Olympic Reflections
As per some of the excellent comments below the line during the Olympic coverage, I find it confounding that there would an aspiration to 'sex up' surfing and make it more attractive, understandable, watchable, respected (choose your own adjective) for a mainstream audience.
That line of thought is alien to me, and for a few reasons.
Primarily because it is completely irrelevant: the battle to make surfing socially acceptable, desirable even, was won decades ago.
A few weeks ago, just for example, I surfed with my son at a local pointbreak. We'd stolen the jump the day before on a sneaky long range east swell but there was no fooling the crowd two days in a row. It was a quality bank and it was packed for the dawny. A bloke paddled in front of me on a wide set and I said “watch where you're going”. Minutes later he dropped in on me. I said nothing. Too many epic waves this winter to care about creating any unnecessary drama. I saw my son talking to him and asked if he knew him.
“Yeah, that's my maths teacher."
I recognised another fit bloke with a competent style as the Deputy Principal.
Gold medal winner Kauli Vaast flexes during the Final (ISA/Jiminez)
Same goes for everywhere in coastal Australia. Everyone surfs: cops, lawyers, accountants, real estate agents, scientists, dentists, teachers, politicians. You name it, they surf. There is no nook and cranny left in Australian society that regards surfing with anything less than fondness.
Crystal Voyager, with the 23-minute long psychedelic tube exploration Echoes tagged on the end is about to play to packed audiences at the Opera House this week, fifty years after its premiere there.
My best mate is living underground in a cave near White Cliffs (pop. 156) exploring for heavy metals. On a supply run to town he asked the pub owner for his favourite surfer (on my request). A thousand clicks from the nearest surf, the publican rattled off Mick Fanning and Steph Gilmore without skipping a beat.
No, there is no mountain left to climb in regards to making surfing more acceptable, at least in Australia. It has thoroughly permeated this island continent; coast to coast and every inch in between.
Secondly, unless you truly and honestly believe, as 1966 World Champion Nat Young claims to, that “surfer consciousness” is a good thing and therefore more surfers is a net benefit to the world, it makes little sense for any surfer to want to attract more surfers in the water.
Of course, there are deep hypocrisies here. Every parent wants to surf with their kids, just not other peoples' kids. And maybe, as we've seen in other parts of the world, having some value put on surf breaks (by surfers presumably) can act as a bulwark against coastal development destroying surf breaks. You couldn't imagine surf-destroying breakwalls being proposed in Australia anymore the way they are currently proposed for Italy for example. But by and large, every surfer alive accepts the visceral reality that a less crowded surf is a better surf.
Wanting to deliberately attract more surfers into the ocean seems a self-destructive wish.
Caroline Marks on her heat-winnining, and ultimately gold medal-winning, wave (ISA/Ryder)
There's only one unambiguously clear motivation to want surfing to get bigger and that motivation was laid bare by Tahitian Michel Bourez during the waiting period: “We want that for surfing because if surfing gets bigger, everyone gets paid more."
So, futile, self-defeating unless you get a pay day, and finally, meaningless.
After twelve days of the Olympics I've realised that whatever the general public thinks of surfing does not matter. Doesn't matter whether they understood it, appreciated it, were entertained, or bored comatose. Doesn't matter if they even watched it.
Medals matter, a few highlights matter, even just one. Olympic surfing at Teahupoo triumphed on those metrics.
Even after the first few heats were completed on day one, The Guardian Olympic correspondent Kieran Pender had passed judgement on behalf of the mainstream media, describing the surfing as, “a vivid reminder of the sport’s Olympic potential” before calling it “blockbuster viewing”, ending the piece with a stunning endorsement: “with the next two Games taking place in surfing heartlands, in Los Angeles and Brisbane, each proximate to regular WSL venues, the sport looks set to stay on the Olympic calendar.”
I've come around to this way of thinking, at least as far as the conclusion goes. Olympic surfing is set for a long hard fall onto concrete, from the heights of ten-foot pits at Teahupoo to two-foot Huntington, or best case, Trestles. But that doesn't matter. There will be medals and bios and some enterprising stringer will find an arresting image. Possibly the atmosphere of a crowd, if they allow one, will create some Olympic vibe.
There was some irony that what many people called the greatest surfing photo from the Games, featured no surfing (AAP/Jerome Brouillet)
It will be hard to watch and you, nor anyone you know won't be shelling out cash to watch replays of some no-name beating one of the big dogs 9.74 to 8.76 in waist-high surf. But that won't matter either. Olympic surfing now has enough momentum to coast at least through the next two Olympic cycles.
More importantly, it has money. Jack Robinson's silver medal will be seen as improvement on Tokyo and endorsement of funding streams into the Surfing Australia High performance Academy. Rivers of money will continuing flowing into the organised structures of competitive surfing. It's immaterial that Jack himself wasn't a product of the High Performance Academy, they will claim the success.
On the wider scale, the ISA is set to reap a richer harvest from the Olympic money tree. Reporting from former ISA media flunky now Inertia writer Evan Quarnstrom, highlighted that it takes three Olympic cycles before a sport receives a cut of the enormous broadcast revenues. Which means the ISA, as the Olympic governing body, is set to reap millions within a decade assuming it can make the Brisbane games. Well remunerated bureaucracies become much more effective lobbying agents than the general public, let alone what the aggregate mass of surfers might think.
