Surfing competitions!!!

[iggy]

Thought it will be a good idea to start a thread solely for the comps happening throughout the year
Felipe Toledo live now on the Burton Toyota Pro from Australia

http://surfest.com/live.html

[kdropin]

cool

[Chris]

still rolling!! looking amazing!

[core personal training]

biiiiiiiig 10 pointer...even stuffed second maneuver and still gets 10....i dont like airs but far out he is good

[Chris]

yeah.....i don't think you should be able to fall and get a 10....but really...BACKSIDE air reverses of that caliber are a rarity in free surfs let alone competitions....

[core personal training]

riiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiged..!!!...how can pro surfing be taken seriously...

[iggy]

I missed it!!!!!! was at work

[iggy]

http://www.youtube.com/user/ASPWorldTour?ob=0&feature=results_main

[iggy]

Live now!!
Telstra Drug Aware Pro Margaret River
http://www.telstradrugawarepro.com/live/watch

Julian Wilson and Parko out of competition due to injuries.All the big names there!!

[buzzy]

Taj through to next round surfing a FireWire. Tim Reyes had an enormous mind fart and didn't catch any waves.

[Jase]

riiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiged..!!!...how can pro surfing be taken seriously...

I heard there was a questionable interference call (Newcastle final?). What went down?

[prjwebb]

I think felipe dropped in way down the line past a big section that the other guy had no way of making and got an interference call for it.

[core personal training]

filipe got an interference that was nowhere near being an interference....then willian gets blatantly overscored to beat him with 2 scores when filipe could of taken him with his one remaining score...this is exactly why pro surfing is not taken seriously...

[core personal training]

even shmoo was commentating that filipe really was the winner..

[iggy]

And for those liking longer boards the AUSTRALIAN LONGBOARD SURFING OPEN
http://www.prosurfinglive.com/live/2012/australian-longboard-surfing-open/live.php

[Chris]

the worst part was watching cardoso throw his arms in the air as he dove off his board. that was so bogus...

[Goanna]

Taj out of Margaret River Pro....too much glare to see what he was riding but he snapped his board with about 8 minutes to go - hard to say if that cost him the heat but it wouldn't have helped.

[iggy]

LONGBOARD Australian Longboard Surfing Open
http://www.prosurfinglive.com/live/2012/australian-longboard-surfing-open/news_show.php?id=24

[iggy]

In a tricky 1-2ft (.5 metre) swell, Jensen reached the final after finishing second in his semi-final and will meet three Australians in the decider.

In the final, Jensen takes on Nic Jones (Buderim, QLD), Harley Ingleby (Emerald Beach, NSW) and Dane Wilson (Coolum, QLD).

[iggy]

Taylor Jensen doing what he does best...Winning, takes the Australian Long Board Surfing Open

http://www.prosurfinglive.com/live/2012/australian-longboard-surfing-open/

[Chris]

yeah Jensen is taking over the world by now!!

[prjwebb]

He does seem pretty dominant right now. Good stuff.

Bells starts soon, is your FS team locked in Chris? I'm pretty happy with my team but can't decide on either Simpo or Kolohe to round out my team.

[buzzy]

Simpos style suits Bells better, but maybe it will run at small Winki? I'd go Simpson though.

[iggy]

http://www.youtube.com/watch?feature=player_embedded&v=DwpOuhMuLJg#!
Some sick moves

[iggy]

http://live.ripcurl.com/?aid=2043
BELLS BEACH LIVE!!!

[Chris]

yeah that was a decent first day. Should get better. Hope Michel's heat runs in clean surf. As much as I wanted to watch him surf, I was pumped when they called off competition.

Cheers

[iggy]

Are you kidding me???
568

[jon_bro]

Taj had a meltdown, he surfed poorly but congrats to our local boy Otto!!! :)

[buzzy]

Taj just doesn't have a Plan B does he. FFS Taj if there's 15 minutes to go and you've got a 1 and a 3, abd the other guy has a 5 and a 6, catch two waves and ride them to the beach. You'll get two sizes and be in the lead. Argh.

[Goanna]

Are you kidding me???
568

yeah....only Slater hey!

[jon_bro]

Look at Kelly, he had like 30 sec left, and he did what he had to do!!! Nailed it actually. I dont like the way Taj is riding at the moment. In my eyes, Adriano was underscored in that final (QS Pro), and should have got more but didnt. So I think he was blown up a bit from that comp. Got dusted early at Margs and now Bells. He needs to get his game on in his head if he wants that title!

Jesus, Jordy just got a good first wave!

[jon_bro]

TB needs to get back on a FW! :)

[iggy]

Another buzzer beater with John John and Jeremy!!!.

[iggy]

Miseed the action of the Bells Beach Pro??? re-live it again with the heat analyzer:
http://live.ripcurl.com/?aid=2053

[prjwebb]

Funny old final!

[iggy]

This is pretty neat. If you go to the Bells Beach official site you can re-live the whole vent. There are 104hrs of surfing... again the whole event, men and women's
http://live.ripcurl.com/?aid=2043

[Chris]

not nearly as much fun to watch when you know what is going to happen though...

[iggy]

Agreed!!! but I do thank fo technology, specially when I have to work!!!. Long live the Iphone

[iggy]

Has anybody been following the ISA DAKINE World Surfing Championship???.
Keep an eye on this brazilian guy: David Silva
http://dakineisawjsc.com/live/

[iggy]

Also Cooper Chapman from Aus

[Chris]

I tried to watch it but the waves just looked so average every time I checked...

