Margaret River Pro 2025: Finals Day
Margaret River Pro 2025: Finals Day
Massively anti-climactic Finals Day after bad calls from the league squandered the forecast for available surf and left important heats to be decided in declining, inconsistent surf with howling offshores.
Somehow the Woz took the insane momentum from Burleigh and fumbled the call so badly they buried the goodwill they had created. Heads should roll. Well paid professionals should be held to account as they would be in any pro sporting organisation.
But they won't. Not a dicky bird about it from the booth today. Just sunshine, rainbows, and positive energy while five completely non-competitive heats passed by without a single comment alluding to why we were here.
Declining conditions were a factor in the lack of competitiveness in the heats, as well as surfers who had shone in more powerful conditions now looking second rate in small, tricky reef surf.
Caity (WSL/Miers)
Caity Simmers looked the opposite in the first Semi-Final of the day. As is often the case on north-east days in the west, the wind was lightest early and Simmers looked much more comfortable in head high surf with only a moderate offshore. Her surfing was beautiful, smooth, radical, and under-appreciated from judges but still enough to put a 5 point margin over Bronte Macaulay. A similar one-sided thrashing was dished out by Gabby Bryan to Lakey Peterson. There were plenty of waves ridden during that heat but Lakey looked stiff and awkward on the reads and once Gabby got the power game going it was all over.
No improvement in competitiveness as we headed through the Men's Semi-Finals.
Barron Mamiya could not have designed and executed a worse heat. He allowed Griff to take the first wave in a submissive gesture, then allowed him to go again under priority and "build a house" as we used to say in the old three-to-the-beach days. He fumbled every ride he caught afterwards and never...not at any point in the entire 35 minutes, looked like he was in the heat.
In the end, Griff did not even need to take a third wave with Barron unable to match even one of the waves Griff had caught under priority. That was a 5 point margin to Griff, which is huge at CT level - a complete pasting.
Crosby (WSL/Ryder)
The only way to exceed it is if your competitor only catches one wave. Which was the result of the following semi with Jordy Smith and Crosby Colapinto. The wind was now howling north-east across the bay. Cros and Jordy sat out a lull and got a restart. You'd think that might have triggered some response but only Jordy was able to adapt. He went to work on a left then scalped a couple of small rights. 14.67 played 6.67 when the hooter sounded.
If we were hoping for a competitive Final that went out the window in the opening exchange between Gabby Bryan and Caity Simmers. Simmers surfed with delicate poise and smooth lines. Bryan exploded through turns and what they lacked in subtlety they more than made up for with raw power. There had to be a significant spread and even if judges overcooked the spread (9.50 to 7.17) there was no denying it. Even Tommy Whittaker had to concede on the steps that the sheer physical dominance of Bryan was probably too hard for Simmers to overcome.
Gabby (WSL/Miers)
There's a major problem ahead for Bryan because Cloudbreak will decide the world title and her backside tube skills are rudimentary. There's no possible way on a unified men's and women's Finals Day a deficient skill set can somehow be shielded from public scrutiny. Gabby is gonna have to figure something out or face a very difficult day. You'd expect Coach Dog to now have this front and centre in his planning, because not even WSL gaslighting will be sufficient to cover up this deficiency.
Simmers already had her highlight with a wave surfed with dolphins (criminally underscored) which Simmers called the “most special moment ever in a heat." She expressed a desire to go home and get done with the event saying, “I just wanna wrap it up."
Her response to seeing both of Gabby's heat winning waves was classic Simmers in full Spicoli mode. While Gabby tore into a 9.50 she thought, “well, whatever."
Caity (WSL/Ryder)
There's a growing awareness now of the physical limitations being put on Caity's pro surfing ceiling by her diminutive size. It's impossible to imagine Caity hitting the gym but the genie is now out of the bottle.
What can you say about the Men's Final? Jordy got one good wave for an 8.50 and Griff did what his brother did and sat out for the entirety of the heat only riding one wave. There's no denying they got the two right guys in the Final is about the best thing can be said about it. Griff was the standout all event, Jordy right behind him.
Jordy (WSL/Ryder)
Jordy takes the Tank and yellow into Trestles. Two wins in a season is world title form in the current CT roster. Coming into Cloudy in pole position would make a Jordy world title, 18 years after joining the tour, a very live prospect.
Isabella Nichols wins the Aussie Treble for the women with a solid win at Bells.
Jordy and Isabella - Aussie Treble winners (WSL/Miers)
Despite the lame Finals Day the Treble has been a huge success for the Woz, dragging in fans who had drifted off into the ether.
The lowest hanging fruit in pro surfing would be to back up the Aussie Treble with an Indo Double.
Keramas and Ulus would see a return to interest not seen since the Slater/Irons rivalry hey-day.
Trestles and Brazil will have to do for now, until R-Croz takes the next big leap forwards.
//STEVE SHEARER
Western Australia Margaret River Pro Women’s Final Results:
1 - Gabriela Bryan (HAW) 17.33
2 - Caitlin Simmers (USA) 12.84
Western Australia Margaret River Pro Men’s Final Results:
1 - Jordy Smith (RSA) 12.00
2 - Griffin Colapinto (USA) 4.83
Western Australia Margaret River Pro Women’s Semifinal Results:
HEAT 1: Caitlin Simmers (USA) 14.00 DEF. Bronte Macaulay (AUS) 9.34
HEAT 2: Gabriela Bryan (HAW) 16.34 DEF. Lakey Peterson (USA) 11.64
Western Australia Margaret River Pro Men’s Semifinal Results:
HEAT 1: Griffin Colapinto (USA) 12.17 DEF. Barron Mamiya (HAW) 7.44
HEAT 2: Jordy Smith (RSA) 14.67 DEF. Crosby Colapinto (USA) 6.67
Comments
G land and keramas would be mad !
