Rip Curl Pro Bells Beach: Finals Day
Rip Curl Pro Bells Beach: Finals Day
A downbeat, at times scrappy, low-res Finals Day at onshore 4-5 foot Bells Bowl was saved from mediocrity by a buzzer beater from Caity Simmers and a sustained run of excellent surfing by Griffin Colapinto.
At times, Finals Day seemed defined by absences; by who wasn't there. No Medina. No Ewing. No Toledo. No JJF. The lack of top dogs offered Griff a chance to continue an insane run of performances to cruise to a Bell. Who was going to stop him? In the end, and no disrespect meant to winner Cole Houshmand, but the only person to beat Griff was Griff himself. Any single one of his heats that he surfed in a frightfully cool and composed manner this event would have won the Bell, save the scrappy wave-starved fizzer he shared with his brother.
In the Final, he fell on his opening wave, a peach, that even at half-strength surfing should have been a 7+ ride. According to Griff, the fall “threw me off” and he spent half the heat trying to regain rhythm and a scoring ride. He recovered almost halfway through the Final on a nothing insider with a big turn and fully tweaked fin throw explosion on the closeout. But he ran out of opportunity to turn the poor start around and a wave on the buzzer gave him nothing to work with. Another, weird, lumpy flat-faced Bells wave with a hieroglyphic end section to decipher.
With two ninth-placed finishes, a first, and a second, Griff has opened up a 4,000 point lead over Ethan Ewing (WSL/Hughes)
Going back to the start of the day, we saw a scrappy win from Johanne Defay against Brisa and a very one-sided smashing of the current world champ Caz Marks by Caity.
Had it sunk in that she'd made the Finals, she was asked: “No,” replied Caity, “it hasn't sunk in."
What was the game plan?
“The game plan was to just surf. If there are waves just catch 'em."
Caity seems to find the whole hype, cliché, and corpo-speak realm of pro surfing completely cringe, which it is. Let's just hope she doesn't get that attitude and introverted - but completely accurate - take coached out of her.
She called her buzzer beater wave against Defay in the Finals “luck”, which any sane person has to realise. What wasn't luck was the way she attacked the first section, with what she admitted were jelly legs after a previous ride less than five minutes earlier. Caity flopped off in the shorey after completing the winning ride like a discarded toy, while her entourage celebrated for her.
Not since Tom Curren thirty years ago has a surfer displayed such a gulf between their ease on the ocean and awkwardness on land - at least when the camera is around. Caity Simmers smooth where it matters (WSL/Hughes)
Contra Caity's non-training, non-journalling, non-therapeutic method of pro surfing, was fellow Californian winner Cole Houshmand who admitted he had constantly visualised the win over the last two weeks. He attributed the win to “visualisation and hard work”. If he was as honest as Caity he would have admitted to a large dose of luck in there as well. A last wave against Medina which could have gone either way, a first wave against Ewing which was the only good wave all heat, a scrappy Semi-Final win over Matty McGillivray and a similar win over pal Colapinto after Griff dropped his marbles.
It wasn't excellent surfing, by any means. It's hard to say Cole was the best guy at Bells this event. None of that is meant as disrespect. It's just the way it is. The Bells event is traditionally won by the best surfer all event. Ewing last year, Toledo the year before, JJF in 2019, Ferreira in 2018 - all were unmistakably the best surfers of the event. Carry that as far backwards as you like and you will struggle to find a dissenting example.
Cole's Final win came down to a medium-sized runner that he tagged repeatedly for a 7 and a back-up ride on a fresh sled which he stole under priority for a 6.5.
Rather than blazing to the win, Cole made the most of his opportunities and now has a bell for his mantlepiece - he's also climbed eighteen places on the rankings and secured a place above the cut (WSL/Sloane)
There was one memorable heat for Finals Day and that was the Semi between Rio Waida and Griff. Both surfers opened with sizzling rides, which appeared to be within a point or so of each other. Griff got an 8, Rio a 6.
The second exchange looked similar to the first with a possible slight advantage to Rio. Judges gave Griff a 7.33 and Rio a 6.93.
On it went, and by the ten minute mark judges had effectively shoved Rio so far down the hole the contest had become distorted.
Rio fought back, yet even his fightback wave was low-balled. It was over by the halfway mark.
