Margaret River Pro 2025: Day 3
Margaret River Pro 2025: Day 3
Eight heats, being the entirety of the Men's Round of 16, run today. Six contested in glorious 6 foot+ surf at the Box with a further two concluded at 6-10 foot Mainbreak.
For some reason I find hard to fathom, tube-riding at the highest level has become polarising amongst the core surf audience. Some claim running heats at the Box (not the entire comp!) is boring, it leads to non-competitive heats, not enough happens, and other complaints which I've forgotten.
Early morning Box (WSL/Ryder)
I don't want to mis-characterise those who hold these views which are contrary to my own (my boss is amongst them!) but allow me the pleasure to rebut them by strolling through the highlights of today's six heats held there today.
At Bells, Burleigh, and Mainbreak you can roam up and down the lineup to a large extent. Positioning is measured in metres or even tens of metres. Any reasonably competent surfer left to his or her own devices out there will rack up a wave count. There's no such luxury at the Box. Positioning has to be accurate to within feet or inches, to use the old imperial terms. We saw that immediately in the opening heat. Mikey McDonagh took the inside and held it off Griff. Straight away he was too deep and off the ledge to takeoff. Griff picked up a nugget from right under his nose for an expertly ridden 7.
Mikey tried to answer back but failed to exit a minor ride.
Griff (WSL/Miers)
Griff had to pin drop out of a set before nailing a back-up 5.83 and then appeared in cruise control. He sat further out, likely as a decoy to drag Mikey off the button. When Griff paddled into the wave of the heat he wasn't quite behind it so snap/stalled into it. The tube roared over him and the foamball picked up his board and drove it sideways. He was travelling sideways in the tube, invisible looking straight into it. The wave spat its guts out all over the channel and Griff was disgorged, like a newborn foal floppy with joy. He later said the sideways tuberide had “baffled myself” and that the thirty minutes at the Box was the “best heat of my life”.
I would offer for the defence of the Box that overwhelming sense of unpredictability - where some incredible tuberide that baffles even the best surfers on the planet can simply pop up out of nowhere at any minute of the heat.
Leo (WSL/Miers)
Jake Paterson in a rare appearance in the booth said you needed “balls of steel” to catch a wave at the Box. I'm sure ovaries of iron or some other gender-specific term would equally apply. All twelve surfers acquitted themselves in that respect. Leo Fioravanti broke his back at Pipe, dislocated his shoulder on the morning of the last time heats were run at the Box in 2019. He had every rational reason to show caution and be extremely calculating. He did not. He started the heat with four vicious wipeouts, any one of which could have led to serious, season-ending injuries. He finally found the exit on two below sea level beasts to get past Miggy Pupo who unlocked the key to the backhand attack.
He said later the wave was extremely scary but he was able to unlock in his mind a “go for it” mode and override the fear.
Miggy (WSL/Miers)
No-one piked out like we saw at previous Box days, most notably when Jack Robinson used Toledo as a priority buoy.
Courage has become a disvalued trait, bundled up with toxic masculinity as something that is counter to civilised society. Regardless, it's still part of the skill set required to swing under the axe and send it on a dredging slab with a hungry reef gurgling and draining below.
We can test the men for this trait but there seems more of a reluctance to admit its requirement for the women - who feel exactly the same fear as men. A thought for a different time, as women will not get to surf the Box. Perhaps a thought to be revisited at Teahupoo.
Jake (WSL/Miers)
I thought being a goofy-footer would be a massive disadvantage today. Connor O'Leary, more than decade removed from his slab-filled Cronulla domicile, quickly made me retract those words.
Local knowledge and experience was clearly a factor. Where to sit, what waves to look for, how to find an exit when the bottom dropped out. All that mattered. So, equally, did attitude and where you grew up. All the little sharp angles required on paddle-in and wave entry - sometimes the chip in required a surfer to angle left on the paddle in before shifting rails on the chip section before the slab proper. Only growing up surfing slabs puts those reads into a surfer's unconscious repertoire.
In the lexicon of academic discourse which has built up around sports performance they frame it as: “Perceptual-cognitive processes of anticipation and decision-making are key skills linked to performance”. You have to anticipate and then make a decision in a split-second and the only way you get to that state is thousands of reps as a kid.
No question about Barron Mamiya's reps in hollow surf as a kid. Did you watch his heat today at the Box live?
No..?
I'm sorry for your loss. It was the most sublime display of heavy water tube-riding this year, apart from his Pipe Masters win.
Barron (WSL/Miers)
Now, be honest, how many good tubes have you ridden this year?
Barron rode more in one thirty-minute heat. He almost single-handedly justified the decision to hold a round at the Box. Tuberiding seems the most simple of surfing techniques. It's basically going straight. Mamiya showed that even at the CT standard there are levels to the game. Most natural footers careered down the face and squeezed themselves under a pitching lip. Mamiya slid in like a hand into a silk glove. If that glove was on an anvil about to have a ten tonne hammer dropped on it. By the time the hammer dropped Mamiya was already couched on the foamball, caressing his way to exits that seemed both incredibly casual and dramatic. He could have ridden a hundred waves out there for 99 makes. Most would be struggling to get a tenth of that make rate.