Uluwatu over gland for sheer venue proximity.
Thanks for the excellent write ups fr76.
It was a travesty to have the finals run in those conditions.
Disrespectful to the competitors and fans.
With a dropping swell like that, why didn't they run 50min finals?
At least there is a chance of a set coming through if you've got priority.
It wasn't as if they were running out of daylight.
yep, that might do it. not enough decent waves to provide enough scoring opportunities for a fair contest is the worst.
Spicoli Mode - love it!
I wonder what a paycheck is worth for the commentary team? Feel like they're selling their souls by perpetrating the WSL toxic positivity.
They can't even question anything in the slightest. Imagine how much more legit it would be if they could. Guess they just don't respect their viewers
100% thats what I thought
thank you for the wrap up and look into the rest of the year. Speaking of Spicoli mode, has anyone seen the 2022 series Gaslit? Sean Penn is just amazing in this.
Great writeups as usual. Just read day 4 and the finals pieces back to back and I really thought Caity would have had it in the bag. Gabby was surfing well though and have to agree, she out muscles some of the blokes so definitely cuts it in powerful surf. Rudimentary is kind for Gabbie's tube riding though. She is very very ordinary around the barrel. Cloudbreak is gonna sort her out. I'm gonna go out on a limb and I reckon Erin is gonna take out that comp.
Onya Jordy. Just quietly, I'd love to see the old bugger get a well deserved title this year.
As it stands I’d bet Italo and Yago would have his number at good cloudbreak.
In good Cloudbreak?
I reckon Jordy more than a match for both.
Hope we get to find out.
Suspect Blingas might be right.
Speed control in CB barrel is challenging backside. We get desensitised to the challenge by watching the masters like Kelly, JJF, AI & Bruce and Jack & Barron of current gen who turn the challenge to an advantage by dragging their body/bum though I haven't seen Jordy execute control at this level.
I hope I'm wrong because I'd love to see him get up too.
Jordy has a 10 at big hollow Pipe
You need to first go out on a limb and say Erin will make the final 5 before she can win Cloudy.
She hasn't looked all season so far like she will,and just scraped past the cut by 400 points or something like that.
Erin going to be lucky to make top 5 from here. I agree she should win if she's there but way down currently
i hoping for a sneak attack from erin and baron in proper cloudbreak, finals day will be a cracker either way
Erin won’t be at Cloudbreak unless she wins at least two of the next few events.
probably yeah
"Heads should roll. Well paid professionals should be held to account as they would be in any pro sporting organisation."
Never have truer words been spoken, but the WSL live in a little cocoon that will never crystallize.
Was a pretty good comp up to the day at the box, and then, well....
Great to see Jordy get up.
Although I agree, the WSL doesnt seem to be any different than the AFL. Laura Kane and Andrew Dillon seem to be teflon coated despite similar fan (and player/coach/umpire) sentiment towards them. Holding well paid profressionals to account seems to be a distant memory in todays world.
You generally don’t find it in the world of big corporates either. Worst case, some sacrificial lamb is offered up while the rest carry on getting fat bonuses. Accountability is for functioning systems, we are now in fully lobotomised neocon insanity land.
lol, totally
I can’t believe they ask some surfers if they want to paddle out or not!?
Who does that?
So as much as we want to the blame the commissioner, WSL etc the surfers themselves have a bit to answer for if they’ve voted against paddling out that arvo. Apparently a couple of the women were pretty pissed they didn’t get the chance (Molly, BSJ and Caity).
After seeing Al Cleland jr end section hit, maybe the WSL was worried someone was going to do themselves a mischief.
spot on
How did we find out about them asking the surfers? I only briefly saw it mentioned in yesterday's write up?
Any further details on this?
Lov your work FR but don't shoot the commentary team, they don't make the calls. They're paid to contrive up to 9 hours of psycho babble exalting the greatness of surfing completions and they do a pretty bloody good job, they're not paid for whistelblowing investigative journalism, as fun as that would be, Ronnie & Vaughan get to the bottom of it, who called it, who voted it
Yep, shooting the commentary team misunderstands their role. If they want to shit on the boss they can hand in their payslips.
Not their job!
They are also paid to commentate which by going silent they aren't doing.
It's one of the most frustrating thing that a spade isn't being called a spade or that the acknowledgement of a spades existence is even commented on.
If you walk into McDonalds the staff aren't going to say "the burgers are better at Hungry Jacks"
get over it everyone, you're watching a manufactured product and the commentary team are just serving up what's in the package
Yeah but the Staff are paid by the owners of the Sports.
Imagine if commentary teams were paid by the AFL & NRL (as Opposed to Fox and Ch7/9)
They would be agreeing with the referee calls the whole game
Here-in lies the problem, and one that will never be solved due to low ratings.
PS Thanks for the write up Swell net team
Of course that is true, but we have seen Ronnie Blakey call it as he sees it in the past.
