Nike 6.0 Blog

QUARTERS DECIDED FOR NIKE 6.0 LOWERS PRO, SEMIS FOR OAKLEY PRO JUNIOR

Gronamo — Sat, 07 May 2011 15:54:37 GMT

The ASP PRIME Nike 6.0 Lowers Pro saw the Quarterfinalists decided in clean one-to-three foot waves at the iconic cobblestone pointbreak of Lower Trestles at San Onofre State Beach with two San Clemente locals and six Brazilians still in contention for this year’s title, $40,000 first-place payout and 14-karate gold spike valued at $30,000.

Also running today was Round 1 and the Quarterfinals of the ASP 5-Star Oakley Pro Junior, which saw the nation’s finest up-and-coming talent battle a handful of top international surfers. Stop No. 7 of 9 on the ASP North America Pro Junior Series, the ASP 5-Star Oakley Pro Junior is the highest rated event on thisyear’s regional series, offering the most points towards surfers’ qualification campaigns for the elite ASP World Junior Tour and a $25,000 prize purse.

Thiago Camarao (BRA), 22, launched back to form after a sluggish three-man Round of 12 heat to ignite the day’s top scores with a deadly forehand attack on several Lowers right-handers. The progressive Brazilian wasted little time in his campaign against fellow countryman Willian Cardoso (BRA), 25, by dropping a 7.60 and a 9.33 on his first two rides to secure his position in the Quarterfinals.

“I just did the same thing I’ve been doing and just not over-think the heats,” Camarao said. “I went out there for a surf and the water was so cold. I made the mistake of wearing the wrong suit in my last heat, so I had to change it for this one.”

Camarao will face fellow Brazilian Junior Faria (BRA), 24, in the Quarterfinals.

Tanner Gudauskas (San Clemente, CA), 22, returned to the three-man Round of 12 in strong form by taking a heat victory over ASP Dream Tour campaigner C.J. Hobgood (Melbourne, FL), 31, and dangerous up-and-comer Gabriel Medina (BRA), 17, with powerful backhand surfing on the right-handers on offer at Lowers.

“There was so much going on and nothing was being said at the end of the heat,” Gudauskas said. “For the last five minutes I was in panic mode because I knew Gabriel had that good wave with two airs on it and C.J. got a good right. I was just praying that the momentum wasn’t going to shift out there. I got lucky. I swear I don’t know what I’m doing and these rights come to me.”

The San Clemente powerhouse was happy to avoid surfing in the man-on-man elimination Round of 12 to advance into the Quarterfinals and took a serious approach to the three-man non-elimination round.

“These ones are a great opportunity,” Gudauskas said. “It’s not like it’s life or death, but it’s a great opportunity to bypass that fifth round and go into the Quarters where there are a lot more points. I took it super seriously because I know Gabriel and C.J. are super gnarly and we’re all goofy-foot.”

Gudauskas will face off against Heitor Alves (BRA), 29, in the Quarterfinals.

Miguel Pupo (BRA), 19, took a last-minute victory over fellow Brazilian Thiago Camarao (BRA), and American charger Timmy Reyes (Huntington Beach, CA), 28, in the three-man, non-elimination Round of 12. With only minutes remaining in the heat, the innovative Brazilian launched two airs on a steep Lowers lefthander to notch a 9.10 to overtake Reyes for the lead and secure his position in the Quarterfinals.

“I didn’t really think about it, I was just trying to go big,” Pupo said. “I did that first air and then another good section came so I went for another one and I made it, so I’m happy. I love Lowers. When anyone asks me what the best wave in the world is, I say Trestles. The wave is perfect and I enjoy my time here with the good surf and fun on the beach.”

Pupo will battle fellow Brazilian Jadson Andre (BRA), 21, in their Quarterfinalsmatch up.

Heitor Alves, current No. 22 on the men’s ASP World Ranking, was dominant in the men’s ASP PRIME and Star series events last year and the fit Brazilian moved one step closer to the Nike 6.0 Lowers Pro Final by defeating C.J. Hobgood (Melbourne, FL), 31, in the Round of 12 to advance into the Quarterfinals.

“I was on the World Tour for two years before this year and I learned a lot,” Alves said. “Right now, I have a result and I’m on the World Tour again. I learned a lot last year and I gained a lot of experience in the PRIMES and 6-Stars last year and I feel good.”

Kolohe Andino (San Clemente, CA), 17, who is the youngest Quarterfinalist in the Nike 6.0 Lowers Pro, was equally impressive in his Oakley Pro Junior Quarterfinals heat today. The innovative regular-footer took top honors over an impressive list of names including defending ASP World Junior Champion Jack Freestone (AUS), 19, and defending regional champion Evan Geiselman (New Smyrna Beach, FL), 17.

