Beyond Boarders

Snowboarding Holidays France

2009-12-18T11:37:00.000-08:00

Snowboarding is preferred to skiing for an increasing number of snow junkies looking for an adrenaline rush and amongst the Brits, France continues to be by far the most popular choice for a quick snowboarding holiday. Whether a last minute break or a planned getaway, the reason for the popularity is simple, France claims to have the largest number of skiable slopes in the world and some of the best slopes can be reached in just a few hours from the UK.
The best-known French ski resorts are to be found in the Alpine region and this is where most of the skiers head. Know as the gateway to the Alps, there are about 40 ski
resorts to be found within just an hour's drive of France's Chambery airport. The resorts include the highly regarded destinations of Courcheval and Meribel and those prepared to drive for a further two hours are spoilt for choice, with a further 74 ski resorts to choose from, not least of which is the deservedly celebrated Chamonix.

Alternatively, many snowboarders prefer to take the ski train. You board at London's Waterloo International (or at Ashford International in Kent) to enjoy a non-stop journey, all the way to the foot of the slopes in the French Alps. Others even take advantage of an overnight coach service, travelling at night to get more time on the slopes.

For more information and to book Snowboarding Holidays in France junp to:
Cheap France Snowboarding Holidays

or jump to:
Overnight Coach Service including Snowboarding Weekends in France

Both suppliers are established holiday providers with excellent reputations. They are also ABTA and ATOL bonded, so customers can be assured that their travel arrangements and holiday money is protected and secure. However, note that ABTA, the Association of British Travel Agents and ATOL, the Air Travel Organisers' Licensing schemes are both UK operated organizations and as such, scheme benefits usually only cover UK customers. As always, you must check and confirm all details with supliers before making any payments.

The picture of a snowboarding jump in La plagne (France) was photographed by Jochem Alferink.

New Tricks

2009-11-10T13:34:00.000-08:00

I have been sent details of Red Bull's Project X, where Shaun White has been working on some spectacular new snowboard tricks, deep in the backcountry of Colorado on a secret half-pipe built by Red Bull.

Project X has now gone public, accompanied by the usual video, which gives a taster of what you can find on the Red Bull Project X web site, including videos of the new tricks.

Tip, don't try this on that weekend ski break that you have planned!

UK Surf Reef

2009-11-02T14:58:00.000-08:00

The Boscombe Surf Reef, Just east of Bournemouth on England's south coast has officially been declared open.

Check the view on these webcams. The link also gives you weather, tide and surf reports, courtesy of Sorted, the local surf shop.

ASP World Title Update

2009-10-01T14:36:00.000-07:00

The ASP World Title has heated up with the early elimination of front runner, Australian Joel Parkinson in the recent Quiksilver Pro France and the subsequent win by his Gold Coast stablemate, Mick Fanning. The Australian friends will battle other top seeds C.J. Hobgood, Bede Durbidge and Kelly Slater as the ASP Dream Tour continues the European leg at the Billabong Pro Mundaka from October 5 ? 17, 2009.
Mick Fanning claimed his second consecutive ASP Dream Tour event, the 2009 Quiksilver Pro France presented by Orange, by defeating fellow Australian Bede Durbidge in punchy 0.5 ? 1 metre waves at Les Bourdaines.

CURRENT ASP WORLD TOUR TOP 10:
1 Joel Parkinson (AUS) 5896 points
2 Mick Fanning (AUS) 5750 points
3 C.J. Hobgood (USA) 4872 points
4 Bede Durbidge (AUS) 4792 points
5 Kelly Slater (USA) 4638 points
6 Adriano de Souza (BRA) 4573 points
7 Taj Burrow (AUS) 4417 points
8 Damien Hobgood (USA) 4384 points
9 Bobby Martinez (USA) 4314 points
10 Taylor Knox (USA) 4216 points

Bells Beach 2009

2009-04-22T15:18:00.000-07:00

Joel Parkinson (AUS), continued his winning start to the 2009 season, claiming the 2009 Rip Curl Pro Bells Beach by defeating local surfer Adam Robertson (AUS), trials winner and event wildcard, in pumping 2m (6ft) waves at Bells Beach, Australia.

