While the Eddie was going and Jaws was munching guys on wave skis up during this past swell, the ASP Women's Tour was scoring some of the best waves ever seen at the Billabong Pro over on Maui. Conditions were flawless on at Honolua Bay during day one of their competition, as this video shows.


After clinching her third ASP World Title in a row at the Gidget Pro at Sunset a week earlier, Steph Gilmore celebrated by taking her third straight Billabong Pro on Maui, this time defeating Peru's Sofia Mulanovich in the final. Her latest win also earned her the Vans Triple Crown Title.

“Once again, Maui has just been incredible and to win this event three times in a row is just awesome,” Gilmore said. “I couldn’t have been happier with the way things have gone today. Winning the Vans Triple Crown is definitely up there with winning the World Title and it’s definitely one of the biggest accolades of surfing professionally. I can’t believe it’s all happening again, it’s awesome.”

Gilmore absolutely dominated the day’s proceedings, blitzing the highest heat total of the entire 2009 ASP Women’s World Tour season by surfing a near-perfect heat of 19.67 out of 20 to usurp Samantha Cornish (AUS), 29, in her Quarterfinals heat before topping Fitzgibbons and Mulanovich en route to her second ASP Women’s World Tour win of 2009.

While Gilmore has been the dominant force for the past three years on the tour, the road ahead does look tougher in 2010. The ASP women's tour is about to be injected with another youth movement next year, as a new generation of stars graduates to the big stage.

Both Coco Ho and Lee Ann Curren are second generation tour stars. Ho's father Michael was a fixture on the tour through the 70s and 80s, and was making finals at Sunset Beach into his mid 40s. Curren's father Tom was the three time world champion. Both will be joined next year by Carissa Moore, who many expect will make an instant push toward the top.


Billabong Pro Maui presented by Hawaiian Airlines Final:

1 - Stephanie Gilmore (AUS) 18.00

2 – Sofia Mulanovich (PER) 10.17


SF 1: Stephanie Gilmore (AUS) 16.03 def. Sally Fitzgibbons (AUS) 14.94

SF 2: Sofia Mulanovich (PER) 13.83 def. Silvana Lima (BRA) 11.70


QF 1: Sally Fitzgibbons (AUS) 15.83 def. Coco Ho (HAW) 15.83

QF 2: Stephanie Gilmore (AUS) 19.67 def. Samantha Cornish (AUS) 7.26

QF 3: Silvana Lima 16.70 def. Melanie Bartels (HAW) 7.20

QF 4: Sofia Mulanovich (PER) 12.77 def. Rebecca Woods (AUS) 6.50


Final 2009 ASP Women’s World Tour ratings

1. Stephanie Gilmore (AUS)

2. Silvana Lima (BRA)

3. Sofia Mulanovich (PER)

4. Coco Ho (HAW)

5. Sally Fitzgibbons (AUS)

6. Melanie Bartels (HAW)

7. Chelsea Hedges (AUS)

8. Paige Hareb (NZL)

9. Rebecca Woods (AUS)

10. Rosanne Hodge (ZAF)

11. Samantha Cornish (AUS)

12. Jacqueline Silva (BRA)

13. Alana Blanchard (HAW)

14. Bruna Schmitz (BRA)

15. Jessi Miley-Dyer (AUS)

16. Amee Donohoe (AUS)

17. Megan Abubo (HAW)

FROM ASP
SUNSET BEACH, Oahu/Hawaii (Saturday, November 28, 2009) – Carissa Moore (HAW), 17, won the sixth of seven stops on the ASP Women’s World Tour today, the Gidget Pro Sunset Beach, over fellow finalists Sally Fitzgibbons (AUS), 19, freshly crowned three-time ASP Women’s World Champion Stephanie Gilmore (AUS), 21, and Vans Triple Crown ratings’ leader Alana Blanchard (HAW), 19, to claim her first ASP Women’s World Tour event victory.

Moore, who entered the Gidget Pro via a Trials’ victory, stamped her authority on ASP Women’s World Tour competition when she surfed with amazing poise and maturity throughout the event’s entirety to eventually win on her home Island of Oahu.

“It’s such an honor,” Moore said. “I’m speechless right now. I never thought that I would make the Final in this event. All of the girls were surfing so well and congratulations to Steph (Gilmore) for winning the World Title.”

Moore is no stranger to ASP Women’s World Tour competition despite her young age, and had already made the Final’s at a Roxy Pro Gold Coast event in 2007 when she earned a Runner-Up finish to Chelsea Hedges (AUS), 26. Having entered previous ASP Women’s World Tour events in the past as a wildcard, the young Hawaiian looked comfortable in the heightened level of competition.

“It definitely helps having other World Tour experience under my belt,” Moore said. “I also know surfing on the North Shore is always going to be challenging and the girls surf at such a sick level and each heat is a clean slate.”