This is completely out of our hands now.
The size of the bureaucracy lends more weight to Olympic surfing being continued in the ocean. A pool comp would simplify the baroque qualification process but reduce the reliance on the ISA as a qualifying body. That will not happen under Fernando Aguerre's reign.
Surfing's reliance on nature isn't so different to other Olympic sports. Sailing disciplines, of which there are many, are regularly put on hold due to unfavourable winds.
The judging doesn't need to be understood. Watching the womens Park Skateboarding Final the expert commentator frankly admitted he had no idea what was scoring or why. In that respect surfing is more easily understood, at least by an educated layman.
The biggest winner of the 'new' sports inducted into the Olympic roster is surfing's cousin, skateboarding. It can be understood by any onlooker at a visceral level as an insane, gymnastic spectacle. Reproducible every time. It's ironic that the offshoot of surfing, that seemed to retain the counter-cultural, DIY, anti-commercial, underground vibe surfing lost long ago, has been the sport so enthusiastically embraced as a mainstream Olympic sport. Surfing will ride in the slipstream of skateboarding, for the forseeable Olympic future at least.
As for LA and Brisbane. All surfing needs to do is produce a photo or two and a gold, silver and bronze medallist to add to a countries medal tally.
Nothing else matters, least of all what you or I think.
// STEVE SHEARER
Comments
man, you made me login just to reply to this. this was such a self-serving wank of a write-up. it's literally the old man yells at cloud joke from the simpsons, in surfing form. why am i annoyed and replying to this? because fuck you for writing such a blithely bag of spanners and for making me want to hop on over to stab, whose journalism, supposing it was printed, i wouldn't wipe my arse with.
Contrary view to Jaspo - well written and considered piece Steve, as usual. Jaspo, maybe go back to Tik tok or whatever.
Also contrary view. Its amazing what people get angry about.
Probably just a troll, but I still respectfully vote down your comment, Jaspo.
Perfect insights IMHO, FR.
If there is one good take away from Jaspo's post is that Vote Up and Vote Down button would be useful in the forum, as others have mentioned before. Do you think the buttons reduces reply engagement?
I have never been much of a forum guy, but I find SN's quite entertaining on many fronts beyond surfing.
It's been talked about, PV. Will probably make its way into forum settings in future rounds of development.
Troll or not, I hope Jaspo returns and explains his comment. I'm kinda perplexed by it.
If it's in the forums that's a future lawsuit claiming for RSI injury, you've seen how the threads go...
Please no "liking" or "voting" on comments. Ever.
Keep that shit outta here.
Like.
:-P
Like.
+1
Let words do the talking.
hope not. (no thumbs, no stars, no emojis, limited font and style expression.. simple, slick, stark.. explaining any subtlety using words! amazing). 'No improvement' needed.
the jaspo post is like an art-piece titled 'ironic post: man with clouds 1', fun to respond to with words. A pile on of thumbs, 1-stars, bag of dicks, whatever, would be boring, non-quizzical, and lead to no subsequent engagement/convo.
What exactly Jaspo disagrees with remains a mystery.
Man, you made me register to Swellnet and create this account as your comment is such a self-serving wank of a comment. It's literally the old man yells at cloud joke from the Simpsons. Why am I annoyed and replying to this? Because fuck you for totally lacking the comprehension and foresight to understand all the valid points as articulated by FreeRide in his astutely and well written reflection on the Olympics. See you in four years, Jaspo, when everything written he wrote has come true. In the meantime, enjoy the "journalism" at Stab or whatever other websites you frequent, and don't forget to flush.
Also floss, dental hygiene is important.
Go for a surf mate, no more angry tablets.
Interesting Jaspa. I actually thought Steve was absolutely bang-on from go to whoa with his summation. And I didn't get the "old man yelling at clouds" vibe at all, which I concede is not totally unheard of in these parts.
Jaspo, I have no doubt you are a youngish bloke who surfs close to a city. Surfing origins were partially based around surf exploration and the experience of beautiful local environments. Some of these areas are now built out mini suburbia, not for all, I am sure there are a lot of surfers who still enjoy the basics of surfing.
Getting away with your mates, surfing pristine waves in areas largely untouched by man. Raw ocean adjacent to magnificent shore lines and surrounding coasts.
Thats why there will always be a divide in surfing, the commercial element which is bound to attract crowds and cameras and the grass roots experience of getting some pure natural highs.
Enjoy your crowded waves and dropins galore. Some just like a more simple surfing life.
Anything specific you disagreed with, or just the general tone?
Is Jaspo Nick Carroll ?
I appreciated your updates throughout the Olympics Steve. I didn't see much of the surfing but it was great to get the "take homes" from it. Surfing at Tokyodidn't feel right, maybe it was the quality of the surf or just the Covid thing, but this time around surfing seems solidified as an Olympic sport. I'm not sure if that is a good thing or not. One thing I am sure of is that surfing will change because of it.
