Matt Wilkinson

Two weeks at Bali's non-stop surf parties. | No Contest

Bali is a non-stop high performance party and everyone's invited. It's no secret that the surfing world is head-over-heels in love with the Indonesian island of Bali, but why? Our latest instalment of No Contest investigates, with the help of a few famous friends.
The Balinese leg of surfing's world tour was always going to be an event and a half after sharks forced the cancellation of the Margaret River contest and the world tour decided to finish proceedings at Uluwatu, at the conclusion of the Keramas competition. Confused? Don't worry, most people were, till they realised it all added up to more time in The Island Of The Gods, and order was restored.
Indonesia has been a surfing rite of passage since the late 1970s, the Indian Ocean's answer to the Pacific mecca of Hawaii. Competition has been sporadic however, thanks to a combination of political unrest and surf industry decline. From the Om Bali Pro in the '80s, to an incredible few years at Grajagan in Java, and a couple of brief dalliances in Bali this millennium, events have come and gone with the tide, but it seems now things have finally changed for the best.
The high performance righthander of Keramas, on Bali's East coast, has been reinstated as a permanent venue on the world tour, and the guys and girls of the Top 34 and 17 couldn't be happier about it. Posting up at the incredible Komune Resort, where perfect waves gatecrash pool parties every day, this was an event for the books, and Red Bull's Jacob Wooden and Stab's Dylan Roberts were there to record the best of it.
Nate Lawrence provided the stills, and what you see here is the result of the crew's incredible haul from two weeks in the tropics, starring our elite team of Carissa Moore, Kolohe Andino, Julian Wilson, Michel Bourez, Caroline Marks, Adriano de Souza and Jordy Smith. Don't just take our word for it, though. Hit play now and enjoy the best of Bali, and let's see if one of the squad can take a win as competition rolls on up the Bukit Peninsula to Uluwatu.