FREEWAVE MAINLAND WEBSITE FEATURES FRESH VIDEO OF SUMMER’S HOTTEST SURF ACTION;

EPIC RIDES FROM SO CAL NOW LIVE — HURRICANE BERTHA PROMISES NEW EAST COAST ENTRIES

IRVINE, CA — (July 10, 2008) — With California experiencing one of the best early summers for surf in a decade, the entries are flooding in for the Billabong Freewave Challenge Mainland edition.  Action clips of the best rides of the season so far are up on the Video Hub portion of the event website and can be viewed by clicking HERE. 

For much of the last three weeks, Lower Trestles near San Clemente, California has been a magnet for a series of solid south swells and has been the epicenter of Freewave action.  The long walls of Lowers provided a perfect canvas for the waveriding artistry of veteran pros along with a complement of young upstarts visiting for the NSSA Nationals.  Tom Curren and Chris Ward have set a blistering pace in the Monster Maneuver division with rides that show how many heavy moves can fit on a single wave.  Among surfers 16-and-under, check out Andrew Doheny, Luke Davis and Keanu Asing setting the bar and getting the most views in the Small Fries category.  In the Heartbreaker Female Performance section, Coco Ho, Leila Hurst and Malia Manuel are the frontrunners.  Other categories beginning to see worthy entries include the Best Barrel and Longest Ride.

The Billabong Freewave Mainland runs through the end of summer on September 22 and is open to all surfers at all surf breaks along all coastlines of the Lower 48 states.  All rides NOT occurring during a regular surfing contest are eligible. While Southern California has led the early action, all eyes now turn to the East Coast where Hurricane Bertha is expected to kick up solid surf by the weekend from Florida to Maine.  See Surfline for all the details on Bertha.

Videographers capturing top surfing action are able to upload clips to the Freewave website and viewers worldwide can check out the action and rate and comment on their favorites in a YouTube-style environment.  The most popular clips at the end of the event period will be narrowed down as finalists, and the surfers and videographers involved in the event will vote to determine the winners.  The top surfers and the videographers who captured the action will share $40,000 in prize money.  For full rules and event format details, see the website at www.FreewaveChallenge.com.

At least in California, the ten days since the Freewave Mainland event kicked off have been somewhere between super-good and semi-epic.  A nearly endless procession of south swells and a ton of brilliant pro and NSSA amateur surfers on the case and that’s all we need.  Admittedly, it’s been a bit LOWER TRESTLES-centric (if that’s a word) but when it comes to all-around summer high performance waves and a place where a Pt. Dume-style paparazzi  beat-down is low-risk, Lowers is the place to see and be seen.  Thus far we have some solid early entries in the Small Fries and Heartbreaker divisions to get the ball rolling — but be advised the GOODS from the Freewave Opening Day Cavalcade of surf are being processed at this moment and will be posted through this week form no less than 5 top lensmen who were on the case.  Many edited  compliation clips have been posted on some of our partner websites from that session which makes one wonder out of all the sick single moves, which surfer pulled off the most on a single wave and and in the end stayed stuck to his blade?  That’s what it takes to win in the Monster Manuevers division and we’ll be looking forward to seeing those surging in shortly as soon as the surf action slows and the editing drudgery can proceed.  (more…)

Boy, that did not take long.  The Freewave Mainland kicked off on the morning of June 20, which turned out to be the session of the year so far at Lower Trestles.  Lots of pros going at it like the men that they are.  Look for clips from the Friday and Saturday sessions shortly.  (Thursday had some good waves too, but those rides were a few hours early so they don’t count, cuz those are the rules.)And the action pretty much continued unabated through the weekend and into Monday as every top grom in the country warmed up for the NSSA Nationals which began today at Lowers.  Yesterday there were some solid moves to get some entries in the books for the Small Fries and Heartbreaker categories.  Check out the Under 16 antics of Andrew Doheny, Luke Davis and Keanu Asing here.  After that, glide over to see Coco Ho and Leila Hurst starting the bidding in the Heartbreaker female performance category.  Plenty more to come so keep checking back daily!  Freewave Mainland is going off. 

