Semi Pro Shakedown: Brazil uber alles
No-one can say pro surfing is not without its theatre.
I think I’m about to do the final day of surfing at Snapper a severe injustice. I couldn’t possibly detail the zillion-trillion things that were going on during the day. I’d need a week to sift through my notes and about ten-times my word limit to even get close to describing what went on.
I’m not going to lie, I won’t forget this day ever. Before we relive a little I need to get something off my chest first, a debrief if you will, because I’m a little fucking scarred from the final four-minutes of this competition. If you missed today’s surfing there was one guy at the top of the pile. There he was, large quantities of daylight second, then some more daylight and then a frothing throng of South Americans. That guy was Joel Parkinson, and this was his backyard and he ruled it with an iron fist.
True Snapper like we had today is behind the rock. Negotiating the latest takeoff on tour, sticking it against rebounding wash off the rock and pulling in and hitting top speed simultaneously. If you come out of that barrel you have just surfed Snapper successfully - this was the Snapper Pro. How in God’s green-fucking-earth can the judges award a winner of an event at Snapper, without said winner riding one single barrel or sticking one takeoff from behind the rock?
Just ask Adriano who stood in the vicinity of Joel as an event standout, ask him how hard it is to make a barrel from behind the rock. He couldn’t do it and he tried repeatedly throughout the day and never came close. The fact that where Gabriel was taking off is called Kiddies Corner is further testament to how badly the judges got this wrong.
All right, enough displeasure, moving right along with the pleasure and there were bounteous amounts to go around. It's not Gabby’s fault the judges had lost all concept of what surfing Snapper Rocks entails. In saying all of the aforementioned, Gabby is still a worthy winner of this event. His body of work is next level.
History doesn’t care for all of that. History will remember one story and one story only. Gabriel Medina the first Brazilian to win the Quiksilver Pro, and the first goofy foot to do it at proper Snapper. Mick Lowe won the pro back in 2004, but it was a ravaged bank from storms with just as many left and right peaks, as there were down the line rights. I interviewed Lowey for an Australian surf magazine after his win and he’ll be the first to tell you it wasn’t classic Snapper when he won. Gabby won at legitimate Snapper and he beat her two favourite sons Joel and Mick along the way. This is a premium achievement that will not be outdone anytime soon. Possibly ever.
We’ll never see two surfers as dominant at home as what Mick and Joel are. And to think somebody beat them both, and did it while riding on their backhand? Well shit a brick, that’s one better than Slater’s effort last year. That is some hard-fighting doggedness intermingled with skill and talent that will not be outdone my lifetime. I am sure of that.
I knew it was Medina’s title at about five-past-five this afternoon, an hour before we’d crown a winner. Whenever I see Gabby surf, I now have Occy’s voice in in my ears proclaiming him the best goofy on tour. Gab took off as the clock expired in his Semi Final heat with Taj and he needed a 7.21. Right then at that moment, over the loudspeaker Everlong, by the Foo Fighters came on. Does anyone remember the movie, Occumentary? And the opening sequence of that surf flick is some of the best backhand surfing at J-Bay by the best in the business. And the soundtrack the Occ was surfing to was … Everlong.
There was my sign.
Rosy Hodge walked past me and said, “Taj and Joel final you reckon eh?” I shook my head and just replied with one word, “Gabby.” The Brazilians were in the thick of things from the outset once the competition got serious after round four. Adriano torched Kelly, and three of the four-quarter finals featured a Brazilian. The Brazilians have been flirting with the concept of surfing domination for a season or two now, and as of today, they might have arrived as the future of the sport. They have the intangible attribute of hunger that most other surfers outside of Kelly and Mick just do not possess and nor ever will.
When we reach the apex of talent in the sporting side of surfing, there’s not much which separates people, other than hunger. Kelly for reasons only known to him has it, and Mick has it as he spends each and every day of his life making his deceased brother Sean proud.
Unlike Australia, with it's largely egalitarian, class-free society, Brazilians are born into an entirely different social structure. One with huge economic disparity between upper and lower classes. Adriano could be living in a favela right now had it not been for surfing. At 27 years of age, if he was still alive, he’s outlived his life expectancy in a Sao Paulo favela by nine years. This is his reality. You wonder why he fights so fucking hard every heat of every event and tackles other surfers with the heart of a fucking lion?
Mix that escape-from-the East-End attitude with a fiercely proud Latino temperament and you go part way to explaining the rise of the Brazilians. That’s a hard ask for Audi-driving Julian Wilson, a golden child of Australian surfing, to ever have to compete against.
On the topic of Julian and his loss to Mitch Crews in round three. Watching Mick take Crews to the woodchipper today made me think how far Julian has to go before he can ever be in a World Title conversation. Julian wasn’t even surfing, and his performance looked even worse than I first thought. If Joycy is Australia’s next great white hope after Mick and Joel have left the disco, we better get use to the Brazilian samba as they get chaired up our beaches under their screaming football chants of, ‘Brasilia, Brasilia, Brasilia!’