[iggy]

http://www.nikelowerspro.com/live/
Live!!!Pretty good conditions. You can watch the whole webcast again at:
http://www.nikelowerspro.com/on-demand/

[prjwebb]

Yeah good comp. love watching lowers when it's good.
Toledo has a wildcard slot too!

[iggy]

Felipe Toledo looked a bit nervous towards the end of his heat!What was he riding for the comp??

[prjwebb]

MB killed it. Ripping!

[iggy]

Wow Gabriel Median is something else!

[prjwebb]

Yeah, it's taken him a little while to get going this year but it looks like he's back to that stupidly good level now!

[iggy]

Reminds me of Clay Marzo, these to kids do whatever they want and they can recover from the most weird positions
Fun to watch that heat with Dane

[prjwebb]

I'm glad Dane gets to surf again, the more the better!

[iggy]

Yeah, no losers round!. Chances are he will be facing median again!

[prjwebb]

if he wins his losers heat i think he will be. that'll be a good one. hopefully getting annihilated just now will have fired him up a little.

[iggy]

Hopefully but Dane does not like to hassle,

[prjwebb]

yeah true. and it's one of the first heats of the morning. he doesn't like them either... although he's been doing good in the mornings this event.

[iggy]

You're right

[iggy]

Wow Gabriel Medina stealing it from Brett Simpson!!!! what a heat!

[prjwebb]

great heat! wanted brett to win but gmed is hard to stop.

[core personal training]

i know i sound like an old fart, but should an air beat a whole wave of rail work???

[prjwebb]

nah i agree, that first air on the last wave was really critical in a steep section but it needed a couple of proper turns through the middle section to really deserve that score.

[core personal training]

and now larsen is getting scored under reynolds...as expected...pro surfing is about as real as reality tv....!

[prjwebb]

dane did just destroy that heat though. if he could surf like that every heat he'd be close to unbeatable. dane vs gabriel tomorrow will be good!
dane has that full rail power that most of the other air guys don't have.

[core personal training]

oh yeah he can surf old school...but i still reckon he gets up-scored like slater with the hype etc...but then i AM a cynical old man......:P

[Will.]

Enjoying watching Dane and Medina. Hope either of them take it.

[buzzy]

Occy!

[Will.]

Glad Medina won. He was surfing so good, really consistent and absolutely ripping! Be interested to know what boards where being used by the likes of Timmy Reyes and Toledo...

[prjwebb]

Yeah Medina was a stand out. My only gripe is he clearly had a system that he knew was going to get a good score.
Big air reverse on the first section, link two turns the best the wave and his positioning after the first air would allow, then finish with another air reverse on the inside. I think every single one of his 9+ scores involved the same system. Fair play to him for being consistent enough to pull it every time, but it got a bit boring and predictable to watch.
I'd rather watch someone who surprised me on each wave. Medina is a competitive machine though, so consistent, but for me it's not exciting surfing to watch.

[Goanna]

a win is a win and good luck to the kid BUT as skillful as they are I cannot help thinking this surfing belongs in an air show type comp and I too find it all a little boring to watch now. I think Kelly has the been able to adjust the best - he is the best at blending old school and new school on the right wave.
Maybe I'm just older and love heavy carving - Occy's bottom turn into reo at Nike Trestles comp comes to mind, no little double pump bottom turns just straight into it!

[buzzy]

Yeah, I reckon if one blasting air is worth a 10 then Occy doing 3 bottom turns that are the best bottom turns you'll see is worth a 15.

I watched the heat replay for the Ocster against gudang and felt he was unlucky. His turns take your breath away. Gudang was good, but flicked and twitched while Occy gouged.

[prjwebb]

Yeah, my favourite surfing to watch these days is the full carving, power turns with that extra flair of a controlled release at the end of the turn, or through a super critical section. I've been impressed with Brett Simpson's surfing lately and obviously Michel is right up that street when he's on.
Those critical turns can't be perfected and mechanical like the airs because they are so much more expressive and vary so much from section to section. Going by how few guys are really surfing that way and the fact that the best guys still blow a lot of those critical turns it goes to show how much more difficult it is also. I get more excited seeing a guy push a turn beyond the limit than watching mechanical airs.

You're right Goanna, that straight top to bottom approach Occy has is awesome. It's something I really want to improve on. When we finally get some waves I'm really going to work on surfing more fluidly and making the most of the whole wave.

[iggy]

PRJ that makes me think of Taylor Knox!!!. Did he surf well or wha`t
Occy still impresses despite his 46years experience in life.
Medina you are right, the guy had a routine and he stucked to it...but what a routine. The kid did not fall once doing those airs, he was able to recover from the weirdest positions and was able to land those on the wall of the wave.He will have to get a bit more unpredictable in the future

[Chris]

bummer the FW got bounced early, though I guess a lot of big names did.

regarding occy, i just think the judges pumped him up a bit. he had flow, but he was slow compared to everyone else and never broke a fin free. guys were doing critical reverses and getting 5s and occy would do three pocket hits keeping his fins in the water and get an 8. i just don't see how you can score someone higher than others doing things that that particular surfer can't do. To me that is not a true measurement of ability...

I guess I am not old fashioned enough but that's just me....

[prjwebb]

I caught one of Occ's heats that he did look pretty slow and tired in, but in another he looked pretty sharp and crisp. I think the tour is going through a mini resurgence of power surfing, kind of like how paddle surfing has made a come back over towing.

