G'Land Pro 2022: Day 3 - Finals Day
It seems fair to say as preamble that as we started Finals Day no-one had yet got a hold of G-Land. Not properly. And the numbers back me up on that. Just handful of rides in the good range. One or two excellent.
By the time Gabe Medina had surfed his first set wave in the QF against Jadson Andre I had the words of a tune from recently deceased rocker Mark Lanegan in my head. In his song 'Methamphetamine Blues' Lanegan proclaimed he “ain't gunna leave this heaven so soon”. Which is how I felt experiencing Medina at G-Land. Wanted that heaven to last to the end. I'm sure I wasn't the only one.
Gabe (WSL/Sloane)
But ejected from heaven we were. Medina was beaten. Before we leave, we need to note that six months down the track from one of the more dominant years in pro surfing history, in which Medina opened a gap to the rest of the field, the gap still exists. On the basis of pure performance Gabe was still streets ahead at his first comp back from stress leave.
How the hell did he lose then? You ask.
In the same way the unbeatable John John lost at Margies: a performance of incredible composure from Indian Ocean native Jack Robinson. Medina sensed the ocean had gone quiet in their Semi Final and roamed up and down the expanse of reef at Moneytrees, collecting mid-range scores while Jack sat still as Buddha in the forest. Medina paddled up the inside of him, tried to drag him up the reef in a move familiar to every unscrupulous reef break surfer hoping to soft hustle an unwitting opponent out of position. You 'burley' them up the reef, then slyly double back to the take-off.
Jack held nerve.
Needing a mid 5 as the clock wound down the ocean corrugated in the afternoon sun, then lifted on the reef. A perfect wave. Medina took it, but as he ripped down the line we could already see Jack dropping into the wave behind, bottom turning as the buzzer sounded.
Medina's flow and execution was perfect. Jack's was not. He drifted the tail through the second turn then had to hop and pump to get around a section, to pull into a tricky but clean tube.
Like Margarets, where this raw approach was preferred to John's flawless execution, judges favoured Robbo's ride over Medina.
Jack (WSL/Sloane)
Incredibly, Jack repeated the buzzer beater heroics in his Final against Filipe. The scoring seemed even more generous than the previous two instances but the judges are now sending a consistent signal. Robinson is now considered the avant-garde in professional surfing.
Incredibly, Jack did not claim his Final ride after the buzzer in the Final.
He did not claim.
Despite the preternatural calm, three times Robinson uttered the secret of his performances was “unpredictable to me” before explaining in the Final presser that he had been rehearsing these moments since he was a kid - he “took it that seriously.”
Extraordinary chilled, tripped out dude. Who now sits in the pocket behind Toledo in yellow with a Final 5 position almost guaranteed. Paying homage to recently and dearly departed Margaret River surfer, G-Land stalwart, and genius ding fixer John 'Duttsy' Dutton, Robbo suggested maybe Duttsy had sent him those magical winning waves.
Filipe had been complaining of being underscored all day, a grievance I believe he was entitled to litigate, especially if his rides were taken in aggregate. Johanne Defay did one turn and a closeout hit for a low 6. Filipe did two or three at insane speeds for a brace of low 5's. When judges finally did break the 6 point ceiling in the Final, the 7.83 seemed an overscore, as if the pent up low scores had finally broken through like magma from an exploding volcano.
Filipe (WSL/Sloane)
And Medina?
The third place finish gave him 6085 points and a boost to 23rd position. Assuming four third place finishes in the remaining four events he would sit at 34,000 points, a slender lead over Toledo, who currently sits at 32,240. Obviously that ain't going to happen; Toledo will likely end up somewhere near 45,000-50,000.
5th place Ethan Ewing is currently 22,905.
By those rough approximations Gabe will need to win multiple events and have luck on his side to make Finals Day. Paradoxically, after being most in danger of the Finals Day concept last year he is now poised to be one of the biggest beneficiaries.
The Women are in a much tighter race, made artificially close by the cut to ten surfers. Win one heat, as Steph Gilmore did and you are in the Quarters. Two heats at G-Land for a fifth place and $20K USD seems ridiculously easy money, but you have to get there first. Steph's backhand looked spicy enough but she sat and waited too long against Johanne whose winning formula carried through the contest. Wave quality was immaterial. Waves that were too square closeouts she turned into scores with one or two quality turns and a solid hit. Scored for thirty yards of reef out of a potential five hundred seemed sacrilegious to me, but judges locked in behind the strategy and it proved a durable formula.
Johanne (WSL/Sloane)
Carissa waited for the bombs with the good angle and did the best womens surfing of the event. Some of the top to bottom flow was sublime, and she only came up one wave short in the Final.
For a comp that seemed to lack drama in almost all the match-ups until Robbo/Medina, that clash did seem to offer a potential fuse to light for the rest of the season. Jack said it several times but it wasn't until later that it resonated. I'm paraphrasing but he referred to clashing with Medina as something that would now be a regular fixture.
