The 2009 Rip Curl ST3W

May 6, 2009 by NCS
Filed under News & Events, World

Attention all Pacific North West Surfers! Rip Curl Canada is proud to present “The Rip Curl ST3W” a two day surf competition open to all ages and held in the heart of Cox Bay, Tofino – May 23 rd -24 th 2009. Show on map

For 40 years, Rip Curl has played a leading role in the surf industry and continues to move forward in Canada. For its third year in a row, Rip Curl holds the only surf contest this summer in Tofino, BC, and one of the only Surf Contests in Canada. Looking into the future, Rip Curl feels strongly that this event will bring the surf culture of Vancouver Island’s past, back to life with a realistic goal – to continue to develop home-grown athletes to compete at a world-class level.

“We are excited on the 3 rd edition of the ST3W; we will be bringing some new elements to the beach as well the best surfers in the Pacific Northwest will be in attendance. We have a few surprises up our sleeves that all the kids on the beach are really going to enjoy. The contest will feature 7 categories – including open categories for men, women, and children, allowing surfers at all levels & ages to showcase their talent!”- Rip Curl Brand Manager, Drew Hawkshaw

With the estimated number of ST3W competitors in attendance being close to one hundred, it is lining up to be an unforgettable weekend. It is an opportunity for up and coming surfers to showcase their talent. Some well known athletes invited to compete include Christian Moutinho, Leah Oke, the Bruhwiler brothers, Reid Jackson, Mike Stupak, Bastien Lanusse, Noah Cohen, Shannon Brown, all your local Tofino hot shots, and of course Peter Devries who took last years St3w contest. We also had some athletes come from as far as Mexico last year and we hope these kids will come again.

With the help of Monster Energy Drink this year, Monster is determined to make this the best contest in the Pacific Northwest. Already we have more prize money than any other surf contest in Canada or the Pacific Northwest. First prize will be awarded $5000.00 dollars this year; this is a $3000.00 step up from last years ST3W!

Along with free admission for spectators, Rip Curl & event sponsors will be giving out tons of great prizes all weekend. For the competitors, there will be $20,000 worth of cash prizes along with prize packs filled with amazing goods. To feed the masses, a stew will be served and available by donation matching the “ST3W” theme. All proceeds from the stew go to the Surfrider Foundation, a non-profit organization.

Rip Curl will be presenting Tom Curren from the USA. Tom Curren is the 1985, 86, and 1990 ASP World Champion. Curren along with US team manager Nick Greeninger will be attending an H-bomb shop tour in Vancouver and Victoria days before the contest. Tom Curren is also a world famous music artist who joins the likes of Jack Johnson, Daniel Wesley and Donavan Frankenreiter. Tom Curren will be rockin’ the beats for the ST3W. Private parties have been planned and a possible live performance on the beach could happen if the weather holds out.

New additions this year will include: a mini ramp at the beach provided by Monster, so everyone can participate in a mid-afternoon session. Plus Sitka will also be setting up a surf demo on the beach, allowing anyone interested to test out their new boards. Rip Curl has also signed a deal with Zed skimboards and they will also be doing a demo on the beach.

If you haven’t heard, Rip Curl is the first wetsuit company to bring to the market a power heated wetsuit appropriately called the “H-Bomb”. This Wetsuit is available in 3 shops in Vancouver and on the Island…, Pacific Boarder, HTO, and Longbeach Surfshop. Rip Curl will be doing shop visits with Tom Curren at these locations to hopefully play some music and get the kids stoked on the event.