The opening event of the X-fighters 2009.

With a sold out crowd of 43,000 FMX fans packed Mexico City’s famous plaza de toros to witness the first stop of the Red bull X fighters World Tour 2009. FMX riders from eleven nations did battle in the biggest bullfighting ring in the world, with thw winner – a 17 year old debutant Levi Sherwood – completing a lap of honour around the stadium, carried on the fan’s shoulders. Second place went the competitor almost twice his age Japan’s Elgo Sao.

For the fifth time since 2005, the world’s best FMX riders defied gravity and clashed horns at the legendary plaza de toros. The bullfighting theme was present in all aspect of the event, with riders greeted to the arena with drums and fanfare as is the tradition at a corrida, and waving white handkerchiefs in the air to show there satisfaction at the spectacular jumps performed.

New Zealand rookie Levi Sherwood was most successful in taming the fearsome course, comprising of a range of kickers and a huge landing hill. The 17 year old competing is his first ever event on the international FMX circuit, managed to come through the quarter – and semi finals as well as the final itself without picking up any injuries, and bought the crowd to their feet with stunning tricks.

His opponent in the final, Eigo Sato from Japan, could do no more than admit defeat and pay tribute to his slayer. The remaining riders simply looked on with astonishment.

Third place went to Levi’s mentor, defending champion Mat Rebeaud, whom Sherwood, his “apprentice”, had beaten in the semi.

The red bull X – fighters Mexico city final results:

1st Levi Sherwood (NZL)
2nd Eigo Sato (JPA)
3rd Mat Rebeaud (CH)
4th Cameron Sinclair (AUS)
5th Thomas Pages (FRA)
6th – Andre Villa (NOR)
7th – Adam Jones (USA)
8th – Jeff Fehr (CAN)
9th- Dany Torres (ESP)
10th – Petr Pilat (CZE)
11th – Johann Nungary (Mex)

The Red Bull x fighters series is held over five rounds over five continents including: Mexico, Canada, Texas, Spain and London.

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Ericsson 3 wins the fifth volvo stage.

Sweden’s Ericsson 3 captured the fifth and longest stage of the Volvo ocean race from Qingdao to Rio de Janeiro.

Being headed by Swedens Magnus Olsson, it completed the 12,300- mile leg in around 40days and five hours, arriving at Guanabara Bay at 1048GMT on Thursday.

That ended a run of successive stage wins for Spain’s Telefonica Blues, which is now expected to finish last.

Ericsson 4, headed by Torben Grael, will see its overall lead increase if, as expected it finishes second.

Only five of the original eight teams are contesting the stage, Dutch entry Delta Lloyd and Spain’s Telefonica black having skipped the leg, and team Russia provisionally withdrawing from the event.

Telefonica Blues hopes of recording a hat-trick of stage wins were severely dented at the beginning of the month when it broke its forestay off New Zealand.

The Volvo Ocean Race, which began in Alicante, Spain in October, concludes in St Petersburg, Russia, in june after nine months negotiating 10 stages over 37,000 nautical miles.

The next stage will see the teams travel from Rio to Boston and will commence on the 11th of April.

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The O’Neil cold water classic opens up in a solid surf.

The O’Neil Cold water Classic series Launched in style, with Bluff reef putting on a solid display of six to eight waves, showing the incredible potential of this area of Tasmania, in all its beauty. Dustin Holick the Tasmania who showed the rest of the world how these challenging and wild waves should be surfed, achieving a score of 8.33 challenging and wild waves should be surfed, achieving a score of 8.33 off an impressive barrel – and that on his third heat in a row.

Dustin qualified through the local trials, finishing his first heat then paddling back out again for the trial finals, before heading straight out again for the first heat of the competition where he finished top, in front of Jarrad Sullivan.

Watching and Cheering him on from the comfort of the house of Max and Christel – a local couple with a house right on buff who have welcomed the entire crew and surfers – were his friends, and the rest of the Tasmanian support crew.

Although a renowned Shipsterns rider, Dustin is in a awe of the level of surfing currently here in northwest Tasmania.

