A (Very) Modest Proposal To Restore Championship Tour Integrity
If you'll grant me a consensus that the Final Five concept, at least as far as it concludes at Trestles, is a failed idea, and that ELO's complete tour restructure has left the schedule like Humpty Dumpty in a million pieces on the ground, we may have a simple elegant solution to both problems staring us right in the face.
Finals Day at Teahupoo was a gripping affair and finished with the two best guys shooting it out in a title-worthy showdown. The implications of that hit me about 3am the next morning.
Make it the title showdown.
Scrap Trestles and finish the year at Teahupoo.
It's such an incredibly simple and easy to implement solution to restore order to the tour that it seems unbelievable it hasn't been proposed until now.
It solves so many problems. Starting with the least pressing and important: it solves the GOAT problem. Kelly has made it clear he will not go quietly; WSL aren't ready to watch their prize draw ride off into the sunset. If we keep the year starting at Pipe and then ending at Chopes then Kelly can top and tail the tour with event wildcards for as long as he feels he can remain competitive. In effect, he becomes a tour gatekeeper. If you can't beat a 50+ year old man in hollow surf then you don't deserve a spot on tour. Under this scenario we might get another five years of Slater. Maybe another decade if Mike Ho is any indicator.
Is the answer to restoring CT integrity staring us in the face? (WSL)
It also solves the seasonal problem. We can keep the tour start in Hawaii's prime season, and we can end in prime season for the South Pacific. Push it back a month until September. September sessions in the South Pacific are sick. We end, not in sickly little green-water walls at Trestles but in the glorious blue pits of Tahiti - with the World Title on the line.
The infrastructure is there, the permits are there. The Tahitian time zone is the same as Hawaii (GMT-10) which suits both US and Australian audiences. Evening for Europe, afternoon for South America.
We can keep the cut, if you like. Or tweak it. I'm agnostic there. It's certainly put more drama into the first half of the year. We could make it later. Hold an event at Trestles in July and have the cut there. It might be a shitty wave to decide a world title, but there is no better venue to decide a cut based on pure performance.
Surf Ranch needs to go. It's an expensive fun tub for tech bros and finance guys looking for team building. It's not a competitive venue. The fans are bored, the surfers openly scornful. We need to go from Australia to Indonesia. A simple Indo leg is all that is required. Keramas and Uluwatu are both proven performers. Can hold size, get hollow, offer all that Indo perfection without blowing out 'secret' spots or bulldozing roads through the jungle.
Swap out El Salvador for Fiji and our work is done. Brazil remains as the sole beachbreak venue with all the crowds and energy.
What have I missed here?
What fails the sniff test in scrapping Trestles and deciding the title in glorious blue barrels in Tahiti?
Is this not the easiest, most practical solution we have to the current fiasco?
// STEVE SHEARER
Comments
The only thing is, some of the surfers that don’t make the final 5, are ones that can perform at Chopes and would be pretty pissed at missing surfing it, as they do look forward to such a great wave.
No Final 5.
Just a regular contest.
Like Pipe used to be.
but, hear me out here, keep Trestles, at the end and after the Final as an expression session… maybe even as a charity fundraiser for Surfrider or something worthwhile
As much as I relate to the late great Greg Noll's view that surfing is not a sport (that horse has long bolted), for this circus to operate 'properly', they should include enough flexibility into comp. dates (use the satellite forecasts) that they get good surf. This past year, from the bits I watched, was mostly pretty hopeless.
I think that could be mostly solved if they were mobile, even slightly. In El Salvador, punta roca needs a big swell and they missed that. But up the road a few minutes are lots of breaks that are double the size. So they could've run exclusively in the mornings with offshores and 3ft + surf everyday.
the horse has , generally, not bolted at local lineups. head out like a sportsman and, generally, you wont be recieived that well .. i.m.o.
my vote is to make it the way it was pre final 5 system, accumulate points over the whole season, and points leader is champ. A final series system to determine a world champion is more suitable in team sports.
