The Billabong Pro Tahiti kicked off its first day of competition today in clean 3-4 foot surf. Although the waves started out slow for the first few heats as the day progressed so did the action in the water. Contest Director Luke Egan ran Round 1 into the first 6 heats of Round 2.
Mick Fanning was the only of one our Vertra athletes to compete in the second heat of Round 2 today. Fanning dominated the Taumata Puhetini (Winner of the Air Tahiti VonZipper Trials Wildcard) with a combination of clean tube rides and radical backhand surfing. Puhetini was left in combination situation and was unable to overcome the wrath of Fanning.
When competition commences we will see Taylor Knox (heat 7), Andy Irons (heat 10), Kekoa Bacalso (heat 15), and Dusty Payne vs. Brett Simpson (heat 16).
With this event being such an important one for surfers sitting outside of the top 32 cutoff, it was important that the event started in the best waves possible. Luke Stedman was the only surfer to come away with a Round 1 heat win which progressed him straight through to the third round. For full results check out http://billabongpro.com/tahiti10/results/