Among the top surfers here for the O’Neil Cold Water Classic, Tasmania, is former WCT surfer and legend, Cory Lopez, who has been struck by the beauty of this area.

Also eagerly looking forward to his heat tomorrow is the only British surfer of this event, Sam Lamiroy.

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Crashes Mar Stewart’s night as Chad Reed Wins at St.Louis

The Rocklstar, Makita Suzuki’s Chad Reed earned his third win of the 2009 Monster Energy AMA Supercross season in front of 55,815 rabid fans inside St.Louis. Edward Jones Dome and extended his series points lead.

In the AMA Supercross Lites class, GEICO power sports Honda’s Blake Wharton broke through with his first-career victory, ending the stranglehold by monster Energy/pro Circuit Kawasaki.

San Manuel Yamaha’s James Stewart was undoubtedly the fastest rider on the track all night, but found himself on the ground on three separate occasions throughout the evening. The ever-consistent Reed took advantage of his rivals’ misfortune to persevere and take what could be the biggest victory of the season with just five races remaining.

JGRMX / Toyota Yamaha’s Josh Grant led the field through turn one with the holeshot as monster energy / Cernics Kawasaki’s Paul carpenter and boost mobile / AMPM/ Troy Racing Yamaha’s Jason Lawrence followed. Both Chad Reed and James Stewart found themselves inside the top ten but quickly asserted themselves by moving into the top three by the completion of lap 1.

On lap 2, Chad reed made his move on Grant for the lead while Stewart Followed into second. Just two laps later, James Stewart worked by Chad Reed with an impressive move and began gapping the field. In his heat race earlier in the evening, James Stewart crashed on two occasions and snuck into the main event. He experienced similar problems on lap 14 over ending his Motocycle and allowing Chad Reed to get by and steal Victory. James Stewart would hold on for second while Grant brought home third.

Wharton blasted out of the gates in the 15 lap main event to nip Monster Energy/pro circuit Kawasaki’s Austin Stroupe for the holeshot as Rockstar / Makita Suzuki’s Nico Izzi followed in Third. The trio would remain at the front of the pack throughout the remainder of the main. Wharton fended off the advances of Izzi, who slipped past Stroupe on lap one, throughout Stroupe reeled in Izzi on the final lap to take second.

Points leader, Monster Energy / pro Circuit Kawasaki’s Christophe Pourcel suffered from a bad start that placed him in second to last place on lap 1. he would work his way through the field to bring home an impressive fifth place finish and maintain his advantage over team mate Stroupe.

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Anderson Gunning for second TTR World title.

A make or break showdown is imminet for the women on the swatch TTr World snowboard Tour. From March 27th – 29th 2009, the 6star Roxy hicken Jam will grip hold of mammoth mountain, California, where girls will hunt for the final two batches of 1000 TTR ranking points in hope of securing glory.

2007 / 2008 tour champion, Jamie Anderson (USA) could go home with her second consecutive Swatch TTR world title after next Sunday’s slopestyle finals, but a vast field of international talent will ensure that she has come heavy competition to centend with.

Current world No.1 Jamie Anderson has dominated throughout the season and shows little sign of losing her stranglehold on the top spot, with the win of a second consecutive Swatch TTR title, Jamie would be the first rider to claim back to back honours since the TTR’s inception. Jamie domination throughout the season has been characterised by her ability to shred across all contest formats.

Depending on the outcome of the upcoming 6 star Burton Us Open, there are a number of riders with a chance to dethrone Jamie at the Roxy Chicken Jam, Finishing the swatch TTR Top 3 brings with it glory, cash rewards and a guaranteed start in the major events next season. World No.15, kjersti Buaas (NOR) sits lower down the ranking but still has four remaining results for her and of season total. She proved her ability to spet up in slopestyle and halfpipe at the burton European open and is one rider who could snatch th swatch TTR Title from Jamie.

Silvia mittermuelle (GER) moved into the world No.2 spot after 3rd place in the slopestyle at the 5 star Asian open. This powerful performance, combined with a slew of top 5 results, put her in a good position to finish the season strongly.

