17 June 2012, Cimaja-West Java: Lee Wilson put on an impressive display of competitive surfing in the 25 minute finale of the Quiksilver Open West Java at Cimaja Beach today to win the Men’s Open Division final over fellow Bali surfer Mustofa Jeksen. Wilson took to the air and used his full repertoire of progressive surfing maneuvers to score first a 9.5 (out of a possible 10 points) and then follow it up with a 7.5 to leave Jeksen needing a combination of waves to gain the lead. When the horn blew the end of the final, Wilson's combined score was 17 points to Jeksen's 10.2. Wilson was last year’s Quiksilver Best West Java event winner as well, which now makes him a two-time champ at Cimaja.
From the podium at the beach during the trophy presentation, Wilson first thanked the locals for sharing their beach and the organizing crew in Cimaja, saying “I love coming here to Cimaja, thanks so much to everybody that made it possible.” Then he added, “and a special thanks to my daughter Ava, who is my inspiration.”
According to Wilson’s father Robert, Lee has been coming to Cimaja regularly since January of 1985, when he was still in his mother’s stomach! Lee was born in Jakarta in October of 1985, his father from Australia and his mother from Indonesia.
Wilson was last year’s Quiksilver Best West Java winner and also the winner of the most recent Coca-Cola ISC surf competition held just two weeks ago in the Mentawai Islands of Sumatra. He was in top form during the entire event, consistently posting big scores and defeating the best of the best surfers in his chase for the top spot on the podium, including bringing down local Cimaja powerhouse Dede Suryana earlier today in Quarterfinal 1, then veteran and 2004 ISC champion Pepen Hendrik in Semifinal 1 before meeting goofyfooter Mustofa Jeksen in the final.
“I couldn’t hardly sleep last night,” said Wilson after being asked about his matchup with Suryana earlier in the morning, “as I kept thinking about Dede and how strong he was surfing. I didn’t know how I was going to get past him, I really didn’t, because the way he was surfing yesterday was the best I’ve ever seen him surf. In our heat this morning it seemed like he was going to win it until I got that barrel and scored 9 points, and then I was so lucky no more good waves came in. ”
Suryana was understandably disappointed at not being in the final and winning the event in front of his hometown friends and family, but was introspective in his response saying, “I think I was a bit too relaxed out there actually, as I had looked at the swell report last night it showed that the swell was building today. I was confident that there would be more and bigger set waves, so I chose to be patient, which ended up working against me. But that’s competition, it’s like that sometimes and we can’t control the waves, so it’s ok. There is always the next comp so we can try again!”
Mustofa Jeksen was also very positive after his second place finish, saying “Sure I would have liked to win, but going backside at Cimaja limits my variety of maneuvers and Lee was surfing so good, doing things like getting two airs on one wave, so it was really difficult. But I’m happy about second place, as I have already won the first event of the year and now got a second, so I’m in a good position going into the next event, which is the lefthander of Scar Reef in West Sumbawa.” With his runner up finish today, Jeksen is now number 2 in the Coca-Cola ISC tour 2012 rankings.
Wilson now sits in the number one spot in the Coca-Cola ISC Tour Open Division rankings with two contest wins already this year. He has also won two Coca-Cola ISC championships, the first in 2007 and the second in 2009, and looks to be well on his way to a third one in 2012.
In the Longboard Division final it was another repeat win for Java’s Arip “Mencos” Hidayat, whose mastery of the longboard is almost legendary. He quickly combo’d the rest of the field by racking up high scores of 9.25 and 8.75, with the Philippines Luke Landrigan giving chase but settling for second spot. Arip is also the reigning 2011 Coca-Cola ISC Longboard Champion.
The Philippines can be very proud of the performance put up by Nilbie Blancada in the Women’s Division, which had a truly international final with women from Indonesia, Taiwan, and Australia in addition to the Philippines. Nilbe, who hails from Siargao Island and calls the world famous wave of Cloud Nine her home break, charged the Cimaja waves, big or small, without a hint of hesitation, clearly dominating each heat and the final. “I’m so happy to win, and happy to be here in Indonesia to surf. It’s the first time I’ve been out of the Philippines so it’s a little different for me, but it’s nice to be here and meet new people, and surf Indonesia waves,” she said.
