August 28th, 2010. Padang Padang, Bali – After 35 days of waiting for the perfect swell to hit Padang Padang, the holding period for the 2010 Rip Curl Cup Invitational, presented by Power Balance, has drawn to a close.

Even with an unprecedented five-week waiting period during prime swell season (July 25 - Aug. 29), the waves at Padang Padang never reached the world-class caliber required to hold the Ultimate Tuberiding Contest.

Contest directors had been monitoring a moderate swell brewing in the southern Indian Ocean, scheduled to hit Bali on Sept. 1, but have now determined that the swell is not big enough to warrant extending the waiting period.

“Our goal is to see 32 of the world's best tube riders competing on the best day of the year at Padang,” Rip Curl SE Asia marketing manager James Hendy said. “Anything less would mean compromising the integrity of the event.”

Hendy said holding the contest at an alternate site, such as Bingin or Uluwatu, was also out of the question.

On two occasions during the waiting period, large west swells prompted event organizers to place the event on standby. While Padang certainly dished out some memorable tube rides for the 32 surfers gathered in Bali during these swells, the conditions were never consistent enough to hold the contest.


“I'm already looking forward to next year's contest,” said international invitee Flynn Novak (Hawaii). “Even though Padang never broke heavy enough for the contest, we've all still been scoring perfect waves every day for the past five weeks. I hope I'm lucky enough to get invited back next year.”

On Friday night, Sept. 3, Rip Curl will host a closing ceremony on the rooftop of its Sunset Road headquarters for all the 32 invited surfers, ISC event staff, and everyone involved with this year's Padang Cup. The invited surfers, who came to Bali from as far away as Hawaii, New Zealand, Japan and Europe, will be looking to let off some steam after one of the longest waiting periods in competitive surfing. The evening's festivities will kick off at 8 p.m. with DJ performances from GoldDigga and special guests, a free-flow bar, and a big-screen presentation of all the event webisodes and electrifying surfing footage that happened in Bali during the waiting period.