The Coca-Cola Indonesian Surfing Championship Pro Tour 2009 was officially launched on the sands of the world famous Kuta Beach in Bali on Saturday afternoon in front of the Hard Rock Hotel just before sunset, complete with Balinese gamelan music and dancers, speeches, giveaways, and s live music performance, announcing the start of this exciting competitive surfing season.

The season’s first pro event will be the Rusty “Rumble in Da Jungle” 6-star contest at Bangsal Beach in Sanur, starting off on April 26th with a waiting period of 3 weeks with which to allow the contest to be run in only the best waves, creating the most exciting event for both the surfers and the spectators, with a prize purse of 35 million Rupiah at stake.

Six more pro events will be held in locations throughout Indonesia including West Java, Sumbawa, Rote, and of course Bali. Please check www.isctour.com for details on the schedule and to follow the tour as it travels to these exciting surf spots.

The Saturday afternoon launch event was attended by local and national media, members of the surf industry, surfers, staff and management of Coca-Cola Bottling Indonesia and the ISC, and of course the tourists and beach workers that crowd the sands of Kuta Beach each day in front of the Hard Rock Hotel Bali.

After the beautiful Balinese dancers had entertained the audience, Bruce Waterfield from Coca-Cola Bottling Indonesia headquarters in Jakarta gave a welcoming speech in which he explained, “Coca-Cola Bottling Indonesia’s sponsorship is an extension of our CSR program happening around Bali. We have been working with local authorities and NGO’s to clean up Bali’s beaches and improve environmental awareness through education. The ISC, surfing and surfers are users of the beaches in a place where surfing has such a global focus…..so we’re very keen to work with ISC, the governing body of surfing in Indonesia, as they provide an organized platform for the surfers to develop their skills and have great future.”

After a big round of applause, he added, “This is CCBI’s second year supporting the ISC. The large value of our sponsorship represents our commitment to provide all Indonesian surfers an opportunity to develop themselves, the sport and lifestyle of surfing, and an opportunity to shine on the world stage.”

The second day of the Estoril Quiksilver Pro 2009 saw some spectacular action take place at Guincho, back-up beach of the ASP WQS 6-Star event, with three foot (one meter) greeting top seeds for their start of their Portuguese campaign. The international field of contestants displayed a variety of classic and progressive surfing throughout today's twenty heats with most of the favourites finding their way out of Round 2 and secure their spot in the last 48-man pack.

Dominating by far proceddings today was 19-year-old Brazilian wunderkind Alejo Muniz (BRA) with impressive levels of surfing combining solid classic re-entries with flying maneuvers in the tricky fast-breaking waves of Guincho. Muniz, who has been rising on the international surfing stage for a couple of years now since he won the Under-16 Quiksilver King of the Groms event in France, clearly expressed his building confidence besting ASP Dream Tour Michael Picon (Capbreton, FRA), 29, with an explosive 18.60 point heat result (out of a possible 20) to advance through to Round 3 and secure the event's highest result thus far.

"I just tried to enjoy myself and have fun out there because I knew it would be a tough heat," Muniz said. "Surfing against Michael (Picon) who is an ASP Top 45 member was not going to be easy so I had nothing to lose and just let my surfing speak for me. I was a little b it nervous before paddling out but I got those good waves and I am stoked to make it through today." 

Muniz, who netted 9.00 and 9.60 point rides in twenty minutes, left the water with one minute remaining only, confident with his performance knowing he was guaranteed to move forward in the ASP World Qualifying Series (WQS) 6-Star competition. Muniz, with his run today, leads all statistics with both best single wave and heat scores before the event reaches its business end where big scores will be expected.

"It gives good confidence to win a heat like that and especially against good surfers," Muniz said. "I don't have any specific goal here and I am hoping to go as far as possible but there isn't any pressure as I am not focusing on the WQS yet. I just want to better my seeding and get points for next year."

Fellow Quiksilver team riders Masatoshi Ohno (JPN) and Joan Duru (FRA) came-up with equivalent surfing, the 19-year-old Frenchman keeping-up his last-couple-of-weeks excellent form to post a 9.50 point ride (out of a possible 10) and remain confident towards his target. Duru, who ended up with a promising 14.93 point heat score in Heat 11, will now face outsiders Tinguinha Lima (BRA), Estoril B! Pro Junior runner-up Joaquim Guichard (DNK) and Madison Williams (AUS).

"I am pretty happy with that first run today and it is definitely a relief to get out of Round 2 with a big score," Duru said. "I was pretty relaxed but was not feeling too comfortable on my board and fell quite a few times. I was surfing the board I had in the ASP WQS 4-Star Protest Vendee Pro and things went well so I am happy."

Duru, who made the Quarterfinals of the ASP Grade-2 Estoril B! Pro Junior last Sunday, is targeting a qualification for next year's ASP World Tour and will be aiming at a big result this week in the Estoril Quiksilver Pro 2009.

"I entered the Pro Junior event to get used to the waves and got through a few heats so I am happy with that event," Duru said. "However, my main goal is to qualify for the Dream Tour this year and I am definitely focused on the major events of the ASP World Qualifying Series (WQS) to achieve my goal."