The Roxy chicken Jam will also provide Czech rookie and world No.4 Sarka Pancochova, with a chance to shine. She has been one of the most talked about newcomes of the season and will be looking to live up to the hype with a top 3 finish. Lisa Wiik (NOR) and Kelly clark (USA) proved their slopestyle and halpipe prowess at the 6 star Burton European Open. And past tour Champion and world No.12 Cheryl Mass (NED) is always a dangerous competitor and will be ready to push the riding level with a big spins and gnarly rail combos.

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Total fight masters return to Grandvilara.

Grandvalira is once again ready to host of the most hotly-anticipated international snowboard events around, the Grandvalira total fight masters freestyle. The freestyle, music and photo festival is about to start its fifth edition.

From March 26 to March 29, Grandvalira will host some of the best riders in the world for this slopestyle race that forms part of the TTR contest circuit. Over 120 riders from several countries will compete at the EL Tarter snowpark, the freestyle hub in southern Europe. They will all strive for the podium and he precious TTR points, not to mention more than 25, 000 Euros in prizes.

Some of the international riders set to participate include Iker Fernandez, marko Grilk and Sani Alibabic of the button team. Argentineans Facu Vial, Rudi Kroell and Michi Stanschitz, fins Jaakko Ruha, Sami Saarenpaa and ville Uotila and Frenchman victor De le Rue and Julien Haricot.

Just like in pervious editions, the public will not only be able to enjoy the professional snowboarding action, but also have fun with the host of afternoon and night activites that complete an incredible festival at El Tarter Snowpark.

Grandvalira total Fight is considered one of the best freestyle races in the Pyrenees, and one of the best throughout Europe, four intense days where freestyle junkies will enjoy an unmatched festival experience night and day – a guaranteed show in the snow.

Also featuring the Grandvalira total fight FotoFestival and Videofestival. These feativals gather a group of talented artists and photographers to showcase their best work, video productions and photos of the season. The festival will also host the music featival featuring select DJ’s and musical artists (to be confirmed at a later stage) as well as many other activites that make this event a must.

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Kirkwood – freeskiers return.

The highly anticipated third stop of the 2009 Freeskiing World Tour (FWT) arrives once again at Kirkwood mountain Resort for the 12th Annual Subaru North American Freeskiing Championships (NAFC). Freeskiing’s elite will battle it out in the sierra snow March 18-22 for the NAFC title cash prize.

Competitors from around the globe will compete for a total prize fund of $20,000, with approximately 150 competitors attending, the current FWT points’ leaders Clif Bennett and Michelle Manning will have their Work cut out for them as they try to hold onto their lead. Also in attendance will be reigning Subaru US Freeskiing Tour Champion crystal Wright, Jacqui Edgerly, crystal-Rose lee, Chris Tatsuno, Kent Hyden, Julien Lope, and Arne Backstorm.

\The proposed venues for qualifing will be on the lookout vista with the finals being held on the forbidden terrain of the Cirque. The permanently closed Cirque offers a variety of untouched tight lines and huge airs. The venue is visible from Devils corral at the base of Vista and the Cirque. As always there is plenty of front row seating to watch the competitors put everything on the line.

The Freeskiing at Kirkwood will take place on March 18 – 22, 2009.

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New Extreme Sport, Pond Skiing!!

A new extreme sports takes to the world, pond skiing without getting wet.

Daniel Rosenbberry has become the first ever winner of the latest extreme sport trend: pond skiing,

Daniel Rosenberry said, “I like doing this because it’s fun. How often do you get to skim across a pond?

Daniel claimed the title after beating out 80 others to became the first contestant to snowboard down a snow covered hill and glide 50 ft across a pond – without getting a single drop on him.

“This year we had our most competitors” said Katrina Gayman organiser of the event, which sees contestants costumes. “I think it’s just fun, and we give them an opportunity to dress up”

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The World first 24th Annual surfest.

