Reflections before the pool
This Friday the train embarks on the World Surf League's biggest play since it formed five years ago - the Surf Ranch Pro.
For three days the blue train will drag the hull down the pool and back again for 396 ridable waves, and by the end we'll have an idea whether their grand experiment has worked or not. We'll also have a sense of how the CT will work in years to come
The WSL gave the pool a dry run during the Founder's Cup and it emboldened them enough to pull the trigger on a fully fledged CT. Since then, CEO Sophie Goldschmidt has begun using plurals: "We expect to have more," said Soph about pool events, "But the number and how many and how that fits into our schedule is yet to be determined."
Pool events are an ideal fit for the WSL's appeal to middle America. By removing natural obstacles - flat spells etc - they can be run to schedule with designated stop and start times plus the all important messages from the sponsors in between waves. Ostensibly this architecture allows for mainstream consumption, though its popularity is still untested.
The number of pool events - which Soph declaims as "wave system events" - will be decided by how popular the Surf Ranch Pro is. Can it sustain an audience through all three days and 396 waves? If it can, the next question is how many events would people watch per year..?
But for now, let's concentrate on the first question, and it's worth asking because this is the first event of its kind. Sure, Allentown was 33-years ago but they didn't have webcasts in '85 - eyeballs are the modern metric.
To maintain interest the audience is gonna have to shift their expectations; erase any thoughts of caprice or chance because they're all surfing exactly the same wave. Even further: they all know exactly how that wave will break.
Interviewed this week, Griffin Colapinto told the WSL that he has every wave choreographed: "I have a full-blown plan for each wave," said Griff about the Surf Ranch Pro. Pressed by the interviewer if that plan includes how he'll approach each individual section, Griff answered in the affirmative: "Yes. 100 percent."
It's already figured out.
Competitive surfing is fantastic theatre when a surfer performs in concert with the conditions, when they make good decisions, see things others can't sense. But irrespective of how well they've surfed the 'success' of their performance relies on good waves. A meagre 4,000 concurrent viewers watching the recent Teahupoo final is testament to that.
The WSL are banking that they can alter this equation. It's been nearly three years since we've seen the pool, the fascination has worn off, so the Surf Ranch Pro will be carried on the quality of surfing alone. For the very first time the waves just won't come into it. The doomsayers are many, yet skating and snowboarding run with this static equation and it hasn't failed those sports.
The big unknown here is how important the ocean and all its vagaries - it's flat spells and perfect double ups - is important to us. Hell, even just looking at a coastline during the webcast. If the audience can shove that aside for three days then the Surf Ranch Pro will be a succes, and if it is a success the next question is how many wave system events Sophie will roll out for the CT.
Comments
" It's been nearly three years since we've seen the pool, the fascination has worn off, so the Surf Ranch Pro will be carried on the quality of surfing alone. "
Didn't you make the exact same observation before the Founders Cup and hasn't that premise already been thrashed out.
The opportunities are limited and by and large a version of conservative surfing won the day.
The bigger, more pertinent question to ask for a mainstream audience is, once the spectacle of the ocean is removed and replaced with an ugly industrial landscape is the sport understandable, let alone compelling viewing.
Can Joe Blow understand why Keanu Asing got a 6.83 and Kanoa Igarashi got a 7.17.
If not then it will fail to attract an audience the same way it has always failed.
The only thing that does attract a mainstream audience is spectacle.
Take that away and it's doubtful that even surfers will tune in .
They have Tahiti as a standard of just how badly it can go wrong, almost as though Mother Nature is urging them to go away into their perfectly predictable little pools. Maybe they are the future for televising the sport and the oceans will be left to us actual surfers.
There is a chance, albeit slim, that another outcome is achieved, that being a newer, younger audience is realised, one that cares less for scenery and more for counting the degrees in Griff's slob grab.
Young but still into Blink-182...
hahahahah.......exactly.
this thing is about as young, cool and hip oriented as a mid 40's shopping mall punk band.
If they want the kids , they need to aim at them.
True. I'm not convinced it'll work but I can appreciate what the WSL may be thinking.
Gary wouldn’t put it past Blink 183 to know it’s pathetic, they knew when she said it...
Wave System Event - WTF???
Colapinto's response reveals how profoundly this changes things. Maybe the WSL need to look at other sports in which athletes deliver a prepared programme and are scored only on how well they do it. I don't see professional gymnastics or synchronised swimming attracting an audience other than briefly during the Olympics.
For the love of God I hope judges don't score the tube this time.
Given how the new scoring / ranking system will work the surfers will have little choice but to push themselves to make the final 8. The winner will only ride 12 waves of which only 4 will count - if they don't push themselves they won't win. Simple.
