Hubbard won The Foam Company Drop Knee Pipeline Pro contest yesterday at the Banzai Pipeline.

The one-day event was run in clean wave-face heights that ranged from 6 to 12 feet.

“Today was perfect conditions for drop knee,” said Hubbard, 27. “And the level of competition is really high, so you had to be at your best in every heat.”

When it comes to drop-knee bodyboarding — which requires the competitors to ride bodyboards with a one-knee stance —Hubbard showed why he is regarded as the best in the world.

He is the three-time defending world champion of the drop knee world tour. Last year, he won all three contests on the tour.

Yesterday’s contest was the first stop on the 2010 world tour.

“I definitely feel like I have pressure on me,” Hubbard said. “I always feel like I have to make the finals at every contest.”

His abilities were pushed to the limit yesterday.

He trailed for most of the 25-minute heat, then took the lead with around five minutes remaining with a score of 8.1 (out of 10) for a nice barrel ride. Hubbard finished with a two-wave score of 15.2, which was enough to edge Australia’s Kim Feast.

“He’s such a good contest rider,” Feast said of Hubbard. “Maybe it’s the Hawaiian genetics. He’s got these waves to hone his skills on and today it was perfect.”

Ricky Alvarez of the Big Island held the lead early in the heat, and ultimately finished in third place.

Bud Miyamoto of Kaua’i was fourth, Sacha Specker of South Africa was fifth, and Jacob Pembrook of Kaua’i was sixth.

Hubbard received $1,500, which was fitting since he paid the $5,000 deposit fee out of his own account to secure the contest. Last year, there was no drop knee contest at Pipeline due to a lack of sponsorship money.

“I just wanted to make sure we got a chance to surf Pipe,” Hubbard said.

Hubbard and his older brother, Jeff, are still in contention in the Turbo Bodyboards Pipeline Pro, which needs one more day of competition.

The full draw with results can be found here

Stewart captures bodysurfing again

Mike Stewart of the Big Island won the Pipeline Bodysurfing Classic for a record 12th time yesterday.

The final was also staged at the Banzai Pipeline.

Stewart last won the event in 2008. It was not held last year due to a permit issue.

Chris Kalima was second, Mark Cunningham third, Frederic David fourth, Craig Watson fifth and Steve Kapela sixth.

And check out footage from last years Pipe event:

Jamie O’Brien Turbo Bodyboarding Pipeline Pro from Waldron Bros Production on Vimeo.

The Goods!

My Baldy report:
Left San Clemente at 6am and was on Mt. Baldy Road just after 7am.  A good omen!  No freeway problems at all!  A few mid-level clouds, but Baldy was pretty much enshrouded in clouds from the wrap-around moisture coming over from the NE.  Not long after the tunnel, the road was starting to get icy, so I pulled over with everyone else and chained up.  I have a Tacoma Double Cab 2WD.  I reached Baldy Village and the road was now snow and ice-covered and I had a large truck in front of me going 5mph as I approached the switchbacks.  Damn!  I’d hang back a bit and wait for him to get up each switchback and then I’d catch up after making the turns.  I knew if I lost momentum going around the corners I was done as my wheels were still  slipping even with the chains on.  Finally found a chance to pass him and continued on.  Got to the last 400 feet of uphill before the parking lot and just couldn’t make it.  Tried everything for 1/2 hour.  Low gear, zig zagging up the hill, even going in reverse facing downhill.  I’d wait for traffic coming up to be clear before I’d try again, but I just couldn’t get the tires/chains to grip the damn road!  Saw 3 other vehicles in the same predicament.  Arrrgggg.
I decided to park it at the first hiking trail turnout just down from the parking lot.  There was a sign mentioning displaying adventure passes, but I figured I’d put my State Park Pass in the window and hope for the best, hopefully not getting a ticket.
Walked up the road into the lot and some Baldy employees were spreading gravel on the parking lot and offered me a ride to Chair 1.  I waited a few minutes while they finished and hopped in the back of their truck.  I doubt any other ski area would do that because they’d be too worried about liability.  Ha, ha.  Another Baldy classic!  Ticket line was a solid 40 minutes!

The ticket line!

Finally got my ticket at 9am and they had just opened Chair 3 and the runs down under Chair 1 after avi control. It was snowing lightly and blowing fairly decent, so kinda cold!
Started out heading to Chair 3.  10 minutes in line, but got a decent run with some untracked (see video).

Then, headed over to Chair 2 and did a short run under that lift and then back up.  Then, I started hitting the runs on the Chair 4 side of the Notch (Chair 4 wasn’t open yet).  Some fantastic untracked over there.  Not the lightest snow of my life, but pretty damn good for SoCal!  Maybe knee-deep in places, but there were a couple of rare spots that were scraped down to ice.  My second  run, I hiked up about 500 yards and dropped in for yet another run of untracked.  Did that again, and then Chair 4 opened.  Every time I’ve been to Baldy (right after a big storm each time) 4 would never open, so this was my first time up that chair!

More goodies

Did a run down 4 and then back up and this time, I went all the way down to the parking lot.  By now, the sun was out below the Notch, so once you got down lower, the pow took on a mashed potato consistency and was getting a bit heavy.  Time to go for me as I had a PBJ and a Coke back in my truck calling my name.
Came out in the upper parking lot and there was a movie/TV crew there shooting something.  Hiked it back down to my truck thinking the only thing that could ruin this day would be a ticket from the Forest Service.  Alas, I got lucky!  Meanwhile across the street, a guy was arguing with a CHP officer about the ticket that HE got.  I figured I’d better get the hell outta there as soon as I could, so I de-chained my truck, changed clothes and took off.  Now the roads were melted off nicely and were simply wet.  I was back at my house in south OC before 2:30pm.
It’s days like today that I LOVE living in SoCal!  Got to ride knee-deep pow and 90 minutes later I’m at my house near the beach with sunny weather in the ’60′s.  Not many places in the world you can pull that off!
Baldy is not longer the best-kept secret in SoCal as the crowds are on it, but as long as they don’t have live bands and set up giant terrain parks, and keep their rickety lift system in place, hopefully it will retain it’s charm!