BILLABONG FREEWAVE CHALLENGE LAUNCHES ON MAINLAND USA COASTLINES; BEST SURFING PERFORMANCES OF SUMMER ON VIDEO FEATURED IN VIRTUAL EVENT

The second edition of the Billabong Freewave Challenge presented by Monster Energy kicks off on June 20, the first day of summer, and this time focuses on the shores of Mainland USA.  Every ride by every surfer captured on video all summer long is eligible for entry and will be displayed on the event website at www.FreewaveChallenge.com.  Video clips may be entered in five different categories including the Monster Maneuver, Small Fries (16 and Under surfers), Best Barrel, Heartbreaker (Female Performance) and the Longest Ride.  A total of $40,000 in prize money will be awarded to the surfers and videographers with the most progressive and popular rides.

The first Freewave Challenge took place on the North Shore of Oahu over the elite winter season with top pros taking the top honors.  Hawaiian local Jamie O’Brien took the award for Best Maneuver and Timmy Reyes of Huntington Beach, CA won for the Best Tube Ride of the year.  With the growing success of the Freewave concept as a showcase for the best surfing outside of regular surf contests, the event has been extended to new regions and new categories of performance.

Any wave ridden at any break along the Pacific, Atlantic and Gulf Coasts of the Lower 48 states is eligible for entry this time.  All rides must take place between June 20 and the end of summer on September 22.  After the entry window closes, the most popular clips will be reviewed and voted on by the surfers and videographers entered in the event and the winners in all five categories will be announced.

With a good run of south swells rolling into California and many of the nation’s top young performers visiting for the NSSA Nationals, the early days of the event window look to be fruitful and fresh clips will be posted by next week.  In the meantime, viewers may visit the Freewave Archives and check out all the action from the Freewave North Shore.

Several new categories have been added to Freewave Mainland to expand the scope of the event.  These include THE MONSTER MANEUVER AWARD for the most spectacular maneuver or series of maneuvers executed on a single wave; the SMALL FRIES AWARD for the best performance on a single wave by a surfer age 16 or under; the BEST BARREL AWARD for the longest, deepest and most challenging tube ride; the HEARTBREAKER AWARD for the best performance on a single wave by a female surfer; and the LONGEST RIDE AWARD for the longest elapsed time spent riding a single wave.  For full rules and prize money breakdowns, see the event website at FreewaveChallenge.com.

Surfers and videographers wishing to enter the Freewave Mainland can register on the website.  Surfers may create their own bio listing and videographers may download items they will need to edit clips and prepare them for uploading in the YouTube-style Freewave Video Hub.

“The Freewave format marks a new era for surfing events, because it lasts for months and anyone can be a part of it,” said event director Bill Sharp.  “Although there are prizes, we view the Freewave project as being more like an art show than a competition.  There is so much brilliant surfing taking place that has nothing to do with regular surf contests with heats and judges and jerseys, especially on the day of the season at every break all around this country.  I think we will see fantastic entries from the West Coast, East Coast and the Gulf and being able to track what everyone else is up to this summer will push the performance levels that much higher. Most importantly, Freewave Mainland is going to be entertaining and fun — like surfing is supposed to be.”

For all the details on the event and to view sample clips for the various categories, go to www.FreewaveChallenge.com.