I think its going to be a great watch. Do I think it will replace the ocean - no way. Its not designed to - its in addition to. I like the new format as a starting point. No doubt it will be refined over time - but for now seems a much better approach than the traditional methods.
Funny the QS kind of has a rep for bad waves but they just got to surf Nias and the big boys get to surf swimming pool
The wave is just too fuckin small- it truly needs to be a monster.
The funny thing is, the numbers of surfers watching the feed will largely depend on whether theres waves at home. Does anyone ever put watching an event over going for a surf?
Never. Even if the event is local.
Is that you WOTD , Jackstance ?
We need to discuss the elephant in the room:
Once we have an inevitable Wave System Tour (WST) World Champion, how will they travel to the North Shore, meet a mentor, and compete in the Pipe Masters if the Pipe Masters no longer exists on the WCT? If you have a son named Rick Kane, around ~13 years old, now would be the time to start training him up. He could be The Chosen One! This is on the assumption that it will take a few years for the tour to build up.
Other questions:
Will WST competitors get wildcard entry into WCT events?
Will small wave / aerial specialists start to shun the WCT in favour of the WST?
Will this kill the WCT or would it transform it into a heavy wave tour? The latter would be nice!
Will one company have the license for providing the 'Wave systems' or is this wording specifically designed as the plan is already in place in incorporate pools from other companies?
Skating and snowboarding have masses of tricks which are technical and/or amazing to watch even for the layman. Surfing has fuck all and airs in a wave pool are boring as shit in comparison.
This may be because those sports have had many years on constant shaped surfaces to work on persistent tricks. Given the same shaped section on wave after wave, and changes in boards for specific styles of surfing, then why will we not start seeing flip tricks in these pools?
pool wave would have to be several orders of magnitude bigger before we saw anything approaching snowboard halfpipe or monster vert ramps.
The physics of pushing water around are energetically very expensive.......even for a billionaire with bottomless money.
Sure, but now you have moved the goals. The post I responded to was general snowboarding / skateboarding ... I have to concede that comparing to snowboarding at all is difficult in a pool scenario.
If we look at skateboarding it has heaps of components outside of mega-ramp or large vert. In reality these are minor side shows when compared to the popularity and competition of street skating. If we make that direct comparison then the progression comment is valid. What would it take to accept that pool surfing is technical enough for the lay-person to get the same kind of interest? An inward 180 kick-flip to switch-stance barrel? I'd watch the shit out of that!
edit: I used the term 'inward' as I could not decide whether what skaters call a back-side 180 could follow on a wave that you are surfing on your forehand. I guess this may already be defined, but I am not sure.
Given its a wave breaking in exactly the same place every time im sure they could incorporate highest air with a static measurement in place like a pinata you could bust open with your fins
The waves are too small and slow in comparison to the speed a skateboard gets. Thats why they do sick technical tricks, and thats why aerials in the wave pool are boring as fuck. Just look at Grif at kirra and Griff at the pool. No contest, Not even close
Skating and snowboarding are niche sports like surfing. I would think that this experiment is trying to take surfing into the mainstream - think tennis & golf. Therefore it has to be a hell of a lot more "watchable" to the everyman than skating. I can't see it myself, but then again watching golf is bat-shit boring, and lots of people do that.
Thing is, even if you find golf, or tennis or whatever batchit boring it's understandable as a sport.
You can clearly see old mate hit 3 shots to get it in and older mate hit 4.
The average person is completely clueless why one surfer scored more than another surfer.
It makes no sense to them as sport.
That is the obstacle that needs to be surmounted here.
The wave pool does nothing to that, except add more confusion, because at least in the ocean a non surfing punter can tell someone has caught a better wave than someone else.
Taking the point about understanding a little further - you're more likely to watch a sport that you participate in. About 80 million participate in golf, 20 odd million in tennis and according to Stab mag only 2.7m in surfing (1m seriously). So they are well behind the 8 ball from the get-go.
"...then why will we not start seeing flip tricks in these pools?"
Flip tricks have been done on surfboards, they look completely ridiculous in comparison, not a draw card.
I hope they have organ music like the baseball. Cheer squads marching bands maybe fluro the water and fire works. And you could add some blue bottles and sea lice to spice it up a bit as well.
........ and a little sewage and stormwater. What's surfing without a few faecal coliforms?
and hot cheerleader chicks...
epictard, here's a kick flip on a surfboard. Old mate apparently won $10K from Volcom in 2011 because it was apparently the first one ever done (this video has racked up 1.5m plays, too).