He's no dummy and an excellent sportscaster. Vaughan likewise.
It seems that after the Burleigh debacle where Toledo's 9 point ride just went missing and was never mentioned again the Booth was much more constrained and buttoned down this event, to the detriment of viewers.
it's not outside the realm of possibility they could just loosen leash a little again and let expert commentators like Ronnie Blakey do his job.
I'm sure Ronnie would love to do a live cross to the Wozzle mission control, the forecasters, the broadcasters, the contest directors, athletes rep, head judge, (CEO?) In The Room with Ron. "We On, we Off?".
Fascinating stuff, wish they weren't so secretive about it.
We still don't know what happened to ELO ? They're missing out on bulk views
I really enjoyed watching the comp, except that finals day, which would have been avoided had they pushed ahead on that glassy afternoon with pumping waves. The WSL needs to bring back the 'Dead Ahead' Fred Hemmings contester director attitude and modus operandi. When viewing 30 foot plus surf at Waimea Bay, he said to the gathering of highly nervous competitors, many who didn't want to know about putting on a contest singlet that day, "You are going out, or do I have to paddle out and show you all up." The comp went ahead. That historic Smirnoff Pro in 1974 set a whole new standard of what is achievable. Sadly in today's new era, it seems that high standard, and the courage of some so called professional surfers, has slipped with softer and better fed bellies. Come on WSL, do better please. PS - Love the Indo double idea to complement the Aussie Treble. But bring back the Triple Crown in Hawaii too, for the ultimate testing and a proper thrilling finish to the year.
Went back and read Margaret River 1990 write up after the big day, I don't think the 1990 surfers had a choice when it got huge.
You're right VJ. I was there working at that comp. They had no choice, other than which sized gun they had to borrow! Epic day resulted.
The best surfer won good job Jordy
"Massively anti-climactic Finals Day after bad calls from the league squandered the forecast for available surf and important left heats decided in declining, inconsistent surf with howling offshores.
Somehow the Woz took the insane momentum from Burleigh and fumbled the call so badly they buried the goodwill they had created. Heads should roll. Well paid professionals should be held to account as they would be in any pro sporting organisation."
This really is the most bizarre timeline, with all the failing upwards. It seems the link between cause and effect have been numbed by anaesthetic.
Looking at today’s Felicity "Flick" Palmateer‘s instagram, I’m assuming this is the day of the contentious early close of WSL proceedings…..
“The swell was building all day, rumoured to hit 5m at 21 seconds. Never seen anything like it Down South. When the WSL called off the comp, I bolted home, grabbed the 8’6, and paddled out to Main Break with minutes of light left.
It looked 10–15ft, but sets were already closing out between South Sides and Main Break. No right in play. Just the left. Goofy approved. Four of us out there, scraping into top-to-bottom bombs, no real entry point, just hold your nerve and hope.
Then the horizon went dark. A proper 20-footer stood up and the boys were screaming for me to go. I committed. Shouldn’t have. Got pitched from the top of a three-story building and pin-dropped straight into regret. No flotation, 10ft leash, and a board that felt like an anchor. Pinned to the reef.
Held down. Came up gasping. Greeted by another monster detonating on my head. Repeat that 15 times. Everyone washed into the River Mouth. I clung to my board like it was a coffin and eventually drifted to the keyhole, heaving and humbled.
Pretty sure half the hill thought I died.
Moral of the story: wear flotation. Be fitter. And maybe just be inside the tube next time.”
ha, cheers for posting that.
Yeah Wally I saw that clip of Flick too getting swallowed. If that was an hour or so after the comp finished then I say they made the right call. It just got huge quickly and I saw Ronnie talking about how the ground was shaking under that big set. Sure it was anti climatic today but I still found it enjoyable. It was still bigger today than burleigh at any point
More trilling than the main article. Thanks. Glad to read you are still breathing.
"The boys were screaming " classic.
The whole hill thought I died. That takes me back
Awesome write up Mr Shearer!
“Well paid professionals”.
Just wondering how well paid? Not that big salaries always result in competence, but how much do full time senior employees of WSL actually earn? A fairly opaque organisation but does anyone know?
Also something I would like to see - interviews with losers of heats. Too much toxic positivity. I know occasionally that they might chat to someone later, after a loss or have them in the commentary booth but it might pique some interest to have some anger or bitterness or more raw emotion from surfers in a pretty bland format. (An argument against this is that the broadcast in wave starved heats seems to pick the very moment a wave appears to cross to the previous heat winner so maybe twice as many interviews would be unwise.)
The only loser of a heat who gets an interview is kellyGo figure
What a fizzer! The Colapinto brothers must be pissed off, one wave in 30 mins what a sick joke!!! WSL needs to take a real good look at itself after turning their back on 8ft faces in glassy conditions for a shit show like todays finals no show! As far as competitors not paddling out well it's hard to win if your'e sitting on the beach! Suck it up princesses!!!
terrible day of competitive surfing… not enough waves per heat to be contestable.
plus relatively tiny with an offshore that made it near unsurfable.
there must be ‘learnings’ by the organisers. they’ve got to stop finishing in fading, uncontestable conditions.
good style and technique… go hand in hand. Gabby has little of both, have no idea of tube riding ability but not surprised by comments suggesting it’s no bueno.
Caity’s style still shone through despite the howling offshores that were even blowing Jordy off the back of waves.
lastly… The Jordyonaissance!