HAWAII’S JAMIE O’BRIEN TAKES TOP TWO PERFORMANCE RIDES AND $14,444.43 IN FREEWAVE CHALLENGE;

CALIFORNIA’S TIMMY REYES GETS $5555.55 FOR BEST TUBE RIDE OF THE NORTH SHORE SURFING SEASON

HALEIWA, HAWAII — (February 11, 2008) — Hawaiian surfer Jamie O’Brien was announced today as the big winner at the first-ever Billabong Freewave Challenge, capturing both First and Second Place in the Best Performance Ride category and collecting a whopping $14,444.43 for two waves’ work.  O’Brien, a key proponent of “free-surfing” as performed outside of regular competitive formats and judging criteria, was voted number one by his peers for his “Rodeo Flip,” a backside aerial maneuver combining an inverted flip and a 360 degree turn with both hands grabbing the rails. That single ride earned a check for $9999,99.  O’Brien’s second place ride was a “Freak Out Turn” featuring a hard carve into a forward flip with a half twist.  To view O’Brien’s rides and the rest of the Performance Nominees, click HERE.

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FREEWAVE CHALLENGE HAWAII NARROWS DOWN BEST RIDES OF NORTH SHORE SURF SEASON;

SUNNY GARCIA AND JORDY SMITH TAKE THIRD PLACE IN TUBE AND PERFORMANCE CATEGORIES

HALEIWA, HAWAII — (February 8, 2004) — The prolonged countdown to the champions of the first Freewave Challenge presented by Billabong continued onward today with the revealing of the third place finishers in both Best Performance and Best Tube Ride categories. The all-new virtual event showcases the best wave riding captured on video during the fall/winter season on the North Shore of Oahu — surfing’s Ground Zero — and holds it up for public analysis at the FreewaveChallenge.com website. A total of $40,000 in prize money is being awarded to the world’s best freesurfers throughout this week. (more…)

JORDY SMITH & STERLING SPENCER ARE FOURTH PLACE IN FREEWAVE CHALLENGE COUNTDOWN;

VIDEO EVENT SHOWCASES TOP PERFORMANCE AND TUBE RIDES OF HAWAIIAN SURF SEASON

HALEIWA, HAWAII — (February 6, 2008) — The countdown of champions in the first Freewave Challenge presented by Billabong continues with the unveiling of the fourth place finishers in both Best Performance and Best Tube Ride categories. The online surfing event showcases the best waves captured on video from the sport’s true Mecca — the winter on the North Shore of Oahu — and puts it all up for the world to see at the FreewaveChallenge.com website. $40,000 in prize money is being awarded to top pro surfers over the course of the next week. (more…)

FREEWAVE CHALLENGE AWARDS COUNTING DOWN BEST RIDES OF HAWAIIAN SURF SEASON; CHAPMAN AND WALSH TAKE FIFTH PLACE FOR BEST PERFORMANCE & BEST TUBE RIDE

HALEIWA, HAWAII — (February 4, 2004) — The countdown to the winners of the first Freewave Challenge presented by Billabong began today with the announcement of the fifth place finishers in both Best Performance and Best Tube Ride categories. The first-of-its-kind virtual event showcases the best surfing captured on video from the sport’s epicenter — the winter on the North Shore of Oahu — and presents it for examination and debate at the FreewaveChallenge.com website. A total of $40,000 in prize money will be awarded to top-finishing surfers over the course of the next week. (more…)

FREEWAVE CHALLENGE ANNOUNCES FINALISTS FOR BEST PERFORMANCE AND TUBE RIDE; VIDEO CLIPS FEATURE GREATEST FREESURFING MOMENTS OF HAWAII’S NORTH SHORE WINTER

The greatest surfing performances of the Hawaiian winter were honored today as the finalists were announced in the first Freewave Challenge presented by Billabong. Five nominees per category were revealed in a pair of event divisions — the Best Tube Ride and the Best Performance Ride — culled from over 120 video clips submitted of every good day on the North Shore of Oahu during the months of October, November and December. The finalist clips can be viewed at the event website at FreewaveChallenge.com. (more…)

As the sun set over Kaena Point on New Year’s Eve, the first Freewave Challenge Presented by Billabong came to a close after three full months of surfing action. The sport’s first virtual event, the Freewave Challenge summarizes the best rides of the North Shore season and determines which surfers had the greatest free-surfing moments on video outside of the regular contest circuit. (more…)