Rumour: Mid-Year Cut To Be Rescheduled
Journalist and reader, we're the same you know. We both love a good rumour.
Even better when it's a rumour covering a topic we feel strongly about.
So hold on as Diogo Mourão, writing for Globo Brazil, sates our thirst for gossip and speculation with an uncomfirmed report that the WSL is changing the much-maligned mid-year cut. Not scrapping it but changing when it will apply.
Take it away, Diogo:
"Surfers and the WSL have been talking a lot and it has already been decided that the guillotine will not come into play in the fifth stage, in Margaret River, but rather after the seventh or even eighth event of the year."
If the CT schedule were to stay the same as this year, then that would place the cut as after El Salvador or Rio.
More from our man in Brazil:
"Since its creation, the cut has been heavily criticized by most surfers and specialized media. However, even those who enjoyed the excitement created by the format thought it was unfair to beginners that the guillotine would come into play in the fifth stage."
Though he's no beginner, in 2022 Owen Wright lost his place on the CT due to the cut (WSL/Hughes)
Part of the change was appeasing the organisers of the Margaret River Pro who extended their contract under the assumption the cut and its inherent drama would occur at their contest. According to Diogo, "the problem was resolved without difficulty."
A few random thoughts:
If it's not happening mid-year is it still called a mid-year cut?
And if it's happening during the third or second-last contest, why have the cut at all?
What might Jacob Willcox make of it?
Comments
How about we get rid of The Cut concept entirely
And while were at it, lets axe the Top 5 shoot out thingy.
Be interested to see if anyone ever supported the Cut & Top5 shootout.
Reckon its 99% against (there's always one nutter)
I'm not a fan of the final 5 concept even though it makes for a good watch on finals day especially if it will be at cloud break. Im a fan of the mid year cut though its meant to be the best competitive surfers in the world and your mentality on the tour should be that you want to win a world title not just be on the tour for the sake of it and i feel that theres always abit of deadwood at the back end of the rankings, always a few surfers that get eliminated first round of every event. means you need a shorter window for the event to run hopefully meaning better waves.
Maybe they need to change the challenger series aswell not have a 100 men or whatever the number is halve it so its not left up to luck like alot of the time its is in those 4 person heats.
The problem is that the cut doesn't always get rid of the dead wood. It gets rid of exciting new rookies, injured surfers, and people who just had a couple of bad events. Meanwhile the same dead wood manages to just squeak through the cut with a couple of heat wins.
Particularly with the current event format, it's entirely plausible that guys could surf the 5 best heats of the year in round one of each event, and then still not make it past the cut, because a win in round one is essentially meaningless. (Joao's first year is a perfect example of this). Whereas the older event formats (First round 3-man heats, winner skips a round, 2nd and 3rd go to sudden death) meant that winning one heat was at least enough to put you in the top 2/3 of the rankings - ie above the cut. Plus even after a big round one win they often get seeded against the same top guys again in the round of 32, so what should have been a breakthrough win for their season ends up being a rematch with a fired up JJF or Medina. It takes more than a few events for a surfer to break out of that pattern.
Its a no brainer - Cut the Cut and end the tour on a wave of significance .
Its all be about a money saving exercise. WSL need a huge wake up ,maybe the SAUDis are looking at a breakaway tour .
You could do a soccer as in Champion du monde and a play off of top five in an emplacement exotique (exotic location) as a Champion des Champions and piss the cut off any takers?
I'm a cut supporter.
Not a Final Fiver though.
Me too.
And me.
Ongoing, incremental cuts in the back-half of the year was a great idea someone raised here in an earlier discussion. It could create some interesting format options towards the very end too.
Could be like a reality TV show, dropping someone from the tour at the end of every contest. Put the four people who don't even make it to the first elimination round together in a heat just before the final and make them battle to keep their spot on tour. Drama!
