Posts Tagged ‘Australia’

With four events now completed in the women’s Association of Surfing Professionals (ASP) world tour it looks as though the 2010 season is going to be a repeat of the 2009 season. Can anyone knock Aussie Stephanie Gilmore off her throne?

Gilmore is now in her fourth season of the ASP world tour and she is yet to be bettered – winning the title in her rookie year and to date she has retained that title.

This year she has won three of the four events – all in her home country – and has to date amassed 3960 points. Her nearest challenger is compatriot Sally Fitzgibbons on 3252 points who has been putting in some consistent performances and is the main threat to taking the crown.

Stephanie Gilmore of Australia – ASP world champion – photo courtesy of goldcoast.com.au

Sally Fitzgibbons, above, is Stephanie’s nearest rival in the points score – photo courtesy of etnies.com

The girls will now take a rest until June 5th when the tour moves to Peru but with a total of 5 ASP world tour events to come, after Peru there is Portugal and Puerto Rico in October before the final 2 tour events in Hawaii in December, those chasing Stephanie are going to have to produce some spectacular surfing.

The top 10 in the Women’s ASP world rankings for 2010 as of todays date are as follows:

• Stephanie Gilmore – Australia – 3960 points
• Sally Fitzgibbons – Australia – 3252 points
• Sofia Mulanovich – Peru – 2832 points
• Melanie Bartels – Hawaii – 2628 points
• Chelsea Hedges – Australia – 2628 points
• Carissa Moore – Hawaii – 2472 points
• Silvana Lima – Brazil – 2412 points
• Coco Ho – Hawaii – 2220 points
• Rebecca Woods – Australia – 1824 points
• Paige Hareb – New Zealand – 1632 points

The video below comes from ASPWorldTour and shows the two main protagonists, Stephanie and Sally, surfing at Bells Beach,Victoria, where the girls met in the semi finals.

Its going to be another great year for the ASP women’s world tour – we will keep you posted.

The 2010 Red Bull Air Racing World Championship had an inauspicious start this year when in the second race of the series in Perth, Australia the first ever crash in the events 7 year history was recorded.

Adilson Kindlemann of Brazil lost control of his aircraft after rounding a pylon during practice. Kindlemann managed a near wings level impact, but as the aircraft’s fixed landing gear dug into the water, the aircraft flipped, leaving Kindlemann and the aircraft floating upside down in Perth’s Swan River. As you can see, Red Bull rescue crews arrived quickly to the inverted MXS-R aerobatic race plane and Kindlemann was pulled out alive. Amazingly his injuries were minor – but he was unable to fly when his home country hosted a race last weekend.

The crash is recorded here by AVweb –

As can be seen in the picture below the weather was not looking good for the race which was held off Rio de Janiero’s Flamengo Beach in front of huge crowds. Unfortunately the Top 12 round on Sunday had to be cancelled due to the poor weather and the race placings and points were determined by the pilots times in qualification.

Hannes Arch of Austria was declared the winner and Britain’s Nigel Lamb was awarded second place while championship leader Paul Bonhomme was forced to settle with a disappointing third place in the third race of the 2010 season.

This leaves the 2010 World Championship scoreboard after 3 events with Bonhomme narrowly clinging to his lead – see below.

POS	PILOT	NAT	ABU DHABI	PERTH	RIO	PTS
1	Paul Bonhomme	GBR	12	9+1	9	31
2	Nigel Lamb	GBR	10	8	10	28
3	Hannes Arch	AUT	1+1	12	12+1	27
4	Matt Hall	AUS	4	10	8	22
5	Pete McLeod	CAN	7	7	5	19

Fortunately the Brazilian babes were not deterred and on the Saturday it was not only the planes that drew the photographers attention.

The video below shows action from Rio – both the video and pictures come from Redbullairrace

The remaining race schedule is as follows:

• June 5/6 – Windsor, Ontario, Canada
• June 19/20 – New York, NY, USA
• August 7/8 – EuroSpeedway, Lausitz, Germany
• August 19/20 – Budapest, Hungary
• September 4/5 – Lisbon, Portugal

Tickets and information for any of these events can be obtained from the following link:

http://www.redbullairrace.com/cs/Satellite/en_air/Generic/Tickets-and-Hospitality-021242756456959?CategoryName=Red+Bull+Air+Race&p=1238611393596

The extreme story of Racing the Planet’s Australian challenge is told today. We wrote about the race last week suggesting the Spaniard Salvador Carlo Redondo might win the race outright – he did not disappoint. In a total time of 31.25 hours Redondo beat Italian Galanzino Francesco by 36 minutes.