Wow getting burnt by your son's maths teacher is unreal haha! Good one to bring up at parent teacher interviews next time.
ah, we did that interview over the phone.
I hope your kid schooled his teacher, 'drop in on my dad again and I'll send you to the principal to explain your actions!' Teacher should be caned.
Speaking of the number of teachers surfing currently, it must be hard for kids to wag school to go surfing these days.
Not that I ever did that. ;)
Lucky you didn’t unknowingly start a fight with him!
I used to wag so much school to surf, literally every single good swell, from an hours tide window with a free period to a few days for a good indo swell, the whole of my teaching career.
"the battle to make surfing socially acceptable, desirable even, was won decades ago"
True - in Australia.
In terms of population, Australia is a small country with just 26 million people and more than 85 per cent of Australians live within 50 kilometres of the coast.
Surfing is a mainstream sporting activity.
Other countries, like the US have a much greater population of 333 million, many of whom do not live anywhere near the coastline.
That is the Olympic general interest target demographic, not Australia.
amazing write up. It's been very fun watching Steve Shearer's thinkings play out on swellnet over the event and lead up, culminating in this reflection and the event write-ups (admirably, processing this event's nuances through dialogue with other posters, throughout the event on live comments, and in consort with other surfers; strong opinions without hubris). And a lot more interesting thoughts than I've seen elsewhere regarding the event's future.
Always enjoy your take, cheers.
Enjoyed the skating at the Olympics, so good. Still don't think many can keep it up properly after 40, concrete hurts more than water.
Teacher dropping in, crikey that's worse than promoting the transgender lifestyle to the kids!
I chatted to my grandma a few days ago and she was very happy that Jack Robbins(no relation to Tony) won a silver medal. :-P
As for our world and all we know being ruined by more surfers.....i'll still feebly cling to the belief that if the whole world surfed, it'd be a much better place.
And truth is, no one except surfers are ever going to care about surfing in the olympics. Not to the extent we assume they do.
Good thought provoking article as always FR.
Good read Steven. To my mind there is surfing, and then there is surfing.
My young niece once told me, "Surfing is really easy, I got up first time."
What the majority of the general surfing public do is barely recognizable as actual high-level surfing and like the mainstream media they don't really care or need to understand what real surfing is all about. They are happy in their ignorance and just get in the way. Come to think of it, I wish they would all just fark off and go back to sitting around sipping their lattes or doing whatever it was they used to do. Cheers.
I liked surfing in the Olympics, it was cool to see those other than the usual CT surfers out there and the stature of the Olympics meant they pushed hard.
some disagreements on the article, Steve writes " there is no mountain left to climb in regards to making surfing more acceptable, at least in Australia"
This may be the case for surfing being 'acceptable' but not for it being accessible or inclusive. its pretty much the bastion of white well off men (which I am one), women in the line up continue to get way less waves and understandably don't feel safe in many lines ups that are aggressive and have undertones of violence. And if your from the burbs and of non-anglo background you are probably getting the same vibes (if you can afford to get to the beach).
Its a selfish sport that often (not always) brings out the worst in men's behaviour.
I reckon that's the next frontier, and I think the Olympics and the WSL is probably at the forefront of pushing back on that given the equal prize money and (almost) equal status of women with men in competition, as well as the inclusion of those countries less able to make the CT grade.
Sexist
Surfing can re'awaken awareness, timing, positioning and flow in a fleeting moment, as the sun passes overhead.
I had a surf today with 2 other people; your "nonanglo & a woman"; both relative beginners, we all caught a few little waves and we all had some fun, in the sun.
Meanwhile, 400m down the beach, an ADHD impatient insistantly took every scarse wave on a busy peak and asked for a beating & got it. Everyone was bewildered, including him....before & after.
The frontier is creativity, awareness/reconection & sustainability on this little planet, in this little part of the universe.
So you either had two sessions or surfed both banks?
A guy trying to surf the busy peak told me the story in the car park; he caught one wave. There were other peaks along a kilometre of beachbreaks.
The competition & commercial side of surfing always creates winners and losers.
I hope we get to see the best surfers on the best waves, regardless of the media sponsors, judges, gender or race.
eg. The Olympic Semi & Finals heats in Tahiti deserved 45 minute heats; with at least two good set waves for each surfer.
Yeah, how long can you wait when there's no swell ?
The olympics surf took far too long
In my experience in lineup’s, women are less likely to snake you, and more likely to give waves away.
@Geoff, I could not disagree more with some points in this post and totally (unfortunately) agree one. I am not sure where you are from, but where I grew up surfing there was and still is a well balanced (to local population statistically) mix of backgrounds in the water. If you wanted to surf you found a way regardless.
Surfers are, generally, by nature a pack of selfish c*&#s and the options for waves drives that ... we all want the best sets. This is true for surfing and the opposite of skateboarding ... you could not feel more welcomed at a skatepark as an older skater. No sets, the park / ramps are the same for all riders, every time.