What was Heitor riding Chris? I was bummed that Toledo lost early. He's got that wild, unpredictable approach that's fun to watch. I wanted MB to do well too. I'm in a dilemma whether to pick him for Brazil. He did good there last year.

[Chris]

Hey Prj,
Heitor was riding a custom that he worked on with Nev with a slightly reduced rocker bed to accommodate the lowers wave!!

yeah i think they like power, but Michel's 9.27 was power. Full rail work with 3 different maneuvers and a fins out finish. Occy's turns were all the same and not progressive at all, in my opinion anyways. I just get bummed when it seems non-surfing variables influence scores. Like obviously the fact that he is 46 shouldn't earn him ANYTHING.

But that is the curse, and will always be the curse of judging style.

Cheers

[prjwebb]

Yeah I get you. I guess the judges got as excited about seeing Occ back as a lot of the audience.
Would still like to see him back at J Bay.
Heitor's board sounds interesting!

[csarqui]

I think that the judges over scored Occy and we all quietly accepted it because it's so good to see him out there. But if he continues on to more contests then the people will start expecting much more from him.

[buzzy]

I don't agree on the Occster. Progressive manoeuvres are great, but if Occy's bottom/top turn combo is better then it should score better. Since when was good surfing defined by breaking fins free? Have a look at his bottom turns just in themselves. They are still the best in the business by quite a margin. Look how he links directly from one turn to the next...

I like power surfing though. To me, when done well, it takes your breath away in a way fin breaking and stock air reverses don't and IMHO can't.

[csarqui]

I like that the ASP is clearly acknowledging and rewarding rail carves, bottom turns, linking turns, etc... If they only scored the progressive stuff then surf contests would start looking pretty ugly. I watched that movie "The Hot 100" and just lost interest after a couple of minutes. Every scene is a bottom turn into an air reverse. The moves are incredible but I think it gets too repetitive.

Occy's turns are rad and he could compete. But in the last contest he would dig rails in between turns and his approach would become stiff. We'll see.

[iggy]

Billabong Pro Rio
http://wctbrasil.com/rio12/live-gb

[iggy]

Highlights of day1
http://www.youtube.com/watch?&v=u777uiwCtbg

[Chris]

tough one for Michel and Heitor...

[prjwebb]

Fingers crossed for them, and some better waves in round 2. Still annoys me than bong would rather front the $ for this contest over J Bay when really this is the one that is better suited as a 4* event and J Bay as a WT event.

[hwork50]

Is Slater surfing at the Rio contest? Did not see his name in Round 2?

[iggy]

Nope, out of the comp due to an injury (sliced his foot free surfing).That opened my fantasy surfer team for new additions.

[Chris]

PRJ all about markets and where there is more money coming from the presenting sponsors. Way more people in Brazil and Billabong may have been able to sell the presenting sponsor position for 2-3 dollars.

In the end, I am willing to bet that it cost Billabong much more to run in JBay with less potential return.

But from a viewers perspective, I completely agree.

[prjwebb]

Yeah sucks that the World Championship Tour comes down to board short and tshirt sales over putting the best surfers in the best waves.
Bring back Rabbit!

I know it's mostly the economy's fault, just sucks.

[Chris]

yeah it is all about money. funny thing is people get miffed when the tour changes, but what would happen if the ASP started charging for their webcasts? there would be massive uproar. I feel relatively fortunate that we are able to log on for free and watch guys surf waves all over the world. Keep in mind, we are going to see Fiji live (so long as there are no issues) which i am pumped for!

[prjwebb]

Yeah. I'd be happy to pay to watch the webcasts if they were in top locations and had long enough waiting periods to hold in good to excellent conditions always.
Watching a contest in good waves is worth $10 to me, easy.

[Chris]

a month...
yeah just lots of costs and obstacles to the whole world tour system with webcasts, etc!!

[prjwebb]

Yeah $10 per contest would be fair. Again only in good waves.
Surfing has so many variables though it's tricky.

A trial of the Rebel Tour would be interesting to see...

[iggy]

Heitor Alves through round 2 barely on a FW.
Looks tough out there!

[prjwebb]

Gab Media is submitting an official protest against his round 2 result? What happened there??

[iggy]

Because the jet ski did not picked him up since jet ski assist was not in effect. So once he jumped on it the ski driver put him at the beach nd he had to paddle out and lost lots of time. A mistake from his part
http://www.monsterenergy.com/ca/en/events/rip-curl-pro-2012/

[buzzy]

Fiji starts tomorrow. Woohoo.

[prjwebb]

Fiji starts tomorrow. Woohoo.
so excited. Forecast looks incredible.

[iggy]

Yessssssir!!!!! There are a few pics of the ones whi got there early and they look reeeeally good

[iggy]

I guess Taj is not taking any risks today!!!!.Jumping in on his trusty firewire for his heat of the Volcom Fiji!!

[jon_bro]

Bourez is gone, Freddy P surfed really great, and Michels wave selection wasnt on point. Hopefully he can surf Chopes better :)

[jon_bro]

OMFG Medina got the sickest unmakeable hut, and netted a 10!!! This was sick!!! Possibly barrell of the year so far haha

[buzzy]

Great waves and some great surfing. If 25 foot Cloudbreak is on the agenda that'll make things interesting for sure, although they might use Restaurants instead. Some of those waves getting 4s and 5s and 6s would be the best wave of my life...I'd never make it out of those waves getting 8s, 9s and a 10.

[prjwebb]

Me and Michel need to have a serious talk... I had him down as semis or better in barreling lefts. Now he's let my FS team down. At least I have Freddy P too.

