Pay close attention to mini grom Ryland Rubens as he continues to boggle minds by surfing and competing well beyond his years. Not too long ago Ryland made the finals of both an NSSA event and a WSA event on the same day and finals took place at the same time; after receiving his highest scores to date in his NSSA semi it was a tough call, but he decided to surf the WSA final. The decision payed off as he came home with the 1st place trophy. Ryland has also been spotted down at Blacks Beach enjoying the recent run of swells. Competition or not, Ryland's surfing speaks for itself.
13 year old Kylie Loveland has been tearing up the heat sheets and turning heads! Recently she took 1st in the Girls Division and her team, Aviara Oaks, also took 1st overall in the San Diego Region. Then she also claimed an impressive second place finish at the Open NSSA DMJs event. Congratulations to young Kylie!
Check out Holly's test run to Hainan a few weeks ago before she came back to help organize the international competition...
Riyu Bay, located on the island of Hainan, China, hosted the third annual Surfing Hainan Open and this year's event was the largest thus far.
The Open competition was the brainchild of Sanya resident and founder of Surfing Hainan, Brendan Sheridan, who’s spent the last four years on the Chinese resort island.
The Californian runs China’s first surf shop and school -- Surfing Hainan -- and is excited by the increasing profile of the event which began as “a renegade competition on the beach with no approvals from anyone” in 2008.
The Surfing Hainan Open 2010 has come a long way from its ragtag roots. This year’s event was observed by the Association of Surfing Professionals (ASP), the sport’s global governing body, which has expressed interest in deeper participation in future events.
In addition to the amateur enthusiasts who represent 14 nationalities, this year’s Surfing Hainan Open drew sponsorship from O’Neill and high-profile pros such as Aussies Mark Mathews (shortboard champ) and Rob Bain (longboard champ), as well as top female surfer and Rusty Surfboards team rider Holly Beck (United States) and the legendary Robert “Wingnut” Weaver (United States), star of Bruce Brown’s classic surf travel film "Endless Summer II" (1994).
After his 3rd Place finish at Nelscott Reef, Oregon and his win at Pico Alto, Peru Jamie Sterling is sitting in first in the Big Wave World Tour. With two more contests scheduled in this season, Mavericks and Todos Santos, there is bound to be an exciting photo finish. To check out more from the recent contest please visit the full story at Surfline.com.
