Outdoors Surfing

Joel Parkinson kicked off the 2009 World Tour in grand style Wednesday by dominating the semifinals and finals on his way to a season-opening victory. Parkinson scored two perfect 10s, one in the semis against Mick Fanning and the other in the finals against Brazil's Adriano de Souza. Parkinson scored a total 18.83 to de Souza's 11.30 in the final.

In the Semis, Parkinson faced off against former world champ Mick Fanning, who put up a strong combined score of 17.66. However, Parkinson's perfect 10 along with a 9.93 sealed the victory for the Aussie. In the other semi, de Souza had a solid 14.84 against Taj Burrow, who couldn't find his rhythm, managing only a 5.34.

The location for the final was Kirra instead of the primary venue of Snapper Rocks or the back-ups Duranbah Beach and Coolangatta Beach. All three were utilized in action yesterday leading up to the Semis.

For the 27-year-old Parkinson, the win was his second at the Gold Coast and gives him the early lead in the World Tour rankings. The next stop will be Bells Beach in Australia for the Rip Curl Pro starting April 7.

For more about the contest, check out the official site at www.quiksilverpro.com.au/

Kelly Slater's quest for a tenth world championship is already looking a little tougher after Slater was knocked out of the Quiksilver Pro Gold Coast in the third round Sunday. Twenty-year-old wildcard Julian Wilson defeated the 9x world champ, 15.33 to 13.84, thanks to his second-to-last wave score of 8.50. Slater's best score was a 7.67.

Stephanie Gilmore has kicked off her 2009 campaign for a third-straight world championship in good form, winning the season's first contest, the Roxy Pro Gold Coast, Sunday.

The monstrous shark seen above was recently pulled from the break at Teahupoo, the legendary surf spot in Tahiti. Two fisherman who were out trying to catch starfish (!) reeled in the already-dead shark, which weighed in at 1.3 tons.

Well known for its interesting series of "most wealthy" lists for sports, Forbes recently stepped outside of the traditional sports world and released its rankings of the top 10 highest-paid action sports athletes for 2008.

The names at the top of the list -- Tony Hawk, Shaun White (right) -- aren't all that surprising, but the earnings (Hawk alone apparently made $12 million in 2008) are nothing to sneeze at, even compared to wages earned by well-known professional athletes.

Forbes' full list, including each athlete's 2008 earnings, can be found after the jump:

Santa Cruz may or may not be "surf city" to you (for some, Huntington Beach owns the distinction) but it still holds a special place in surfing's history.

Like many other cities around the country, Santa Cruz is having some financial issues (to the tune of a $7 million deficit) and last December the city council voted to close several of the city's public institutions, including the Natural History Museum and the Surfing Museum that opened more than 20 years ago.

Life-changing opportunities that come around in our lifetimes are far and few between. That's why Julian Wilson is making the bold and daring move to skip next year's WQS. But this is no shot in the dark. Julian was given the opportunity to star in a film with none other than the Irons brothers (who will also produce the film). We're not talking about chopped liver here, we're talking filet mignon. Surfing with two living legends while getting paid for something that will forever live in surfing movie history, why not?

The 20-year-old Aussie will hit some of the best spots in the world during filming and he may do some competitions here and there, thanks to wild cards that may be available through his sponsor Quiksilver. Wilson finished ranked 247th on the WQS in '08.

Check out more about Wilson's decision at TheDaily.com.

Several days after the conclusion of the Women's ASP World Tour season in Maui the roster for the 2009 Tour has been finalized. While the surfers on tour will include 11 year's worth of titles, there are also five rookies joining the vets - all teenagers.

Sally Fitzgibbons, 18, made history earlier this year by becoming the fastest surfer ever to qualify for the world tour in a season. She will be joined by Brazil's Bruna Schmitz, Kiwi Paige Hareb, Hawaiian Alana Blanchard (all 18) and Coco Ho, 17.

Aussies will dominate the tour, with Fitzgibbons and current world champ, Stephanie Gilmore leading eight of their compatriots.

Seven-time world champ Layne Beachley remains on the tour, though she previously announced her retirement. The move allows her to still compete at some events, although she will not participate in all events (there are eight total events).

The new season kicks off on Feb. 28, 2009 with the Roxy Pro Gold Coast.

Here are the 2009 World Tour Surfers:

1 - Stephanie Gilmore (AUS)
2 - Silvana Lima (BRA)
3 - Sofia Mulanovich (PER)
4 - Layne Beachley (AUS)
5 - Amee Donohoe (AUS)
6 - Samantha Cornish (AUS)
7 - Melanie Bartels (HAW)
8 - Rebecca Woods (AUS)
9 - Jessi Miley-Dyer (AUS)
10 - Jacqueline Silva (BRA)
11 - Chelsea Hedges (AUS)
12 - Sally Fitzgibbons (AUS)
13 - Rosanne Hodge (ZAF)
14 - Bruna Schmitz (BRA)
15 - Paige Hareb (NZL)
16 - Alana Blanchard (HAW)
17 - Coco Ho (HAW)

One of the O.G.'s of surfing Gerry Lopez has a pretty in-depth interview in the Los Angeles Times. Now 60 years old, you might recognize Gerry for a number of reasons. In the '70s, Lopez was widely regarded as one of the best, if not the best, tube rider in the world by winning the Pipeline Masters two years in a row. Or you might recognize him for his innovations in surfboard designs. Lopez created the simple but eye-catching Lightning Bolt jag that every surfer in the 70s wanted.

But not me. I don't recognize him for those things. I don't even surf. I recognize Lopez for his groundbreaking film role as "Subotai" in one of my favorite films of all time, Conan the Barbarian starring California's Governator, Arnold Schwarzenegger. That film really showed the ruggedness that can only be portrayed by an extreme sports athlete. He is by far the best thing about that film other than Conan himself.

FYI, Gerry has also appeared in other films such as "Big Wednesday," "North Shore" and "Riding Giants."

Check out the interview over at the LA TIMES.