I am sure it is technically impressive, but I couldn't give a shit. It looks bloody ridiculous.
Yeah, I remember this. They tried to rip him off saying 'It was not above the lip'. I think the original award was actually supposed to be considerably more and they ended up agreeing to give in and pay the $10K.
As ridiculous as you may think it is you have also admitted that it is technically impressive.
The original comment "Skating and snowboarding have masses of tricks which are technical and/or amazing to watch even for the layman. Surfing has fuck all and airs in a wave pool are boring as shit in comparison" (Sprout 2018) was about comparing technical skateboarding with what is currently boring airs in surfing. If people were doing similar tricks on waves then why would it be less impressive / popular over time.
Maybe you guys are not the target audience. Maybe we are all too old to be the target audience. I am stating that IF the sport progressed to that level I would watch it and thoroughly enjoy it. Until then ... I guess knowing when the waves are coming and what they will look like will take a lot of the suspense out it, and it may / will get boring quickly.
Note: I am disregarding the snowboarding section as it must have referred to the 'amazing to watch ' aspect of the original comment, and I have conceded that point already.
Surfing airs will never look as impressive (to non-surfers) as skate and snow airs, because there's no obvious setup - the audience doesn't get enough time to think "shit, he's about to boost a big one!", whilst the rider works his way up a twenty foot half pipe, and launches another twenty feet above it, with a reasonable chance that he could break a couple of bones on the descent.
Surfing airs happen randomly, often at short notice, at full throttle perhaps a couple of feet high, and in the case of Surf Ranch - above a wave that's not much taller than the actual surfer.
To reach mainstream appeal, these kinds of manoeuvres need to explode on the TV screen. I just can't see that happening. It is much more likely that we'll see a finely tuned, nuanced version of regular surfing.
Which is all well and good, but not of any great interest to me as a viewer.
You have taken what I was saying and changed the reference just as Freeride did. I am comparing to street skating, as that is where the following and money is.
I haven't changed any references to anything.
Where is your source that "all of the following and money is in street skating"? Anecdotal, or verifiable?
And not to be a smart arse, but what exactly is street skating? Downhill? Tricks at the park? I honestly haven't ever seen any kind of broadcast skating except half pipe.
And aside from terrain parks and pipe, the only other competitive snowboarding I've seen is BoarderCross (which I can't think of a surfing equivalent, unless they implement a new scoring system for the revered "paddle battle").
Feel like I need to back epictard a bit here, as his point may have been missed.
Half pipe in skate barely even exists anymore.
Google Nyjah Huston or Street league for some reference.
It’s custom built ‘street style’ skate parks running elimination rounds to a final 8.
The big names earn over a mil a year in sponsorship/prize money from Nike et al and the entire demographic is millennials
I have ZERO doubt WSL wants to replicate this.
Thanks mate, very interesting.. I need to do some research (never heard of it!).
Checked it out - not my cup of tea but I can see the attraction. Looks like a good platform from a production POV too (i.e. build a broadcast business model) - seems to be a pretty slick operation.
However a cursory glance of their social media and YouTube traffic doesn't suggest anything amazing - a couple of videos per day on Facebook attaining anywhere between 10-70K views (not bad for a small media company, but too low to attract top tier sponsorship clients).
YouTube views are much less frequent (half a dozen per month max, sometimes less) and are receiving smaller traffic, generally 5-20K views.
These kinds of numbers are very low for global, digitally-focused businesses that are relying on social media for brand exposure. There's just too much noise to compete with.
However, the environment is still evolving and there's certainly a long game to be played.
the crowds at these street skating events are presumably all skateboarders who can and do skate for free, and pay to watch the very best. the cost of surfing in a wave pool is going to prohibit building an audience of kids to sustain something comparable in wavepool surfing. my crystal ball anyway
In the end this will indeed be a powerful limiting factor to the growth of the sport of pool surfing.
Cheers Tim, did not get the chance to pop online overnight and add any reply. This Street League Series is exactly what I was comparing to.
I did not realise the world of surfing had become so disconnected from the world of skateboarding now and assumed people would have known that this existed. I guess, being interested in both, I just assumed everyone else who surfed was too.
Well nearly the entire demographic, my mid life crisis is skating :-) but yes agree on street being where the $ is. The last Minnesota X games showed all 4 disciplines however I think the ordering is a KPI as to where the popularity is at. Half pipe first, then big air, then bowl and street on the final day.
"If people were doing similar tricks on waves then why would it be less impressive / popular over time."
If surfers could do hardflip floaters to bigspin barrel rides it would still look shit, that's why. Moves like that just look gooberish on a surfboard. Even most surfing airs are completely void of style, arms flying out at all angles. Perhaps a pool only trick league would gain a following, there's enough people on this rock now for anything to, though it would be Slamball compared to the NBA.