If they didn’t fit the heats in at the box they would easily have run overlapping round of 16 for women and men. That was the trade off. Yes the girls didn’t want to go out in massive surf at the end of the day but they still wouldn’t have finished the heats. And reading flicks insta it was sounding pretty sketchy. Moral of the story it’s hard to get everything you want in a competition.
Yes more overlapping heats would often help
At least Jordy got the win after ripping the solid days apart, on a nother note where's all the clips of the pros scoring other waves in the region, NP must have some epic moments and the whole coast must have pumped on the solid glassy day when they ran the Box.
Just watched women’s highlights. One could argue Caity put the board in better places with more style but even with that offshore, barely throws a ripple of water off of her turns - like a child vs an adult. Gabby throwing buckets.
agree. so frustrating. still, different conditions suit different surfers.
Thanks Freeride for another great summary and an accurate analysis. Like everyone I was stunned WSL didn't complete the day on Wednesday for a finals day on Monday. There just seems no accountability at WSL. I still think my idea of Swellnet running a parallel commentary team along the lines of Roy & HG is a brilliant one haha!
So Steve who actually takes responsibility for the call to run or not? J M-D? Or some quasi committee that’s I’ll defined?
I didn’t watch the entire broadcast but didn’t see J M-D nor anyone else from the WSL give an explanation.
Straight out honesty from the WSL would be appreciated.
Maybe:
1. It’s too big for the surfers, they’re scared or undergunned or both so don’t want to surf
2. Our water craft can’t handle the conditions
3. Commercial pressure from our sponsors dictates we run another day
Anything resembling a skerrick of truth would be nice
That's it, just give an honest reason and people will come to terms with it much easier.
Looks like Jordy has had more experience with strong offshore winds and decreasing
Southern Ocean swells,
than the Californian kids .
Classic Woz shank today.
Final 5 to be held at restaurants, no barrel skills required.
You’ve not spent much time at Restaurants have you? It’s one of the best left hand barrels in the world and can barrel the entire length of the reef.
ok, point taken, sorry, I wasn't meaning to insult the wave.
I have surfed it once... It was probably the most perfect, mechanical surf I've ever seen..
Sure you can get a really long barrel, but I'd suggest the wave shape allows plenty of opportunity to barrel dodge and do vertical surfing.
I see what you mean now. Yeah, the wave is so insanely good, it facilitates both long technical barrels or endless top to bottom surfing. Suppose it depends what the judges are looking for in a comp format.
WSL have always had their own agenda. The commentary and scoring speak to that. Glad Jordy’s having a solid season. His surfing has remained solid. Maybe the judging is finally giving credit for his rail surfing on solid walls? Only thing that i can see that has changed are his claims. They’ve ramped up a notch. Is that the key?
judging criteria definitely changed. Jordy changed, too, i reckon. dunno how because i can't read minds but ouwardly he's looking relaxed.
jordy is definitely carrying better form this year comparaed to previous years. it would of been pretty rare to not see jordy fall on critical waves before this year
How does Gabby Bryan not have a competent back hand tube riding skill set when she’s a pro surfer from Kauai?
I’d be happy to see Jordy win the title.
Been around a long time, same age as me and I’ve grown up watching him in early grom vids then in Kai Neville’s films until now. He deserves one.
the groms tend to surf the beach breaks as the main breaks are full of agro dudes.
Not trying to defend WSL but Flicks insta footage an hour or so after the comp was called off the other day makes it look like the right call. It's hard to always get it right and ultimately the demand from fans for the box was the main factor in not being able to complete on Monday. No possibility of overlapping heats at the box and if they'd stayed at main break they would have been criticised heavily anyway. But if they'd stayed main break they would have been able to get way more heats away and have finished Monday. They can't win really and I'm just trying to point out the difficulties in making the right call. But in my opinion they should always be prepared to defend and explain the call and why. Their cons are pretty useless at times
Flicks post makes it the right call? A local who is not the world’s best, got caught inside on solid sets. Happens all the time to surfers . I think when you’re younger, fitter and supposedly the world’s best with safety and jet ski assist, you should be able to navigate some solid conditions. Is that not why they stop at SW WA? Appears not!
“Local”
100 percent agree with all of this.
Was there media pressure or from some surfers to at least have one day at the box regardless?
Later heats there were just as bad as finals day
A waste
- "Not a dicky bird about it from the booth today." Why do we keep expecting self-criticism?The booth IS the WSL. Unlike other sports where broadcasts can bash the league, refereeing, etc, etc, the 'boothees' will lose their jobs if they criticise. I am not saying it's right for the booth to never criticise, but it is just expected.
100%.
Surfers Law on a road trip, "never drive away from good waves"....4 heats could have been surfed at pumping main break on the Arvo of Box day........instead we watched lackluster finals in a fading swell with heat restarts n surfers getting 1 wave in a heat.... enough said!
.
Good point Lanky.
Ha ha ha.
Too good!
Thanks Steve for your colourful & poignant insight into this competitions highs and lows.
Great waves, surfing by the guys overall was excellent.
Stylish surfers like Caity are rare gems to flow through the 'competition' scene.
Gabby loved chopping up those waves
After seeing Mark Occy at Cloudbreak, I could see Caity cruising a highline in those open tubes on a big board.
https://stretchboards.com/products/comp-gun?variant=44696742658227
I just watched the women's final. For me, Gabriela simply happened to catch the best two waves, which had hollow sections all the way. Caity's waves were more shouldery.