The opposite of screaming, is silence. And we had a little bit of that today too.
Our silence today was thanks to none other than Dane Reynolds. He commented on Instagram last night how every time he hears from the beach commentators, “Dane Reynolds ladies and gentlemen, up and riding, what’s he got here?”… and then he bogs a rail. The ASP took executive action and silenced the beach commentators while the riders were on a wave. Upon learning this new development Sean Doherty pondered out loud of all the things hindering Dane’s competitive nous, he would have thought beach commentary would not be at the top of that list. I had to laugh. And everyone on the beach heard me laugh, because the silence was fucking deafening.
By the time the final was on, it seemed like sanity was restored and the commentators could go about the final in a normal fashion.
Which naturally leads us back to the final. If that’s the precursor to the rest of the season this is going to be one helluva year. I’m not ready to announce a Brazilian world champion after one event, but you’d only be a fool or a judge to rule it out. //CRAIG BRAITHWAITE
Comments
Not too sure that I agree with the part about sitting behind the rock. The surfers aren't obliged to sit behind the rock at Snapper for max scoring value. Parko might've been lured in behind the rock 'cos "that's what locals do" but in competition those unwriten rules don't apply. Hey, Kelly got a 10-pointer in the recent Volcom Pipe Pro taking off on a double up inside of First Reef. Totally missed the outside section!
Go to where the max scoring potential is, and for most of this comp it meant sitting slightly down the line. It was why guys with priority were fumbling in the early rounds (see Jordy, John John, Julian).
All that said, I'm very, very dubious on Gab's 8.50.
I'm even more dubious on his 9+ that he got in Mick's heat. I'm sure he got the score to win but when they'd been throwing 6's and 7's all day for similar waves, to bust out that 9 I was like 'bullshit'.
Aside from that, Gabby ripped, no question about it and without the predictable all or nothing hail Mary's.
I thought Adriano's surfing was brilliant, full rail to rail power surfing and Mick was unbelievable too.
Bit of bad luck for Joel, he had the tube wired and found barrels that nobody else did. I really thought the contest was his.
As an aside, Bianca B is my new chick hero. Such nice words to Rosie and to donate her prize money in recognition of the fortunate life she leads. In my eyes that was just plain cool.
Nice wrap up Braithy.
Zenagain. Agree with everything you say. That 9+ was bullshit he got the score but only just. Gabby surfed very well but I thought Mick was incredible in the top to bottom combo's and Joel in the tubes. Adriano has come on leaps and bounds; Dane is a wimp (seriously if he doesn't care why does he turn up); and Jules is clueless. For a guy with so much ability and size he just does not have the focus for competition Mick and Joel have. Also one of the most interesting stats is that just about every time Mick looses it is to the winner of the comp.
Not sure if I agree with you there Stu. Correct me if I'm wrong and the judging criteria has changed, but does it not mention something along the lines of critical manouvers on critical parts of the wave? Would not taking off in front of the rock on a hellish drop straight into the barrel and dodging backwash comply to that criteria? No one else was game enough to do it.
That's one of the criteria, Fitz, and I think Parko was rewarded for it. He scored well from taking off in there. Point is it's not the only place to score high. All comp long guys were sitting down the line and picking off the better waves; waves that grew and had a bit more wall. I don't agree that Gab scored an 8.50 but I also think it was an oversight of Joel's to discount the scoring potential down there.
Don't forget all of Joel's scoring waves, he ended his rides down where Gabby was ending his. Joel was riding the same section, he was just committing to the wave behind the rock, while Gabby was taking off on a section renowned for being easy/easier, 'Kiddies Corner'.
Thats were I was heading Braithy, he took on the rock and then continued down the same distance. Extra difficulty? Who knows, its all done and dusted now. Thanks for the commentry over the comp.
Cheers mate, T'was a pleasure.
Problem with that theory Stu is, Joel surfed the quarter and semi posting nines (and high nines at that) from siting behind the rock and riding the barrel. That's a sound strategy taking what the judges are giving. Joel posted high heat scores from behind the rock and blitzted his quarter & semi.
The judges then (inexplicably?) just took away the high scores in the final. imo Joel's 6 & 7.27 were worth more.
Is it more technically difficult and more aesthetically pleasing to watch solid tube riding, clean exits and big forehand gouges and wraps or a series of backhand hooks, reos and floaters?
But ... that's what keeps us coming back to surfing. It's subjective criteria never falls short of creating a talking point.
"Go to where the max scoring potential is, and for most of this comp it meant sitting slightly down the line. It was why guys with priority were fumbling in the early rounds (see Jordy, John John, Julian)."
Which is exactly what makes Parko's waves so remarkable. He did what others could not. He took risks and pulled it off.
