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Following the ISA 2013 Masters in Ecuador this past April, I hopped on a plane with my good friend Sunny Garcia and headed to Panama to do some exploring. We met up with, Keanu Asing, Kiron Jabour and were hosted by Magnum Martinez and had a magical time. Here I share some memories from our trip, courtesy of our most excellent local surf guide and photographer: Richy Arosemena. To read my full post on our trip to Panama, visit The Huffington Post. Check out some great footage of the trip here on ESPN. Sunny – a grasshopper taking a liking to Sunny.

What a blessed day to pay it forward, show gratitude, and educate the youth about breast cancer prevention. Donate some money and ride a wave for the love of boobies! As surfers, sisters, daughters, lovers and mothers.. we support Keep A Breast and Cancer Prevention. Please help us raise needed funds for one of our favorite charities! WE LOVE BOOBIES!! Make a donation to @keepabreast for #Give2Educate10. Just $2 helps educate 10 about #breastcancer! Me Ke Aloha, Rochelle GIVE 2 EDUCATE 10 – HELP RAISE $100K TO EDUCATE HALF A MILLION PEOPLE ABOUT BREAST CANCER! 1 in 8 women will be diagnosed with breast cancer in her lifetime. Out of all cases of breast cancer, 1 in 233 occur in women age 39 and younger. For young people age 39 and under, breast cancer screening, education, and prevention methods are…

AUSTRALIA, BRAZIL, FRANCE, HAWAII, JAPAN AND SOUTH AFRICA SENDING POWERHOUSE TEAMS TO THE 2013 ISA WORLD MASTERS SURFING CHAMPIONSHIP IN ECUADOR Powerhouse National Teams from Australia, Brazil, France, Hawaii, Japan and South Africa have confirmed their surfers who will be traveling to Ecuador for the 2013 ISA World Masters Surfing Championship (WMSC) from April 6-14. National Delegations from every corner of the globe are getting ready to compete in the warm water and perfect right-hand point-break waves of Montañita, Ecuador for the Eduardo Arena Perpetual Team Trophy and individual Gold Medals. The defending Team Champion, Hawaii, will be returning with an All-Star lineup featuring 2012’s Grand Masters (over 40) Gold Medalist and 2000 ASP World Tour Champion Sunny Garcia and former ASP World Tour standout Kalani Robb. Garcia will be looking to defend his Gold Medal in the Grand Masters…

SOLID WAVES CONTINUE WHILE THE FIRST FINALISTS ARE CONFIRMED Day 5 of the ISA World Masters Surfing Championship was greeted with a beautiful sunny morning and over-head waves at the perfect right hand point-break in Montañita, located in the province of Santa Elena, Ecuador. Both the Grand Kahunas and Women’s Masters have confirmed the first finalists of the event: Layne Beachley (AUS) and Rochelle Ballard (HAW) for the Women’s Masters, and Allen Sarlo (USA) and Craig Schieber (CRC) in the Grand Kahuna’s. They will be joined by two surfers, who will advance through the Repechage. “What an amazing day of competition,” remarked ISA President Fernando Aguerre. “The combination of the increase in swell and the high performance surfing by the world’s best Masters, delivered a very exciting day. The World Championship is only getting more thrilling as we reach the last…

ANOTHER BEAUTIFUL SUNNY DAY IN MONTAÑITA WITH CHALLENGING SURF CONDITIONS The world’s best over 35 year old Men and Women surfers put on incredible performances during Day 3 of the ISA World Masters Surfing Championship on the perfect right hand point-break waves in Montañita, Ecuador. It was a beautiful sunny day in the South American country that sits right on the equator, with the gorgeous Galapagos Islands offshore. Surf conditions were challenging with a slight drop in swell to about 3-4 feet with occasional head-high sets. The tides were extreme, with an early morning low tide, which made for strategic surfing as the waves were breaking in sections, and not the long walls the surfers had become accustomed to over previous days. The surfers had to be in the right position to stay in the most critical parts of the…