I doubt you'll get too many arguments here. Sounds perfect.
But the WSL is completely clueless.
agreed the WSL has descended into a terrible pit of seppo indulgence for mass media hysteria except that the surf ranch and trestles simply denigrate the idea that they are performance waves
Cut the split system, let all compete for all rounds
Scrap surf ranch & trestles
Sounds great ,freeride 76
I hope when sent it to Stu
You also sent the draft to Ziff
And kelso.
It would be great to see a revamp in pro surfing. No politics. Fewer contests at better waves with longer waiting periods.
Done! Too easy.
I like it!
A. Is that Toledo in that photo?
B. If yes to A, was that intentional?
I think it’s an old pic of Parko.
Even if we had the funds to crowd fund a proper dream tour that all the fans actually want, the WSL wouldn’t budge a inch.
They’re actually that bad.
Scenario: Leading into the final event of the season at Teahupoo there's a bunched pack at the top of the table. Toledo leads again after another year of mediocre waves, followed by the usual suspects, but only needs to make the round of 16 to win the title. Opening day reveals picture perfect......8-10 foot spitting barrels on a dropping tide.
Sounds like Mick Campbell/ Danny wills at pipe ........
The difference being, both of them would go.
I like it.
But switch Brazils wobbly beachies for France's powerful pumping beachies.
x2
Puerto Escondido!
I like your thinking.
Puerto instead of El Salvador...Awesome !
Puerto is pretty fickle blows onshore at lunch.
Lots of rocks, few diamonds.
I think the WSL needs at least one event in Brazil.
Are there no better locations than what's previously been utilised? Even if it's out of town?
FWIW (and at the risk of sounding unpopular) I really don't think Hossegor - as a contest venue - is quite as reliable as what it's made out to be. Same with Supertubos. Yeah, they can both be epic. But when the tour rolls into town, they're frequently not.
Yeah true, pretty exposed to wind and the tides are a probkem.
But brazil is following the failed formula of bums on seats over quality surf.
A bigger waiting period in france maybe? I like the puerto suggestion toi.
And as for a sth American substitute, punta de lobos would b a great addition if the locals were up for it. Adds another left for the goofs too
x3
Funny how, after decades of unsolicited WSL Tour suggestions flooding the internet, that this opportunity never seems to have appeared at all.
Killer idea. Easy to implement, relative to other solutions.
Of course, it won't happen. US-owned WSL require a tour finale on US soil.
It's been 10 years and people are still not interested in the US.
Unlike Australia,
Us has fog and cold water in the summer months .........
It ain't working at all.
An effective simple solution FR.
From a larger perspective, the current format in whatever form will never succeed. They are supporting way too many numbers on tour. Essentially from its inception, surfing has been a loss making enterprise funded by either industry companies as a marketing expense or an independent benefactor.
Put simply, a sporting spectacle of 30-40 minutes duration each heat with an, at best, actual performance of say 15 waves, is lucky to generate 5 minutes of live action.
That will never sell. NEVER.
"What have I missed?"
Only thing I can think of is it adds/elevates heavy lefts. Not that I mind, I love surfing backhand. Maybe will swing the selection pendulum to a different type of surfer?
Also: need more ladder advertising. A joy to watch.
I can’t think of anything I want more than a good Bonsoy and Baileys
This sounds ideal in theory.
My only question is... how much of the current schedule being the way it is is due to money? I've got nothing to really concrete to base this off, but feels like major sponsorships are waning and they're having to reach a bit more (Bailey Ladders?) and perhaps government grants are providing an important part of the funding required to even hold these events at all these days. Why else go all the way to El Salvador?
Would a re-jig of the format and schedule be enough to bring the money back from sponsors or has that ship sailed? If not, what hope do we have of seeing these events in prime locations without a major scaling back of the tour as a whole?
Also either cancel the elim rounds or carve out the womens waiting period. You cant have all surfers and elims completed in the same swell. The Ocean doesnt work that way.
