Powerful five-foot sets stormed across the Padang reef as the tide began to drop from the afternoon high, but contest directors and invited surfers agreed that the waves were neither big enough nor consistent enough – nor was the brief tide window long enough – to run both the men’s and women’s divisions of the 20-Year Anniversary of the Rip Curl Cup Padang Padang presented by Samudera Indonesia.

Instead, with most of the international invited surfers already in Bali for this “red light swell,” the elite crew of world-class barrel riders surfed in three separate groups out at Padang Padang, each session lasting one hour. No judging. No scores. No priority. Just a handful of the world’s best tube specialists and the top Padang Padang locals pushing the limits of how deep a human can surf inside the barrel.

The action opened with Group 1, The Women’s Warm-up, just as Padang Padang began to light up on the dropping tide. Local Indonesian women’s surfer Kailani Johnson put the women’s field on notice with perhaps the best overall performance of the session. Fellow Indonesian invitee Jasmine Studer also claimed a pair of impressive spitting tubes. But it was Johnson who capitalized on the rehearsal opportunity, racking up so many good rides, she said she actually lost count.

In Group 2, it was defending champion Clay Marzo (Maui, Hawaii) who had a field day, picking off countless throating tubes along the inside section of reef. Marzo seemed to pick up right where he left off last year at Padang Padang, disappearing behind impossibly deep and heavy water curtains, only to somehow get spat out all the way down the reef, to the utter disbelief of everyone watching. Fellow Hawaiian Koa Smith also expertly stalled and weaved through several gaping 6-footers. Meanwhile, former WCT legend Taj Burrow (AUS) opted to wait patiently for the biggest set waves and wowed the crowd with his impeccable backside tuberiding skills, clinging to the wall on his backhand deep in the shadows of several kegs and logging some of the longest tube time of the day.

Finally, in Group 3, the eight Indonesian surfers in this year's Rip Curl Cup paddled out for a golden-hour freesurf and proved that they will once again be a force to be reckoned with in this year’s main event. The exhibition included incredible performances by fellow two-time champions Bol Adi Putra (2004, 2005) and Mega Semadhi (2013, 2016), as well as local Padang Padang Boardriders entrant Wayan Plekut.

While the wait is still on for the 20-Year Anniversary of the Rip Curl Cup, and a men’s and women’s champion have yet to be crowned, bragging rights were definitely on the line on Friday afternoon for the Warm-Up Session.

The large crowd gathered on the beach and cliffs at Padang Padang, as well as fans watching around the world via the Rip Curl x Island Brewing Livestream on YouTube, were treated to a barrel riding Master Class – and several brutal wipeouts – at the world-famous lefthander.

With almost a full month still remaining in the waiting period, which runs from Aug. 1st to Aug. 31st, most of the contestants seemed confident they will get the “perfect swell” to deliver awe-inspiring tube-rides at Padang in the near future.