Sunday in Basse-Pointe, where the public turned out in force to admire the skill of the world’s leading surfers. No fewer than 24 series each lasting 25 minutes, took place, which meant it was possible to complete the first two rounds of the event. This evening, only 96 surfers out of the 140 initially competing remain. Tomorrow (Monday), the standard and the tension will increase still further with the arrival of the best surfers, who will compete in favorable conditions.

There was no lying in bed this morning (Sunday). It was at 0740 hrs local time that the first series of the Martinique Surf Pro got underway. Seven other series followed early this morning, meaning it was possible to complete the first round, bringing together the least well ranked 32 surfers in the 2015 Qualifying Series (QS). From the outset, the standard was impressive. During each heat, 3 or 4 surfers fought it out for 25 minutes. As soon as one competitor decided to catch a wave, the five judges awarded him a score on a scale of 1 to 10 (10 being the highest grade) based on the following criteria. The degree of difficulty, the innovative and varied maneuvers, speed, power and follow through. At the end of the series, the two best waves were counted to get a score out of 20 points. The two surfers with the best scores qualified for the second round, while the others were eliminated. The two competitors from Martinique that were competing today (Adam Auffay and Nicolas Chalonec) did not manage to qualify. Two local surfers remain in the competition, Titouan Dubos and Arthur Lassée, who will enter in the fourth round, as they can take advantage of their wild cards from the organizers.

Ten hours of surfing on Sunday
The second round began immediately and the series continued with no rest in between throughout this first day, which lived up to its promise. The idea was to take advantage of these good conditions to get through as many series as possible, meaning they can choose the best possible conditions in the future. The spectators were already out in force on Sunday in the event village, which is very promising for what lies ahead in this year’s Martinique Surf Pro. “We tried to make some improvements for the public and hope that it pleases everyone. The surfers were also happy here in Basse-Pointe, especially seeing we started with some good conditions. They are expected to remain like this as a large swell is expected later in the week,” said a happy Nicolas Clémenté, the organizer of the event with Nicolas Ursulet. This was very much an international event with surfers on Sunday coming from the Caribbean (Martinique, Guadeloupe, Barbados), but also Brazil, Hawaii, Great Britain, Australia, France, Peru, Venezuela, Australia, Puerto Rico, Spain, Chile, South Africa, Polynesia, Japan – among others… Some very promising competitors already took part on this first day of the event. They are all happy about the way things went in Martinique.

Moving up a step on Monday
No lie in tomorrow (Monday) either, as 24 series are due to take place. The day will begin early on with the launch of the third round bringing together 64 surfers (32 directly qualified and 32 from the second round). The whole of the third round is expected to take place and half of the fourth. We will then be getting into the heart of the matter with the arrival of the 28 top surfers from the 2015 QS. Tomorrow, we shall see the arrival of the two finalists from last year, the Hawaiian, Joshua Moniz and the South African, Michael February, as well as the American, Brett Simpson and the Brazilian, Willian Cardoso, from the Championship Tour (CT), the elite group bringing together the top 34 in the world. In other words, the standard will be very high. Other top names will appear on Tuesday.

Quotes
Brett Simpson (USA, 31, directly qualified for the 4th round): “There are some youngsters surfing really well”
“This is my first time in Martinique and Basse-Pointe is an impressive spot. I’ve been here for three days. I have had some fine surfing and I have been around looking at the island. It’s a great place and the people are really nice. The competition got off to a great start with some good waves. This QS event is going to be of a very high standard. The competition is tough. There are some youngsters, who are surfing really well.”

Willian Cardoso (Brazil, 30, directly qualified for the 4th round): “All of the competitors, who took part in the first Martinique Surf Pro advised me to come here this year.”
“I have never set foot on Martinique before. All of the competitors, who took part in the first Martinique Surf Pro, advised me to come here this year, as it’s such a great place. I surfed for the first time at Basse-Pointe today and I really enjoyed the spot. The sea is blue and warm and the waves are long and powerful. I know that the competition is going to be complicated, but I’ll try my best to reach the final. It’s going to be fantastic.”

Timothée Bisso (Guadeloupe, 19, directly qualified for the fourth round): “I feel confident as I enter this Martinique Surf Pro thanks to a good start to my season.”
“I’m pleased to be back in the QS and practically on home ground, in the French West Indies. I love the waves at Basse-Pointe. I feel confident about this Martinique Surf Pro thanks to a fantastic start to the season. I was lucky enough to come up against Kelly Slater, a surfing legend from Australia. Cit was a huge experience for me. The standard at the Martinique Surf Pro is incredibly high this year with the presence iof former surfers from the Championship Tour like Brett Simpson and others, who took part in the QS 10,000, the biggest competitions in the qualifying circuit.”