It's hard to denigrate the judges and pay Griff's performance - maybe one of the most consistently excellent runs through an event since Toledo at Snapper in 2015 - but both things are true. The judges screwed up the numbers and Griff was insanely good.
After two eminations before the Quarters, Bells 2024 was Rio's breakout contest and he's almost certainly secured a position above the cut (WSL/Hughes)
Griff has now opened up a big chunk of real estate between himself at No. 1 and Ewing at No. 2. In a normal year, you'd consider Griff to be cruising for a World Title - akin to JJF in 2016, or Gabe in 2021. Just unstoppable over a year. He still has to get it done at Trestles, yet on current form that doesn't look like too much of a challenge for him.
Griff called the current success of the Californian 2% crew “psycho” and added, “we're a gang, our crew, it's a lot of momentum we've got going."
He said the Final didn't feel that competitive because he and Cole felt like brothers and that account was corroborated by Cole who stated in regards to meeting Griff in the Final: “There was no-one I wanted to beat more and no-one I would rather lose to.”
Three Californians on the dais (WSL/Hughes)
Brazil in the dunny, California in the sky seats. Four surfers in the top ten!
Past world champs sitting on the cut line with dark thoughts about judging, rookies saving themselves.
There's no-one in their right mind who can deny that the cut has been good for pro surfing, at least through the front half of the year. It's added incredible stakes to what can be rote heats and set us up for a helluva show at Margies. I'm predicting heroic performances, epic dummy spits, tearful retirement speeches, multiple stormings of the tower etc etc.
As far as pro surfing goes, you can't ask for much more, can you? Or is Medina right and this is all sad and bad for the sport?
Depends on where you are sitting, I guess.
I doubt the Californians share the Medina sentiment.
//STEVE SHEARER
Comments
I'll just add below the line that those absences extended to the womens side of the comp.
Steph and Carissa were a presence by their absence.
There was just a certain authority lacking.
Interesting to note, particularly in the griff/rio heat, that there was very little range across the scores of all 5 judges on the significant rides. Same in the ewing/pittar heat which(along with Medina/houshmand) was the other contentious decision. Despite some of these scores (esp that semi) seeming totally incongruous, all judges saw the same shit the same way.
... or the head judge is behind the panel telling em to tighten up their scores if there is too much of a spread .
And there it is! Plenty of comps are decided by the head judge influencing the judges.
Every heat brah ............
According to gabby.
Rio was robbed
Absolutely.
He also ripped. I know griff came out flying but Rio was on. I was thinking he was going to drop a 9ish for that last ride
yup
Great to see Griff and Crosby chair the big fella up the beach. Watch that Gabe, that's how you lose with dignity
I thought the same thing when I saw that. Good to see.
YeS indeed !
Hit the beach like a discarded toy, classic observation Steve. And yeah, judges tripping with Rio's scores.
Missed the whole event, sleeping on Euro time. Thank you for the daily writeups.
superb write-up (glad caity's dismount got a mention, that's where her playful froth can be seen after a job-well-ripped, not in front of the cameras - her ragdoll drop in the molly pipeline final heat had me in stitches: @2:00, again @2:30.
@FR can you remind the slow learners at the back of the class, i.e. me, just what is a 2%er again?
Someone that comes from the top 2% of wealth and therefore can afford a place on/near the beach.
Yeah,nah.....
San Clemente has a lot of apartments, generational surfing families, a hub of shapers. Great food and waves. It's the new home of surfing in U S A.
Also where isn't expensive near the ocean nowadays?
Entitled f&%$s
Thats the Californian crew from San Clemente.
Ahh, so the economic 2%er not the law enforcement 2%er. Gotcha. Shoulda known, them Colapinto boys an their buddies look way too nice to shoot anyone.
Onya Caity, don't worry about that corporate media game bullshit. There's plenty of time left to sell your soul if you want to. Results and performance speak louder than words.
I really liked the caption comparing to Curren. iirc the interview I have in '30 years of Tracks' calls him the Quiet American. Go Caity, what a thrilling last minute of that final it was!
With Luke Egan coaching houshmand will be interesting to see him surf hopefully big Fiji and Tahiti
Could easily jump into top 5
Louie would have some good tips
L E
Is on a roll.since last September.
Give yourself a pat on the back FR.
