The Woz announces Hawaiian contests via baffling press release
There's a lot to take in here so I hope you're appropriately caffeinated. First up, read the Woz presser and I'll meet you at the bottom:
"The World Surf League is excited to be approved for its 2022 - 2024 North Shore triennial permits. Starting in 2022 the WSL Championship Tour will start in Hawaii, the birthplace of surfing, with back-to-back events on the North Shore at Pipeline and Sunset for both women and men. The season-opening event will mark the first women's Pipeline CT in the history of surfing."
"In addition, the WSL was approved for a Haleiwa Challenger Series (CS) event, which will conclude the projected eight-event series and determine who ultimately qualifies for the CT the following season, as well as a Regional Qualifying Series (QS) event at Sunset. All events, at all levels of competition, will include both women and men and award equal prize money.
With limited permits available, both the WSL and Vans agreed to apply for Pipeline event permits independently, for the dates of December 8-20, 2022 - 2024, and Vans, who owns the Pipe Masters trademark, was awarded that permit. Although the WSL is disappointed to have not received the December Pipeline permit, which would have benefited Hawaii's surfers, both men and women, seeking Regional QS points, we look forward to working together with Vans on the future of the event."
Now, let's tick off the gimmes:
- The Woz will run CT events at Pipe and Sunset for both Men and Women.
- Haleiwa will be a CS - Challenger Series - event and also include Women.
Where it gets a bit hazy is that last paragraph. You'll know that Pipe permits are rare, Honolulu City Council get inundated each year with many organisations applying for time at the break. For instance, in season 2018/2019, they received 26 applications to use Pipe, with 23 of them in direct conflict.
As most applications get rejected, both the Woz and Vans - who sponsor the Triple Crown and own the Pipe Masters trademark - applied for events (ostensibly the same events, but doubling their chances of being succesful).
The Woz was rejected but Vans was successful, so it appears the Pipe Masters will be on between Dec. 8 and 20th (run by Woz, sponsored by Vans), but what does this mean: "the WSL is disappointed to have not received the December Pipeline permit, which would have benefited Hawaii's surfers"?
If they were both applying for the same time frame - which the press release states - then why are Hawaiian surfers hindered by Vans getting the permit? Can anyone make sense of that..?
More concrete is that if Pipe is now the season opener - remember the closer is top five at Trestles - then we can assume the CT season will always start in December.
And if the three-year deal starts December 2022, then that means the gender inclusive deals don't begin until season 2023 - i.e two seasons from now - which is fortunate as it gives us time to make sense of the press release.
Comments
My extrapolation; wsl have their own pipe permit, maybe in Jan, and they are yet to decide if they'll exercise that permit for the CT pipe event or partner with Vans. There is something something about the Vans event and QS in the same paragraph.
Maybe wsl wanted to move pipe to Jan for a neat calendar year pipe / sunset kick-off, but they'd be saying good bye to a lot of nov-dec triple crown history (and Vans are digging in on this).
I sorta figured that too - that WSL would run Pipe in January and the December permit would be a reigonal QS - but it says that the Woz applied for December.
We know they originally wanted Pipe in January but there's no mention of it in the presser.
I don't mind the wsl. They try. But they are an American for profit business (as opposed to the previous non-profit construct), and they are master manipulators.
I'd say it's equal parts Vans warning shot / conditioning the surfing community for a de-coupling of the Vans TC with the CT.
Agree re the second point, and the woz seem to be disguising this with ambiguous corporate dribble,
"Although the WSL is disappointed to have not received the December Pipeline permit, which would have benefited Hawaii's surfers, both men and women, seeking Regional QS points,"
I reckon "Regional QS points" is the key.The way I'm reading that is that the woz intended to run a QS at pipe in that December window in addition to the CT event. Similarly the article seems to say there'll be a CT and a QS at Sunset...
Kinda like there used to be a 10,000 and a 3,000 at Sunset, plus the CT and the Volcom pro QS event at pipe? So perhaps the aim was to effectively switch the pipe masters slot with the pipe pro?
That's what I think
This was written by a lawyer who is either a) unskilled in plain English, or b) skilled in plain English and tasked to deceive the public.
It could have been written clearly.