Re: the contentious stop of the WSL on the day with a rising, possibly out of control, swell.
These days, there is hopefully more of a duty of care towards employee safety, even if they are athletes. Look at the football codes. In Fred Hemmings’ day, a footballer would be concussed and assisted off the field. There would be an application of the magic sponge and maybe a passing of the test of seeing the right number of fingers and they would be sent back out there. It doesn’t happen like that anymore much. For good reasons.
Sure, there is still risk which sells certain sports, like surfing and football. They want to keep the risk. But the risk has to be managed these days. It’s not a bad thing, despite the cost in thrills and spills.
They have also reduced the fatality and injury rate for miners. It’s all part of the same thing.
Sorry if the folk watching in their armchairs are disappointed.
That argument really doesn't stack up though if you are going to hold any kind of competition at Pipeline, or to a lesser extent, Teahupoo.
Both waves are deadly and as many people have died or got seriously injured at Pipe on 6-8ft days (or smaller!) as on 10ft+ days.
It also fails unless WSL enforces a mandatory helmet policy, which they do not.
All competitors at the Box surfed without helmets, even a guy who suffered a serious brain injury within the last 3 years.
You hold contests at dangerous, shallow reefs and you are accepting a certain risk level that is independent of surf size.
Firstly, I made an uncalled for remark during the score discussion in the final in a poor attempt at humour. No disrespect was intended - just pointing to the micro-analysis of slo-mo replays vs the different impression a live view can create.
Anyway, yes, surfing is an inherently dangerous activity, eg. Jordy saying he almost lost an eye on the small end section. The risks are greatly magnified at certain locations and swell conditions. Not an easy thing to manage in the modern era of WHS. But if an athlete wants to be a respected World Champ, there is an expectation they should be fully prepared and well equipped.
Peeling back the curtains on WSL processes, I note that the surfers rep can change dependent on who is remaining in the contest, sub-clause 10.01 (c), but that JMD would have final say in consultation with head judge. No idea how it works in a practical context like the other day:
10.01 The "Call": For CT Events and non-CT Events where a representative of
the Commissioner’s Office or (for the non-CT Events) WSL Tour
representative attends in their official capacity:
(a) In relation to competition proceeding, the waves must be considered
contestable in size and shape. The Commissioner’s Office (for the
CT), Tour Representative (for the non-CT) (or designated
representative) will make the final decision (i.e., the “Call”) in
consultation with the Head Judge and CT Surfer Representative(s),
which decision will take place in a private area with only these three
(3) parties in attendance.
(b) If conditions are deemed contestable for both men and women in
accordance with Rule 10.01(a) and both men’s and women’s Surfer
Representative cannot agree as to whether the men or women will
compete first, the Commissioner’s Office, WSL Tour representative (or
designated representative) will make the final decision in consultation
with the Head Judge.
(c) Where Rule 10.01(a) and (b) does not apply:
(i) In relation to the competition proceeding, the waves must be
considered contestable in size and shape in the opinion of the
majority of the Surfer Representative, Head Judge and
Commissioner’s Representative or WSL Tour representative.
This decision is to take place in a private area with only the three
(3) parties mentioned above involved. The Surfers
Representative is to be determined by the remaining Surfers in
the Event provided their heat is not the first heat to continue after
the call. For a combined Event, the Commissioner’s
Representative, or WSL Tour representative and men’s and
women's Surfer Representatives and Head Judge will meet to
make the call.
(ii) If conditions are deemed contestable for both men and women in
accordance with Rule 10.01(c)(i) and both men’s and women’s
Surfer Representative cannot agree as to whether the men or
women will compete first, the Commissioner’s Representative or
WSL Tour representative will make the final decision in
consultation with the Head Judge.
(d) The Commissioner or WSL Tour representative (or representative of
either) or Head Judge can call the Event “off” during a heat if no
waves are ridden and conditions deteriorate rapidly or unexpectedly.
Therefore, on the big day, all remaining surfers (excepting: Picklum, Kenworthy, G.Colapinto, Fioravanti) would have an elected rep in the quartet making the decision. Not sure who it would be on the men's side, but I'd guess Izzi for the women.
In all probability, JMD ("in consultation" with Head Judge) would end up making the call.
In any case, there had been consultation undertaken the previous afternoon as per the Internal Comms, where it was pre-decided that if Box was on, they'd start with men, or if at Main, they'd start with women.
The "inability to complete the round" excuse they wheeled out was bogus. The Ronnie/Flick exchange was most telling.
Also ...are tbb and bbb somehow related?
On reviewing the Imai vs Al heat immediately prior to cancelling competition, there were at least three monster sets they had to dodge. Imai did very well to get a few 8-10'ers with late drops before Al got his 12'er whilst comboed. The contest zone was all the while looking more and more raggedy and, quite frankly, scary. Still, would have liked to see someone else test themselves in it - be it women or men.
I suppose it comes down to a personal definition of "contestable".
Risk vs reward was part of evolution, until the industrial revolution.
Now a sport, gambling's a rort...
Great video bbbird. She’s a fantastic science communicator.
Highly entertaining aussie treble with Isabella & Jordy taking the tank, should have been another one for Steves writeups too, great stuff.