Miguel Tudela (Peru, 21, directly qualified for the fourth round): “I was in the semi-final last year and hope to as well or even better.”
“I made it to the semi-final last year, which was a great result that I hope to equal or improve upon. It’s going to be tough, as the standard is even higher. I’m surfing well at the moment and feel in good shape. Whatever happens, I’m pleased to be here in Martinique, especially as the conditions are once again very good.”

Dimitri Ouvré (Saint Barth, 24, directly qualified for the third round): “The Martinique Surf Pro is a must attend event for me.”
“There aren’t many events in the QS in the Caribbean and the Martinique Surf Pro is a must for me. We are once again taking advantage of some great waves this year. We’re lucky, as this means we can fully express ourselves. Competing in the Tour throughout the year, sometimes we come across tricky conditions. This year, I won a QS 1000 and finished second in another. We travel a lot, when we take part in the QS and I was rather tired, when I got to Martinique. But on my home ground, I have found my strength again, as I feel good here. I love the atmosphere on the islands. It’s magical.”

TV ALERT:

TV footage is available for all channels and press agencies for press use only from the video server:
https://www.martiniquesurfpro.com/index.php/media/

Pictures are available in two formats: HD (.mov) SD (.mov)

CONTENT:
– Some of the day’s best pictures (slow motion)
– The competitors prepare, atmosphere in the village
– Interviews with the competitors:

Willian CARDOSO (BRAZIL)
Philippe CLAVERIE (FRA)
Dimitri OUVRE (St Barth)
Brett SIMPSON (USA)
Miguel TUDELA (PERU)
Samuel PUPO (BRAZIL)
Timothé BISSO (GUADELOUPE)
Nicolas CHALONEC (MARTINIQUE)
Nicolas LEROY (WSL)
Nicolas CLEMENTE (Organizer of the MSP)

From 2200hrs UTC, a summary of the day’s action available in English and French.

UPCOMING MARTINIQUE SURF PRO ROUND OF 96 MATCHUPS:
Heat 1: Ian Crane (USA), Paul Cesar Distinguin (FRA), Kalani Ball (AUS), Diego Mignot (FRA)
Heat 2: Robson Santos (BRA), Derek Peters (USA), Asher Nolan (USA), Monty Tait (AUS)
Heat 3: Lucas Silveira (BRA), Gatien Delahaye (GLP), Taylor Clark (USA), Matthew McGillivray (ZAF)
Heat 4: Takumi Yasui (JPN), Cory Arrambide (USA), Ethan Ewing (AUS), Alan Donato (BRA)
Heat 5: Hiroto Arai (JPN), Griffin Colapinto (USA), Yago Dora (BRA), Jackson Baker (AUS)
Heat 6: Dylan Lightfoot (ZAF), Matheus Navarro (BRA), Che Allan (BRB), Imaikalani Devault (HAW)
Heat 7: Gony Zubizarreta (ESP), Kaito Ohashi (JPN), Joshua Burke (BRB), Quinn McCrystal (USA)
Heat 8: Victor Bernardo (BRA), Brian Toth (PRI), Yuri Goncalves (BRA), Shun Murakami (JPN)
Heat 9: Rafael Teixeira (BRA), Jose Ferreira (PRT), Elijah Gates (HAW), Hodei Collazo (EUK)
Heat 10: Dimitri Ouvre (BLM), Parker Coffin (USA), Reo Inaba (JPN), Tristan Guilbaud (FRA)
Heat 11: Luel Felipe (BRA), Dale Staples (ZAF), Luke Kynd (AUS), Victor Mendes (BRA)
Heat 12: Adrien Toyon (FRA), Tomas Fernandes (PRT), Lucca Mesinas Novaro (PER), Flavio Nakagima (BRA)
Heat 13: Leandro Usuna (ARG), Seth Moniz (HAW), Makai McNamara (HAW), Colt Ward (USA)
Heat 14: Keoni Yan (PYF), Vincent Duvignac (FRA), Alonso Correa (PER), Shane Campbell (AUS)
Heat 15: Kiron Jabour (HAW), Jean Da Silva (BRA), Slade Prestwich (ZAF), Ethan Egiguren (EUK)
Heat 16: Kaito Kino (HAW), Kaimana Jaquias (HAW), Rafael Pereira (VEN), Jake Marshall (USA)