Is this the rivalry we have been looking for?
John and Medina seems to have fizzled. Julian is retired. Could Jack be the dog to wrestle the bone with Medina?
With Charlie sidelined, the more mongrel aspects of Gabe's competitiveness have been quietly retired. It's a more sedate Medina who is content to win happy. More's the pity for mine. I enjoyed the raw aggression and rule testing, from a safe distance to be sure.
But now that Jack has figured out a way to “manage my mind” the potential for epic encounters with Medina through the back half of the tour is real.
Jack grew through Finals Day, no doubt, and the buzzer beaters were genuine sporting highlights. Let's take a moment though to savour his best ride of the comp. A bomb set against Kanoa Igarashi in their QF. Running a perfect reef line he backdoored a section at top speed, very difficult thing to do. Clean as a whistle exit, then leant into a huge snowboard carve, the mirror image of Gabe's grab rail carves. Pure surfing from Jack. The 8.5 was a low-ball score for the most sublimely ridden wave of the comp.
A comp where, according to Luke Egan, “surf culture clashed with surf competition”.
Maybe he didn't mean that, but that is what it was. G-Land sustained that clash for three years in the pre-webcast 90's.
Can it sustain it now?
When Ulu's and Keramas are there with all the attractions of Bali and waves almost as good?
Good enough anyway.
Give the jungle back to the hardcores and the mystics.
What do you say?
// STEVE SHEARER
Comments
Incisive write-up Steve - thanks. It was obvious though that Gland needs swell to really turn on. There were some beautiful waves during the comp, but nothing like it can be at 8' plus, connecting the sections and running for hundreds of metres down the reef. So your point re Ulus or other waves in Bali is well taken. 'Give the jungle back to the hardcores and the mystics.' A nice thought, but maybe that horse has bolted, with the expanded road access, multi-camps, and massive global expansion of surfing. No doubt there are plenty of hard cores and mystics out there, but there are also hordes of others keen for their all-inclusive week or two at Gland, so my guess is that those camps will be full for the foreseeable, comp or not, the major caveat being covid (and our other 21st century issues). That all said, it did happen once before, when Boyum's original camp was abandoned and before Bobby and Bambang - Chris Walton and others got it up and running again. That period where it did return to the jungle other than for hard-cores was documented by Bill Finnegan and Brian de Salvadore in a Tracks article back in the day - one of a series of 'Notes from the Paradise Trail'.
Multi camps and massive global expansion of surfing is a horse that bolted many years ago.
Even decades as i remember pretty hectic crowds at G land in the late 90's and early 00's.
Been 3 camps there now for nearly 20 years too.
And the road expansion is rather irrelevant overall regarding crowds returning to G land.
The majority of people get a 90 minute speedboat ride over from Bali rather than an 8 hour plus car trip there.
Have been for about a decade now.
G land went quiter when ments boat trips became all the rage,and when swell forecasting enticed many people who used to go to G land to switch focus to desert point instead,as most people think it's a better wave,is about the same length trip from the bukit to canggu stretch on bali,and one can stay there for much cheaper warung/losmen rates rather than $US100 a night surf camp rates of more recent years at G land.
I'm glad in a way the event got skunked for good swell.
They won't be playing the contest on TV's in restaurants and bars in kuta,seminyak and canggu like they would have it'd been bigger and pumping,thus not attracting attention from,ironically,most people that'd never surf it 6 foot plus but could all go out and have a go in waves like they just had for the event.
Medina is so far ahead of everyone (except John in 6ft+) it is scary. Steve - another brilliant analysis article shows you are the Medina of the surf writing world.
Yeah but I disagree with FR if you watch it again, the judges were all day rewarding vertical and critical hits as was evidenced by backsiders dominating. Medina went like a cat bitten on the bum with a floater and cut back. Jack was top to bottom with his turns and still chased sections, he got the better wave that allowed him to do it and won fair and square. He also got the better of Flippy who was magnanimous in defeat - unlike that brat Italo who has got to learn to lose and not be such a cry baby and run away and smash his toys. It's a really bad look.
Fuck! I had no idea Duttsy had passed.
He’s fixed a number of my boards at Nathan Roses place, and I’ve had the pleasure of being in the water with him at G land… he absolutely charged!! Although I only knew him briefly I’m sure he’ll be missed. A real individual!
RIP
Geez…Medina blew my mind from his first wave in his first heat. It was a looong wall AKA a closeout to almost every other surfer on the planet , which he raced for a hundred metres before being confronted with a twenty metre section shutting down in front of him . Here came the part that made my jaw drop . He hit the lip horizontally and gathered speed as he dropped with it to the base of the wave , all good and normal but he covered almost the whole shut down section as he projected laterally. He made it back on the open face with as much speed as he’d approached that pure dead end section.
A spit second of perfection which wasn’t a manoeuvre, not even a check turn , just the most incredibly functional rewriting of what was possible at G Land. I guarantee that no surfer has made a section like that at G Land before.
https://www.worldsurfleague.com/events/2022/ct/8/quiksilverroxy-pro-g-la...
