Some news have more weight than others, and hearing that Hawaiian charger extraordinaire Bethany Hamilton has been invited to surf the 2012 Rip Curl Cup Padang Padang Invitational as a wildcard, was definitely one! As not only is she the first ever female to compete in the Rip Curl Cup but also does so with just one arm and some amazing grace!
“The Rip Curl Cup at Padang Padang is the longest running surf event in Indonesia so I am really stoked to get one of the wildcards,” she said herself. “It should be super sick to just go and surf Padang Padang with three other guys. Even though that is a little intimidating, I am just really excited for one day of epic barrel riding.”
Bethany earned her invitation to the Ultimate Tuberiding Contest based on her solid credentials in big, hollow surf, and her several impressive freesurfing performances out at Padang Padang in recent years. She has also charged the treacherous barrels at Teahupoo in Tahiti, and is a regular at many of the lesser-known heavy reefbreaks near her home on Kauai.
