Page 3 - MidWeek Central - July 20, 2022

Aloha surfers and beachgoers,
The Challenger Series just finished its third out of eight contests this sea- son at the Ballito Pro in South Africa. This second tier is just below the first or top tier, the elite Championship Tour.
resenting Indonesia,” Waida says. “We never qualified a surfer for the Championship Tour so it would be good if I made it to show all the groms back there that we can do it. I’ve been working very hard for this and I can’t wait to get back home and see everyone.”
Hawai‘i has no men in the top 10, nor women in the top five, in the Challenger Series. But the year’s not over by a long shot. Go Hawai‘i!
Kelly Slater is in this contest — he pulled out of Brazil due to injury.
On a roll and winning was Rio Waida from Bali, Indone- sia. He’s in the No. 1 slot and looks to be a near shoe-in for the CT in 2023.
An Aussie talent named Molly Picklum won it for the women. She had her rook- ie WCT last year but didn’t make the mid-season cut, so she’s getting the points back on her ledger in hopes of re- joining the WCT 2023. She’s jumped up into the No. 2 spot on the CS Challenger Series
Rio Waida of Indonesia is the winner of the Ballito Pro, presented by O’Neill.
PHOTO COURTESY WSL/TOSTEE
Slater’s first win was back in 1996, then again in 2003 and 2005. His last win was 14 years ago in 2008. It’s aston- ishing. Only Australia’s Mick Fanning has four titles at this world-class venue. I can’t wait.
This guy is bold but hum- ble and has all it takes to make even more history for Indone- sia. Good luck!
rankings. go into every contest to surf “Winning obviously is re- every heat and to come out
We are expecting excellent swells for what is likely to be a classic event. The holding period is July 12-21.
GQ, droppin’ in 4 U!
“I’m so happy to be rep-
ally good for qualification for 2023, but it’s just so good to get to the top and I try and
on top in the last one is really good,” Picklum reflects.
BY GARY KEWLEY
Expecting Excellent Conditions For Exciting Event
Sorry to say, but at this time
Note: 11-time world champ
gary@surfnewsnetwork.com
JULY 20, 2022 3
As of this writing we are just about to start day one of the Corona Open J-Bay held at Jeffreys Bay’s Supertubes — one of, if not the best, right-hand point breaks in the world. This is event No. 9 out of 11 in determining our next world champs.
It will be pretty historic if this ends up being the greatest of all time’s final competition at a spot he’s dominated in his long and illustrious career.
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