Aussie CT leg under review
The rumour began in early March, just before the Quiksilver Pro on the Gold Coast. A murmur that originated from those working on site. It was then given fresh voice while the Championship Tour was competing down at the Rip Curl Pro, and the same story was bandied about while Margies was under way.
The Australian leg of the Championship Tour will be getting cut from three events down to two.
On one hand it was mere innuendo, yet history lends it some credibility. Up until 2013 the WSL (then ASP) Rule Book stated that the number of events in any one country was limited to two. However, in 2013 when the West Australian government ponied up the cash for a CT event the Rule Book was re-written. Article 3.01 now says that, "CT Events are limited to...a limited number of Events in any one country as decided by the WSL Commissioner’s Office."
The allowance isn't unusual, in 2011 the US mainland had three CT events - Trestles, Quiksilver Pro New York, and the Rip Curl Search San Francisco. They got around this by granting Rip Curl a floating license for their event.
It also has to be kept in mind that the Margaret River Pro came fully funded at a time when two other CT events were, and indeed still are, white label affairs - Fiji and Jeffreys Bay. In this context a concession is entirely understandable.
When asked, the WSL remained non-committal about the changes. In an email, media liason Dave Prodan said, "The WSL Commissioner's Office, in ongoing discussion with the athletes, oversees all technical aspects of the sport - venues, scheduling, formats, judging, rankings, etc."
"All aspects, again with ongoing discussion with athletes, are under constant review to ensure the WSL continues to deliver the world's best surfing in the live arena."
Swellnet also tried to email and call the Commissioners Office to no avail.
However, a representative of Bells Beach Surf Committee admitted the WSL had approached them with a view to changing the Aussie leg. "The World Surf League are reviewing the number of events in Australia, having decided there will be only two events rather than the current three. Which of the Snapper, Margaret River and Bells contests is to be dropped remains to be seen but we hope it is not Bells."
At the same time the representative said the WSL "also asked the Bells Beach Committee whether Winkipop may be used as a backup venue during the actual Easter weekend."
At present, Winkipop can't be used during the four days of the Easter weekend as safety can't be assured with the number of visitors to the contest. Damage to the fragile coastal heathland is also a concern.
On this topic a representative from Bells Beach Surf Sanctuary told Swellnet there's room for both parties - the WSL and the local environmental groups - to find common ground. "It may be that the WSL erects a grandstand in the Winki carpark so people dont have to walk all over the headland. They could also put more screens up at the top so viewers can watch the surfing up there."
Neil Ridgway is the ever-jovial Group Advertising & Marketing Chairman for Rip Curl, and he was mildy baffled by the possibility of cutting the Aussie leg to two events. "We can come to an agreement about Winkipop, no question. But why would they cut a contest that's been running for 55 years that has full and ongoing support? It wouldn't make sense."
Indeed it doesn't. However, if the WSL are intending to cut one event there are no easy answers. The Gold Coast is arguably Australia's surfing hub, it also has a council that's very willing to throw money at the contest to secure it's longevity. In March last year the Gold Coast City Council showed how compliant they could be voting to increase funding of the Quiksilver Pro by a further $100,000 "if required to retain the event". They also authorised the Chief Executive Officer to "undertake all steps necessary to finalise the proposed arrangements" of the contest.
Meanwhile, over in Western Australia the Drug Aware Margaret River Pro has another year to run on its three year license. Surfing WA CEO Mark Lane said he'd be "awfully surprised" if they were given the chop. The Augusta - Margaret River Shire Council also spent over $5 million building a new carpark at Main Break with a view to it being used as centrestage for what they assumed was an ongoing contest.
There is, however, another consideration that doesn't concern the local environment, contest funding, nor council infrastructure. That being scheduling. Up until the WSL took over, each contest was planned and run by invidual production teams, and for a large part those contests were the high point of their year. Twelve months planning went into each one. Now there is just one team and the production quality has also skyrocketed. The technology is more complex and the infrastructure needed is vastly more cumbersome.
That lone team was on the road in Australia for the best part of two months this year, working almost every day of that period. Making matters worse was how early Easter fell; there were just three days between the Rip Curl Pro and the Margaret River Pro. Pulling down one contest, driving across the continent, and setting up another one was an improbable feat, and one that the WSL would likely not want to repeat.
