World's best light up Snapper Rocks for Quiksilver and Roxy Pro Round 1
COOLANGATTA, Queensland/Australia (Saturday, February 28, 2015) - The 2015 Samsung Galaxy World Surf League Championship Tour officially kicked off today and the world’s best surfers hit the lineup at Snapper Rocks for the opening day of the Quiksilver and Roxy Pro Gold Coast. Both the men and the women surfed through Round 1 in an exciting day of action that saw big scores and electric performances.
Reigning WSL Champion Gabriel Medina proved just why he wears the yellow jersey in his heat against compatriot Wiggolly Dantas and wildcard Dane Reynolds. The Brazilian pair went blow for blow with the rookie testing Medina, holding the lead with an 8.93 and leaving Reynolds in a combination situation. The Champion answered back with a near-perfect 9.50 and the highest two-wave heat total of the day, an 18.30, to seal the win and his place in Round 3.
“That was a tough heat against Wiggolly,” Medina said. “I knew it would be a tough heat because I’ve been watching him over the years and his backside is dangerous. He put some good scores on the board but luckily I got that last wave and I made it, I’m stoked.”
Click for a photo gallery of Day One action.
Heat 5 saw a thrilling battle unfold between three-time World Champion Mick Fanning, rookie Matt Banting and trials winner Jack Freestone, who took to the water in an all-Australian match-up. All three surfers put on a show but it was Banting who held the lead at the halfway point. A fired-up Fanning put the pressure back on, posting the highest single-wave score of the day, a near-perfect 9.73, but it wasn’t enough to take the lead from the rookie, who claimed the first CT win of his career and caused the upset of the day. Fanning and Freestone will surf again in elimination Round 2.
“Coming in as one of the higher seeds in the QS I didn’t think I’d have to face Mick straight away,” Banting said. “Having him and Freestone out here meant it was definitely a tough heat. It was so good to get a win so early in the year because I was so nervous going into it. I’m stoked to be here, and hopefully I’ll get a few results this year and be back next year.”
Freddy Patacchia Jr. dominated his Round 1 heat against 11-time World Champion Kelly Slater and C.J. Hobgood. Patacchia’s power surfing netted him two solid scores and a 15.66 heat total with just 10 minutes gone. He went on to solidify his lead with another 8-point ride, leaving both Slater and Hobgood searching for two good scores. Slater made a final attempt with one minute remaining, but it wasn’t enough, and he will join Hobgood in elimination Round 2.
“I’m just happy that it’s a new year,” Patacchia said. “We get to start all over again from zero and show the judges and the fans what we’ve been working on in the off season. I was able to pick off some pretty good waves out there and show what I’ve got. It felt great and I feel strong physically and mentally. It’s good, it’s only Round 1, but it’s a good start.”
Dusty Payne was in blistering form in his match-up against Brazilians Adriano de Souza and Filipe Toledo, stamping his authority on the heat with a near-perfect 9.67. Payne, who returns to the CT in 2015 after a year off tour due to injury, looked composed and confident out in the lineup at Snapper Rocks and his well-deserved win sees him move directly to Round 3.
“My goal is to keep winning heats and I want to be on this tour for a long time," Payne said. "Hopefully I’ll be here as long as Kelly’s been here. He’s a huge inspiration for me and I want to have a long and successful career like him.”
Patacchia and Payne lead a strong Day 1 for the Hawaiians with other Round 1 wins posted by Sebastian Zietz and John John Florence.
“There’s definitely some nerves because it’s the first event the year,” Florence said. “I’m stoked that I’ve won that first heat, I feel good and like the momentum is still going from 2014. It was so inspiring to watch Gabriel win, I think it really pushed all us younger guys and think I want to win now, so I’m definitely really excited for this year.”
Following Round 1 of the Quiksilver Pro the world’s best female surfers took to the water for Round 1 of the Roxy Pro.
Sally Fitzgibbons began her 2015 campaign in Heat 2 against Courtney Conlogue and Nikki Van Dijk. The Australians went back and forth through most of the heat, but Conlogue came back in the final minutes to take the top spot. An impressive buzzer beater in the dying seconds saw Fitzgibbons light up Snapper Rocks and claim an excellent 9.23 for the win.
“I tried to go into that first Round nice and relaxed and feeling confident in my approach,” Fitzgibbons said. “2015 is a new chapter for me. Heading into this next phase is about developing the things I’m passionate about. After publishing my first book it really inspired me and there’s no time like the present to go out on my own and start a new business venture. I’m really excited about it and can’t wait to see it come to fruition.”
