DANE REYNOLDS AWARDED FIJI PRO WILDCARD One of the world's favorite freesurfers is about to don (his first in a decade) jersey at Cloudbreak By Jake Howard

Published: May 26, 2015

May 26, 2015 Views: 4,545







DANE REYNOLDS AWARDED FIJI PRO WILDCARD Dane Reynolds was just awarded wildcard into upcoming Fiji Pro. And everyone's stoked..





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Related The only thing better than watching Dane surf crappy, onshore Ventura is watching him surf flawless, overhead Cloudbreak. This will be the first time surf fans will see Reynolds compete in Fiji in a decade. (He won the trials in 2004 and ended up with a 33rd in that event.) Photo: Grambeau/A-Frame

Fijian tubehound Aca Ravulo snagged the other wildcard into the men's event with this ultralong drainer a few weeks back in the local trials. See the sequence here. Photo: Scott Winer



It's true.



After a brief paternity leave, this will be Reynolds’ second event of the 2015 tour season. He surfed the Quiksilver Pro Gold Coast at the start of March, but failed to make it out of Round 2 (losing to Fanning). As for his career results at Cloudbreak, he competed as a wildcard in 2004 after winning the trials, but ended up with a 33rd. In 2008, Reynolds’ rookie year, he withdrew from the Globe Pro Fiji after contracting a Staph infection in Tahiti and doctors advised him not to travel. From 2009 until 2012 the contest at Tavarua went on hiatus, and by the time it was reinstated Reynolds had walked away from full-time competition.



With the start of the men’s event nearly two weeks away, the preliminary After a brief paternity leave, this will be Reynolds’ second event of the 2015 tour season. He surfed the Quiksilver Pro Gold Coast at the start of March, but failed to make it out of Round 2 (losing to Fanning). As for his career results at Cloudbreak, he competed as a wildcard in 2004 after winning the trials, but ended up with a 33rd. In 2008, Reynolds’ rookie year, he withdrew from the Globe Pro Fiji after contracting a Staph infection in Tahiti and doctors advised him not to travel. From 2009 until 2012 the contest at Tavarua went on hiatus, and by the time it was reinstated Reynolds had walked away from full-time competition.With the start of the men’s event nearly two weeks away, the preliminary long-range forecast for the women's event, which starts on May 31st, is optimistic. "The reputable longer-range guidance develops a fairly strong low in the Tasman Sea mid next week. If this comes to pass it would deliver rising SW swell for the end of the waiting period of the women's event,” reports Surfline forecaster Schaler Perry. “Swell period would be shorter than a series of the previous long period swells earlier in the week, making it more favorable for Restaurants with size trending up there and easing for Cloudbreak. This is around a week out from actually materializing, so exact timing/size cannot be said with high confidence."



Along with Reynolds, it was also announced that WSL World Junior Champion Mahina Maeda will receive the wildcard into the women’s side of the event, which begins on June 1. She will face Carissa Moore and Johanne Defay in Round 1. The forecast for the women is promising with swell increasing from head-high to nearly double overhead at Cloudbreak throughout the first few days of their waiting period.



(Editor's note: this article was updated on May 27th to reflect the fact that Reynolds had indeed competed in Fiji before, in the 2004 event as a wildcard.)



Fiji Women’s Pro Round 1 Match-Ups:



Heat 1: Sally Fitzgibbons (AUS), Bianca Buitendag (ZAF), Nikki Van Dijk (AUS)

Heat 2: Stephanie Gilmore (AUS), Tatiana Weston-Webb (HAW), Alessa Quizon (HAW)

Heat 3: Carissa Moore (HAW), Johanne Defay (FRA), Mahina Maeda (HAW)

Heat 4: Courtney Conlogue (USA), Silvana Lima (BRA), Sage Erickson (USA)

Heat 5: Tyler Wright (AUS), Coco Ho (HAW), Laura Enever (AUS)

Heat 6: Lakey Peterson (USA), Malia Manuel (HAW), Dimity Stoyle (AUS)



Fiji Pro Round 1 Match-Ups:



Heat 1: Taj Burrow (AUS), Sebastian Zietz (HAW), Dusty Payne (HAW)

Heat 2: Josh Kerr (AUS), Jeremy Flores (FRA), Brett Simpson (USA)

Heat 3: John John Florence (HAW), Kolohe Andino (USA), C.J. Hobgood (USA)

Heat 4: Filipe Toledo (BRA), Matt Banting (AUS), Alejo Muniz (BRA)

Heat 5: Mick Fanning (AUS), Wiggolly Dantas (BRA), Dane Reynolds (USA)

Heat 6: Adriano de Souza (BRA), Adrian Buhan (AUS), Aca Ravulo (FJI)

Heat 7: Kelly Slater (USA), Miguel Pupo (BRA), Glenn Hall (IRL)

Heat 8: Gabriel Medina (BRA), Jadson Andre (BRA), Adam Melling (AUS)

Heat 9: Owen Wright (AUS), Matt Wilkinson (AUS), Keanu Asing (HAW)

Heat 10: Nat Young (USA), Italo Ferreira (BRA), Fredrick Patacchia (HAW)

Heat 11: Julian Wilson (AUS), Joel Parkinson (AUS), Kai Otton (AUS)

Heat 12: Jordy Smith (ZAF), Bede Durbidge (AUS), Ricardo Christie (NZL)

Dane Reynolds has received a wildcard into the upcoming Fiji Pro. With the release of the heat draw the new father finds himself seeded into Round 1 against Mick Fanning and Wiggolly Dantas.“At events where the wildcard is not spoken for through the event sponsorship, the allocation responsibility falls to the Commissioner's Office,” explained WSL VP of Communications Dave Prodan. “Commissioner Kieren Perrow opted to award the Fiji Pro Wildcard to the former World No. 4 under the belief that his presence would enhance the performance levels of the world's best surfers.”