Suluban, Uluwatu, Bali. June 17th and 18th
The third annual Rusty Rumble in the Jungle surfing competition saw Indonesia's top surfers go head-to-head for two days of grinding barrels at the legendary Uluwatu reefbreak on the southern tip of Bali.
Glassy 4-foot waves welcomed the surfers on the first day, which kicked off with Ketet Pitur finding a barrel on the very first wave of the contest. The first three rounds of heats were held on day one, which saw some some surprise eliminations in Dede Suryana, Betet Merta, Made Switra, and Rusty’s Marlon Gerber.
The next day dawned with a dissapointing 1-2ft swell. Event director Kane Faint made the call to postpone the event until Tuesday 20th to nail the next bump in swell citing “Rusty’s aim with this event is to score quality waves, so that the surfers can showcase their full range of talents, rather than grinding through the format in less than average conditions. For next years event we will definitely use a waiting period”.
The postponement paid off and as predicted a fresh pulse of swell greeted surfers as they arrived on the cliffs of Ulu early Tuesday morning. This second day of competition featured the introduction of ‘man-on-man ‘ format heats from the fourth round onwards. Local knowledge came into play as the Uluwatu duo of Made Lapur and Wayan ‘Gobleg’ Suyadnya read the conditions perfectly and selected waves that lined up through the inside ‘race track’ section. They stormed into the semi finals along with two other goofy-footers Rizal Tanjung and an in form Mustofa Jekson.
In the semi’s Gobleg out-surfed young gun Mustofa to earn a spot in the final. Mus was still stoked with third place, it’s his best ISC result to date. In the second semi Made Lapur ran out of steam against a red-hot Rizal Tanjung who weaved in and out of some deep tubes. So the final was going to be contested by Gobleg the local boy and Rizal, the big man himself.
The Masters division final was a tight contest, with the lead switching between Ketet Menda and Ulu local tube-dog Ketut Pitur. The pair battled it out until Wayan Gantiasa caught an incredible bomb set, scoring 9.33 and to take the lead. Ketut Pitur needed a 6.08 to claim first place but unfortunately for him, time ran out. Ganti couldn’t wipe the grin off his face, but all the Bali legend’s were in high spirits- they don’t get to surf uncrowded Ulu’s very often!
Before the final Electric Visual held an expression session heat, awarding 1 million rupiah for the best barrel and another mil for the best maneuver. There was action left, right, and centre as Indo’s hottest talent pulled into pits and busted out fins. In the end the ‘best barrel’ award went to Ketut Yoga Semadhi ‘Mega’ and the ‘best maneuver’ went to Made Adi Putra ‘Bol’.
When the horn sounded to start the final between Rizal and Gobleg, the surf was at high tide, glassy, and about 4-5 foot. The afternoon sun drenched the Ulu’s lineup in gold as spectators searched for a good viewing position atop the cliffs.
Rizal’s first scoring wave was amazing: he dropped-in late on what looked to be a close-out, but like a magician he pulled in and shot out, disappearing at least twice before finally kicking out way down towards Padang-Padang for a 9.33. Gobleg caught a few waves but couldn’t manage to find a high score, although he did impress the crowd with his powerful snaps and winding cutbacks.
Meanwhile Rizal waited patiently on the outside, positioning himself for what would be his final wave. He dropped in and got slotted, before exiting for a big roundhouse cutback, then tucked under another section, which covered him from view before kicking out way down the beach. It was a 9.63 score that left Gobleg deep in a hole with about 4 minutes to go, needing a 10.64 to win.
So it was Rizal Tanjung who claimed victory in front of a huge crowd giving him full support from the Uluwatu cliff-top. He was the form surfer of the event and was a popular winner after scoring numerous deep tube rides through out the day. He had won convincingly in every heat from the quarter finals onward, each competitor needed a combination of scores to catch him.
The winners ceremony was held inside the Uluwatu cave at sunset. Everybody raised their Bintangs and cheered when the boys were presented with the impressive wood-carved trophies. Congratulations to Rizal Tanjung who took home the 2006 Rusty Rumble in Da Jungle trophy and bagged 10 million rupiah for his trouble!
Thanks to the judges, officials, spectators, and the people of Uluwatu. This event was made possible with the support of Rusty, Electric, Bintang, Vodka Vibe, Global TV, Hard Rock Radio, Hai, Go Girl, Magic Wave, and Surftime.
Final Results:
1. Rizal Tanjung
2. Wayan “Gobleg” Suyadnya
3. Made Lapur and Mustofa Jeksen
Masters division:
1. Wayan Gantiasa
2. Wayan Pitur
3. Ketut Menda
4. Made Sena
Electric Expression Session
Best Barrel: Ketut Yoga Semadhi (Mega)
Best Maneuver: Made “Bol” Adi Putra
#Rusty #RustyRumbleInDaJungle #SurfingContest #SulubanBeach #Uluwatu #Bali #IndonesianSurfingChampionship #2006 #ElectricSunglasses #BeerBintang #VodkaVibe #GlobalTV #HardRockRadio #HaiMagazine #GoGirlMagazine #MagicWaveNewspaper #SurftimeMagazine
Thanks,
Eka Rusty