Yes I cannot actually believe the bloke could get around that. It’s a shame you don’t get points for such skill. As you say likely NO ONE on this planet could do that.
PS - even watching how Kanoa negotiated flat out close outs on his backhand defied normal to me. I know floaters are not in vogue but to float the sections he did on his back hand was something else.
Great write up Steve.
I've been incarcerated for a few years (unfairly i might add) and just got out.
Is uplift still around?? Would love to hear his take on the comp.
Good piece, especially if u ignore the grandpa style music reference at start and sub in something from Drake or Megan the Horse instead. You had me with "burley" reference re Gabe's work, and also the take on Jack's last wave and the scoring such of. Toledo was a good sport. Imagine Brazzos score it differently. Go Jack !, Go Ethan !
Yeah I really feel like Megan the Stallion most eloquently captured Medina’s tactics when she said “I'm kickin' bitches out they spot, Stalli' Chan, yeah ah yeah”. That would have worked so much better.
No doubt, super more meaningful and inclusive for the non - boomers. Maybe include both generations of music references ,,,and whatever would be in the gap generation.
Lanergan is GenX.
And as relevant as ever. Brilliant write up again Steve and am looking forward to you dropping a reference to Layne Staley at La Libertad.
Come on bodheski, it’s Megan Thee Stallion.
Haha. I blame autocorrect
Haha. I blame autocorrect
Haha. I blame autocorrect
Bit lame calling 'grandpa style music' out when one could just as easily call Drake black bogan booty dribble. Real Aussie music Drake is for sure!!!!???? One is not old and nothing Drake is doing is certainly new so let's just respect each others music genres.
I do love Drake though.
Watched too much of The Wire lately to handle anymore black US culture. Will try.
haha, no you misread, I was calling the writing technique of recalling songs grandpa style, not the band that passed away, I've no idea what music style they played vs Drake or Aerolea Grandie per example, or Example for that fact. ok boomer also has good sounds. I don't reckon Drake is Aussie though, pretty sure US. And that tv add for coomonwealth games also trying to say that Splendid Ballet song Gold is aussie....also US. or UK
UK & Spandau Ballet. Splendid song though.
Apologies and I was being facetious in regards to Drake, just another hobby horse amongst many re' US cultures all encompassing grip on Aussies. In the later 70's early 80's the top music was mostly Oz rock/pop which was great support for the locals. And Spandau Ballet was a great song by Midge Ur?
I'm honestly not too sure we can put G land back under the rug.........
It plays a large part in Surfing History, especially if you come from my home town.
Its unbelievable its been so under the radar.
the wossle did a great piece on the 97 semi final with luke and machado.
that was incredible. I really enjoyed the event.
Can't wait till next year .
Nice to see turns getting rewarded again.. not just airs .. stoked for robbo.. filppy will get overscored in Brazil no doubt to even it up .. loved the finals day .
"Give the jungle back to the hardcores and the mystics.
What do you say?"
Yeah I reckon....
Was in two
Judging needs a fucking external review. Playing with peoples livelihoods (and my fantasy surfer) I do not understand how they gave the french chick the score for 1 and 1/2 turns. She should not have been in the final to win.
As much i'm stoked on an Australian going back to back, Jack Robbo did not win against Medina in the semi and didnt win against Felipe in the final.
I hate the brazilian whinging on social media, but they are right calling it "World shame league" in this instance (and previous comps)
100%. He’s getting juiced harder than Julian did. I guess the WSL needs an Aussie threat.
Send it back to ulu. Keep the jungle jungle. Jim banks once told me g land is the most fickle consistent wave on the planet. Ulu is surfably good every day. There is all the infrastructure you need on the point.
G land looks much nicer without a tower on the reef. A jungle doesn't need a wider better road. The competitors area is where the deer feed in the afternoons. There is no way to greenwash this event.
Very gracious of Jack to mention duttsy. He was a legend and all the g land and west oz crew will miss him dearly. RIP mate.
I thought after watching the waves throughout the contest, that there’d be no way I’d travel there to share it with a pack of frothing crew. Wonder if many feel the same, or does the pretty advertising have its desired effect?
"Give the jungle back to the hardcores and the mystics.
What do you say?"
Yeah I reckon....
Was in two minds re this contest. Would have been epic to see the best in world at pumping Gland, but then would this attract hordes? Been there a number of times pretty regular pre 2019 and pretty mellow older crew with good vibes. (some Speedies sessions the exception, but I generally hide further up reef). Love the place and wave, if only it was a right. :)
Duttsy was a mate of a mate.
Tragic. RIP ..
G-land, it was up, it was down, it was on, it was off, it ebbed, it flowed, it pulsed, it opened majestically, it shut down unfathomably, and that's just the scoring.
The two surfers most familiar with long lefts ended up with the trophies. That's a good result.
