El Salvador Pro 2025: Day 7
El Salvador Pro 2025: Day 7
Sixteen heats conducted today, whittling this slow running contest down to a very manageable Finals Day with only six heats to run. Commentator Jesse Mendes called it the “best day of surfing this year,” which seems a complete overcall to me. Sets were double-overhead through the day with the opening four heats marred by a vicious devil wind. The closing four mens Quarter-Final heats were slow and wobbly and onshore, which left eight heats in the middle of the day with the best Punta Roca we've seen this contest.
As Griffin Colapinto noted, the scale has been set low this event so heat totals aren't necessarily indicative of surfing performances. Anything scored 7 or above is close enough to excellence. Even so, highlights were constrained.
Yago (WSL/Hughes)
With the exception of Caity Simmers who can somehow manage the aquatic alchemy of transforming a tiny frame into big turns, it was a day for big bodies and big turns. All four men's Semi-Finalists are six-foot beefcake or above with the last of the small bodies, Italo Ferreira, dispatched by Jordy Smith in an anti-climactic heat. For those not keeping up, there's been a war of words between the two with Jordy claiming Italo's turns were ugly and not up to CT standard. After making easy work of Italo with one gold standard ride for an 8.67, Jordy laid some further salt into the wound by claiming that Italo “wanted to smash me” but that you “can't let your ego get in the way of surfing waves.” He further delineated himself from the ethos of the Brazilian Storm by stating he wasn't so attached to the competition result because he was a “passionate surfer at heart” and he was only focussed on catching the “best waves and performing for everbody."
Jordy and Italo (WSL/Hughes)
Absolutely brilliant use of the microphone. Surfers, as a rule, haven't twigged to the immense power they wield when on the glass and with the mic put in front of them. The winner with the mic gets to write history, set the tone for the day to come and the following events. Only Jordy comes close to utilising it as a tool to further his career.
Both Jordy's heats were masterful. As mentioned, there was his one brute power wave to send Italo packing, plus the highlight heat of the day against Leo in Heat 6 of the Round of 16. It was the peak of the conditions with sets and winds just mellowing and swinging more true offshore. Even so, as you'll see from Leo's rides, a bitch of a wave as far as collapsing sections that leave surfers chasing whitewater to get back on the face.
If you only watch one wave today, Jordy's opener would be the one to check out. Undoubtedly the best wave from three years of competition at Punta Roca. Jordy sliced a gaping wound in the belly of it to start, then pulled up under the lip for a neat tube-ride - the first real one we've seen in three years of competition here.
Jordy (WSL/Hughes)
An indisputable benefit of watching live CT surfing over the course of a day, as opposed to edits, or photos in magazines, is you get truth in advertising. Photos lie; real-time coverage over hours and days does not. It reveals all. Photos of Jordy's wave will be everywhere but are unrepresentative.
It shows Punta Roca to have a few quality moments every morning dependent on land breezes and a narrow tide window. Outside that, onshores rip into it, slow, boggy, uneven paced waves, wind down the point after interminable lulls. It's hard to surf. Probably better suited to a mid-length most of the time. Despite what WSL commentators try and tell you, you can see all of this with your own eyes.
Cole Houshmand and Alejo Muniz battled to dead even scores in the heat following Leo and Jordy. Countback to the single highest scoring wave, Cole's 8.50, decided the match-up. Griffin Colapinto made an astute observation pertinent to the heat when he stated that style was essentially baked in; it's incredibly hard to budge. He was referring, in the positive, to Ethan Ewing, but it applies equally the other way to Alejo. Eight years off tour and he's come back as the same surfer. Same short power snaps and wide-legged stance. No clear evolution in repertoire or technique. Competition only affirms those deficiencies.
Alejo (WSL/Hughes)
Caity continues the non-domination domination of women's surfing. The complete anti-jock surfing against the ultra-competitive Bella Kenworthy, replete with knee brace. Everything about modern surfing suggests athleticism and powerful bodies should reign supreme - even on the women's side of the draw as evidenced by Carissa Moore and Caz Marks, and now by Gabby Bryan. I still don't quite know how Caity turns that tiny frame into such big turns, or how that will translate into taming wild blue caverns at Cloudbreak. But she does.