You could still have the infrastructure at the same site its just one event for the month (2 weeks waiting period for men, 2 weeks for girls)
Was how it used to be done at Fiji which was among the only events they shared.
You mentioned Brazil being the sole beachbreak. What do we do with Supertubos? I'm not a fan.
Also does Australia need rejigging? Do we alternate Snapper for Margs every second year? Bells is going nowhere.
Be so nice if all this were real. My gut says we are coming up to a very sad tour schedule for next year. I mean they haven't even appointed a new CEO who would likely drive the tour schedule, so does this mean more of the same?
Piss the final 5 off for sure.
Fleshing out your suggestion Steve:
- Season runs late Feb to late Sep (gives ~5 months including xmas off)
- 9 events (~1 per month) 7 best results count (2 throwaways)
Locations:
1. Feb: Hawaii - Pipe
2. March: Australia - Snapper/Dbah
3. Easter: Australia - Bells
4. May: Indo - Ulu/Krudmas
5. June: Fiji - Cloudbreak
6. July: USA - Trestles
7. August: Europe - Hossegor/Mundaka/Supertubos (floating - depends on conditions)
8. Late August/Early Sep: Brazil - somewhere half decent (those already qualified can brush if they want)
9. Mid Sep: Tahiti - Chopes
- Most points from best 7 events wins. No cut. No wildcards.
- Top 24 men and 16 women only (this reduces comp time)
- Tier 1 Qualifying Series piggybacks on (either before/after) each location but no crossover/joint qualification between tours. Wildcards can get their place in here.
- regional Tier 2 QS run independently for spots in Tier 1 QS
- Top 10 men/6 women from QS Tier 1 replaces bottom 10/6 for the next WT year
happy for others to comment/improve
Forgot J-Bay doh!
Could flick Europe or Brazil for jbay
Europe dog shite in summer Andrew
Fair enough Sol. Happy to hear alternatives! JBay in August instead?
In summary - fewer events and fewer competitors should make the tour a premium product for both men and women. Give them an offseason! Enable the events to run go to whoa in 2 days of a 2 week window! So much room for improvement
No mate you're on the money with most.
The funny thing is anyone who's watched the tour for a while would totally agree with a version that is the tour you've suggested above, all except the inner circles of the WSL.
The barriers to a dream tour are as follows:
a) sponsorship / money
b) being able to access venues (eg. Raglan would be great but just like Lennox (which I support), the locals wouldn't have them)
c) the full Americanisation of this 'sport' - the overlords could not give a shit about the quality, its about quantity (read: superficial content, contrived story lines, etc)
d) total lack of transparency across the board (wildcards, judging, format changes, rule changes)
d) disregard or contempt towards their 'core' surfing audience and wishes of the pro surfers themselves
Raglan is pretty sweet with comps. Just didn't agree with the Rip Curl search event going to indicators. Manu Bay is all good with most locals
Really? Hard to imagine the majority of locals in any part of the world (with a good wave) that liking surf comps in their back yard, let alone the CT.
Been big comps in Raglan since the mid 80s. Once had 3 star and 4 star QS events and while a few are against them, most are more than OK with the comps at Manu. This year there have been 2 NZ circuit events plus a bunch of other school events and finals afternoon on a Sunday sees a pretty big turnout from town to watch. Helps hugely too that lots of the top NZ competitors are local
Makes sense, I like it. I have a controversial idea - get rid of Bells. Bells is fat, lumpy and boring to watch. Its not the 70s anymore, we're on thrusters, not twins and single fins. Only way it'd be interesting is if competitors were forced to ride twins or singles then they can all resemble a wounded seagull. Its only iconic cause they keep flogging it. Its a dead horse. Put that money elsewhere.