His preparation after not surfing the joint for years? He just went out in the channel and watched Jack Robinson go about his business this morning. Where he sat, what waves he caught, how he caught them, how he rode them. Then, with the tuberiding brain fed with the relevant data, he let his surfing instincts and skills do the rest.
Barron (WSL/Miers)
I don't know how that performance could be framed as boring. Yes, it was uncompetitive because he was so much better than the other guy in the heat (Jake Marshall).
Competitive heats make the most compelling viewing but on those rare occasions when a surfer establishes a meaningful gap between themselves and the rest of the field - JJF at Mainbreak in 2017 is the obvious example - we remember and applaud it with good reason. It’s exceptional.
The only guy who could have challenged Barron today was sitting at home watching and no doubt rueing his woeful exit yesterday.
Woz would have screwed it up anyway with Jack scheduled for the last heat of the round. I do have to question whether they would have called it off with Jack Robinson about to surf the Box. Hold that thought.
Aussie wildcards have been kryptonite for Brazilian top fivers (and former top fivers) this Aussie Treble. Which augured well for Jacob Willcox in his match-up with Joao Chianca. We knew coming in Chianca loves to get ultra hassly and true to form he started with a paddle battle. That could have gone either way and after Chippo screwed up an easy make it looked like Chianca would get the advantage. Chianca packed a bomb. The foamball picked him up and for an inordinate amount time, he appeared to levitate in the tube before the trapdoor opened up and he fell to the bottom of the ocean.
Joao (WSL/Ryder)
As Chippo dryly noted in his post-heat presser, he makes that wave and its a 10. It's a different heat. But he didn't and it was Chippo getting the deep make for an excellent 8.17. Chippo getting the rub of the green, finally.
He said later, in reference that wave that he had “dreamt of that moment”. He admitted to the ups and downs of his career, where he's currently off the CT as “character building”, and said it had built a resilience in him so he wanted to keep pushing competitively. No doubt a certain amount of stoicism is now vital in the sponsorship-scarce world of pro surfing.
Unridden bombs stole the show in the Crosby Colapinto/Jackson Bunch heat to see who remains on tour. The wind was light and the tubes were round and as Jake Pato noted, the best waves were going unridden.
It had been a slow start to the morning - a waste of precious surf time at the Box. The 2019 day kicked off at 7.30 WST. Today's lollygagging meant heats did not start until after 8.
They'd run the remaining two heats at the Box and a long afternoon of surfing a rising swell at Mainbreak beckoned.
I can't imagine they'd pull those heats if Jack Robbo had been in one. It would be like cancelling a Frazier-Ali fight as they were making the walk to the ring. Just not conceivable.
It took over an hour to get started again at Mainbreak. The surf was glassy, just a light wind ruffle, with 8-10 foot sets. Big walls and bowls, perfect for power surfing with the tour's premium power surfer in the water. When you see a 200 pound bluefin tuna cut up by a Japanese big blade you're impressed by the precision and the cleanliness of the cuts and the size and obvious weight of the tuna loins as the chef liberates them from the impressive carcass. Watching Jordy hack into big blue Mainbreak engendered similar feelings of precision and power. Just like Mamiya at the Box with tuberiding he showed there are levels to the game. Mignot, was comboed for three-quarters of the heat and ended in that situation.
Jordy (WSL/Ryder)
Al Cleland paddled out and waited for a giant set that never came while Imai Devault sat in and ran roughshod over militant mid-rangers.
By the time the heat was over Al only managed to huck himself at the closeout on the bricks and destroy a board, and almost his body.
The lineup was beautifully backlit. Little zephyrs of wind were ruffling 8-10 foot sets on a building trend. There was three hours of light left. The mouth watered for any type of pro surfing. Women's Round of 16, Men's Quarters, whatever.
Pumping surf with a winter-calibre storm looming. And days of onshores ahead.
So, with that on the menu, the Woz called it off for the day.
No other sporting organisation on Earth seems quite so skilled at snatching defeat from the jaws of victory.
All they had to do was keep running heats until the sun went down.
// STEVE SHEARER
Western Australia Margaret River Pro Men’s Round of 16 Results:
HEAT 1: Griffin Colapinto (USA) 16.00 DEF. Mikey McDonagh (AUS) 2.43
HEAT 2: Leonardo Fioravanti (ITA) 12.16 DEF. Miguel Pupo (BRA) 7.04
HEAT 3: Connor O'Leary (JPN) 8.50 DEF. Kanoa Igarashi (JPN) 2.50
HEAT 4: Barron Mamiya (HAW) 15.17 DEF. Jake Marshall (USA) 5.73
HEAT 5: Jacob Willcox (AUS) 12.50 DEF. Joao Chianca (BRA) 5.87
HEAT 6: Crosby Colapinto (USA) 6.53 DEF. Jackson Bunch (HAW) 3.34
HEAT 7: Jordy Smith (RSA) 17.33 DEF. Marco Mignot (FRA) 7.17
HEAT 8: Imaikalani deVault (HAW) 15.33 DEF. Alan Cleland (MEX) 8.26
Comments
Yeah I was watching the last heat and couldn't believe they were calling it off, given the forecast.