Hi, Stu. I agree with you 100% about the sitting behind the rock thing. But i totally disagree about Gabriel Medina´s scores. There´s more differences between Medina´s and Parko waves besides the barrels. Just take a look in the Heat Analyzer and rewatch the final´s waves.
Joel two waves simply doesn´t have verticality. He gets barreled and after that, only cutbacks and horizontal hacks. They´re beautiful to watch, but they´re not radical. When you compare to Medina´s top to bottom vertical attack (with great flow and fluidity), and a great degree of difficulty you can see the scores been validated.
Medina´s 8,5 score was a 4 turns waves. He absolutely shredded that wave, linking one turn to the next and ending with a last turn in a part of the wave with still good size. That´s why he was rewarded.
I guess in the judges eyes, for 2014 the style & flow equation all alone will not make the only difference.
And a second point, that not everybody toke notice. Until Medina´s 8,5, Parko was in cruising mode. He was taking his waves, connecting to the inside, having fun and putting a show to his local crowd. In 3 waves, he jumped off in the end smiling to the crowd and to the jet ski driver. Just as he did in semi final against Adriano de Sousa. Just watch the heat analyzer, you´ll see.
What happened? He got absolutely tired. When Medina got his two scores, few minutes before the heat´s end, Joel yet had a last opportunity, but ended up falling in the last turn. No more legs to burn.
And that´s why Gabriel Medina won the final.
Yeah, nah...Medina's 8.50 included a wind-up-the-windows, rail-bog mid-wave. The turns were very nice though. And his 7.83 was only one vertical lip smash, the rest were floaters or whitewash hits.
You're right about Parko coasting though. No-one can afford to relax in any heat, especially a final. The young Brazilians have a tenacity not seen for a long time and it's gonna take them far.
All that said, Adriano is my 'most improved' surfer. I still can't get into his style but I'll give full credit to the work he's done reinventing his surfing. Used to be that he'd just hop and bounce down the line using bottom concaves to get speed. Now he's on rail for much of the wave. He's eliminated most of his wiggles and checks and smoothed his style so he moves from one big turn to another using the full face of the wave. A marked difference from the ADS of two years ago.
I get the feeling that the young Brazilian push has not only fired up the Australians, but it's also fired up the 'older' Brazilians like ADS.
Sorry, out of context but:
"Unlike Australia, with it's largely egalitarian, class-free society"...
Mmmmmmmm...... seriously ?
Well that bit I agree with. Compared to England, compared to India, compared to Brazil and many other countries besides, we are egalitarian.
But anyway, this was a surfing comp...
Beat me to it JJ. Way off the mark. Class distinction is not necessarily about wealth, it's about culture and attitudes and on that basis Australian society is as statified as anywhere on Earth.
It was hilarious to watch the online backlash last night, people (aussies) getting hot under the collar about Gabby's love of the claim.
Correct me if I'm wrong but it was Parko who claimed claimed a 10 point ride at Kirra against Mick a few years back, at Backdoor in the Pipe Masters, and at Keramas last year. Parko claims as much as any excited Brazo.
If you want to talk about no claims then let's talk John John.
Parko's not too bad. Think most of his claims have being justified a bit by sick barrels. Mick is a claimer and Julian is by far the biggest Australian claimer.
Totally agree about JohnJohn, awesome to watch.
Couldn't agree more re 'daylight was second'. Radical drops, deep barrels and carving vs repetitive reos on the face from the 2nd section, and the reos won? Something smelt a bit fishy off Snapper yesterday arvo, and it wasn't the school of fish outside the lineup. Clearly the judging criteria need serious rethinking, or perhaps Brazil is seen as the market of the future and a winner from there will be for 'the good of surfing'? Either way the result was ludicrous.
Without a doubt the Brazillians have a level of hunger for success that the other don't. In recent times there has been Kelly, Mick and the Andy Irons (in his early ASP career) with that level of drive. Certainly where you come from establishes who you are and when you grow up in a rough third world country it can sometimes develop a hunger, determination and drive that surpasses that of a country like Australia.... I watched them and you could see it in Adriano and Gabby's surfing... sheer determination. But questionable regarding the final.... definitely think Gabby deserved to get there 50 / 50 on the result - I am not a judge :)
I just reckon a shoulder hopper shouldn't have won the comp, Joel surfed way better, his turns were a lot more powerful and he was taking off in the most critical part of the wave. I thought that the main focus at Snapper Rocks was to get a deep tube when they were available?
Kelly didn't get beaten by DeSouza either people, no, he just had a shocker and most of the spectators on the beach could have beaten him out there in that heat. I wonder if that crazy chick from round 1 broke her restraining order before the quarters?
Back to the final, Gabby is a great surfer but the goal posts got severely moved in the finals and no one told Joel about it, his free fall drop to the barrel was utter bullshit and deserved a 9+ all day long. The system needs to be fixed here.