The brown slop of Portugal, the spits and spurts and never really starting dribble of Bells,
3 Californian winners, a Frenchie, and you've endured! And it's been an epic read that's given these dull contests some color.
Great job!
I love Bells but geez, 2 dud years in a row. The old girl needs to fire up next year. Hopefully it's an 81esque swell. Still hasn't happened since.....
How’s the WSL photo with CS and the Trophy - almost bigger than her and in need of help to hold aloft. Sure does rip for a little package and friggen love her awkwardness/natural style on camera.
I'd rate the best surfers of this event in order Griff, Rio, Cole and Jake M plus I'd give a special mention to Medina who showed a glimpse brilliance and Liam O'Brien who looked pretty good.
Of the other contenders I'd rank them Ewing, Robinson, JJf in that order.
McGillivray gave a good example of how to play the system: did nothing particularly special but got his nose in front when it counted
Great write up yet again and big shout out to all the legends participating in the event chat as the shit went down.
But….this thing again :
“There's no-one in their right mind who can deny that the cut has been good for pro surfing, at least through the front half of the year. It's added incredible stakes to what can be rote heats and set us up for a helluva show at Margies”
Oh fuck no. All the cut does is take out a mortgage on every last bit of excitement from the back half of the year and bring it forward to the front half. It leaves absolutely nothing of interest beyond who will be in the final five and if the final five break clean from the pack before trestles it leaves….less than nothing. It leaves a gaping big hole where Giving A Fuck formerly existed - from both competitors and spectators.
It’s like shooting your load and then going through the motions of foreplay for a few hours and then going to sleep. It’s all arse about with the natural build up of tension drained dry.
But whatever…get back to me in Brazil when you’re up all night watching the back markers of the remaining men’s and women’s tours jousting for irrelevant 9th place finishes.
Couldn't agree more SJY.
It would work if the first half of the season was EXACTLY the same as the second half but of course it's not.
There's potentially surfers who will be cut that could dominate in the second half and shoot rapidly up the rankings. But of course if they are cut they will not be surfing those events.
It's not a fair assessment of the overall performance, which takes many events in all sorts of conditions to adequately assess that
I think Tahiti and Cloudbreak will punch out that excitement this year.
The back half of the season has been so lame (apart from J-Bay) and I reckon that is why (partly) it hasn't worked as designed.
Would Cole have climbed all over Medina and then Ewing if he wasn't about to get cut from the Tour?
Would all those crappy heats have been worth watching if there now wasn't real stakes attached to them?
It's lifted the level so much - and guys like Jake Marshall, Rio Waida have been forced to adapt and lift their standard.
To me, the top dogs now need to respond- they are the ones who are coasting a bit.
But yeah, they need to get that schedule sorted for the back half- Indo, Tahiti, J-bay and Cloudbreak please- then it'll be apples.
Of course it's a fair assessment of performance: Pipe, Sunset, Portugal, Bells and Margies.
It's not easy, I'd like to see Snapper in there, but it's a very fair assessment of ability and skill set across a range of venues.
There’s not real stakes anymore though.
Surfers need very limited results to make the cut (essentially a single man-on-man heat win in 2 out of 5 contests, plus making it out of a 3 man heat in another 2 out of 5) as compared to doing it across a whole year, and for those at the top end challenging for the title, results are purely qualifying for the top 5.
You are confusing stakes with results.
yes, the results required are modest - go look at Medina's year though to see even how difficult that task can be.
But the stakes for each heat have been raised and the stakes for not getting those results, drastically raised.
Back to the CS, maybe the end of a career.
Ok, so perhaps the stakes are higher in the first five events, but that’s directly at the expense of the stakes post cut, which are pretty much meaningless, unless you’re going for the final 5.
What’s the lowest rank that a top 5 qualifier has been at the cut?
I’d also argue that going back to the CS is not nearly as bad as going black to a full year of the old QS to try to requalify.
If the cut is so easy why is Medina so close
Why is Kelly at the back of the farm truck.
He came up with the idea.
He always complained of having too many people on tour.........
I’d have to add a bit of nuance to that Steve.
The 5 events pre cut may have enough variety to assess surfing talent but it’s conceivable that a surfer may miss the cut that would otherwise ideally be suited to Fiji and Tahiti.