Cheers Steve. After today and the current WSL set up, I agree with Ben. Look at the last 2 heat score totals at MB and compare to the 6 at the box. If you can’t run an entire round at the slab don’t bother. Don’t get me started on the wasted hr this morning, the hour hold and sheltering the women’s rd of 16.
22 heats left in the comp. Even with overlapping heats they're gonna struggle to squeeze that into a day.
Lovely synopsis.
There really are huge differences in levels of tube riding. Even at the CT level there’s dudes who are brave but can’t position and those who are in pits that with a touch more finesse would be making it out ala your Jacks, Barons and John’s.
The Box seems like Pipe in that the elite nearly always find their 8’s, while the rest are missing good ones. Teahupoo seems much more predictable for the less skilled.
Wsl is a fucking weird organisation... .. I can't look away to see what happens
beautifully captured synopsis of an extraordinary day of surfing, thank you
After the last few years, the WSL getting 3 consecutive events with mostly pretty good to better than good surf has been an unexpected delight.
Finally they get an entire day of solid waves with good winds all day and they can't squeeze the most out of it.
Could have run all the guys heats at the Box(starting early as stated above) then run as many of the women's as possible until dark, pretty simple really, im sure everyone would be keen to see the girls have a good crack this arvo.
Lovely work Mr FR
And really good to see Barron getting the pump up he deserves from todays action. Jacob completely comfortable at home. But Barrons takeoff under the lip to stand tall as he bottom turned...to the rest of the ride was as elite as it gets and probably way underscored.
How good is WA. When youve got Griffin saying he's doing breathing exercises to try to keep his heart rate down before heading out to the Box, Jordy saying he spent the last bit of the heat sitting out to sea so he doesn't get caught inside cos he's 'been watching the swell buoys'. I mean, these are some of the most skilled surfers in the world. WA completely keeping them on their toes. And what i saw tonight as the sun dipped down to the horizon was a cross between Sunset and Jaws unloading on raw untouched, jagged limestone coastline. Don't care if i never see another 4foot pointbreak comp again. But to be honest, most of this comp, and today, it's felt a bit like watching the dancing bears roll into town, perrorm their cued tricks, regardless of the changing conditions around them. Overwhelmingly disappointing for someone that values good surfing in good waves.
I agree mate, a bit of juice completely invigorates my interest in pro surfing. We’re getting airs that were considered “progressive” 15 years ago still getting 9’s in the right circumstances and according to the few heats run across the bay over the years, half the tour can’t make a drop that most of the local Boardriders can.
I guess if the SwellNet forecast is accurate then, despite Barron's clinic, the Box proved itself a waste of time. Don't get me wrong, it was so refreshing to watch. It beat watching Main Break by a mile, which includes better than Jordy's clinic. But so many overlapping heats could have been finished today at Main Break. I guess The Box showed itself to be a "luxury" only allowable when time affords it.
Waste of time? Hmm. I wonder if Jake Marshall thinks that. I'd say the Box broke his professional surfing career's back completely in half today. Aint no coming back from that kinda showing.
Poor bugger got smoked face first on the reef too. Not sure how he didn't get bent like a pretzel and carted off in the meat wagon. Could say he dodged a bullet..this time.
But definitely not a waste of time in sorting the men from the menehunes today!
Agree totally, bah, humbug waste of time. Who gives a flying toss if it didn’t get done, as a surfer it was so good to watch the can and can’ts at the box and baron is a wizard. We want more.
How good was it !!!!!!
Go BAZZA !
Great recap. Great comments. Utterly bizarre they called it off in such good conditions.
I can only assume they would rather say they messed up the call than show professional surfers dodging waves for a living. And I suspect that for ideological reasons they can't officially say it's too big for the women, but they can't risk sending them out there either.
C'mon WSL, prove me wrong.
I’m going to suggest, now that the pros ( and lots of amateurs) have worked out how to surf Teahupo, that The Box is the last of the mohicans, the last nut to crack. Some are way ahead in that game.
Great viewing today, but if the whole contest was The Box I would call it a fail. Having a venue like that as a variable, not a constant, means that only the best can go forward, and that is how it should be.
I watched Barron’s efforts to win Sunset, and then, and then, to be pipped by a Slater fluke at Pipeline, which he subsequently won, at age 50, he had him, he had him all ends up, except for Slater’s last wave luck. (Hope my memory is correct there, I think it is).
Barron is a next level tube hound, only Robbo could go with him. So pleased to see it, and how is the humility and intelligence of the man to paddle out to The Box in the morning just to watch Robbo and work out what he was doing and see how to handle the wave. Why weren’t 16 other surfers just doing that?
Possibly because Luke Egan is his coach here. Couldn’t imagine a better mentor. Luke is the thinking man’s surfer. He gave Barron the formula, and he kept his head in the game, Barron had all the skills, just needed some guidance. Barron is someone I could get around, and buy him a beer afterwards and exalt in his company.
Otherwise, with Robbo out, Jordy has never looked better. He should have two or three world champ titles behind him but he has always baulked at the last moment, couldn’t find his mojo.
He is now looking better than he ever has, the surfer he always threatened he could be. He also has my support.
A Barron/Jordy final in serious juice is what we all want, and may the best man win.
Props to both.
Check some video of Barron surfing No kanddui in the Ments. Epically heavy scary wave and he just toys with it. He’s gotta be the best tube rider in the world. Possibly a hair above JJF and Robbo even.