What a nail biting finish to another amazing year.  The swell had dropped overnight but Confital was still serving up some perfect right-hander’s for the showdown of the year.  Both Neymara and Jeff had been eliminated prior to the final and the cards would have to fall in a perfect combination if they were to be crowned again.

One by one the challengers fell.  First GT, then Hardy, then Winny then it was just the two Hawaiian’s that could become the 2009 IBA world Champion.

Jeff watched on as Mike Stewart entered the water to create history as a       10-time world champion, one of the greatest achievements in modern sporting history, but he had a formidable opponent to get past in Hugo Pinheiro.  Hugo had been on a roll and the crowd was pumped for the battle.

Mike opened up with an amazing wave that barreled almost the entire length of the point before emerging cleanly and rolling off the end.  A solid 7-point ride from all the judges was the call.  From this point on Hugo clawed his was back into contention as Stewart used his knowledge of the ocean to wait for a bomb set, but time was the enemy for the seasoned campaigner.  Pinheiro took the inside waves and held the lead for almost 12 minutes but with 4 minutes on the clock Mike was forced into a 4 point ride needing a 3.75. He took a slender lead but handed the priority to Hugo with just a few minutes remaining and the rest is history.

Hugo got a set, the score needed to advance, and in that instance, Jeff was lifted high into the sky as the 2009 IBA World Champion

“ I can’t believe it, I really can’t” said Jeff.   “ I was so down yesterday after being eliminated that I didn’t even know if I should come to the beach and watch”   “ But I said to myself, hey just be positive, wish the best for everyone and be here to congratulate however wins”

“ That positive thinking must have worked in my favor and the gods smiled upon me for it, it’s a dream come true” said the champ.

Mike Stewart ran from the water and embraced his Hawaiian mate in an emotional scene. It was pretty cool to watch.  Ok, so that one was in the bag for Jeff but the focus now turned to Neymara for her race with Eunate and Jessica.

In the semi’s Jess disposed of Eunate and Isabella defeated Neymara.  For a moment there was confusion regarding the equation but it soon became clear that Jessica would have to win the event to win the world title.  The crowd was pumped for the face-off.  For the second year in a row Brazils Jessica Becker would have to win a final at Confital to win a world title.  Sadly for Jessica, Isabella Sousa had her own agenda and was unstoppable.

As the countdown began they started the lift and when the hotter sounded we had our 2009 IBA WWT Champion Neymara Carvalho from Brazil.  She has now claimed a history making 5^th World title making her undoubtedly the greatest female bodyboarder of all time.  Once the dust settled the focus returned to the Men’s final between Diego Cabrera and Hugo Pinheiro.  Cabrera is the local guy and the massive crowd that assembled rallied behind him, and he did not disappoint.  He chose the winning waves and surfed a perfect heat to be crowned the 2009 Confital Pro Champion.

This lifted him into the elusive Top 16 for 2010.  That night the IBA Staged a Gala Banquet awards dinner to crown the top 16 Men and women as well as the rookies of the year with over 180 people attending.  The Men’s Rookie of the year was Guillermo Cobo from Canary Islands and the Women’s rookie was French rider Roxanne Bonet.  2009 was a landmark year for the IBA and for the sport. A strong world tour with some great locations, a Grand Slam concept that is working perfectly and the ideal start and finish to the year in Hawaii & Canary Islands.

Dave Hubbard won the DK division and was crowned for the 4th time world champion. With 3 wins in 3 events, Dave had a 100% achievement this year. “I’m really happy to win all the 3 events that the DK division had. This was a very favorable year for the DK and I think that the division is gaining strength once more.” Said the champ

The future is looking bright and there are some big plans to take the IBA to a whole new level that will be revealed soon.  The 2010 IBA Men tour will get underway at Pipeline in Hawaii from February 16^th – 26^th so pencil that into your diary and standby for another awesome webcast featuring the worlds best.

On behalf of the IBA thanks to all of our riders, all of our sponsors and promoters and most importantly, YOU, the fan’s for making this a year that no one will ever forget.

So, we thought we’d just highlight some footage from all around the world that has been posted in the last month to show everyone just what it feels like to be in the water across continents.  There is something about this perspective that makes you just want to get out and get barreled. Enjoy these clips we dug up!

Australia and Samoa

Breakwall, Port Macquarie, Australia

France

Southern California, USA

Seal Beach, California, USA

Lake Michigan, USA

Hawaii, USA

Mexico

to go straight there click this link. This clip explains how to use the app.

“That’s right, Issue #16 is out! Tons of cool content including a Madrid skateboard giveaway, Hawaii 2009; featuring photos of Mike Stewart, Matt Lackey, Ryan Hardy, Brandon Foster, Micah Mcmullin, Jaime O’Brien, and tons more…a John “Beans” Porzuczek interview, Also, a profile on James Murdock. And make sure you see the Doll, Elizabeth, she’s hot! Thank you to all of our supporters during this transition to the eco-friendly, world-wide format we have chosen. Just click on the cover icon to the left and enjoy!

Read on readers…..and KEEP BODYBOARDING!“

Rock on!

Behold the boogie……