Couldn’t agree more
August is the complete wrong season for Europe, September gets better and october is Prime
that hawaii/tahiti timezone is probably as bad as it gets to watch from WA, not sure why you're selling that one lol, agree with the rest though
also they should move the WA event to indo I don't think anyone here wants it, plus it's always windy and sharky here
Best to move margs to Jake's. Good waves with nice friendly locals.
yeah that should go down a treat mate hahaha
if they got rid of the CT event at margies, then they'd probably make it a QS event again, and we'd get a crazy number of QS surfers and their entourages in WA for weeks. I'm not sure what is better or worse?
QS/CS events are way, way worse for crowds.
yeah not sure about that one, you're right though it could be worse
Why not go back to the way it had been for years, with a few adjustments if need be?
Starting the year at Snapper was great, as was going to France. The contests that need to be mixed are Kelly's wave pool and Punta Roca.
Now that the Tour has been turned upside down, I imagine it would be an expensive nightmare to restore it.
Times change,
Back in 2003 no one really didairs in contests.
Snapper was a hot new wave and buggs ran the asp.
Boards were too thin
Mate shoulda been there...
Good to see everyone is frothing on the idea of change but this sorta thing has been discussed for years ....so start like they used to at snapper in march then bells and not margies .......have indo jbay fiji chopes and trestles and probably brazil in what ever order and finish in you guessed it Hawaii like they used to ....could have the cut at chopes or even Haleiwa if they had too....and finish at PIPE........that way the yanks get bums on seats.
its good, better than idea than whats current, but i think it should finish at pipe. chopes is great, but pipe offers a right at backdoor as well as the left. chopes favours goofies or naturals who are expert pigdoggers. pipe is better for spectators who can watch on the beach. finishes on US soil which wsl want. it wasnt broken before, so there was no need to fix it. just better locations. no final 5, points leads is the winner. from memory there have been scenarios in the past at pipe where someone below 5th place could have won the event and the title if everything fell their way. viewers love that drama. and scrap the commentary, its so bad. have commentators like the ones who do the da hui backdoor shootout - not gagged or bland for non surfers, they are funny, entertaining, and tell it like it is.
Agreed on so much of this. As for the season start, having it at snapper in February/March was the best, as it was the first real sign at spring was around the corner on what living here in the northern hemisphere.
Feel the same on Margaret River. Throw France back into the mix.
And you nailed it on the commentators. It's really sad to listen to them grovel, as they obviously been given clear instructions to say how progressively every wave was surfed, and most of all to never forget to say "Kelly Slater GOAT" at least four times a heat, even if he decided to skip the contest.
Just on European beachies again, would Nazare be a feasible option?
Not for the giant tow days obviously but it seems to get heaps of days in that 8-12foot range with quality shape. Not sure how often it's clean though but would be sick to see them battling rogues out there.
L***s and K***s instead of Bells and Margs, keeps it fair for naturals and goofys.
Replace El Salvadore with a 'mystery' contest break, as was done a few years back with Mexico etc... can really add some interest to the year.
Drop Brazil, surf just doesn't grab the viewers.
France should be in instead of Portugal
otherwise sounds good .the cut should be later at trestles more competitors for longer in better waves winner based on points total and a show down in waves of consequence and when the waves are good at a location proir to event window it should be go time and surfers should be ready to compete that's what they are paid to do .the surfers are the show and the waves should allow them to preform
I like it!
I don't know how, but they need to bring back the triple crown too, there was prestige in winning that.
+1
I feel that taking the finale and proper triple crown away from the spiritual home of surfing was THE biggest mistake the Woz ever did. Of course Pipe is likely to be better in February but they had ready made stories and drama there.
Look at all the years there were 3,4 or 5 contenders for the title at Pipe. The cut story lines, guys and girls surfing real waves for their lives on tour.
The pointy end of the 'QS was so exciting and names could be made or broken by charging big Haleiwa or Sunset.
I wonder what Hawaii makes of all of this? Do they give a shit? Locals probably are non plussed.
Also why does the WSL need to run it for only 8mths.
Wish my job was only 8mths of the year !
To give the surfers time to rest and recuperate between travel, competing, sponsorship duties and injuries. What other sport has 12 month seasons? Darts?