The Masters Division was once again taken out by Sujari, the older brother of Dede Suryana, so he now has two Quiksilver Open trophies on his shelf. Ketut Juliarta of Bali gave him a good chase, eventually losing out by only half a point, but Sujari’s local knowledge and years of surfing Cimaja Point gave him near perfect wave selection and allowed him a variety of maneuvers with which to impress the judges.
The Quiksilver Open West Java was blessed with near perfect weather and surfing conditions during the four days of competition, with 3-4 foot waves consistently rolling in and making for an easy job for Contest Director Tipi Jabrik, who is also Quiksilver Indonesia’s Sports Marketing Manager and the Coca-Cola ISC’s President.
“We love coming to Cimaja,” said Jabrik, “as its such a consistent and contestable wave for all surfing divisions. Plus it’s a beautiful place, the beach is easily accessible, and the people are so helpful, making it really easy to come here. The West Java government has been very supportive as well Pak Dadang as the local organizer, and through our Coca-Cola ISC Keepin’ It Green program that is supported by Quiksilver, Coca-Cola Amatil Indonesia, the ROLE Foundation and GUS, we can keep this place looking better and better each year.”
As part of the Coca-Cola ISC Keepin’ It Green program aimed at reducing the carbon footprint of the tour wherever it goes, there have been daily beach cleanups involving the local school children than have been very well received, and after the beachside awards presentation on Sunday afternoon the Quiksilver and Coca-Cola Amatil crew along with Curtis Lowe from the ROLE Foundation planted some trees near the beach to help lessen the environment impact in the future. “We’re so delighted to see that the kids are so happy and into picking up the trash and keeping their beach clean,” said Curtis. “They really seem to be getting it, and we’re looking forward to seeing even more progress next year. Leaving this beach cleaner than we found it, and planting some trees that will help clean the air and preserve the soil here is the least we can do, both for the locals and for the overall environment. And a special thanks to Tisah, who is here at the beach everyday without fail picking up trash. She more than deserves the Keepin’ It Green Award!”
Quiksilver Open West Java Competition Results:
Open Division
1. Lee Wilson (Bali)
2. Mustofa Jeksen (Bali)
Equal 3rd: Pepen Hendrik (Bali) and Putra Hermawan (Bali)
Women’s Division
1. Nilbie Blancada (Philippines)
2. Aysia Doig (Australia)
3. Jessie Hong (Taiwan)
4. Iis Trisnawati (Java)
Longboard Division
1. Arif "Mencos) Hidayat (Java)
2. Luke Landrigan (Philippines)
3. Teiki Balian (France)
4. Gilang (Java)
Masters Division
1. Sujari (Java)
2. Ketut Juliarta (Bali)
3. Made Lapur (Bali)
4. Edin (Java)
The Quiksilver Open West Java was sanctioned by the Coca-Cola Indonesian Surfing Championships and the Asian Surfing Championships.
Check out Quiksilver Open West Java 2012 on-line at www.isctour.com/events/quikwestjava and on Facebook at both ISC and Quiksilver Indonesia for all the heat scores and results during each day’s competition, along with press releases, photos, and video highlights.
Click links below for highlight videos of the first three days of competition:
The Quiksilver Open West Java 2012 is sponsored by Quiksilver Indonesia and the Government of West Java, supported by Jim Beam, BII, Planet Surf, Augusta Hotel, Desa Resort, Rolling Stone Café, and Coca-Cola Amatil Indonesia, with media support from Juice, Trax, FHM, Fitness For Men, Surfersvillage.com, Alam TV Bali, SurfTime, Magic Wave, Baliwaves.com, Balibelly.tv, Lines, RVM, and the Outdoor Channel, and assisted in the Coca-Cola ISC “Go Green” program by GUS, the ROLE Foundation, and Climate Wave.
Quiksilver Media Contact
Rossi Chesarah
Media Relations
Coca-Cola ISC and ASC Media Contact
Tim Hain
Media and Communications
