TEAHUPOO, Taiarapu/Tahiti (Wednesday, September 1, 2010) – The idyllic conditions of the past two days were washed away this morning under heavy south wind and rain, forcing the Billabong Pro Tahiti to call competition off after completing the remaining four heats of Round 3.

Stop No. 5 of 10 on the 2010 ASP World Tour, the Billabong Pro Tahiti is both a pivotal point in the hunt for the 2010 ASP World Title as well as the midyear field reduction; the latter of which was completed today.

Patrick Gudauskas (USA), 24, 2010 ASP Dream Tour rookie, punctuated the morning’s action, executing an incredible Rodeo Flip in the dying moments of his Round 3 heat to overtake Chris Davidson (AUS), 33, and advance through to Round 4.

“It was really tough out there,” Gudauskas said. “There weren’t a lot of waves coming through and I didn’t know if I should wait for the good ones or if there were even any good ones left. I knew I needed to go big at the end there so I thought, ‘whatever, I’ll just try this’. It had a really nice section and when I came out of the rotation, I knew I had it so I just kind of rode out and gave the judges a little thumbs up.”

The Califonian’s advancement to Round 4 of the Billabong Pro Tahiti guarantees an Equal 9^th, a career best, and rockets him from No. 32 to No. 24 on the ASP World Title Race rankings.
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DON’T MISS THIS!!!

For SB event please bring your lawn chairs and blankets and come early to secure a spot!

Dane Reynolds’ Movie Trailer

Left to right:

1. 6′5″ x 18 1/4″ x 2 5/16″ Semi Pro Round Pin
2. 6′3″ x 18 1/4″ x 2 5/16″ Semi Pro Round Pin
3. 6′1″ x 18 1/4″ x 2 5/16″ Semi Pro Round Pin
4. 6′0″ x 18 1/4″ x 2 5/16″ Semi Pro Round Pin
5. 6′0″ x 18 1/4″ x 2 5/16″ Semi Pro Round Pin
6. 5′11″ x 18 1/4″ x 2 5/16″ Semi Pro Round Pin
7. 5′11″ x 18 1/2″ x 2 1/2″ Deep Six Round Pin

Left to right:

1. 6′8″ x 18 5/8″ x 2 3/8″ Proton Step Up
2. 6′5″ x 18 1/2″ x 2 3/8″ Proton Step Up Round Pin tail
3. 6′3″ x 18 1/2″ x 2 5/16″ Proton Step Up Round Pin tail
4. 6′2″ x 18 5/8″ x 2 3/8″ MBM 6 Channel Tri hull tail
5. 6′1″ x 18 5/8″ x 2 5/16″ Rookie Round Pin tail

Left to right:

1. 6′8″ x 18 3/8″ x 2 3/16″ Proton Step Up Round Pin
2. 6′6″ x 18 3/8″ x 2 1/4″ Proton Step Up Round Pin
3. 6′4″ x 18 3/8″ x 2 3/16″ Proton Step Up Round Pin
4. 6′2″ x 18 3/8″ x 2 3/16″ Proton Step Up
5. 6′1″ x 18 3/8″ x 2 1/4″ MBM 6 Channel Tri Hull Tail
6. 6′0″ x 18 3/8″ x 2 3/16″ Proton Squash

Sage all smiles after dominating the women’s pro junior event. Not to mention bringing back Oneill’s farmer John suit!

This is Sage’s weapon of choice, Kelly’s Whip model: 5-9 181/4 21/4 swallow tail with future fins

It came down to the wire. After finishing runner up to Malia Manuel last year, a win this year was extra special.

Photos by Peter Dive

Evan Geiselman won the 2010 US Open Jr. Pro title on a 5’11 x 18 ¼” x 2 1/8″ Rookie. He bought the board off the rack at Red Dog surf shop in his home town of New Smyrna Beach Fl. This makes all of us at Channel Islands super stoked to know that someone of Evan’s caliber can buy a board off the rack and get the same high-quality board we are making for our team. Congrats Evan on your win.

Check out the full story on Surfline.com

This years Billabong Pro Tahiti event will mark the 10 year anniversary of Kelly Slater’s first win at Teahupoo in 2000.

Due to the smaller conditions on the final day of the contest back then, Kelly rode a 6’1 x 18 ¼ x 2” MK2K (K-Board). The nose is much narrower and has much more of a pronounced flip in it which was characteristic of the time.

Here are a few photos of the board he rode in the finals. The board hangs in the Channel Islands Surfboards Flagship retail store in Santa Barbara California.

Kelly has won the event a total of 3 times in 2000, 2003, and 2005.

Read the ASP Press Release for the Billabong Pro Tahiti 2010 on ASPWorldTour.com