LIHU‘E — The first ever international bodyboarding event at El Fronton on Gran Canary Island saw some serious action go down Monday in the fierce westerly winds that saw Kaua‘i’s Jeff Hubbard, 35, take the win over local Canary Island
LIHU‘E — The first ever international bodyboarding event at El Fronton on Gran Canary Island saw some serious action go down Monday in the fierce westerly winds that saw Kaua‘i’s Jeff Hubbard, 35, take the win over local Canary Island rider Diego Cabrera, states a press release from the International Bodyboarding Association.
“I’m so happy, so stoked,” Hubbard said. “Can’t imagine that I actually won that contest. It’s a dream to win a contest like this in heavy waves and in a competitor field like this. This is as big as my Pipeline victory. I want thank my wife Heather and family for all the support. Friends and God. I’m so stoked.”
On the north coast of Gran Canaria, 16 of the best bodyboarders in the world converged to challenge each other and Mother Nature at the Wild Wild Wave El Fronton Invitational. The wind was so strong that people forgot that the one thing that made El Fronton dangerous was still a main factor — the reef.
After attempting a massive rollo in his quarterfinal heat, Spain’s Diego Cabrera got his fins knocked off and ended up on the reef and struggled in the impact zone.
“That was one of the heaviest wipeouts I’ve ever had in my bodyboarding career,” said Cabrera, who eventually finished in second place behind Hubbard.
With 16 great bodyboarders in the competition, every heat in the contest saw upsets. Six-time world champion, Guilherme Tamega, didn’t advance.
“That was the hardest time for me to catch a wave in my entire life,” Tamega said. “I was fighting against the wind the whole time.”
The Australians had their hopes shattered when none of their own made it past the semifinals. The closest were Ryan Hardy and Damien King. King lost by a mere 0.2 in his semifinal, barely getting edged out by South Africa’s Andre Botha.
Ryan snuck out of the quarterfinals with a last minute insane barrel ride. But the steam ran out in the semis. He did manage to make an amazing exit after the horn sounded, grabbing a massive right and launching 10 feet in the air with a gigantic back-flip.
After a serious pounding in his first heat, Cabrera put together one of the best heats of the day. Great barrel riding and big moves on the bigger waves solidified him into the final without much problem.
The final — Hubbard, Botha and the two Canary Island boys Yeray Martinez and Diego Cabrera — faced the winds and six- to eight-foot waves, as well as each other.
Drawing first blood was the air master Hubbard, who snagged a forming right-hander and timed it perfectly, as he usually does, and launched into an 8.00 ARS. After that, everyone in the final had to step up and retaliate.
Botha was in his own playground, looking very comfortable but the wind and wave selection that played with every competitor’s mental state were difficult barriers. He put on a great show but ended up in third place.
Martinez, El Fronton specialist, struggled with his wave selection. He swooped up a number of waves but couldn’t find those high scorers. His best wave was a deep barrel, but he couldn’t get another wave to follow up.
It came down to the wire for Cabrera and Hubbard. Cabrera was putting together solid combination waves that ended up near the inside shallows of the El Fronton reef. Those waves only fared above average scores. He had to dig deep and get that other solid wave to match Hubbard’s massive ARS.
As time wound down, Cabrera still had the chance to pull out a hat trick if the set wave came to him, but Mother Nature declined to deliver that one wave he needed to surpass Hubbard.
After the horn sounded, it took Botha to paddle over to the champ and let him know that he won.
Quotes and event information released by the IBA.