For the life of me, if the women down voted the Box, and the wozl wouldn’t put them out there anyway, why not run women at main break and men at the box simultaneously? Would have saved the comp vs this fizzle of a finals day.
Did it really take two hours to changeover from surfing heats at The Box to Mainbreak in the previous round? What’s there to change? In hindsight again another lost opportunity to get heats completed.
Weird that they also called it off on ‘Box Day’ based on forecast surf size, rather than what was in the water at the time. And rather than going right into the closeout, the girls could have gone left if it did start to get big.
Anyway, nice write up FreeRide and great to see Jordy win.
So many "Tennis Tour" Bobby jokes, but tennis actually does it much better.
Sitting at the airport lounge watching the French Open, and during rallies we're left to enjoy and take in the game - no inane blow-by-blow from Joey Turdpail. So satisfying.
It's a huge issue that the Woz is both event organiser and broadcaster.
thank got jordy won , how the box day just was a fuck around and ended early in solid clean conditions is baffling and finals day was unwatchable it should never got to that . Good on gabby for getting a win but she gets over scored a lot along with caity to an extent but caity has a brilliant smooth style easy on the eye and i’ll leave that there .
"as well as surfers who had shone in more powerful conditions now looking second rate in small, tricky reef surf."
Another reason why it's a bad idea to run at the box for a round (or part of a round). You end up with Barron instead of Jake surfing head high walls in the next round.
Not to mention the missed opportunity to run overlapping heats and get through the comp with less risk of the declining swell.
Agree with everything else including that the commentators give me nightmares.
I don't think that issue coheres to holding heats at the Box- it's inherent in the sport.
We see it at Pipeline.
10ft Pipe and Toledo will be sitting in the channel and suddenly developing food poisoning before his next heat.
4ft Backdoor and he's scoring nines.
There's an expectation that surfers at CT level should be expert in all types of surf - thats a foundational premise- but we do see anomalies, as written above.
I expect those anomalies will decrease as we move back to the traditional format and lose the Final 5.
So not every NRL or Premier League player is expert in every position,
And if Toledo has a psychological problem with heavy waves, temporary or permanent,
that doesn’t mean he hasn’t got skill level s with those conditions.
You're talking team sports where players have a position on the field. That doesn't equate to Toledo , he should be more rounded in every condition. It would be like an F1 driver who couldn't drive in the wet or a tennis player who can't play on clay and before you say there are tennis player who are like that , you don't see them pull out of the tournament . Toledo is a 2 time World Champ, who despite as you say, has the skill set , doesn't give it a dig.He's had the time (a year off last year ) and means to work on his deficiencies but hasn't bothered , so probably never will.
I guess if a surfers preference isn’t heavy waves, and they’re less likely to win in those conditions, it’s their judgment call whether they want to risk a season or career ending injury,
If he’s already won 2 world titles,
I think he’s probably done pretty well with his defeciencies ,
Tennis players pull out of tournaments all the time, whether it’s a physical or mental issue,
So you think number 7 on the WSL live rankings , is a deficiency,
what about all the surfers below Toledo who haven’t won world titles, but are considered good in heavy waves, ?
Do. they deserve more merit?
Whether they deserve it or not is a judgement call.
But the fact they do get more merit/credibility is undeniable.
Surfing expertly in heavy/hollow reef waves has always been considered to be higher on the totem pole than shredding small surf.
It's more difficult, more dangerous and held in higher esteem because of it.
The case of Filipe Toledo is ample demonstration of that fact.
Toledo pulled out of Pipe and the tour last year for his own personal reasons,
He obviously knew he needed time off, and has just won Burleigh,
So he probably knew what he needed to do despite the critics ,
Maybe we do need a Florence slab tour.
It's not about just having a deficiency , he may never be as good as other surfers in heavy barrels due to many reasons , but we'll never know as he never has a go. He clearly has no appetite for those type of waves.Other World Champs have been in that situation ( I think maybe Damien Hardwick ) but had a crack despite their challenges. Toledos 2 titles were decided in weak Trestles ( yes I know he was leading the ratings at the time).Toledo is the most dynamic surfer in under 3ft , what doesn't deserve merit is the fact he refuses to get out of his comfort zone
Where’s the rule that says a guy who is the best in small waves, has to be good in heavy barrels as well, if he can still win competitions and challenge for the world championship,
Toledo has obviously grown up in small waves and that’s his expertise
Guys like John John and Robbo have learnt to surf in heavy waves , and will always have the edge. In those conditions.
Nah mate.
Kelly grew up in Florida and became a Pipe Champion multiple times.
Fanning, Parko, Medina, Italo Ferriera and De Souza likewise grew up in small surf and learnt to master Pipeline.
It's a challenge and we expect World Champions to rise to it, not run from it.
You're missing the point, he seems to refuse putting any time into surfing waves outside his comfort zone unlike all the other World Champs
Don’t know
He seemed to be committing himself and going for it at Pipe this year,
Just watched some highlights
Obviously it wasn’t life threatening but still got some good waves,
Maybe we’ll never forget last year.
To surf waves like Pipe , you need to have perfect judgement and reactions ,
So any unknown physical or mental impediments or other factors , might completely change your perception , ability.
Kelly didn’t go out when the 2012
Cloudbreak Volcom was called off because it was too big,
When other guys had a go
Although the relatively unknown chargers dominated out there.