For the first time in pro surfing history the 24th annual surfest will feature man on man heats in a world Qualifying series (WQS) event from the round of 64 for men and round of 32 for women.

While two competitors per heat have been a long established format on the elite world tour, WQS events have previously limited their use to finals.

Association of surfing professionals statistics guru Al Hunt, who has been tallying the tables since the birth of pro-surfing, confirmed the Mark Richards pro for men and the Maitland Toyota pro for women will be the first WQS events to use two competitions contest schedule.

The 2008 world number six, Aussie Adrian “Ace” Buchan, is the top male seed in the Mark Richards pro, while 2004 champion Sofia Mulanovich from peru heads the list of women competitors slated to contest the Maitland Toyota Open.

More than 600 competitors from around the world will participate in a wide range of surfing events that include the mark Richards Pro, Maitland Toyota Open, Arnette Pro Junior, Sanbah Cabet Cup, High School team Challenge presented by Classic, Newcastle permanent junior Teams Challenge, Coca cola teams challenge and a Tooheys Extra Dry Expression session.

Action Sports on Wednesday March 11 with the traditional welcoming ceremony from the Awabakal people, closely followed by the Indigenous Classic. The Mark Richards Pro and Maitland Toyota open run from March 18 until March 22.

And on the finals weekend of March 21 and 22 the Hunter wine and waves food and wine festival – now in its third year – will showcase the very best produce from the hunter region while accompanied by live music provided by a wide array of talented musicians.

Surfest makes an important contribution to the region’s economy, and such an input is highly valued contribution in tough economic circumstances. Events NSW CEO Geoff Parmenter said Surfers is an important regional event on the NSW Master Events Calendar generating economic benefits for the state and local community.

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The 2009 WWA Wakeboard world series Schedule revealed.

The world of wakeboarding was excited to hear the new dates and locations for the 2009 WWA wakeboard World series, for the first year in the series’ history, riders from all over the world will travel to 5 events, in 5 separate countries, across 4 continents.

At the culmination of the series, there will be a $20,000 prize fund given to the top 4 riders in the series standings.

The camsur Rider’s cup has quickly become one of the most unique boat events in the world series lineup. It again kicks off the world series for 2009 with a unique lake design that allows for riders to hit double-ups during the middle portion of their run. CamSur Watersports Complex hosts this second annual boat event during the week of the WWA Wake Park World Championships.

Brazil is back in the world series for the 2009 with the Ragga wake world series contest held in Belo Horizonte, Brazil. The Wakeboading scene continues to thrive in South America and the event will also encompass a Brazilian national tour stop as well as all of the top professional riders for the second world series stop of the year.

In its 14th year, the J-round is the third stop of the 2009 wakeboard world series and is bought to you by the JWBA and AWBA, with the backdrop of the Tokyo skyline, the J-round has over 20,000 visitors throughout the weekend, making it the largest wakeboarding spectator event outside north America.

Wakeshock has been part of the WWA Wakeboard World series since it’s conception, coming into the world series 5th year, WakeShock will again bring some of the most progressive and innovative rail designs of any wakeboard contest. Considered as the largets spectator event in the sport, Wakeshock callaborates a music festival, a state of the art pool jam set-up, and other action sports demos throughout the weekend.

The WWA wakeboard World Champioships isa the final stop of the 2009 king of wake series. The king of wake series is an eight-event pro wakeboarding circuit, spanning coast to coast across North America. The world championship is currently an entire year of competition. The WWA Wakeboard world championship brings together all the different spectrums of wake sports through amateur and professional divisions.

2009 WWA Wakeboard World Series dates and locations:

CamSur Rider’s Cup
March 27th – 29th, 2009
CamSur Watersports Complex. Camarines Sur, Philippines.
Ragga Wake World Series
May 15th-17th
Belo Horizonte, Brazil
JWBA J-Round
August 1st – 2nd
Tokyo, Japan
WakeStock
August 7th – 9th, 2009
Ontario, Canada
WWA Wakeboard World Championships
August 27th – 30th, 2009
Orlando, Florida

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