St. Leu - Stop # 5 on the 2005 WCT tour
You've now got yourself a new favorite pro surfing event!
Thanks to the Search, Rip Curl has added an all-new 'globally mobile' World Championship Tournament to the Association of Surfing Professionals (ASP) World Championship Tour (WCT) in 2005.
The innovative contest will grow the WCT to 13 separate events next year and be held on Reunion Island in June.
Rip Curl has achieved something pretty special and pretty unique by creating this new pro contest. The license to run this event is made exclusively special by the fact that Rip Curl will take the WCT to a different location around the world every year. After running the inaugural Rip Curl Search on Reunion Island in 2005, Rip Curl will explore the world's oceans and announce a new location for 2006.
"The Rip Curl Search WCT is an exciting and very innovative development," said Ridgway. "It's all about finding the best waves in the spirit of The Search, which is all about discovery and freedom. That might seem at odds with professional surfing, but no one can tell me the world's best surfers are not on the ASP World Championship Tour. It's simple - the best surfers on the search for the best waves, surfing their heads off!"
The new event is the first of its kind and sure to prove a favorite with the world's top surfers. WCT surfer Nathan Hedge has already given the thumbs up to spending year one of The Search at Reunion.
"I'm absolutely wrapped," said Hedge. "Rip Curl has added another high class, A-grade left-hand wave to the Tour and I'm stoked. I haven't been to Reunion for four or five years, so I'm absolutely frothing for next year."
Reunion Island is a French colony, located in the southern Indian Ocean. Described at its most simple, Reunion is a volcano poking its head 10,000 feet above sea level in a part of the Indian Ocean that has absolute frontage to the swell of the southern Indian Ocean.
St. Leu is Reunion's most famous wave, but through the swell months of March to November there are many incredible breaks to explore. Reunion is world famous for its tourist attractions, a live volcano, ocean life, incredible mountain trails and beautiful waterfalls.
RIP CURL SEARCH WCT 2005
When: June 23 to July 4, 2005
Where: St Leu, Reunion Island
What: Brand new 'globally mobile' WCT event
What's it worth: $US270,000
Some quick facts on Reunion from RipCurl.com:
Name: Reunion Island (formerly Bourban Island)
Location: Indian Ocean, east of Madagascar and South Africa.
Geography: Reunion Island is 63km (39 miles) long, 45km (28 miles) wide, and covers 2150 square kilometers (970 square miles). The island is similar to the big island of Hawaii, because both are located above hot spots in the Earths crust.
Geographic coordinates: 21 06 S, 55 36 E
Coastline: 207km
Time zone: GMT + 4 hours
Dialing Code: 262
Capital city: Saint Denis
Nationality: Runionnais
Population: 766,153 (July 2004 est.)
Language: French (official) and Creole
Religions: Roman Catholic (main), Hindu, Islam and Buddhist
Money: Euros
Industries: Sugar, rum, cigarettes, handicraft items, flower oil extraction
Airport: The Rolland Garros airport is located 9km from the centre of Saint Denis. There you can find the food stores, Post Office, ticket outlets, tourist information, and car rental companies.
Transport: Taxis operate in the towns on the normal hire-on-demand basis. Its also possible to hire a taxi and driver for a day tour around the island. Reunion Island does have a bus service that operates in most parts of the island with main routes.
Roads: The road system is great and well signposted. Just like in France, driving is done on the right.
For more on Reunion Island, event wildcards and the official home of the event's live webcast, visit: www.RipCurl.com