[buzzy]

Freddie P's surfing is great - he's ripping. The top natural footers look great but Freddie and Owen and Ace and the Hobgoods look in great touch. Even though Medina got a magic 10 I still have a question mark if it gets to 15 or 20 foot.

[prjwebb]

I think they'll move to Restaurants if it gets 15-20ft so I don't think that'll be an issue sadly.

I have Freddie, Ace and Ceej on my FS team so fingers crossed they keep killing it.

[kdropin]

all 8 through for me

[iggy]

5 out of 8 in my case!!!!. Had my hopes on MB!!!.

[Chris]

i forgot to update. danng...but I picked the top 8 guys this contest so in my head, i'll let you know who they are after the contest is over, but based on this revelation, i think i have everyone beat.

[prjwebb]

you'll probably get lucky chris and your rio team will kill it in fiji

[Chris]

ha one can only hope. I don't remember if I had an alternate or a wildcard though...

[prjwebb]

ah yeah. i still haven't had a good result this year. all the local crew are in a league together this year so there's pressure to perform!

[Chris]

still got a lot of events.

[core personal training]

youngest tom and i are buzzing on fantasy surfer now (props to prj for tech support)...

[prjwebb]

How's your team doing Dave?

[buzzy]

Stupidest idea to run it at Cloudbreak today. Surfing that wave in a competition style today just invited serious injury as they quickly discovered. I don't know if it was Slater pressuring them or Volcom trying to make a mark or the desk jockeys/internet heroes creating a perception that running it at Restaurants would be a cop out, but they probably could have run a full day of heats at double overhead perfect Restaurants.

[Danga]

Wind was wrong direction for restaurants.

[prjwebb]

Yeah wind wasn't good. I enjoyed seeing the boys have a dig. Ottz and Raoni impressed me very much. Raoni's tube was a 10 if he made that doggy door exit.
Good to see them pushed in my opinion.

[buzzy]

Yeah sure I enjoyed the surfing too but when you compared the free surfing and the comp surfing they were just different things. I didnt know it was the wrong direction for Restaurants though. If so I stand corrected. I thought it was a choice between cojones and perfection, opting for cojones knowing IMHO serious injury was inevitable.

[prjwebb]

Now catching up on the free surfing. Mind blowing!!!! I hope it's perfect today when it kicks off.

[buzzy]

Yeah me too. The conditions sure cleaned up. I didnt realise that. I take it back - they could have run it.

[Chris]

It was for sure too maxing at cloud break. Restaurants is so entertaining to watch. Better competition more entertaining maneuvers, save the one or two massive barrels.

[prjwebb]

Yeah I want to see the top guys ripping solid Restaurants, but I also one to see them push themselves in BIG cloudbreak, just for one heat each... If it wasn't such a logistical nightmare I'd like to see round 4 at big CB and the rest at Restaurants.

[Chris]

haha make a call.

[prjwebb]

If restaurants is as good as it gets then ill happily take that.

[Chris]

jump a private jet over there and tell them what's up.

[prjwebb]

Think I'm going to have too, this looks a bit anticlimactic compared to yesterday's action...

[core personal training]

in fantasy surfer i'm down to john john, slats, and avatar....

[buzzy]

Each of them is a pretty strong chance.

[prjwebb]

I'm not looking tooooo bad. Got CJ, Damo, JJF, Kelly, Mick left. Lost Michel and Wilko in R2, Ace in R3 against JJF.

[iggy]

john john,cj,michelslater,flores,andino,p gudauskas,fanning,knox

[iggy]

Felipe Toledo on fire. Even with a interferance he managed to get away with his heat!!!. Surfing sharp!!!. And Timmy Reyes coming next.On my part, enough of this, time for some surf for myself

[iggy]

Has anyody been watching the Juniors??? WOW those kids are onto something!!!

[Chris]

yeah we were up there today watching him!!

It was incredible!!

[iggy]

Good addition!!The kid's on fire!!!. Next year on the Tour...another brazilian joining!!!.

[iggy]

http://www.billabongpro.com/tahiti12

[prjwebb]

I've got a sick FS team but not for the micro forecast...

[iggy]

Taj on a Firewire for Tahiti!!!. well that says it all!!!!

[prjwebb]

yeww. shame about the waves though :(

[kdropin]

he just looks quicker on the firewire

[buzzy]

On ya Taj.

I'm backing whichever Aussies are in the title hunt, but especially Joel P.

[iggy]

949

[Chris]

i have failed t select teams for the last couple events now...dannnnnnggg

[prjwebb]

I have all 8 in rnd 3. Nerding it up!

[iggy]

Felipe Toledo doing again... leash less

http://www.vans.com/eventsites/ecsc/webcast-ecsc/

[iggy]

Wow Medina's barrel!!!!

[buzzy]

KS out. De Souza out. Interesting for the world title race.

Tomorrow will be super interesting.

[prjwebb]

Yeah sounds like they are expecting it to be big in the morning

[iggy]

Yessssir!!

[buzzy]

Mick and Parko. Woohoo! Great surfing by both and Mick deserved the win (off another priority error by Joel).

[prjwebb]

Holy s**t Heitor with a mental rodeo!

[iggy]

Conccur!!!!!

[prjwebb]

Good heat with Michel vs Medina. Medina is so hard to beat with all the tricks but Michel is ripping! Hope he gets a bomb to get the score on at the end.

[tre]

can't stomach watching joel parkinson, the guy does a few decent turns and gets a 9.87. the scoring is completely skewed in his favor. ace buchan also, both are getting huge scores for fairly mundane surfing.