We nearly had those conditions this year save a couple of biggish days at Pipe and Sunset.
It depends how you want to define a world champ vs adding “interest” along the way.
Personally I think there are too many vagaries in the scoring to have a cut after 5 events, which also applies to a degree to finals day.
With more events those vagaries even out.
The key for the WSL is format.
They need a shorter format such that they need less good days per event window.
That will ultimately see the entire field in the best conditions at each venue, be more cost efficient and a better spectacle.
Would some sort of rolling cut work? The CS starts soon and you bring in the top five surfers after a couple of events and drop the bottom five from the CT after a few events beyond the cut. It might be cost prohibitive for the surfers,(travel expenses) but it would give hope to those who are cut and create interest in the back half of the season. Just a thought!
100%
The cut has been a disaster for the world tour.
From the completely illogical post-cut contest format (36 and 18 surfers, wtf?), to half a year of results qualifying surfers for another full year, to the way it as you said (along with the final 5 format) saps any excitement out of the back half of the year.
It was a terrible decision at the time, taken supposedly to save money, and add excitement o the start of the year. But it hasn’t worked. The WSL should be doing all they can to transition to a full year tour with the post-cut format (24 and 12 surfers).
"From the completely illogical post-cut contest format (36 and 18 surfers, wtf?)"
You mean pre-cut.
Yes.
36 and 18 make zero sense. They wanted to reduce the numbers, but didn’t have the balls to do it properly, which has left it as the total mess it is now.
This is why it should not be a mid year cut but a cut four every event starting at 4. Makes way more sense, gives surfers a little more time to prove, gets rid of guys nobody wants to see and adds drama to every event . This is the way
This is good. Do this up until trestles & then the final two surf off for the title at a one day event at pipe.
Just to be serious for a moment, I’m not loving Cole’s hair.
I preferred the stars.
*** no look has ever won bells ….
Yet
Thanks Steve.
I love the way Huey turns up, punches the clock Day 1, fires up the bowl, gets some oohs and aahs then jams it in Trestles mode, grabs a latte and heads for the golf course.
Cole is a weapon
I just want Caity to surf, I don't want her to talk, she's smart as, don't get me wrong but just don't ask her any questions they're pointless, her surfing is doing all the talking
Onya Steve, LYW
Just read Ritchie Porta is doing a surf progression seminar on April 23. Discussion 1, don’t give a surfer an 8 for 3 repetitive backside turns that have been done for the past 30 years.
Sitting on the beach at Bells guessing scores with my son, we both thought Rio
‘s scores against Griff deserved a bit more. We also thought Griff got the score against Cole in the end of the final. What did we know?!
Interesting. Did you think griff or rio got the overall heat?
Griff for sure
It's very different watching from the beach, I reckon.
Watching the 2012 Final I was sure Kelly won.
I was also on the beach that day, Fanning smashed him.
Also, can’t agree about the best surfer winning in previous years. Ethan was the clear standout in 2022, but got completely skunked in his heat. There wasn’t a single set.
And Italo only beat Fanning due to a horrible priority error, again in inconsistent waves.
I just remember italo locking himself in the Porta loo after the heat win
? .......WTF
"There's no-one in their right mind who can deny that the cut has been good for pro surfing, at least through the front half of the year. It's added incredible stakes to what can be rote heats and set us up for a helluva show at Margies"
That is spot-on correct.
The Cut has added interest at the least, high drama at the most to heats that would otherwise be consigned to mediocrity.
The Cut has improved performances and focussed minds on staying on tour, rather than coasting until results are needed in the last few events.
Cut at the end with triple crown ushering in new people and final at pipe is soooooo much better overall.
Not arguing that it doesn't briefly spice up what can be underwhelming bells and marbs when they get skunked.
Have the cut, reset the points to zero but put a seeding system in based on the at-the-cut rankings, no trestles final and premium locations (cloud break, Uluwatu, Tahiti, hossegor) and concluding with another Pipe or sunset event - make it happen WSL
And you’ll have surfers all over the world wobbly at the knees…
Always enjoy watching youngsters excel and succeed. Surf could have been better, though could have been worse. The "first nation" rigmarole was a wokist embarrassment, not representative of Aussie culture whatsoever.
So you are the judge of what is representative of Aussie culture Strretch?