The second paragraph is one sentence
The paragraph to sentence ration. looking like 1:1.3
The Woz treat the audience as burden to leverage for profit.
Nail, head.
Grogon quote in another interview discussing growing the sport and untapped markets that slipped under the radar:
我希望所有中国人学会冲浪，前往巴厘岛和澳大利亚，欢迎友好冲浪，以增加我的利润。
Roughly translated:
"I want all Chinese to learn to surf and head to Bali and Australia to be welcomed in friendly surf to boost my profits."
He went on to say
"SUP is fun and easy way to learn and Snapper is a must surf spot for all millions of new surfers excited after the Olympics to have fun and share waves with Mick Fanning"
Love it!!!!!
Don't forget that they can 'Surf with Occy' for just a few hundred dollars....
he's waaayyy cheaper than that.
Here you go JackStance:
https://www.airbnb.com.au/experiences/348543
WTF ..
I guess Cheynnos been doing it for decades under the guise of learn to surf with the World Champion
Comic gold, including the price tag. Pretty sure Occy grew up in Kurnell though.
Gold! :)
Quality, Frog
Here's a question for you all...
Do you think if the WSL starts re-televising Big Wave events more people will want to surf Big Waves
For me ...great to watch Jaws but I aint paddling out.
I kinda think the same for normal WSL events. Surfing is exposed to the mainstream on way more levels than the WSL could hope for (seen any Beer Ads lately?) . I dont think its the WSL driving crowds into your line up
Maybe, though you're only looking at the issue in one dimension.
By running the CT, the Woz have freedom to speak across all of surf culture, and they do. For instance, go follow their social channels if you don't already, and you'll see they don't just feature competition surfing, but all surfing. They shoehorned themselves in to the role of Central Authority of Surfing, and this allows them to reach a vastly bigger audience than CT diehards.
'Ultimate Surfer' is similar. It uses the allure of the CT to ride a Trojan Horse into mainstream America, this time in a streamed TV series beamed into loungerooms of the flyover states.
They've stated explicitly a number of times that their goal is to expand the surfing base. Whether you think they are or not may be up for debate, but first you have to understand their methods.
The WSL is mad keen to increase the number of people interested in surfing. That is pretty much the aim of every pro surfing event ever.
My unresearched and unreliable thoughts on the 4 things that have had most impact on growing surfer numbers in Australia
1) People watching recreational surfers down at the beach.
2) Midget Farrelly winning the inaugural World Surfing Championship at Manly Beach in 1964. He really was a 1960’s general Aussie cultural icon.
3) Procreation. Surfing becoming multi-generational as a parent’s enthusiasms get passed down to their children and their children’s children.
4) The covid.
and smug bumper stickers such as "only a surfer knows the feeling". Same effect as giving away surf spots in photos i reckon
Lol “My unresearched and unreliable thoughts“.. I was with you dude before #4 - The COVID.
I’d say #4 is the exposure that the boys in the 80s like Tom Carroll & Co. got through mediums like “Wide World of Sports”, then #5 was the GOAT megastar (one Kelly Slater) in the nineties & onwards.
Exactly Stu - its working too. Look at most of the WSL posts in-between contests, mostly girls on longboards in knee high waves. We have them, and Covid, to thank for the advent of groups like the "Groove Girls", paddling out 50 at a time on their freshly purchased Chinese mals. The power of WSL social media is clearly evident and E-lo is loving it....
I'm not saying this about all women surfers, there's quite a few that are better than me, but yesterday at 'Byron on the Surf Coast' there were a few young ladies on long boards employing what I like to call 'Instagram Surfing'. The whole schtick seems to be to paddle onto a wave 20 yards before it breaks, then glide along in a straight line striking poses.
Fair enough, they played by the rules and didn't get in anyones way - I just thought it was interesting that they could have achieved the same net effect without leaving the carpark.
I love seeing the chicks out there on Mals, they are beautiful, graceful and they bring a calming vibe to the lineup.. good on them for getting out there and having fun...bring it on I say, because essentially that’s what surfing is all about!
Stu, I'll admit I'm biased up front, but can you tell me one positive thing pro surfing has done for recreational surfers ever? I've heard a few spurious arguments about board development that can be quickly shot down (pro surfing has always been about playing it safe within established guidelines - it's never where moulds are broken) but I'm still struggling to come up with one instance where I've thought 'Jeez I'm glad we've got a pro surfing circus!'.
