7 September 2012 at the 2nd annual Put Up or Shut Up/Source in G-Land to the Sea One-Day Surf Tournament presented by Coca-Cola Indonesian Surfing Championships and SurfTime magazine yesterday in massive 8-12 foot waves, Australia's Tai Graham put on a committed and exemplary performance to receive the honor of being declared the best surfer of the day.
In a unique four-hour free surfing tournament, the only one of its kind in the world, Graham was truly the personification of a great free surfer, embracing the tournaments format of showing utter commitment to finding the best waves, riding each wave with utter commitment until the very end, and always taking his turn in the lineup. He was also the very last surfer to exit the water, leading to the end of the tournament.
Graham hails from the Gold Coast of Australia but resides in Bali, and is well known in the surfing world for his stylish and solid surfing ability in both large and small waves. At the awards ceremony in Bobby's Surf Camp that evening, Graham was both surprised and elated at being named the best surfer of the day, saying,
"I really can't believe I was chosen as the winner, it's such an honor and it was just such a fun day, out there surfing with the boys in big pumping waves. I've had a hectic couple of days before coming here, so this morning I was a bit low on energy when we were getting ready, so was thinking I just wanted to get one good wave."
And what kept him out there for four hours of non-stop surfing?
"Well you know, whenever I get out of Bali to surf I like to make the most of it, as its hard to do that in Bali because I'm kinda busy so I only get to surf an hour or two here and there. So to get the chance to come here and surf pumping Speedys, I just felt like I couldn’t come in yet…I kept seeing all these great waves and you know…just had to catch another one!"
In addition to the receiving the honor of being named the best surfer of the day, Graham was presented with an authentic Balinese wayang puppet trophy, 10 million Rupiah, and a commemorative surfboard from G-Land Bobby's Surf Camp. Narrowly edged out was Chris Ward from America, who recently won the Rip Curl Cup at Padang-Padang in Bali, and is known as one of the best backside barrel riders in the world.
Ward was fresh off a multi-island surfing marathon, where lack of sleep and an infected tooth might have slowed him down a fraction, but regardless he was the second to the last surfer to exit the water today behind Graham. He was given the Iron Man Award for his dedication and commitment to both his craft and to this tournament.
Also receiving awards were Dave Thomas from Hawaii for the best barrel ride, which is considered the ultimate prize in surfing, and Mustofa Jeksen for having the best wipeout, the result of his constant compulsion to take off on the biggest waves and pull into the biggest and deepest barrels regardless of the consequence.
Source: Courtesy of www.isctour.com
