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
The cancellation of the Margaret River contest left many surf fans with a bad taste in their mouths. We lost all narrative tension regarding the contest rounds and emerging champion, we were starved of any real title race variation, our fantasy teams were all shot to pieces, the potential for a Mikey vs. Jesse heat … Read more
I have waited long enough for the WSL to move on from their wave machine experiment and get back to the core business of managing the world tour. There is still no heat draw or mention of wildcards (as of publishing), so I’ll offer what I have for now. I’ll try to update in time, … Read more
I don’t know why I’m bothering with this; the WSL is neglecting this event like an unattractive third child until the Founders Cup has spewed forth its final, mushy left. There’s not much to go by as yet… Update: we have a draw and most of the wildcard details. Also, the KS wave pool has … Read more
Rant The purpose of the first few pages in a story is to get the reader hooked. Australia served that purpose well in 2017 with its (mostly) good waves and excellent surfing. Usually the next part of the narrative arc requires some background or character development; a context through which the mounting tension can be … Read more
Image: Connor O’Leary laying down some Saquarema rail in 2015 If there’s a more challenging event to forecast this season, I’ll be amazed. We still have a much-derided Brazilian event this season, yet we have a venue that has been untested on the CT tour. Sure, there are QS stats available, as well as transferable … Read more
Here’s the latest regarding the upcoming Oi Rio Pro: Kelly Slater – OUT Kelly has pulled out at the last minute, citing an ongoing back injury as his reason. He will seek professional rehab and hopes to be back for Fiji. He’s replaced by: Bino Lopes – IN Bino surfed this event last year and … Read more
Image: Kanoa proving that Saquarema isn’t just a left-hander These projections and stats are taken from 2014-2017 WSL contest data. Some 2017 rookies include data from previous WSL events, but many do not have relevant results in significant categories. Their modelling is much less reliable and they may have skewed projections due to their averages … Read more
“I’m not going to lie; that was a lot of hard work” – 2016 Rio women’s champion, Tyler Wright. Was she talking about winning her third event for the season? Or was she referring to the effort required by surfing fans to stay interested in the Rio Pro? I’m not going to kill myself detailing … Read more
SS: Fale um pouco sobre você FP: Fala galera, meu nome é Francisco Pimentel, sou cientista da computação, de recife e tenho o surf como esporte favorito para praticar e acompanhar. Gosto de buscar dados dos surfistas online para alimentar meus programas de computador e prever os surfistas que irão mandar bem nos eventos da … Read more