The groundbreaking first stop of the REnextop Asian Surfing Tour (RAST) wrapped up last Sunday afternoon in Canggu, Bali after four exciting days of competition to crown winners in four divisions and celebrate their victory at nearby Premier Surf Camp.
In the last final of the day, the Men’s Shortboard Division saw Indonesia’s Rio Waida claim victory over fellow Indonesian Darmaputra in a closely contested 25 minute final.
“I had so much fun in that final with Tonjo (Darmaputra), the waves were firing. I’m so stoked to win this event,” said Rio at the awards party. “Tonjo almost got that score at the last minute, and I was just out the back sitting there nervously, as I could only watch and hope, and luckily for me he didn’t,” he added.
Rio goes home with a new Chilli surfboard, $1,000 cash, a nice REnextop trophy and some FU Wax to make sure his feet stay stuck to his board in the next competition.
In the Men’s Longboard Division it was two-time World Longboard Champion Harley Ingleby from Australia taking out fellow Australian Jack Entwistle in the glassy 3-4 foot righthanders. Ingleby’s power, poise, and the variety of maneuvers he executed with unshakable precision had the audience and judges on the beach wowed. Ingleby received $1,000 cash as well as FU Wax and a handmade REnextop trophy.
The Women’s Shortboard Division was won by one of the youngest competitors in the event, 14 year old Summa Longbottom. Summa is Australian but lives in Bali, the daughter of shaper and big wave charger Dylan Longbottom. Dylan was also in the competition and finished equal third in the Men’s Shortboard Division.
In the Women’s Longboard Division it was a surprise victory for Korea’s Jina Kim over Daisy Valdez from the Philippines. While Daisy waited outside for the larger waves, Jina picked of the smaller runners on the inside that offered more noseriding opportunities, which the judges were scoring more highly.
There were a total of 64 surfers competing in the event, from countries including Australia, China, Indonesia, Japan, Korea, the Philippines, and Taiwan.
Lillian Chen, the CEO of REnextop, was extremely delighted at the conclusion of event, saying “It was beyond our expectations in every way, from the number of surfers from all over Asia that joined, to the level of surfing by the competitors, and the awesome waves we had, it was all absolutely perfect. And considering it was our very first event, we’re just so happy! Taking our Chinese surfers outside of China and giving them the experience of surfing with pro surfers from other countries is our goal, and we certainly accomplished that here. And through one of our media partners in China we broadcast the event live every day to our Chinese audience, and had over 5,000 views per day, so we’re able to share this experience with the larger audience and encourage them to participate in the future. I’m already looking forward to the next event in Japan, and I hope we get lots of surfers coming there as well. A big thanks to the ASC, the PSC, and all the sponsors for making this event such as success!”
RAST #2 will be held in Japan, tentatively in September, so look for an announcement in early July for details.
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