Fortunately for them Easter 2017 is almost three weeks later than it was this year. So does that take the heat off the Aussie leg?
Stay tuned.
Comments
They should never have accepted the cash from WA.
Just making things messy.
They're making it sound like they don't want Bellswhich I find crazy.
Jeez what a decision. How do you get rid of Bells with its rich history?? Margs can get soooo good and Gold Coast is the commercial home of surfing in Oz.
Good luck deciding that one.
I'd love to see a wally left added to the tour - give the natural footers a chance to do a few backhand turns / goodies forehand. The tour is very right dominated with snapper, bells, margs, j bay………yes there's lefts but pipe, tahiti and fiji are all about the barrel aren't they?
Something like Raglan NZ would be amazing to see I reckon
Ulu's would be good for turn sections as well as barrels.
Quarantine would be a quality left. It got a good work out by the pro's anyway over Easter
Need to keep in mind that removing one of these three events doesn't mean it won't happen in some way shape or form.
Rumour around the traps earlier this year was that the Quik Pro could be downgraded to a WQS event.
The obvious difference is that there'd be no guarantee that all of the CT surfers would attend. But for punters, I suspect the end result may end up being not to dissimilar to a proper 'CT event anyway.
Can't see the council ponying up the cash if they downgrade the event. Wouldn't have the same commercial pull/ coverage etc. Wonder if that factors in when the numbers are crunched and the P&L is produced.
The irony is that the drawcard events for coverage are the ones that seem to have the most trouble being funded eg Fiji Chopes etc.
It'd be good to try a year without the circus in town. Being the first event of the year, though, does that mean the whole schedule doesn't kick off till Easter?
I'm guessing the surfers don't appreciate falling on the 'surgeons table' at the end of nearly every single ride...
Yeah was just wondering what do you think the surfer's would want?
speak of the devil
http://www.surfline.com/surf-news/what-would-happen-if-kirra-was-right-n...
Keep Snapper
Ditch Bells and Margs - add Raglan
Ditch Rio - add Narrabeen
Save a shitload on travel expenses haha.
Raglan? As a contest wave in a narrow event window, I don't think it'd work.
Raglan also Too difficult as a venue for infrastructure. How / where would you set up judges, tents etc. ? Across the lagoon?
As a Torquay local - ditch Bells. The WSL circus leaves the beautiful reserve in an absolute mess.
Plus, if we are honest, Bells doesn't really get that interesting as a spectator unless its DOH.
HOW DARE YOU SIR?! WHAT ABOUT THE HISTORY?!
It's such a boring event even the pros are forced to play the history card (God forbid the WSL allows them to say anything even close to negative or interesting).
"I really enjoy the ahhh... yeah the waves are ummm... there's so much history! Can I say hi to my kids?"
They should just dump the whole Australian leg and add more events in Brazil ....................
Yeah wouldn't like to be the decision maker on this one..Personally I think Snapper must stay, its become the traditional opener.. And Bells must stay because of tradition alone..50 odd years of history can't be just thrust into the QS backwaters..I love Margs but ifvi was calling the shots I'd have to let the big girl go..Wouldn't you think the powers that be would have put their heads together knowing they had signed off on a three year deal for Margaret River..Surely the wsl didn't just come up with the idea to scrap a leg not so long ago?..The other big question is where the other event will go..Wasn't the Keramas event knocked on the head because of insurance headaches or something like that??.Can't see them returning to Indonesia..Europe has two,south pacific has two,oz will have two,god knows we don't need another in either Brazil or the states..J Bay is iconic..Pipe should never be replaced as the decider..Perhaps they return Sunset to the CT and add another QS 10000 to somewhere else??..In the end its all about the bucks and profit..Add to that the safety and accesability factor for such a large scale operation these days I can't see them in a remote location such as the search ect..I knownits not a "dream location", but i reckon Japan would be a money spinner,has quality waves,but u can't see how they can weasel it in to fit its prime swell window..
Japan would be good for the crowd for sure and would get heaps of coverage especially if local born now American Kanoa san keeps up his recent form. The challenge is wave consistency with a fixed location. I've had great surfs up and down the coast at the popular spots but there is danger it could be a rio style nothing event with out flexibility.