Then there is the branding of the event, I am sure Quiksilver will not be impressed with the coverage that they received for their input of effort in this event. If I was a major sponsor of an event I would want to see more of my logo everywhere I think.
One was surfing kiddies, the other well behind the rocks. And that is a MASSIVE difference....Would a contestant get the scores if one was surfing Pipe, and the other was taking off at Gums?
The comment section on the ASP live feed on their youtube connection was going hoody nuts. Mods were kept busy, banning people left and right.
Glad to have your commentary Braithy but I do think the ramble about Parko not being rewarded for surfing behind the rock comes unstuck when you look at his second best wave - very hard to give a deep drop and coverup on a set but no serious tube time more than a 7.2 without pushing his initial 9 up higher and so taking out the rest of the wave (which was fairly conservative surfing). The judges would have had to basically say any of Parko's serious barrels at the point were toward a 10, I guess that case could be made but it's not how the scoring has worked so far. Parko went for the best part of the wave for sure, but he never got a second serious one or he would have won and it wouldn't have been close - it was a calculated risk and the waves didn't cooperate, or with the amount of wind and lump maybe a tactical error. Say what you like about Medina's antics but he displaced more water in more critical parts of the wave than Parko and Fanning, ironically in true blue Aussie tradition - the Occy comp is a good one. If you take the nationalism out of it I'm happy to see explosive surfing get its due.
Parko seemed to lose the plot a bit after his second wave. Maybe he thought he already had it won but his wave selection went to hell for 20 minutes or so.
It always worries me when someone goes batshit crazy in the semis - as Parko did. It's never an easy thing to get back into that rhythm and recreate the performance. Snapping his board wouldn't have helped.
For comparison sake , has anyone ever lost a heat at Huntington after sucessfully negotiating a tube through the pier ???
Gabriel's surfing was good , although much of the same was on offer .
If we talk of Occy , how often was he shutdown by the more stylish Curren ... ?? ( i don't know the stats ) ...
I know purists ( esp. Americans ) talk of Curren with royal voices , but Occy is loved , but just like your favourite neighbour / local . Not so on a pedestal like curren in USA .
Lastly i think degree of difficulty is put aside when someone DOESN"T exit a barrel cleanly .... FFS , I'm not sure even Kelly could have come out of that Tube that crimped / collapsed on Joel ... the fact that he showed how hard it is by getting flogged on one and breaking a board shows how much he was putting it on the line , its not just as if Every local would be able to do it .
So in the end a backside rider gets compensated on a wave where " its a much as can be expected " , but just because a wave is imperfect and someone manages the impossible then we just go " no clean exit " ....
clean exits displays nothing of the surfers ability just the luck of nature ....
Now the precedent is set , maybe they can move the judging tower to the end section of every wave on the tour .... lets face it thats where the points are . Be it wave ending airs or maneuvors in the face of a dying wave .... theres little risk of a surfers last maneuver compared to his first , as any slight mistake in his first ruins the wave . Hence at the start of a wave or even the top of the point of the break , thats where degree of difficulty should be exponential .
the smart way to surf this contest was to ride the most reliable section of the bank. calling it kiddies corner is a window into the pea brain nature of surf culture. i suggest a good nick name for behind the rocks is ' not likely to win corner' because that is what happened to most who tried to surf there. they lost. suck it up folks. a brazilian won at snapper. celebrate his win.
When Australian surfers took over the mantle of best in the world during the 70s and 80s, American surfers didn't take it well. We copped the generalisations from them: 'Aussie animals', 'loud and brash', 'uncouth and uneducated' etc etc, none of which particularly rang true. Was MR any of those things? Mark Warren? Derek Hynd? Tom Carroll?
There's an irony watching Brazil rise toward the top and Australian surfers denigrating them with broad generalisations: 'travel in packs', 'bad manners in the surf' etc etc
I'd suggest those names are about as accurate as the ones US surfers gave us.
Agreed stu, I heard similar comments regarding Brazilian surfers in bali from fellow Ozzie surfers.
Often these same oz surfers were traveling in packs and getting plenty of waves.
Living in a Brazilian colony, as I do, I have to agree. In fact their attitude towards surfing is very similar to our own. Most are competent surfers which cannot be said anymore about the "local" crowd.
Stu agree with was "MR any of those things? Mark Warren? Derek Hynd?" but not Tom Carrol. He was the biggest arsehole in the water. Him and Sunny would have dibs on who was the biggest drop in and didn't care.
Fuck, I knew someone would pull me up on one of them. Maybe replace Tom with Cheyne? Now there's a fella who can't be heaped into the Aussie animal camp.
Stating the fact that Gabs was surfing kiddies corner does not offer "a window into the pea brain nature of surf culture". That section of the bank is actually called Kiddies Corner and always has been.
ask your self why it is called kiddies corner. what does that imply? and why do some surfers need to imply that another surfer who does not surf behind the rock is somehow less of a man., a kiddie infact.