This was the second stop on the 2009 ASP World Tour and capacity crowds turned out to watch a historic final. The next stop on the 2009 ASP World Tour will be the Billabong Pro Teahupoo from May 9 ? 20, 2009.

ASP Gold Coast

2009-04-22T14:30:00.000-07:00

Here are the pictures I promised of the Quiksilver Pro Gold Coast held at Kirra, Australia, March 2009. Sorry for the delay, let's just say that there have been a few distractions.

Thanks to Cyclone Hamish, the historic pointbreak offered churning barrels with massive scoring potential in the final and local favorite, Joel Parkinson, proved to be very much at home in the challenging conditions. Parkinson buckled his board on the first wave but returned to the lineup to nail a perfect 10, his second of the day. Taking him to victory over former ASP World Junior Champion, young Brazilian, Adriano de Souza, who was surfing in his first ASP World Tour final.

In the women's final of the Roxy Pro Gold Coast, another local, who happens to be the reigning two-time ASP Women's World Champion, Stephanie Gilmore, defeated Melanie Bartels from Hawaii. The final was held at Snapper Rocks and was her fourth consecutive win on the ASP Women?s World Tour.

2009 ASP World Tour

2009-03-11T16:08:00.000-07:00

The 2009 professional surfing season has kicked off for both the men and the women, on Australia's Queensland, Gold Coast. And both opening events saw wins for Australian surfers.

21 year old Stephanie Gilmore (AUS), reigning two-time ASP Women's World Champion, won the Roxy Pro Gold Coast presented by LG Mobile, defeating Melanie Bartels (HAW), in the Final. Then, fellow Australian, Joel Parkinson (AUS), claimed victory in the Quiksilver Pro Gold Coast, defeating fellow finalist Adriano de Souza (BRA).

I will post detailed reports and pictures for both events. The tours now move on to Bells Beach, Australia, in April.

Pauline Ado Surf Champion

2009-01-06T09:05:00.000-08:00

Pauline Ado from France, has sensationally made ASP history, becoming the first non-Australian female to claim the undisputed ASP Junior World Title at North Narrabeen beach, Sydney, Australia.

The 17 year old defeated opponent Bethany Hamilton (HAW), 18, in an exciting and hard-fought final at the Billabong ASP World Junior Championships.

Gilmore Takes Maui

2008-12-23T14:35:00.000-08:00

Stephanie Gilmore has also finished her season with a big win in Hawaii.

Having just been crowned ASP Women's World Champion for the second time, the young Australian stormed to victory in the Billabong Pro Maui, defeating Melanie Bartels (HAW), claiming the her second consecutive win in the event at Ho'okipa Beach Park and earning her first Vans Triple Crown of Surfing (an ASP Specialty Series) Title.

Slater Ends With Win

2008-12-17T13:24:00.000-08:00

Nine-time ASP World Champion Kelly Slater (USA) finished the 2008 ASP world tour on a win, taking the big one at Oahu, Hawaii, the prestigeous Billabong Pipeline Masters. The victory is Slater's sixth of the 11 event tour, in a season that saw him top the World rankings for a record ninth time.

Top ten world rankings for 2008 finished:

Kelly Slater (USA)

Bede Durbidge (AUS)

Taj Burrow (AUS)

Joel Parkinson (AUS)

C.J. Hobgood (USA)

Adrian Buchan (AUS)

Adriano de Souza (BRA)

Mick Fanning (AUS)

Bobby Martinez (USA)

Jeremy Flores (FRA)

Bede Durbidge ended up pipping fellow Australian Taj Burrow to second place and fourth placed, Joel Parkinson made headlines earlier in the Pipline Masters event by scoring a perfect 20 out of 20 heat total, only the second perfect heat total in ASP history under the two wave format. Congratulations to Bobby Martinez and Jeremy Flores who both made the top ten.

