Citing concerns for the safety of the surfers, Contest Director Neil Ridgeway, ASP Head Judge Perry Hatchett and ASP Surfer Representative Phil Macdonald decided to call the competition off for the day.
"We went on hold for a few hours to see if the conditions improved and they didn't," Macdonald said. "It's kind of all over the place out there and the safety of the competitors is a huge issue. I think if we'd have gone out today someone would have been injured. It's not the wave size that is an issue, it's the well being of the surfers. We have 10 more days to run the contest and plenty of swell so let's just wait until tomorrow to see what happens next."
According to Ben Matson of swellnet.com.au: "A very large swell in excess of 12 feet (four metres) is expected to provide challenging conditions on Friday and Saturday for the Rip Curl Pro Search in Arica."
The first three heats of Round 2 were run yesterday with Andy Irons (HAW), Taj Burrow (AUS) and Kieren Perrow (AUS) advancing. Another call on competition status will be made tomorrow morning at 7am.
RIP CURL PRO SEARCH CHILE UPCOMING ROUND 2 MATCH-UPS:
Heat 4: Tom Whitaker (AUS) vs. Bruno Santos (BRA)
Heat 5: Daniel Wills (HAW) vs. David Weare (ZAF)
Heat 6: Cory Lopez (USA) vs. Luke Munro (AUS)
Heat 7: Dean MOrrison (AUS) vs. Neco Padaratz (BRA)
Heat 8: Chris Ward (USA) vs. Gabe Kling (USA)
Heat 9: Ben Dunn (AUS) vs. Troy Brooks (AUS)
Heat 10: Luke Stedman (AUS) vs. Michael Lowe (AUS)
Heat 11: Adriano de Souza (BRA) vs. Royden Bryson (ZAF)
Heat 12: Adrian Buchan (AUS) vs. Shaun Cansdell (AUS)
Heat 13: Ricky Basnett (ZAF) vs. Rodrigo Dornelles (BRA)
Heat 14: Frederick Patacchia (HAW) vs. Dayyan Neve (AUS)
Heat 15: Bernardo Miranda (BRA) vs. CJ Hobgood (USA)
Heat 16: Greg Emslie (ZAF) vs. Josh Kerr (AUS)
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