It dates back to pre sand pumping days. Rainbow bay was where kids and learners could go and get waves in good swell and not be towelled up by the sweep or a heavy lip at Snapper, Greenmount or Kirra.
It was named because literally, Kids, groms and learners were surfing it. An easy wave to paddle into, and the stretch of beach runs parallel to the beach, with easy entry& exit points (not out to sea like Snapper.)
It was not named to emasculate the people surfing it.
ok braithy, thanks for filling me in. my mistake. now i look like the pea brain.
nah, not at all mate. We're all pea brains here.
Cheers bro
You can call it fucking 'death row' if you like.
It could have gone either way depending on ones own criteria.
Medina shouldn't have even been in the final TB got ripped off in the semi. No doubt he surfed good all event but Taj's turns in the semi's were more critical then Gab's snaps
I reckon this comp had the fewest amount of airs I've seen in a while, at least for any comp held over sand. Much more focus on full-face carves and combination moves.
A return to old-fashioned values or the road to the future?
I think it's risk and reward. Big airs get scores, but you risk derailing your season early through injury.
Last year snapper wasn't going down the line like it was this year. When you can surf smartly down the line, you can nullify one big turn/ air with your overall wave score.
If keramas was still on tour, I think you'd see guys take to the air.
ASP rule book on judging criteria....
top of the list,...
- "Commitment and degree of difficulty".
"NOTE: It’s important to note that the emphasis of certain elements is contingent upon the location and the conditions on the day, as well as changes of conditions during the day".
http://www.aspworldtour.com/assets/2014_ASP_Rule_Book_26-2-14.pdf
If you ever wonder why all those dudes and dudettes are staked out on the kiddie end section, and or shoulder at your local...
Commitment. Degree of difficulty...
obviously they're waiting for the really gnarly ones.
The litmus test is the commentary. The schmucks used 'tap', 'hook', '12 o'clock' etc ad nauseam for all of Medina's heats, basically describing the same turn over and over with differing amounts of rotation. Parko (or Taj) surfs and they get to use other descriptive terms like 'barrel', 'wraparound' etc
Don't get me wrong, I love the way Medina surfs, but watching him yesterday was like watching someone make iPhones in a sweatshop - same thing over and over.
Variety should carry a lot of value.
Ha ha ha ha ha ha!!!
This "watching him yesterday was like watching someone make iPhones in a sweatshop" is the best comment from this whole thread!
Classic!
Putting aside the final (and i agree with the bulk of the sentiments above) - the standout for me, who has not got a mention in this post, was Miguel Pupo. His surfing is just so damn aesthetic - he has grace and flow which is rivaled only by Parko and JJF on tour; and a humble guy too. Easily the most stylish Brazillian on tour, I hope we see more of him this year.
New conspiracy theory: zosea push the brasillians as it makes great business sense.
That was a great contest. Nice wrap up.
I think Medina's a talented young guy who's changed his strategy and its worked. Good on him. Joel was unlucky to bust his board, his round tail back up looked a little slower.
It is a business after all ..... along the lines of Pro Wrestling ..... its in the script ...
DRAMA ....
at the end of the day, it was a really great event all around. Congrats Gabriel.
I went back to the site to check the heat analyser and was directed to login or sign up to Facebook or Google+ whilst also agreeing to and abiding the ASP's terms and conditions.
Although I may be one of the two dozen or so people left on the planet that doesn't have Facebook, I absolutely abhor being railroaded into signing up for something I don't want.
So a big FUCK YOU to the ASP and Quicksilver.
i was cranky about the heart analyser too but i logged in just using my email account
Agreed Zen, I'm one of the dozen you speak of and I'm not signing up just to access heat analyser which I went to check last night. I'm sure we're not alone in that camp.
... and if you include me, that leaves 10 people out there
agreed - fuck you ASP.
Media up date. Both SMH and The Guardian's local web site ran coverage of Stephanie Gilmour's win without even a mention of the men's result. Narrow minded? Chauvinistic? Who us?
TripleJ radio also.
Would've been different if Parko or Mick won.
Deadlines.
I am baffled why they ran so late - they missed all of the MSM cut off times. They could have easily done the Men's Semis and Final this morning in pumping 4ft clean surf, and had excellent vision ready well in advance for the Australian TV networks (who have always shown strong support for ASP events). Seems the ASP were more focused in servicing US media than Australian media.
It is worth noting this point for future reference throughout the year.
There's been a shift in the pro surf media model. It'd be easy to overlook it from within the surf media bubble, but big changes are afoot. For instance, the ASP paid MSM journos to come and cover Snapper and I imagine they'll do the same at Margs and Bells. If all goes to plan we'll be seeing much more surf coverage from the MSM (though six straight laydays won't help the ASPs cause).
