Wednesday, November 21, 2001
Waves give, bringing in a flush of water. Ballard looking for barrel
in surfing and life’s workIrons shines in winning G-Shock Hawaiian Pro
Hawaii longboarders advance in BearEditor's note: This is the first in a series of feature articles on the five highly rated Hawaii pro surfers who have a shot at the world title going into the tour's season-ending men's and women's events.By Nick Abramo
nabramo@starbulletin.comWaves take, breaking and pushing that water back out to sea.
And so it goes with Hawaii's Rochelle Ballard, whose give-and-take dynamic is much bigger than everyday surfing.
Lately, it's been a surge of "take" for Ballard, who has a real shot at the Association of Surfing Professionals World Championship Tour title.
But her "give" the last several years has been extraordinary.
Ballard and some others on the tour have been driving forces behind the building of International Women's Surfing, a non-profit group dedicated to fostering the growth of the sport.
While giving selflessly of her time and energy to the organization, Ballard competed on the rigorous world tour, but found she couldn't concentrate fully on it.
"Particularly last year, I was focusing more on helping the sport grow than I was on my surfing," Ballard said.
This year, she has put more time into her competitive surfing, and she can't wait until the Billabong Girls season-ending event (Nov. 26-Dec. 7 at Honolua Bay, Maui) that will decide the world champion.
"I have nothing to lose and everything to gain," Ballard said. "Because I've had such a wonderful career, I can never say I didn't win. I've already won. If I can come out with the world title, the hugest of my dreams will be completed. I will have had 100 percent of my dreams come true, and not many people can say that."
Ballard grew up on Kauai and now lives on Oahu with her husband, Bill Ballard. She is tied for second on the tour with Melanie Redman of Australia, just a smidgen behind three-time defending world champion Layne Beachley, another Australian. There are four others not too far back who also have a shot at the world title, including Hawaii's Megan Abubo and Keala Kennelly, Australia's Serena Brooke and Brazil's Tita Tavares.
Ballard's career high year-end rank is No. 4, but she got as high as No. 2 for most of 1999 before falling back a few notches.
The 30-year-old Hawaii wahine has also gotten a chance to experience the spiritual side of the sport more this year.
Instead of traveling the world for contests only, Ballard found some quality free-surfing time.
She went to Indonesia for the OP Boat Challenge competition, but she did lots of soul surfing on the trip with Kennelly, Brooke and Beachley.
"We got some epic waves and we surfed our brains out, and we all talked about the world title and agreed that whoever loses can't be bummed," Ballard said.
She also "scored" in Tahiti on a month-long trip.
During the first part of the Tahiti trip, Ballard was with Abubo and fellow ASP surfers Jodie Nelson and Holly Beck for a Surfing Girl magazine shoot. The second part, she was with Kennelly and Beachley for the shooting of a sequence in "Liquid," which is the third installment of the "Endless Summer" series and is being filmed by Bruce Brown's son, Dana Brown.
"This spot was just going off ... and we went outside ... and about 30 feet away, this hugest of whales leaped its entire body out of the water and was flapping its tail and waving --and ... (the whale) did it twice," Ballard said.
"It was only the three of us in some perfect, playful waves, with this huge crew and a helicopter above us."
A few days before that, Ballard did some tow-in surfing for the first time and was towed into what she called some of the "biggest, gnarliest barrels" she's ever been in.
"Being in Tahiti for a month, I got to feel what it's like to go back in time and experience what Hawaii used to be like, with real huts and shacks" she said.
"The aloha, the people, the food and the waves were enjoyable. I kept sinking and melting into the lifestyle. It wasn't like most trips where you get there, and after a little while, you just want to come home."
The surf trips were a needed balance in her life.
"Sometimes, you get jaded to it all and frustrated at the whole ups and downs of winning and losing," she said. "It's a bad relationship for your surfing if you're always mad at your board or yourself. Getting away on surf trips helps you enjoy and remember everything that you love about surfing."
And she has a chance to go full bore with the give-and-take dynamic: "Take" the women's world title, then "give" more of herself than ever before as a trailblazer in her sport.
That's what you call getting totally "barreled" in your life's work.
Tomorrow: Sunny Garcia
Billabong Girls
Who: Top women's pro surfersWhat: Season-ending Association of Surfing Professionals World Championship Tour event
Where: Honolua Bay, Maui
When: Nov. 26 to Dec. 7
Extra reason to watch: The 2001 women's world champion will be crowned
Hotline: 596-SURF
Web site: triplecrownofsurfing.com
ASP ratings
Women's World Championship Tour leaders: 1. Layne Beachley, Australia, 1,300 points; 2. (tie) Rochelle Ballard, Hawaii, 1,270; 2. (tie) Melanie Redman, Australia, 1,270; 4. Megan Abubo, Hawaii, 1,150; 5. (tie) Keala Kennelly, Hawaii, 1,090; 5. (tie) Serena Brooke, Australia, 1,090; 5. (tie) Tita Tavares, Brazil, 1,090; 8. Jacqueline Silva, Brazil, 930.International Women's Surfing:
>> Encourages the formation of surf clubs
>> Creates regional surfing circuits for young girls
>> Supports female surfers of all ages and abilities
>> Contributes resources to environmental causes, breast cancer research and cultural preservation in Hawaii and elsewhere
>> Will soon have a Web site -- womenssurfing.org
>> Is looking for new members and donations
>> Can be reached by e-mailing hollybeck27@hotmail.com