As for females in the water, this imbalance is decreasing and the agression towords them these days maybe something you personally do, but I have not witnessed this at all in four decades of surfing in crowded lineups. "women in the line up continue to get way less waves" - If you refer to males paddling around females to get into a deeper position, or not 'letting' them have waves, then I think this is a result of more experienced surfers taking advantage of their experience and would just as often (if not moreso) do the same to males lower on the pecking order.
"Its a selfish sport that often (not always) brings out the worst in men's behaviour." - this one is just straight sexist, I have surfed with females who are easily as agressive / angry in the water as males.
"not for it being accessible or inclusive" - why does everything have to boil down to this shit?!
Overall, especially this "And if you're from the burbs and of non-anglo background you are probably getting the same vibes (if you can afford to get to the beach).", is just straight up racist ... you are suggesting that non-anglo people are all poor and do not have the ability, drive, or motivation to do these things? Go find a mirror and have a good hard look at yourself.
Yep I thought Geoff's post was the trifecta: sexist, racist and also discriminated against the well-to-do (if there's a word for that: eattherichist?).
And while I am at it, posts like this neglect that there is a great need to acknowledge the severe problems afflicting boys and men - I would argue that policy settings should be set in their favour for the next 50 years or so.
Smack my head emoji.( Hope my sequencing is right) @geoffh?
Geoffh.
( Mal C, I concur with what you wrote)
I don’t know what kind of surfing you are doing or witnessing but your claims shock me.
Are you well off fella, RUOK, anybody home ?
The last I checked, a kid anywhere can get a surfboard, they’re everywhere if you look, someone or most of us have boards hanging around in sheds, garages etc.
it’s not elitist and you don’t have to come from a privileged background to get one.
Maybe check your own facts, most surfers have come from very basic to basic backgrounds, the beach was a place to play, it’s free, ya mum could tell all you kids to piss off for the day and get out of her hair.
Lots of kids learnt life lessons hanging out with others at beaches, folk, young and old..
I surf amongst females and males all the time, I never see or hear aggression, in fact on the coast I surf, it’s basically non existent.
Gabberflasted . AW
Surfing doesn't need the Olympics and the Olympics doesn't need Surfing. It will be interesting how long the interested parties will be able to hold them together.
Interesting comparison with the skateboarding. I thought those commentators were totally useless and made no effort to educate a non-skating audience. Far cry from BL et al. going on and on about priority and scoring etc., so at least people were learning. And if more interest gets more pay then those commentators were costing the industry money, in my opinion.... it was like being at the skatepark with drunk bogans. Missed opportunity in my irrelevant opinion.
Surfing has been mainstream for a while, I’ve seen NRL stars out at Rainbow, been dropped in on by a well known tennis player there , who to his credit made a swift exit, saving
me a pounding ,surfed with a swimming star , who gave me lots of waves at the Sunny Coast, gave a wave to an Irish comedian , because he wasn’t catching any at Noosa , and was surfing a semi remote reef West of Adelaide , where there were 4 players from the Port Adelaide Power. Funny thing was I didn’t know who they were until I saw them on the news a few days later!
Anyone that has surfed the northern northern beaches will have been dropped in on by Joey Johns once or twice!
Yes he’s well known, sports people are already fit , so it’s pretty easy for them to have a go . Gives them something to do when they retire!
Little victories. Channel 9 showing highlights in prime time - and chose to show 15 minutes of end of final, two guys sitting in the sea.
Classic. No other sport can boast 15mins like that!
Steve, love your insights into the sport of surfing & machinations.
Given France can host in Tahiti;
USA (LA) could host the Olympics surfing in Hawaii and Brisbane can host the surfing at ..... spotHex.
Maybe we can have a say in the ISA surf location in Oz?
Before INXS; there was the pure insticts of the Machinations...& DEVO
Sex sells product; in any nation, location & vocation.
worst case scenario....
I think the issue they'll have with Hawaii is that the Olympics are in the summer when the North Shore is flat. The South Shore gets some pretty decent waves as is well known, but none in the same league as Pipe. May as well have it at Trestles I reckon.
best case
https://www.eos.surf/videos/opening-from-storm-riders-1982
musical renaissance still has resonance today
Down by the River
Cortez the Killer
Hurricane
Live, some of the best guitar playing on the net ,among others , every version different and extended.
Have to agree with that..... throw in powder finger as well. Such an underrated guitarist for a guy as well known as he is.
Yes Neil Young is mostly well known for his folksy acoustics, harmonica, but could really shred on the electric guitar live!
Even his worst stuff is good. Check Sonic Youth's cover of Computer age
4 years till the next.........and I won't be counting it down on the calendar
F T O
to succeed as other olympic sports succeed then it should just be about the competition between competitors, not the competitors vs the ocean.
hold olympics surfing in wave pools.
done.
the 'waves of consequence' bullshit and luck of pulling the only decent wave in a heat is a distraction and a detraction to the once every four years viewer.
only surfers really appreciate what it means to tame and master the playing field.
"exciting news for viewers, the conditions today present the 100m sprinters with a track riddled with holes except for one lane..."
As far as the olympics in 2028
I say trial the wavepool.
absolutely. testing it in decent tahiti (the 'it' location), to gauge response/interst vs. cost/logistics, was needed, gives them enough data, I'm sure. now get it in the sort of consistency an 'olympic sport' requires. and get wsl (or equivalent) away from waist high humdrum waves.