Tennis, Golf, Cricket all 12 Months. IM sure there is more.
Im not saying 12mths but 9/10mths
Even NRL has 10mth seasons including training.
PS: Ask a Tradie, esp a Brickie if he would like time to recuperate, travel and rehab injuries.
It was perfect when it was the Dream Tour, but the big surf brands can't bankroll that anymore. The reason for the final five and Trestles finals is purely commercial, because it's in the USA and it gives more chance of a US competitor being in the mix until the very end.
Unfortunately, it is killing the goose that laid the golden egg, and the contest-watching public have pushed back hard.
They will definitely re-jig things, but it's hard to see a return to the dream tour when there's not enough money to fund it.
One compromise option is a multi-prong final eight at two primo venues (eg. J-Bay and Teahupoo) plus Trestles. We will always yearn for the purer days of the Dream Tour though, and Trestles was a boring contest even before it became the finals venue.
Reality says there's gotta be a comp in Brazil. Maybe Florianopolis? How often does that long right in Campeche break? Any Brazilians reading this..?
Appears Fiji is only a matter of time, sponsors notwithstanding. Last on record convo I had with Fiji Tourism they'd been talking to the Woz, the only sticking point being that Fiji were not going to pay for the comp as the Woz had dictated in the past. Recent windsurf comp at CB set a template for int'l competition supporting itself, and the Woz will have to follow suit. Seems Volcom have done their dash with underwriting Woz comps, so maybe Outerknown could return? Or someone else picks up the tab?
Florence Marine X?
So what does Ziff pay for? Does he fund everything bar comps?
"Campeche Rights" - That's a great wave in Floripa, and it does break often, but not often enough for comps to rely on it. If I had to guess I would say it breaks like this 10-15 times a year. South swell with North/West winds. Yago lives close to it. And many others (Adriano, Herdy, Lucas Silveira, etc, etc)
There are lots of really fun beach breaks in Floripa with high quality surf. People often say that the surf sucks in Brazil, which is not necessarily the case. The problem is that the audience is expecting the likes of J-Bay, Pipe, Fiji, Ulus, etc. :) In that case, Brazil does suck, but not more than Manly, Narraben, D-Bah, or most other decent beach breaks around the world, IMHO. I agree it's generally boring to watch the comp in Brazil compared to the other amazing places. On the other hand, one could argue that if the best surfers shouldn't only rip in world class waves, but also in "normal" waves.
Praia de Campeche:
I suspect it'll be much less consistent than Mundaka.
Yikes.
Checked Mundaka and it was pumping, came back half an hour later after unsuccessfully trying to get my hands on a board and it was basically flat.
That's a great wave in Floripa, and it does break often, but not often enough for comps to rely on it. If I had to guess I would say it breaks like this 10-15 times a year :)
What bout Cabo Verde or Jardim Do Mar or something new?
Jeez, how difficult do you want to make things?
Jardim if the sand has filled back would make a wonderful venue.. Killer small town, great surf history! Not that hard to get to... Easy wave to see the whole playing field from atop local roof... Plus lids been off that spot for sometime.
Excellent proposal Steve. I would also scrap final five and instead introduce a final 8 using the McIntyre system as is used by the Australian Rules Football comp. It is a good system where first and second end of year get a second chance if they lose against 7th and 8th in the first elimination finals, while 3rd, 4th, 5th and 6th must win against each other, and again, to make it to the Grand final. Competing to get into the Final 8 in Tahiti would also make the cut way more interesting for men’s and women’s title tours as the year progresses.
That's a great idea. Much better than final five
Sounds like cheating , second chance draws....
W T F .
Run the gauntlet !
Royal Carribean x FlowRider. Change my mind.
Lets face it all the action is in the pacific, southern and indian oceans. The atlantic is too fickle so piss off those contests. What about the booming left in Chile which Andy won, Arica I think it was it is in south america the Zilas can even drive there.
https://www.dropbox.com/scl/fi/2dbrdoouy5l5t71yk7m9n/Screenshot-2023-08-...