Why not have two events in Oz per year but just round robin between the three venues? So every year two locations run events and one location sits out.
Snapper must stay it's a decent contest wave when above 2 foot and there is always the chance of getting Kirra or what is left of Kirra.
Bells well unless its overhead and nice and clean is crap, is tradition enough to keep it on the main tour?....If only they would make Winki the main wave and only surf bells when Winki is no good.
Margs, the right is actually a decent contest wave offers a little of everything and now that North Point is an option when swell, that's a huge plus.
Next Stop: Brazil Rio for fickle short beachies.
Next Stop for the Qualifying series http://www.worldsurfleague.com/events/2016/mqs/1608/mentawai-rip-curl-pro
The funny thing about seeing the comp at Bells is watching the pros pump and snake through the flat section to get a close out turn in the shore break. No one does that at Bells any other day of the week. It's just not worth the effort. You enjoy the bowl then paddle back to battle the crew for another one.
The funny thing about seeing the comp at Bells is watching the pros pump and snake through the flat section to get a close out turn in the shore break. No one does that at Bells any other day of the week. It's just not worth the effort. You enjoy the bowl then paddle back to battle the crew for another one.
Yes! Margs' right is a similar case.
Too true Mr Green. It's been a long time since I've been there but can only really remember going left also.
Well yeah the left is the main wave and a far better wave when the elements combine, but the right is better at that usual size and swell direction. I was talking about how the competitors are forced to hit the end section just to please the judges like at Bells.
Agreed. who lands on the rocks by choice !
What about Burleigh?
It has a far better setup for spectators.
The GCCC can still tip money in.
They could turn the sand pump off on the southern points then. Everybody wins.
Burleigh already has a WSL comp, the month prior to Snapper.
Wasn't the quicky pro actually held at Burleigh in years gone by?
I remember about 15 years ago watching it there (or whatever it was called then)
I don't have any recollection of there ever being a Quiksilver Pro at Burleigh - though it was supossedly an 'alternate' Quik Pro venue for many years in the early-mid 2000's, along with North Straddie and Ballina.
Perhaps you're thinking of the Stubbies, which were held at Burleigh from '77 to '88?
However, prior to the Quiksilver Pro at Snapper Rocks was the Billabong Pro at Kirra, which started in 1994 and ran until 1999. Billabong then pulled out in 2000, at which point Quiksilver picked it up - initially as a 'QS event for two years, then a 'CT event from 2002.
I worked as a chef at Mermaids Restaurant which was right on Burleigh Heads 2000. Heats of the comp were defiantly held at burleigh. Cant remember if the final was held here, but WCT heats defiantly were. Comp heats also held at the primary site kirra. Sunny won mens , and Lane got up for the ladies , Also pretty sure they held a few heats during the quick 2002 the year that joel won, but memories a little hazy on that one
Indo crap compared to what was served up for the last couple of years at Schnapper? Come on Bells has been a decent size for the last 5 years yet Schnapper is so hit and miss. Unless there is a cyclone the place is gutless and wonky which is why Toledo has done so well there. I can't figure out why they don't just change the rules and have 3 in OZ, FFS we are one of the greatest surfing nations on the planet, probably greater than the US and were the originator of all the big brands, and if you take the lone ranger old baldy out of the equation, have the most world champs by far. On top of this if they are all funded what is the problem?
They gonna stream that bad boy Indo?..Be nice to bung the slippers on,put the feet up,and watch an hour or two of Lances after dinner.
I agree about the bells comment..I find it bat shit boring 95% of the time, but I do think it will survive on history alone..for now.
Dont know, but doubt it, awesome if they did.
They'll drop Margies & add the wave pool, at least for a trial year, I reckon
Hell will freeze over before the WSL turns it back on a fully or partially govt underwritten contest on Australian soil.
If this is anything more than scuttlebutt it's a pretty piss weak attempt at sabre rattling to bring Winkipop into the mix over the Easter weekend.
Agree totally FR. WSL can't even fund its admin' let alone the contests themselves.
I'd say dump Margs...... And bring back Sunset beach, AFTER Slater retires, of course.....
I say add uplifts wave and add uplift to the commentary..give him all the dawn patrols on the ski heat previews then the winner can raise a giant wooden uplift as the trophy..like all those ones in the souvineer shops..