I'm not suggesting this as a real idea... it'd be terrible. But this is the territory we're getting into now. This is a surfing competition we're talking about. Keep it simple and bring back the old format. Having the cut at the end of the year is just as dramatic as having it halfway through, if not more so. I would agree that a mid season cut might work better if we were aiming for cumulative points champion rather than a finals day winner champion.
I find the post cut half of the season pretty boring from a season narrative perspective and find myself more compelled by the Challenger Series and it's drama. If only it was scheduled in better waves....
The cut makes the year a bit more exciting. Watching the back half scrap for the tour inclusion. Unfortunately, some great surfers are in this list in the past also but consistency is the key to stay on the tour.
+1
Agree, the cut is not the problem could start from Rd2 ?
The finals thing, its fun and all but you can't crown a legit WC no matter where you hold it?
Give John John his trophy and make up something else to sell
Yep !
it’ll mean attendance in rio will improve
wouldnt it be funny if Dana whites company bought the tour, they own street league and he has an interest in surfing, hed probably turn it to gold
Nope
Cut - yes.
Final 5 - no...at least not in its current format. Each surfer should surf against each surfer, and all scoring rides accumulate to determine the winner. As follows:
PARTICIPANTS
A, B, C, D, E
NUMBER OF ROUNDS
With 5 participants, there will be 4 rounds (each participant will face the other 4 participants).
Round 1
A vs B
C vs D
E has a bye
Round 2
A vs C
B vs E
D has a bye
Round 3
A vs D
C vs E
B has a bye
Round 4
A vs E
B vs D
C has a bye
Round 5
B vs C
D vs E
A has a bye
Each participant faces every other participant once.
Each round consists of 2 matches and 1 participant having a bye.
This schedule ensures all participants compete against each other exactly once while balancing the rounds with byes.
At the end, the surfer with the highest combined points tally from all heats is declared the winner.
OR
The top two total point-getters face off in a final.
Or the guy that does the best at all the different breaks around the world, wins the World Title!
Cut yes, though should be based on rolling 12 month results, not year to date. Combine with progressive/incremental cuts of 3 surfers per event after the first three events.
Rookies get 12 months and get to surf all venues before they can be cut at year end before the finals.
Performance matters in every event.
As field gets smaller in back half of year, change from man on man to Eddie scoring format.
For finals, run it as series of 4 heats, top 5 surfers participating in first 2 heats, top 3 surfers only going through to last 2 heats. Top 3 scores from all 4 heats count with handicap system in place favouring highest ranked surfers. Ideally location for first 2 finals heats different to last 2 (preferably one left and one right - both in indo in Sept).
The cut is good, the waves they surf before the cut are not so good. They need to sneak a proper left in the mix before it happens. Oh, and get rid of bells. 3 hours of pumping waves and how ever many hours in shit inconsistent waves doesn't make for a good contest.
Yep. Why not make bells a CS or specialty event? We've already got sunset, Margaret River, el salvador for mushy and slopey right handers, we don't need a fourth. I don't care how traditional it is or how many years it's been running, it's not fun to watch. ..... Two carves on the outside then 15 seconds of pumping until a close out tap. Switch it out for a walling left where you can get vertical.
Agree, Bells is way more suited to be a specialty event, invite slater, occy, curren, margo (oberg or brendan), wendy botha etc + a few of the better CT surfers, everyone would watch and enjoy. I would rather fuck myself with a breadknife than watch daavid silva vs neco padatratz at 2-3 foot Winki.
Bells was always traditionally good then , before the climate decided to change. So with climate change, it’s harder to predict what the waves are going to be like, at any event
I thought part of the deal with the WA government and why they pour so much money into the event is for exclusivity to the cut?
Can't see that changing if thats the case.