Didn't everyone end up getting axed on the rocks at Arica?
Arica is one of the main stops on what's left of the bodyboarding tour. It pumps year in year out.
It's a good idea, and so are the other suggestions. But the consensus seems to be that commercial interests won't allow it. I'd love to actually hear from someone inside the WSL about the sort of things they consider
Yep , stop making sense you lot.
Realistically though, what are the chances of the Wozzle changing direction in the near future?
A wiser man than me once said "wish in one hand and shit in the other, and see which one fills up first."
The 'Dream On' Tour
Agree with most here. I'd like to see QS events at the same sites as CTs to save money as well. Set up the infrastructure once and use it twice. Save the best waves for the CT and use the days when it's not so good for QS.
I'd also like them to look at changing the wave count. Going back to best 3 or even best 4 with the heat lengths that they now have would see so much more action. Currently many very good waves or even entire sets get left behind and there's not many sports where the action hasn't been sped up in recent times. We're watching the surfing equivalent of a 1970s English rugby game at times. My own early days competing sometimes had 15 minute heats and best 4 count. That's way too extreme now but 4 over 40 minutes would see double the action roughly
Locals probably wouldn't be too happy with their spot being used for comps for double or triple the amount of time it already is.
I get that finals at Trestles is kinda lame and should just be a standard comp but a decider at Chopes would be even worst, its such a specialised niche type event, great as another comp to mix it up, but not a decider and when its on its splitting hairs on what barrel was better.
Just take it back to pipe/backdoor it worked for years and its fair for both naturals and goofy's with left and rights.
I get it the sand isn't as good early season, but it still worked for years.
So silly to start the season with the best comp, pipe/backdoor should always be the last decider comp.
good point.. what about Puerto Escondido in fall. Loved the search and Barra..
The dream tour was run by surfers wasn’t it? Hence why the locations were ideal? Fuck seems so long ago. Ever since it was taken over and corporatized it’s gone to shit. I think the surfers on tour need to decide by some sort of voting system where they should compete, or at least have some input. Triple crown should stay, pipe etc. Bells for pure history and the rest decided by the surfers.
very timely fr
the cut has grown on me and i’m for keeping it going forward
not a fan of the final 5 showdown- it’s a gimmicky idea that has missed the mark and undermined the varying waves and conditions encountered throughout the tour …. i hope the surfers (athletes) were not in favour of it
…..to reminisce, i loved it most when snapper, hossegor, cloudbreak were included…..kudos to the wsl for trying the ranch and final 5 (and other things) but more kudos to be had if they acknowledge some of their changes/innovation hasn’t met expectations
….count me out of the “final 5 shoot out” but otherwise i’ll watch and engage in every other stop no matter what - just givin some grateful feedback
Felipe says no !
I feel like they should re organise the tour every few years.
Keep it fresh
Have scratchies to win locations
Cloud break covered under everyone
.... ...
Lets make surfing a game show! LOL
Yes lots of good points. I dont think its easy as need $$,s and permits etc etc. I think to be fair , include south America and brazil (Huge populations) and more surfers than aus . as Does USA. Aus is not the only surfing nation in the world.. So perhaps 1 comp in Aus, snapper in autumn seems a good call. Why margarets . yep bells has the tradition, but we are not pre 2000 years. surfing now has multiple nationalities and fans. it used to be AUS, USA , HAWAII, dominant. Not any more.
j bay always seems to turn on for the tour and a dream canvas for all to compete on. yes maybe indo , bali has the exposure and infrastructure and multiple locations re wind and swell direction, so easy to change venues. Forget places like padang and Gland.padang now 1 month waiting period and with a week remaining, no swell on the horizon. portugal seems a logical choice for europe. Pipe and teepoo yes . so why not start as before . snapper march aprill. . then indo (April and may great for bali as light and variable winds. ) then j bay may june. . then portugal , july. teepoo. ,july august then Centeral america august , then brazil sacarema.august sept. then trestles sept october , and finish in Hawaii december. can be tweaked I guess re times and venues. .. And Yes , the old "whoever has the most points at the end" was a better format than a top 5 play off. Its tricky and who knows whats really at play with logistics , and costs etc.?? surfing is at the mercy of mother nature, lots of spots this year were firing just before or just after the comps.