The Hawaiian talent also looked comfortable out in the tricky lineup of Sunset Beach and had been receiving some crucial coaching under the wing of Hawaiian legend Pancho Sullivan (HAW).

“My coaches have been such a big help,” Moore said. “Having Pancho (Sullivan) out in the water helping me was great.”

Fitzgibbons nabbed her first Final appearance of her rookie year on tour and absolutely dominated her bouts, posting the event’s highest scores including the only perfect 10-point ride of Gidget Pro competition in the Semifinals to earn her maiden Final berth and finished runner-up to Moore.

“I was really happy to get that wave,” Fitzgibbons said. It was tricky. “There were not that many waves in that heat and I was happy to get the score and move on through to Final.”

Gilmore, who clinched her third consecutive ASP Women’s World Title just minutes before paddling out for the Final, was in amazing form throughout the event’s entirety and claimed a third place finish overall.

“There were some legitimate bombs coming in out there,” Gilmore said. “I was on a 7’0” all day and just stayed on the North Peak and I knew Carissa has been training with Pancho, so I figured I’d follow her around a little bit.”

Blanchard, who is currently leading the Vans Triple Crown ratings, continued to flare throughout Gidget Pro competition and wrapped up a fourth place finish. Her final appearance was no easy task, as she defeated ASP Women’s World No. 2 Silvana Lima (BRA), 25, crushing Lima’s hopes of an ASP Women’s World Title while significantly helping her chances of requalification for the 2010 ASP Women’s World Tour.

“I feel bad that I knocked out Silvana (Lima), but there’s also a lot on the line for me,” Blanchard said. “If I don’t do well at the end of the year I’ll get knocked off of the tour for next year. This is my best result of the year, so I’m happy.”


GIDGET PRO SUNSET BEACH FINAL RESULTS:

1 – Carissa Moore (HAW) 14.24

2 – Sally Fitzgibbons (AUS) 13.07

3 – Stephanie Gilmore (AUS) 12.17

4 – Alana Blanchard (HAW) 11.17


ASP WOMEN’S WORLD TOUR RATINGS (After Gidget Pro Sunset Beach):

1 – Stephanie Gilmore (AUS) 5521 pts

2 – Silvana Lima (BRA) 4548 pts

3 – Coco Ho (HAW) 4117 pts

4 – Sofia Mulanovich (PER) 4071 pts

5 – Sally Fitzgibbons (AUS) 3792 pts

6 – Chelsea Hedges (AUS) 3595 pts

7 – Melanie Bartels (HAW) 3333 pts

8 – Paige Hareb (NZL) 2886 pts

9 – Rosanne Hodge (ZAF) 2604 pts

10 – Jacqueline Silva (BRA) 2509 pts

11 – Alana Blanchard (HAW) 2490 pts

12 – Rebecca Woods (AUS) 2431 pts

13 – Samantha Cornish (AUS) 2388

14 – Bruna Schmitz (BRA) 2010 pts

15 – Jessi Miley-Dyer (AUS) 1656 pts

16 – Amee Donohoe (AUS) 1638 pts

17 – Megan Abubo (HAW) 1440

Ahh, to be young, Australian, and a two-time women’s world champ touring through the United States. Welcome to the current world of Steph Gilmore. Recently, the New South Wales native and current women’s WCT leader took advantage of some off time during the Women’s WCT to see the States. From devouring thin-crust pizza and cruising Brooklyn and the streets of New York, to touring Warner Bros. and chilling with movie stars on the West Coast, young Gilmore is drenching herself in all things Americana this summer. (To date, she has yet to spend a weekend at a NASCAR event drinking Bud Light and all reports indicated that she has refrained from partaking in the all-American pastime of chowing down on a round deep-fried Twinkies, but with any luck, she’ll come around.)

Furthermore, what trip across the States is complete without getting a Teen Choice Award? Apparently the prowess of the 22-year-old Aussie has transcended our once-niche sport and Steph recently found herself rubbing elbows with America’s freshest teeny boppers…sort of. Zac Efron and Steph G. a couple? Only if we’re lucky. Trouble with the whole Teen Choice Awards Show is the getting a spot in the guest list is akin to winning the Lotto. Believe it or not, Steph didn’t get an invite to the event despite winning an award for “Female Action Sports Athlete of the Year” and she was forced to watch the awards from her OC home stay. Has the Teen Choice Awards have no shame? Despite being 86ed from the guest list, Steph remained her usual upbeat self.

"The best part about the awards show was watching Britney Spears march in, snatch her board/trophy off Miley Cyrus, say ‘Thanks y'all’ and sprint off stage before anyone could even clap! Haha, she's my hero!” said Steph of the awards show. “Anyways, I'm pretty stoked to win a Teen Choice Award. Thanks to everyone who voted for me! Maybe next year my Wonka luck will buy me a chocolate bar containing the golden ticket to the show?”