MARTINIQUE SURF PRO ROUND OF 128 RESULTS:
Heat 1: Kalani Ball (AUS) 12.54, Monty Tait (AUS) 12.17, Jacob Willcox (AUS) 11.90, Kevin Schulz (USA) 8.07
Heat 2: Asher Nolan (USA) 12.27, Diego Mignot (FRA) 11.10, Manuel Selman (CHL) 9.00, Alex Pendleton (HAW) 3.64
Heat 3: Taylor Clark (USA) 12.16, Alan Donato (BRA) 11.04, Kai Hing (AUS), 9.00, Harrison Martin (AUS) 6.43
Heat 4: Ethan Ewing (AUS) 14.03, Matthew McGillivray (ZAF) 13.13, Gabriel Andre (BRA) 11.87, Jean-Charles Debray (MTQ) 7.83
Heat 5: Yago Dora (BRA) 13.63, Imaikalani Devault (HAW) 12.77, Samuel Pupo (BRA) 11.46, Alejandro Moreda (PRI) 4.73
Heat 6: Che Allan (BRB) 13.60, Jackson Baker (AUS) 13.07, Daniel Glenn (USA) 7.20, Nic Hdez (USA) 6.50
Heat 7: Joshua Burke (BRB) 15.34, Shun Murakami (JPN) 13.10, Charly Quivront (FRA) 11.80, Guilhermo Satt (CHL) 11.40
Heat 8: Yuri Goncalves (BRA) 14.26, Quinn McCrystal (USA) 12.67, David Van Zyl (ZAF) 12.36, Tom Cloarec (FRA) 11.63
Heat 9: Elijah Gates (HAW) 10.60, Tristan Guilbaud (FRA) 10.50, Bruce MacKie (USA) 8.16, Jake Kelley (USA) 5.80
Heat 10: Reo Inaba (JPN) 15.57, Hodei Collazo (EUK) 14.04, Miguel Blanco (PRT) 13.26,  Joaquin Del Castillo (PER) 11.57
Heat 11: Luke Kynd (AUS) 13.50, Flavio Nakagima (BRA) 13.43, Nolan Rapoza (USA) 9.36, Taumata Puhetini (PYF) 6.50
Heat 12: Lucca Mesinas Novaro (PER) 12.00, Victor Mendes (BRA) 9.64, Cam Richards (USA) 8.37, Kekoa Cazimero (HAW) 7.70
Heat 13: Makai McNamara (HAW) 12.77, Shane Campbell (AUS) 11.94, John Mel (USA) 10.36, Tomas King (CRI) 8.83
Heat 14: Alonso Correa (PER) 13.77, Colt Ward (USA) 11.10, Thiago Guimaraes (BRA) 10.57, Jared Hickel (AUS) 8.14
Heat 15: Slade Prestwich (ZAF) 16.00, Jake Marshall (USA) 15.34, Ruben Gonzalez (PRT) 10.83, Matt Passaquindici (USA) 10.76
Heat 16: Rafael Pereira (VEN) 12.83, Ethan Egiguren (EUK) 11.44, Louis Gillick (AUS) 10.80, Nicolas Vargas (CHL) 9.50

MARTINIQUE SURF PRO ROUND OF 144 RESULTS:
Heat 1: Jacob Willcox (AUS) 14.84, Alex Pendleton (HAW) 8.93, Thiago Muller (BRA) 8.80, Philippe Claverie (FRA) 7.80
Heat 2: Harrison Martin (AUS) 15.40, Jean-Charles Debray (GLP) 8.87, Chris Foster (HAW) 8.47
Heat 3: Alejandro Moreda (PRI) 10.27, Che Allan (BRB) 9.27, Pedro Coelho (PRT) 5.80
Heat 4: Charly Quivront (FRA) 14.27, Tom Cloarec (FRA) 11.97, Adam Auffay (MTQ) 7.53, Dane MacKie (BRB) 6.93
Heat 5: Jake Kelley (USA) 10.07, Joaquin Del Castillo (PER) 9.83, Federico Pilurzu (CRI) 9.30
Heat 6: Luke Kynd (AUS) 14.17, Victor Mendes (BRA) 10.97, Julen Egiguren (EUK) 8.37
Heat 7: John Mel (USA) 13.03, Alonso Correa (PER) 11.30, Nicolas Chalonec (MTQ) 5.56, Nate Dorman (USA) 3.20
Heat 8: Jake Marshall (USA) 18.47, Rafael Pereira (VEN) 14.13, Harris Knox (USA) 12.23, Guilherme Fonseca (PRT) 7.80