5 December 2011, Terengganu-Malaysia: Indonesia’s Dede Suryana got the best of both the windy 3-4 foot windblown beachbreak conditions and his fellow finalists yesterday to win the Men’s Open Division of the Terengganu Quiksilver Best Event Surf Contest at Batu Burok Beach and nab the first place trophy and RM 2,500 ($US 850).
It was an all Indonesian affair with Suryana up against Quiksilver teammates Tipi Jabrik, Sandi Selamet, and Devis Ratif in the 25 minute final, with Suryana aggressively attacking the waves and dominating the lineup, posting the highest score of the day and of the final, a 7.1 (out of a possible 10), and the highest combined score of the day, 14.10 out of 20. Given the conditions, it was an especially amazing performance.
I’m super stoked to win this event, said Suryana. It was great fun to be out there with my team mates, even though it was windy and not the best conditions in the final. The waves were pumping all morning, the best we’ve gotten so far in the contest, which made it really great to compete today. Then the wind came up and so it was harder to find the good sections, but luckily I did find a couple in the final and got some scores. It’s been a great three days here and the locals have all been so nice to me, so I want to thank them for sharing their place with us. Looking forward to coming back here next year for sure!
Suryana is from West Java in Indonesia but resides in Bali when he isn’t travelling to compete on surf contests all around the world. He is currently the only Indonesian surfer competing on the Association of Surfing Professionals World Qualifying Series circuit.
The final day of the three day Terengganu Quiksilver Best Event started off with the South China Sea delivering solid 3-4 foot glassy bombs exploding on the sandbars of Batu Burok Beach and bright sunshine lighting up the sandy beach, a perfect setup for the completion of the event. The action started off at just before 9:30 am, and by just after 12:00 noon all that remained was the finals in each division. Unfortunately the wind had started to blow strongly with the threat of rain on the horizon as well, but after a short break for lunch it was straight into the finals with first the Women’s Division, followed by the Bodyboard Division, then the Master’s Division, and finally the Men’s Open Division.
In the Women’s Division it was 13 year old Annissa Flynn from Thailand who trumped the field of older girls to bring home her second win in as many weeks, having just won another surf contest in Hong Kong last weekend. When asked about her expectations on winning this event she replied, didn’t think I had a much of a chance to win because I’m the smallest and youngest of the girls, and with the conditions today it was really hard. But I’m so happy to have won this, really happy, and I’m very thankful to my dad and mom and to Quiksilver for supporting me, so I could come here and compete.
Quiksilver pro surfer and special guest Ry Craike from Australia was delighted to be invited to come to Malaysia and attend the event. In addition to wowing the crowd each day with exhibition sessions where he showed off his electrifying high performance surfing, he also donated one of his surfboards as a prize to Adik Chik, Terengganu’s Most Promising Grommet (junior surfer). I’m stoked I got to come to Malaysia and meet the local crew and hang out with all the surfers from the other countries like Indonesia, Thailand, and the Maldives, and we got some sick waves too. It’s great to see all these new local surfers so amped on surfing, and we got to give away a couple of surfboards, so I’m looking forward to coming back again next year to see how they will have progressed.
In all, 97 contestants from 10 different countries including Malaysia, Indonesia, Singapore, Thailand, Taiwan, Australia, the Maldives, Japan, Egypt, and the USA registered to compete either the Men’s Open Division, Women’s Division, Masters Division, or Bodyboard Division.
Quiksilver’s Holly Monkman was very pleased with the level of participation and how the event went, saying: “On behalf of Quikilver I want to thank all the international surfers for coming and supporting this event, and to especially thank Quiksilver Malaysia and Bryan Ng for putting together such a great event. It was very generous of them also to donate all the entry fees from the competitors, around RM4,500, to a local charity and I really commend them for that. We’re looking forward to coming back here again next year and hopefully we’ll see even more locals in the water. Quiksilver is very proud to be supporting the sport of surfing in SEA and growing the ASC tour with events like this.
To watch the video highlights of each day’s action as well as view photos and more, see www.isctour.com/asc
Terengganu Quiksilver Best Event Surf Contest 2011 Results
Men’s Open Division
1. Dede Suryana (INA)
2. Tipi Jabrik (INA)
3. Sandi Selamet (INA)
4. Devis Ratif (INA)
Women's Open Division
1. Annissa Flynn (THA)
2. Yasnyiar Gea (INA)
3. Cheryl Tang (SIN)
4. Brenda Lee (MAY)
Master’s Division
1. Hazimin Bin Harun (MAY)
2. Raymond Chong (MAY)
3. Sean Gilhooley (AUS)
4. Andy Lim (MAY)
Bodyboard Division
1. Ali Khusruwan (MAL)
2. Ahmend Fausan (MAL)
3. Ibrahim Shiman (MAL)
4. Syed El Hussein (MAL)
Other Winners:
Best Malaysian Surfer - Mohd Didaqt
Best Newcomer - Khairil Doje
Best Wipeout - Tipi Jabrik
Best Trick - Mohd Daud (Mamat)
Special Award (Terengganu Pioneer Surfer) J.C. (Kit)
Most Promising Terengganu Grommet- Adik Chik
Most Promising Terengganu Surfer Gazi
Most Promising International Surfer Abdullah Areef (MAL)
The Terengganu Quiksilver Best Event Surf Contest 2011 was a 3-star Asian Surfing Championship event, stop number 7 of 8 events in the ASC's inaugural 2011 season. There were 4 divisions of competition, Men's Open, Women's Open, Master's Open, and Bodyboard Open, with a total combined prize pool of over $10,000 USD (RM 31,000) coming from the State Government of Terengganu. In addition to cash, the finalists received trophies and prize packs from Quiksilver, Roxy and other sponsors, as well as valuable ASC Championship points.
Though not widely known as a surfing destination, Malaysia's east coast is rife with points and beach breaks that can offer up super fun and high performance waves when the South China Sea turns on its charm during the Monsoon Season months of October through March each year.This time of year is typically quiet along the coastal beaches for non-surfers, but for those surfers in search of uncrowded waves the Surf Season is welcomed with great anticipation.
The Terengganu Quiksilver Best Event Surf Contest 2011 was sponsored by the State Government of Terengganu, Quiksilver, Roxy, the Ministry of Tourism Terengganu, Tourism Malaysia and the Marang Village Resort & Spa, in conjunction with event organizer EC Extreme. The Sumai Suite Hotel was the official hotel of the Terengganu Quiksilver Best Event.