Medina out-surfed Jack in the semi I think but it's a comp and somehow Jack still managed to out-score him.
WSL should keep a long left on the tour. I mean how many times have we gotten to watch JJ fine tune the trademark forehand down carve. Medina (or any pro on tour) has never had that opportunity. I think that showed in the scores.
Anyway long waves don't impress the judges much, they're always happy to give the scores for two or three moves in 50m, that's not G-land but connecting long sections at warp speed won't get you a winning score?
Always good work FR
Robbo way overscored on that last wave undoubtedly, but I couldn't believe when Toledo was awarded the 7.83 for his wave. In my (possibly biased) opinion, I reckon it evens out.
Medina v Robbo, it's true that Medina looked like the better surfer (on a whole other level) but ultimately I think the points could have gone either way there and Robbo played a good heat.
weird scoring all the way by the 'judges'
Joanne Defay getting what she needed for 2 basic turns against Bronte in the Womens Semi was blatant strange.
It was outrageous.
Just watched the Joanne / Bronte heat. Daylight robbery. Bronte was on the better, bigger and longer waves and slayed them. End of.
Only minor critique is she probably should've got barreled on both.
Agree on Bronte. Thought she won comfortably. Thought Robbo did get score at end against Medina but almost choked when they gave him the score in the final. Maybe it is something where you have to be there live to see differences?
WSL will do the sums, would be interesting to see how many people tuned
in? I didn’t budge!
An Aussie winning,made the day!
The beer after that was like angels crying on my tongue!
"Give the jungle back to the hardcores and the mystics.
What do you say?"
The early guys were as hardcore as could be the true meaning of the word.
But let's be real, paying over $100USD pppn for what is really hotel accommodation with pretty much all the mod cons even A/C(if you pay) and western meals is not at all hardcore or mystical, just because the accommodation is surrounded by jungle.
From a viewers perspective i hope it runs again, chances of getting skunked twice in June are pretty unlikely, i personally like the focus to be back on G-land rather than Sumatra too :P
I think Robbo had a an unpredictability about him and his turns were critical, loving the tail dragging over the top reminds me of Taj's backhand attack.
I remember surfing a slab down there many years ago and Robbo is out there and must of been about 10 years old and I thought he got swept in the rip and too young to be surfing here. I was going to ask if he was ok. Shit I was humbled. He backdoors the next set wave.
I would hate the cameras on me and being asked stupid questions I imagine I would experience similar difficulties. Got to give it to Felipe who tried to ease his pain being in the frame for Defay receiving the trophy.
Jack reminds me of old Occy interviews and much like Occy is always worth watching in and out of the water.
Correct moi if I am wrong, but did we not see the biggest and best waves of the comp after the first swell died, on the Final day, in the final heat with Robinson and Toledo?
Shouldn't the organisers and the forecast team get a shout out for the timing?
Is G-land too long? If connecting impossible sections at warp speed with creamy rails doesn't score? Maybe a single fin comp there. Fil might win that haha but seriously his backhand was pretty impressive.
Keramas I think is the perfect comp wave, get it done out the back in a few major moves and get out. Find a left like that somewhere on Indo that isn't one of our last wilderness wonders. How about the one that's private already?
I liked seeing Jack win but I’m hoping that’s the last time the wsl have a contest there.
Uluwatu is the perfect place for it if they want a long tropical left hander.
Ulus is a bit scrappier but better when small and will hold giant.
A Bali Double: Keramas and Ulus seems logical.
Lets the pros live their lifestyle and get their instagram stuff happening.
They didn't want to be in the jungle.
I’m torn. The tour needs an indo left desperately, but the indo crowds are already bad enough, so nowhere off the beaten track dear allah please.
I think ulus is a no brainer. The search comp in 2008 laid down the template. Ulus can handle any size or direction, and then they can shift to Padang if that turns on. Plus it’s already overexposed and overcrowded, so no real loss.
For selfish reasons I’d love to see a comp at lakeys. I fell out of love with the place a few years ago and will not be going back. The peak would be an amazing place to have an event though.
For all those g land lovers, I think you’re safe for now. Despite what the WSL says, G land is not a perfect wave. Moneytrees can be fickle and sectiony, kongs is a c grade indo wave and speedies has never fully dropped off the radar. There’s still 50+ heads in the lineup for a decent speedies swell. This comp might have even been a blessing in disguise. I think it’s killed the myth of perfection off, at least until the next comp.
G land is not, and never will be everyone’s cup of tea, but there’s a certain magic to the place when you’re there. The paddle out at the keyhole up at kongs on a big day, the reef walk at low tide, sunsets, cold bintangs, the monkeys and the pigs. I can’t see any of those things changing as a result of this comp.
They looked happy enough to me fr! Great comp in the end and Jack needs to thank his lucky stars (or Duttsy) after leaving 2 winning waves to the literally, last second. BTW good to see the toning down of the flowery prose.
Must admit the last couple of g-land write ups didn’t sound like Steve’s others over the years.
