Quik Pro France 2016

Bad luck Wilko- his to lose.

Medina was juiced in his heat, I reckon Leo got the score at the end imo. Gabs and Wilko both should have walked away with a 13th.

Felipie rips, i think the scores were correct he deserved to win the heat...

But how weird is it when surfers claim before the wave is finished after he landed in perfect position he was so busy claiming while there was a perfect section to whack, in a sense as awesome as that air was he didn't surf the wave to the potential he could have, i guess it got a 10 because the bar was set with JJ wave that was not as good.

Should judging criteria take this into account?

Watching mechanical perfect waves is one thing but paddling against rips, picking the right waves in challenging conditions is another and pro surfers shouldn't be exempt.

If I rocked up at today's bank I wouldn't choose to surf a HP shorty.

The WSL is much more pleasant to watch when it's a nice sunny day.

The WSL is much more pleasant to watch when it's a nice sunny day.

Commentary teams consisting of one nasally American and a saffa...can't figure out their target market.

I think Ross is pretty good behind the mic. Gigs isn't so bad if you can get past the accent. Pottz and Turps are good at what they do but can be grating sometimes. I don't mind when Ross and Ronny Blakey are together. Strider is ok too. Rosie is a girl you'd love to take home to meet your mum- she's gorgeous.

Pete Mel is pretty cool in a goofy sort of way. Had to chuckle yesterday when he was discussing Gabs equipment and Charlie came into shot and snatched it off him- Pete didn't skip a beat 'Old Charlie, he's quite a character and part of the furniture in the competitors area' which if I could detect the subtle undercurrent translated as 'Old Charlie is a fucking tool and everyone wishes he would just piss off' or something along those lines.

That was gold Zen.

Except Turps can go bury himself up to the neck at the low tide mark.

Ever noticed how always describes the past tense as the future tense ?

" And he'll pull out into the channel"....as he's just pulled out into the channel.

Fuckwit.

I'm on board with em all too but I did think I was the only one who was irritated by the present tense commentary of Joey. I don't mind his analysis so I'm happy to keep him above the high tide line. Gigs is alright eh. I think Ross said he's got good words. Fair call.

"Watching mechanical perfect waves is one thing but paddling against rips, picking the right waves in challenging conditions is another and pro surfers shouldn't be exempt."

Yeah, thats one way of looking at it. But I can paddle around in a rip for an hour or grovel in closeouts. You don't need elite skills for that.

Watching Kelly Slater getting 2 point rides isn't entertainment for me, it's just kind of sad.
Average wave score for all the Quarter Finals was 6.43 to 5.66. That is mediocre by definition.

By contrast average wave score for Trestles QF's in 2-3ft surf was 6.33, 8.49, 6.03, 6.79.
Generally higher and with genuine excellence in QF2.

Surely at the pointy end of the contest we should be seeing something better than that.

Yes, there's been moments of brilliance but there's a helluva lot of dog turd between diamonds.

' helluva lot of dog turd between diamonds.' sums it up alrighty FR

I'm probably being a bit harsh because some of JJf's surfing has been fcuking incredible......but he'll always surf incredible and I still maintain his surfing his being held back in comps by sub-standard surf.

Can you imagine the levels we'd see from him if he was let loose at an Indo reefbreak?
Well we did at Keramas and he pulled off the biggest alley-oop ever seen.

If you'll allow Gary a moment of clarity on something vaguely Quik Pro related...

Gary respects and enjoys the engaging writing style of well known surf journalist Sean Doherty, but notes that his insider perspective is often used for surface level 'behind the curtin' insights ("I got a text from Parko the other day and...")

A low weight, high rep strategy, as it were.

However, credit were credit is due.

The below was penned in an article syndicated on other, lesser sites; and sees Sean apply his inner-sanctum knowledge to provide some withering critical insight. In Gary's well-toned opinion it's the best passage of Sean's he's read and he wishes more insight was provided in this style: Take it away Sean...

"But the tour has crossed the Atlantic to France, only that one member of the “pro surfing family” won’t be here.

You’ll remember of course that Trestles began under a dark, grim cloud, with the news that the WSL’s long term head of security, David Wood had taken his own life in a local hotel room. The immediate shock and the circumstances around his passing made it tough for those there in San Clemente to adequately acknowledge at the time. The fact it happened with the contest in full swing making it amply so. The show had to go on.

Woody was laid to rest last Monday, at home, outside of Melbourne.

The service celebrated the life of a guy who lived for the tour, loved his mates, and loved his circa 2002 surf fashion. A guy who’d devoted his life to the tour for almost 20 years, a guy who selflessly saved surfers from themselves on several hundred occasions, a guy who fell on grenades – over zealous gendarmes, blind drunk world champs in nightclubs snotting random punters, psychotic bunny-boiling female fans – and a guy who seemed to internalize much of the drama that came with his job and just deal with it.

Guys like Woody are the glue that binds the pro surfing family, so it was tremendously sad to look around the chapel last Monday and discover none of the family had showed.

