Welcome back! Putting aside the fact that starting a season at Pipe still feels like beginning a multi-course meal with dessert, there’s a lot to be excited about this season: the promise of a healthy Medina and Florence going head-to-head for the season (and their R1 heat), Olympic qualification, precocious juniors finally converting their talent … Read more
I often wonder how surfers, let alone the rest of the world, will receive surfing as an Olympic sport. Mostly I’m sure it will exist as a novelty highlights package between women’s water polo and the equestrian events. Could we hope for anything more? Surely, if the best surfers in the world represent our sport … 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
No other event compares to Pipe. World title races aside, the wave itself provides a spectacle that is unrivalled in our sport, and no single title is more coveted; it’s our super bowl, our play-offs, and our world cup all in one liquid monster. Enough preface, let’s dive in. Conditions Pipe has so much rich … Read more
So, here we are: between European legs, and things are tight. A tight turn-around, a tight title race, and tight fantasy contests. How good was Rhino? How sweet is it to have a proper title race? With the short turn-around between events, this preview will be a little brief, but the stats will still be … Read more