Different style for different audience? ( ie not beachgrit)
Nothing conscious GF- probs go back to full flowery at La Libertad.\
just to piss Cockee off.
Bang on the money... tbb salutes Steve & crew for tellin' it how it is.
First congrats to Jack!
tbb did tune in for Elo's Posh VIP Cut Lunch that wouldn't top $600 a plate on the rogue CS circuit!
Kinda giggled at above Chix easy money grab...
Men's Dream Time Tour QF back up scores of [2.07] + [1.17] Earns $20,000 + a Limo & a line of Coke.
Too embarrassing to out our lazy brothers!
Crew predicted & called out this Cut Lunch breed of sitting pretty, shoulder hopping bludgers.
Look at me! I'm a dream tour Rock Star Pro...money for Jam & Groupies locked in until 2023.
No longer any low life Punkz to take 'em out & cut em' down to size! Ask! Where's the Fun in that...Huh!
Further new improved WSL Tuck Shop choice of Healthier Cut Lunch selections...
Just (13) CT Pros managed to back up a [6] ride or more from (70) VIP CT guest appearances!
But guess wot!
Stats again cement Steve's insight...Just one surfer backed up 2x [6] 2nd wave scores...in whole comp!
Who was that then...Why! Jack of course....(But! Big Big Bigger Biggest But!)
Further as to wot Steve points out...only Funky Cold Medina scored the hat trick of [6] back Ups.
Medina's [6] backups were in the 2 rounds prior to & SF (Noting for half of 6 rounds of Comp Surfing)
Just one surfer made a piss poor run of above average Combos & just for half the Comp! Wow!
Guess wot again! Further as Steve points out...
Jack played his pair of [6] back ups in the Semi + Final.
Goes to show how important yer timing is when whistling for yer shitfaced wingman...wise words!
To think only 8 other Pro CT surfers could muscle up a [6] back up > ( Note : 5 in the 1st round! )
Dream Tour faded into obscurity from Round 1 onward...WSL need to beef up their Cut Lunch.
Can thank Huey for loosening the lid on Jack's Emergency Vegemite rations!
However! We could be seeing a CS type dummy spit playing out...How so tbb?
It could be argued the Lads feel as if they're just toy boyz for the Divas! Huh!
Been goin' on about these Chix Hassles wot WSL has to put up with in today's Market Place.
Super Sub Sam's (WSL) Women's Super League vs Super Sub Sally's (WSL) Women's Surf League.
Yeah! Tell me about it sister! That new Bitch on the Block is Cock Blocking WSL Searches...(Panic!)
Gotta power up our WSL sisters to hitch a ride on the tail of Super Sub Sam's Comet!
Chix now score higher coz Elo's new dreamy Chix get paid a whopping 36% higher appearance fees.
tbb did forewarn of this & this be why they held off on sharing the Prize Pools until the 11th hour!
Grom: "Hey! Not fair...my little dream sister appears to be worth more than my Nanna's pet Goat!"
Elo : "Just STFU Grom...do I have to put another sticker over Turpel's mouth...Coz I'm happy to do that!"
WSL Men scrounged 70 lots outta ELo's $528k Bum Bag for $7,542.86c appearance fee.
(vs)
WSL Chix ceiling smasherz had 32 dips into Sophie's $377k Silk Purse for $11,781.25c appearance fee.
Full size CT Chix Comp = Dip 34x for $11,088.24c or 32% more then CT Men's appearance fees!
tbb wishes he could surf like a girl in Super Sub Sam's (Oops!) Super Sub Sally's Surf League!
Wot does any of that mean!
Did the Chix surf 36% more or 36% better for pay rise.
Noting that 2 chix dipped a heat brings appearances down to boost appearance fees.
Chix surf 1 round less or 17.6% less than their brothers but with 28% better min [6] Combo scores!
14/30 chix or 46.6% scored [6] for their Back Ups (vs) Men 13/70 or 18.6% scored [6] + for back ups!
One could argue for WSL to hurry and even up (m = w) heats if only to liven up some action!
What about the impact on a Locals Beach
Little sister's Surf Resorts can command 34% higher fees than yer [Locals Only] Resident Pro Shack.
Is that's coz Men can't Surf...well durr!
That's wot the chix have been saying like forever...we can all now painfully agree! All say Aye!
Steve's Comp Wrap...[10] [10] [10] [10] [10]
Forgot about the inordinate amount of hero worship for Medina; you’d think the guy was Jesus and Australian surf writers were disciples kissing his feet.
Other observations:
Robinson could find a barrel in a bathtub. Well deserved win.
Florence is done. When we saw knee brace, it was a painful reminder that his surf contest days are numbered. Probably will safety surf hoping to make final five. I would think he surfs El Salvador, withdraws from Brasil, then returns for J Bay and Tahiti.
Slater defeats himself in contests these days. He could have got to round of 16, if he had just surfed, instead of trying to paddle up the reef. His mind games are affecting him more than his competitors in recent contests.
