Rip Curl Padang Cup on High Alert starting today 7/28/13

The 2013 Rip Curl Cup Invitational at Padang Padang has gone on "High Alert" for the first time in the waiting period.
A large Indian Ocean swell forecast to hit Bali on Sunday, July 28th had competitors and contest directors flirting with the idea of running of the Ultimate Tuberiding Contest this weekend. While this weekend's impending swell is the largest swell so far to flare up during the event's six-week waiting period (July 1st - August 15th), contest officials stress that it is still highly unlikely it will be consistent enough to run the ten-year anniversary of the Rip Curl Cup.
"This storm is unusual," said Magic Seaweed Head Forecaster Ben Freeston. "It's small and relatively weak, but so close by comparison to a typical winter season Indo swell that it'll arrive at a size that's right on the edge of the standard set by previous competition. It's proximity made an early call tricky, but it also means this swell will arrive and leave far more quickly than a normal southern ocean winter blast, offering some great surf but over a very limited window either side of an overnight peak."
Many of the 32 invited surfers - 16 of Indonesia's best and 16 of the world's top tube riders - are already in Bali waiting to catch this swell. The rest, including defending champion Chris Ward (USA), Kekoa Bacalso (Hawaii), Jacob Willcox (Australia) and more will be descending on Bali this week to take advantage of this promising swell.
"The swell is looking pretty good for Padang," said invitee Kevin Bourez (Tahiti), who has been staying at the Rip Curl Team House in Uluwatu. "I think there will be some fun waves at Padang but there's only a small chance they will run the contest on Monday. But even if we don't run Monday the waves will still be pumping somewhere on the island and we will still be getting barreled."
Many of the surfers in the contest have made alternate plans in the event the contest doesn't run on this swell. Flights have been booked, cars are packed and ready to go on a swell hunt, and plenty of insane freesurfing will still go down at Padang Padang even if conditions on Sunday/Monday aren't consistent enough to run the ten-year anniversary of the Ultimate Tuberiding Contest.
Stay tuned to live.ripcurl.com for the latest contest call, including a live global webcast if the contest is given the green light, and complete coverage of the freesurfing and swell hunting in Indo by all the invited surfers if the contest remains on standby.