This is addressed in the article
ahh true. Cheers.
they just need to let 2 commoners/odanary people into each contest. would be ausome watching average joe in a heat each contest.
cut or no cut. top 5 playoff or not the awarded champion of the year is king/queen regardless. ending on big wave or small. they are still champ. if they end cut or top 5 wsl will have no one talking about anything. and free publicity will end. if sydney swans were called winner of the season for finishing on top of the ladder there would be outrage hahahahah. on the otherside %80 of the season is pontless unless you are summented in the top 8.
English Premier League champions are crowned such for being top of the ladder at the end of the season. Most popular game in the world. Not a crazy concept.
The home and away isn't a fair comparison really its more like tennis as a world tour of tournaments you probs won a final or two already to get there but I'm cool if you give it to the Swans now. 43
"WSL Top Ten Shoot-Out Invitational" Mixed doubles team event
Qldurrz have skin in the game...return of Goldie CT forced their hand...
Be a crooked Oz leg if Goldie stoked up their fair share for just the upper deck of the split pair!
Please! Don't let that make sense...d'don't you w'worry 'bout that!
We're right here ya know & we're back bigger & better than ever...How ya like us Now!
Already fucked up yer Game Plan...that's what we do...that's our thing!
Cue emotive Goldie cry for Help...[Spare us the Cutter]
Classic - songs to learn and sing.
In the old format the end of year cut created extra drama if the world champ had already been decided. If not double drama.
Now if you make the cut you've basically got a years grace so kind of the same. Only the newbies and those dropped need to hustle. If you're out of contention for the top 5 why work too hard.
If the tour's too big make it smaller. Increase opportunities for wildcards to jump on selected by QS rankings.
If they're gonna keep it they should make one at the end of the year too.
They need 2 cuts: a mid year as per now and an end of year to add that tension back to the end of the year.
Have more contenders able to come up from the CS instead of the current paltry numbers.
Edit: as written above by Yendor.
every event after "the cut", should cut further
Now we are talking:) I like it
Good idea. Get rid of the true strugglers half way through and give those who might have had a few unlucky eliminations the chance to prove themselves by end of year.
end the curting with 8 (or 4) for final event. best of 3 for each round. At a world class reef break(s). double points, not a "final". solves most current problems.
the best surfers are in the top 20. the CS is a snooze fest. i don't want to watch any of them in the big league this year.
And in addition to the 2 cuts, they could still have the top 5 finals day on a wave of significance to get in the viewers, but the WC determined by their seasons points tally, and not making that event the WC.
I'm not a fan of the cut because i like to see my favourite surfers, and up and comers' ups and downs over a season as a whole. Though shifting it further into the season sounds good to me as cutting after only competing in Australia seems odd.
Final 5... has to go. Seems a waste of a season surfing to be the best of multiple conditions. The losing on one day due to a lull in the heat.
I love the cut. has there year when the best surfer in the world has been cut from the tour?
they just need the best surfers in the BEST waves. PERIOD,
longer wait periods, top 20 surfers in the world. that is what i want.
While we're whispering rumours...here's a hot free inside tip for Steve / Stu to follow up!
WSL haven't lit up 2025 on their dashboard...Ok! No dramas! Hmmm!
https://www.worldsurfleague.com/events/2024/qs?month=december
But we can do a sneaky peek'a'boo & we don't see any branding on...
2024 [.....] Sunset Pro QS (2023 Hawaiian Islands presents Sunset Pro is that Correct!)
2025 [.....] Pipe Pro CT... (2024 Lexus Pipe...is that Correct?)
So don't wanna capitalize on Pacific Island Olympic Big Wave Reef Promo....(Money for Jam! Right!)
Reckon something's not quite right there...
Just wondering if they got burnt after this Year's 3 peat Champ's Reef Sacrifice made fools of them!
or if these Champs have still not locked in for 2025 Tour return?
Might pay to get an update on 3 peat Hyper Champ's Come Backs or is it all over!
Can check on them [.....] Logos here...Lush Palm ~ Classy North Shore Comp Wrap for 2024/2025
You'll see it's not a misprint as all other North Shore Comps are expertly Labelled with Sponsors!