Silvana Lima marked her return to the CT with an outstanding performing in Round 1. An in-form Lima posted two excellent scores, an 8.83 and a near-perfect 9.33 (the highest single-wave score of the Roxy Pro so far), to win the heat, upsetting reigning WSL Champion Stephanie Gilmore in the process. Trials winner Bronte Macaulay will join Gilmore in elimination Round 2.
“I’m here for the fight and I go out into the water to do my best,” said Lima. “I feel confident - 100 percent, 1,000 percent - and I feel so great. This is the best surfing I’ve done in my life.”
Another exciting heat saw two-time Champion Carissa Moore snatch the win from rookie Tatiana Weston-Webb in the final moments of their Round 1 bout with Laura Enever. Moore's victory secures her place in Round 3, while her opponents will surf again in Round 2.
“Considering the conditions I’m stoked I got the win today,” Moore said. “I’ve been working on having a strong overall game and being really enthusiastic and passionate about what I’m doing. I’m really excited and I’m looking forward to this season.”
Quiksilver Pro Gold Coast Round 1 Results:
- Heat 1: Joel Parkinson (AUS) 15.16, Brett Simpson (USA) 11.87, Miguel Pupo (BRA) 11.00
- Heat 2: Sebastian Zietz (HAW) 14.60, Michel Bourez (PYF) 14.44, Ricardo Christie (NZL) 8.94
- Heat 3: Fredrick Patacchia (HAW) 17.06, Kelly Slater (USA) 14.43, C.J. Hobgood (USA) 12.50
- Heat 4: John John Florence (HAW) 16.80, Glenn Hall (IRL) 12.84, Jadson Andre (BRA) 12.57
- Heat 5: Matt Banting (AUS) 17.76, Mick Fanning (AUS) 17.06, Jack Freestone (AUS) 15.83
- Heat 6: Gabriel Medina (BRA) 18.30, Wiggolly Dantas (BRA) 16.93, Dane Reynolds (USA) 8.27
- Heat 7: Jordy Smith (ZAF) 16.14, Kai Otton (AUS) 15.03, Jeremy Flores (FRA) 12.67
- Heat 8: Dusty Payne (HAW) 16.34, Adriano de Souza (BRA) 12.53, Filipe Toledo (BRA) 11.66
- Heat 9: Bede Durbidge (AUS) 17.19, Taj Burrow (AUS) 15.80, Keanu Asing (HAW) 12.43
- Heat 10: Matt Wilkinson (AUS) 13.44, Adrian Buchan (AUS) 13.44, Josh Kerr (AUS) 4.10
- Heat 11: Julian Wilson (AUS) 15.43, Italo Ferreira (BRA) 14.97, Kolohe Andino (USA) 10.43
- Heat 12: Nat Young (USA) 15.80, Adam Melling (AUS) 10.30, Owen Wright (AUS) 9.10
Roxy Pro Gold Coast Round 1 Results:
- Heat 1: Malia Manuel (HAW) 13.80, Sage Erickson (USA) 13.33, Johanne Defay (FRA) 12.03
- Heat 2: Sally Fitzgibbons (AUS) 16.56, Courtney Conlogue (USA) 16.30, Nikki Van Dijk (AUS) 12.50
- Heat 3: Silvana Lima (BRA) 18.16, Stephanie Gilmore (AUS) 14.00, Bronte Macaulay (AUS) 9.73
- Heat 4: Dimity Stoyle (AUS) 11.76, Alessa Quizon (HAW) 10.26, Tyler Wright (AUS) 6.97
- Heat 5: Carissa Moore (HAW) 15.00, Tatiana Weston-Webb (HAW) 14.86, Laura Enever (AUS) 12.00
- Heat 6: Lakey Peterson (USA) 15.40, Coco Ho (HAW) 14.13, Bianca Buitendag (ZAF) 12.63
Comments
anyone else think matt banting was overscored?
So what about Dane Renolds, can only manage 8 something, the compition hoax, is this a case of another wasted wildcard, I mean it's not like he's 17 and never competed against the big boys, isn't he supposed to be the best in the world or just camera shy
Its a statement about the commercialisation of surfing: become the highest paid surfer in the world, say fk you to performance surfing.
It's brilliant and I love it :)
Well it surely can't be a surprise to you? It's not like he's ever done well in competition surfing and no one was predicting him to win or anything. Anyway haven't you heard, the yanks and ozzies are to be underscored from now on and the brazos, Hawaiians and boring backhand surfers are to be overscored.
he was 4th on the CT at one point so there's that
Is it on today ?
Just announced... on hold for another hour.