Totally agree. Even consistent canvas as the playing field for Olympic competition. Better than Huntington. I'm a dead set surf comp fan and was hoping for the best like the rest of us but to have to watch so much of the Olympic 'action' waiting, waiting, waiting, hoping, hoping for.. action.. or any wave ridden was not just boring but ultra frustrating. They were lucky they got that 4 hr late wind change to give us some fleeting joy. At least we had a moment but it didn't feel enough. At least we wouldn't have to deal with waiting period issues either and stare at prognostic charts until our eyes bleed. If its in the Olympics put it in a pool and keep the real oceanic experience in all its reality for the WSL and for those of us actually surfing in the water, waiting our turn and hoping for a good one.
For a feller that needs attention-endorphins to keep the dog at bay, wouldn't KS hook up with the IOC, as a wavepool consultant/contractor/builder/shmoozer..? different country, new people, a year of being the man somewhere exotic every four yrs.. a break from being a dad/partner.. cameras watching him test it.. seems a tailor-made job for the goat. https://olympics.com/en/video/kelly-slater-exclusive-i-sometimes-feel-to...
I had gym class first class of the day in my senior year of high school .
the coach used to let me skip it so that I could go surfing before school and come to school late.
and then when I had missed too many classes and wasn't qualified to graduate, he erased my skipped classes before he handed in the attendance record to the administration. so I could still graduate.
a cool teacher that understands how important surfing is to a kids mental health can be a life saver, it was for me
Excellent ... I had a teacher who, once surfing was removed from the school sports options, put me on the footy team then told me to go surfing instead and marked me as attending the inter-school footy on Thursday arvos.
When I was going to school in London in the early 70s , our phys ed teacher reckoned he came 4 th in the British surfing championships , he brought some surfboards to school, showed us some videos of Hawaii, and told us what it was like being in the tube!
wooah, that sounds cool as, who was that?
my only teacher name drop is having John Schumann as a relief teacher in the 80s
I think he’s name was Mr Terry from memory, yes it was pretty cool, it didn’t mean a lot to us living in London though, but maybe a look into the future.
John Schumann, what a legend!
yeh, a mate had him at his (different) primary school, I found out years later, and claims he asked why he sang in such broad accent (I rate this as probably true, given the individual).
When you hear Schumann’s speaking voice, the way he sings sounds like a natural extension of that.
I’ve always appreciated how unapologetically Australian he seems to be, unlike so many modern Australian musicians and singers.
I had John Doyle - AKA Rampaging Roy Slaven - as my English teacher in Year 8.
Wasn't funny at all.
whaaaaaa....... ?
east coast knowledge...
do tell!
(comedians from teaching... I met a lass that had english/welsh wit greg davies as a teacher, and he was shit apparently. john schumann was really nice)
What, no sense of humour at all or just a very dry one?
I reckon HG would've made a prick of a school teacher.
I don’t think the kids would have got the dry sarcasm anyway, so he probably didn’t bother, and he wasn’t getting paid to make people laugh then!
Not a single joke, nor a moment of lightness all year. At the time he was a Serious Actor, had himself a part in the tele-series Bodyline - playing Douglas Jardine maybe? - plus a few other cameos and ads on the box.
Wasn't till a few years later, the '89 Grand Final to be exact, when Blocker Roach and Backdoor Benny Elias went down to Canberra's Green Machine of Chicken George Meninga, Tooley Daley, and Snakey Belcher, that I first heard Mr Doyle in character.
I still can't help feeling envious you had Rampaging Roy Slaven as an English teacher.
Chris dawson was a PE and Commerce teacher of mine. We all thought he was a pretty good bloke. Teacher personnas obviously very misleading in retrospect
What a let down!
We had Rob Hirst’s brother as an English teacher at high school. Was a big deal in the 80s!
Good all round bloke unlike the rest of the saddists.
Couple notes. First, source close to Olympic process confirms that in Tokyo, and now Paris, surfing lowest rated event at the games in terms of television. Surf in LA is on, location TBD, but same source says NBC 95% wants wave pool. Huntington Beach pushing hard (Peter Townend hired to rep and push), but Trestles leading contender if in ocean. Some musings about Hawaii but not seriously on radar. Notably, they also say dismal TV numbers has put sport on chopping block after LA.
Low numbers in the US or overall viewer worldwide.
They have to wavepool it at this point..
She takes longer than a match of test cricket at this point.
yes i think that's the only way to go for surfing too.....wave pools will make it more interesting to the average punter and resemble a water version of skating...
What, note for couples??
Weird...
Jack was better off with the silver, the gold ones are silver with 10% of gold plate that wears off real quick and looks like a brindle mongrel!..oy oy oy!
Besides the surfing I loved what Patty Mills said when the Boomers missed out on the Quarters; "I'm just proud to be an Australian aand to be competing for Australia" There appears to be a national unity in these games. Having said that I think we need one flag representing all Australians, perhaps some graphic designer can come up with a flag incorporating the Australian, Aboriginal, Torres Strait Islander peoples and include the Southern Cross as well. Don't know about the Union Jack to be included.