Steph Gilmore Women's Champion

2008-12-03T13:38:00.000-08:00

Stephanie Gilmore (AUS), 20, took her second consecutive ASP Women's World Title today with an emphatic win in the Roxy Pro at Sunset Beach, Hawaii, ripping through the three-to-five foot (1.5 metre) waves at Sunset Point to defeat fellow finalists Silvana Lima (BRA), 24, Jessi Miley-Dyer (AUS), 22, and Nicola Atherton (AUS), 22.

Roxy Pro at Sunset Beach turned out to be the most decisive event of year's tour, seeing shock eliminations on its final day before Gilmore soared to victory to claim the 2008 ASP Women?s World Title.

The next and final stop on the 2008 ASP Women?s World Tour will be event 8, the Billabong Pro Maui at Honolua Bay from December 8 ? 20, 2008.

Durbidge Wins in Brazil

2008-11-09T13:12:00.000-08:00

Australian Bede Durbidge, claimed his third ASP World Tour career win with a victory at the Hang Loose Santa Catarina Pro in Imbituba, Brazil, over France's Jeremy Flores.
The win moves Durbidge to the World No. 2 position and heading into the last event of the year in Hawaii as the defending champion, looks likely to finish the season as runner-up in the world rankings to nine-time ASP World Champion, Kelly Slater (USA).

Tyler Wright Youngest Ever

2008-10-16T09:42:00.000-07:00

Tyler Wright (AUS), 14, has made history by becoming the youngest ever winner of an ASP World Tour event. Tyler defeated Silvana Lima (BRA), 23, in the final of the Beachley Classic at Manly Beach.

Wright, who only gained entry into the Beachley Classic via the preceding trials, swept aside the best female surfers in the world, defeating reigning ASP Women's World Champion Stephanie Gilmore (AUS), 20, Jacqueline Silva (BRA), 29, and Amee Donohoe (AUS), 27, on her way to the final with Lima.

The next stop on the 2008 ASP Women?s World Tour will be the Movistar Classic Mancora Peru presented by Rip Curl from November 3 ? 8, 2008.

ASP Women's World Tour Ratings: After Event No. 5

1 ? Sofia Mulanovich (PER) 4411 points

2 ? Stephanie Gilmore (AUS) 3948 points

3 ? Layne Beachley (AUS) 3698 points

4 ? Amee Donohoe (AUS) 3331 points

5 ? Silvana Lima (BRA) 3194 points

Slater Secures Ninth

2008-10-03T03:04:00.000-07:00

Kelly Slater, USA, has just won a record ninth ASP World Title, securing a sufficient points lead in the title rankings after advancing out of Round 3 of the Billabong Pro Mundaka, Spain, the ninth event of 11 on the 2008 ASP World Tour.

Slater defeated local wildcard Eneko Acero(EUK) in Heat 8 of Round 3 of the Billabong Pro Mundaka in excellent four to six foot (two metre) conditions. His success comes 16 years after securing his first ASP World Title at age 20. At 36 he now becomes the oldest and youngest surfer in ASP history to win a world title.

Michel Bourez Surfs Good

2008-09-23T14:03:00.000-07:00

Tahitian Michel Bourez certainly enjoys playing in France's Hossegor surf, last year he knocked out Kelly Slater in the Quiksilver Pro France and this year he has gone and beat ASP World No. 3 Bede Durbidge (AUS)in the same event. It was his second major scalp in this year's Quiksilver Pro France, having eliminated Joel Parkinson (AUS) in Round 2.

Bourez opened the heat against Durbidge with a 9.80, backed it up with a 9.77 and left Bede searching for a combo 19.57 points. Bourez said. "There were a couple of really good rights and lefts out there but the rip was really strong and I needed to catch the first wave so that is what I did."

It looks as if it is just a matter of time before Kelly Slater is celebrating winning the 2008 ASP title race and a historic ninth world title. Slater could potentially wrap things up tomorrow, but only if he wins the Quiksilver Pro France and ASP World No. 2 Taj Burrow (AUS) loses in Round 4 or the Quarterfinals.