Will this entice more sponsorship? Of course, that's what the ASP is attempting to do as the seed capital will run out soon. It's a hard question to answer but I think the women are more likely to receive mainstream sponsorship than the men. All the top girls are sunny, approachable, and well spoken. They're also (finally) being appreciated for what they do. At Snapper there seemed far less costumes up the crack and more fair dinkum ripping. The "if you've got it flaunt it" mentality may have served some women well but it's got a limit. Individuals get rewarded with big endorsements but it brings down the whole sport, reduces them to sideshow.
If anything great comes from the new ASP then I believe it will be money and respect - and maybe even narrow-minded reporting - for the women.
what is MSM?
MSM = mainstream media.
Zen & Fitz ...
I came across this Log In or whatever .... being as lazy as i am ...
I just clicked to the side of that message or maybe i just closed it .... then continued on my merry way ....
BTW it didn't make me feel any better about some of the scoring . Its just i'm quite against the fairy tale finishes ( which seem to often be scripted when it comes to many finals in the last year or two ) .... its like they try to create a tight heat .
8.5 ???? then they have nowhere to go ( score wise ) on a last minute ride ...
Even if that last minute ride is unsuccessful , too often its over scored to make the final decision look close .... ( like a conscillation prize ) or to make things look like a better contest after the fact ....
remember its a business even more so now ... in the past the politics of the independent 3 or 4 companies have kept ( or appeared ) to keep the contest decisions honest . But now so , even more than before there is only one boss or power broker and their business is to make this spectacle just that ... a spectacle .... core surfing performance values left behind for " the show " ....
It's a good point. When I was watching Gab's wave. And the announcer said 8.5, I thought,"ah just a hand out from the judges so the final isn't a white wash no worries, Joel is out in front by a mile still."
Then Gab turns while paddling back out and hooks into another wall, and catches an even better wave. The judges had no where to go.
I was back down at the comp site today, visiting a few friends who work around the traps who helped hook me up through the event with some access into places to watch the event I shouldn't have been. lol ...
There's no bitterness or ill about the result. Just a real glum depression. Everyone feels like Joel was robbed and an injustice was served. Someone said it wouldn't matter if Joel was surfing against Mick in the final, the fact the wrong person got the trophy sits not well with the masses.
It'll be interesting if we hear of any judging changes, either philosophy or personnel in the not too distant future. ASP is listening to all the criticism though their website and social media pages.
.......well maybe Stu and it's possible that Stephanie would have still got top billing if Parko had won but what if a Brazilian woman had won? No mention of anything!
Stu , the three " paper prints " i've seen today all had teh same image of Steph doing the same cutty , water angle ( probably all from the one Photog . )
I know their business model is New Media , but in Aust. atleast paper still has numbers ..... will be interesting to see tonights TV coverage , ( as the late finish wouldn't have played well for last nights Nightly news .
The ASP is now using Getty Images so the photo was prob taken from that library. Another move toward MSM appeasement.
Just watched WIN News on the Sunny Coast. Massive story on Steph with a long detailed interview.
Nothing on the Quiksilver Pro whatsoever.
Personally i believe Parko won it with full commitment but probably should have changed tack after the broken board incident and gone and sat on Medina,Joel was the man for the first half of the heat but was looking tired at the end of it, but youve got to hand it to the brazzos, they bring a bit of colour and flair to what could be a boring contest.
One of the biggest mis-justices (sp.?) of that whole event was dealt to Taj. I reckon he and Parko would've made an awesome final.
Banksia your on the money.
Braithy........Well, Well, Well.......... Near perfect Snapper today, and yesterday..... That smartarse dog in Tasmania wrote on the 5/3/14 in "fountain of youth";
" Window should be 14 days, not 12. 2 days can make a helluva difference, especially in Qld, in march"...... And...... "will be a good 4 foot without the "jellyfish shitwind" ".
Full comment here - http://www.swellnet.com/news/form-guide/2014/03/04/semi-pro-shakedown-fo...
Well, I see yesterday and this morning , solid 3 - 5 foot, with grunt, perfect conditions ... great for semis and Final... Right?
And Braithy, I noticed your comment on the 11/3/14;
" If we’re going to run both, why not compromise and EXTEND THE WAITING PERIOD period by four or five days? "
Firstly, just send the royalty cheque "care of Swellnet", and secondly, 2 days extra is all that is needed. ;)
Cheers, bro.....
ps, and yes, I do have "smartarse syndrome"... Sadly, it's incurable.... :)
Aha! But if you want to dig deeper, in last year's shakedowns, I recommended we increase the waiting period.
So I want a word with you about my 2013 edition of intellectual property, young man.
haha
Ohhhh, Touche' Braithy!!!!! Dog has priority, Braithy draws him into the first set wave, then picks off the second cleaner one ... Nice work :)
Bottomline, mate. She woulda' been a decent spectacle the last two days.
Cheers, man..... off to hobart to do "stuff"... errrrr....
Thanks border collie!
