The inaugural ASP World Longboard Tour (WLT) Bear Pro presented by Jeep has called a lay day due to small conditions on Day one of the official waiting period. Event officials and surfers met before dawn in an attempt to take advantage of the recent swell which has been pounding the Levanto coastline and send Round One of competition into the water. However, tiny unsurfable lines in the 30cm range were all that was on offer and an official call to reconvene tomorrow, Friday 11 November at 7.30am was announced.

The Bear Pro presented by Jeep Contest Director, Julien ‘Vico’ Hamel, did not hesitate in making the call to hold off on starting this final stop on the ASP World Longboard Tour which will eventually crown this year’s ASP World Longboard Champion. Hamel explains what we have, why and what we can expect over the coming days.

“We are calling a day off today. The swell has gone away sadly. We had really good waves the last two days and now it has just gone which is not really surprising because we have an easterly wind blowing which is pushing everything offshore at the moment.”

“Now we just have to assess conditions each morning at 7.30am and we will do this each day. The swell can be surprisingly fast to come overnight so we have to be there all the time to check if it is feasible to actually start the contest. So we will be back at 7.30am tomorrow morning.”

Most of the 32-elite longboarders here to contest the Bear Pro presented by Jeep have been fortunate enough to test out the Levanto waves during the lead up to the event. Hamel has also been monitoring conditions during this period and gain important feedback from the riders on what their thoughts on the waves and area are.

“They (the surfers) are pretty amazed actually,” stated Hamel about the feeling amongst the competitors. “They snapped about eight longboards in two days which is quite heavy because we had 6-8ft sets with nobody out and it was pumping with lefts and rights.”

“It’s actually a good thing,” continued Hamel. “The guys could see the spot working before the event so they know the spot has got potential. We just need a good swell. We had really good swells here the last ten days actually sadly with pouring rain and all the flooding but right now we are waiting for a new one to come.”

The ASP WLT Bear Pro presented by Jeep will reconvene at 7.30am when another call will be made on conditions and a possible start to the event.

The ASP Bear Pro presented by Jeep will run from November 10 to 20 and will be web LIVE with all results, photos and daily highlights seen at www.bearpro2011.com

The Bear Pro presented by Jeep is proudly produced by Reset Communications in association with Area 51, the Liguria Region, the Province of La Spezia and the town of Levanto. For further information regarding the ASP Bear Pro presented by Jeep log onto www.aspeurpe.com

ASP WLT Bear Pro presented by Jeep Round One Matchups
Heat 1: Edouard Delpero (FRA) Vs Matt Aldridge (AUS)
Heat 2: Eduardo Bage (BRA) Vs Mitch Surman (AUS)
Heat 3: Jared Neal (AUS) Vs Justin Bing (ZAF)
Heat 4: Rodrigo Sphaier (BRA) Vs Alessandro Demartini (ITA)
Heat 5: Kai Sallas (HAW) Vs Shohei Akimoto (JPN)
Heat 6: Bryce Young (AUS) Vs Adam Griffiths (GBR)
Heat 7: Damien Castera (ESP) Vs Bradley Weare (ZAF)
Heat 8: Duane De Soto (HAW) Vs Marco Boscaglia (ITA)
Heat 9: Taylor Jensen (USA) Vs Ben Haworth (GBR)
Heat 10: Ned Snow (HAW) Vs Remi Arauzo (FRA)
Heat 11: Rusty Keaulana (USA) Vs Jefson Silva (BRA)
Heat 12: Amaro Matos (BRA) Vs Yasuaki Higashikawa (JPN)
Heat 13: Harley Ingleby (AUS) Vs Zak Lawton (GBR)
Heat 14: Ben Skinner (GBR) Vs Troy Mothershead (USA)
Heat 15: Edouard Delpero (FRA) Vs Andre Derizans (HAW)
Heat 16: Tony Silvagni (USA) Vs Cole Robbins (USA)