If you forget reputation and history i don't think anyone here would argue that Bells is a wave with enough quality to be on tour. As a spectator (webcast) its my least favorite event on tour.
Just remains to be seen if history and reputation are enough.
Disagree. My least favourite is Snapper/D Bar without a swell which has been the last two years. Watching Toledo dominate in 2 foot is tedious.
FWIW, as a contest wave I reckon Bells is great. Comparing each location side-by-side in their prime isn't an accurate reflection of contest reality - the fact is that there will usually be a couple of average days in the mix. And if you look back through the years, I reckon Bells often has better slightly 'average' options than Snapper or Margs.
Just my 2c worth anyway.
Fair point.
I also think, though, that having the first three events as right handers is a bit of a monotonous start to the year. (I realise that main break can be a left but how many lefts did we see this year, especially with the box/north point as back ups which if conditions allowed would 100% be the go to venues)
I also think they have made a mistake putting supertubos on the schedule as if conditions are pumping for the both events on the european leg La Grav and Supers are effectively the same semi make able beachy. Mundaka although horrendously fickle was great to watch when it got good.
But who am i to say. Ill still be watching whatever they chuck out.
I'm pretty sure I heard somewhere else that this was just a bluff to get Vicco tourism to throw more money at Bells.
Get the pros the fuck away from WA and Indo.
Drop bells to a WQS event for a year or three , and see how much the pros want to compete , you know " just for the history " .
Then add St Leu in either before or after JBay , they can call that the Shark leg .
Drop either supertubos or la grav , go to the canaries , or Azores . Preferably a heavy right . Japan would be good to fit in somewhere .
Maybe they need to do rotating / year on year off for all the venues except Pipe .
Southey mentioning 'shark' and 'leg' in the same sentence ........
There is a significantly better wave right next door to Bells. Every Pro, local and blow in knows it. I think Kelly was even quoted as saying why would you surf bells when winki is such a better wave ? I heard the reason they don't hold it there is it's hard to set it up for viewing ? Well guess what, unless you are a pro or family or have VIP tickets it's pretty hard to watch Bells anyway. The big screen in the car park is better than the beach view which has limited space anyway as the tide comes in. Hold it at winki. Still calls it the bells bro if you must - it's the bells beach surfing reserve after all.
Surely there must be a way to add a high performance Indo wave in there or at least have two Hawaii events ?
It's all about the dollars right now. The least profitable will go and 99% of surfers in WA will breathe a sigh of relief.
Hopefully it turns into a small local contest instead of a QS at the same time of year and make the focus on good surfing.
Did I read right, there's a New York Pro? Dafuq?
Yeh, in 2011.
When Owen and Kelly met in a few finals.
Long Island
cyclone swell. was actually ok surf. same as san francisco, got lucky there too.
I reckon drop Margs. I love watching it but it always feels like the surfers are making most of a bad situation. They do a great job but it's not that good of a wave. The Box is a funky, fickle beast and North Point will happen one day but never as a regular thing. I love the buzz when the pro's come to town but calling a spade a spade, drop Margs.
Bells has its point of difference. it's not a 'bad' wave just different. How boring would it be if we had every single event at a down the line right hander. It makes surfers use their rails as opposed to aerials. like in golf different skills needed for different holes.
Margs will go. It's all about logistics = $$. They won't kill history and a good sponsor.
When its on, Bells is a great contest wave as the "athletes" have to work for scores and its easier to see differences. (I would have not rather used the "A" word but was struggling for something more appropriate)
Dreaming.
Nothing will go while the money is there to pay for it.
How about Surfists? I can't stand how they call themselves athletes either.
The other negative with Margs is the appeal for live spectators, at Snapper and Bells you can almost touch them whilst they're are surfing. Ok at Bells it's only the finish but it's still pretty cool feeling when they hit it right in front of you.
And if what I have read is correct the only real opportunity to really get the arena experience (North Point and it would have been amazing) was being "managed" in a way that only gave you a view from a distant beach.
Goodbye Margs!!! Coming from West OZ i dont mind that they drop Margs, not convinced that the WSL really wants to be there anyway and always get the feeling the CT surfers would prefer not to have to come to Margs. Bells should stay and Snappers i find mainly boring, seems to be most of the time a real kiddies wave, at least Margs/The Box/North Point are a real challenge for the best surfers in the world! Its a real shame that Bali is not one of the locations, as far as significant world surf locations it should be in the tour along with OZ and Hawaii.