Wasn’t it Seth Moniz who was in the final at pipe against Kelly?
Great comp review Steve & good waves for the barrel hungry surfers... perfect for viewers.
Why didnt the WSL women go surfing in these waves today... if there is equal right$ in 2025?
No comments from the marketing team. https://oqg-primary-prod-content.s3.us-east-1.amazonaws.com/uploads/pdf/...
PS Caity & Molly would go for it... even if the wind wasn't perfect....
Your last thought says it all
With very stiff competition, this was your finest work of the season, imo.
Watching absolute mastery is a joy, and both Barron and Jordy showed how much better they are.
Meanwhile, the Woz continues to baffle.
Seconded
I loved the box, if you didn't watch it live you probably wouldn't understand how entertaining it was. looking at heat scores made it seem average, but I feel the judges set the scale high and the other low scoring heats weren't because of lack of waves more lack of surfers skills or some surfers charging un makeable nugs getting absolutely pumped . like shit i reckon Filipe could of beaten a few of them out there. I quite like the dynamic of 2 waves packed into 1 comp
Fantastic viewing at the Box.
Still think Mainbreak is a better comp wave :)
In all seriousness though, putting it into perspective, The Box is a little harder to watch.
We're all the same, aren't we? The live webby is streaming on a second monitor while we try to crack on with work on the other one. So we take audio cues from the commentary team when a set is approaching and switch browsers accordingly. Very few of us are sitting on the couch for ten hours in front of the flat screen.
But because The Box is offshore and at an oblique angle to the main camera view, we don't get much notice that a set is about to stand up - only once they're paddling in, will the commentators rapidly elevate the pitch of their voice - and the realisation subconsciously kicks in.... fuck! It's a set! So it's a frantic yet delicate battle to move the mouse to the other screen, select the right browser tab (because if you're anything like me, you've got seventy-four of 'em opened with half-finished projects), hope you haven't pressed 'pause' or 'rewind' or 'close' in the process, and cross your fingers that you get to see most of the wave being ridden.
At least at Mainbreak, these long period swells stand up five hundred metres offshore and the commentary team gives us all plenty of notice. "Looks like there's a set coming", they'll say in a tone that means 'drop tools, everyone'. So I can finish the sentence I was typing, switch browsers, put the kettle on and enjoy the spectacle.
Anyway, first world problems, eh?
Just to clarify, I'm stoked they ran at the Box. Amazing to see how each surfer took it on. The viewing was first class.
Still think Mainbreak is a better comp wave but.
Haha blood feud, Ben v FR
Im just curious why a few of the girls heats weren't run@ The Box
I did that for as long as they started doing live webcasts on the internet. Was good for my job - analytical/spreadsheet heavy - I could work on my spreadsheets with an earplug in and a quick alt-tab took me back to the viewing when the sets were coming (mouse clicking is for amateurs:-))
Now I’m not working I am spending long days in front of the big flat screen when it’s on. It makes for a very unproductive day, and I don’t allow myself many of those, part of the self discipline of retirement. The upside is that the weather has been absolute shite in Sydney for the past, ummhh, month and more. Made it easier to sit and watch while the rain is whipping against the windows.
haha, beautiful phrase "it's a frantic yet delicate battle"..
(sums up most of our first world problems).
Engagingly and eloquently delineated -
I'd say that's exactly how most watch if during the week.
I had it running through my headphones at with my phone left on the saw bench, tricky to catch live but got the odd replays when I sneaked a peek.
Sounds like you need to get a 2nd monitor Ben. Save you from all this unnecessary tab switching
I have two! Used to dream of having a NASA-style-wall-of-screens with weather data, then realised there's a point at which productiveness starts to decrease.
Which usually corresponds to the sound of the hooter on the webby.
Jim Chalmers, take note
Might be worth a quick analysis of national economic productivity vs WSL events.
Actually, a better study would be productivity of Northern NSW tradies vs ENSO. I think we'll uncover a major contributor to the housing crisis right there and then.
haha no doubt!
The law of diminishing returns, or, as my boss calls it, the curve of mediocrity!
Haha so true.
Gold.
74 tabs open
'scurries off to count' - and yes, over 74. 'scratches head'....
Full screen telecast, work up on separate program, you lot in banter on another browser
'Multitasking from a single workstation'
I watched the whole day on the big screen, split into 2.. one side had the WSL feed and audio and the other had the Swellnet Box cam running.. I could see the sets coming while they waffled on etc. was a great days viewing!
Pro hack! Well done.
Well played ...reminds me of watching AFL live compared with on TV! That way you can see the play coming in advance ...so much more rewarding. Snake in the booth was the only warnings I got!
"...and the realisation subconsciously kicks in.... fuck! It's a set! So it's a frantic yet delicate battle to move the mouse to the other screen, select the right browser tab (because if you're anything like me, you've got seventy-four of 'em opened with half-finished projects), hope you haven't pressed 'pause' or 'rewind' or 'close' in the process, and cross your fingers that you get to see most of the wave being ridden."...
Perfectly put... Gold :D
'in all seriuosness though'
'We're all the same, aren't we'........
Sorry bra not in my/our world.