Below is a video from Racing the Planet of the start of the race which was held in the north west of Australia in an area called Kimberley which is renowned for its humidity and rock – this is truly a test of will power.

It is interesting to note the enthusiasm on the faces of the competitors – we suggest it is an enthusiasm generated by naivety of what is to come.

The next video is from stage 4 of the race – a 17.1 kms trail called The Maze in The Cockburn Range. It is considered to be the toughest stage – with a combination of humidity, river crossings and rock-pools to negotiate.

If that wasn’t bad enough the next day presents stage 5 – a mere 99.4 kms  with plenty of crocodiles to chase up the stragglers – is that extreme enough for you?

After a total of 250 kms over the six stages of the race the competitors crossed the finish line and were greeted by retired competitors, staff, volunteers, family and friends. Students from the Dawul Remote Community School, who led racers away from the start at Doon Doon seven days ago, were on hand to welcome racers to the finish.

The oldest competitor of the race was 69 – Toshio Ohmori, who comes from Japan.

The event’s oldest entrant, 69-year-old  from Japan, was forced to retire following a bad fall on the third day when he cut his head and face and was taken to Kununurra hospital.

Lia Farley from the USA was third overall and the first placed lady competitor, completing the race in a total of 32.34 hours. The second placed lady was Stephanie Case from Canada who clocked 36.09 hours for the 6 stages.

The winning team was Saigon Children’s Charity with a time of 55 hours, beating home JORG on 61 hours, 46 minutes and nine seconds.

The smiles and relief are self evident in the last video which shows the competitors finishing the race – a huge shout of congratulations and respect goes out to all those who competed and raised money for many worthy causes.

Racing the planet’s next race is The Gobi Challenge which starts on June 27th – check out their website for more details – the link for which follows http://www.racingtheplanet.com/

After months and months of wrangling in the US courts it’s not the barristers or the bickerings of the billionaires that is delaying the start of the first leg of the America’s Cup – no and you guessed it – it is the weather. The three race series was supposed to have started on Monday but there was no wind. It was then scheduled for Wednesday but there was too much wind and the waves were too big.

Alinghi V and USA 17 are in Valencia, Spain – ready and waiting to race – photo courtesy of George Johns – Alinghi

The racing is now scheduled to start tomorrow – weather permitting – and will consist of possibly 3 races – the third race only being necessary if both boats win one of the first legs.

The 33rd America’s Cup is a Deed of Gift Match to be decided over the three races across two course types. Races 1 and 3 will be contested over a simple upwind-downwind loop totalling 40 miles, whilst Race 2 will be 39 miles long and around an equilateral triangle course comprising a 13 mile beat and two 13 miles reaches.

Of course we know there are only two contestants – the defender Alinghi V is racing under the ‘colours’ of the Societe Nautique de Geneve and is financed by the billionaire Ernesto Bertarelli – the challenger is  USA 17 which is financed by Larry Ellison of Oracle fame and BMW under the ‘colours’ of the Golden Gate Yacht Club.

Both these men are very determined and the stories that swirl around about both protagonists if printed would no doubt land us with a summons to court – so litigious have they become. What we can say is that what we would rather see is a mutual consent event with teams from other countries such as New Zealand, Great Britain, Italy, France and Australia making entries.

As a Deed of Gift Match it has come down to two mega rich individuals who are behaving in a spoilt manner and we believe this is detracting from the charm of the sport’s oldest event.

Ernesto Bertarelli – photo courtesy of Ivo Rovira – Alinghi

Larry Ellison – photo courtesy of Bay Area Sports Guy

Of course the boats have been in Valencia for a while now and not surprisingly there have been some sharp lenses out on the water watching the action. Even if you disagree with the Deed of Gift Match format you will have to agree that the action is going to be very exciting – just imagine the jostling for position at the start line – the boats will hear a 6 minute warning before crossing the start line and then going hell for leather. All 90 feet of them attaining speeds in excess of 30 knots – wow it will be fun to watch.

All we can say is good luck to both teams, we hope there are no accidents and for goodness sake get on with the racing – at the end of the day it is only a sports event.

The action showing both boats in action comes from SailingNewsTV

Having written about the Seven Summits we had to do some digging and came across a group who call themselves Extreme World Challenges – www.extremeworldchallenges.com  and they are quite a cool bunch of guys.

Wanting to rush this off the press because we find their next extreme challenge to be just around the corner – indeed entries for this challenge close at the end of the month.

