By Banzay on 23:29
Filed Under: Anastasia, Ashley
It was a close battle in the four-foot wave face heights at Half Point with the final score 8-6. Sandy Beach has a reputation as a challenging spot to surf where local knowledge plays a big factor said South Shore MVP Ezekiel Lau."If you don't know this wave, it's one of the hardest waves in the world because (the takeoff spot on the wave) is always moving," said Lau of Sandy's tricky wedges. "You have to surf here a lot to kind of predict where it's going to go or your not going to know what's going on."Each team has 11 surfers total with at least one female and one grom. Ten of the surfers are voted onto each squad by the fans via an online poll, and the final spot on the team is a "ringer" that is chosen by the team captain. The Red Bull Rivals has a man-on-man-contest format, with two surfers squaring off against each other in a heat."This format is a lot more fun, but it's real competitive," said Lau. "When you're looking at the format it's a lot like UFC Ultimate Fighter where the winning team gets to pick who they want to surf against and has control. It's pretty sick."According to Lau's Town teammate, Kekoa Cazimero, setting up the matchups at Red Bull Rivals is where a lot of strategy comes into play."Matchups are definitely a factor. You want to take the top dogs and put them together in a heat, but there comes a time when strategy comes into play and you need to just go for the win," said Cazimero, of choosing which surfers face off. "Everybody was bringing their A-game and was ready to go."The first heat yesterday set the tone, with Townie Ezekiel Lau squaring off against Country Boy, TJ Barron.On his opening ride, Barron boosted a giant, air reverse 360, which eventually won the heat and matchup control for the North Shore squad. Lau surfed brilliantly in that heat, but the judges gave the heat victory to Barron."That should have been the final, I think," said Barron of his battle with Lau.Lau used the loss to stoke his competitive fire. Twelve heats later, with the Town team in the lead 7-6, Lau paddled out in the final heat of the day against the North Shore's Ezra Sitt."I remembered what happened in that first heat and I told myself that I was going to go big or go home," said Lau. "So I tried my hardest to get the better waves this time and not go on the inside."Lau was fired up and went huge in the final. He waited out the back for the bigger set waves, nailed two, high-speed air reverse 360's, and pounded the proverbial nail in the coffin for the South Shore's second Red Bull Rivals victory.While there was no cash or rating points on the line for this contest, it was still a difficult defeat for the North Shore squad. Some members of The Country team "conveniently" disappeared with their boards, right after the awards ceremony. In fact, the North Shore's Anastasia Ashley pulled the old switcheroo by only giving up a boogie board to the Town Team.
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