[aurfalien]

Hey Buzzy, KS and de Souza are surfing tomorrow round 5?

How are they out?

[buzzy]

Wrong event aurfalien. I think that was a comment on Chopes.

And tre, watch what Parko is doing. If he waved his hands about, almost fell off after a big move and recovered then people seem to be impressed (a la Slater). Because Parko is so smooth and composed people seem to think nothing is happening, which is far from the case. Look to see where his board is relevant to the wave (ie critical), how his turns flow from one to the next (flow), see how much spray he throws (power). The one area where he struggled in comparison to some of the younger guys was in innovation, but he's really lifted his game on that front quite a deal. I think he's perhaps only one touch off the leading younger gen on this front now and equal to the likes of Slater.

[tre]

I'm not saying parko isn't good, he's just grossly overscored. he gets scored in the excellent range for waves with 2 turns. check round 3 heat 7 (8.4 for 2 turns and a foam climb), and don't get me started on the 9.93 (2 solid turns and a handful of floaters and soft top turns, excellent wave but giving him a 9.93 is a joke) also round 4 heat 3 a 9.87 for a couple of tail blows and a few flowy turns, 8.5 maybe, maybe even 9.0, but 9.87, that's crazy. it's maddening to watch. watching the comp, lots of better waves with more risk and better variety of maneuvers are being scored in the 7 range. again, it's maddening, and parko seems to get overscored in every comp.

i don't have anything against joel parkinson, he's obviously one of the world's best surfers, he just seems to be judged more favorably than anyone else (it seems like the judging criteria for this comp is specifically tailored for him).

[buzzy]

No worries, but I don't agree with you on the scoring. Cheers!

[iggy]

What about Kelly's interference today?... and Medina's air after he finished his heat???. This kid is quite something!!

[buzzy]

Yeah, I thought Kelly was unlucky, but good on JW for being aggressive and forcing the issue.

I didn't see Medina's air and heat analyser isn't working on my work computer - I'll be looking tonight at home.

What I am liking though is by and large single air waves aren't attracting 8's, 9's and 10's like they did last year. There's more emphasis on surfing the whole wave fluidly, which is great because it's not an fecking gymnastics comp - it's a surfing comp! And by and large the carve guys have integrated airs more into their game (Taylor and a few others aside).

[prjwebb]

I agree with tre to some degree. Parko deserved good scores, but not near perfect scores. The whole wave needs to be surfed exceptionally for a near perfect score for me. Parko was surfing smooth and precisely but only at 70%. At no point was he surfing to him limit so I don't think it deserves the score. Sure wish I could surf that way at 700% let alone 70% though...

[tre]

joel in quarterfinal heat 3. that 9.33, that's worse scoring than adriano's floater in rio last year.

[Slowman]

I've noticed on occasions more progressive surfing doesn't always get the appreciation it deserves from the judges...one of the reasons they started air shows. I wonder what the average age is of the judges - it shouldn't matter but I suspect it does. Next question is how do I get that job?

[Herzalot]

Should we start thinking of a clever way to write Slater utilizing a 12? We had Sl8er at 8 and Ke11y at 11. Twelly? OK, a little premature perhaps. 50 wins? Are you kidding? Candidate for best athlete in any sport past or present. Discuss...

BTW - what was that bastard board he was on? Loving the 4 fin choice for Lowers, but all that black stuff on the bottom indicates some weird science going on. I know he's been experimenting with concave decks (other than the natural concaves that throwing airs creates).

[prjwebb]

Yeah he had a couple of carbon strips down the stringer line and the whole tail area was carbon too. Surprised it didn't snap across the carbon line, must be a stress point.

Slate12 ?

[buzzy]

It's a Fred Rubble 5'9" x 18.25" x 2.25" epoxy. I only know that because the kept on mentioning it in the commentary.

I actually think the judging overall has been pretty good. I personally think KS is the one habitually over scored and I'm far from the only one. In past years airs were sneered at but last year the pendulum swung too far the other way with 10 points for single moves. I think this year the proportionality between airs and power has been about right.

For me, Mick and Joel still have to be favourites, but if Slater has a cracking back half he could win again. He definitely wasn't the form surfer this last event. Basically the waves Mick and Joel had been surfing disappeared in the semi and final. Had they arrived and they surfed them as they normally do they'd both have won. Bad luck and maybe bad heat tactics but not better surfing by Slater.

Incidentally Owen looked ominous in the pre-final surf. Maybe setting up for a back end charge?

[Chris]

i think Jordy and Michel got JUUUUUUUUUUUICED!

[Herzalot]

2 Firewire round 1 heat wins in France today. Bourez and Alijo.

[iggy]

Tough heat for MB. Onto round 4 with a pretty low scoreboard. Conditions are gnarly over there!!.

[Chris]

hah yeah I saw that!! Did you guys see how big the board looked under Alejo's feet? It was borrowed board from Michel...

Iggy that was a gnarly day!! Heaaaaavvvvvy!

[aurfalien]

Slater vs Parko, what a heat that will be.

And John John vs Dane, wow very cool.

Will be fun to much, indeed.

[iggy]

It's on amigos!!! Wake up!!! 2am here, just finished work!!:)

[buzzy]

Super interesting round 3. JJF out. Mick out. Parko through to R4 and perhaps most controversially Slater riding his luck into R4 with a pretty controversial call.

It's basically a two horse race now heading into Pipe.

