After a
mammoth half-century celebration in 2011, which was blessed with
big swells and great weather, contest organisers are excited about
what another relatively late Easter will bring this
April…
"I can't wait for Easter - bring it on,"
states Neil Ridgway, Rip Curl Global Marketing & Advertising
Chairman, who has been coming to Bells for over 40 years. "Bells is
to pro surfing what the Colosseum was to gladiators. It's do or die
for everyone involved. Win here. Win the world
title."
Brooke
Farris, Rip
Curl's Global Event Manager, is one of many who work on the Rip
Curl Pro 365 days a year, forever challenged with growing the event
year-on-year and exciting fans around the world in new
ways.
"There are so many ways for surfing fans
around the world to experience the Rip Curl Pro this Easter,"
explains Farris. "Hit the Great Ocean Road and make the annual
Easter pilgrimage to Bells Beach; tune in to one of our various TV
broadcasts (Fuel TV in Australia and Portugal; Oceanic Time Warner
Cable Hawaii, Ma Chaine Sport in France, Luxembourg, Belgium,
Switzerland, Africa and Mauritius Island; and ESPN in Brazil),
download our free iPhone Live Events app; contribute to our social
media channels or fire up the webcast and watch every moment live
with a million of your mates online."
"The Rip Curl Pro can't be described in one
word, so we're really looking to showcase all aspects of the event
to our engaged audience around the world," the former ASP Women's
World Tour manager continued. "From the surfers to the stairs, the
Bell, the bar, the cliffs and of course the Bowl, we've got every
angle covered so you'll see every minute of madness that Bells
brings."
It's not all meat pies and Toohey's Extra
Dry for the organisers though, despite a 50-year history the event
doesn't run and gun by itself...
"The unpredictability of Bells Beach and Mother Nature is a
challenge for the surfers and for our event team," continues
Farris. "If only the motto of 'if you build it they will come'
really rang true! We want the best waves for the world's best
surfers and we'll do whatever we can to ensure the athletes compete
in the optimum conditions that Victoria has to offer over the
Easter period - even if that means searching the
coastline."
Keep an eye on the event status and be
ready to rock