If you can't understand what Freeride was talking about, then keep your mouth shut.
You don't even know.
Eh?
I'm sorry themalben,
No disrespect,
But.....
But what?
If you’re going to verbally abuse someone, at least have the decency to explain what the f@ck your problem is. What on earth are you on about?
Agreed, in that Mainbreak is better to watch the whole lineup set up with anticipation and more chance to ride waves with overlapping heats, which is what they should have done to get through most of the Mens Quarter finals with epic conditions when called off.
The Box can be a bit slow and sets just pop up. But what a wave, so dynamic and deadly. If a bit slow, that's what replay, or heat analyser is for; watch the whole thing in 40 min with a cold one at your leisure. The girls got ripped their time to shine (as did Jack).
Loved the day. Incredible to see the heat totals, mostly the winners in the teens and the losers, single digits. I guess they didn't want to send the women out (Why not? Did anyone ask them?) but easily could have run the men's quarters in pumping building waves...baffling
The box was fun to watch yesterday but with the predicted forecast would much rather seen them run overlapping heats all day at main break and cover off all the round of 16 for men and women, even if they sent out the women first before the waves got massive. I don’t really get having a comp at two such different venues especially one with such a high degree of danger and little practice time for most of the field. I’d rather see the pros do an expression session out there and watch the surfers who want to charge.
Little practice time? Loads of them choose to get reps in over the years. I always see footage of Griffin having a dig, and he reaped the benefit. Those that have never gone over there is a choice.
Agreed for the guys. And now the women know that it might be on the table I’m sure they will get themselves over there too. The women’s tour is changing so much and lots of young rookies coming in so happy if they have a season or two to sort out main break and get a few days practice at the box. A full year next year where they all compete at pipe chopes and cloud break should be helpful plus a long break between seasons to work on the skill set.
Unless your a young rookie.
Lots of rookies would generally have that scenario at lots of events they turn up to. All of them however would have had some prior exposure to Slabs. Do they love giving it a nudge or do they stay on the local beachie and practice their air revs?
And I enjoyed watching Jody’s heat at massive main break as much if not more than most of the heats at the box.
Nice read FR.
Geez I'd love to hear the convo as to why they called it off. Kinda reminds me of the time that, I think it was KP?, called pipe off and it pumped for the rest of the day.
And BM was good to watch.....owned it
Jackson bunch commented somewhere that that water was pulling all the way back off the reef during some waves. Would be helpful if the wsl just clarified their decisions sometime. It’s not like they don’t have reasons just be much better to share them upfront.
Jackson's heat total belies his efforts- he charged like a maniac on some absolute beasts.
What Ben said is true- everything happens very, very quickly at the Box and if you aren't able to pay close attention for 30 min stretches, it's easy to miss it live.
Those sets pop up out of nowhere.
As do most slabs…
Your observation about positioning though is on point. We often discuss how easy my local slab would be for Jack/JJ/Barron because of their read on where to be to the inch. If you’re in the right spot the drop is so easy, a ft away with your rail not engaged at the right angle to knife it and your not getting pitted.
If you really watch Jack on his take offs into big pits he makes it look too easy and possibly gets a little under scored. Barron adds a bit of drama into his take offs and increases the ‘degree of difficulty’ and points. Thoughts?
Great points Stu2d2.
I often thought this with John John. You watch him at Pipe and Chopes and his positioning is so superior he makes the drops and therefore entire ride appear more ‘standard’ than it really is.
Compared with say Matty McGuillivray’s 10 at chopes in 2022. I credit the 10 but he kind of blows the take off then recovers. https://m.
Watching guy’s tube sense is interesting also. There a few who were getting clipped at the end of a Box barrel that Jack and John probably wouldn’t.
Totally. JJ makes Pipe look so easy.
All of which are better than my strategy of paddle like crazy and hope.
Totally. JJ makes Pipe look so easy.
All of which are better than my strategy of paddle like crazy and hope.
When are they ever going to give the Women a chance in prime conditions over the Men. They could have had their day yesterday! Not just at this comp/location, but all season.
It’s not of a want to see them fail, it’s to see the Women get a fair go and raise the bar. How are they meant to do that when they’re stifled at the highest level of competition.
Giving the Women a chance to go big, charge or even just simply preform in the prime conditions in would inspire the next generation and bring on instigate even more progression.
Would overlapping heats at the Box just be a safety concern no no?
The woke sl doing there normal stuff , There pros the best of the best they keep telling everyone should have been the box all day to show they all have to be the best in all conditions at any time
"priority buoy" hahaha, oof.
The way the start was delayed and they didn't run overlapping heats, it was like the WSL was begrudgingly holding a few heats at the Box to appease the masses. Frustrating. I really wanted to see Jordy attack it too. Anyhoo.
Watching Barron, reminded me of Backdoor, which brings me to the women. Why? Just why? We have seen many individuals charge Chopes and Pipe, with the Box imitating Backdoor, let them at it.
I didn't get to see much live, but sat back and scanned through YT on replay and I get why people would find it not a suitable comp wave, but it was entertaining and with overlapping heats, more waves and probably more surprising rides caught under priority would have spiced it up.
Oh, and great write up as always FR.
The way the WSL started yesterday reminded me of taking a holiday with non-surfing friends.