Cheers Ben
They will have to surf d'bah won't they?
unless that next cyclone wanders down out of the Solomans early ....
Of course the WSL would not be that lucky . .....
Next contest ......!!!!
Forecasters......here's a dream weather map for you ...Bellmere weather long range gfs
7 days time...not that this is likely to come to fruition...but what if it did ?
what would the goldy get 8-10 nth swell to start with then around to the east then sth east ? ?
Udo , as I mentioned . Even if it came to fruition , I reckon
Any swell would be too late for the waiting period !?
Yep my error for some reason I had the 15th ? as comp finish date.
7 day forecasts have consistently gone tits up for the past 3 months for East Coast.
Don't deny. The power of patterns . Most cyclones that form within
The same region within 2-3 weeks of each other will follow a similar path .
Not that that is going to help the WSL
.
Dane was in the top Ten for his whole Pro career.
Nothing wrong with his contest record.
I don't think he ever won a single event.
Dane the most overhyped over praised over rated over promoted in the history
of professional surfing. JOKE
He is a joy to watch in real life, big turns, big turns. And don't forget he destroyed Parko at Snapper.
Couldn't agree more Mr Staines
All that and for a period of time, the best surfer of medium sized waves in the world. What an overachiever.
No way Blowin I watched him in serious Sunset and Haleiwa and the guy tore a hole in it. No one on earth can deny the guy can surf at a ridiculous level he is an absolute gun just not into contests and a hell of nice guy who isn't a drop in arsehole like many on the CT seem to be. I think everybody would admit it is a whole new game jumping around on the crap they did in the first round. If the WSL are hoping to secure a major sponsor with that dribble they are doomed. If your getting paid the cash Dane is, and live his relatively unassuming lifestyle cash wise (seen his car it is an old bomb), would be hard to get fired up over Snapper rubbish. I am just insanely jealous.
I fully agree with you memla. I was being facetious . The bloke rips.
When I say he was the best in medium surf I'm talking 2' to 8' . I'm sure there are crew that can grovel better than he can and he doesn't really hit the huge stuff, but anything in between....it's devastation.
Nah dose not do it for me. He should just stick to whatever surfing he does and leave the
contest to the pros. Oyeh almost forgot he talks like a retard.
I agree he should give the comps a miss Evosurfer. He should just stick to putting out mind blowing footage.
Just a little tip though mate, learn to spell before you accuse someone of talking like a retard.. It "dose" not make you look tough
Careful goofy , I thought we had established that evo's surfing ability and
Knowledge are unquestionable . Good critique is just that.
A lot of problems with today's culture is that they can't take criticism .
Positive and or negative .!?
love your work goofy southman, pointing out the living proof you dont have to be intelligent or nice to be a respected surfer. I think I'd rather be respected for any two of the three than just the last one. Its a topsy turvy place this modern world thing.
Is he your little pet love free, what he had a pro career, did I blink and miss something
Dane's ass is owned by quicksilver , if they want him to get the wild card I guess it's inevitable . He is a great show all the same..... a big draw card for the hipster's? Any way bugger the septics! Go Parko , you rip!
Have a look at Slaters 5.8
Pottz summed it up. 'People ( judges ) don't realise how difficult a carving 360 is'.
That turn was insane, if anyone else did it the judges would have simultaneously orgasmed, plus he managed to find a baz on the same wave. It's pretty clear the wsl do not want him winning another title.
What do you mean 'he' and 'him'? D'you often talk about yourself in the third person?
Unless Kelly Slater is not your real name.
But yeah, that turn was ridiculously underscored.
agree. bede durbridge was doing them a few years ago too but getting underscored i thought as well, maybe i should add them to the repertoire , the judges seem to think they are easier than they look!
I'd assume the only reason Dane does these contests would be part of his contract with Quicksilver. Maybe they should give him some sort of performance bonus so it actually appears like he wants to be there.
In every wildcard contest he has surfed, unless the waves are pumping he clearly doesn't want to be there and does shit.
However like in France a few years ago when the waves were bullshit, all of a sudden he looked like a bloke who could win contests.
P.s. He is to fat to surf little shitty gold coast points anyways
If this is the World Surf League, why have I not seen a single surfer wearing their undies outside their tights?
Even the Superbank isn't looking that super.
That is the best Roub, and what no cape? And Thomas you are right he has been in a good paddock and very partial to Guinness so I hear. I noticed this about a year ago and had a few dissenters, however the spare is undeniable now.
Hahaha Dane is looking healthy!!
Although that's no spare - it's a rain maker.
