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Excellent wave and weather conditions allowed a 7:30am start for the Men’s Shortboard Division on Day Two of the REnextop Asian Surfing Tour’s (RAST) Bali stop today at Canggu, yesterday, where Indonesia’s 17-year-old Rio Waida executed a full rotation aerial in the first heat of the morning to earn a perfect 10 points score from the judges and win the heat.  A perfect start to the day.

“I was sitting on an 8 and a 7 and in the lead, so I was feeling pretty safe, and with the wind blowing side shore it was perfect for an air, so I just went for it.  So stoked I pulled it off and the judges gave me a 10!” said Rio.

“I surf Canggu every weekend when it’s good, so I know the waves here pretty well.  That helps a lot with wave selection in a contest and then knowing what maneuvers I can try.  Hopefully I can get into the final and maybe even win this event,” he added.

Rio is one of Indonesia’s brightest up and coming surf stars, having recently finished runner up at the WSL QS1000 Komune Bali Pro by taking out some of the best surfers in the world including WCT competitor Sebastian Zietz.

There were a heap of highlights from the 32 strong field of men’s shortboard competitors, including big wave charger and surfboard shaper Dylan Longbottom taking down a couple of youngsters to win his heat and advance to Round 2.

Made Darmayasa followed Rio’s lead and took to the air to handily complete an air reverse and eliminate Bali’s most well-known surfing legend Rizal Tandjung from the competition.

Forever young Pepen Hendrik together with ASC’s Tipi Jabrik both showed the younger guys that they can still hold their own, with Pepen taking first and Tipi taking second in Heat 7.

Young grommies Ben Benson and Bronson Meidy went head to head for second spot behind Padma Beach’s Darma Putra Tonjo in Heat 8, with Ben coming out on top. Both kids show amazing talents at such a young age.

In the Men’s Longboard Division, Harley Ingleby put on another world championship performance with a strong display of both noseriding and power surfing, while Indonesia’s Mencos Cosomen won his heat on a single fin log and with more traditional style surfing.

“I’m so glad to have won my heat today for sure,” said Mencos.  “It was tricky because the waves were a bit big and windy, but it was still fun.  I’m hoping we get better conditions for tomorrow with less wind.  Also I’m really happy to be able to join this event…thanks to REnextop and the ASC for putting it on and inviting me to come. I’m competing with some of my friends that I’ve met in other countries like from Australia and the Philippines here at the contest, and it’s nice to see them in my country this time.”

Head Judge Keenan Roxburgh summed up the day by saying, “I think we were blessed today for sure.  Looking at the forecast yesterday I was a bit green on what we were going to see today, but we got great waves and great conditions this morning.  We saw the whole judging panel throw down 10’s in the first heat of the day in the Men’s Shortboard division, so that’s a great way to start any day’s competition.”

“In the Men’s Longboard Division, having a couple of world championship tour surfers like Harley and Jack raises the level for everything I think.  They brought some real power surfing to the table, but having said that, the boys from Java were not outshined even thought they were surfing traditional single fin longboards.  They showed us some spectacular and innovative single maneuvers that were made more difficult due to the windy conditions, which was very impressive.  So wrapping up the day, I’d call it a huge success!” he concluded.

Contest Director Tipi Jabrik was calling for a 7:30 start today with the Women’s Shortboard Division up first, then the Men’s Shortboard Division, followed by the Men’s Longboard Division.

The swell forecast is predicting the wave size this morning to be similar to yesterday morning and then dropping through the day.  Hopefully the wind will be moderate and provide more clean conditions for Day 3.

As a reminder, the after party and awarding will take place on Sunday at Premier Surf Camp on Jalan Pantai Pererenan, starting at 6 pm.  So be sure to come and enjoy the fun and celebrate with all the competitors, friends, and sponsors.

To see the video highlights of today’s action click here:

https://youtu.be/-Y0LbDuNKdo

To download and check out the REnextop application click here:

http://a.app.qq.com/o/simple.jsp?pkgname=com.topxgun.renextop

REnextop is Asia’s first platform dedicated to helping extreme sportsmen and independent athletes to realize their dreams, and surfing is one of the most important extreme sports for REnextop

The REnextop Asian Surfing Tour 2017 starts in Bali from 8-11 of June and will have three additional events later in the year in Japan, Taiwan, and China.