The waiting for the Myth has begun: Waiting Period from the 25th of October to the 30th of November
With a brand new format and lots of stars to the mix, the Red Bull Mito has arrived to put Portugal on the spot of the worldwide big wave competitions. The event may start from now until the 30th of November; the place chosen is Praia do Norte, Nazaré. The water safety has been delegated to the experienced surfer Garret McNamara.
Providing an unforgettable experience to both athletes and fans of surfing, put Portugal and Nazaré in the spotlight of big wave surfing competitions is the main goal of the Red Bull Mito. At Praia do Norte, taking advantage of the potential Nazaré Canyon, we are now in the beginning of the countdown to this amazing Tow in Championship.
For this First edition of the Red Bull Mito we have summon true legends that have dedicated their life’s to conquer waves from the seven seas! The competition will start as soon as the conditions allows. Waves with at least of 10 meters will be needed - and it will work with teams of two surfers, one surfing and the other driving the Jet Ski.
Confirmed, amongst others, is the Brazilian Carlos Burle - that made history in 2001 by surfing a 22 meter wave in Mavericks (California) - the Chilean Ramon Navarro, the first to discover and surf the legendary wave “La Bestia” of the coast of Chile - the Australians Ross Clarke-Jones (the first non Hawaiian to win the Waimea Bay competition in the memory of Eddie Aikau) and Tom Carroll (the veteran that made history during the decade of the 80´s and winner of two world titles of WCT competitions) and also Axi Munain, the European with more nominations on the Billabong XXL. Al Mennie and Andrew Cotton, one of the best teams in big wave surfing will also be present in the competition.
Ruben Gonzalez and José Gregório will defend the Portuguese colors in the Red Bull Mito. The safety of the surfers has been trusted to one of the living legends of big wave surfing - the American Garrett McNamara will be the Head of Water Security.
Looking for the right conditions, the waiting period of the Red Bull Mito goes from the 25th of October to the 30th of November and the call for the surfers is to be done within 72 to 48 hours to the start of the event.
The Rules of Competition
During the Red Bull Mito, each athlete has to surf at least one wave each heat and a maximum of 10 waves, counting for the final score the best two waves from each heat. The three teams with the highest scores will advance two rounds to reach the final. The winning team will be the one that has the best two waves of the final, in a maximum of 15 waves
The heats from round 1 and 2 have duration of 35 minutes, as the final will occur for 60 minutes. The judges will evaluate the performance of the teams, taking into consideration the size of the wave and the maneuvers on the critical sections of the wave (tube ride is also much valued).
The Athletes (Teams)
- Carlos Burle + Felipe “Gordo” Cesarano (Brazil)
- Ramón Navarro (Chile) + Gabriel Villaran (Peru)
- Ross Clarke-Jones + Tom Carroll (Australia)
- Al Mennie (Irlanda) + Andrew Cotton (United Kingdom)
- Axi Munian + Pablo Garcia (Spain)
- José Gregório + Ruben Gonzalez (Portugal)
Backup Teams:
- Backup 1: Jamie Sterling (Hawaii) + Reno Makani (Hawaii)
- Backup 2: Eric Rebiere (France) + Will Skudin (EUA)
- Backup 3: Sebastien Steudtner (Germany) + Tom Buttler (United Kingdom)
- Backup 4: Gabriel “Gabe” Davies (United Kingdom) + Richie Fitzgerald (Ireland)
ABout Praia da Nazaré and The Nazaré Canyon
The Nazaré Canyon is a rare geomorphologic accident, the biggest in Europe and one of the largest of the world, it’s a very big fault line with 170 km of length and 5 km deep. The Nazaré Canyon canalizes the swell from the Atlantic Ocean creating big waves and delivering and delivers unique conditions for the practice of this sport.
More info at www.redbull.pt/redbullmito
Source: Red Bull