Few more turns on the Goldy and Lake Eyre will be brimming.
So wheres Occy lately speaking of healthy,i mean their sponsors line these gigs up for them as in occy vs curren at j bay and you would think occy would have trained up but looks to be having too many big macs,the big battle curren flogs him ,havent seen or heard from occy since.Same with dane looking like hes over fed and sponsors would be looking at the contract about now thinking how much hes being over paid,not much return for there money imo.
Simba maybe they have a deal with a food outlet that we don't know about? Beer and burger with the ex pro surfer?
Dane doesn't need a six pack stomach to impress the kiddies and shift product.
Well Blowin wasnt a lot of impressing the other day unfortunately,maybe saving himself for round two.
The way the swell is looking there might not be a round 2.
Dane might be able to save more embarrassment.
The girls are on in 1ft snapper....weak and slow but with Sage in the water it's not all bad
What would happen if they couldn't complete the event? has it ever happened before?
I think in France in the early 90's...maybe Biarritz or Hossegor. Called off at the Quarter finals and points split.
Happened twice from memory, once for the men and once for the women, both times in France. Points get split at the end and I think those rules are still in place.
I think it's rude the conditions they make the girls surf!
I agree.
Ah, make em surf. they are lighter compared to the blokes so they'll be alright.
On another point, does anyone know what is up with the numbers on everyone's backs this year? its obviously got nothing to do with the seeding/ranking.
Nah, nothing to do with seeding the numbers are chosen by the surfers. They're birth dates, favourite numbers etc etc. Apparently Matt Banting chose 69 and was denied.
The bald eagle of WSL capitalism has flown down and liberated the world of surfing from the shackles of originality and fun.
Wilko has a better backhand than Medina but the judges aren't into it anywhere near as much
discuss
Na cant agree Bum,Medina was on fire the other day even though old wiggolly was doing some hell carves i think Medinas not at his peak yet,he wants it but wilko is surfing real good.
Wilko's backhand hacks are a delight to watch. His backhand tube riding lets him down though. Doesn't look comfy, and have seen him get clipped too many times in heats when the others come out clean. He's still one of my favs but.
Wilko has got the the best backside bottom turn on the tour, he can keep the speed for half a footy field if he has to, say while racing a long J'Bay section, or he can dig his heels in and take it straight to the vertical. However, Medina has a far greater range of moves out of the lip, and only his Brazailian compadres can match him for moves over it.
Medina gets my vote, and his two Round 1 scoring rides at Snapper were incredible. Fast, radical, and flowing.
really? Wilko's first wave (a 7.7) had about 8 different radical turns on it, compared to Medina who just kept banging out the same turn in waist high waves.
I feel like the judges don't have a fuckin clue what Wilko is throwing down out there sometimes and how hard it is to link huge moves like that
Wilko's first wave was a 5.67 with 4 bog standard turns on it! His second wave was a 7-something but to call it "8 different radical turns" is top flight favourtism. The first 2-3 turns were mistimed or he got hung up on, it wasn't till the latter part of the wave were he found rhythm and bashed out a few nice ones, then he didn't ride cleanly out of the last move.
Wilko has a great backhand but that wasn't a great backside display. More just doing what he had to to progress.
i meant the 7.7, i thought it was his first wave.
Medina got hung up on heaps of his turns, not to mention being late on close-out sections several times. The inverted thing he did was sick, but that was it. Everything else was just snappy little lip bashes and floaters.
Obviously it's a personal preference.
I find Wilkos surfing more powerful, radical and he does complete turns without ever having to pump in between. His bottom turn is just the best on tour, which IMO the judges can't comprehend. They don't understand combo surfing.
Medina and Wiggolly had far more waves in their heats, which made it seem more impressive.
Watch that second scoring wave of Wilko's again ~ I can tell you that is a fat shit burger of a snapper wave.
Stu Medina is a conundrum for me. It is almost as though he is too perfect. Super timing, accuracy and balance but when it is all over I can't remember much about his surfing except that he probably won (I have always had a similar issue with Kelly on his forehand). He doesn't have his own style or mark, more a combination to achieve the goal - to win, probably almost unbeatable amongst the goofies in small to medium Greenmount style waves. In contrast Wilko was as revelation at JBay and a joy to watch but never going to be World champ. I'd watch him all day yet I wouldn't Medina. Sometime less is more and I think it was Curren who said the top guys should be paid to perform as artists rather than as sportsman, and his efforts last year at JBay were probably top 4 even today. Beautiful to watch but not too many gymnastics involved, mind you cranking waves provided a great canvas - but no Brazilians got close. Real different mind set there. Surfed with come guys from Venezuela last weekend and they said they would never surf in Brasil and try to avoid them due to the completely different approach to surfing. Another mate who lives part time in Bali said the Zilla's are the only race of surfers who are bigger arseholes than the Aussies, however the big difference is that they generally don't smile much which the Balinese hate. Even your biggest Aussie bogan has a grin on his dial in Bali when chatting to the locals. Sorry way off topic just food for thought.
