BARRA DA TIJUCA, Rio de Janeiro/Brazil (Sunday, May 19, 2013) -Jordy Smith (ZAF), 25, has won the Billabong Rio Pro in a hard-fought final over national favorite Adriano de Souza (BRA), 26, by a score of 17.80 to 16.34 in clean two-to-four foot (1 metre) waves at Barra Da Tijuca. Stop No. 3 of 10 [...]

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Jordy Smith has conquered the Billabong Pro Rio 2013, in clean two-to-four foot (1 meter) waves, at the primary site of Barra da Tijuca, in front of thousands of surf fans.

The best ocean conditions of the entire Billabong Pro Rio 2013 came in the finals' day, with Jordy Smith beating Adriano de Souza in the last heat of the last day of the event waiting period.

Win it or break it. Adriano de Souza and Jordy Smith were up and riding with different trumps under their belts. The Brazilian wanted another home win and Jordy was surfing for the first victory of his ASP World Tour career, in foreign waters.

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The Guinness World Records have officially certified Shawn Dollar's 61-foot wave, at the Cortes Bank, off the coast of California, as a new paddle-in world record.

The 30-year-old resident of Santa Cruz, California, caught the superlative wave on December 21, 2012 during a terrifying session at the Cortes Bank, a notorious offshore hazard to shipping located over 100 miles west of San Diego in international waters.

A panel of experts measured the wave at 61 feet on the face. Dollar caught the wave using only human paddle power, yet it turned out to be bigger than any waves caught by any means in the last year - including those caught with the use of jet ski assists.

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BARRA DA TIJUCA, Rio de Janeiro/Brazil (Sunday, May 19, 2013) -The final day of the Billabong Rio Pro has been called on with the Quarterfinals commencing at 8am in clean three-to-four foot (1 metre) waves at the primary site of Barra da Tijuca. Event No. 3 of 10 on the 2013 ASP World Championship Tour [...]

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Filipe Toledo and Jordy Smith scored Perfect 10 waves in Billabong Rio Pro 2013, at Barra da Tijuca, Brazil, as the event enters Quarterfinals.

Despite the improved three-to-five foot (1.5 metre) barrels, the best surfers in the world had to battle bumpy wave faces.

Toledo, the 2013 ASP Dream Tour rookie, put together an immaculate alley-oop to air-reverse combination, securing a perfect 10-point ride for the effort.

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BARRA DA TIJUCA, Rio de Janeiro/Brazil (Saturday, May 18, 2013) - The Billabong Rio Pro returned to Barra Da Tijuca for the second consecutive day and saw flawless performances from the ASP Top 34 as they battled through Rounds 3, 4 and 5, deciding the event’s Quarterfinalists in improved three-to-five foot (1.5 metre) barrels. Filipe [...]

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BARRA DA TIJUCA, Rio de Janeiro/Brazil (Saturday, May 18, 2013) – Rounds 3, 4 and 5 of the Billabong Rio Pro are scheduled to run today, with improved three-to-five foot (1.5 metre) waves on offer at the primary venue of Barra Da Tijuca. Stop No. 3 of 10 on the 2013 ASP World Championship Tour [...]

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Ramon Navarro is Chilean surfing. Born and raised at Punta de Lobos there’s nobody Read More.

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There are over 470 species of sharks and they have been living on Planet Earth for 420 million years.

The smallest shark - the dwarf lantern shark - is only 17 centimeters (6.7 inches) in length, while the whale shark is the largest specie in the world, with approximately 12 meters (39 feet).

Sharks live in all oceans down to depths of 2,000 meters (6,600 feet). Usually, they do not live in freshwater with the exception of the bull shark and river shark.

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Taty Frans and Kiri Thode have claimed the Slalom and Freestyle titles at the Curacao Challenge 2013, in the Netherlands Antilles.

A total of 85 windsurfers from some of the world's best sailing countries like Bonaire, Aruba and Curacao competed in front of hundreds of spectators.

The 5th edition of the Curacao Challenge showcased an high level of competition mixed with a great atmosphere. The event held a Tow-In Freestyle contest, Slalom races and a SUP battle.

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With the Pipe Challenge and South Coast Crusade done and dusted, May has snuck up on us to deliver the tenth anniversary of the Arica Chilean Challenge. The third of nine scheduled IBA events for the year, the Chilean Challenge is set to kick off today with trials on the 17th and 18th, and the main event scheduled to run between the 19th and 26th of May. Many of the worlds best have already descended on El Gringo, and it's pumping - check this freesurfing clip from just two days back.

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Though we're only two events into the World Title race, it's already a close field - only 40 points seperate the top three. With a victory a piece Ben Player and Amaury Lavernhe are equal second, while the reigning World Champ Jeff Hubbard holds the lead after two high placings. With the likes of Pierre Louis Costes, Mike Stewart and reigning champion Dave Winchester rounding out the top ten, Arica could be anyones. 

All media courtesy of IBA. 

We managed to get ahold of this year's Pipe Challenge Champion, Mr Ben Player, to get his thoughts on this year's event. Unsurprisingly, he seems pretty fond of it. "It's a pretty unique place, it's where the Atacama Desert meets the Pacific Ocean, so it's dry with amazing waves.". 

"I just the consistency of Arica, every day there's waves and it's clean. So for an event that is great because you know that you're going to get good waves repeatedly so the organisers can run man-on-man heats. It's also great being a rider in those conditions because you know that you can get a wave if you need it, it's not just who gets the waves wins the heat."