Slater Still Winning

2008-09-14T11:24:00.000-07:00

Kelly Slater (USA) beat Taj Burrow (AUS) 18.97 to 18.63, winning his third Boost Mobile Pro title at Lower Trestles and putting him just one event win away from a record ninth ASP World Title.

Taj Burrow thought he had Slater beaten, having scored a 9.00 and 9.63 before the halfway mark, but Slater stole the win right at the end, on an unpromising wave that Burrow let pass. I get the impression that the Australian felt that on Kelly's homeground he had to beat both a mighty reputation and the judges as well, but the difference between mere mortals and Kelly Slater is that given half a chance Slater grabs it while others are still considering the options. You can get lucky once or twice but to keep getting lucky you have to be good, very good.

Steph Gilmore Back On Top

2008-09-08T14:09:00.000-07:00

Event No. 3 of 8 on the 2008 ASP Women?s World Tour, the Rip Curl Pro Mademoiselle, ended in a stunning final between two icons of Australian surfing and resulted in Stephanie Gilmore (AUS), 20, reigning ASP Women's World Champion, regaining the ratings lead in the hunt for the 2008 ASP Women's World Title.

Steph defeated fellow finalist Layne Beachley,former seven-time ASP Women?s World Champion, in clean 1 metre (two-to-three foot) waves at Les Bourdaines in Seignosse, France, to claim her second 2008 event win in a row.

The next stop on the 2008 ASP Women?s World Tour will be the Billabong Girls Pro Rio from September 10 ? 28, 2008.

Mademoiselle at Hossegor

2008-08-18T12:55:00.000-07:00

After a five month break, the 17 ladies on the ASP world tour are converging on the Hossegor beachbreaks, for the Rip Curl Pro Mademoiselle running from August 28 through September 1, 2008.
The Rip Curl Pro Mademoiselle is Event No. 3 on the 2008 ASP Women's World Tour and Sofia Mulanovich (PER), former ASP Women's World Champion and current No.1 on the 2008 ASP Women's World Tour, will soon be seen practising in the French surf.

Bruce Irons Fulfills Dream

2008-08-04T01:34:00.000-07:00

What a shock result to event number 6 of 11 on the 2008 ASP World Tour. Andy's brother Bruce Irons (HAW) defeated fellow Hawaiian Fredrick Patacchia in the final of the 2008 Rip Curl Pro Search, to claim his first Dream Tour win and push him into the world top ten. Bruce plans to retire from the Dream Tour at the end of this season, though he still intends competing at Pipeline and Teahupoo, plus any other venues that he can get into.

The 2008 Rip Curl Pro Search, held in rifling 1.5 metre lefthanders 'somewhere' in Indonesia, concluded in a marathon day of action that was capped off with an absolutely stunning barrel shootout between the young Hawaiian friends.

Patacchia had been in stunning form throughout the event, netting high scores and eliminating several top seeds. He suffered an injury at the beginning of the season but has since returned to finish equal 9th in Fiji and Jeffreys Bay, South Africa, before securing this runner-up position in Indonesia, putting him at 14 on the ASP World Tour.

Once again, the majority of top seeds on the Dream Tour suffered early elimination, so despite his defeat, current ratings leader Kelly Slater (USA) maintains a healthy lead on this year's ASP World Title race as they head to the next stop on the tour, which will be the Boost Mobile Pro presented by Hurley at Lower Trestles, California from September 7-13, 2008.

Slater Wins JBay 2008

2008-07-17T14:31:00.000-07:00

Taking the JBay crown, Kelly Slater, is simply unstoppable this year winning four out of five events on the ASP World Tour. It is his 38th ASP World Tour victory and puts him in commanding contention to claim his 9th ASP World Title.