Just not these 2 WSL comps (Their #1 Comp!...Huh! Where is that...) Big story to bust open there!
https://lushpalm.com/north-shore-surf-competition/
tbb did share that council mandated Trad' inclusions on 2025 Season Comp Conditions + Penalties...
Perhaps Sponsors read into the fine print with the Core Hawaiian T&C + No Champs? = No deal!
This might part explain that 2025 front end is still not locked in...sweatin' on #1 Comp 1 Sponsor!
Anyhow...happy to share low hangin' fruit...get onto bobbin' for them rotten apples! Shh!
8th May 2024 : Lexus WSL News (Does seem to confirm 2025 Lexus Pipe Pro)
More talk about (On Site Activations) Could be Lexus are reimagining their Sponsor Angle.
Possibly steering away from Trad Banner Promo Angles toward Social engineering!
Recent Brazil Event did similar with playing down Corona Ads but raising Brand activation!
Explanation : Activations mandate free onsite Aid / Comp Labour / Re-Sell free Utilities (Water)
80% of Crowd are activated Zombies labouring to win free INSTA VIP Lilly Pad meet'n'greets.
True! 80% of Saquarema Beach Crowd slave to win elusive VIP Blow Kiss Insta Activations.
Never been to a beach or surf comp > WSL aim for 80% blowins to tidy up their Insta Village
Not joking...that's the new order > Gigs (80% never Crowd Surf or boogie all are xxxx Fishy!)
If crew look closer you'll see Crowd are high tided & fenced to steer the flow thru Grog Venues
Village of VIP Stages with bouncers...
Each for the Lucky winner of Most Aid Given or Record bottle top Haul or $40 Flask Tap Water Scull Comps.
Activated Insta Slave Labour Camps! You could be so lucky to star on #3673 Inta's Site for a nanosecond!
Usually the Sponsors wheel out their VIP for a Tea Party Date with #1 Beach Comber of Corona Bottle tops!
All the other shit don't matter > Just target wot WSL recycle into more Shit to go & regather over'n'over!
Intro a Mascot that covertly brands Corona free Beach Promos while hugging & Grooming Gromz!
https://aseguirniteroi.com.br/wp-content/uploads/elementor/thumbs/wls-01...
https://scontent.fbne6-1.fna.fbcdn.net/v/t39.30808-6/448674775_866233335...
Beach Clean Up = Massive Free Corona Beach Beer Promos to win a snap with an Insta Star!
https://revistalivemarketing.com.br/corona-leva-acoes-sobre-sustentabili...
tbb is saying that Old School Comp Banners are now secondary to 80% covert Insta Clique Badging...
Perhaps we're seeing that pecking order being slow to Banner Prime Events as last minute 20% Floss.
We may see a delay in Comp Branding but Activations may be at record levels unknown to us Hodads!
None of this is new...tbb come upon Tidal Activation Herding at VIP Wave Pool Beach Parties...
All looks like a Mass Comp Crowd until ya see it's an Insta Village of VIP Staged shaming of Slaves.
https://pressroom.lexus.com/lexus-and-world-surf-league-expand-partnersh...
I’ve gone from totally frothing and engaged through the first half of the year (most likely due to the waves) to borderline ambivalence as to whether I watch another event this year.
I’m deadset keener to see who gets through in the Suncorp super netball semis rather than pro surfing circles.
For me the momentum is totally lost with their format and given trestles and the finals caper is what we’ve got to look forward to, it does nothing to capture the imagination.
One could hope the CS provides a filler for the avid surf fan however if Ballito is anything to go by, you’ll be tuning into surf you wouldn’t look twice at locally in the form of Huntington, Ribiera and Saquerema. Not forgetting only 5 women will get through and currently an aging Alejo Muniz is poised for a return to the CT, whilst elite talent such as Mateus Herdy, Joel Vaughan, Jacob Wilcox and Sierra Kerr languish in Quey purgatory.