As for who's going to take it out, Ben's no more clued in than we are. "At this stage I would say that it is still open to anyone. There are ten guys who can win any event on any given day, it just depends on who is 100% on that day."

Stick with us in the coming days for the full draw, trials highlights and results! 

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We're going to bet that a fair chunk of you have laid your torso on one of Mr. Quigley's masterworks at one point in time, and if you haven't, you've probably got a mate who has. Todd is a bodyboarding institution, and rightfully regarded as one of the best shapers in the world. He's recently decided to branch out into a QCD stock range, so we decided to get a hold of the wild-haired legend to have a bit of a chat. 

All shots courtesy of Alex Gibson. 

RT - For a long time now, QCD boards have been one of the biggest custom brands in the industry. What had led you to branch out into a stock range?
TQ - After being in the industry shaping boards for 16 years now, I am still yet to put my name on a stock range. Sure, I have worked on many other ranges in the past for a number of different other brands, but I had never had my "own" stock board range. There are only a hand full of brands in the world that actually have a shaper/owner aspect in their stock range, so I am stoked I can finally offer my 16 years of shaping experience to a wider market.

Nice! Tell us about the range itself: what designs elements are you focusing on, what materials, what cores, etc?
The reason behind this range is to provide simplistic, high-end stock boards with a focus on the curves (template) and specifications working together. Each model has been dialled in and refined through the 16 years of shaping room experience I have. The range's purpose in the market is to offer the best curves suited to a model for a certain rider and wave type. I love the fact that this range has been designed and built with every little detail taken into account, from the thickness of the board to the lengths that will be available per model once it hits the shelves. The boards will be available in only two core options, using the best materials available in todays market.

For those of us that don't know, give us a quick rundown of your shaping career and QCD boards.
To cut a very long story short, for those of you that don't know I started working on boards back in 1997 when I quit school to work at a local bodyboard factory. I worked there for a few years for a number of different brands before I went out on my own to start QCD - which was and still is recognised as one of the premium custom board set ups in the world.

Much of board design these days seems to revolve around core materials and technology. Do you think this is the future of board design, or do you have other focuses in mind?
I think core material is a pretty big factor when it comes to the future of board design, as it is the inner structure that gives you the energy you need for speed and projection. I have a heap of ideas I am working on at the moment as far as cores go, but as you might have guessed it is very hard and expensive to develop such things. I have been working with a couple of key people that will see my ideas and designs come to life. There will be other things in the future that are going to make bodyboards lighter, stiffer, and more responsive - I am putting myself in a position to be able to help these things come to market in the future. 

Are you looking to sponsor any riders for your stock range? If so, any ideas (that you're willing to tell us)?
There are so many good riders out there and believe it or not I have already been approached by a few! Yeah, I think there will be team riders for QCD stock in the future. Our industry is very focused on "pro models" - what does that even mean? I want to change all of that, I want to change peoples ideas on what a stock board can be. I already have a handful of team guys riding my customs though, and I am stoked to have those guys on board.

Tell us about where you'd like to see the QCD brand in five years time. 
Wow five years! In five years time, QCD will be one of the premium stock board brands available on the Australian market, and will have a number of different products to help take the enjoyment of bodyboarding to new heights. I have been in contact with a number of different distributers around the world who want to be involved with the brand and I am stoked it has had such a positive response. I am stoked to be able to offer QCD stock to the world. After putting half my life's work into it, in five years I think I will see QCD at the top as one of the top stock board brands in the world.

Stay tuned for the release of QCD Stock Boards on Todd's website HERE. 

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On Monday, May 13, things got rolling at Teahupo’o. Here’s some Quik riders and Read More.

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Dan Ryan has scored epic air drops into deep barrels, in Teahupoo, Tahiti, during the largest swell of the year.

The adrenaline-fueled 13th May 2013 has been considered an historical big wave surfing day, in the French Polynesian island. Too big to paddle-in, too vertical for surfers. No worries.

Dan Ryan, member of the big wave bodyboarding club, was one of the few prone riders defying fear, at the Teahupoo bowl. When the moment came, he went for it, big time.

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A 32-year-old kitesurfer has passed away when he was sailing on the Lake of Two Mountains, in Quebec, Canada.

Julien Blanchard was enjoying a kitesurfing session in the part of the river delta widening of the Ottawa River, in Quebec, when he suffered what is commonly called the "death loop".

The rider was dragged to his death on the lake, after fell and being kept underwater by his kite for about 20 minutes.

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"Go Windsurfing!" is a windsurfing book for young people published by the Royal Yachting Association.

Written and illustrated by Claudia Myatt, "RYA Go Windsurfing!" offers easy reading style and engaging content to children aged between 7-12 years old.

The entertaining and clear format takes the reader from the beginnings through to starting to race and what they need to know to stay safe while out windsurfing. There is also an informative section at the back which explores Windsurfing amazing facts.

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The 2013 IBA GoPro Arica Chilean Challenge kicks off on the 17th May, in Arica, Chile, at the infamous El Gringo bodyboarding spot.

The third stop of the 2013 IBA World Tour is a Grand Slam Series events, which means there's a lot at stake. With $40,000 in prize money and 2000 points for the winner, Chile is a must.

Moreover, the Arica Chilean Challenge is celebrating its 10th anniversary and all riders will be trying to claim the trophy, in front of thousands of hardcore bodyboarding fans.

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