Perhaps it is the current design of surfboards that causes or enhances the 'gooberish' style of which you speak. I did note, in reply to you earlier that my view also requires development of the tools that we use to best suit the goal.
I must also admit that on further pondering I did come to the conclusion that what I described essentially already exists in the form of flow-rider type pools. And they are not popular to watch ... although impressive for short bursts.
On board design: Darren Handley has said all his riders are coming down at least an inch for the pool, with Owen coming down two inches.
So design is evolving in the pool, however an inch or two in length is incremental and wont be noticed by spectators.
You'd really think Kelly, with access to the radically different Tomo designs at his disposal would have dialled in completely different equipment by now, but even he in his Founders Cup "runs", ran conventional equipment. Pointy nosed thrusters.
Also, noted that DHD riders all preferred PU/PE construction over epoxy/EPS.
Interesting answer from Jason Stevenson RE board design, as given to Ben Mondy:
"I’ve been making boards for 20 years with some of the best surfers in the world. And heaps of my mates and everyone who’s ever ridden a JS and has given me feedback in every type of wave condition all over the world. So it’s hard to say what I’m exactly going to get from a wave pool that’s had a handful of surfers catch a few waves in one style of wave. Could that have any relevance versus a lifetime of feedback from the above mentioned?"
1.5 million plays - really? So much for the awkward kick flip . . . little more exciting than staring at drying paint.
"It is much more likely that we'll see a finely tuned, nuanced version of regular surfing. "
I actually doubt we will see even that.
More like a kind of "neither fish nor fowl" hybrid of creative, spontaneous ocean surfing and choreographed routine style surfing.
Reason being: there simply is not enough time to practise for each competitor to put in the hundreds of hours required to craft and nail a "routine".
They've each had a few days there and in the days leading up to the event they get 2 waves per day.
2.
Shaun White can put unlimited time into perfecting his routine and nailing new tricks.
2 waves per day for 3 days. A total of 6 waves as a warm up is laughable.
What is the format? I was thinking 2 passes each, 4 waves. Best right and best left averaged. Repeat for top 8 or 10 shoot-out for men, top 4 or 6 for women.
No need to separate the sexes in the pool. The ladies surfing should be on par with the mens. Unless they throw a few obstacles in like fake rocks made of foam and stuff.
You could have some fake sharks in there and while you,re at it some fake locals too.
Go girls.
I'd like to see them them take out the tube sections which, surfing-wise in the pool, are a bit stilted and awkward. The tube sections also puts a dampener on the manoeuvre sections because people are preoccupied with not missing the tube, which appears suddenly behind them without the usual glorious foretelling of an ocean wave.
Just have a long turn wall and I think you'd get increased variety and it would be quite a transparent exposure of a surfer's style and skill.
Great points everyone. I've got no idea where this will all lead too but I just hope that the whole wave pool thing just really bores the absolute 'F' out all the wannabes, cool hipsters and the like. A massive downturn in the cool-cat's general interest in surfing would be very benificial to all current and upcoming recreation surfers around the world. What I mean by that is, the people from all walks of life that just embrace nature for what it, even with it's floors, negative and positive moods and moments, who really just enjoy the gift of whatever nature brings season to season.
With the way surfing is in the modern era, it really is a selfish sport, one person on a wave at a time! it just doesn't mesh well with the ongoing exponential population increase. It is sad but true fact, if we all continue to encourage growth, growth, growth in the participation in surfing, everwhere is going to become like Snapper....... which is an absolute shit fight.
Me an Muzza went down down white water world on Schoolies..Muzza reckons I couldn't do a back flip into the pool, said he'd seen Dave Nielson do one in the 90's... Good set came in at least 1.25 metre, I totally pulled it, but hit some chick from Ipswich, then the clubby who's from Beenleigh got me banned from Dream World... Never trying an air again unless it's at Dbah with the Mad Hooeys
Slightly OT, but as for PPV - I have no interest in boxing, but I did see some commentary last week around the KSI vs Logan Paul fight in Manchester.
In addition to selling 15,000 tickets to the arena, they had an official YouTube stream that cost $10 to access - which apparently attained 800,000 concurrents at one stage.
That's $8 million in revenue for one fight, just via digital (no idea if it was also broadcast via TV networks).
However, someone set up a pirated stream on Twitch and this managed to simultaneously reach an additional 1.2 million viewers. That means there were 2 million viewers watching the fight online at the same time.
https://techcrunch.com/2018/08/25/pirated-twitch-streams-hijack-youtubes...
https://instagram.com/p/BnNEudDnal9/
Im feeling this is pretty close to the limit.