“Evan is one of my best friends, so I wish he got through and Jack (Freestone) has been ripping so it was a fun heat,” Andino said. “It was the first time the three of us have surfed against each other. Jack beat me in Bali. He was getting barreled and I was sitting out on the shoulder, so it’s good to get one back on him here.”

The young local talent is the only surfer still in contention for both the Nike 6.0 Lowers Pro and Oakley Pro Junior titles, but remained humble in his intentions to win both events.

“I’m not thinking about that at all right now,” Andino said. “I’m just taking it one heat at a time and I’m happy that I’ve made it this far.”

Camarao, Guduaskas and Pupo all executed maneuvers worthy of Most Valuable Performance (MVP) status during the day. A video clip of each will be available to view online at nike6lowerspro.com/mvp-bracket/mvp-most-valuable-performance/ <http://www.nike6lowerspro.com/mvp-bracket/mvp-most-valuable-performance/> . Tomorrow, the surfer with the most Facebook “likes” will earn MVP status and the gold MVP jersey for the day. An MVP will be awarded each day; Dane Reynolds earned the title on day one, Caio Ibilli for day two and Kolohe Andino for day three. Each daily winner will go into a finalvote for a chance at $1,000 for the overall win.

Both the Nike 6.0 Lowers Pro and Oakley Pro Junior champions will be crowned tomorrow and the day’s action will be webcast LIVE with live video coverage and scoring.

The Nike 6.0 Lowers Pro is being televised live in Hawaii on Oceanic Time Warner Cable’s Channel 250 and 1250HD, and in Time Warner Cable’s Los Angeles (Channel 101), San Diego (Channel 411) and Desert Cities (Channel 111) markets. Additionally, FUEL TV will broadcast live throughout Europe, the Middle East and Africa.

For more information about the Nike 6.0 Lowers Pro, visit nike6lowerspro.com <http://nike6lowerspro.com> . For more about the Oakley Pro Junior, visit oakleyprojunior.com. <http://www.oakleyprojunior.com>

The 6.0 Lowers Pro: Coming Soon

Gronamo — Tue, 19 Apr 2011 22:04:35 GMT

Many of the top names in surfing will hit the famed cobblestones of Trestles on May 3-7, 2011, for the 6.0 Lowers Pro. The stakes: a chance to win the coveted 14-karat solid gold railroad spike, a $40,000 first-place payout, and vital points to maintain their ASP rankings. With an increased prize purse of $250,000, a $30,000 gold trophy, and major Association of Surfing Professionals (ASP) PRIME points on the line, the 6.0 Lowers Pro will be an event few surfers will want to miss.

Twenty-seven of the top ASP World Title surfers are entered in the 96-man field of the 6.0 Lowers Pro. Standouts include 10-time defending World Champion and current ASP #1 Kelly Slater as well as: #3 Tiago Pires (PRT), #5 Brett Simpson (Huntington Beach, CA), Matt Wilkinson (AUS), Alejo Muniz (BRA) and Dusty Payne (Wahiawa, HI) and #9 Adrian Buchan (AUS), Michel Bourez (PYF) and Adriano De Souza (BRA). Jadson Andre (BRA)and Julian Wilson (AUS) currently tied at #13, and Dane Reynolds (Ventura, CA), Patrick Gudauskas (San Clemente, CA) and defending 6.0 Lowers Pro Champion Gabe Kling, all tied at #24 are also in the mix.

The 6.0 Lowers Pro is the first of only three PRIME contests in North America. The ASP’s relatively new PRIME designation, the highest possible rating with the most available points, is limited to only a few superior competition venues around the world. The significant points on offer are particularly attractive to competitors in the ASP World Title race who are trying to re-qualify for next year’s Dream Tour.

A bevy of top young talent will also be on hand for the upgraded ASP five-star Oakley Pro Junior, which will run concurrently. The Oakley Pro Junior will see 32 men (20 years and younger) battling for ASP regional ratings points to qualify for the World Junior Tour events. Those to watch include 2010 North American Champion Nat Young (Santa Cruz, CA), current North American #1 Kolohe Andino (San Clemente, CA), #2 Conner Coffin (Santa Barbara, CA), #3 Luke Davis (Capo Beach, CA) and #4 Evan Geiselman (New Smyrna Beach, FL). Andrew Doheny (Newport Beach, CA) will be back to defend his big win from last year and the international contingent includes 2010 World Junior Champion Jack Freestone (AUS), Caio Ibelli (BRA), Shaun Joubert (ZAF), Kaito Ohashi (JPN) and Frederico Morais (PRT).

Both the 6.0 Lowers Pro and Oakley Pro Junior will feature an HD webcast with live video coverage and scoring for all five days of competition with announcers Sal Masekela, Mark Fewell, Dino Andino, Saxon Boucher, Chris Mauro, Brad Gerlach and Jodie Nelson.