I mean the gall of ATSI people to show they are proud to still be here, despite white Australia trying to (and failing) to commit genocide on them.
Aussie culture is still racist as fuck thanks to every single person like you. I hope you're proud of your achievements.
Not meant to be representative of 'Aussie' culture. Meant to be representative of thousands of years of history of the place, the 'youngsters' seemed to love it.
What a jerk comment.
Please inform me how old is your type of so called Aussie culture .
I’m a bit wet behind the ears, please explain what Aussie Culture is . Thanks
I hope you regret that comment.AW
Would you prefer everybody stand at attention and sing God Save the King?
"Aussie Culture", what is that?
Strrretch, you sir are a dickhead!
Geez that men’s final was boring. No progressive surfing to be seen there.
Does Houshmand’s surfing remind anyone of Wilko’s …..? Both big backhand wacks…,.
Yes for sure
It’s fair to say pro surfings hay day was a long time ago . It’s dieing of slow death for a while now and the owner of the wsl would be hanging to off load it for some other sucker to try and reinvent pro surfing again
They won’t need to take the wsl on. the new LIV tour with the new pool, a few indo spots and various better waves. They can scoop up the surfers no longer interested in this tour. Won’t need to pay a cent. So many good surfers not on tour with bigger audiences that the wsl JOB, Kalani, Mason, MF, Kelly soon, Nate Florence, clay etc I know what I’d be keen to watch. Also get the viewers to vote and charge 50c per vote. Done
There’s zero evidence to support the claim that anyone’s surfing lifted because of the cut and if there is , there’s also a respective counterclaim that the cut hampered people’s performances. The pressure to produce straight out of the gate is immense and I don’t think it helps someone like Jacob Wilcox who I’d dearly love to see surfing in the latter part of the tour…..but probably won’t get to.
And won’t we all have reasons to cheer if Medina and Ramzi don’t get a run at Cloudbreak or Chopes because they went shit at Margs! Yeah…not really at all.
But I suppose it will be worth it if it’s the price to be paid so a few spectators can get giddy with soap opera drama as they watched Callum Robson absolutely hating his life at the possible conclusion of his CT career after having to joust for it in wind blown, seasickness-inducing grey Bells beach slop.
So worth seeing an exciting talent kicked to the curb for that few seconds of shiny , pants-wetting drama needed to make up for lack of interest in the actual surfing.
Everyone gets shit heats with little opportunity to perform. Heats with only one or two contestable waves for the entire 30 minutes. Everyone gets bad judging calls. Everyone has a bad heat. The entire point of the tour is to smooth over the anomalies by making it an average of performances over an extended duration.
The cut completely undermine the fairness of this premise
Ramzi - who’s already been kicked in the nuts by the WSL - now looks to potentially fall off tour. Think of this when you recall how he lost his last heat at bells when they didn’t pay his huge backhand belts …..a couple of heats before huge backhand belts were suddenly considered the event winning move.
It's a hard game.
Thats called Sport and those are called stakes.
There's another path whereby surfers can travel, pressure free, and make little edits and put them out there for public consumption if they can't win the requisite number of heats to stay on Tour.
As far as wanting to see Chippo and Ramzi go at it in Cloudbreak, I'm with you 100%.
I also wanted the Cowboys to make the Finals last year and they failed.
Failure is part of professional sport.
We will tune in at Margies because the stakes of failure are now so high (relatively speaking of course, no-one is dying of hunger or in a war zone).
Chippo back to packing boxes of boards at DHD and Ramzi making edits of Moroccan points.
Maybe Medina cut and having the mother of all meltdowns (delivered in a calm voice of course) and being forced back to the Challenger.
Or retiring.
It's all on the table.
Two guys show up with everything on the table- they compete- one guy leaves with everything.
If you don't like the soap opera of sport, there's a million hours of free content on you-tube of guys surfing well above CT level in waves way better than what they get on the CT.
The cut never had any bearing on my interest in a single heat, let alone an entire event.
If it’s more peripheral drama = more interest , why not have a cut after every event from day one ?
Or maybe lions set free in the competitors area ? You think it was satisfying seeing Callum’s mum distraught after he’d fallen in the cut…imagine your joy if she watched him getting literally eaten alive.
People have strong opinions about it- and they differ.
