November 09 Archive

Best Grom Video gets a FLOW sponsorship from US!

Courtesy of surfersvillage.com

Jensen and Schumacher Take PLA Pro Championships
OCEANSIDE, California (Sunday, November 15, 2009) – The Association of Surfing Professionals (ASP) Longboard Qualifying Series (LQS) 1-Star PLA Pro Championships saw local talent Taylor Jensen (Oceanside, CA), 25, take out the men’s division, while fellow San Diegan Cori Schumacher (Cardiff, CA), 34, clinched her second consecutive women’s ASP North America Longboard Title when she won the PLA Pro Championships presented by Gidget in the peaky two-to-three foot wind-swell on offer at South Oceanside Pier.

Jensen, who grew up surfing Oceanside’s beachbreak, was trailing in third place behind Tony Silvagni (Kure Beach, NC), 22, but battled back to overtake the lead by combining two lengthy noserides and progressive turns to eventually place the field in a combination situation before claiming the PLA Pro Championships, the last event on the 2009 regional series.

“I just lucked into a wave,” Jensen said. “Brendan (White) took the one before it and I just sort of lucked into it and it worked out.”

Jensen, who has also been living in Australia, has been splitting his time between the two nations and was thrilled to take out a win at home after traveling back from Australia.

“I was getting really excited about this contest on the flight over,” Jensen said. “There is hardly ever a contest here, so to win one is pretty special.”

Jensen dominated several ASP LQS events this year, claiming three contest victories while finishing No. 11 on the ASP World Longboard Tour. After capping his season off with an additional victory, he’ll look to next year where he’ll be competing as one of the world’s finest longboarders on the 2010 ASP WLT.

“I’m really happy with how the year went overall,” Jensen said. “The Australia leg went really well for me. I didn’t do as well as I would have liked on the World Tour, but I’ve requalified for next year. I started the year off with a win and to end it with a win is pretty ideal.”

Schumacher also dominated the tricky beachbreak conditions brought on by the drained out tide and shifting swell to claim the ASP 2-Star PLA Pro Championships presented by Gidget. The competitive veteran paced herself throughout the event, saving the best for last when left her fellow finalists, including reigning two-time ASP Women’s World Longboard Champion Jen Smith (San Diego, CA), 23, in need of two scores to overtake her commanding lead in the Final.

“I really learned my lesson at the last event in Ocean Beach because the conditions were similar to this and I was surfing super hard in every heat and was too tired by the end of the contest,” Schumacher said. “I tried to stay super mellow until the Final and then went all out.”

Although Schumacher was the 2008 regional champion, her title this year was won over several events whereas last year’s title was decided solely on one contest.

“I’m stoked to take the regional title two years in a row,” Schumacher said. “This year has been different though because there have been several events instead of just the one and I really prefer it. I think all of the other girls do too.”

For additional PLA information log on to www.surfpla.com

For additional ASP information log on to www.aspworldtour.com or www.aspnorthamerica.org

PLA Pro Championships Final Results:
1 – Taylor Jensen (USA)
2 – Steve Newton (USA)
3 – Tony Silvagni (USA)
4 – Brendan White (USA)

PLA Pro Championships Semifinals Results:
SF 1: Taylor Jensen (USA) 16.16, Tony Silvagni (USA) 13.06, Josh Baxter (USA) 11.90, Cole Robbins (USA) 8.07
SF 2: Brendan White (USA) 13.83, Steve Newton (USA) 13.14, Troy Mothershead (USA) 10.94, Kai Sallas (HAW) 10.93

