Is the guard changing or has the judging changed.

[diggerdickson]

Ive taken a bit of an interest in the last few contests because of the steady rise of the Brazilians. In the latest contest at Rio all the big names went out early. It seems to me the change is happening. If it is that's fine, its gotta happen some day, though I am confused with the judging and its really hard, I mean really hard, to take the WSL seriously. I mean to score so high on a wave due to one move above the lip, to me I don't give a stuff how pretty it is, one move should not score heavier than a whole wave ridden with fully committed rail turns in and out of the pocket.

If that is how the judging is going to go then the world title means nothing more than who can launch the highest and flip and twiddle in the air the best. So much for the dream tour, its a no thankyou for me.

I must admit that I only read some reports so its hard for me to judge as I don't have enough internet to watch, I would love to hear from some one who watched this wether or not my assumptions are correct.

[Biggun]

how many times have you done a no-hander aerial reverse and thought to yourself, well, hey that was a lot less technially demanding than a cutback

[daisy]

i don't think it is just about flips and prettiness overall. in small wave contests this year (Snapper, Rio) that has totally played a role. but look at Margarets. the sessions at the Box were clearly all about charging and technique and major commitment in a heavy wave, while mainbreak to me was kind of a tedious joke except on one or two moments where it actually offered some kind of wall. but neither break offered anything much for surfers relying only on their air game or rewarded prettiness over real technique. i don't think anyone would accuse Adriano De Souza of being a pretty surfer, either, yet he's done well in the rankings in the front end of the season.

i think he was being overscored in the final, but regardless Toledo won pretty convincingly over Bede in Rio. however, don't forget Bede made it to the final. no one would entertain the idea that Bede represents the new guard, or is about flips and twiddles.

whether Rio is the best place for a Championship event is definitely questionable in terms of wave quality, but if that is the price for having the other contests in critical waves like Chopes and Fiji where there is basically no real mass live audience, then it seems like a fair exchange. in the end, a comprehensive changing of the guard requires surfers that can perform in everything from Rio onshore to macking Chopes. i'd say there are clearly surfers on the tour with that range of ability, but whether they have the consistency and contest mind to see out the old dogs is still a question.

[gardie]

I think you are being too hard on Mainbreak.

During the times they were surfing the Box in the offshore conditions there were some seriously large walling lefts that were anything but fat.

Until you experience the wave it is hard to comprehend just how much power there is.

Maybe I am old school but I think they missed some opportunities to send them out in offshore main break and see how they handled an open ocean wave and who could drive straight off the bottom get the first critical turn in. The right wave offers at least two good turns and then can hit the surgeons table for another critical section.

In Brazil as much as I love Bedes surfing it would have been good to see Wilko versus Filipe final with Wilko on point on his backhand.

When he winds up I find his ability to just keep on hitting the lip and then going straight back into the next turn mindblowing.

As much as we complain about wave quality in Brazil to be surfing in front of such a frothing huge crowd would be mind blowing. For it to be your own country even better.

The tour is pretty well rounded in terms of wave types. I think we see what it all looks like post Fiji/J Bay and Tahiti before we talk about changing of the guard.

[Nick Carroll]

Ummm it's not a guard thing. It's an effort thing.

While it may look like Brazilian surfers are dominating the ratings because of their Brazilianness, this would be a pretty bogus bit of thinking.

What's really happened is that the playing field is even and the people who are doing the most work and making the most of their talent are having the most success.

Filipe for instance, he has been a bomb waiting to go off for a couple of years. There would not be a pro on tour surprised by his performances in 2015. He's always had the talent; now he's done the work and grown a bit more physically, and boom. You're looking at a 19 year old on fire. Well shit eh, maybe the big surprise is that most people have forgotten when Pottz was on fire (15?!) or Occy (17!!) or KS the first time round (20). I would urge everyone here to make the effort to understand just how fcuken crazy his surfing really is. He is stringing together combos no other surfer in the world is currently capable of.

Gabriel, hell everyone seems to have forgotten about him, he's world champion and he's 21. He will do some more work and be back smashing events before he's 23.

Adriano de Souza is 27 but he's been on tour for nearly a decade. He's an absolute workaholic. Kelly Slater is 43 years old and visibly now is over the warp and woof of winning these contests. He is not doing the same level of work that the kids are doing or that Mick Fanning or Bede Durbidge is doing.

Parko is also not doing the same level of work as he did in his world title year. Wilko has done more work than his cheerleaders on the slacker websites would credit him with. You can see the difference in their results.

JJF has all Filipe's talent plus more in the heavier surf, but he has not yet done the work. He's getting paid more money than any other surfer in the world. If he really wants it, he'll have to do what Filipe's been willing to do, what Adriano's been willing to do.

