has transformed professional surfing as we know it was made — flat surf forced the event to go mobile… a luxury often utilized now. Sunny Garcia has won the contest and rung the bell three times, but has yet to actually win an event in the Bowl.