The challenge is known as the Yak Attack – sounds bizarre – but what is it? Well not surprisingly it is considered one of the toughest challenges you are ever likely to come across.

It takes place in Nepal which is where most people go if they are going to climb Mount Everest or walk in the breathtaking and and very thin atmosphere of the Himalayas. It is the hardest terrain on earth and in this event you will be challenged beyond anything you have ever done before.

It is not the distance – at only 420kms in distance most veteran mountain bikers would complete such a trail in a couple of days. No it is the altitude. Over the course of the 10 day challenge the trail rises in excess of 8,000 metres – yes you read that correctly – metres – in terms of feet that is more than 24,000 feet.

The actual highest point on the trail is a place called Thorong La which gains an altitude of 5,416 meters and as you can see in the photo below it can get a wee bitty chilly up there.

photos courtesy of www.yak-attack.co.uk

The race starts at the beginning of March and should you wish to enter this extreme challenge you must visit the website http://yak-attack.co.uk/component/option,com_frontpage/Itemid,1/ because the entries close at the end of December.

This race is not about winning – it is about the challenge and the camaraderie – it will cost you about $1,500 to enter. The Yak Attack as a non profit making event which aims to benefit Nepali athletes and the Annapurna region communities as a whole on a number of levels.

Since its conception in 2005, the guys at Extreme World Challenges have been working hard to devise a series of events that would appeal to a worldwide audience looking for a challenge that could test their physical condition in some of the world’s harshest and most exciting terrains.

For 2011 Extreme Challengs is planning an unsupported 6000km mountain bike crossing of Australia at its widest point, using as many desert trails as possible.

Starting from Byron Bay in Queensland and heading due west, the route will go through some of the most inhospitable deserts on earth, including the Simpson , Gibson and Victoria. It will also encompass a number of Austrlia’s most renown off road tracks including the infamous Gunbarrel Highway .  The approx 6000km traverse will eventually finish at Australia’s most westerly location, Steep Point, close to the tourist attraction of Monkey Mia.

Not doing things by half the challenge also aims to complete the trip without support, which will entail having to carry enough water and food for upto 4 days at a time and will mean having to extract water from wells and bore holes along the route. It is thought the entire journey could take up to 60 days.

Phew – exhausting just writing about it but for you mountain bikers there are plenty of challenges to meet – go get em.

The argument as to whether Mount Kosciusko should be included as one of the Seven Summits will go on forever. As we explained yesterday Kosciusko is the highest mountain on mainland Australia and it is for that reason that some include it as one of the Seven Summits. Perhaps the most noteworthy fact concerning Kosciusko is that when you get to the top you can sit on a throne??

It is not for us to start banging a drum about whether it should or should not be included as a Seven Summit- perhaps the easiest solution is to refer to Eight Summits! You make your own decision but either Puncak Jaya/Carstensz Pyramid or Kosciusko will be counted as one of the Seven Summits in terms of joining the very exclusive  7 Summits Club. What is for sure is that Kosciusko is a stroll in the park in comparison to Puncak Jaya/Carstensz Pyramid.

Mount Kosciusko is 2,228 metres, 7,310 feet – a stroll in the park?

Mt Kosciusko is part of the Great Dividing Range which straddles the state boundaries of Victoria and New South Wales and then forms a chain stretching north all the way into tropical far-north Queensland. Mount Kosciusko is located half-way (280 miles/450km from each) between Sydney and Melbourne in Southeastern Australia.

Routes

Like many of Australia’s highest peaks, Mount Kosciuszko is not particularly difficult to climb. There is a road to Charlotte Pass from where it’s an 8-kilometre (5 mi) walk up a path to the summit. Anybody with a modest level of fitness should be able to walk it.

The peak may also be approached from Threbo, which is a shorter 6.5 kilometres (4 mi), and should take about 1 hour 45 minutes to reach the summit. It’s not a difficult walk and is supported by a chairlift all-year round.

When to climb

Hiking/climbing can be done year round, although you can expect snow (sometimes heavy) from June through October. And although it is not the toughest of ‘climbs’ this is an area of outstanding natural beauty with panoramic views over the national park. The red tape is minimal, you will have to pay a national park entrance fee of about $20.

If you are climbing in the winter you would be well advised to carry a pair of skis to assist your descent and remember to dress appropriately – in winter it can get very cold. And should you get taken short, fear not, for at Rawson’s Pass, at an altitude of 2,100 metres (6,900 ft) there has been installed a WC – now that would be a throne with a view!

Thanks to rocky2762 for his video below which shows what Kosciuszko is like in the winter.