We do have a flag representing all Australians ... the Australian flag! It's right there in the name.
LA Olympic surfing - Could Ala Moana Bowls be their Teahupoo, why not?
Nah, leave the great waves alone.
Give the punters wavepools
How many videos have you seen of ala Moana bowls , looking like Teahupoo ?
July 2024
More fun than Teahupo'o; cheaper than a US wavepool or Tahitian flight & cruiseliner acommodation
@epictard, yes I know that mate but when you see the 3 flags flying on most formal occasions in Australia I think it would be better to have the one flag representing the 3 flags all in one. If you know what I mean
I agree with you Lanky... I mean, not that I actually give a shit! ... but I'm predicting surfing at the olympics will shrivel and die in waist high Californian drivel in 2028.
Not sure your wouldn’t build surf destroying breakwalls in Australia anymore statement is strictly true. didnt they build one in vicco a few years ago they created amenity for the fishermen and boaties but stuffed up a local point break.
Engineers built breakwalls at Lennox Hd village with effective local community consensus.
NSW Public works engineers totally f*dup southwall for a temporary safer fishing trawler passage, without effective consultation. Still needs effective sand bypass (user pays) like most east coast breakwalls....
Steve - one of your best mate.
Got my gears turning again.
One of the things I love about you is that reflect and you adapt and change your views over time as events unfold. It’s makes for an entertaining read and an edifying example. Thanks mate.
On the notion of wanting surfing to grow as a a sport… or not. I find myself agreeing with you in the macro. Meaning I don’t want more people in the water.
But at the micro and personal level I want other people to experience and benefit from surfing in the myriad and priceless ways I have.
That’s why I’m sometimes forlorn when I see the ratio of old guys like me in the beach carpark at what seems like an all time high. And why i find myself (mostly? Often?) encouraging girls and women, and people who are taking up the sport in midddle age, or who don’t live close to the beach, even greedy grommets who paddle rings around me and act like they own the beach and I’m invisible, basically anyone out there having a go ( I also have my moments when I grizzle like a grumpy old cunt).
My guess is that the vast majority of people are grappling with the same apparent paradox.
I’m also a recent devotee of skateboarding. The commaradarie that evolves when the playground is not such a scarce resource has been a breath of fresh air I gotta say. But I cannot imagine sitting at the skate park at dusk and ever being bewitched by the natural beauty of a concrete bowl or timber half pipe like I am by ocean waves. At this moment I can’t summon the energy to wonder which has the bigger or shorter future as an Olympic spectacle.
One of the best comments I’ve ever read on swellnet and apologies to the author (I can’t recall who it was) in relation to wave resource scarcity in surfing went something like this: “don’t complain about the crowd, you are the crowd”
Thanks again to the SN community and team, very happy to be involved
couldn't agree more NDC, I used to walk with a guy in SW Tassie who hated himself cos he only walked places no-one has ever walked, thus ruining them in his mind. I posted once about a legend in Portland Vic who talked to the paper saying 'these people who whinge about windmills ruining the cape, are the people who came and ruined the cape'. re surfing, go cold, or put up with what it is, it's growing in interesting ways.
Hey NDC, tip my hat mate. A creed to aspire to. Kudos & major mojo to an unforgotten art.
love your work Steve. Thanks for covering the Tahiti Olympics and projecting future sociological trends in surfing. Much appreciated.
Sharks can be a factor in slowing surfer participation, certainly not good for the surf school businesses on the Mid North Coast.
Surfing is a selfish “sport “ , you’re always going to get competition for waves in a crowd, but not necessarily aggression .You can have a big crowd in great waves, with a good vibe. Also as the crowd numbers drop off, which they often do , the level of competition for waves drops off as everyone is getting their fair share.
You’ve got to give it to the French for their passion, the level of crowd participation in the handball final was through the roof. Also the crowd lining the marathon, was going off, despite an Ethiopian being the clear front runner.
It just doeesn't add up freeride, blocks you then drops in. Surely that's some kind of Algebraic expression mate! Solve, 2 (m - fr), where m=Maths teacher - fr=Freeride!!! as far as the Olympics go I just think skating is a bit more userfriendly than surfing (with an ocean format). Put 'em in the pool & Joe Blow will have more of a handle on it!
2(m -fr) equals jjfelipe fan
?
Hawaii is warmer & waves look nicer than Huntington.
A wavepool event combining a barrel & random wedging peak at 6ft would be interesting to watch.
Add music, coloured boards, wetsuits and hemets; bingo, a stage show!
Maybe some Olympic ISA $M can get that Yipoon wave pumping properly.
A long way to go , to surf small ,short waves!
Oz plunge pool (est $50/hr)
https://www.forbes.com.au/covers/innovation/surf-lakes-yeppoon-inside-au...
"Twelve years and $12 million of investment ....Trevis got to surf one of those “perfect barrels” at Yeppoon."
"They raised and spent nearly $37 million...."
vs US $500 per perfect wave pool
https://www.forbes.com.au/news/entrepreneurs/kelly-slater-and-mick-fanni...