The ocean is analogue.
A wave pool is digital.
...... with the graphics of a Commodore 64.
Ace Buchan: "Surfing a wave pool, staying in a casino and it feels strangely right. Right where I want to be!"
If you had to throw cash money down you'd back Toledo or Griff or Medina but wouldn't it be strange if Ace took it with meat and potatoes power surfing.
The dugong in the room is the system. the WSL high scores tricks, over style. The two best comp surfers in the world are injured, (as are many kids and good boards folded) trying to do these trick manoeuvers. Where to next...
Pool Comp Keno: Veiwers would pay to vote/judge for their surf hero...% to the rider/ shaper
Pool Comp Casino: a random wedge section/wave would add spice.
Any word of Slaters foot :)
Also, any on his friends get to have a warm up?
He's in the draw so looks like it's come good.
It will be a success because its a fascinating challenge for each surfer. Soon man made waves will wedge and bend back at you like maccas and have random ramps and oncoming sections then hopefully it will be possible for a technical wizard to go up against a style master and the judging will be a complete mind f%$#.
Needs to be triple over head or at the least double over head to be of any interest to me.
WSL Circus is all at sea.
Firstly it needs to grow sealegs to get mobile.
Secondly it needs to hitch a ride on the Circus Train into town.
Surfing's brat brother stole the treadly & flew the coup now a big top circus freak.
Skateboarders were divebombing skatebowls of puke anchored to hometowns.
Humble Skateramp was thrown in the ute & rocked up at surf comps (Stubbies 1977)
Surfcrowd gave the blow-in bratz a cold shoulder.
Skaterboyz F.U. was to Launch treadly on Skyhigh Ramps @ BDO to 30,000 Crowds.
Taste for the Big Top 1998 GC skaterz/treadlys now stars of own XGAMES cramming 10,000's
Skateshops will never last...?
Decade or so Skaterz were kicking sand in Big Brother's face. Skate shops in desert towns.
XGamer Skateboarderz now duel in stadiums with $300 ticket prices rivaling rock bands.
Olympic Games GC skateboarder on University skateboard scholarship in Oz
Not impossible to drag a circus to a sea of puke drag strip in the middle of a desert.
Good example is surfing's plastic sister Flowrider who are lightyears down this track.
Flowrider is bringing surfing to the world faster than WSL are retarding it.
Surfing arenas on Ship decks to red centre to Snow storms about Finland sports mall.
Flowrider supplies boards and Surf Brand's wettie/boardies sales are off the planet...
Surfbrand hero posters as backdrops and once again in 5 short years...World mall circuit
Flowrider flogs $10K/hr of Surf product for 3 Family sized plug in Party waves...No joke!
Both Flowrider and Skate Ramps can be packed up & set up to suit any resort or arena.
Flowrider can't get crowds more than 1,000 or sponsor money without 'Vert' attraction.
Flowrider is basically skatebowls for long short-term hire and is ramping height in a hurry.
Vert Ski jumping is hot on Skateboarders tail into arenas.
Already stadium like seating flank Ski Jumps..a matter of getting the Roof logistics right.
This same Ski Ramp tech lends to surf-sking a giant wave face.
(Pause) Imagine Surfing in Xgames alongside big top 200ft Skate/Cycle/ski ramp of death.
Next up! See amazing Surfers safely harnessed to pool toyz in a kiddies wavepool.
Skaterboyz are gonna be flick'n shit & throwing some serious shade on Big Brother.
Here in oz kooks are pioneering Vert Flow Barrel Ramps simply upsize with Ski-ramp Tech.
Shop in inflatable portable 10ft plunge waves again tech exists then you're back to the footy.
Technology exits to Take off at Commentators booth crowd-surf barrel to Centre feild.
Kelly declares Tsunami Games are open...stand aside skater boyz.
Surf Pros can now upgrade to Mt Olympus quiver throw in Clown Sharks too I guess'n .
WSL- KSWP pie & sauce train laps the arena between 200ft set waves...
In the rush to vacate the beach those dumbass Skegz left their back door open.
Newcastle skater groms kicked sand in Big Brothers face and have just stormed the beach!
Newcastle Skegz have drawn a Line in the Sand....Local's Only are completely Livid.
Skegz swear that Skaterz point breaks more left than right...
Skaterz leftbreak conspiracy is for Local Council to jag shaky W.A. WSL Pro?
Perth parklife recently fought off an ugly Riverside Wavepool mansion on The Swan.
Skegz are saving Cloud Surfing as a last resort...