They want to sleep in till 7, want a nice cup of coffee, maybe eat at the buffet, want a shower, while you're down in the carpark tooting the horn cos the onshore's coming.
hahaha perfect analogy. Same with snowboarding trips with your family who don't froth on pow days and are happy to sleep in and take their sweet ass time getting ready
Spot on, the most frustrating holiday. I always tee up my own transport and go by myself for the early and meet the non surfers back for breakfast.
Is there a chance there was a bunch of behind-the-scenes wrangling (involved with relocating to the box) that we're just not aware of? Maybe they were flat out getting ready to go and it was a heroic effort just to get ready by eight? (I can't think what the circumstances would be... but I imagine an awful lot of co-ordinated work goes into a day's broadcast) ... I dunno ...
Yeah, maybe the venue shift required a lot of unseen work, but I'm an impatient man and I have a horn so I'll toot it.
Possibly Gra, but they had been talking about going to the Box from the beginning and the broadcast mentioned on Tuesday afternoon "day of action at the Box" for Wednesday. An organisation like that with all the planning that goes into it "should" have been organised and ready to go and on time IMO. I mean, it is just across the small bay. It's not like they were relocating to NP.
Either way, we got to see it.
Hey Stu, sounds familiar of that comment on the Burleigh live thread ;)
Those type of friends quickly become acquaintances.
If Barron can stay in the top 5 he's got to be a red hot chance of being world champ this year. Getting the W here would sure help with Trestles and Rio next of the set list.
Red hot ! Go Baaza !
I watched it due to being stuck inside. Lots of pretenders were found out in waves that people surf around Oz for free. Barron taking off on the peak and under the hood was next level, as was Griff's make and the Joao near make.
If you can't surf slabs, like normal humans can, you have no business getting paid to surf. Male or female.
Oh yeah, Mikey McD needs to post up down Shoalhaven for a couple of seasons. He was found out.
I like the Box as a point of difference for one round during the comp. But if they're gonna do it, they have to commit to holding the full round there. Doesn't really seem fair that some surfers have their round of 16 heats in completely different types of waves to the others. I know weather conditions and swell size over different days can have the same effect, but the fundamental wave type is different here.
They should have the skills (and equipment!!) to surf anything at anytime. They're meant to be the best of the best.
I agree with respect to capabilities, 100%.
But i'm talking about criteria per round. I think consistency across the round is important. Once the round is finished, feel free to switch it up and move them around.
Imagine if Filipe was scheduled to surf in heat 7 and they moved it back to Main Break where he is slightly more comfortable. Would we be satisfied if he won and made it through to the next round when his requirement for making it through that round was different to the majority of the others in the round?
Good to see the men reserved and a little scared of the box imo. A heaving, dangerous slab that beckons respect is way more dramatic than the big crumbling open face of Main Break.
Do yourself a favour and paddle out at Mainbreak on an 8’+ day. It’s anything but a big “crumbling open face”. It’s a serious open water reef that takes real skill and commitment to surf well.
Take a margs surfer and put them out at snapper and they’ll be competing behind the rock and hitting the lip at 6’. The reverse is often not the case - and I mean no disrespect in saying that.
I don’t know if you’ve ever surfed behind the rock snapper at size, it’s a slab with backwash coming at you. This is before you add several world champs and 30 elite tube riders who all have the manners of a crack head needing a fix. She’s not an easy place to surf.
Yes I have and agree, it’s very challenging and the standard of surfers/surfing is as good as I’ve seen anywhere in the world. Putting aside the elite, my experience has been Goldcoasters find it harder to adapt to Mainbreak than the other way around - certainly not lack of ability, it’s just easier to adjust to powering down than powering up.
Yeah fair call. I know my from experience travelling there and Hawaii the locals seem really comfortable on longer boards - we don’t use them enough over east.
An example of what you’re talking about Nolan - I was in Kalbarri once. Surfing Jake’s, fairly decent double over head. We were running and gunning these sections the locals would just go vertical on and smash. I couldn’t believe their approach. I guess was just comfort from years in waves like that.
Great summary Steve. Great day's viewing, I could have worked or surfed but watched the whole thing. Barron and especially Jordy the highlights but the whole thing was epic, and the comments thread also adds to the enjoyment. A real bonus to the viewing experience.
They could've run more heats and can't believe they weren't ready to roll at Box an hour earlier at least or run more heats at Mainbreak in the arvo.
I'd love to see Jordy get the title this year, his surfing was so clean and powerful, reminded me of an old quote by Kanga Cairns when he won a famous comp. at EP's on @Indo's Island years ago "they shouldn't have cut me loose in 10 foot surf".
(That comp. also famous for the arrival of MP and Mike Ho from their legendary Hunter S. Thompson trip down the East Coast. I was there that day, still remember MP in a long leather coat shuffling across the paddock, the "dark prince" had arrived! )
oh wow, that's a legendary day itself. Did they look like Fear & Loathing in Las Vegas?
Great recap. Really, enjoyed the viewing... when it was on.
That hail mary by a probably hungover and frustrated Al was something else.
It was mentioned by a few yesterday, but on days like that, I'd love to see them run alternating heats between men and women. Surely solves the ongoing problem of one group getting prime conditions and one missing out?