The Mark Lanegan reference to start... The timbre of his voice has the same brilliance as the cadence of Medina’s surfing.
If WSL drops G-Land they have to find another left. It’s been the right hand world tour for too long... just ask Steph.
interesting perspective there trueblue. maybe something to it. are there any stats to indicate the female marketing prospects are more lucrative?
yep, observational stats from anything glamourous and surfing...
ie. instagram, warm wave havens - byron, nnsw in general, goldy, maldives, bali, parts of indo in general...
quite often there's just as many chicks in the water as guys...
there's a full legion of eurokooks, russia / ukraine babes, and south american babes coming up through the ranks
...maybe not so much through the ranks, but getting pushed in, and called in, to so many waves, by a bunch of guys desperate for a root or some rupees...
and mally chicks
the prospects are huge, it would appear
meanwhile, playstation and males stats are probably also off the charts
swellnet ran WSL IKEA range & tbb was brave enough to test the waters for this season's catalogue!
https://www.swellnet.com/news/swellnet-dispatch/2021/09/20/tumblers-bags...
Reckon any of us creeps would be booted off insta as soon as we started upskirting WSL figures!
Gary G made tbb say that...crew send him double pump blow kisses!
S'pose it wouldn't hurt to check that out...Anyone? Think they mean you tbb!
Better put out then...Here goes...we're aiming for the stars here!
tbb is making the point that WSL / Chix are paramount. (Quivering!)
After Sophie rigged up the Chix extra pay deal...
She never left WSL ...she bosses the WSL Advisory Board.
That's precisely why tbb saluted her for making up the Cut Lunches!
Sophie merely took the couch & let Elo mop up the rotten eggs.
Have no doubt Sophie is still bossin' WSL behind the scenes...ask Elo!
Yeah sure! tbb is making that up...Hang on crew...we're goin' up a gear!
Feb 2022 Sophie Goldschmidt + Ms Stiff (Media) > launch ( WSN ) Women's Sports Network
8/8 Board members...All Chix!
https://www.sportspromedia.com/news/womens-sports-network-fast-studios-o...
Sophie is on the Board & CEO for some of these Sports!
Sophie hooked up 24hr "Fast Studios" Woman's Sports News...
Multi $million project Signed up Golf / Ski / Snowboard & guess who > WSL...
https://www.sportspromedia.com/analysis/womens-sports-network-carol-stif...
Looks like they've made fast inroads >
Cricket / Footy / Netball / Swimming / Water Polo / Crossfit / Hockey / Cycling / Snooker
So yeah! WSL is targeted by a Chick & run by a Chick for Chix...as much as anything!
Organisation is not shy & [ Brand ] Focused!
Sophie says Chix make up 40% of sports but only 4% of Media!
So despite checkin' on Insta Chix stats...WSL is still very much Sophie's Flagship!
There's no way that Sophie will set free her baby WSL...Her Alt Power Chix Base! (Would you!)
See WSL is Front Billing...that's because it pops in the dormant Women's only Format...
(Hold on tight) We're shifting gears again!
There are no WSL men in this world...forget the grifters!
(Daggy low scoring WSL CT men's Heats won't make the cut for Sophie's WSL Channel)
Chix Sportsbet pubs only run the WSL women...no such thing as Goats or Medina or JJ...
Sophie can now fairly argue for Chix Higher WSL pay with the Exclusive Women's contracts!
Reckon these Chix contracts are worth a bit'n'all.
Again!
Ask her plaything Elo...if the lads can return for another bowl of porridge...albeit on their heads!
If blokes want equal pay ...then start a blokes only Channel...Exactly! Dead & Buried!
Again! Who runs WSL & for Who? That's right fellows...bow down to Queen Sophie!
That's how the chix get more money & better T&C...Blokes can strike all they like!
Sophie's WSN Insta (Think this in banned for Blokes) Need to Photocopy yer butt cheeks to join up!
https://www.instagram.com/wsn_au/?hl=en
This is her Media Unit "Fast Studios"
https://faststudios.com/
Womens Sports Network Launch coincided with The Chix only G Land...catch her drift!
https://finance.yahoo.com/news/fast-studios-unveils-partnership-play-203...
Now with Play Equity funding looks unstoppable from Chix Pub Screens to hop scotch Sportsbet!
Fascinating tbb and will be interesting to see as time goes on. Certainly much more female targeted ads during the broadcast is my feeling
Wish I had the key to the code Tbb writes in everybody else seems to have it I'm too programmed to traditional sentence structure.
Mate tbb's taken the language thing to a new level =facts=figures, not sure I get half of it but he seems pretty worked up over some piss-weak backup scores. Tbb=%100. Who would've thought it would be so hard to post a couple of 7.somethings at G-land
Just read it slow and you’ll find the gold
The constant third person references hurt Surfalot's brain :)
“Medina's flow and execution was perfect. Jack's was not. He drifted the tail through the second turn then had to hop and pump to get around a section, to pull into a tricky but clean tube.”