Thats fine.
Personally I would love a large, open ended day of 4 man long heats and a leaderboard for day 1.
Then a cut, and man on man to finish.
That would straight away eliminate the effect of lucky draws and those getting past on mediocre surfing.
I like it. And it works well for all the QS events. (Can’t remember what the CS does but probably similar). Saves a ton on time and you could seed first round by ranking and man on man by ranking or heat scores. You could have 24 girls heats of 3 for first round and end up straight into round of 16 too
Jacob Wilcox is a good example of someone who is suited to Fiji/Tahiti and could have possibly resurrected his year at those events but in all likelihood won’t be able to because he’s cut.
I guess it’s the luck of the draw but seems a bit unfair in some respects.
The problem with the cut is that firstly the rankings are not linear. ie 1st, 2nd, equal 3rd, equal 5th, equal 9th etc, with quantum jumps of points. And secondly the scoring is subjective no matter how hard they try to regulate it.
The more events there are the more these vagaries are evened out
I'm literally losing sleep and up at night concerned about the pro surfing careers of Ramzi and Callum Robson. The horrors of them having to get a day job is almost too much for me to bear. What a cruel world we live in!
@Freeride76 Great write up as usual.
"Failure" is part of professional sport.
Just my thoughts on that nasty word for what it's worth.
Failure to me, is when you refuse to give it a proper go. { Like Tolledo failing to give heavy reef waves a proper go.}
When you've tried your hardest and didn't win, you simply lost, or made too many mistakes...you didn't fail and you are certainly not a failure. Loosing is an integral part of how you learn to become successful.
I'm not completely sold on the cut, but one thing that I reckon is good is that the cut competitors get to go straight into the Challenger Series, with good seeding, and can have another crack at the CT next year. Without a mid-year cut, then those who fall off the CT at the end of the year have to go the whole next year in the QS quagmire.
So true. They do need a couple of better events in the CS like Haleiwa and somewhere is Indo so they aren’t just trying to scrap in beach breaks.
100% this
slackjaw is on the money
The cut is sick, I feel very little sympathy for professional surfers travelling the world surfing for a living. Put up or shut up and get a real job.
Yea the rookies might get disadvantaged, but enough are making it through every year so I don't think you can paint it with such a broad brush. If you shrink the tour then less rookies are getting a chance to begin with. Also, the cut means established tour pros can't just milk the tit of the WSL and cruise to a requalification every year with mediocre results.
Trim the fat!
Can handle the cut, although a further cut at the end of the year would make the back half more interesting. It's the finals that sucks out the tension, at least do it in Hawaii across a couple of spots.
remember this up-close reel with 17 yr-old caity? worth a rewatch, quite emotional in its joy.
https://www.swellnet.com/news/reels/2023/03/01/watch-caity-simmers-toasted
In many respects this Bells comp represents a lot wrong with top end pro surfing.
I’d love to see the balance sheet for this event.
Big infrastructure, costly production run over multiple days with sporadic action, called off on a couple of days with little notice and by and large held in uninspiring conditions.
The overall profit and loss sheet for the entire tour would be fascinating as well. It seems like the bottom end funds the top end when really a sustainable model should be the opposite. AFL is a good example.
But with surfing it seems that the entrance fees for all the comps inc juniors that ultimately feed into the CT contribute to the funding of the CT. That and a top up from Ziff.
If the ultimate world champ this year performs poorly at sizey Fiji and Tahiti then the system has no credibility
All three(?) of your posts above are spot on TD. Well articulated.
I won't be watching Margs because of the cut, it's in the hope of some big carves and hopefully slabs.
The cut just makes the second half of the year a throwaway for spectators, especially those events in sth america out of our timezones. What is the real point of the tour meandering on through those legs with little consequences except maybe one or two movements into the americanised final five that ends in fucked Trestles anyway. There's zero incentive for progressive surfing so it's not making surfing any more spectacular either.
Agree, but come on, who's not excited to watch the demise of the "storm"? I'm seeing a bunch of guys below the cut line that could go deep into the Margs draw and push Gabe and Italo down the shute. The blow ups will be epic
Haha true! Agreed.
Great write-ups Steve, even though it ended in sub-par conditions I still enjoyed watching and conversing with all.