I know it’s been said many times before but how good would it be to have a broadcast that wasn’t run by the WSL. The decision not to run yesterday arvo was baffling, swell on the rise with a glass off predicted. I want answers and I’m not copping their excuse about not enough time to finish a round. The men’s round was split up into two completely different waves/conditions so what gives.
Yep, it's one of the key problems left and seriously hampers whatever credibility the WSL can claim compared to other sporting leagues.
I've been watching a lot of League and F1 lately. In both, the commentary teams will question decisions made by officials during play and the direction of management and the sports themselves. The WSL commentary team being employed by the organisation is an inherent conflict of interest that would be difficult to resolve, unless they relinquished some control to an outside party (Redbull?).
That being said, to their credit they do seem to be at least listening more to the viewers so maybe we can hope for some movement on this eventually too. (Optimistic, I know..)
good point about the commentary from other sports, f1 is especially brutal and frank, even about drivers (see comments on Piastri’s first corner performance at Imola).
having said that, I turn the sound down on everything now. I’ve been watching most for 30+ years and usually find myself ahead of the commentators. UNLESS there’s a particularly good at reading the game ex-player commentating e.g. Romo for NFL, Warnie (rip) for Cricket and… as much as his narcissism sucks.. Slater.. his commentary when focussed on the heat/conditions/judging (and without a personal axe to grind) is 3D chess levels of useful insight.
Yeah it would be great if Slater was getting a commentary wildcard instead of a competition one for Trestles haha.
Commentary wildcard! Love it. As voted by the Swellnet commentariat for each event.
Let's kick off with Bill Murray at Trestles.
The Box showed whos boss and whos not and to me Barron is the real boss.
They kept on harping on about Oleary growing up in Cronulla slab heaven
well I have to say there is no decent real slabs in the whole of Cronulla and
Connors 5 something was the lowest underscore of the day.
Jordy Smith for the win.
Surely Shark Island qualifies as a 'decent real slab'. More so than The Box anyway.
One of the 'slabiest' around! There is another slab (left) at the end of Cronulla but not suitable to set up the on-land circus of a comp
I see what you're up to @evosurfer and i have to agree....mushburger heaven, just like the whole of the southcoast of NSW ;-)
Great recap Steve, I missed all the action yesterday so will have to replay it.
Hunter S Thompson trip with the 2 Michaels, classic ! WSL pulling the contest with perfect conditions??? Go figure! Personally I'd much rather watch pitching slabs than a 3 turn cloeout anyday. Some of the so called best comp surfers got lost at The BOX whilst others took it on regardless of their personal saftey. As far as the ladies go, well if they can take on Pipe why not The Box???
Thanks Steve, such an excellent and insightful summary of an incredible day of surfing. I'm post-surgery at the moment and mostly been confined to the couch. I've had the rare pleasure of time, watching the contest on the big flat screen. Normally, and in agreement with Ben and others, I would prefer overlapping heats at big main break, but the Box yesterday, wow what a test of technical skill, ocean knowledge and sheer 'balls of steel'. I was completely absorbed. Barron's comment about taking the time to just sit in the channel and observe JR is so old school I love it. As a grom in South Aust that's how I learnt to surf reefs, paddle out, sit back and just take the time to observe and listen to my elders (while absolutely shitting myself at the thought of pushing myself over the ledge). The Box is such a heavy wave. Barron gave a master class. I was also completely mystified and baffled they called the comp off. Finally the WSL has macking waves in great conditions. Such a poor decision. Do you think it's just because the organisers are simply all hungover from winery visits and can't get their shit together?
With so much on the line in the Cros v Bunch heat you'd think both would be sending it, ended up being the lowest scoring heat of the day. Cros with a total heat score of 6.53 moves on to Trestles whilst Bunch dons the rashie at Newy with a 3.34. It was after this heat they moved back to Mainbreak, not sure if this influenced the woz's decision, thought Bunch would have given more hailing from Hawaii.
I struggled to stay engaged at the Box. I love the courage but as a surf spectacle it was kind of repetitive. I personally prefer main break viewing.
Over all very happy with da box, main break also.
This whole year has been very entertaining
Reckon Griff's tube exit miracle was a combo of good square and low, squatted position over the centre of board, being hit by side/back wash which launched him side-ways and forward; while doing a wheelie-air in da tube, Griff's noggin got smacked by the lip and equalised his centre of mass to push the nose of the board down, perfectly counter-acting the up-force of the whitewash and allowing our stallion to emerge bewildered??
Not sure where you were going with the courage/toxic masculinity stuff. I don’t think that courage and masculinity necessarily go hand in hand.I am often at odds with your views around the comps but am glad that you are reporting on them ,particularly in such a tight turnaround.
Yeah it was a thought provoking comment.
"Courage has become a disvalued trait, bundled up with toxic masculinity as something that is counter to civilised society."
I think it's a fair statement, considering that on a day-to-day level in the modern world physical courage is more and more looked at as something undesirable, something a bit neanderthal.
We must be in parallel universes. I know the narrative but don't really see the evidence. Maybe I'm in my own bubble.
Would certainly depend on your environment.
Particularly at uni I found that the educated classes were highly suspicious of "being a bloke" and also physicality, and in my experience young middle-class females have been trained to tear down any show of traditional "manliness".