This morning was cooking. Consistent 5ft and with a little more poke to it. Woulda been a great day's surfing. Can't complain though, meant I wouldn't have gotten wet!
I reckon the result of the final was fair.
Just had a watch on youtube and it reminded me of the Owen Wright/de Souza heat in Rio a few years back, only this time they reversed the way they went.
Joel's barrels were not particularly critical, and neither were his turns. Bigger waves but he didn't come out of the tubes cleanly cos they shut down or pinched on him. My impression has always been that they won't score those kind of barrels particularly high. Then Joel's turns, while typically stylish (freakishly so), just weren't critical. Nice open face carves and some top turns but nothing under the lip, not much fin release. Nice work but nothing outrageous.
Medina took the less critical take offs obviously but several of his turns were straight up vertical. He blew out the fins, he drifted the tail, just way more critical turns I thought. Yeah he got caught behind sections but he had at least two critical turns on his scoring waves as well as the open face carves Parko had.
Parko is my favourite surfer to watch. Well, him and Kelly. He's got style like TC and power like Tommy C. But in this heat I reckon the judges scored it ok if you value critical manouvres. Parko's tubes weren't amazing, like say Kelly in SF in similar wonky conditions. Critical turns did the job.
But...flash back to Rio, and everyone got shitty with them awarding de Souza a heat for a solid move on a big wave (a floater) vs a tricky critical move on a small wave from Wright (an air reverse). I think it's analogous, except this time they awarded it to the guy who went critical and fancy on the small stuff vs the guy who went classic and solid on the bigger wave.
On the topic of Owen, despite being a Rd3 casualty, he certainly demonstrated the ASP injury wildcard for the 2014 tour was well deserved. Without a fall on his final wave in his Rd3 heat, he looked in form to go a lot further the comp... with a way more lethal backhand than any Brazillian.
I think the new boys are just cutting their teeth..seems like they changed the streaming on the fly and will continue to do so as long as it improves the entertainment value..IMO it was like Joel appeared to peak in his semi..and was kind of arrogant in his early water exit from his semi..If Adriano made one of his last tubes it woulda been a 10 and Joel was already on the beach..Joel stuffed the final, he had priority and didn't shadow Gab so he couldn't get at least one of those scores if not both!Lets not forget people it is event 1 and MR is next then Bells so its all on Donkey Kong!! yeew
If you don't care to register to see replays on the ASP site, although features that are available on their webbie are not included elsewhere, anyone can review the event on youtube....
https://www.youtube.com/user/ASPWorldTour
That is, when you're pau watching Swellnet stream live The Noosa Fest! ... Yew!
https://www.youtube.com/user/Swellnet
I don't care how many times i look at it . Medinas' scores were constantly in the mid to low 7's ... i can't see the 8.5 no way ... two reasonable turns one hits 12 oclock in the second marley section barely chest high .
Joel didn't do himself any favours , without any text book vert manuevers in the critical part of the wave / his rides . But neither did Gabby .... it wreaks of a " spectacle " decision .... But as long as every one on tour realises they're pawn's for theatre . Thens all good .... stick to the script and get paid ....
too bad if anyone one wants to be a competitive animal and win for winnings sake or attempt to dominate ....
" We''ll have none of that in this new form of Zosea WCT circus pls . This is Business " .........
Yeah, I gots to agree. Saw the heat on youtube for the first time y'day. Everything I saw mirrored my initial reaction on the beach that arvy.
Medina's 7.23 wave against Taj was better than his 8.5 against Joel.
That's all I need to know, to confirm the ASP judging is nothing more than throwing pasta at a wall and seeing how much sticks.
Not sure if I agree completely with the "poor" struggling Brazillans call as a reason for their hunger. Having spent time in South America it would seem (as in California and more recently in Australia) if you grow up privileged enough to become a surfer you are most likely from the wealthier coastal suburbs (not favelas or the western suburbs). The traveling Brazillians you come across in Indo and Hawaii usually come from very very wealthy backgrounds . This may also explain the sense of self importance, greed and arrogance that they are so famous for (mind you same can be said for spoilt rich kids from all over the world). Throw in a bit of latino machoism and the fact that the whole of Brazil would shoot its load and make any sucessful sportsperson / world champ a demigod with a patriot zeal Australia will never match; aussie new world champ is 2 minutes on the nightly news
I'm not sure Mike, it's interesting though. I'm glad someone bought it up. Maybe we had different experiences in Brazil? I lived there for 6 months with a girl after we lived together here for over a year.
Spent my time surfing from Maceio to Vittoria. There's all kinds of poorer people who surf in brazil, particularly around sao paulo and rio but really right up and down the coast.
The thing about brazil is, even if you are wealthy, you are not far removed from lower class and poverty. From the houses where I stayed. The rich employ the poor to be gardners, butlers, drivers nanny's cooks etc etc ... They really do take them in and treat them like family.