[50young]

I don't know if Slater deserved that win hey, Go Parko, see mechel is through to R4 only just

[prjwebb]

I lost at least 6 guys i

[prjwebb]

I lost at least 6 guys in rnd 2

[iggy]

I did loose 3!!!!!, what's going on???, this is a cataschtrumf!!!

[prjwebb]

i've lost 7. only got medina left...

[Will.]

I got medina & logie left. Round 2 killed me haha.

[iggy]

1229

[custom]

Michel is on SF with a 9.67!!! score wave 2 min before the end of the heat...
http://www.oneill.com/cwc/?page_id=2080

[Chris]

that was a sick wave!

[iggy]

Speaking of sicknesses, what about this???

http://www.youtube.com/watch?feature=player_embedded&v=xAYeoGS3o4M

Then what??

[kdropin]

damn

[hwork50]

I could never do that, that was absolutely amazing!!

[FW - Fan]

Flyn Novak been doing them for years...Medina is not the first to do this. Still amazing though.

[prjwebb]

Yeah and Timmy Curran pulled the first one a while ago. I do think Gabriel will probably get it locked in as a regular trick pretty quick though.

[Chris]

good. more claims.

[prjwebb]

hahahaha yeah

[buzzy]

Parko wins the world title and Pipe Masters. Go Parko! Not FireWire I know but there couldn't be a more deserving world title winner.

[prjwebb]

i think he just about earned it by winning pipe. if he hadn't won the comp i don't think it would have been that deserved. he was consistent this year but before pipe he hadn't won an event. good on him though, he's had enough close calls in the past!

[FW - Fan]

i think he just about earned it by winning pipe. if he hadn't won the comp i don't think it would have been that deserved. he was consistent this year but before pipe he hadn't won an event. good on him though, he's had enough close calls in the past!

So your saying something is wrong with the scoring system? Because under the rules, fair and square he won the world title without controversy. Wholeheartedly deserved in my opinion and long over due.

[kdropin]

yeah but cj beat him during their head to head imo.. i also think shane beat kelly... so lame

[prjwebb]

So your saying something is wrong with the scoring system? Because under the rules, fair and square he won the world title without controversy. Wholeheartedly deserved in my opinion and long over due.

I don't think he was doing the best surfing on tour this year and the best surfer is the one winning multiple events not making quarters, semis and runner up in multiple events in my opinion.
Happy to see someone else win for a change though!

[buzzy]

Well if you judged Slater on his surfing in San Fran and Portugal, for instance, he looked awful. Watch him at Haleiea and Sunset and you cringed. So he wouldn't be the best surfer on tour. Who should it go to then?

If you look at the unadjusted ratings Parko absolutely streaked the field. Killed it. He could easily have won in Teapou but for a silly priority error in the final. He was the form surfer at Trestles but got beaten by a wave starved final. He was the form surfer at Steamer Lane and was a surprise elimination in the quarters. Not to forget the 3 3rds he got. I think Parko reached the quarters or better in every event bar one, reached 4 finals, could easily have won 3 and ended up winning one.

Honestly I don't see the argument. The winner of the world title is the most consistent competitor. Clearly Parko. He and Jordy are the surfers I most like to watch on tour. In my eyes they're the best. People have their favourite surfers but that's not how the world title is determined. If it was me I'd have it as a pure points race with no dropping of worst results.

I'd just add that if the world tour finished with 2 events in Hawaii as it should, with one at Sunset, Parko would probably have had a couple of world titles already.

[kdropin]

really i feel like jordy totally fell off this year..

[FW - Fan]

I don't think he was doing the best surfing on tour this year and the best surfer is the one winning multiple events not making quarters, semis and runner up in multiple events in my opinion.
Happy to see someone else win for a change though!

You were watching the ASP WCT Tour werent you? Cause it sounds like you werent.

[FW - Fan]

Interesting to hear Shane Dorian..arguably one of Kelly's best mates in that event.... say that he thoroughly thought Parko deserved to win the event AND the world tour. If anyone was going to be biased it was him....

[Slowman]

Parko wins the world title and Pipe Masters. Go Parko! Not FireWire I know but there couldn't be a more deserving world title winner.
Thank God #goParko! I'm glad Josh Kerr took out Kelly in the semis to avoid a Parko v Kelly final. Glad to see finally make the crown his after injuries and the like and now no longer to be known as one of the best not to win a Tour...that just leaves Taj!!

i think he just about earned it by winning pipe. if he hadn't won the comp i don't think it would have been that deserved. he was consistent this year but before pipe he hadn't won an event. good on him though, he's had enough close calls in the past!
I get that point of view but it's about winning with panache as opposed to just winning. The same arguments float around in the Grand tours in cycling, the Italians claim it's boring if the general classification winner (total time) doesn't at least take 1 stage win in the Giro d'Italia. Everyone claims the same thing about the Tour de France and the Spaniards just think it's boring if a Spaniad doesn't win the Vuelta a Espana.

However in the end winning is winning, looking at it any other way is illogical. You can try to add excitement by adding incentives for "best this or best that" but you just end up with specialists taking the prize and creating another comp within the comp and making the overall winner look perhaps less interesting and not really appreciating just how good they are in all conditions.

[prjwebb]

Sounds like I've pissed of the Aussies haha

[FW - Fan]

Sounds like I've pissed of the Aussies haha

No Phil...takes more that that rev us up. By the way how does it feel being a citizen of country that has never really had..and never will have, a pro surfer on the WCT? let alone one that has any hope of being in the running for a title? I cant imagine that as an Aussie....Now if you are going down the Martin Potter route..lets just be clear he left the UK just before he turned 2.

