CURRENT EVENTS: Bodyboarding News

CURRENT EVENTS: Bodyboarding News

...Damian King announces retirement, Jeff Hubbard wins in Puerto Rico, Fronton, Final rankings for DKWT and WWT!


DAMIAN KING ANNOUNCES RETIREMENT PLANS

Damian King claiming the 2011 IBA DKWT title in Puerto Rico.  Photo: Action

  PORT MACQUARIE, AUSTRALIA-  2x Mens World Champion and 2011 Drop Knee World Champion Damian King announced his retirement plans this past week.  Kingy, the only professional bodyboarder to ever win both the men's world title (2003 and 2004) as well as the drop knee world title (2011), will retire at the conclusion of the 2013 IBA Men's World Tour Grand Slam Series in which he will compete as one of the top 24 ranked bodyboarders in the world and battle it out for the world title.  For more information on this story, please click on the following link:

http://www.portnews.com.au/story/925559/world-champion-king-announces-retirement-date/


JEFF HUBBARD WINS 2012 IBA ENCANTO PRO PUERTO RICO

  ISABELA, PUERTO RICO-  2x World Champion Jeff Hubbard (Hawaii) won the 2012 IBA Encanto Pro at Middles in Isabela, Puerto Rico on the final day of the competition window (November 2nd-13th) last week.  With this, his third win of the season (Pipeline, Zicatela, and now Puerto Rico), Hubb goes into the final event of the 2012 tour with the points lead and an opportunity to claim his third world championship.  Stay tuned for more on this...

  Also, walking away with victories at the 2012 IBA Encanto Pro were South African Sacha Specker in the Drop Knee Pro and Brazilian Karla Costa-Taylor in the Womens Pro.  Specker, whom had already clinched the 2012 DKWT title, managed an oustanding performance and placed an exclamation point on a stellar season.

  1999 Womens World Champion Karla Costa-Taylor finished off the 2012 WWT with an impressive performance, including a perfect 10 scored along her way to victory at Middles.  Her win in Puerto Rico was proof-positive that she continues to regain her championship form and is a legitimate contender for the 2013 WWT championship.  For more information on the 2012 IBA Encanto Pro, visit the following link:

http://ibaworldtour.com/2012/11/jeff-hubbard-wins-2012-iba-encanto-pro/


IT ALL COMES DOWN TO FRONTON!

  GRAN CANARIA, CANARY ISLANDS-  The 2012 IBA men's world title will be determined in the season finale, event #8 of 8, at the 2012 IBA NMD VS Fronton Pro in Galdar, Gran Canaria (December 7th-16th).  2x World Champion Jeff Hubbard enters the event ranked #1 in the world, holding a slim 60 point lead over the other remaining title contender Dave Winchester (Australia).  Winny, who finished second behind Hubb in the 2009 title chase, is looking to claim his first world championship.  For more on this story, please visit the following link:

http://ibaworldtour.com/2012/11/the-iba-2012-nmd-vs-fronton-pro/

  For those of you not familiar with Fronton, it is considered one of the best waves in the world for high-performance bodyboarding.  Fronton features bowling lefts and rights, with gaping barrels and ramp sections, breaking over a very shallow and extremely dangerous reef.  Watch this video clip for a better idea of what to expect from the season finale at Fronton!

DKWT FINAL RANKINGS

  Here are the final rankings for the International Bodyboarding Association's 2012 Drop Knee World Tour.

1.  Sacha Specker (South Africa)
2.  Dave Hubbard (Hawaii)
3.  Cesar Bauer (Peru)
4.  Pancho Galdos (Peru)
5.  Ardiel Jimenez (Canary Islands)
6.  Daniel Alvez (Brazil)
7.  Kiko Galdos (Peru)
8.  Ricardo Sotelo (Peru)
9.  Jeff Hubbard (Hawaii)
10. Alberto Collucci (Venezuela)


WWT FINAL RANKINGS

  Here are the final rankings for the International Bodyboarding Association's 2012 Women's World Tour.

1.  Isabela Sousa (Brazil)
2.  Karla Costa-Taylor (Brazil)
3.  Eunate Aguirre (Basque)
4.  Maylla Venturin (Brazil)
5.  Minami Hatekayama (Japan)
6.  Sari Oohara (Japan)
7.  Neymara Carvalho (Brazil)
8. Catarina Sousa (Portugal)
9.  Lilly Pollard (Australia)
10.  Luz Marie Grande Perez (Puerto Rico)


  For more information regarding the IBA World Tour, please visit the following link:
www.ibaworldtour.com

(All photos by the IBA unless otherwise noted.)