What does the WSL have against Indonesia? They seem to be wanting a real mix of international talent and waves and as Indo being the most sought after location in the world for travelling surfers, why don't they want to go there? Why is there no indonesian surfers on tour yet? ………..is the answer MONEY?
It does seem weird, especially now that it's not so much about a physical on site viewership but more a global online viewers.
An Indo comp would fit in perfect straight after the OZ leg, apart from any corruption aspects to actually hold a contest in Indo should be cheaper.
It would be pretty hard logistically, but imagine a comp at Macaronis, the tour really needs a rippable left, and maccas is super consistent, breaks all tides changing very little in quality with the tide and is even a great wave when not offshore.
Personally im kinda torn, on one hand it makes sense and would be great to watch, on the other nowhere in Indo needs more exposure or attention.
It's your hypothetical benevolent dictator here..... I'm the fixer..... I fix things bahahahaha.....
Yeah ditch Margs.... Always thought it was a better wave than that..... Looks great in "stills".... Yeah can hold size.... But hey....
Now this is a WORLD surfing tour....... How can a WORLD surfing tour not have a comp in the Indian ocean? So I'd drop Portugal and replace with Bali.... We don't need 3 Atlantic ocean comps, whether they be north or south Atlantic....
Id move the Brazil comp to maybe a decent wave... Don't know too much about Brazil... But just took a look at the map.... Jesus..... And it aint like Rio is the only big city on the coast - Salvador 4 000 000, Recife - 1 500 000...... Rio has enough going for it.... Move the comp to a city with hot surf breaks.... I'm sure the local mayor will have open arms....
So, we've scratched Margs - replace with bringing Sunset beach on the north shore - make for a helluva end to the season - Island double header....
We've ditched 2 beach breaks - portugal for Bali, and rio for a decent Brazil wave...
lastly, make the goldy a bit more mobile - include Burleigh and Currumbin in the mix....
There.... fixed...... Now get back to fuckn work, bludgers....
..
Agree totally.
Agree 99% (I'm not doing any work today)
Hahaha all in a days work SD.
I believe when you Run both the men's and woman's comp, within the same waiting period, at the same break , is to much to ask from almost any venue. They're going to compete in sub par conditions. Just to many heats.
That's true too, and it's getting harder al the time because it's not like the old days where they could just hold the women's heats on the crap days, more and more the women are getting a better slice of decent conditions, which is great i think they should but like you have said there is just too many heats to make the best of conditions.
I reckon Raglan would be a great addition to the tour. The tour needs a long rippable left. It's pretty consistent -especially at this time of the year. They would probably hold the comp at Manu Bay. I don't reckon it'll happen though. NZ's just too small a market.
Whats the best wave in Brazil???
Well, buddy.... Who knows..... But after having a quick web browse, There's a zilllion better waves around than the shit wsl exposes the world to.... If they are serious about this whole "athlete" bullshit, they'll take the Brazil event to a decent spot..... The lefthander below is near the city of Recife, which as I stated has a population 1.5 million...
The right hander is down south of Rio - not too far from the cities of Florianopolis (population 250000) and Criciuma(pop'- 200000).... There's absolutely no excuse re' population (an argument that has thrown around) to keep surfing in rio shit... If it was a population thing, we wouldn't go to Fiji or chopes.....
I Know its not , but that last shot looks remarkably like Cabba
Actually i only just tuned in but Mentawai Rip Curl Pro is Webcast http://www.worldsurfleague.com/events/2016/mqs/1608/mentawai-rip-curl-pro
God the commentary is ten times worse than the main events and camera work a bit dodgy, still good to see though.
http://stabmag.com/news/qs1000-scores-better-waves-than-world-tour/
Raglan - preferably Indicators, but Manu will do and is the obvious spot in terms of logistics. Or one of the Chile lefthand points.
It would be great to see the goofy foots doing some real surfing, not just their poo stance stab it three times for an 8+.
Ulus would be an unreal venue, too.
Check the vid footage
https://www.facebook.com/WSL/videos
Damn wont let me post a direct link, go down to all vids "Lances right"
Youtube has whole comp.