The sweet taste of victory is not unknown to 2009 ISC Pro Champion Lee Wilson. Of the six years the ISC has been in existence, Lee is the first surfer to win the Pro division twice (2009 and 2007). This year it came down to a dramatic finish at the Coca-Cola ISC season ending contest, the Quiksilver Pro at Keramas, where he narrowly beat ex-world tour ripper Jake “Snake” Paterson in the quarterfinal to make a clean jump up the ratings to an unbeatable Championship lead. Had Lee lost, Made Garut Widiarta, already out of the contest but barely ahead in points, would have won the Championship. It was that close.

Beating a surfer like Paterson is no easy task, even with the smoking overhead barrels that blessed their heat. One must remember that Paterson is a past Pipeline Master, a contest he won in heaving Backdoor rights, so this heat was no easy task for Lee. In what turned into a two man Keramas-tube shootout, with both surfers trading off barrel for barrel in each other’s face, Lee’s waves were just barely better to take the win by a mere 0.15 of a point.

Garut drove all the way to the comp at 6 am just to watch this deciding heat. The whole time he seemed on edge but cool, really feeling the gravity of the situation. He knew fate was in gods hands, and that Paterson was more than a difficult opponent. As the day would have it, the ocean smiled on Lee who did nothing but his best surfing in perfect waves. For Garut second place is not a bad finish at all, it’s just way more nerve-wracking when it comes down to such a tight decision.

This was the first time anyone had won the title twice on the ISC. This was also the first time Lee’s wife and baby daughter (Bianca and Ava) had come to watch him compete. They’d missed Sanur where Lee placed second, and hadn’t been in Cimaja watching Lee back that second up with a win. The showdown between he and Dede, the #1 and #2 surfers then in West Sumbawa, probably wasn’t mentioned at dinner, and the rest of the results up to this contest might only have started to get some family discussion because the pressure had really started to press with Garut so close and several others not far off.

But today was Lee’s day. His eventual second place finish and Best Maneuver award at Keramas were just icing on the cake, because the real win was already in the bag. He had battled to the end and this is how close it came, one heat. Those 20 minutes in the quarters would make or break the year for him; even his girls had come to watch. And after a hard-surfed win in perfect barrels at one of his personal favorite breaks, the name of 2009’s number one surfer in Indonesia was Lee Wilson.

Text: Tim Hain
Putra Hermawan mungkin aja baru berusia tujuh belas tahun tapi ia udah memiliki banyak pengalaman surfing di dalam dan luar negeri, beserta kesungguhannya untuk berkompetisi dipadu dengan bakat alaminya. Putra mengakhiri Junior Division tahun lalu dengan berada pada posisi ketiga. Hal ini kurang membuatnya bahagia, lalu ia menyusun misi tahun ini untuk merebut gelar juara pada Junior Division, yang merupakan kesempatan terakhirnya sebelum usianya menginjak delapan belas tahun. Ia memulai musim 2009 ini dengan menjuarai dua dari tiga event Rusty GromFest, menjadikannya di posisi kedua pada keseluruhan seri GromFest, menjuarai Volcom Geckofish di Pelembeng, berada di posisi ketiga pada kompetisi Occy Grom di Durambah-Australia, dan mengakhiri musim ini dengan menjuarai final Rip Curl GromSearch di Pantai Kuta. Putra juga termasuk surfer dalam Open Division dan mengakhiri musim ini dengan rangking 25.

Mustofa Jekson merebut kembali gelar juara Pro Junior yang terlepas tahun lalu pada Raditya Rondi dalam musim Pro Junior yang singkat. Pada musim ini hanya terdapat dua event yaitu Billabong Pro Junior dan Oakley Pro Junior Global Challenge. Mus juga memperoleh kemenangan dalam Open Division pada event Oakley Pro di Canggu, yang merupakan kemenangan pertamanya dalam Coca-Cola ISC Tour Open. Sehingga ia memperoleh wildcard untuk berlaga di Oakley Pro Junior Global Challenge dengan mengalahkan rival Pro Junior-nya dalam event Trial. Selanjutnya, ia bertanding melawan beberapa surfer terbaik pro junior kelas dunia dalam event utama, yang pada akhirnya harus menyerah pada World Pro Junior Champion, Kai Barger di round 3 dengan selisih angka yang tipis. Ia juga mengakhiri musim ini dengan berada di posisi ke-13 dalam Open division.

Wayan Widyartha akhirnya memegang gelar juara Coca-Cola ISC Tour Master tahun ini, setelah berada di posisi runner up pada tahun 2008 lalu. Ia benar-benar memfokuskan dirinya untuk mendapatkan gelar tersebut, tanpa pernah absen pada tujuh event yang diselenggarakan di berbagai daerah, mulai dari Jawa Barat hingga Rote. Walau menghadapi ombak yang sebagian besar ombak kanan, signature style-nya akhirnya yang membawanya naik ke podium juara. Prestasinya dimulai dari juara ketiga pada Rusty Rumble in da Jungle di Sanur sebelum akhirnya melaju merebut juara pertama di Cimaja, Jawa Barat, kemudian memperoleh posisi runner up pada Oakley Pro Canggu dan Rote Open. Pada akhir musim, dia mengumpulkan 10,700 poin, selisih 2,000 poin diatas Made Lapur.
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