Hawaiian Coco Ho wins Women’s Rip Curl Pro Search

ASP World Tour rookie, Coco Ho has beaten Chelsea Hedges to claim the 2009 Rip Curl Women’s Pro Search title.

It was only a matter of time till Hawaiian Coco Ho would win an ASP Women’s World Tour event. Not only does the girl flat out rip, but she’s also got the mental game that great competitive surfers need to possess—she knows what she has to do to win heats and then does them.

In the first ever Rip Curl Women’s Pro Search event, Coco bettered Chelsea Hedges, who is eight years her elder and the 2005 Women’s World Champ. Comboing the veteran to snag the win, Coco showed that she has what it takes to win on the women’s highest stage. Now sitting at 3rd in the World Title ratings, Coco is making a serious run for Rookie of the Year, not to mention being in the thick of a World Title race.

Stephanie Gilmore and Silvana Lima (1,2) sit ahead of Ho in the ratings, and with three events left it’s plausible to see any one of the three march to the podium at the end of the year. After the next event (the Movistar Peru Classic), the Women’s World Tour heads to Hawaii for the final two events. Don’t be surprised to see the young Hawaiian with another trophy in her hand before the year is done.

CURRENT ASP WOMEN’S WORLD TOUR TOP 5
(After RC Pro Women’s Search):
1 – Stephanie Gilmore (AUS) 3793 points
2 – Silvana Lima (BRA) 3636 points
3 – Coco Ho (HAW) 2923 points
4 – Sofia Mulanovich (PER) 2691 points
5 – Melanie Bartels (HAW) 2535 points

Tubular Girls spotlighted in July issue of Vanity Fair

The latest issue of Vanity Fair (July 2009) wants you to meet the newest female stars of surfing.

The VF spread, featuring Alana Blanchard, Sally Fitzgibbons, Sofia Mulanovich and a bevy of other surfers (promoting next month’s US Open of Surfing) show that fifty years after Gidget stirred up waves in the male-dominated surfing world, a new set of young women in their teens and 20s are revolutionizing the sport, from the beaches of Montauk to Australia.

Back in April, New York photog Michael Halsband, who specializes in artists, musicians and surfers, traveled to California’s Newport Beach to shoot the coolest surfer girls.

In addition to Blanchard and Fitzgibbons you can see Sierra Partridge, Leila Hurst, Blanchard, Malia Manuel, Coco Ho, Laura Enever, Sage Erickson, Quincy Davis, Courtney Conlogue and Hailey Partridge in the magazine.

There are a bunch of photos online (including outtakes from the shoot)  and some video below. Be sure to pick up theVanity Fair issue and if you’re near Huntington Beach, California July 18 – 26, the US Open of Surfing plays center stage to one of the top stops on the ASP Tour. Put in on your calendar and don’t miss a minute of the fun.

Surf movie: Dear and Yonder

Dear and Yonder is an ocean odyssey of the female kind. Featuring surfers Lisa Andersen, Kassia Meador, Sofia Mulanovich, Sally Fitzgibbons, Belinda Baggs, Linda Benson, Rell Sunn, Silvana Lima, Prue Jeffries, Coco Ho, Stephanie Gilmore, and  more, the epic documentary may be be the most stunning ode to women’s surfing so far.

You aren’t going to want to miss it this summer. Check out this trailer and start planning your next surf trip….

Sally Fitzgibbons wins big in Portugal at 6 star WQS

The day belonged to Aussie Sally Fitzgibbons, 18, and the new generation of women’s professional surfing. Fitzgibbons, current ASP Women’s World Tour member, surfed every heat of her final assault flawless, methodical and mechanical as she swept the field to win the ASP World Qualifying Series (WQS) 6-Star Estoril Billabong Girls Pro taking the valuable 3000 ratings’ points up for grabs.

Fitzgibbons defeated fellow finalist and other rising wunderkid and ASP Top 17 surfer Coco Ho (Oahu, HAW), 17, with both surfers scoring near perfect rides as Bufuriera’s beachbreak was delivering clean three to four foot waves. Fitzgibbons came out blazing in the final locking-in four excellent scores before Ho managed to answer back with a near perfect 9.80 point wave. Meanwhile, Fitzgibbons was quick to respond and net a 9.85 pointer and take the win.

“It’s great to be back on the podium and definitely it has been some time between drinks,” Fitzgibbons said. “I surfed a lot of heats before the final and paddled out quite relaxed and sat wide. I saw the tide starting to drain out and thought there were two peaks. I was lucky when the first one came wide and I got it.”

Fitzgibbons, who is a rookie on this year’s ASP Women’s World Tour, leaves Portugal with a solid back-up result in case she ends up needing to requalify through the ASP World Qualifying Series (WQS) at the end of this year. So far, Fitzgibbons remains well in position to fullfil expectations from the international surfing scene which considers the young woman a future ASP World title contender.

“It was great to surf with my friend Sally (Fitzgibbons) in the final,” Ho said. “We had really fun waves, we were talking and having a good time. Sally started with three great waves and it took me a while to get a good one. Then I got my 9.80 pointer but Sally came straight back and bettered it with a 9.85 wave.”

