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Welcome to the 32nd Edition of The Bodyboard Report! 🤙
A quick one today as I waited till bedtime here in Mossel Bay watching the epic finals day of the Frontón King.
Boogie Bok is the World Champ, but missed out on the chance of taking my ultimate, self-invented, super boss title of “El King Champ” in the dying 5 seconds of his semifinal heat against Armide Soliveres.
This was Armide’s day, but Tristan still swings a big banana… Bok style… 😉
And while we’re talking big guns, I see Top Gun’s Maverick in Hawaii’s young gun Davey Anderson. 👇
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Long live the kings 👑
13 days on the board and 6 days of competition.
There were 128 riders from 15 countries, and sets of up to 6ft.
The final day at El Frontón was today and the last wave of the 2026 world tour season belonged to a local.
Armide Soliveres is the 2026 Frontón King. 🍌
He battled Gran Canaria resident and legend, the 4 x Frontón King Amaury Lavernhe, in an epic, nailbiting showdown for the ultimate privilege of hoisting the bananas, a symbolic crown worth its literal weight in gold.
In 2024 Armide was crowned world champion at Sintra, the first Spaniard ever to win the title.
Today, about 30 mins since I started writing this, the world watched with elation as Armide proudly lifted over 60kg of bananas over his head on his own island, in front of his people, at the demanding wave that decides world titles.
For good measure, King Armide popped a couple squats and then dropped the bananas like a mic. The crowd loved it, and so did I. 💪
There is no bigger stage in our sport, and King Armide the 1st, he owned it.
Here’s to you, your majesty! 🍻
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The prince of the juniors 🌱
Damiano Bonazzi grew up in Tenerife.
He knocked out defending champ Louka Zaninotto in the semis, getting sweet revenge for last year.
Davey Anderson came all the way from Hawaii and stole hearts with his powerful, brazen approach that screams “rebel without a cause” - And I love it! 🤙
Davey even threw in a shredder of a drop knee yesterday for good measure, knocking “part of the furniture” IBC commentator Begoña Martínez off her proverbial seat.
“Hey, boy! You’re in the big leagues! Act like it!” one thinks instinctively, and then it just evaporates as Davey manages to remind us all of the rebel inside.
Like Maverick climbing that mountain 🛩️ without permission just to show the big dogs how to really drop a bomb. 🤙
Damiano Bonazzi from Italy is the 2026 Junior World Champion.
And so you know, Tristan won the Junior world title in 2014.
Just look where he is now. 👇
The king of kings 👑🌊
Tristan Roberts gave new meaning to the term “Arc Flex” today with a super back flip! 🤙
In my subconcious I’m contemplating if it’s possible to bend a piece of PVC pipe like a horse shoe, and somehow swallow it. (I have given up shoving it up my… never mind…)
Twisted Tristan won the Red Bull Banana Challenge for the biggest move!
Check out the imagery! 👆
By now you know he’s a 3 x World Champ.
What you might not know is why El Frontón means so much to the Hermanus local.
He first took on The Beast when he was 12.
All 3 of his world titles, in 2019, 2022 and now 2026, were decided on this unforgiving volcanic slab in Gáldar.
In an interview with Canarias7 this week, Tristan shared something personal.
His father passed away in 2016, while he was on Gran Canaria.
“It’s a place I carry in my heart,” he said.
“Sometimes I feel like I have an angel on my shoulder.”
(Looking at that backflip, I agree…)
When he clinched the title on Monday, Tristan didn’t celebrate alone.
Two of his childhood friends carried him up the cliff on their shoulders.
And waiting at the top was his mom, his biggest fan since he was a grom in Hermanus.
What would we be without our mothers? 💖
He dedicated the title to her.
“I felt a huge sense of gratitude,” he said, and he thanked the Heavenly Father.
Tristan called 2026 the most dominant season of his career, but he was quick to add that luck plays a part, and that next year will be “completely different.”
Considering the events of today, that is absolutely true, as King Armide snagged a winning wave with less than 5 seconds on the clock!
When asked about a 4th title, Tristan kept it short.
“We’ll try.” (Which is South African for “Hold my beer…” 😉 )
He told a crowd at Voëlklip (Let’s go with “Bird Rock”) in February that the goal is 5.
I think if you consider his next level skill, age only 29, and the good 10… 15 years left in TR… it is the GT marker that glistens on the horizon…🤙
Time will tell…
The season in one breath 🌊
The world tour ran through Morocco, Antofagasta, Itacoatiara and Sintra, with the Wahine in Brazil for the women, the Maldives, Mexico and a junior Rising Series that went from Australia to Peru.
Today it all ended on the biggest, baddest slab beneath an ancient royal capital.
It sure was an awesome day for bodyboarding!
The kings for 2026:
🏆 World Champion: Tristan Roberts 🇿🇦
🌸 Women’s World Champion: Namika Yamashita 🇯🇵
🌱 Junior World Champion: Damiano Bonazzi 🇮🇹
🍌 Frontón King: Armide Soliveres 🇪🇸
🎬 Red Bull Banana Challenge / Biggest Move: Tristan Roberts 🇿🇦
Shout out to the IBC for a grand event.
Highlights should be out on YouTube / IBC on Friday.
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Wrapping up this session...
What a great season for our sport!
Right now the bananas have been handed out, the closing party lands on Halloween, and The Beast goes back to sleep… and so do I.
Cheers to 2026! 🤙
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