It’s the season re-launch, with surf fans tempering their expectations with the pragmatic modesty that only the WSL can inspire. We’ve got a new-ish venue to look at and fantasy team to pick, so let’s quit prologuing and start crunching the numbers. Conditions Newcastle offers more breaks than Kelly’s injury schedule, so I’m just going … Read more
It feels weird to be kicking off the title race at Pipe. No world title scenarios, no qualification predictions, no pressure, no form to look at. Nothing. Don’t get me wrong; I’m psyched to have the tour back, and I’m super keen to share our fantasy game with the world, but the Pipe build-up is … Read more
Hawaii has already served up some hefty drama this week, what with Tyler’s stunning comeback, Steph’s 5th Honolua win, Carissa’s 4th title, and Lakey’s fall at the final hurdle, it was a massive end to the women’s season. Not to be outdone, Sunset brought the men’s QS picture into focus with some quality conditions on … Read more
While Pipe may be the ‘Superbowl of surfing’, Portugal certainly punches above its weight when it comes to world title speculation. Throw in the race for Olympic qualifications and a decent forecast, and we have plenty to get psyched about for Portugal. Medina, Seabass, Filipe, and Jordy et al. may have ensured that most fantasy … Read more
France is always interesting to watch, but it has felt even more exciting since the pool event was added to the tour. The Freshwater Pro undoubtedly has its flaws, but the WSL hardly help themselves by juxtaposing it against the Tahiti and France events. Tahiti, with its fear factor and raw power, makes the pool … Read more
The Wave The event will be held at the KS Wave Ranch, located amongst the rural countryside of Lemoore, California. The man-made wave is manufactured in a 600m (2000′) long and 150m (500′) wide lake originally built for water skiing. It is created when under-water hydrofoils run down a track at around 30 kilometres per … Read more
How are you travelling at the all-but-halfway point in the season? Fantasy wise, that is. I don’t mean that hollow sensation growing deep within your soul that reminds you that you’re nearly 40 and still dedicating far too much time to fantasy sports. No? Just me? Anyway, how is your team looking? Were you riding … Read more
I know, I know; my post-event articles have disappeared like Julian’s title aspirations. Sorry. Life’s been getting in the way. If, for some masochistic reason, you crave more surf-stats content, then my old-man social accounts on Facebook or Twitter give readers more regular intel, such as FSS leaderboard shout-outs, last-minute injury news, and random stats. … Read more
Bali Wash-Up With such a tight turn-around, this was always going to be a squeeze. We’ll drop some Bali knowledge once our Margies stuff is set. Watch this space. Margaret River Conditions The WSL have plenty of venue guides, such as here, or the Ben Mondy overview of the place here. There’s also a detailed … Read more
If it wasn’t for the last day, I’d have said that the DBah Pro was a roaring success. The we’re-going-to-snapper-wait-we’re-just-going-to-hold-off-until-the-swell-dies postponement of the finals was a bit iffy, and there were some less-than-ideal judging calls, but let’s not split hairs; it was fun to watch, it ran quickly through the waiting period, and we had … Read more