I’m ok with that. FR, you seem to suggest that the tail drift (in a ridiculously critical part of the wave on a critical section of reef) was either unplanned or not meant. I accept I may be reading more into that than you intended, and although that perhaps loses points in the ‘flow’ department surely it is more than made up for in the ‘critical’ criterion.
Conversely, Medina’s ‘flow and execution’ being perfect could also be interpreted as being just a touch on the safe side, a point that Strider made from the water in that semi (I think), saying something to the effect that his turns were maybe 70-80% turns. Admittedly Medina’s 80% turns are better than most pros best turns ever.
And was it a tactical error for Medina to spend as much time as he did catching inside waves against Jack? Especially after he had a couple of good scores. Perhaps better tactics would have been to sit for a bomb to put it beyond reach, or closer to that.
That Hail Mary final wave in the semi and the final was beyond belief. Reminded me that Jack tried the same tactic in the Pipe Masters and was skunked as the ocean went quiet.
It’s gonna work for you sometimes and not others. Best not to try your luck too much.
As for Jacks winning wave in the last seconds of the final, yeah probably overscored, but not in comparison with Felipe’s 7.83, so again I’m ok with that.
I think Jack’s surfing was the most on-edge and critical surfing in the comp, while certainly not the prettiest, which was probably Medina’s.
all very fair points BF
Genuine question - what would Charlie era Gabe have done differently?
Run over him.
Out brasilled the brasillians? Good points batsy and well articulated.
As for Defay’s win, I thought to an extent it showed up Carissa’s tactical nous in the final. The one good one she got was probably the best wave of the women’s that I saw, but she also didn’t make anything out of other waves that might have matched Johann’s if she had done what she did, commit to 2 big moves and a big finish.
While accepting that a 50 metre ride on a 500 metre canvas doesn’t float people’s boats, most of the waves did not have scoring potential for much longer than 50 metre sections, and getting connected for a couple of 50 metre sections wasn’t easy. Racetrack sections don’t score basically, so that just leaves the parts of waves that have scoring potential. Johann went in with tactical nous and it worked.
BTW, thanks for the write up FR. None of this is meant as criticism or even disagreement, just offering alternative interpretations of events. Love your work.
First couple of waves of the final Carissa blew. She misread then, missed the section and I reckon that cost her. I still think they are juicing her a little
Ohh man, these guys wait too long for waves. 6 hours of footage adds up to 5 minutes of surfing. The final had maybe 2 minutes of action. Need 4 man heats or best 3 waves, i love pro surfing but can only watch the condensed heat replays.
yep definitely
I reckon 6 man heats
and an all in free for all session, just for a bit of authenticity
representing modern surfing
6 man heats at G-Land would take three hours mate
Not at all, if you surfed Gland with only 5 other guys out you could easily catch 2 waves in 30 minutes. If not you shouldnt be a pro surfer. I saw tons of waves go unsurfed. Point is there is a lot of sitting and not much surfing. If you judged best 4 waves they would find 4 waves.
I reckon being a woz judge would be just as hard on life as being a footy ref.At least woz judges are pretty much anonymous.
I write this with an attempt to be as impartial as possible. This pro surfing shtick is pretty niche hey….
…. I mean the past two Men’s finals have been decided by 0.64 and 0.34 of a point respectively. Depending on who’s style / what country / who you had money on etc., would’ve likely influenced who you thought won it. It is so far from clear cut. If you had’ve had the final of G-Land on mute, you’d be a pretty brave person to clearly state a winner.
The Men’s final was painfully slow, but this alas is often what competitive surfing is. It sure was nice to see the goofies on their forehand and vice versa for the naturals. They need one other long running left to assist with equality prior to the May cut.
There is something ‘off’ about this new tour. Yeah it was all exciting having the ‘cut’, but what now? This crew can do what they want and still cash cheques until May 2023. Sally Fitz wasn’t good enough to make the cut, got gifted a wildcard, surfed 3 heats for only one win (elimination round) and goes home $20K richer!
On the flip side, you can go on a total tear, finish top of the pops and have the rug pulled(read: injury, illness, judging, shit surf) come that strange arsed finals day scenario.
I’m sure I’ll get used to it all but can’t help feeling like a few more tweaks may be needed.
Thanks for your insight and time as always FR.
It's a testament to G-land that you can have a comp in waves like that Toledo photo above, but it's deemed as a failure regarding quality of surf.
Average to below day at Gland in season better than most waves on their best day ever. ¯\_(ツ)_/¯
Good stuff, FR. As always.
What a frustrating comp to follow. People will argue forever who won what heat, but one thing that really fcuken annoys me about the Wozzle and judging is that you just know when they want to push a particular surfer. It becomes so blatantly obvious.
They tried with Rio (succeeded at Manly, but not at G-Land), and Jack R is obviously the Belle de Jour.
Must do better.