Agree, Stu. And I reckon Ace and Owen would be not too far behind.
Did Ace requal?
Requal = requalify? If so, yeah, he's back on.
I have queries, Slater's heat included a carving 360, no one else does them, does this mean they are no good, dysfunctional and will never score big?
Slater I thought pulled the best aerial of the day and he even got a legit barrel on a day when it wasn't really barrelling.....
In today's highlights I kept seeing Slater's moves, including straight out functional turns.
His variety on a slow snapper day and precision across the board seemed excellent but he was thrashed by patacchia?
Was he under valued?
Don't know why but Slater seems to be out of flavor these days. IMO he has been
underscored a lot in the past year its like they want to piss him off so he leaves.
When he leaves so does 50% of interest.
Just read a Josh Kerr interview and he reckons they are moving the event site to D'Bah. Hopefully some action tomorrow....
This just in from Joli.. www.instagram.com/joliphotos
"The WSL are laying cables at D-Bah. It might be a #layday for the surfers in the #quikypro but the workers are climbing all over the cliffs at D-Bah laying cables for a shift in venue. The rumors have been flying about a move and here's the conformation. Maybe not tomorrow but maybe Friday. #quikpro #snapperrocks #pointdanger #mynikonlife #memorymillionaire #quiksilver #roxypro #roxy #gitzo"
yeah I've heard Friday morning D'Bah.
Mick should kill it. He's out there more than anyone!
Poor Dane.
Read somewhere this morning a massive swell due to hit the goldy 1 day after the waiting period?
Say it isn't so!
It isn't so
Shaun Doherty seems to think so but happy if that's not the case....
http://www.coastalwatch.com/surfing/14029/steph-gilmore-almost-lost-the-...
"a system big enough to break Queensland away from the Australian mainland and send it floating off into the Pacific."
Gee, fecking massive call this far out!!!
Where is this idea of a massive swell the day after the waiting period coming from?
God knows..
They get the idea right from this forum. Just look at the 14day wams on the surf
reports. They are never ever accurate somewhere else on here I have suggested that maybe they should only do seven days. 14 days too many variables and to inaccurate.
It's OK evo. Just gently close your eyes when you get to that part of the graph.
They get the idea of the massive swell Freeride69 from the same place someone gets the idea that the event won't move to D'Bah
hahaha
Had awesome surfs since Sunday everyday, overhead, suckey nuggets.
Where was the circus.....?
Enjoyed it so much, especially today........... 1-2ft haha;)
Some footage of the Lay days looked pretty contestable to me. Given the forecast maybe they shouldn't be so picky....
Free asks where do we get the idea of massive swell post event --- Is it here Free?
CW -" For now this hints at a mix of residual SSE swell and slight ESE windswell hovering around the 1ft mark by Monday 9, followed by a minor upswing in short range ESE swell into Tuesday 10 and with any luck, a more substantial increase for the final day of the waiting period, Wednesday 11 March. For now this remains a little too temporally distant to foresee with much clarity so there’s still scope for revisions (hopefully on the plus side) to the forecast later this week. However it pans out, there are early indications a more significant resurgence in ESE swell will set in during the days after the contest, hinting at pumping Snapper and Kirra throughout the middle of March. This will also become clearer later in the week."
Not looking particularly inspiring this morning (from our new Snapper surfcam).
My guess is they'll run some heats at wind affected dbah after the mid morning high tide.
Free said they won't go to D'Bah??
I think they are running out of options. And will have to.
2 out of 2!
When I try to look at the 'new Snapper Surfcam' as per Ben's link above I get 'Error loading skin: Incompatible player version'.
Do I need to update Flash player?
Actually scrap that - I refreshed the browser and all good.
Looks like they didn't go to Dbah Dyson.
Surprise, surprise.
That's because the banks are sh1t and I'm assuming they've seen the 12-13sec S'ly groundswell in the water and hoping this will refract back into Snapper. My cynical side also says Qld Tourism Dept had a say in the call also!!! ;)
What is the likelihood of a waiting period extension ala Chopes a few years back? I can imagine it wouldn't be too much hard work to get the governing bodies on board. Imagine 15th/16th on a macking Kirra swell. I guess would the capital outlay be repayed in internet numbers is the question....