And while all us experts are reshuffling the tour can we throw the Triple Crown back in there with pipe.
There’s too much history being thrown away and the challenger surfers need to prove themselves.
If Vans owns the naming rights, change the name.
And while all us experts are reshuffling the tour can we throw the Triple Crown back in there with pipe.
There’s too much history being thrown away and the challenger surfers need to prove themselves.
If Vans owns the naming rights, change the name.
Wholeheartedly agree with this but ....
Is there any hard data that tells us the WSL is not a financial success ? (I disagree with this being a good metric but the owner of the WSL might think differently).
Also - how come a "rebel" tour or a competing franchise hasn't been attempted (or has it ?) ? Plenty of excellent surfers who might be interested in that especially if there is the demand for excellent conditions and locations.
Derek Hynd flirted with a rebel tour back in the nineties. It was called 'IS' and he had people like Shane Beschen and a young Andy Irons on board. Never got past the live testing phase - i.e no sponsors or commercial interests.
A rebel tour will never happen. Keep in mind the ASP was sold to the WSL (nee Zosea) for a dollar. This is not insider knowledge; everyone knows a pro surf tour is a bust. Ziff is taking a huge gamble on it, but he can cos he's a billionaire.
At 3-4 million dollars per stop, a circuit is way beyond the marketing budget of most companies (and that's just one tour, for it to work the top tour needs feeder tours for younger surfers to advance ).
Often Red Bull gets touted as a possible buyer but that will never happen given their penchant for owning every available marketing surface. Plus they have no interest in nurturing surfing, only marketing, and they have (or had) their own guerilla comps that did just that - Cape Fear etc.
The death of Dietrich Mateschitz also sidelines Red Bull, as the new owner - Dietrich's son Mark - is more interested in motorsport than typical extreme sports. It was no coincidence that a lot of surfers lost Red Bull sponnos shortly after Dietrich's death.
Not sure if you remember when Pepsi did that thing called Surf The Edge and they looked at a weather map on the day, grabbed a heap of pros, and flew them down to Gibbos in Vic to surf a day of competition. It was a great concept and if they could somehow make this the future of pro surfing, i reckon it'd be the biggest winner.
You can still schedule your day, and time. Low cost. No frills Fly in and fly out of selected venues along with the element of surprise for the viewer.
Boom! Done. No?
Nup.
Never work anymore. Not here in Oz at least.
We're assuming you have to travel to a good wave, just to make the cost of the venture worthwhile, so how are the people who are in the water gonna feel about being told to leave? I could take a pretty good guess and I imagine you could too.
There'll be angry locals, uninvited corporate dollars, plus cameras, even just phone cameras, which when added to social media gives it all the hallmarks of bad publicity.
Argh dammit you're right.
I thought it was a sick idea for a second there!
Bugger.
Oh well FR has pretty much nailed it then.
are the wsl’s financial’s for public record??
i’d like to see them….why would ziff continue if it’s running at a loss??
How do you think the WSL makes a profit? T shirt sales? It is literally kept alive by a billionaire. Where are you proposing the money comes from for a rebel tour? The equity groups that own the brands dont give a shit about pro surfing.
I've never liked the 1;1 with priority, when only two have been in the water. Surfer 1 gets a couple of leading waves and gains priority, then spends the rest of the time making sure Surfer 2 doesn't get any more waves. We end up watching wave after wave go through unridden. Has been much more exciting to watch when there has been 4 plus in the water and waves don't go unridden. Drop the priority rule, have 4 surfer heats all the way through. Keep the drop in rule and watch the best surfers hassle it out!