@david24: has Steph put any time at waves she’s uncomfortable with?
There’s plenty of footage on YouTube of Toledo surfing reasonably sized Pipe and Chopes well , before his contest debacle last year,
One brain freeze and his forever in your unworthy books.
Not one, many poor heats in heavy reef surf.
It's a pattern, getting worse, and he shows no signs of putting in the work to remediate it.
So Felipe’s back door wave against Kelly at Pipe in 2018 , at 5.50 , shows how hopeless he is at Pipe ay .
Seems like he already knows how to surf it ,
So why don’t some of these bigger wave experts put more work into their aerials,
As a world tour.
Everyone should be on exactly the same level!
Your argument is getting worse as your evidence gets dismantled.
time to let it go.
Yes Filipe can surf small waves better than anyone on Earth.
He's also hopeless and getting worse in heavy reef surf.
This time last year we were wondering what was to become of poor Felipe, now that he couldn’t surf anymore
Well he’s just won Burleigh and made the cut,
What does that say for all the guys that might be technically better in bigger waves,
But didn’t make the cut or haven’t yet won a world championship ?
That’s probably more relevant.
If you're talking about the bigger wave experts on the CT, most of them have an air game, and a rail game, and a preternatural tube sense, those that are getting the titles at least. Those that aren't getting the titles are usually deficient in one of the above. It's become glaringly obvious that Filipe lacks in heavy water which I reckon is/should be the benchmark of a world title holder- competence in big, heavy waves. Waves that us mere mortals wouldn't go near. Take the last 20 years of CT champions and every single one of them charge big waves- Adriano and CJ included. That cannot be said about Filipe.
Don't get my wrong, I really like him and think he is a spectacular surfer and I always used to stick up for him in these forums, but it's getting harder to defend the indefensible.
Plus, I'm pretty damn sure he threw that Margs heat- that ain't world champ material.
My thoughts only Mr. Confused.
Well when he beat David Silva at Pipe this year he basically said
“I just want to surf , I’ve got nothing to prove to anybody, I came back this year, just to enjoy it , have fun and surf, and that’s what I’m trying to do, No pressure at all, have fun this time, number one priority “
So if he’s got nothing to prove to anybody, why do we insist that he should try to prove something ,
Maybe that’s why we didn’t make the CT ,
If you want to get paid as a professional sportsperson who performs in public and gets paid according to those performances then you can't escape being judged according to those performances.
The judges put a number on them and then the fans put a verdict on them.
Thats his job.
Of course, he is free to think what he wants about that, or do something else that is not a judged performance.
Agreed wholeheartedly from someone who is not a pro surfer but would sure like to be one
Well Felipe seems to be getting paid and making the cut with that attitude anyway,
So maybe he doesn’t have to worry about what every critical analysis, seems to think he should be doing.
Maybe relaxed produces better results for some people,
The F1 world champion told the other drivers it was too dangerous to drive in the storm....
Niki Lauda, the F1 champ, to again win the world title, smashed his $1M race car and had his face burnt off,,,,, for what... glory or PR, $, peer pressure?
The second time it poured in a F1 championship, he pulled out of the race... smart? brave? ....his eyes couldnt make tears to see ahead.
Would be interested what his Brazillian peers like Italo and Gabe's thoughts are on Felipe away from the cameras and microphones. Especially after he took a spot on the olympic team after qualifying via WCT rankings based on small wave results, but failed to produce even a substandard performance for his country in big chopes, denying more qualified surfers like Italo a chance.
Do you have an argument for Filipe on that @confusion?
Steve any comment on how gabby was scored a 9.5 for her first wave in semi?
Yeah but changing conditions at the same patch of reef (i.e. big pipe vs small backdoor) is less controllable and a different thing from running part of a round at a completely different kind of wave.
Whether a person can perform at a slab is beside the point. Everyone has their strengths. Running part of a round at a slab during a contest at a sloping wave selects for surfers with completely different strengths from the primary contest site, and we end up with the situation you described; Barron charged at the box to get through but couldn't perform in the most basic of surf conditions, small surf at main break, to go any further.
To me it undermines the credibility of the whole contest. They should just hold a separate contest at a slab to test those skills.
I really do see your point but Margaret River comp has had Box and North Point on the menu for over a decade, so it's a known known that surfers may have to deal with completely different waves in different rounds on different days.
Snapper has had Kirra and D-bah as back-up locations which are completely different waves.
yes, different waves select for different skill sets- thats the part of what the Tour is supposed to do.
test those skill sets over a year, a contest, even in different rounds at different locations.
Can't imagine a friday lunch break the boss rolls in and asks the boys if they wanna knock off early and finish up the job next week in deteriorating conditions, anyone drawing an income from the WSL doesn't live in reality anymore, don't let them vote on anything, replace the CEO as often as it takes until you find someone with a clear direction, the whimsical must please everyone flip flop decision making is pathetic.
Unfortunetly it happen's every day in a consultancy positiions..
The mantra from the office jockey's is "stay safe"..
Meanwhile...10 yr drought, XXL Bushfires, then 5x floods are ignored .....
until the white fluffy clouds & rainbows appear on the good ship PR horizon.
perhaps, I guess I mean a job where there is a clear deadline to meet, a tight schedule requires a higher level of planning and discipline than the WSL appears to be capable of.