The young working class females, nowhere near as much.
Maybe something to do with feelings of entitlement for the more well-off and the understanding of the realities of a rougher life for the working class.
Of course I could be well off track :)
Yep, thought provoking comment.
People still love a hero though and they still hand out medals for courage above and beyond the call of duty. So is courage really devalued in todays society. I think not.
I think in polite and educated society, and on places like the ABC and The Guardian it has been.
If we're talking sports, not so much.
And pollies will always tread a very careful line around courage, masculinity and manliness, ready to duck and weave depending on the month and date and the latest headlines.
Disvalued as in it's not really part of mainstream discourse as a prized trait, in the way it once was- it seems to evoke a masculine sense which is seen (perhaps rightly) as a threat.
That would be a contested view and I wouldn't expect anyone to agree with it.
we need to disconnect it from gender. then we can have it back to play with as much as we like. the courage my wife showed in foregoing pain killers for our first born was only outweighed by her foregoing pain killers for the birth of the second one knowing the pain she was in for.
then there's people that just have the self preservation part of their brain missing.
Courage-Willow Hardy
or in a gym
well the box was good entertainment for cat amongst the pigeons effect or however you might term it
hopefully baron gets to cloudbreak
Great write-up Steve. Yeah, the Woz blew it at both ends yesterday. Too late to get going, and too early to finish. West Aussies know, as should the WSL by now, when the wind goes into the NE cycle, that early morning starts are best, before the wind inevitably starts veering around to the N and NW. They should have been tooled up and ready to go at sunrise. The best waves at The Box were probably then. But this day there was a wonderful opportunistic get-out clause, with a last gasp of stillness from a long Indian summer. Forecast was for conditions to remain glassy for the rest of the day, and with a building swell. Rare enough in those waters. Would love to know who collectively, or individually, canned the comp that arvo. Felt like being let down at the alter. They must be praying now for a decent Sunday arvo and/or Monday finish. Stop protecting the gals please WSL. I imagine many of them are ready for the challenge to surf and perform in well overhead waves. Looking forward now to seeing who copes best. Hopefully the forecast delivers. Cheers.
Jessi Miley-Dyer must have called it off unless there was a specific contest director for the event.
Often they interview her in the last heat before it's called off but as far as I know that didn't happen this time.
It's the typical lack of transparency and disclosure that they've been doing for years, right back to the 2012 Fiji Pro. The call for that contest to run or not was up to a three man panel which included the surfers rep Kieran Perrow. Perrow wasn't around apparently and another unnamed surfer stood in for him who voted to run the comp. The contest direct Matt Wilson had the casting vote and voted not to run. Instead they let a lot of big wave freesurfers have a go and live televised it anyway.
Perrow was absent without explanation on one of the most important days in surfing history yet despite this stunning display of either incompetence or disinterest in his duty he was somehow promoted to Tour Commissioner next year.
Surely J M-D can't survive the fiasco of yesterday but methinks she will without a scratch.
Thanks for the background info. Interesting stuff. But yeah, if WSL wants the gals to perform better in bigger and more challenging waves, they simply have to send them out there every time such conditions prevail. Some might complain but I'd expect more will want to charge, especially as more of them get more opportunities to get used to it.
When I was at Margaret’s, in the late 70s
for 6 months, I never saw anyone surf the Box. . !
The Barron and Felipe narratives are an nteresting juxtaposition.
wouldnt you like to see barron scoop his way to a world title at big cloudbreak
could be a good bet actually, wonder what the odds are / were
How good is Jordy on big open waves!
?si=kJBHMsvimCF72yKsI just think it's great that Stuart Bedford-Brown is still competing at this level.
Amazing!
ha!
JMD has to be the worst contest director ever. How some WSL officials landed their jobs is beyond my comprehension, but competence to do the job is clearly not the main factor.
Diversity and inclusion. The modern corporate catchphrase.
It took maybe an hour to relocate to main break to start again in the afternoon. Guessing it took an hour from deciding it was ok to run to finish the set up at the box. It’s not like these things happen instantaneously. But if the WSL or JMD just told us up front what was happening and why then that would be very helpful. Especially on the decision not to send the girls out to main break. Just tell us was it a surfer led decision (as it was at super massive pipe last year) where the majority didn’t want to surf. The different conditions for the cut didn’t make any sense after the men’s round if 16 being split into two locations
https://karrikarrak.org.au/news/margaret-river-pro-2025
Here's a good one for SN to have a look into relating to the WSL's self flagellation of it's good corporate citizenship and inclusion of indigenous values/heritage!
Corpowashing flogs.
Anyone caught any of this Stab High thing? One of the most boring things on earth!
I surfed Margs in 94 and believe it or not the locals wouldnt allow
me to go left so I went right all the time admittingly was only 6ft
but I really wanted to go left. Finally I snagged a bomb left nobody else
in position surfed it said to myself what a fat pig of a wave so was happy
to basically surfed the right to myself. Now its almost taboo to go left.
The front on shot of Willow's wave in the first pic from the land angle.
Shows the sheer enormity of the wave that was somehow a little bit missed in the webcast angles.
Shame she was out of the draw and didn't get to cast her vote Wednesday arvo to keep running.