The Surf Ranch in Lemoore, California, more than three-hours’ drive from San Francisco and Los Angeles, was reported to have cost US$30 million. Slater bootstrapped it through the early years of research and development before securing a backer. “I thought I could lose all the money I’ve ever made in this 30-year career,” he said, “And have to start back at square one.”
Yeah I remember sitting near the rocks at Burleigh, late 70s , watching Michael Ho in the Stubbies Classic. He’s still surfing good today!
I was staying on the north shore for the season in 2014
Mike ho was the standout.
One day he got a tube from backdoor through to off the wall....
Another time pipe was firing , he had to big boards and was struggling coming down the bike path , so I caddied for him to the volcom house!
Must say that was also a highlight!
Yes that would have been a memorable experience.That must be how he keeps fit , surfing the North Shore when it’s good , then chasing it to Ala Moana when that’s good.
Surfiing could demonstrate the human connection & joy dancing briefly with the planet 'ocean' vs a manufactured illusion on earth.
Climate change explanation in 1985 to the US congress of Govt (parliment ) and possible solutions. eg. Forecast global increase in temperature, sealevels, issue of oil subsidies; alternatives; eg. solar panels & a a global consciousness, vs short term politics, etc
Five years of monitoring the melting of Greenlands glaciers
monitoring Alaskan permafrost ice melting into rivers
Antarctica glacial melting from our warming ocean waters
....all related to greenhouse gas emissions
Never gonna beat Robbo, R Cal, EE to a spot in surfing so I gone go breakdance
@Steve Shearer
A great article again.
I must however respectfully disagree with one issue you raised.
"A bloke paddled in front of me on a wide set and I said “watch where you're going”. Minutes later he dropped in on me. I said nothing. Too many epic waves this winter to care about creating any unnecessary drama."
I really don't understand your actions [or lack of] when it comes to surfing etiquette Steve. I'm sure you were not allowed to act like that when you grew up surfing? [Dropping in], I'm sure you were told in no uncertain terms to not act like a cunt and put other peoples lives in danger?
So why don't you keep up with helping to enforce the systems that allow us to all enjoy surfing safely?
[By enforce, I don't mean getting physical. Just verbally letting people know they crossed a line]
You just gave gave that guy a free-pass to act like a dangerous prick. You also gave him a free-pass to injure another human with his selfish actions. Why would you say something when he paddles in front of you? [which is only a minor misdemeanor] yet say nothing when he commits the most dangerous cardinal sin of dropping in?
You say you've had too many good waves this winter to bother? That seems like a very selfish attitude and means you only care about the rules of surfing when it suits you.
I don't enjoy calling people out for acting like a cunt in the ocean, but I feel it's my [and everyone's] duty as surfers to help keep surfing a fun and safe pastime. It was taught to me that surfers must ALWAYS respect each other, but that seems to have been left to rot on the beach like a dead fish these days.
I don't think crowds are the problem in surfing. It's the attitude of the surfers in the water that's the issue. Even back in the 70's when I started surfing, crowds were an issue, and there weren't enough waves to go around, which is why the surfing rules were produced and adhered to.
Letting people act like a cunt in the water should never be excused and should always be called out, otherwise anarchy and chaos prevails. As you know the Gold Coast has become the epitome of that chaos and anarchy and it's the fault of every "silent" surfer who lives/surfs there.
Behind all of this frustration of mine is the fact that these cunts in the water end up putting a fin, etc through someone's head . Surfing is very dangerous and we should remind others of that. Please don't take this as a personal attack as this goes out to everyone who let someone act like a cunt in the ocean, then said nothing.
Really
?
Have the surfed with the general public in 2024?
You'd be so exhausted
I ain't no wave cop .
You don’t know how a guy is going to react and the situation escalate in a situation like that. He could be on ice or steroids, or something, some people like to have a confrontation , anything could happen in the water. Some people feel offended when they get dropped in on , others don’t think one wave is worth the drama. I always tried to overtake the guy, risking a ding , they usually pull off if you catch up to them.
Yes mate. An old friend, a shaper from Bloke Island, came to the defense of his Japanese GF in the water at Rainbow and was later assaulted by the iced-up FIFO cvnt who was half his age. His back is now farked and now he's an angry old fella on pain killers forever. Not worth it, people these days have no off switch
Yes it’s an unknown situation you’re getting yourself into, when you take someone on , whether it’s surfing, road rage or going out on the town .
Sounds like your friend didn’t have much option though , if his GF was being hassled, which is very unfortunate.
I take your point mate, and it's legitimate.
I guess I formed a view pretty quickly it wasn't intentional, he'd paddled in blind without looking properly and carried on his merry way. He wasn't impacting my safety in any way.
And I'm sure (even more sure now I know the bloke somewhat) he made a mistake and would have been apologetic.
On that bigger point of surfing being a selfish sport- I do like to pushback on that a bit. I see sharing every single day of the week. People getting called in on set waves etc etc. Hooting when someone is getting pitted. Admittedly, more common for people in the same surf community. I do see the odd stranger getting hooted, having a chat in the water etc etc. Especially if they bring a friendly vibe.