Joy Monahan World Longboard Champion

2008-07-17T12:52:00.000-07:00

Joy Monahan (Oahu,HAW) has become the first Hawaiian female World Longboard Champion. She defeated Chelsea Williams (AUS) in the final of the Roxy ASP Women's World Championships at La Cote des Basques in Biarritz, putting together strong combinations of classical turns and modern style re-entries in the two foot (0.5 meter) contestable conditions.

French favorite, Justine Dupont went out in a closely fought Quarterfnal, losing by 0.90 points to Leah Dawson (USA).

Supertubes at Jeffreys Bay

2008-07-10T12:08:00.000-07:00

The Billabong Pro at Jeffreys Bay, South Africa, which is Stop No. 5 of 11 on the 2008 ASP World Tour, got off to a flying start and there was no shortage of standout surfing.
ASP World Tour veteran, Taylor Knox (USA) stole the show in perfect four to six foot (one to two metre) waves. Taylor posted near perfect 9.90 and a 9.80 wave scores to give him a combined heat total of 19.70 out of 20.00 points. That is reckoned to be the highest combined score in his 15 year career. What's more, he had a further 9.00 in his scoreline to spare.

The event has a scheduled waiting period running through July 20, 2008 but it is expected that conditions will be good for round 2 playoffs to carry on tomorrow.

Roxy Jam Biarritz 2008

2008-07-05T03:10:00.000-07:00

The one and only Roxy Jam Biarritz gets underway again at La Côte des Basques in Biarritz, France and runs from July 11-16, 2008. A unique blend of surfing, art and music emphasising the contribution of women, the event features the Roxy ASP Women's World Longboard Championship, which will be the deciding competition in determining the 2008 ASP Women's World Longboard Champion.
Jenifer Smith (USA), reigning ASP Women's World Longboard Champion, will be looking to defend her title but several contenders are keen to dethrone her, not least last year's runner-up Justine Dupont (FRA) who sits behind Smith in second place on the world rankings.

Young Justine is from Lacanau, just two hours North of Biarritz, so the potential world champion is on home ground and will enjoy great support from the locals.

ASP Women's Tour

2008-06-21T15:40:00.001-07:00

The world's top women surfers are taking a break from their world tour until the end of August, when they descend on the south west coast of France.

Remaining events on their tour are:

Aug 28-Sep 1 at Hossegor,Landes-France Rip Curl Pro Mademoiselle

Sep 10-18 at Barra da Tijuca/Macumba,Rio de Janeiro,RJ-Brazil Billabong Girls Pro Rio

Oct 9-14 at Northern Beaches,Sydney, NSW-Australia Beachley Classic

Oct 27-Nov 3(TBC) at Lobitos,Mancora,Piura-Peru Mancora Peru Classic

Nov 24-Dec 6 at Sunset Bch,Oahu-Hawaii Roxy Pro

Dec 8-20 at Honolua Bay,Maui-Hawaii Billabong Pro

ASP World Tour 2008

2008-06-21T06:42:00.000-07:00

The Activity Holidays Guide had a bit of a crisis recently due to the loss of a server and that resulted in a number of the Beyond Boarders' posts going astray. However, we are now back on the water and continuing to bring you full coverage of boarding events, including up to the minute surfing pictures and news of the ASP world tours.

To get up to date, here is a listing of event dates and locations, remaining on the men's ASP world tour.

Event 5 on July 10-20 at Jeffreys Bay-South Africa for the Billabong Pro.

Event 6 on July 30-Aug 10 at A Secret Destination for the Rip Curl Pro Search.

Event 7 on September 7-13 at Trestles, California-USA for the Boost Mobile Pro (Hurley).

Event 8 on September 19-28 at South West Coast-France for the Quiksilver Pro France 2008.

Event 9 on September 29-October 12 at Mundaka-Euskadi for the Billabong Pro.

Event 10 on October 28-November 5 Santa Catarina-Brazil for the Hang Loose Santa Catarina Pro.

Event 11 on December 8-20 at Banzai Pipeline,Oahu-Hawaii for the great Pipeline event.