Final
Heat 1: Sally Fitzgibbons (AUS) 18.60 pts Def. Coco Ho (HAW) 16.90 pts

Semifinals
Heat 1: Coco Ho (HAW) 18.0 pts Def. Carissa Moore (HAW) 11.00 pts
Heat 2: Sally Fitzgibbons 16.50 pts (AUS) Def. Jessi Miley-Dyer (AUS) 10.20 pts

New generation of surfers steal the show

November 18, 2008 – The Reef Hawaiian Pro, taking place this week in Haleiwa, is one of  three women’s surf events this month on the North Shore as part of the Vans Triple Crown (also the Roxy Sunset Pro and Billabong Pro Maui).

Like much of this year, where super groms ruled in women’s professional surfing, the teenage new wave of women’s professional surfing is stealing the show. In the opening day of competition, the ladies enjoyed solid overhead waves and two rounds of competition as they whittled the 44-woman, 11-nation field down to 16 quarter finalists.

From the first heat -a wildcard battle among six young Hawaii surfers- it was clear that the new crop is determined to rise to the top at this year’s Vans Triple Crown of Surfing.

Wildcard winner Carissa Moore, 16, and winter room-mates Laura Enever (Australia), 17, and Coco Ho (Hawaii), 17, administered the major damage against some of the top seeded surfers and are all through to the quarters.

Heading into the quarter finals, seven of the 16 ladies remaining are 18 years of age or under: Bruna Schmitz (Brz, 18), Ho, Enever, Courtney Conlogue (CA, 16), Sally Fitzgibbons (Aus, 17), Moore, and Alana Blanchard (HI, 18).

Defending Reef Hawaiian Pro and Vans Triple Crown champion Megan Abubo (Hawaii) was the biggest casualty of the day, eliminated in round two by Ho and Enever.

Full details

After three back-to-back days of superb competition at the Reef Hawaiian Pro, the event is currently on standby awaiting better conditions. Assuming a northwest swell arrives shortly, this month should be one of the most exciting ever as we head into the final countdown of the Women’s Association of Surfing Professionals (ASP) World Tour and find out whether Stephanie Gilmore hangs onto her title.

Hawaiian teens take U.S. Open of Surfing

July, 26, 2008 - When we arrived at Huntington Beach for the women’s final event at the U.S. Open of Surfing, the place was packed. Not unusual for a Saturday in Surf City but something historic was taking place on the south side of the pier that made the day truly special.

Fourteen year old Malia Manuel defeated seventeen year old Coco Ho and the duo became the youngest finalists ever at the U.S. Open of Surfing.  In addition, both surfers hail from Hawaii, also a first for the final.

Manuel’s victory was surprising, even to her. She had never competed at the U.S. Open and never in a two-person heat. Manuel, who lives on the eastern side of Kauai, entered the event as a wild card because she had not competed in enough events this year to be seeded. She ended up as the youngest champion in ASP history.

When asked “What’s next?” after accepting her award, Manuel replied with excitment “10th grade!”

Manuel, who will turn 15 next month, claimed an early edge in the 30-minute final and made it stand up, winning with a best-two-wave score of 14.34 points. The wind kicked up in the finals and Ho struggled to find a groove in the deteriorating conditions finishing with a score of 7.90.

Ho’s father, Michael, and uncle, Derek, both legendary Hawaiian surfers, must have been proud. Even with her second-place finish, it was a day of accomplishments for the teenager, who also won the women’s junior championship making her the first competitor to be in both the women’s final and women’s junior final.

The Association of Surfing Professionals (ASP) World Qualifying Series (WQS) 6-Star event saw some incredible performances, but really none as impressive as the Hawaiian up and comers taking down some of the biggest names in professional surfing.

In an earlier quarterfinal, Manuel defeated defending U.S. Open Champion Sofia Mulanovich of Peru. Mulanovich, the 2004 world champion, had posted perfect tens in a prior heat. Ho then knocked off defending world champion Stephanie Gilmore of Australia in a semifinal. In the other seminfinal, Manual posted a dominant heat win over current ASP WQS ratings leader Sally Fitzgibbons en route to becoming the youngest U.S. Open Winner ever. 

The youth movment is alive and well.

Results:Final:
1 – Malia Manuel (HAW) 14.342 – Coco Ho (HAW) 7.90
Semifinals Results (1st advances)
Heat 1: Malia Manuel (HAW) 13.10 def. Sally Fitzgibbons (AUS) 12.67 
Heat 2: Coco Ho (HAW) 10.83 def Stephanie Gilmore (AUS) 6.83
Quarterfinals (1st advances)
Heat 1: Malia Manuel (HAW) 15.83 def. Sofia Mulanovich (USA) 13.10
Heat 2: Sally Fitzgibbons (AUS) 11.00 def. Samantha Cornish (AUS) 1.60
Heat 3: Coco Ho (HAW) 12.00 def. Melanie Bartels (HAW) 8.23
Heat 4: Stephanie Gilmore (AUS) 14.67 def. Bethany Hamilton (HAW) 9.17 

Roxy Pro Sunset: Local wildcard Coco Ho beats Stephanie Gilmore in round 1

Nov. 27, 2007 – 16-year-old Hawaiian local Coco Ho won the trials to get into the Roxy Pro Sunset as a wildcard and then went on to beat world number one Stephanie Gilmore in the first round. Not bad going! Read more