- WSL / Nate Lawrence
- WSL / Nate Lawrence

The allure of surfing perfect Padang Padang on Bali is very tempting for many of the world's best surfers who aren't on the Championship Tour. Bali's big event on the calendar is the Rip Curl Cup Padang Padang, a specialty event (it offers no QS or CT points) with a month-long waiting period. Not surprisingly, it attracts world-class talent. This year Tom Curren, Mason Ho, Bruce Irons, Clay Marzo, Jacob Willcox, Jack Robinson, Garut Widiarta, and Lee Wilson are among those expected to compete.

With a fresh swell landing in Bali this weekend, and more approaching the region, ground crews from Rip Curl are getting things ready.

Rio Waida Indonesian young gun Rio Waida is this year's local wildcard. - WSL

Rip Curl Asia's on-site events team met earlier this week on the Bukit peninsula -- on the southern tip of Bali -- and analyzed the Surfline forecast from every angle, watching this weekend's swell and another, potentially bigger one, for next weekend. The call was made to not run this week, but to test all the event site structures, webcast and crew in preparation for a green light next weekend.

"This was the best Padang swell to hit Bali during the waiting period thus far," said Rip Curl Southeast Asia's James Hendy, "But because of a variety of factors we were skeptical that this swell would provide enough size over a full day of competition, and that's exactly how it played out today. It's going to take a truly epic swell for us to give the green light to run the Rip Curl Cup. We're hoping that the swell on the charts for next week is the one were looking for."

Radita Rondi Raditya Rondi getting plenty of tube time in the expression session. - WSL

"That's the beauty of a month-long waiting period in prime swell season," said defending champ Mega Semadhi. "We can take our time and wait for the perfect swell. We're in no rush."

Garut Widiarta Garut Widiarta showing as much style on the face as he does in the tube. - WSL
Rip Curl Cup Padang Padang Expression Session
In the lead up to the event being called ON the locals his the Padang Padang line-up to prepare for this year's event.

The event will be broadcast LIVE on WorldSurfLeague.com and www.ripcurl.com.au

Check out the latest forecast here.

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