[aurfalien]

*** removed ***

[prjwebb]

Russel Winter? Not a runner up, but he did make the CT, briefly...

I'd rather live in a country that wasn't surf obsessed like Australia though, too many in the water as it is! Crowds around the Goldy are a joke. I wouldn't mind the quality of waves you get there though, then we might produce some more CT level talent...!

[buzzy]

I see Slater has become much more generous in his comments, saying words to the effect that Parko is a freak of a surfer and this title might open the floodgates for more.

I did notice that even well before this year Slater seemed to single out Parko for more trash talk than any other competitor, presumably because he saw him as his main (present) competitor. Medina, Owen, Julian and JJF will the next gen and who knows, maybe Jordy will develop consistency and Dane will rejoin the tour.

Since 2002 the scoreboard reads 6 titles to "not Kelly" and 5 to Kelly. AI gets three, Mick 2, Parko 1 and Slater 5. In my eyes they have been the dominant surfers of this generation and deserve the recognition. AI should have had more but he lost inspiration and we all know what happened. Parko should have had at least one more. More to come?

Here's my tip based solely on watching the Triple Crown; Sea Bass will match JJF's ranking within a couple of years, if not exceed it. I personally prefer to watch Sea Bass surf over JJF.

[prjwebb]

Yeah I'm excited to watch Seabass next year!

[FW - Fan]

OMG, come on now. Sure prison rapists, I mean Aussies are great surfers and all but... That quote is too far and should be removed. Having a friendly dig is very different to labelling a nation as "criminal rapists". It is offensive and juvenile.

[buzzy]

If Brazilians as a group ever decide that style is as important as airs we'll be in trouble. Because of the poverty in Brazil I suspect the surfers breaking out onto the tour from Brazil will be that much more desperate to succeed.

A bit of backstory; I reckon circa 2003 AI was clearly a superior surfer to Slater; Mick and Joel were clearly superior to Slater on rights, and Taj was clearly the superior surfer in beach break conditions. I reckon the reason Kelly won as many titles as he did against AI was his mental toughness. AI was tough, but Slater was tougher. The Aussie guys didn't win as many because they didn't really take competing all that seriously for a long time, and particularly for Mick and Joel their backhand at Teapou and Cloudbreak wasn't (then) as good as Slater and AI. I think that's now changed and they're all much of a muchness. Slater did lift his performance, but it was his desire to win which drove that - he just wanted to win more desperately than the others. His desire was matched by AI in the early years and by Mick in 2007.

So I reckon in years to come the poorer Brazilians will be just that much more desperate to succeed than the comparatively comfortable Aussies and Hawaiians and Californians and Floridians and Saffas. I wonder where they'll take the surf industry if they do? "California cool" doesn;t seem to be a prominent part of Brazilian surf culture but Brazilian beach culture is pretty laid back (in general and definitely excepting surf hassling).

I'll always support the Aussies but if it's not going to be an Aussie I'd like it to be Jordy. He rips. He complately rips. And the Saffas haven't had a world champ since either Shaun Thomson or Martin Potter depending on how you count it.

[FW - Fan]

The surfer I really feel for is Taj. When the current throwing airs being highly rated was still behind powerful hacks and carves Taj was doing them and not getting scored. He can do it all but...I think sometimes he chokes in the QTRS , Semis and Finals. I would love to see him win one before he retires.

[buzzy]

True enough for Taj. If he had his competitive S%^$ together this could have been his year. He won at Snapper after all. But he just has brain explosions. I think, for instance, he got beaten by Kai at Bells needing only a pair of 6's or similar to win. He sat waiting for bombs, going for broke and falling when the occasional one came through, when he should have at least picked up one inside wave and notched up a 6 just by surfing normally. Aside from huge slabbing tubes Taj will always score better than Kai if put on the same waves. Just dumb heat strategy. Really stupid. All his momentum was lost basically at that point.

[FW - Fan]

Russel Winter? Not a runner up, but he did make the CT, briefly...

I'd rather live in a country that wasn't surf obsessed like Australia though, too many in the water as it is! Crowds around the Goldy are a joke. I wouldn't mind the quality of waves you get there though, then we might produce some more CT level talent...!

Phil..my guess is you havent ever been to Aus and understand how massive it is and how much surf drenched coast we have? Sure you can go to places like the Superbank and its crowded. I have surfed the superbank about 12-15 times. Even when its super crowded I still get heaps of waves and one good wave there is pretty sick. I remember one where I took off just behind the rock and went all the way to Cooly. That thing just kept standing up and I remember my legs were starting to fade at Greenmount !! You have to also remember that most of the people surfing the SB arent great surfers so you can out paddle them or out place them most times. A pecking order normally happens pretty quickly.

Having said that I surf at a place in a national park which is just off a highway. You have to walk about 200 meters or so to get to the water but I rarely surf there with more than 5 people or so in the water. It is "plagued" with dolphins and super white sand and mostly crystal clear water...AND its about 15 mins from my house. We regularly get very good surf there. There are just hundreds of places like this just on the east coast and lots of them go unridden. The superbank is NOT indicative of the Australian surfing experience.

[FW - Fan]

True enough for Taj. If he had his competitive S%^$ together this could have been his year. He won at Snapper after all. But he just has brain explosions. I think, for instance, he got beaten by Kai at Bells needing only a pair of 6's or similar to win. He sat waiting for bombs, going for broke and falling when the occasional one came through, when he should have at least picked up one inside wave and notched up a 6 just by surfing normally. Aside from huge slabbing tubes Taj will always score better than Kai if put on the same waves. Just dumb heat strategy. Really stupid. All his momentum was lost basically at that point.

