The Vans Joel Tudor Duct Tape Invitational at Hainan's famed Riyue Bay in China last weekend was the event's 17th iteration. Even as the DTI has grown from an intimate gathering of individualistic longboard stylists to one of the most celebrated events in all of surfdom–and certainly the most prestigious contest in all of longboarding—Joel Tudor and Vans continue to tinker with the format. In May, in the Basque, Papa Joel included a gaggle of young upstarts in his invitee list to compete with DTI stalwarts like Alex Knost, Tyler Warren, Ryan Burch, etc. Then, a couple of months later, an all-female roster competed for top Duct Tape honors at the US Open in Huntington.

In China, though, even as things continued to change—with, for the first time ever, the inclusion of both men's and women's divisions—the more they stayed the same. Case in point: Perennial Duct Tape winner Justin Quintal locked up his 8th title after edging out Noosa's Tom Payne and Californians Zach Flores and Knost in finals action in ideal logging conditions. With eight victories under his belt, the North Floridian has won nearly half of all the DTIs ever held, and more than half of those in which he's participated.

Not to say there weren't some surprises. On the women's side first time DTI invitee, Brazil's Chloé Calmon, took first place over Hallie Rhor, reigning champ Honolua Blomfield, and Victoria Vergara. The winners in both divisions raked in $8,000 a piece, making the grueling commute back to the Western Hemi all that much easier.

 We'll be talking to both Quintal and Carmon in the coming days—once they rest their tired bones—and sharing a video recap from the weekend's festivities. Stay tuned.

VANS JOEL TUDOR DUCT TAPE INVITATIONAL

HAINAN, CHINA RESULTS

 Men's Division

1^st – Justin Quintal

2^nd – Tom Payne

3^rd – Alex Knost

4^th – Zack Flores

Women's Division

1^st – Chloé Calmon

2^nd – Hallie Rhor

3^rd – Honolula Blomfield

4^th – Victoria Vergara