Caity (WSL/Hughes)
Watching Gabby Bryan take a meat cleaver to Punta Roca as the onshore wind started crumbling sections started giving me serious deja vu for an Aussie power surfer but it took until the end of the heat to figure out who. The vicious hacks had more than a passing resemblance to Matt Hoy in his prime. Minus the tatts and devotion to beer.
By the time the men's quarters hit the water the tide was wrong and sets slowed to a crawl. One or two per heat and if you weren't in rhythm to catch the best ones it was goodnight Irene.
Gabby (WSL/Hughes)
Ethan Ewing went excellent in his opening ride and then sat and sat. Crosby Colapinto had mogged him for the opening exchange and with a second ride also counting basically sat on the Stradbroke Islander all heat. It was only in the final moments a funky, semi-set arrived and with CC holding priority it looked like an easy task to close it out. Somehow, EE got in under Cros and managed to get an entry into the wave with Cros claiming later, he thought it was a crappy one and he could fake EE out of it.
Ethan (WSL/Hughes)
Ethan only needed a 6 and he hit the first section hard, then pushed the power layback into the second turn. If he made that turn and finished the wave, there was the required score. Inexplicably, he choked on the second turn and overcooked it.
Despite brother Griff claiming in the booth that Crosby had “fumbled it," he was through.
Two South Africans, Jordy and Matty McGillvray in the Semi's against the two San Clementeans, Crosby and Cole.
Caity and Gabby in the semis could be the match-up of the day.
My dark horse pick: Isabella Nichols to go all the way after besting Molly Picklum.
Hopefully lulls won't decide it.
// STEVE SHEARER
Surf City El Salvador Pro Men’s Round of 16 Results:
HEAT 1: Yago Dora (BRA) 13.17 DEF. Connor O'Leary (JPN) 8.84
HEAT 2: Matthew McGillivray (RSA) 12.33 DEF. Marco Mignot (FRA) 9.17
HEAT 3: Ethan Ewing (AUS) 14.76 DEF. Joao Chianca (BRA) 9.33
HEAT 4: Crosby Colapinto (USA) 13.00 DEF. George Pittar (AUS) 11.50
HEAT 5: Italo Ferreira (BRA) 14.26 DEF. Ramzi Boukhiam (MAR) 10.76
HEAT 6: Jordy Smith (RSA) 14.93 DEF. Leonardo Fioravanti (ITA) 14.33
HEAT 7: Cole Houshmand (USA) 14.33 DEF. Alejo Muniz (BRA) 14.33
HEAT 8: Miguel Pupo (BRA) 15.33 DEF. Alan Cleland (MEX) 10.83
Surf City El Salvador Pro Men’s Quarterfinal Results:
HEAT 1: Matthew McGillivray (RSA) 12.60 DEF. Yago Dora (BRA) 11.00
HEAT 2: Crosby Colapinto (USA) 14.43 DEF. Ethan Ewing (AUS) 11.47
HEAT 3: Jordy Smith (RSA) 13.90 DEF. Italo Ferreira (BRA) 9.77
HEAT 4: Cole Houshmand (USA) 11.50 DEF. Miguel Pupo (BRA) 5.97
Surf City El Salvador Pro Women’s Quarterfinal Results:
HEAT 1: Caitlin Simmers (USA) 14.34 DEF. Sawyer Lindblad (USA) 12.90
HEAT 2: Gabriela Bryan (HAW) 17.40 DEF. Bella Kenworthy (USA) 15.67
HEAT 3: Molly Picklum (AUS) 12.34 DEF. Brisa Hennessy (CRC) 10.26
HEAT 4: Isabella Nichols (AUS) 13.77 DEF. Bettylou Sakura Johnson (HAW) 11.33
Comments
Related to the style comments, a question that has been raised many times, but I never got the answer. Has an explicitly mathematically segmented judging scoring (IE, power+speed+style+variety+etc) combined into a final score (like we see in other subjective sports) ever been trialed in any surfing league? From WSL, to ASP, ISA, local clubs? Has anyone ever seen it tested?