Strange lately how every now and then the judges suddenly pull a 9 out of their arses for an average ride or give a 6 for an excellent ride and completely change the flow of a heat, and crickets from the booth.
Almost seems like some surfers are the flavor of the day and others are on the nose.
so disappointing to see it fizzle out this way - for the life of me i cannot understand the decision to go on hold in pumping surf, - which consequently shot themselves in the foot - let's just hope the discussion was recorded for 'quality and training purposes'.
Overall though, it's a big thanks from me to the woz, - this past month and a bit has been a treat, and 3 quality events which i am very grateful for (incl 2 days at bells with free entry!)
also thanks to sn, especially steve who remains un-peered in his wrap ups. cheers!
Great waves for most of the event. Pretty enjoyable all round .
Couple of strange calls but that's to be expected.
That Wednesday afternoon the ocean was doing some strange things.
Without a 9plus tank you'd probably b struggling to match the speed.
Shame they didn't bring their guns based on the forecast.
Deserving winners but couldn't help wonder who would come out the winner of a Willow V Gabby final in 10foot plus surf.
Deserved winner Jordy
Having lived in Margs for 16 years, scoring 4 all day offshores with 8 ft of swell in a 10 day period is unlikely (though it nearly happened here). No lack of swell but the wind rarely plays that nice. WSL should (but wont) be prepared to fit their format in to a compressed time frame to finish the contest in the best conditions. This could include having extra judges, which they would have some contingency for if one gets sick. While the Box is on, womens heats could of been run at Mains to fit the tide (which stops for no-one). The telecast would actually improve as more live action is happening and less need to fill dead air with babble. (almost like the golf telecast switching between different holes)
If the tide on the right is dangerous, can they not just tell the competitors we are not scoring rights, but the heats need to be run?
They should at least compressed the early rounds to all overlapping. Non priority heats could of at least surfed some of the 8ft lefts going to waste. There may of been some high scores for points of difference instead of 3 turns to a closeout hail mary.
JMD seems like a yes man, happy to have the job and do as she's told. Not sure who is actually making all the calls. Probably people in California.
The surf was terrible but in a way refreshingly lacked the opportunity for air reverses etc. Real surfing had to win the surf contest. Such a low energy end to a highly anticipated forecast still felt more resolved
than the Burleigh nonsense.
Asking the surfers if they want to surf is fine. If they say no, they lose, easy. No one has to surf. The safety argument is nonsense when Pipe are Teahupoo are regular stops on the tour.
The judging was predictably hairbrained. 9.5 for GB to start the final? Watched it a few more times now, just dumb. I'm convinced the faceless behind the scenes producers are telling them to throw more high scores more often so they have more appealing social posts. Every high score is straight to insta now with the score in text on the tile. No one is clicking 6.5s, but when its 8+ you have a look.
Griff did an air reverse, but it was the kind of air reverse you hope for in competition. Huge and on a critical section.
Agreed, 9.5 for GB was way overcooked. And please get some commentators that are willing to call out the BS scoring.. maybe some ex pro surfers who speak their mind. Might be refreshing
Agree with many of the comments, great contest up until WSL stopped it, and the dud finals. But why do 2 of the world's top surfers fail to surf 2 waves, one in a semi which was extended and the other final. You can't win without 2 waves. If spectators paid to watch surfing they'd want a refund. Only Jordy adapted and rightly won.
Will the WSL ever hold a comp in 12-15ft surf ? The days of the smirnoff at sunset and waimea are long gone……..unfortunately.
From where I'm sitting, Steve was the deserved winner of the Aussie Treble.
C'monnnnn Jordyyyyy - would love to see the old fella win it! When was the last Saffa champ?
Wendy Botha I believe.
Me too. Would love to see Jordy take the title.
Edit: Mens- Shaun Tomson 1977 or Pottz 1989 but he was surfing for England but with an Oz passport I believe. Maybe someone could clarify?
.
Yes it’s just the final 5 format that might be the biggest injustice in surfing history.
Jordy
?si=oVqw8G3NlTSc87aNThat was unreal @tm.
Cheers for that!
Easily my favourite surfer to watch at the moment, especially in 8foot plus walls and tubes.
Pedal to the metal v8 power.
The slowmo at the start was nice too for something different.
"The lowest hanging fruit in pro surfing would be to back up the Aussie Treble with an Indo Double.
Keramas and Ulus would see a return to interest not seen since the Slater/Irons rivalry hey-day."
That would be great to see - can someone find the funding for two events in prime-season Indian Ocean Indonesia and sort out the insurance and other variables, please?
Oakley swore they would never return to Keramas after their budget was nearly doubled because of various corruption issues. Not an easy place to do business .
Yes - those "other variables" can bite hard on the backside in Indonesia.
Everyone expects to be paid -
Oakley paid for various services but sometimes the money wasn’t passed on to those that provided the service, hence they had to pay again . Twas a right royal shit show .
One of the reasons why, despite being the Best Surfing Country in the World, there are NO WSL events in Indonesia -
Oh and sorry all you hard working surfers, the competitive surfers are more important than you, you'll need to cancel and try to find somewhere else to go.
Hopefully J-bay, chopes and cloudy don't get to big because they'll have to call it off. Only joking......
Sick comp —marg’s ——-j .bay is going to be sick if it lines up 6 too 8 foot and pumping ..it’s a few comps off yet but I hope the J boy Jordy wins it …he’s on fire !