Yeah Buzzy totally agree. And to win at Santa Cruz and a couple of other good results...he had a good year really. Just that tad more heat savvy and it could have been a winning year for him. Thats why Parko is so deserving from my perspective. He just kept plugging away getting results.

[buzzy]

Yeah I live in the Sydney CBD and have to remind myself that an hour ot two drive in either direction will enable me to find uncrowded conditions (provided I steer clear of "name" spots). Mind you, I've surfed decent Bondi and Manly, for instance, with barely another person out - dumb luck rather than good strategy.

[Slowman]

That quote is too far and should be removed. Having a friendly dig is very different to labelling a nation as "criminal rapists". It is offensive and juvenile. No leave it. It's perfect for some room of mirrors contemplation! I really like it, it's a variation of that old "nation of convicts" chestnut. The world has turned a few times over since 1788. Perhaps it was just an overreaction/overkill response. Meant to be funny but wide of the mark...I mean we do call the guys across the ditch sheep shaggers, but that IS funny (especially since our economy used to ride on the sheep's back).


...
Having said that I surf at a place in a national park which is just off a highway. You have to walk about 200 meters or so to get to the water but I rarely surf there with more than 5 people or so in the water. It is "plagued" with dolphins and super white sand and mostly crystal clear water...AND its about 15 mins from my house. We regularly get very good surf there. There are just hundreds of places like this just on the east coast and lots of them go unridden. The superbank is NOT indicative of the Australian surfing experience. Gee sounds like 2233.

I have never surfed the Superbank though I have surfed Snapper, Cooly and Kirra in the old days. Coolie used to break nearly all the way to Kirra on bigger days. As Fan points out though there are just so many places on the east coast alone.

I would say Australians are no more surf obsessed than Californians, perhaps less so. I've spent plenty of time in California for work and seems like everybody there still has an old surfboard in the garage and it is pretty much a part of growing up on the coast of California - you will at some time pick up a surfboard and learn. Far from the case with Sydney-siders at least.

[Slowman]

Not obsessed but we like to ham it up for Christmas...

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OyXuALLw18k

[buzzy]

Too funny. I embarrassingly love that ad.

Incidentally, unadjusted ratings have Parko at 67900 points and KS at 57700. If you leave in the worst results the year wasn't even close.

[FW - Fan]

No leave it. It's perfect for some room of mirrors contemplation! I really like it, it's a variation of that old "nation of convicts" chestnut. The world has turned a few times over since 1788. Perhaps it was just an overreaction/overkill response. Meant to be funny but wide of the mark...I mean we do call the guys across the ditch sheep shaggers, but that IS funny (especially since our economy used to ride on the sheep's back).

Gee sounds like 2233.

I have never surfed the Superbank though I have surfed Snapper, Cooly and Kirra in the old days. Coolie used to break nearly all the way to Kirra on bigger days. As Fan points out though there are just so many places on the east coast alone.

I would say Australians are no more surf obsessed than Californians, perhaps less so. I've spent plenty of time in California for work and seems like everybody there still has an old surfboard in the garage and it is pretty much a part of growing up on the coast of California - you will at some time pick up a surfboard and learn. Far from the case with Sydney-siders at least.

Hey Slowy..nah not 2233 , up the other way. If you are ever up this way Ill take you.

[prjwebb]

Yeah I spent 6 months there in 2004. Probably covered more of the coast than most aussies have also!
From Geraldton to Margs and right across the south coast then from Great Ocean Road up as far as the Goldy.
You're right there are plenty of quiet places around but the popular areas are pretty ridiculous!


Phil..my guess is you havent ever been to Aus and understand how massive it is and how much surf drenched coast we have? Sure you can go to places like the Superbank and its crowded. I have surfed the superbank about 12-15 times. Even when its super crowded I still get heaps of waves and one good wave there is pretty sick. I remember one where I took off just behind the rock and went all the way to Cooly. That thing just kept standing up and I remember my legs were starting to fade at Greenmount !! You have to also remember that most of the people surfing the SB arent great surfers so you can out paddle them or out place them most times. A pecking order normally happens pretty quickly.

Having said that I surf at a place in a national park which is just off a highway. You have to walk about 200 meters or so to get to the water but I rarely surf there with more than 5 people or so in the water. It is "plagued" with dolphins and super white sand and mostly crystal clear water...AND its about 15 mins from my house. We regularly get very good surf there. There are just hundreds of places like this just on the east coast and lots of them go unridden. The superbank is NOT indicative of the Australian surfing experience.

[FW - Fan]

Hello friends i am here i just want to say you that i like to surfski game and this is almost my favorite game to play and i am earning money to play this game in the different challenges specially in miami beach i have won many challenges by glambling and get money this game is as my part of earning money...

Ok???.............

[iggy]

???????? :0

[Slowman]

Doesn't he mean surfski glame? I mean if you're going glamble...it's got to be glame

[prjwebb]

Ha! I thought spambots were improving but they seem to be going back down hill...

[FW - Fan]

Doesn't he mean surfski glame? I mean if you're going glamble...it's got to be glame

That is funny.

[aurfalien]

Apologies to any Aussies who took offense. I removed my comment a lil while back.

[FW - Fan]

Apologies to any Aussies who took offense. I removed my comment a lil while back.

No problems...lets hug it out.