Smith: finals of the Rip Curl Pro Banzai
October 30 was the last day of the Italian surfing championship held at Banzai, Santa Marinella, with the participation of Italy's strongest athletes. The RIP CURL PRO BANZAI 2008 presented by SMITH OPTICS was the fifth and final stage of the national circuit at the best surfing resorts in Liguria, Sardinia, Tuscany and Lazio. 
The competition began at about 9.15 am with the round for the last sixteen and the atmosphere warmed up immediately with the elimination of some of Lazio's best known athletes: Alessandro Rigliaco, Massimiliano Pavone, Federico Vanno, Andrea Bonfili and Gianluca Dionisi.
The waves were difficult to dominate because of the strong wind, but the physically stronger participants were quickly able to ride the current and get onto the central peak for the best wave of the set. After a tough battle and spectacular performances, Lazio athletes Marco Ranaldi, Roberto D'Amico, Eugenio Barcelloni, Simone Cianflone, Alessandro Marcianò and Davide Pulvirenti reached the quarterfinals. At the request of all the participants still in the competition, the contest director decided to extend the regulation 15 minutes for each heat to 20 minutes, which allowed each athlete to take at least 4/5 waves and play whatever cards they had. Pulvirenti and Cianflone tried to hold on to their supremacy among the athletes from Tuscany, but dropped out of the semifinal along with Angelo Bonomelli from Liguria and Alessandro Piu from Sardinia. The final was fought by athletes from Tuscany who were very familiar with Santa Marinella because they had taken part in previous editions of this important competition.
In the meantime, women also competed to stay in the competition and Valentina D'Azzeo, Elena Bertolini, Greta Dalle Luche and Alessandra Mauri reached the finals. Also here, athletes from Lazio were in the majority, with only one Tuscan competing against three from Lazio. The well-deserved winner was Bertolini (Rome) who managed to take 2 very big waves and gained the points needed to win. Mauri (Cerenova) came in second and was on the podium again, while Dalle Luche from Tuscany came in third and was on the podium at Banzai for the first time. Fourth place went to D'Azzeo, who had already won the title of Italian champion at an early competition.
The wind increased with gusts of up to 30 knots, but perfect organization from all points of view by the Santa Marinella surf club allowed the competition to continue without stops. Beside the judges platform there were various stands where the athletes and the public could relax on comfortable Coca Cola Zero poufs, have free SHARK energy drinks, take photos of SHARK's funky Quad or try out the new INDOBOARD models in an area of over 28 meters facing the sea. Great work by the jury headed by Graziano Lai and by all the other judges, but great work also by all the staff of the SM surf club captained by Danilo Conte. The moment came for the men's finals and everyone waited to see who would be the new RIP CURL PRO BANZAI 2008 champion.
The men's finals were the highlight of the day and they were watched by large numbers of photographers, video operators and the public. The four finalists dove into a strong sea to fight for the championship. Alessio Poli started immediately with his feisty style that always gets the most out of the best waves. Behind him came Francesco Palattella and Iacopo Conti in an almost surreal sequence, each one with his own wave and different style… it was pure show! The last to set off was Nicola Bresciani, two-time champion at Banzai, but he didn't appear to be in top form, probably because of built up tiredness during the heats. While the wind roared continuously, it was a succession of waves and high surf for twenty minutes without interruption. The winner was Poli followed by Conti, who in any case won the championship, Bresciani was third and Palattella was fourth.
Surrounded by the public, all the finalists were on the central podium to receive showers of prizes including 2,000 euro in cash, dozens of Rip Curl products - Semente Surfboards - Smith Optics - SHARK energy drink - Indoboard, free accommodation at the COCOLINDO surf resort in Brazil, and fantastic olivewood trophies made by G.B. Armillei.