For the rest of the month, expect to see Steph updating her American blog and repping the Stars and Stripes before the women’s tour kickstarts again in Sydney as the all-fem congregation heads off to the Beachley Classic beginning September 30.

For more on Steph and her march across the US, check out the link.

http://www.ripcurl.com/stephintheus

Editors Note: Dear & Yonder directors Tiffany Campbell and Andrea Lessler were awarded the Breakthrough Filmmaker of the Year Award at this year's Surfer Poll gala last week. We hope that very worthy honor will convince you to go check this film out. When you do I think you'll fall pretty hard for Lizzy Clark, one of today's most hardcore adventurist. In fact, you can read a lot more about Clark in the current issue of Surfer Magazine. We'll take this moment to congratulate Campbell and Lessler on a job well done. The text below is my reaction to the film after a screening in July. -- PG

When I was a grom, I had wonderful dreams about Paradise Island, which is not be confused with Fantasy Island, y'know, where Ricardo Montalban (RIP) and that little Tatoo guy (RIP) who used to always be searching for planes circling overhead. Anyway, Paradise Island is where Wonder Woman comes from. And well, as far as I was concerned back then, she was the hottest chick alive. Paradise Island is inhabited and ruled entirely by women. Incredible Amazon warrior women who were smart, beautiful, athletic, and yeah, really frickin' sexy. It was a lot for a 14-year old kid to handle. Go ahead, see for yourself.


Thing is, I'm pretty sure Paradise Island actually exist out there somewhere, and not just in the form of some Vegas strip club. When I saw a preview of the new chick flick, Dear and Yonder, which stars some of the hottest female surfers in the world, including Sofia Mulanovich, Stephanie Gilmore, Coco Ho, Kassia Meadore, Malia Manuel and the queen of wanderlust, Lizzy Clark, my faith in that belief was restored.

That this movie even exists is a bit of a dream come true for that kid in me. Packs of talented girls having fun together in bikinis while demonstrating their talent in perfect surf? Really, what's not to love? Yes, the whole thing is eye-candy, it's beautifully shot by Thomas and Tiffany Campbell, Sonny Miller, Dave Homcy and Scott Soens, and then put together nicely by Tiffany and Andria Lessler, utilizing some compelling hooks, from odes to the pioneers of women's surfing to modern day world champs, groovy artists, and exotic adventurist like Elizabeth "Lizzy" Clark, who has been sailing across the Pacific for the past couple of years in her 40' boat searching for waves. She will flat-out steal your heart in this film, and you'll wish you could jump on board with her.



Granted, it's a chick flick, but any theater showing this film stands a good chance of becoming its own little Paradise Island. And these aren't your average girls. These are Wonder Women. Do what you have to to get there.

Dane Reynolds, Jordy Smith, Julian Wilson, Steph Gilmore, Coco Ho and Alana Blanchard. What do these six names have in common? They're all young, progressive, and shaking things up on the ASP World Tour. That's Dane above taking to the sky. Photo: ASP

Jordy and Dane were all the hype last year, and under the magnifying glass of the surfing world as they competed in their rookie seasons. Now, the two are starting their sophomore year, and both are coming off injuries. Jordy tweaked his knee at Sunset this past winter, and Dane hurt his ankle doing a big air.

How has this affected their surfing in the first event of the year? Not at all it seems, both have been cruising through their heats. Dane has the events only 10 and words can't explain how ridiculously he linked some super critical maneuvers, he also put up a 9.40. Jordy too has been very impressive, and I witnessed the "Changing of the Guard" yesterday when he seemingly effortlessly took out Taylor Knox.


Jordy gets his slide on in his Round 3 heat against Taylor Know. Photo: ASP

Speaking of the "Changing of the Guard," then there's Julian Wilson. The 20-year-old wildcard took out The Niner himself, as in 9x World Champ, Kelly Slater, in their Round 3 heat this past weekend. If you want to prove you're the next big thing, Slater's the man to beat.

What about the ladies? The Women's ASP World Tour has been talked about more this year than any other year I can remember. Two new faces: Coco Ho, 17, and Alana Blanchard, who just turned 19, are both from Hawaii and seem to have a mini-women's tour version of the Jordy/Dane thing of last year.


Stephanie Gilmore with a steazy' slice at D'bah. Photo: ASP

And let's not forget about, Steph Gilmore, she's still pretty young at 21 and took home her second ASP World Title last year. Now, to kick off the 2009 season she won the Roxy Pro Gold Coast on Sunday.

So there it is. This crew is the real deal and they're making me feel old and not want to surf anymore at 25. They're that good, lookout all you old-timers on those tours.