You can't judge style !
haha maybe you can lanky!! Get a protractor and see how many degrees the surfer is turned front on as opposed to side on. The more front on, generally the more stylish.
Wrong old trout. even kooks can recognise that the surfer who flows is the one the majority enjoy watching and aspire to surf like. Style is an intrinsic part of surfing. If your style stinks, you stink, so lose points you will. Watch the last heat of Alyssa Spencer, clearly, she can surf. But how her coach has not put time into improving her style is a crime.
Anyone clocked Levi Slawsons style?
It is rank! Another one of those surfers who granted and put his board in good spots and wack it but jeez it’s an ugly look.
The juxtaposition is real when you watch him in his heats against LOB and Ethan
As stated in wos rule book , "thou cannot judge style"... speed, power, flow, yes .
Overly cooked curated style I think no.
Nope, It can be judged. They just refuse to.
Another failing of the non surfing Woz business enterprise.
It's an interesting concept but I can't see how it could function practically for several reasons:
1. Assuming that you gave scores for power, speed, style, flow, combinations, variety; would each of those criteria be equally weighted? How do you decide which are more important? Are they equally important? I don't know, I'm still excited when I land a floater.
2. How would you score 1 manoeuvre waves at venues where up to six turns are possible? How can someone doing an air get a score for variety, flow, or combos? There have been plenty of (well-deserved) 10-point airs (think Gabriel and Kelly) in heats where the other competitor has just been doing turns. The person doing the air would instantly be disadvantaged because they cannot logically receive a score for some of the criteria.
3. In other sports like skateboarding or snowboarding or breakdancing, it's easier to give scores for style and flow because the environment is stable. Judges don't have to factor in wave size, or steepness, or the pace of the wave because a halfpipe doesn't change. I feel that we'd be asking surfing judges to do too much by having to factor in more variables on top of those already provided by the ocean.
4. What is stylish surfing? How far apart of a leg stance is too far? How much arm-waving is too much? How low should people get on their bottom turn? I get that we can all look at someone and think they have a "good" style but most of us couldn't explain why we like it. Unlike individual moves that can be (more) objectively judged for their amplitude, or timing, or cleanliness of landing/finishing, there are no metrics you can consistently apply to style unless you arbitrarily picked certain qualities you liked. Having a style score would also leave judges too open to nationality, nostalgia, and personal biases. The same way we see these biases playing out in comment sections like these.
5. Do you score speed by whacking a GPS on every athlete? you probably could. But then are you scoring average speed across the wave, speed through each turn, speed coming out of each turn?
I guess my overall sense is that it would be impractical for judges to have to think about 5 or 6 scores every time a surfer rides a wave. If each competitor surfs 5 waves in a 30-minute heat, that's 30 scores needed for each surfer and 60 in total. Imagine a beach break where 3 surfers ride 10 waves a heat. That's 30 waves and 180 individual scores. You couldn't score that accurately in 30 minutes. The only venue this could possibly work would be at the ranch where there is a 3-minute break after each wave. I like the idea pv but I just can't see how it would work.
don't overthink it mate.
Keep over thinking, tail.
Welcome to the world of judging .
Don't get caught on that dock in tahiti
...
Thanks for the summary, FR! I always enjoy reading it
I generally despise pro surfing but read these columns for the entertainment value. However, reading Jordy had bested Italo after a war of words made me sit up and pay attention. The first surfer I’ve rooted for in a long time. Absolutely love his take on competitive surfing and the fact he’s prepared to wield the mic creatively and daringly.
Big fan of Jordy; but not a fan of Italo at all. In fact the whole hypercaffeinated Brazilian squad grates on me big time.
Would love for the mellow Zaffer to win one before he retires.
100%. no notes.
I wouldn't describe Jordy as mellow. His claims over the years have been more wild than many of the Brazilians and he's got a mouth on him (Despite never winning a title and not having won an event in 8 years). I wonder how we'd take it if it was a Brazilian making similar comments about one of our Aussie surfers. Would that still be creative and daring or would we be outraged? I agree though that it's entertaining and we're all thirsty for drama in an event that has been incredibly boring. I just think that Jordy's bark is a lot louder than his bite. Especially after his grovelling apology to Mitch Salazar two days ago.