Lots of talk about the merits of the cut I would personally just prefer good waves and be thrilled by high level surfing.
Rio needs an explanation from the judging panel on points of difference in his semi and so do we...to many WTF moments on scores and even though I thought griff won the heat it should have been a whisker close finish for mine
The two biggest issues on the tour are the number of competitors and the Final five.
There are simply too many competitors and heats to fit into the arena.
ie. Imagine playing tennis with 16 people on the court.
Doesn't work.
Currently they are trying to put 54 surfers across the women's and mens into one swell maybe two (if they're lucky) swell events in one contest window.
You're guaranteeing yourself repetitive mediocrity and sub par conditions.
The Final Five location is severely biased to one style of surfing.
What is the point of traversing the planet for the whole year across a variety of waves and conditions only to have the determining contest in a flat, slow small wave venue handing a specific surfer a specific advantage. It's an insane concept to have a professional sport with such an inbuilt bias.
The cut is ok for me...I think it could do with some tweaking - ie. a gradual cut of less surfers each event over the year maybe? But if its purpose is to manufacture drama each and every year it's disingenuous to the sport and to the surfers. No other sport attempts this, and it won't succeed.
To take football/soccer as an example - some years the league title race comes down to the last weekend, other times there is a runaway winner who is rewarded for their dominance. Imagine the outcry if Liverpool won the league by 20 pts but lost the final game against fifth place and got nothing. Their sudden death drama is created outside of the main league with the FA Cup, Champ league etc.
Is the WSL is serious about the integrity of its world champion? At this point in time within the core surfing community, there are multiple asterisks against any champ crowned. They have had two world champs leave the women's tour, the current mens champ take a year off and probably lose Gab and JJF soon.
At what stage do they draw their focus back from this marketing based growth strategy and return to their core surfing audience and grow surfing organically with integrity?
It goes down to 24 men and 12 women after the cut so that's a start.
I haven't crunched the numbers exactly but I'm pretty sure there will be a few guys below the cut line after Margaret River that would still mathematically be able to make the top 5 (and therefore win the title) if they were allowed to surf the rest of the events.
It's a joke, just stick to 22 plus qualifiers/wild cards all year for the men and 10/2 for the women.
The cut is just as bad on the women by the way. Lakey Peterson might be cut even though she'd be amongst the favourites at Cloudbreak and Tahiti
24 and 12 is definitely more manageable with regards to swell events and waiting periods in getting good waves through the event.
As an idea you could have "standard events" with normal points with the 24/12 field - run and done in 2/3 days. "Specialty events" with longer waiting periods and more points with a larger field of specialist wildcards ie. Fiji, Pipe, Chopes
Imagine surfing against Clay Marzo, Mason Ho, Benji Brand, Matahi Drollet, Kauli Vaust, Billy Kemper etc in these events - not just two wildcards but 10 of them.
Gives integrity to the concept of "World" champion.
Tyler did you see Lakey at Pipe?
She was so far out of her comfort zone, CB and Chopes would be similar I'm thinking..
Lakey is a bad example- only a rudimentary skill set in hollow lefts.
yep
Yes but she's been there a few times and is a bigger stronger type of surfer.
My recollection was she did ok last time in chunky conditions
Quick search found this..
Just an example
Sally Fitz missing out on Fiji is another and maybe better example
Sally definitely has some chops out there.
Lakey has a 0.0 heat at Cloudbreak, she's better now though.
"Is the WSL serious about the integrity of its world champion?"
Hahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahah.
Hahahahahahahahahahahahahahaha
Hahahahahahahahahahahahahaha
woooooo
Hahahahahahahahahahahahahahahaha
I know its a joke right now sadly...
They had a good thing, and they butchered it.
I totally understand that the financial realities of the surf industry in the 2020s is different to the mid 2000s, but the Dream Tour should at least be a solid guide to how it should run.
The gimmicks of the Final 5, The Cut, wave pool events actually counting for points have been terrible.
If you don't do your job you shouldn't expect to stay employed. I don't feel sorry for any pro surfer that doesn't make the cut. They are pro surfers, people that get paid to do something we love.
Mid year cut is great to trim the fat, but there is still too much fat.
Abso-fucking-lutely.
Cal Robbo better think long and hard about those 2 waves he let through at Bells when he is slaving away on a mid north coast building site in the next few years.