In short - if its good for the WSL its bad for us.
It really is pretty simple ....
untitled 7 lyrics
There's an error in the last line. All instances of 1/2 should be 1/4. This is why the WSL sucks.
So technically, Vans could allow Hawaiians only for all their events, promoting the profiles of the winners and giving them exposure and points towards their careers?
Probably benefits the Hawaiian crew more than a whole bunch of internationals coming over and competing for points under the WSL umbrella, surfing in their waves and crowding their lineups.
Hence, the WOZ isn't the be all and end all for local surfers.
Looking forward to seeing some Hawaiian events again though for sure.
"And if the three-year deal starts December 2022, then that means the gender inclusive deals don't begin until season 2023 - i.e two seasons from now "
How do you figure that Stu?
I'm not positive, it's hella confusing, but the presser pertains to permits for the three year period 2022- 2024.
They announced that events within that period are gender inclusive.
WSL/Vans have been allotted the December 8-20th timeslot for the Pipe Masters.
The Pipe Masters is the first event of the year, meaning the Dec 2022 event is actually the first event of the 2023 season.
you might be right.
I may be crazy.
But I just may be
the lunatic
you're looking for.
Kind regards
B Joel.
Long Island N.Y.
Just commenting to let everyone know that I'm far too stupid to understand any of it.
Chin up, Waxy, no-one understands it.
I refer you to Guy Smiley's ready reckoner above. Simple. I didn't get it at first. Now it's crystal clear.
"WSL 2022 Season Confirmed To Kick-Off At Pipeline With Historic, First-Ever Event For Women And Men
The 2022 Championship Tour will kick off at Pipeline with the first-ever women's and men's event."
When I read that I assumed the Mens/Womens comp will be this December.
The 2022 season starts Dec this year (2021) with Pipe.
thats what i thought too when i first read it but maybe not.......it would have to be wouldn't it,too far in the future otherwise.
Women's Tour - Last North Shore Comp was held at Sunset Beach.
Nov-24- 6th Dec 2010 - Tyler won the O'Neil / Gidget Pro! Grrr! *Flashing Warning*
Just 20 years after Surf Fi Flick "Blue Crush" the Chix can finally crown their 1st ever Pipe Mistress
Dec 2020 Very good report by USA Today.
https://ftw.usatoday.com/2020/12/women-surfing-pipe-world-surf-league
I'm kinda disappointed, I was hoping for the usual anti-Woz scenario. Feeling the hate, stabbing faces and all that. Instead I find a hot-bed of enlightened considered and informed debate. I reckon we've been letting our standards slip a bit round here.
trending story:
"SURFING'S GROWTH AMBITIONS STRUGGLE FOR TAKEOFF DUE TO POPULARITY OF TWERKING"
High profile surfing CEO E. Grogon admits massive growth ambitions for surfing and his league of surf may struggle whilst twerking "is still a thing". Twerking surged into vogue just prior to the launch of the League in 2013 and has since remained cheek to cheek with "surfing" as a search term on Google Trends for the past five years - despite the millions of dollars spent by the League dedicated to changing the world through the inspirational power of surfing.
"Of course I love twerking too", Mr Grogon confided. "I often twerk privately whilst doing my ablutions in the morning for its health benefits" he said earnestly.
But, he went on to say "It is the noble goal of monetising surfing for the good of people-kind by creating authentic surfing events, experiences, and storytelling to inspire a growing, global community to live with purpose, originality, and stoke" keeps me up at night. "I want every surf break in the world filled with surf people from dawn to dusk. Waves should not be wasted just on one rider. Just imagine how many people will be stoked by that?" he said.
When asked if somehow twerking and surfing could join forces and grow together rather than competing as a force for good, Grogon just smiled and said mysteriously "That may just be in the pipeline".
The surfing/twerking synergies will be the hot button issue debated on the upcoming Getting Heated podcast.
The Line Up crew will then do a deep dive and parse the implications for the broader WSL ecosystems.
May be its just vans taking control of the situation.
Maybe just the triple crown this year.
No volcom pipe pro either.
That's about as straight forward as my dick gets watching a Cardi B video