Not a single pro surfer showed. Not one, despite the service falling between tour events… and despite these guys having spent half of every tour year alongside him. No one showed to represent the WSL brass. Pottz was there of course, but Pottz was there as Woody’s best mate. Long-time tour judge, Pritamo Ahrendt was there, but he was also Woody’s close mate.

And that was it. Just them.

I’ve travelled with Woody for many of his 20 years on tour and was floored, and if anyone has the gall at any stage during this French event to mention the “pro surfing family” I’m swimming to France and calling that bullshit out, right there on the sand.

I thought they’d be lined up out the door – like they might, say, for one of the surfers in the same situation – but no one showed. The circumstances of Woody’s passing at his own hand I’m sure made it difficult to process and deal with for many, made it uncomfortable, but that was all the more reason for turning up and making a statement. Woody was loved and respected, and even if in those tortured minutes a few weeks back he didn’t believe it, then he needed to know it last Monday. The world needed to know it.

Outwardly chipper guys with dream jobs and everything to live for taking their own lives shouldn’t just be swept under the carpet. It should be talked about. It should be learned from. Fuck the taboo. The “pro tour family” had the capacity and profile to make a difference here, but nobody got on a plane.

Nice post Gaz

Pretty lame effort from the surfers

Well done Gaz.

Thanks for pointing that out.

And cheers to Sean Doherty, jeers to the 'bro surfing family'.

Trying to think of the last time I've read such anger in Sean's writing and nothing is coming to mind. He's truly pissed and I don't blame him, it's a horrible oversight by the WSL. You can kinda understand the surfers not attending but the WSL? His employer, the same company who made a fuss about how much they cared for him post-death? Their absence shows it was a bunch of hollow symbolism.

As for the comp, haven't watched much, partly due to ansence, mostly due to the same gripe as Steve - can't be arsed watching two surfers battle a rip then have the heat decided on the coin toss of set arrival.

""Watching mechanical perfect waves is one thing but paddling against rips, picking the right waves in challenging conditions is another and pro surfers shouldn't be exempt."

Yeah, thats one way of looking at it. But I can paddle around in a rip for an hour or grovel in closeouts. You don't need elite skills for that.

Watching Kelly Slater getting 2 point rides isn't entertainment for me, it's just kind of sad.
Average wave score for all the Quarter Finals was 6.43 to 5.66. That is mediocre by definition.

By contrast average wave score for Trestles QF's in 2-3ft surf was 6.33, 8.49, 6.03, 6.79.
Generally higher and with genuine excellence in QF2.

Surely at the pointy end of the contest we should be seeing something better than that.

Yes, there's been moments of brilliance but there's a helluva lot of dog turd between diamonds."

The elite skills come from wave selection to get those diamonds between the dog turd FR and if conditions like the french contest bring the surfers down a peg or two whether it's Kelly Slater or Andino etc.

It's not something I watch fanatically but seeing how important wave selection has been good for this contest. Watching pros in smoking barrels is great but I can watch countless online clips and see the same.

Pretty sad that none would make the effort Gaz.

"The elite skills come from wave selection to get those diamonds between the dog turd FR ....."

Unless you are suggesting Slater, at 44 and with 11 Titles under his belt doesn't know how to select waves I'd day 99% of it is just dumb luck.

No FR but Slater is no longer the best in those conditions. Just because someone has a stacked resume doesn't mean he is always on top of his game.

Maybe if the French beach breaks don't tickle your fancy there could be widespread encouragement for them to ditch it in favour of Lennox Point would help out that surf shop fella who's sales are suffering.

hahahahah.........

You can see from the QF's that luck has played a major part. It allows surfers who wouldn't normally get near the pointy end of a contest to advance simply because they were lucky.

I think luck plays a big role anyhow, but in these conditions it is magnified.

For sure, eventually the cream rises to the top.

And I don't necessarily need to see perfect waves to enjoy pro surfing. I thought the standard of surfing at Trestles in mostly 2ft surf was incredible and very entertaining to watch.

Anyway, just my opinion.

Im the last person who would decent the CT but the conditions are not that bad the higher tide bank during a few of the woman heats yesterday was a bit full but there were good waves for those who could pick them.

JJF and Medina are both up up there now. Luck is always going to play a part when dealing with nature but there are good waves out there for those who can pick them. Anyone can be a good surfer on point breaks and reefs when they are predictable. A shifty beach break adds more of a challenge.

All good though FR we can't always agree :-)

Wow that was pretty cool to see the little guy win. How stoked were his fellow competitors too when he won with Carrissa and Kolohe and Leo and Kanoa running down there. His backhand was sharp and pretty funny to see Gabby get an interference

A contest at Cox's could be fantastic I surfed it a great deal the first three times of my journey you can find also other wonderful set ups right there. Liked that region has a lot of high-quality reef and place breaks by no means released that Portugal had this sort of great waves great men and women and actually good spot to surf and hangout.