Oh, Bells was on. What'd I miss?
The judging in the Rio heat was downright bizzarre. Even Richie Lovett was stumped in the commentator booth. He openly said this wave is in excellent range and was expecting like a 9 or something and then when the scores drop he gets a 6.9
Thanks for all of the WSL Bells event observations Steve.
A hard slog.
Super skilled surfing slop, scores skewed, some spewed.
USA Marketing Ltd
I reckon as FR mentions above . If you wanna watch cutting edge surfing , just watch the endless array available on whatever website you desire .
Point is , I , like probably most contributors here have favourites . We connect with the style and ability of particular surfers and will them on hoping to see them win .
At the moment I'm focused on some of the advances some of the girls are bringing . These ladies are now amazing to watch . The old rebel in me can't but love Caity Simmers . Her vision is so grounded and refreshing . For sure she lets the odd juvenile comment slip out but thats what 19 year olds do.
Before the final she was asked , "have you been thinking in there about what you might achive ?"
her reply , "No" .
This is awesome!
my precious!
classic photo
She looks like a female Chappy Jennings.
She'll be bringing a forklift next year. Give that giant Bell a proper ringing
Poor Rio's scores were under cooked, not saying he would have won the heat but it would have been closer.
Stop sugar coating it. The WSL couldn't run a bath, and this year's Rip Curl Pro was a joke.
Finals Day was high farce. It was painfully obvious that Wednesday morning was the least worst option surf wise.
7.15 am first call (on hold). Maybe run it on Friday.
It was a gobsmacking call. Wednesday morning was offshore and 3-4ft of wind swell. Friday was always going to be shit after 48 hours of nonstop onshores. WTF was the WSL thinking?
8.15 am (on hold)
9.15 am (on hold)
10.15am just as the wind swung onshore the WSL sent out the surfers to compete in absolute shit. Three precious hours wasted while the audience sat in the rain. And just as the surfers were hitting the water, the carparks in the paddock had to be closed due to mud, forcing crew to walk in for kilometres. Anyone without SFBs could see that coming too. Zero contingency plans. Zero messaging to the spectators.
And to make matters even more insulting, Victoria had some stonking waves on Easter Monday but the WSL won't move the comp from Bells due to $$$. They could have crowned the champions on the Monday after a final filled with A+ conditions. Best surfers in the best waves my arse.
Seriously, they should just hand back the tour and let surfers run it. Even that muppet blowin would do a better job than the WSL clowns.
.
Copy that Vic.
Just as a matter of interest/record.
How many aerials ended up being in a surfers top 2 scoring rides?
I've got zero, but could be wrong.
And so it was that with aerials not being scored, and no Brazilians making the cut, a breakaway Brazilian world surfing tour emerged, one that scored aerials and true progression. And then morphed into the sport of acrobatic wave-hangliding, that we love so much today in 2054.
Hahaha, all under the ever-watchful eye of CEO BarbB
Griff did a few and was rewarded pretty well, quarters or semis from memory.
Beyond that, can’t remember any
Hard to see Griff as anything but trestles fav now. I wish they’d shake up the tour. 6/7 events. No non-elimination rounds. Snapper, margs, Brazil location, Hossegor, chopes or cloudbreak, J bay and and Indo location (keramas). Ticks all the boxes, performance wave, big walls, beautiful points, barrels, heaving beaches and shitty South American waves. Top 8 from these stops have a seeded triple crown on the north shore over a 30 day waiting period at the end of the year. All locations would be a one day final event. Cherry pick best conditions for halewia, sunset and pipe. I think people would pay to see that.
Caity, what a classic, no bs surf rat. Take notes Tyler.
@ SJY " female Chappy Jennings" nailed it, my thoughts exactly.
FR76 " She flopped off the shore break after her winning ride like a discarded toy" Nailed it, exactly what I thought when I saw it.
I've been trying to place where I recognise caity's playful dismounts from.. definitely plain ink illustrations from childhood books.. pippi longstocking? rosie's door? something to do with a diminutive, feet at right angles, being impulsive.. this EH Shepard one came to me though, it is certainly part of it:
https://www.pinterest.com.au/pin/241575967485651403/
Just saying, how's todays feature shot of Occy at Bells!
Never gets old.