surfworldtour: 2024 LEXUS WSL FINALS -PHOTOS

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LEXUS WSL FINALS - Lower Trestles - San Clemente - California - USA

September 6/14th, 2024

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My first WCT - World Championship Tour of ASP - Association Professional of Surfing -was in 2008, in Vila Beach, Imbituba, Santa Catarina, Brazil.

Then, in 2010 I created my surf blog surfworldtour.blogspot.com, on BLOGGER.COM.

Since 2010, I already went to many competitions, now called CT - Championship Tour - WSL - World Surf League.

That time before 2019, the CT did not have FINALS, the WORLD CHAMPIONS was definided by the FINAL RANKING, at the end of the season, or even before, like the Hawaiian surfer JOHN JOHN FLORENCE(HAW)reached the WORLD TITLE in 2017, in Portugal, before the last stage of CT - Championship in PIPELINE, North SHORE, Oahu, HAWAII.

That time, I wished so much to go to BILLABONG PRO, the last stage of the CT- Championship Tour to work on, filming and taking pictures of the event, like when GABRIEL MEDINA was the first BRAZILIAN WORLD CHAMPION of SURFING in 2014.

Next year, in 2015, the surfer of GUARUJA, SP, Adriano de Souza(BRA) was the WORLD CHAMPION in Pipeline.

In 2017, I created my channel of surf: SURFPROCHANNEL on youtube.com.

In 2018, the Gabriel Medina(BRA) was WORLD CHAMPION for second time.

In 2019, the Brazilian surfer Italo Ferreira(BRA)was the WORLD CHAMPION, in the FINAL against G. Medina(BRA)

In 2020, unfortunately there was no World Championship due to COVID.

In 2021, started the FINALS in the beach of Lower Trestles, San Clemente, California, USA., when GABRIEL MEDINA(BRA) was the first WORLD CHAMPION in this format of competition.

In the next two years 2022 and 2023, the Brazilian surfer Filipe Toledo(BRA) was WORLD CHAMPION two times straight away.

Last year I went to Trestles, San Clemente, to cover my first RIP CURL FINALS, of CT - Championship Tour - WSL - World Surf League, and stayed in Hollywood Boulevard Hotel, in Los Angeles, California, USA.

I really love CALIFORNIA, since a teenager, when watched surf movies in Malibu, Venice, Santa Monica, so on and in HAWAII too, like Pipeline, Waimea, so on.

I studied at San Francisco State University, and I intend to live in that exuberant US state in the next future.

I already visited many surf beaches, in Brazil, in my state, RS - Rio Grande do Sul; Santa Catarina, Sao Paulo, Rio de Janeiro; Trestles, a beautiful beach, with good formation os WAVES, greenish water, but without space between the shore and the sand, like the beaches in Brazil.

2024

This year, 2024, I already have a ticket to Los Angeles, for the end of August, as the FINALS start on September 6th, I arrived here in LAX - Los Angeles Airport on August 27th, late night, and next day, went to the Hotel in Hollywood Boulevard.

My health was OK, but in my state was WINTER, so cold, and arrived here in SUMMER, with hot SUN; unfortunatelly, on Wednesday afternoon, two days before the LEXUS FINAL in San Clemente, I felt so much pain in my tooth "48"; promptly send a e-mail to my dentist in Brazil, and he recommend to take medicines, avoid the SUN, that was so strenghtull here in California.

Because I might have an inflamation and a dental root canal treatment in the toot "48", and consequently had to come back to Brazil.

I will never forget once in 2016, I was working in the surf event in OI RIO PRO in Barra da Tijuca, and had a problem in another tooth, that has broken and bleed at night, exactly after the stage.

In that year of 2016, the competitions in Brazil, started in the beach of GRUMARI, farway of Barra de Tijuca and Recreio de Bandeirantes beaches.

So the WSL - World Surf League made its arrangments to FANS of surfing take a free VAN in Recreio Shopping, otherwise I could had gone anyway; I will never forget because in this ROUND 1 in Grumari Beach, I debuted my SONY hand camera, filming GABRIEL MEDINA on the water.

So in this season, 2024, I started taking the anti inflammatory medicines that I brought from Brazil, on Thursday, and decide not to go to Trestles, because like last YEAR, I should wake up early in the morning, take the TRAIN Pacific Liner, till San Juan de Capistrano, than a BUS, and finally a walking of an hour to reach TRESTLES beach.

By the way, at night of Thursday, one day of the starting of WINDOW in Trestles, I was in my room in the HOTEL in Hollywood Boulevard, when a Canadian Surfer from Vancouver arrived, and said that he was goint to the event in TRESTLES.

His name is Brennan Wilkes, he is a so nice and intelligent person, already went to Brazil, loves surfing, like me, and went to the event in TRESTLES.

I showed him my simple blog of surfing that I have since 2010; and explain him, about my serious problem in my tooth; he soon realized that, went to the EVENT, came back so happy, because he is FAN is John John FLORENCE, and told me that ITALO Ferreira(BRA) surfed very well, won three HEATS before the FINAL.

Next days, he send me by e-mail the photos and videos he shot there in Trestles, and I said that I could post on my blog with all credits to him: BRENNAN WILKES(CAN)

The photos I already did the dowload to post, but the videos I have to convert the files, soon I will POST.

Finally I believe so much in GOD, so in this time that I am here in Los Angeles, I already made some arrangements and contacts, to go to HAWAII, next year, to work in the first 2 events of CT - WSL.

I will back to Brazil in December, if my tooth keep Ok; and will be back next year.

Paulo Piqueres

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2024 LEXUS WSL FINALS - Lower Trestles, San Clemente, California, USA