As Solitude notes, maybe more tweaks are needed re the judging criteria. Faced with a super-fast, critical, but potentially makeable 50 m section, does the pro race down the line demonstrating flow and speed, as happened a few times (but not rewarded) or bang a vertical reo ... at the start (scoring highly) but 'wasting' a lot of wave. My own view is that the former is 'better surfing', despite the lack of a spectacular single move. But I guess I may be in the minority, and certainly am re the present judging criteria. Running across those super-fast walls, with the skill and speed needed to make them, is in my view undervalued at present. That translates locally into a lot of younger crew going for the 'hail mary' rip-shit and bust move, blowing it, and 'wasting' the rest of the wave. The sport of surfing is focused strongly on manoeuvres, which I guess is the most straightforward from judging perspective, despite flow apparently being a criterion. Caveat: I am no expert on the judging criteria - just my 2 cents worth on an interesting discussion.
I enjoyed your thinking lindo. Many of us know 'good surfing' when we see it - it might be the purest of line drawn, the lack of wiggles between maneuvers, a critical drop or making the unmakeable section. It seems 'flow' (and by extension 'style') isn't really something greatly considered.
I can remember years ago surfing a long Indo left. It was busy with all kinds of international flotsam, at battle with each other and the wave they were riding - result often being shortened rides and overly forced turns that lead to blown waves time and time again. Only to see this Aussie fella, around 55-60 y.o on a 6'6+ (unsure of exact dimension) single fin just nonchalantly drawing these pure, high lines making every wave to its conclusion. He'd run when needed, turn when it let him, he worked with it not against it.
To me that is what good surfing is, but as you elude to lindo, we are likely in the vast majority there. The question begs then as to the purpose of having long waves on tour?
Good points, Lindo and Solitude.
In no way do a want a return to some ‘retro’ hands in the air weaving, but I do think each wave/spot should be surfed according to its character: I.e., no quick two turns to close out at G-Land.
It’s a long complex wave, so bloody well show that you’ve figured that out and can surf the wave. Linking sections smoothly and with speed, and getting barreled.
edit: vast minority
@IB: people surfing G-Land like Rio vs people surfing G-Land like well........G-Land
Same goes for airs a Pipe. Not cool.
100% agree guys
What are the skillsets for a beyond vertical backhand rio (old school) vs a long backhand projected floater vs tube ride vs full rail engaged down the face carve ala Jon Jon vs air reverse... For my mind its the floater which are being scored down.... Jory constantly has been ripped off. I think Jacks ride in the semi scored an 8 should have been higher...it had the most variety and absolute critical moves ....watch it in slow mo...how he recovered from that beyond vert backside rio with the fin drift to make the next section then find the barrel was incredible...more critical more variety I would have given it a 9 just my humble opinion. His 7 in the final was over scored a 6 at best but so was the 7.83. If the judges are just looking for 2 critical backside Rio (must have seen 100s last few comps) then just hold it in a good sized shorey. Variety is being rewarded.
Second that.
Jack seemed to be overscored for his winning waves in the semi and final, but they were both in the ballpark so it's hard to say it with certainty.
He rips, so glad he's in the mix because it's been a painful few years for Aussie pro surfing.
I'm not even a stand up surfer, so not qualified to judge, even after years watching the tour... but I felt like Robbo's last wave against Medina was way more exciting. No one is mentioning that the sections he hit at the start were bigger too. Maybe not technically better according to a lot of the comments here, but you know... some of the barrels these guys get 10s on aren't actually that hard to make either. Just set the right line and hold on tight. Robbo gets points from me for keeping it interesting and injecting a bit of variety. Medina's was just a bog standard good ride.
On the other side of it, I don't think he really should have got the win against Felipe.
Looks like WSL will get skunked again in El Salvador
I used to be sceptical about the cynicism around pro-surfing, but now I am a convert. Post footage of waves on your social media account, plant a tree, scold the locals about trashing the planet, and whine about flat days.
Robbo's come-from-behind victories made great viewing, but its all irrelevant as the top 5 go to trestles to determine the champ.
Yep, waves in Bali just as good, even better at times and more variety, plus you can go to bars and restaurants have much more fun in-between surfs. Hanging in the jungle which grumpy old men and grumpier monkeys isn't everyone's idea of fun, nor should it be.
totally agree. Day trips to G'land for me only.
I don't want to surf all day, then be stuck in a camp and have to talk about surfing all night.
I want my comforts of Bali.
Sanur to Desert pt 1 Hr
Sanur to G-land 1 Hr 45 min
Who’d be a judge, just like being a footy umpire.
Scoring was often odd. I think they scored too high for JR’s winning buzzer beater, but got it right in the sense it was worth more than the required 6.5 imho. His surfing is the most radical and on the edge. Well done JR and JD.
Did the Connor O'Leary separating board phenomena get a mention? In 50 yrs of surfing/watching surfing I've never seen anything like it.
Medina was the most entertaining rider of all, getting through those super fast sections with time to hack was so epic too watch and very highly skilled.