SURF SCENE:

BY THE time you read this, I will be in Bali and it’s only appropriate to be writing about a new surfing development from the Island of the Gods.

There’s the original Hawaiian Banzai Pipeline event, the Pipeline Masters on the North Shore of Oahu that crowns the final world tour event of the year for the World Surf League Tour.

Last month we witnessed the latest addition to the World Surf League calendar of events at the “Mexico Pipeline” Big Wave event held at Puerto Escondido on the WSL Big Wave World Tour.

Now the very latest event to be brought into the WSL fold is the annual Rip Curl Padang Padang Cup at “Bali’s Pipeline”, Padang Padang, on the southern tip of the Bukit Peninsula.

Now in its thirteenth year and with a swag of well-known internationals and locals as former winners, the Rip Curl Padang Padang Cup will be sanctioned by WSL as a speciality event.

It has a full month waiting period in August, counting on the traditional time of year for the best waves on the west side of Australia’s most popular overseas tourist destination.

So far this year, Bali and the rest of the Indonesia Archipelago from Sumatra to Timor, has had pumping waves in May and June and this week it’s off the hook with a double overhead swell!

Local surfer and Padang Padang standout Garut Widiarta is the defending Rip Curl Cup champion yet he is nervous about taking on the best tube-riders on the planet.

“I’ve been lucky to surf in every single Rip Curl Cup, and somehow the talent level continues to go up every year,” Widiarta said.

“Every year I’m freaking out about competing against these guys at my home break and the opportunity to represent Indonesian surfing on the global stage.

“Every surfer in this contest is a threat to win it. Without a doubt this will be the most difficult event of the year for me, but I wouldn’t have it any other way.

“You want the chance to defend your title against the very best in the world.”

The latest invite to this prestigious event will be Mason Ho, from the famous Hawaiian Ho family.

His father, Michael, is a former Pipe Master champion and Uncle Derek is a former world champion. Mason is one of Rip Curl’s star attractions and this talented surfer has been given a wildcard entry.

“I still remember the last time the CT came to Padang for the Rip Curl Pro Search in ’08 and watching the performances by Bruce and Andy Irons – and of course Kelly Slater’s switch foot transition in the barrel at Padang Padang,” Ho said.

“In the same way Hawaii is the spiritual home of big-wave surfing, Indonesia is like the spiritual home of tube-riding.”

The Rip Curl Cup will feature the most exclusive field in event history with only 16 invited surfers; eight of Indonesia’s finest and eight of the world’s elite.

The event will be webcast live at live.ripcurl.com and www.WorldSurfLeague.com or check out the WSL app.

Fans can also visit both sites to check real-time contest status and video updates from Bali.