Amazing conditions continued during Day 2 of the 2013 ISA World Masters Surfing Championship with 4-6 feet waves in beautiful Montañita, Ecuador. Day 2 featured the opening rounds of the Kahunas (over 45), Grand Kahunas (over 50), Women’s Masters (over 35), and Qualifying 2 of the Masters (over 35) and Grand Masters (over 40). Australia’s Layne Beachley was on fire today scoring a near perfect heat with a 19.87, including the contest’s first perfect 10-point ride. Beachley’s back up score was a 9.87. The 2011 ISA Women’s Masters Champion and 7x ASP World Tour Champion easily defeated Andrea Lopes (BRA, 11.27), Heather Clark (ZAF, 9.80) and Veronique Hayon (FRA, 4.16). “The waves were amazing today and the performance level from the world’s best Masters was just as good,” said ISA President Fernando Aguerre. “The camaraderie on the beach between all…

Thousands of people gathered to watch the parade. Flags from all the country’s representing were raised, sand from each country poured into the same sand box, and Fernando, President of the ISA always in festive pants and Hawaiian Kukui Nut lei’s, embracing the love of the sport and bettering the future of surfing in all levels The first day starts tomorrow. Today, sunny, blue sky’s, new south swell hitting the coast. Kalani, Sunny, and I went down the coast for a little get away in search of a sweet sand bar. It’s great surfing and hanging out for a contest again with Sunny and Kalani. We spent so many years traveling on tour together, it’s been good catching up and having some good laughs. Sand bars didn’t show much potential, but the drive was beautiful lush coast line. We decided…

I was recently profiled in the Honolulu Star Advertiser for the upcoming Wanderlust Festival. Rochelle Ballard, International Surfing Association World Masters Champion and arguably the world’s best female tube rider, has carved out a name for herself riding big waves in barreling conditions. However, these days, there’s a chance that you’ll see her using her physical prowess to find the stillness in Oahu’s fabled North Shore waters. Since retiring from professional surfing in 2007, Ballard has become a full-time yogi and is part of a growing trend of athletes who are combining these vastly different sports.

Aethic Sôvée is the first sunscreen in the world to be awarded the prestigious Marine Positive Certificate. Many resorts that depend on coral reefs for many of their visitors now understand the importance of protecting this vital foundation of the marine ecosystem and have banned the use of sunscreens that are not bio-degradable. However bio-degradable is not enough. Many of these biodegradable sunscreens, although they might dilute and disperse in water, still contain ingredients that can trigger a fatal virus in live coral which can decimate a reef. Aethic has gone one further, investing in a unique patent-pending eco-compatible formula of its own, proven completely safe for both corals and clams. This is the formula of Sôvée, the world’s first sunscreen to be certified Marine Positive. Me and my surfer girlfriends have been using it the last two weeks. It smells good,…

Nicaragua ISA World Masters Surfing Championship Saturday, July 21, 2012 Colorado Beach at Hacienda Iguana, Nicaragua The much-anticipated big swell finally arrived on Day 7 of the Nicaragua ISA World Masters Surfing Championship. Just a slight change in swell direction made a significant difference in the conditions at Colorado Beach at Hacienda Iguana, with long, clean barrels being ridden nearly every heat. The Women’s Masters (over-35) took to the water and the action continued to be fast-paced and exciting. Rochelle Ballard (HAW) came out of back-to-back barrels and had the field in the combination situation just minutes into the heat. She won handily, with a score of 14.17, qualifying for the Grand Final, along with Lucia Gil (ARG), the first ever Argentinean woman to be in the final of an ISA World Championship. “It was fun now that the waves…

NICARAGUA’S TOURISM MINISTER WELCOMES THE SURFING WORLD TO THE ISA WORLD MASTERS SURFING CHAMPIONSHIP Nicaragua ISA World Masters Surfing Championship Friday, July 13, 2012 Colorado Beach at Hacienda Iguana, Nicaragua For the first time since 1994, a world championship is set to commence in Nicaragua: the ISA World Masters Surfing Championship. During the official press conference at the Hilton Princess in Managua on Friday morning – one day prior to the Opening Ceremony – Mario Salinas, the country’s Minister of Tourism, expressed his enthusiasm for what the event will mean to the country now and into the future. “We have discovered the potential that this country holds for this sport and its tourism. We have studied and we know now that our waves are perfect, some of the best in the world, which means that we have an amazing future…