How many days do they need to finish the mens? 3 days? If they're running the chicks now, what the feck are they gonna run the mens final in?
Silvana would have to feel absolutely ripped off. She killed the heat and surfed so much better than Steph and way more critical. Should of got more for her 7 point ride, and then Steph gets a 9+ after the siren.
What a joke!
im with you Craig,i wonder who the sponsors are?Certainly wasnt a nine plus.....hoax
Gotta say i think Steph was over scored on her last wave,good wave but silvana did the most progressive surfing and she have won imo.
I only allow myself three "the judges are fucked" rants per year, and that's one down after the Steph vs Silvana heat.
No way in God's great hairy date did Steph get that score. No way!
Hey Free - are they set up at D'Bah - or is that a conspiracy cloud?
Not Steph's fault but surely even she would be embarrassed by that last wave being a 9+ That's no good for anyone....
Silvana gets a 10 on a wave very similar to the one she got ripped off on against Steph......
Yep, epic surfing, but crap judging.
SILVANA LIMA IS THE NEW DANE REYNOLDS!
Her air rev was as good as anyones.
Is it just me, gotta say sally fitz style has improved, was almost cringe to watch before, good on her.
Agree silentp - sally's style looks a LOT better this year than last. Top half of her body is now moving and arms not flailing everywhere.
Maybe she reads the Swellnet forums too? :)
Kirra is a "wave of consequence" says Martin Potter
Yeah maddog Sallys style does look better shame she had to go against Silvana but gotta say i think ALL the girls have improved and considering the waves they have are pretty much RIPPING ,been good viewing and im stoked for them.Used to be a bit of a yawn a thon but boy thats changed.Good Stuff.
WTF ... reports (on another surf site) saying the waiting period to be extended!!!
And, several sites and weather forecasters suggesting some serious swell next week?
Good ground swell around here (tweed coast) this afternoon. Could be some good surf for the blokes tomorrow.
So, will they run it to avoid the serious swell next week? Or, hold off, extend the event window and score some juice mid to late next week?
Who's taking the bets, what odds are ya giving?
I hope they do - plenty of time until Bells which is not until April. Can't see them finishing it otherwise.
Have heard of events extended by a day or 2 before but from what I've read this 'monster' swell doesn't arrive until week beginning 16th March - thats 4 days after the waiting period finishes.
They must be hoping GFS comes to fruition cause if EC does then they'll be extending it for some time if they're gonna wait for the groundswell.
Watching Silvana and that air she did I cant help but feel Sally missed her chance at a world title last year - with Stef, Carissa, Tyler and now Silvana in the mix it's gonna be tough for her now I think.
Anyone heard any more on the comp waiting period extension ?
spoke to Nick C this morning.........and yeah there is thought being considered to extend.....but when will know??
I am not sure there has ever been an extension before...they could hold it a D-Bah...but that's in NSW,not Qld ......and as one of the sposors of the even is Qld tourism...ah the politics ......
I hope its extended just because there R so many wankers up there and it should piss them off which can only be a good thing.
Was in a hurry surf pumping unlike the Goldy.
are.
when using the plural you need are. Is is for the singular.
granma free
Did anyone notice Dimity Stoyle kicking out of her high scoring wave just before it got interesting? She did get an 8.3 or something but the wave was looking like it was just about to get interesting again and she just floated off the back
Then ended up losing her heat by 1/2 a point (or there abouts)
Became interesting,
Try not to use the word got and also full stop missing at the end of not one but both postings.
Did I miss anything else Free?
I was posting from my mobile only moments before taking to the water myself. (It was flogging down and I was waiting for the squall to pass.) Perhaps i should have waited for a more opportune time to wax lyrical about the exploits of miss D.Stoyle.
Rookie mistake.
Won't happen again.
Carry on...
It's pretty much a certainty they're going to extend it now isn't it?
We're hearing it'll be a two day extension.
And.. Just confirmed via the WSL.
Hang on. So they've still got 3 days left of competition and they're extending it to run the finals on Friday 13th so what the frck are they gonna run Rd 2 in? Shitty weak windswell on Wed?
They're also gonna finish before the groundswell arrives......meh?
So what do you propose - a week long extension?
FWIW, I don't agree with extending the waiting period in this instance. One of the risks of surfing competitions is that the waves might not come to the party.
Well if you're gonna go through all the hassle of extending it, at least run Rd 2 (the most important round for the surfers) in something contestable and run the finals on Saturday. If I were a sponsor I'd be pushing for the finals on a weekend in good contestable waves rather than a shitty Rd 2 in weak pissy windswell.