Spot on, Tail High. I regularly follow Aussie, Brazilian and European (and sometimes American) comp summaries and discussion forums. I do so just because I have lived in some of those places and keep accumulating websites of interest which I can't let go.
What you said about "imagine the other way around" is so clear that it becomes hugely entertaining as a display of our most primitive human instincts. All forums and fans have their groundtruth and biases. The one exception is a partial and recent Aussie-American brotherhood. While in the past the AU-US rivalry and finger-pointing was enormous, the last 11 years have created a partial coalition.
I guess I should start looking at South African forums too to broaden my view, :D
Adriano may not have changed his style but he definitely made changes (his bottom turn most obviously) that improved the look of his surfing... to the point where i enjoyed watching him and cheered his title. Alejo surfs like he's never seen video of himself....
what a final four in the men's! 'cept Cole i never would've guessed.
heart says Jordy, head says Cole (especially if it's windy).
Re style
"Alejo surfs like he has never seen a video of himself ."
That's alejos natural style.
Raw, grindy, explosive...
Kinda built from those short period argentine braz waves....
Do you think it's the waves fault? There's so much variation in Brazilian style, from horrible (Alejo, Italo) to super cool (Yago, Miguel). They all grew up in similar waves. I always wonder...
I had Jordy/Sally for my multi.
Sals already fkd that for me but go Jords!!
Jordy was such a pleasure to watch in the quarters, he was killin’ it
Warmed my heart to see Jordy smash it. And so satisfying for Gab Bryan to combine her power with excellent timing. Would love to see those two win.
Loved the write up. But I think caity was versus sawyer and Bella k had the massive heat with gabby.
Thanks Steve, didn't watch any and now I don't need to. I would add IMHO though that Kelly was the master of the mic on the glass, he always gave an opinion that put the narrative right back in his own corner. I guess the old dogs do have something to teach the pups
Or Kelly could turn any conversation and make it about himself. .....
I must agree with Steve's appraisal of Alejo. Despite viewing Col's window wiper tail snaps as overscored (he throws so much water with such basic turns), Alejo is difficult to watch. Gaby's 9.23 was certainly sick. Speed, power, edge. LOL - Caity - trying to get a tan, get some freckles.
Great write up again FR. I've missed much of this comp due to most in the middle of the night but have caught what I could. Loving the Jordy resurgence too. I got to surf punta roca last year a bit and it to me had plenty of grunt and speed certainly way more than raglan at the same size. And their local ripper Bryan Perez is a very good surfer. Unlucky not to beat Italo
I do feel Perez got him again this year...
Definitely a ripper.
thanks Steve and swellnet for keeping me informed, so the Aussie legs mean something to me. El Sal is the first comp I've completely faded on. I didn't intend watching the tub, hated it, but still found time. Not this one. Time zone didn't help. Love small Caity's bigness getting a coupla spottys @fr.
If we’re painting Houshy as a MAGAfied manosphered RWNJ on the basis of a single selfie, then it seems right and proper that he should open his CT account in El Sal. He should lean in on the post heaters too, and use them to further his career. Give us some insight into his heterodox views, and kick those views into some real estate on that awfully white looking surfboard. Leftist Tear’s Tumblers, Jeremy’s Razors, Black Rifle Coffee, PragerU, Birch Gold, PreBorn, bitcoin2025, HelixSleep, PDSDebt, GrandCanyonUniversity, ByrnaLessLethalPistols, ConstitutionWealth, GoodRanchersAmericanMeat, ExpessVPN, ThatcompanythatkeepsyousafefromtheleftistIRS, Thatcompanythatstopsleftistsstealingyourhousetitle - MAGA advertisers are cashed up, optimistic and splurging cash on aligned platforms. A young all American patriot such as Houshy would be a most attractive proposition. Exploit those post heaters young fella. Get some good ol genuine made in the USofA stickers on that Mayhem shooter. Conservatism is the new punk rock after all, so Matt won’t pay no mind. You’ll see, that Mayhem will soon turn into the MAGA version of the billboard Medina rocks under his feet. Stay true Houshy, and wear it with pride. They can’t cancel all of us! And Woz be sayin nuthin, they ain’t care who money they takin.