Dimity Stoyle and Cannelle Bulard qualify for quarter-finals of Estoril Surf & Music Billabong Girls Pro
Australia’s Dimity Stoyle prevailed in the second heat of Estoril Surf & Music Billabong Girls Pro’s round of 12 (Round 4) on Saturday, June 11th, at Praia do Guincho beach in Estoril, Portugal.
She clinched the win by defeating her compatriot Rebecca Woods as well as Reunion’s Cannelle Bulard in a three-way battle. Bulard did however manage to extend her life in the competition by finishing in second place and consequently getting her place in
the next stage of the competition confirmed. Woods, on the other hand, finished at the bottom and had to face elimination.
Stoyle had been quite consistent on the first day of the competition despite the difficult surfing conditions. Her performance had been nothing short of impressive as she got through the first three rounds. She had a good enough reason to feel confident
before mounting her board in the fourth heat to face her competition.
As it turned out, the conditions turned out to be far too demanding during the heat, with tides becoming really low and strong cross shore winds blowing at the primary event site. The Australian surfer seemed to be having a miserable time in the sea, failing
to catch waves. However, she eventually broke free of the shackles to catch a couple of waves, scoring 6.00 points off the first one and soon following it up with a 6.25-point wave.
The heat-total of 12.25 points proved to be more than sufficient to get her the first position. The successful result qualified her for the quarter-final.
Bulard had barely managed to survive the third round and once again managed to avoid the elimination list by clinching the second position. Catching a wave almost mid-way through the heat, she scored 6.35 points off and added another 3.90 points to her account
in the final moments of the heat to finish with a two-wave total of 10.25 points. The effort paid off well for her, keeping her alive in the event title race.
Woods apparently became a victim of challenging surfing conditions. She did not look comfortable out in the sea and only managed to surf a few waves. The better of these waves earned her 3.60 and 4.40 points to make her final score 8.00 points. As a result,
she was eliminated from the contention for the event title.
The Estoril Surf & Music Billabong Girls Pro is the fifth of seven stops on 2011 Association of Surfing Professionals (ASP) Star events.
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