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
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
“(at Teahupo’o) There is nowhere to hide and nowhere to run” – Joel Parkinson Event and Forecast If J-Bay is one of the most respected waves in the world, then Teahupo’o has to be the most feared. Surfline’s slightly dated but incredibly detailed ‘Mechanics of Teahupo’o’ gives an insightful overview as to the background and … Read more
Contest Wash-Up Julian who? The Gold Coast seems like a lifetime ago. Maybe time went so slowly because the first few rounds were so pedestrian. I was growing weary of the 2-hits-out-the-back, 3-cutbacks-through-the-trough, safety-tag-the-end-section Bells bowl monotony. Nobody seemed inspired enough to take the contest by the balls. It was almost as if everyone … Read more
Contest Wash-Up I’ve learned a lot about myself at this event and through this injury and the birth of my baby girl Olivia. Honestly, watching the birth of my first child gave me unbelievable strength to just suck it up, come down here and do what I needed to do. – Julian Wilson Julian Wilson … Read more
A lot has changed in the 12 months since I last wrote this contest preview: we have a CEO (hello Sophie; I know you’re reading); contests in wave pools have become a thing; the WSL is planning to forgo a Pipe showdown in order to run a boat-trip grand final; and Willian Cardoso qualified to … Read more