[rmb]

I dont think JJF needs a title to validate his status amongst surfings elite much like Taj the brazzo surfers need contest results because their free surfing doesn't receive the same recognition as JJF or what Taj's once did etc. Would be good to see the Brazilian contingent continue to grow, improve, compete for and win world titles. Keeps things interesting an Indonesian on tour would be great too.

[daisy]

I think you are being too hard on Mainbreak.

During the times they were surfing the Box in the offshore conditions there were some seriously large walling lefts that were anything but fat.

Until you experience the wave it is hard to comprehend just how much power there is.

Maybe I am old school but I think they missed some opportunities to send them out in offshore main break and see how they handled an open ocean wave and who could drive straight off the bottom get the first critical turn in. The right wave offers at least two good turns and then can hit the surgeons table for another critical section.

yeah it's definitely not a general criticism of main break, i have surfed there years ago and nothing but respect for the place. i'm just commenting on the actual heats i watched during the comp this year, particularly early on i think when surfers were going left. it really wasn't fit for purpose. but obviously in the back half of round 3 when Kelly got his 9.5 and 10 going right it was a completely different story. and it was decent for the final.

one thing i'll credit the Box for - Ricardo Christie seems to have found his mojo out there. he killed it at Rio, very interesting to see if he can take that forward to Fiji, etc.

[steve shearer]

Fcukng hell Carroll and his calvinist work ethic.
Luck played a bigger part in Rio than any other factor and remains probably the biggest factor in pro surfing away from those five surfers in any year who are genuinely on fire. Great surfers can have unlucky years. Luck and it's partner in crime, confidence. I assure you JJF put just as much work into his surfing as Wilko.
Owen Wright works harder than anyone on tour but there are other forces at play.

Slater is a man whose lost command of his performances in the clutch. That's what happens as you get older: the wiring gets a little looser,the neural connections a nanosecond slower, the ability to rely on instinct becomes by degree more unreliable. Mistakes, once unfathomable, become the norm.

[8]

Luck and what waves come along, fitness all play a big part but I reckon the mental state of each competitor has the biggest impact. Toledo is just so damn confident of what he does in small waves and is tearing it apart in that domain. Nobody else attacks those conditions like he does or pulls off those kinds of moves.

On the other hand you have Medina - came in to the year with a way over inflated ego, blew up on at Glen Hall after he lost, has had all the attitude in the world early on. Seems to me like he expected to win events this year or at least get good results as a matter of course, now he has come back down to earth. Will be a while before he structures his mindset again I reckon and may not win at all this year.

[Davros]

Watching BD in the final was like watching another era. I don't like the South American ballerina approach, give me Dane Reynolds or JFF anyday but they are the future of pro surfing that is a cert.

[daisy]

Luck played a bigger part in Rio than any other factor

well that's how i explain my Fantasy surfer results..

[daisy]

i'm interested that noone is talking much about the judging. it's been a pretty constant topic of criticism in previous years. my totally uninformed sense is that the WSL era hasn't seen much change in the judging overall in terms of quality, consistency or criteria. in general, it seems like their changes have mainly been superficial e.g. no more Occy on the mic, and a superflux of Dave Stanfield.

[diggerdickson]

cheers for the feedback, its hard sometimes to get a good understanding of what is happening without being able to view the contests yourself online. This year has sorta got me interested because of the different results im starting to see, just not interested enough to waste what little internet I have to watch it.

[Mr Percival]

[Slobadan Madicubich]

It's an effort thing.

While it may look like Brazilian surfers are dominating the ratings because of their Brazilianness, this would be a pretty bogus bit of thinking.

He is not doing the same level of work that the kids are doing or that Mick Fanning or Bede Durbidge IS doing.

ARE
No Trouble

[aaarating]

Clearly the WSL string pullers have engineered the arrival of the future dominance of the Brazilian surfing population. Too big a market opportunity to ignore for any longer but will the Holy Grail of a Chinese champ ever be attained?

[foamy]

It's an effort thing.

While it may look like Brazilian surfers are dominating the ratings because of their Brazilianness, this would be a pretty bogus bit of thinking.

He is not doing the same level of work that the kids are doing or that Mick Fanning or Bede Durbidge IS doing.

ARE
No Trouble

is
Two singular subjects connected by 'or' require a singular verb.
no worries.

[aaarating]

I like his attitude then. It exemplifies the fact that most 'normal' Aussies (including those with a huge talent for riding a surfboard in contest conditions) see the 'show' for what it is and realise the sports style competitiveness is bullshit to a large extent. Plenty like him too. Notably JJF. He appears to have a don't really give a shit contest attitude but knows he is currently as supreme a surfer on the planet.