Way more viewers on a weekend as well as 10 times more crowd on the beach. That's exposure exposure for the sponsors who are forking out the cash to extend it.
And it's fair to say Ben that from all the charts/models there will be contestable surf Friday and Sat.
Perhaps they're considering overlapping heats Thurs/Fri.
And I don't think they have any risk extending it cause there's nothing contestable now so it can't be any worse than now come Thurs/Fri.
I don't disagree with your points. It's the ethics behind the decision (to extend) and the precedent it'll create for future events.
Ethics?
The effect the extension will have on local surfers. Imagine how Torquay locals (or any Victorian surfer who frequents Bells) would feel if the WSL extended the Rip Curl Pro for another week to capitalise on fantastic approaching swell, off the back of a two week flat spell?
Oh of course. How could I forget about those local surfers who claim it's their god given right to take any fecking wave they want from snapper to kirra. Excuse my ignorance and lack of ethics!!!!
So WSL surfers have more rights to a place than locals???? Guess who the inland kook is!
They have their locations and their window, once it ends it ends, then the break is open to the other 99.999% of the surf fraternity who aren't pros.
I would agree with Ben if local surfers had no easy access to other waves and there were surfable waves available on only a few days a year. In reality, the loss to local surfers is pretty spurious.
Anyway, for the Goldie, the event's job to provide images to stimulate tourism, the area's major industry. You would expect that this small extension would assist the community getting value for their investment.
Maybe they just call it quits and take whatever points they have to Bells. Could be time to look at making the whole thing a bit lighter in weight. Who needs the tent circus just take them away to some hidden locale in Indo' and just do it in decent, reliable waves.
agree wholeheartedly, Already it eats up a big chunk of the prime surfing season having "the circus" In town. Life is too short to be catering for the benefit of the overpaid, jetski riding pros that get to surf instead of working a real job at the expense of averages joes surf time. And then k perrow makes it sound like its a big effort for them to stick around longer and they are doing us a favour.
take it up to the wave pool at wet and wild.
Why oh why ... See the footage floating around of slater, jjf, parko, mick etc surfing snapper on a "layday"? That footage shows way better swell than on offer now or this week coming ... Why oh why, didn't they run it?
And, listening yesterday, kp was talking about a possible surge in sth swell, yesterday. Like, wtf? The swell came and went ... Oh, hang on, it was all designed to keep up the suspense, right?
How many of the pros are wishing they fucked off to Fiji?
You are quite possibly correct. The layday clip shows some really good rides. But I didn't hear any locals or pros saying they should be running it because the surf was OK. The surfcams showed little. I don't reckon the tightly edited layday highlights reflected the general conditions.
Did any of the pros head to Fiji ?
Slater should go to Fiji for giant perfect waves just to consolidate to the world that he
is still the best surfer in the world. The judgers certainly wont give him the points that
he is entitled too that's for sure.
Kelly was out at Lennox on Friday. He got there just in time for the Northerlies to give us a hard time.
What are seeing for wed onwards Dweather ....3-5ft east sth east swell ?
Ummmm not even close.
Pretty weird decision to extend the event isn't it?
From what we already understand (speculate) about the financial state of the WSL, the monetary and logistical burden to extend the waiting period would be huge wouldn't it?
Scaffold/pavilion rental, Giant TV's, Tv crews, Labourers, the WSL Commisioner, Pottz... the daily expenses in a country like Aus would be huge wouldn't they?
Maybe they are not in as bad a state as everyone thinks.
wheres the mega swell Free?
probably up your arse mate. Seems to be producing a lot of hot air lately.
Udo Quote - Sunday March 1
" Yep my error for some reason I had the 15th ? as comp finish date. "
Udo = Nostradamus
What about Dane R's arse Free ?
Oh dear ... it's on?
Jeez, at what point does a pro push aside his standard quiver and whip out a full figured Skip Frye fish? It'd be a secret weapon in abysmal surf like this.
Yes really bad, so bad it is embarrassing.
Is there any rules that state what type of board you must ride?
seriously what is stopping them from riding a log?
According to Joe Turpel Jack Freestone is a "Tuggin local"?