You can never have enough money to help your extended family in brazil (IMO) which is why guys like Gabby look after all of his, and he's hungry and motivated to help further. In his words, "you can never have enough money in brazil."
They know what poor is in brazil, and they've all grown up in a 3rd world country rife with corruption, crime and low employment.
That's a far cry from Jules Wilson walking around the sunny streets of gentrified coolum ...
I'd actually say there's a link between the gentrification of Australian coastal towns/ cities and our dearth of surfing talent through the juniors.
Past surfing talent (Joel, Mick, Tommy Carroll, Occy, MR etc etc ) use to have continual access to the beach growing up, by living by it ... now the people living on the beach, seem (from my observations) less likely to be core surfers or core surfing families.
I'd love to be able to research the theory properly and construct a thesis about it. Still might go back to uni in a coupla years and write something.
Brazil is well known to have a very high level in of income inequality so I actually think you're both right Braithy / Mike.
It's a pretty well researched topic by the World Bank, OECD etc etc, there's a number called the Gini Coefficient that explains the ratio of high to low income earners basically, Brazil's in the 60s (0 = perfect income inequality, 100 = perfect inequality), Australia by comparison is in the 30s, ie twice as 'equal' on this measure.
More on that here - http://data.worldbank.org/indicator/SI.POV.GINI/
Re: your theory Braithy, may well be onto something there ... albeit I'd modify that to look at the gentrification of city beaches since I'd argue Australia's regional towns (which Sydney aside, are where pretty much all of Australia's best surfers have come from) are still reasonably accessible by world standards. Where 'accessible' means can you afford to live in a regional town yet still access an appropriate level of services, opportunity etc.
Look forward to reading the thesis mate!
Yes the east coast outside of a few more salubrious towns is relatively cheap to live in. One interesting example is Lorne here in Victoria. When I was growing up in the 70's and 80's all the best surfers seemed to come from the Lorne region. Wayne Lynch, Greg Brown, and a guy who's name escapes me came second or third in the Australian titles (ended up with schizophrenia unfortunately). Nothing is left of the fishing village in Lorne now. Then there were 50 boats on the pier, now none. Price rises are such that unless you owned a house years ago, you wouldn't get near one now (multi million dollar). The pub in winter used to be full of locals, now they all live on the other side of the mountain and the place is a ghost town off season. Certainly killed this incubator for talent. With Brazil they have unfortunately only themselves to blame. They have just as much natural resources if not more than Australia, yet they have only recently begun to get their act together in basic government e.g.. less corruption, pay proper taxes on time and install some decent government institutions (rubbish removal, sewerage disposal, storm water, etc). Speaking to some travelling Zillas in Bali and they were pissed off they had to pay tax. When I explained how much I paid and why (see above basic governance) they quickly shut up. Welcome to the real world.
one good thing about the Brazilian's success in this comp.. no mention of Kelly. finally.
you wouldn't want to be paying any taxes at all on most brazilian salaries memla… wages over there are horrendous compared to Aus and the price of living is high as well. Brazil is a very hard place to live even for the middle classes… the 'middle class', which is the majority of the country is nothing like how we think of 'middle class' here… it just means you're not desperately poor. In many places in South America, wages are low, but cost of living expenses reflects this and goes some way to making up for the wages. This is not really the case in Brazil, many things are as expensive or far more expensive than even Australia! Expensive holiday too unless you are staying in the worst places and eating beans and rice…. I'm not sure how exactly the tax system has changed there… but it is my understanding that employers have to pay the government something like a 'pre-salary tax'… so they pay the government the same as what they pay you basically taxes but it does't technically come out of your salary because it was never considered a part of your salary… which means there is no such thing as a tax return either… screwed at both ends… or something like that… have to look into it. 'socialist' peoples government. commies when it suits their image… don't worry about policy… brazil needs a legitimate rise of the people… government needs to be cleaned out and started fresh. the problem is that some of the criminal gangs are so powerful as to be almost political parties themselves… and if not just as powerful… they would inevitably fill and/or exploit any power vacuum. incredible country with incredibly complex issues. if they sorted their shit out they would be a serious world power in a lot more than pro surfing...
Hear ya Grug, especially the last sentence.
I agree grug the country should be a powerhouse but it was colonised by the Portugese who were shithouse colonisers (are there good ones?). At least the Poms and Frogs gave the countries they took over a system of government, institutions and in the case of the Poms, trains as well. The Portugese did the usual raping, pillaging and slavery and gave back nothing (the Spanish were just as bad). And all that supposed latin hot blood ends up as just that in the end. Seems that the country has a super uneven wealth distribution which we don't and an over reliance on a high GST (ICMS) which goes to what you are saying about the cost of living. Their income and capital gains taxes are too low. More tax on the rich is the way to go. Less hot headedness and more focus on getting the country right.
still perplexed how Gabriel beat Parko... not by toe toe proper behind the rock, or prog surfing, but by channeling his stablemate, Taylor Knox?