PLA Pro Championships Quarterfinals Results:
QF 1: Tony Silvagni (USA) 12.04, Josh Baxter (USA) 11.53, Colin McPhillips (USA) 11.50, Duane DeSoto (HAW) 10.50
QF 2: Taylor Jensen (USA) 13.67, Cole Robbins (USA) 12.00, Mike Stidham (USA) 10.43, Nelson Ahina (HAW) 9.30
QF 3: Brendan White (USA) 15.16, Troy Mothershead (USA) 14.74, Noah Shimabukuro (USA) 10.10, Brett Robbins (USA) 7.07
QF 4: Kai Sallas (HAW) 11.60, Steve Newton (USA) 11.30, Eli Gillis (USA) 11.27, Darren Eudaly (USA) 10.36

PLA Pro Championships Round of 32 Results:
Heat 1: Duane DeSoto (HAW) 13.67, Mike Stidham (USA) 11.83, Joe Aaron (USA) 11.50, Artie Castro (USA) 2.23
Heat 2: Colin McPhillips (USA) 14.60, Cole Robbins (USA) 11.17, Job Ishiki (USA) 8.33, Danny Ryder (USA) 3.63
Heat 3: Taylor Jensen (USA) 14.16, Tony Silvagni (USA) 10.90, Dennis Bourg (USA) 5.23, Tim Reda (USA) 4.77
Heat 4: Nelson Ahia (HAW) 12.67, Josh Baxter (USA) 11.33, Bryce Young (USA) Jerry Swearingen (USA) 7.26
Heat 5: Troy Mothershead (USA) 10.87, Eli Gillis (USA) 9.77, Keegan Edwards (HAW) 6.27, Byron Rohrer (USA) 5.70
Heat 6: Brendan White (USA) 14.83, Darren Eudaly (USA) 13.17, Greg Briggs (USA) 9.67, Chris Koerner (USA) 6.66
Heat 7: Kai Sallas (HAW) 16.34, Noah Shimabukuro (USA) 12.56, Scott Brandenburg (USA) 10.60, Cody Ulrich (USA) 6.14
Heat 8: Steve Newton (USA) 12.83, Brett Robbins (USA) 8.77, Wyatt Potts (USA) 5.70, Scott Flynn (USA) 4.36

Courtesy of www.surfpla.com

PLA prepares for PLA Pro Championships, Ready to Crown 2010 PLA Champion

November 2, 2009

The Professional Longboard Association which is currently in preparation for their Championship event, is set to crown its 2nd PLA Men's Champion and its 1st ever PLA Women's Champion.

The PLA Pro Championships presented by Gidget are set to take place on November 14th and 15th in Oceanside, CA at the Oceanside Pier, South Side. As the season winds down, and all WLT events are finally over, the PLA is expecting a large turnout from both Men's and Women's divisions. Both divisions are fairly close and final qualifying rankings for the 2010 WLT will come down to this last PLA event. The Men's Division is currently lead by defending PLA champion and recent winner of the Oxbow Maldives WLT event Kai Sallas, while Former World Champion Cori Schumacher leads the Women's Division.

The PLA Pro Championship event not only marks the completion for the 2009 season but also generates a first for the PLA, as they will organize the first PLA surf expo and festival, as well as the first Stand Up Paddle Race to be held in conjunction with the surf contest.

The PLA Surf Expo will be held in the Oceanside Amphitheatre directly behind the Surf Contest at the Oceanside Pier. The Expo will have Surfing related companies sampling and selling products, Live Music, Surfboard Demo Opportunities, and Raffles (surfboards, SUP boards, clothing, wetsuits, etc...). Expo will be FREE and OPEN TO THE PUBLIC. Hours of expo are Saturday Nov 14th 9am-5pm and November 15th 9am-4pm.

The PLA Stand Up Paddle Race will be held in conjunction with the PLA Pro Championships on Sunday November 15th. The Race will start at 11AM, and is a 5 mile course which will start and finish on the beach directly to the South of the surf contest. Registrations are $45 and available on the PLA website www.surfpla.com. Divisions include 12'6" (Stock), 14', and Unlimited. Male and Female divisions are available. Purse Prizes awarded to top 3 finishers in each category. For questions related to the SUP course and Purse Payout please contact Jack Sutter at seastheday@cox.net.