He may be right but it's pronounced "Too-gun"
chewgoon
great surfing though, i guess we get spoiled by cloudbreak and chopes and expect everything to be idyllic death defying challenging surfing conditions. I know i do. But hey, theres waves, they surf good,
But for the WSL to win over the general public they need spectacular footage, maybe they should have the WSL, the big wave tour and even the boogers and send then to epic swell events, show it live if possible but put a high quality highlights package together and get a worldwide audience tuning in on their own time to see some progressive deaf defying surfing makes the everyday punter go whoa, this is awesome stuff. the mainstream media would pick it up too so the publicity would be great and memorable, much more so than knee high snapper. It would also put the exploring and chasing surf safarin in the micx, romantancise surfriding again rather than the robotic conformist economic rationalist version we know have. Built the merchandise city and they will come, unless of course the waves dont!!!!!
Sorry Dave you are apologising for sending the Cremé de la Cremé out in absolute rubbish. Just call it off and put everybody our of their misery or just throw them all in the water together and let them hassle each other to death. This is not the world championship.
Please WSL. Cut Strider loose. I am sure he is a really nice person etc... but any kind of front man or sports commentator he clearly is not. The strange thing is not that he lasted into the 2015 season but that he seems to be getting even more air time!
Do you guys (WSL) read this? Surely i'm not alone in this thought?
You're not alone. If I knew better I'd think it was nepotism, his Daddy owns the company and gives Junior the cush job. He's simply got no charm on camera - an autocue personified.
Autocues don't stammer
I'm with you Rat. He seems stoned sometimes - or at least like he is deeply depressed or suffering from chronic fatigue.
From Twitter:
Glenn Hall looks and sounds like a jockey
Lucky for him he surfs good then.
Maybe they'll give him Striders gig in a few years...
This article from last year must've been funded by the ASP/WSL.
They just heap praise on every commentator.
http://stabmag.com/heres-your-new-asp-commentary-team/
Imagine if bells is 1-2 ft with south-East winds for two weeks! Goodnight wsl.
The conditions look even weaker than this morning.
I'm almost tempted to watch for a laugh if they resume the comp today
I just went rockfishing.....could have had a picnic and cup of tea out there. It's weak. Weak as bro.
Catch anything Steve? There's SFA going on at Snapper now:
https://www.swellnet.com/surfcams/snapper-rocks
Only a cynical bastard or a commentator could call that 'contestable'.
Yeah, I got four fat tailor and a little jewie that went straight back in. Filleting them up and now getting ready to sit down and write.
Let the fatty acids flow...
Their desperate!! back on 1.30 WTF to finish R2
More likely on hold until 1.30 then put it on hold again.
Small, wind is into it and D-Bah no better.
Better surf at Middleton today and that's saying something.
Man the surf looks terrible on the snapper rocks cam. They are going to struggle to finish aren't they?
Saw some post from Lisa Anderson on Stab saying she is outta here - guess not enough time to run her exhibition heat with Layne...
42 heats left across both comps. Plus 2x half hour before finals, that's 22 hours surfing.
Think they can only run between 8 and 5, so that's 9 hours a day x 2 days = 18 hours.
That leaves 4 hours...and they haven't resumed yet.
I can see them trimming back to 25 min heats if need be. That'll save them three and a half hours across the remaining heats.
Well it's back on and it's terrible
Dbah has got to be better than Snapper on a day like today. Maybe the waves won't be as long, but there'll be plenty more coming through. Move it there and make it best 4 waves. That'll keep the action flowing... Make the buggers work for their money. And stop the wankers from filling time with shitty hyperbole
Not enough coming through to even out to heats in the water at the same time
You mean overlapping heats? I doubt they could do that anyway. If they're going to run overlapping heats they need two seperate priority systems plus new vests for each competitor (overlapping heats use different coloured vests). There's been no mention of it anywhere so I don't think it's even been considered.
How good is Kieran Perrow going? Last comp (Pipe) he calls it off before the best Pipe session of the winter. This comp he decides not to run at fun Dbah so they can push heats through in1-2 foot dribble....
Actually, i think he is going really well. Last year, Snapper Margies and Bells had changeable conditions, he got every call just about spot on. That day at Pipe, he admits he got it wrong, though I bet he took the best local advice on the odds of the winds going offshore.
The clock would have been ticking and every minute costs big dollars. But, as the local authorities demand they are out of Pipeline by 4pm, the best case scenario was they would have got another 2 heats in under those great conditions. It didn't happen, but it's easy to see the fault in retrospect.
Most earlier predictions were saying the surf would be quite OK to awesome by this part of the Snapper waiting period. The progress of the waiting period has seen the predicted swell continually decline, leaves Perrow looking foolish but then we are all fools. A couple of young ladies, non-surfer friends of mine, had a pleasant social swim at Duranbah on the weekend. No waves, few surfers, no worries, I have never witnessed that happen before.