At least we’ve got the shooting and synchronised swimming to look forward to in about three weeks.
End rant.
Seems like a reaction to very nearly losing two of the biggest fan draw cards in Italo and Medina to the cut this year. That would have been a disaster for viewer numbers. Leave the cut until after El Sal and Rio and that becomes a very unlikely scenario
Why not cut after event 8, then the top 10 start from scratch for three events held in good waves for the championship
Yes I would totally be here for this. That would be amazing then the rest of the field needs to make it through 3 events with the top CS competitors to requalify. That would be an awesome end of year.
And then the top 10 women as well.
Cut the cut, but have a deeper cut at the end of the season. No CT surfers competing in / double qualifying on the CS. If you finish in the bottom x# you're on the CS the following year. On the flipside, if you finish top x# on the CS, you know you've got a whole season to have a proper crack at the top level to earn your spot. I reckon that would help turnover and see some of the new rippers establish themselves on the CT.
They tried you'll always end up with jaddy and Morais.....
Fair point. The CS is pretty broken and favours the journey man. What to do about that. Better more equivalent waves...
Get rid of the mid year cut and final 5 format.
The people who qualify for the tour are not only very talented athletes but have worked very hard to get there,surely they deserve a place on the tour for the whole year.
The final 5 may be an exciting day at
Trestles but it does bring in more of a luck factor than the end of year points system.The points system shows more consistency throughout the year and gives the best indication of deciding the world champion.
^^exactly ^^
If it is a matter of drama & cutting costs to run epic surf comps (eg. minus $X00k of Govt tourism & billionaire subsidies) ;
subcribed veiwers could pay to be the judges, eliminated pros as commentators & judges; with the WSL circus that could be voted out also,...
wittled down to the expert camera crew, editors, cable guys & security, doubling up as tent builders left remaining, by the final 5 riding the best waves on earth (without internet & mobile services?...& the big reveal happens later).
Why do they always show photos of Owen Wright when it comes to the disappointment and heart break of missing the cut.? Im sure there have been many other disappointed and well known surfers , to miss the cut since then
Prefer the smaller men’s field with all competitive surfers post cut. If cut goes to stop 7or8 am interested to see how they revamp the CS. The men’s field is way too big and we are not seeing much consistency at all this year. Women’s is crazy competitive for top 20 and still not enough places for them on tour.
Dementus says to Furiosa as the end of the latest Mad Max; “The question is; do you have it in you to make it epic?”
The tour should be epic. Deserves to the epic.
But unlike George Miller - who for sure has it in him - the Woz will never have the chance to show that it has what it takes to make it epic. Cos they’ll never have the budget.
As a viewer I’d prefer a bloated calendar year CT tour than what they have now. For the cut to work the CS needs to work. Who paid attention to what happened at Ballito? Let alone watched. Was there one before that in Portugal?
Get rid of the CS, have a year long CT, bottom half lose their spots at the end of the year, replaced for the next season with qualifiers from the regional QS.
I’m happy with a long CT but last 2-3 events top10 only double points (there is the excitement the wsl is looking for). Then promotion/relegation 2-3 events (send them to indo or Hawaii) to decide who moves up or stays up on the top tier.
calendar year international competition with a cut at the end everyone starts in Feb / March and ends in December if you have the points you stay if not your out back to the qualifying events there a million of them . get rid of the final 5 garbage and first past the post.
if someone is good enough to win before December the cut kicks in then so everyone has to do their best no free rides.
no other serious competitions eject their players mid year imagine if team sports started cutting teams mid year there would be crap teams everywhere.
premier league does the relegation and its worked for forever .
i know its not a team sport but there's opportunity for team events thru the year like board riders battle if you want to show the world second tier surfers ( challenger / QS ) then that's a way of getting their 15 minutes of fame. Teams challenge only can use challenger and QS surfers from board riders clubs.