27 September 2010, Kata Beach – Phuket: In a down-to-the wire finish at the Men’s Open final of the Quiksilver Thailand Surf Competition 2010 at Kata Beach in Phuket, Thailand yesterday, Tipi Jabrik from Indonesia snatched the win from Jakapan Thongnak of Thailand in the waning minutes to claim victory and the 50,000 THB (approx $1,500 USD) first place prize.
Jabrik and Thongnak had exchanged the lead several times during the exciting 30 minute final, and with just over 5 minutes remaining Thongnak appeared to have the lead and the victory well in hand with excellent scores on his last two waves. His last wave was his 10th wave however, and as this was his wave limit he had to paddle to the beach, where he watched helplessly as Jabrik ripped apart a nicely shaped left hander to retake the lead and the win. Michael Anthony from Australia and Thai surfer Chatchai Somporn finished third and fourth respectively in the four-man final.
“I was very lucky that Michael pulled off that last wave, and I knew it was my only chance with just couple of minutes left. Jakapan surfs here all the time and had just gotten two great waves, so I hoped this one would be good also. I just kept hitting it as hard as I could and hoped it was enough,” said Jabrik back on the beach. Jabrik is from Bali, Indonesia and is a Quiksilver team rider.
When the horn blew the end of the Men’s Open Shortboard final, it also signaled the end of 4 days of intense surfing action where 77 surfers from 10 countries (Australia, England, Hungary, Indonesia, Malaysia, Japan, Taiwan, Singapore, and the USA) came to competed the Men’s Open Shortboard, Women’s Open Shortboard, and Longboard Open for a total prize purse of 240,000 THB (approx $7,500 USD) over the 5 day period from September 22-26 at the Quiksilver Thailand Surf Competition 2010.
Just prior to the riveting Men’s Open final, four women took to the water to compete in their Women’s Open division final. Kata Beach local and Roxy team rider 12 year old Annissa Flynn took home the 30,000 THB (approx $940 USD) first place prize over second place Noosara Boonjarean, with third place going to Sumang Pheongkong and fourth to Luisa Scarpa. When asked what she would be doing with her winnings, Annissa answered, “I have to save 20,000 and put it in the bank, but I get to spend 10,000 on whatever I want. Maybe I’ll buy a skateboard, but I really want an Iphone!”
In the Longboard final it was Kanpol Pattanatalod of Thailand who won first place and scored 30,000 THB (approx $940 USD). Coming in second was Roxy team rider Chen Lin Niu, who traveled all the way from Taiwan to compete in the Quiksilver Thailand Surf Competition 2010. “I’m so happy to have gotten this second place finish,” she said smiling after the awards presentation. “But the best part was coming here and meeting all these people and making lots of new friends. Hanging out with the surfers from Malaysia, Indonesia, Singapore and of course the locals here, will be my best memory from this trip,” she added.
After the competitive surfing action was finished, games and giveaways as well as surf lessons filled up the remainder of the afternoon. Then after few hours break it was time to feast on a great spread of food and get some free Singa Light beer and Jim Beam and Coke to warm things up for the awards presentation.
After a short fashion show with some of Thailand’s most stunning models showing off Quiksilver’s latest beachwear offerings, Quiksilver SEA CEO Paul Hutson was first up on the stage to welcome everybody and thank them for coming. He gave his sincere appreciation to the locals for sharing their beach and gave kudos to Quiksilver Thailand GM Surached Mungthong and his crew for doing such a great job running the event. He concluded by saying “I am very impressed by the progress that I’ve seen with the surfing talent here in a very short time. We committed to supporting surfing here in Thailand just last year, and now look at this…it is truly impressive. I’m looking forward to next year already!”
Then it was on to the handing out of prizes and winner’s checks. Most significant was Men’s Open winner Tipi Jabrik donating his winnings to the Surfing Thailand organization. “I would like to donate my prize money to Surfing Thailand so they can continue to progress with their surfing. I want to encourage them to travel and compete in other countries in South East Asia, just like others have done in coming here, and with this money to get them started they can realize their dreams of becoming pro surfers,” he explained from the podium as he handed his check to Chanin “Joob” Aiyarak from Surfing Thailand.
Afterwards Aiyarak said, “That was a really great thing for Tipi to do to donate his prize money to us. We will use this money for the development of our local surfers, for training, coaching and for travel. As a new member of the ISA (International Surfing Association), we want to be able to send our team to future ISA events and this money will help us to do it. Thanks Tipi!”
In addition to the cash prizes, the winners in each division were also given round trip Nok Air tickets and a voucher for 3 days and 2 nights stay at any Ibis Hotel in Thailand.
With the awards presentation completed, Bangkok’s best reggae band T-Bone took to the stage and pumped up the crowd with their amazing repertoire of tunes. When time was called at 10 pm it was time to head back to the Ibis Hotel for a pool party and more refreshments. The afterparty had everybody splashing around in the pool and taking full advantage of the free flowing drinks until around 1 am.
An fitting end to an amazing 5 days of surf, fun, and sun courtesy of Quiksilver and the event sponsors, with the promise of having an even bigger and better event (as if such a thing were possible) next year!
Check what went down at the event including heat draws, results, photos, videos and more on the Quiksilver Thailand website at http://quiksilverthailand.com
The Quiksilver Thailand Surf Competition 2010 was sponsored/supported by Quiksilver Thailand, Surfing Thailand, the Tourism Authority of Thailand, Nok Air, Ibis Hotel, Jim Beam, Singha Light Beer, 95.5 Virgin Hitz Radio, MTV, Action Asia Magazine, SurfTime Magazine, Lines Magazine, Thailand Surfrider Magazine.
Quiksilver Thailand Surf Competition Results
Men’s Shortboard
1. Tipi Jabrik (INA) – 50,000 THB
2. Jakapan Tongnak (THAI) – 30,000 THB
3. Michael Anthony (AUS) – 20,000 THB
4. Chatchai Somporn (THAI) – 10,000 THB
Longboard
1. Kompol Pattanatalod (THAI) – 30,000 THB
2. Chen Lin Niu (TAI) – 20,000 THB
3. Preecha Takira (THAI) – 10,000 THB
4. Veeravat Kuru (THAI) – 5,000 THB
Women’s Shortboard
1. Annissa Flynn (THAI) – 30,000 THB
2. Noosara Boonjarean (THAI) – 20,000 THB
3. Sumang Pheongkong (THAI) – 10,000 THB
4. Luisa Scarpa (THAI) – 5,000 THB
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