For more information about the 6.0 Lowers Pro, visit nike6lowerspro.com.

Evan Geiselman 2010 Men's Junior Pro Champ

nsw_rga — Mon, 09 Aug 2010 17:47:13 GMT

Evan Geiselman (New Smyrna Beach, FL), 17, put in an impressive performance to clinch the ASP Grade-2 US Open of Surfing Pro Junior to solidify the title of 2010 ASP North America Pro Junior Series Champion. “I just had fun this whole week,” Geiselman said. “I took it serious, but just had fun and did what I wanted to do. I didn’t let anything get in my heat and just surfed.”

The young Floridian’s US Open Junior Pro victory also saw Geiselman follow in his older brother Eric’s footsteps by clinching the family’s second ASP North America Pro Junior Series Title.
“I think I’ve just been rolling off of this whole year with confidence,” Geiselman said. “This year has been crazy for me and I can’t believe it. To win the ASP North America Pro Junior Title is amazing and I’m just looking forward to going to Bali. That was my main goal this year, so this is awesome. I don’t even know what to say.”

Junior Surfers Go Big

Gronamo — Thu, 01 Jul 2010 23:00:34 GMT

The heat was on for all of the competitors at Surfing America’s USA Championships at Lowers. This invite-only event brought together the best amateur surfers in the world to compete for spots on the USA Surf Team. The Nike 6.0 team stomped every division they entered, showing that they have a leg up on the nation’s best surfers. At the end of the day 6.0 ended up with four surfers on the USA Team: flow rider Jake Marshall for 14-under, Lakey Peterson for Women’s 18-under, and Evan Geiselman and Kolohe Andino for 18-under.

Competing in the 16-under and 14-under gave Jake Marshall tons of confidence and rhythm to blow the doors on his 12-under competition. At 11 years old, this 12-under Champ and Team USA Member will continue to step up and rise to any occasion.

Ian did double duty making the 14 and 16-under finals. It was game over for his competition after his opening score of 9.33 in the 14-under group. His powerful and committed rail surfing made it clear that Ian was the best in his field. He ended up 1st in the 14-under and 4th in the 16-under.

Lakey killed it consistently, posting high 9's and holding one of the event's perfect rides. In the 18-under final she placed 4th with only one wave of a high 7. Look out for Lakey to back up her title at the 2010 NSSA Nationals this week at HB.

The Men's 18-under division was on fire with all the finalists going big and pushing the limits. Everyone in the final was posting high scores, but it was Evan in the end who snagged the victory with a 15.37. Evan secured a spot on the US team, an 18-under US Title and a $5,000 kicker sound system. Watch out for Evan at the Open Men's this week at NSSA Nationals.

Kolohe also made two finals and was the standout surfer of the event. Posting a perfect ride backed by plenty of 9’s, Kolohe was in a solid rhythm. He mixed his powerful rail surfing with a variety of aerials to make him the most versatile surfer. He ended up the 16-under US Champ and runner up in 18-under.

Props to the 6.0 team and all their hard work this week in the US Championships! Stay tuned to NSSAlive.com from 7/1 to 7/3 to watch all the action at the NSSA Nationals in HB.

Sweet 16

Gronamo — Wed, 17 Mar 2010 17:45:43 GMT

Here’s what we know: You only get 365 chances to be 16. Street-legal wave-sliders, Evan Geiselman and Malia Manuel made the most of March 12.

Holding it down on his home turf, Evan Geiselman took on a stacked line-up of up-and-comers at the Ron Jon Sebastian Inlet Pro.

"It's a great start to my year," Geiselman said. "This is one of the bigger contests of the year since it's a Grade-3 and it gives me some momentum going into the next event. I'm really stoked and don't even know what to say. To win this contest so close to home with so many great Pro Junior surfers from up and down the East Coast, California and Hawaii, it means a lot."

With ASP World Junior Tour aspirations on the line, starting off the year with wins means Evan and Malia will have ratings targets on their backs each time they paddle out.

The reigning ASP North America Pro Junior Series Champion, Malia shows the humble heart of a champ, content to take it one set at a time.

"It's a great start to my year and I'm so thankful to have a couple of events to try and qualify for this year's World Junior Tour," Manuel said. "I haven't competed in about a month, so this is a great way to start off the new year."

So what’s next? Jumping from right to left coast, Malia and Evan and their crew of competitors will drop in at the Ezekiel Pro Junior March 24-28. Stay tuned at ASP World Tour Headquarters for the lowdown.

Evan and Malia are proof positive that when you paddle out, you carpe the diem. What are you doing to make today count? Let us know in that little box below.