I'll never forget surfing Teahupoo and Michel Bourez paddled out, he went around every single person in the line-up, shook their hand wished them a good surf and welcomed them.
I'd contrast that with my other passion of rockfishing for big fish (especially jewfish) which is monolithically, maniacally selfish. A jew fisho will lie to his own mother about spots so as not to have to share it with others.
There might literally be one bite the whole session and if there is someone beside you, that fish is theirs and not yours. It's a zero sum game and thus spots are jealously guarded.
As far as my own attitude goes, the best thing that ever happened to me was having a 6 month forced stint out of the water from a back injury. That made me see things in a different way. Being able to get out there is a privilege and I'm grateful for it. A surfing buddy of mine, probably the oldest guy surfing the point had a stroke rocking off, was very lucky to survive and now sits and watches.
You never know when your last surf is, so appreciate the one you are able to have, is what he always tells me.
That seems sage advice.
Thanks for your time to reply and the clarifications/extra thoughts. Much appreciated
The thing you said that resonated with me most is that surfing is a community of like minded individuals trying to have fun. I agree 100% and I grew up having the best times of my life, sharing the ocean with people from my best friends to complete strangers.
Yes, I agree that Aloha still exists and I love nothing more than giving away a wave, hooting for someone who got tubed, chatting with strangers in-between sets. These things truly inspired me about surfing as much as the act of surfing itself. The surfing community back then seemed to be on a higher level of kindness and friendship and manners than what I saw from the non-surfing public. That's actually why I'm so frustrated these days, as there is less and less genuine aloha in surfing. and that was the one place that gave me a lot of faith in human nature. The way we could all drop our bullshit at the shoreline and come together to enjoy sharing simple pleasures
Surfing by yourself is fun, but surfing with others [when done right] is something very special.
I recently had a birthday and was surfing Dbah with the usual aggressive mega-crowd. I couldn't get a wave as I wasn't prepared to drop-in/snake, then out of no where a guy gave me a set wave and I thanked him from the bottom of my heart which made his day. I also saw him on the beach and gave him $10 to buy himself a beer because I was so thankful for his sincere generosity. I still have faith in surfer's humanity, but I am also aware we need fences to keep us on the path towards somewhere good.
Aloha!
@ surf.rat: https://www.swellnet.com/news/swellnet-dispatch/2024/04/30/the-human-factor
Have a read mate, thankfully there's still a bit of good will out there in pockets
"I grew up having the best times of my life, sharing the ocean with people from my best friends to complete strangers." Amen. Then, Peter Troy went to Brazil and the whole thing imploded
@ freeride76,
My brother's a big fish
One time his mates called him during a fishing comp asked if they could hop on his boat , he said no then they seen him at the servo filling up.the boat to go fishing.....
Another time I went out with him in comp times and he used my flathead as his catch in the comp.
Fishos are the sketchiest of sea you n teas!
Congenital liars mate.
Never trust a word they say.
Secret Fishermens Business.
Ask me no questions and I'll tell you no lies.
Edit: Ask me no questions, and i'll tail you no lures ;-)
This article from Jonathan Liew doesn’t strike me as his most insightful, but he’s for sure an excellent sports writer, and therefore it makes for an interesting take from the non-surfing world of sport.
https://www.theguardian.com/sport/article/2024/aug/12/paris-olympic-game...
‘Surfing is great. Surfing is spectacular. Surfing is hard and dangerous. But it runs into the same problem as sailing: what is the point of an Olympic sport you have to stage away from the Olympics? This was a sport that was popular and thriving before it achieved Olympic status, albeit only in the few places in the world where you can do it properly. It was a nice idea, but you would struggle to argue it was worth the trouble and compromises it entailed. A brilliant sport. Just not an Olympic sport.’
Liew doesn’t fancy equestrian either and argues that trotting along on a horse should be seen in the same context as motorsport for Olympic purposes:
‘From the Olympic charter: “Sports, disciplines or events in which performance depends essentially on mechanical propulsion are not acceptable.” ’
Quite a few proponents of having the Olympics in the tub on SN, the charter would seem to prohibit it.
I watched Medina’s shoulda been a 10 wave a few times. Credit to Chris Cote, I thought he nailed it in the moment.
“A beautiful life threatening wave, and Gabriel Medina handles it. Iconic, that was iconic for Gabriel Medina.”
Yep, life threatening indeed. On the subject of horses, they account for the most deaths occurred during Olympic competition, with five of them succumbing. Two humans have died during competition, a distance runner and a cyclist, both from cardiovascular failure, the cyclist suspected of being heavily doped.
Can’t help thinking that Medina was a slight fuck up away from being the third human on the list. Truly awesome scary death defying and iconic wave.
Shame the three judges that didn’t give him a ten missed the moment.
Yeah, I thought that article from Liew was interesting.
Notably for the fact he lumped surfing and sailing together.
In my view, surfing is more in the public mind like sailing; something reliant on natural forces and not skateboarding- something that is entirely conducted on man made surfaces.
I note that Liew praised skateboarding and didn't even consider the possibility that surfing could be held in a tub.
As an outsider to surfing, Liew makes some good points.
100%.