While the Aussie running the comps division at WSL is still there nothing will change. she gets paid by the US owners and will do what she is told and is more interested in posting photos of herself on insta from WSL events than finding solutions for the mess
While the Aussie running the comps division at WSL is still there nothing will change. she gets paid by the US owners and will do what she is told and is more interested in posting photos of herself on insta from WSL events than finding solutions for the mess
Scrap the final 5.
There is no money as profit.
Just how professional are they ; does this cadre of surfing athletes like money?
Time to sell whatever soul is left and go straight to MBS.
Wave pools, bikinis under burkas, hookas at the poolside.
Might all feel weird to start with but with 8 years practice as performers these pros will surely go for it.
But what about Flippy Torpedo!
Pure Gold!
I feel like the finals idea is here to stay - Ziff wants the winner to be in the water when he/she wins.
Pipe doesn’t work as you need a local quota in the event, trestles is a good venue but isn’t a wave of truth and no locals who live at a wave of truth want the wozzle turning up. Rock and a hard place.
Add Huntington Beach to the CT, with eskies and ladders as prizes - maybe a year’s supply of horny goat weed as well.
There are plenty of good suggestions above^^^.
Like the jeopardy of the cut (gets rid of the deadwood)
Finals set up is terrible both venue and format.
Start at Snapper, cut Margs, cut Brazil, cut La Libertad, add Cloudbreak and/or Gland
End at Pipe.
If the WSL was a hospital patient it would be in a PEA arrest, pulseless electrical activity - an unshockable rhythm...compressions continue...
It is boring as F at the moment. The last few years great moments involve Kelly and Hedgy. Real waves needed.
Took a few years but I made it to Jeffrey's and one of the first things I brought was a Country Feeling Tshirt..
Was still riding the school bus when it was held and I was transfixed on the images in Tracks for weeks.
I don't know the answer, pro surfing wasn't the establishment it is back then. Surfing has grown hugely but I wonder if it has really grown in pro surfing.
Look around the carparks and you'll see everyone riding something different not a conventional thruster.
Three to the beach so you get bums on seats seemed to be the old motto and big Dazza used to be able to sell ice to eskimos on the mike on WWOS but he's passed on and I feel pro surfing has as well..
The truth about Eric Logan dismissal revealed:
Agree 100% with your article Steve, but maybe add double points for Chopes and Pipe to emphasize the importance of heavy hollow surf ?
interesting thread … thanks Steve Shearer for your thoughtful and positive contribution to the future of pro surfing
4 Northern Hemi Events - Hawaii, Europe, Brazil, USA
4 Southern Hemi Events - Australia, Indo, Chopes and J Bay
All with a 1 month waiting period
1 x Big wave spot to be included as a venue for each hemisphere
Top 10 Men
Top 5 women
5 x Event Wildcards selcted off public voting
Can quailfy for the main tour via the normal qualifing tour, big wave tour
Events are run in 1-2 days
Public voting keeps interst up all year
Less impact on peoples breaks
I for one don't really watch the WSL stuff anymore
All the corporate changes have caused me to completely lose interest.
Top 5, Suspect Judging, Kelly's tub, No pipe finish etc.
The best watchable surfing at the moment is the edits on YouTube
JJF, Nathan Florence, Jamie O'Brien, Koa Rothman to name a few
If I'm investing my time to watch something I'm passionate about the WSL is not my first choice.
They have lost me and many others as a viewer and it's up to them to gain credibility and interest in their product in order for people to watch again.
Good write up though
The whole point of the current format is to get the landlocked US NASCAR/Football fans watching surfing.
It needs to be run in mainland USA on their time, with a format that appeals to someone who's never surfed before. That's why they are pushing for airs - it looks great, and the average redneck couldn't understand how hard it is to get barralled. It's why they changed the name to "WSL", and refer to surfers as "athletes"
The clowns running the shit show are chasing a market they will never get, and killing off interest for the rest of us.
Well Said
Couldn't have said it better myself