Ask Carroll

[crabmeat thompson]

yeah I guess I went through that about 25 years ago.

everything old is new again.

[gardie]

Nick

Where do you see Parko at right now. Bad year or having achieved a world title realising there is more to life than that holly grail.

Watching his heat tody it was his normal making it look effortless style but wave choice maybe cost a few points >

[Nick Carroll]

Nick

Where do you see Parko at right now. Bad year or having achieved a world title realising there is more to life than that holly grail.

Watching his heat tody it was his normal making it look effortless style but wave choice maybe cost a few points >

I haven't talked with Parko for a while so I can't really give you much of an indication of his state of being really. He's had a tough year in a few ways; you'll recall he was tangled up in that Titans financial farce early in 2015 and saw a big investment disappear in the process. I wouldn't underrate the effects of that sort of thing on a kid who grew up in less than wealthy circumstances but who's found himself with a lot of cash thanks to his surfing success. I think for sure he knows the world title is not all there is to life but I doubt he's ready to retire from competition yet, he's a competitor in his gut and will feel he has more to do in that arena, exactly what he wants from it I couldn't tell you though. I really do hope the next few years go well for him and his family.

[Davros]

Think Searle is his manager, what a cluster.

[gardie]

His performance today shut me up.

Even his air looked effortless.

It really is a bizarre thought that he gets critised for making it look effortless.

This "effortlessness" is really someone so at the peak of this dance we call surfing that it is beyond the comprehension of us mere mortals.

[Nick Carroll]

well he only gets criticised for making it look effortless by flailing kooks trying to sound like they're clever about pro surfing, so I wouldn't worry too much

The judging panel has very long since got past that imaginary hurdle.

[foamy]

Nick, you said a month or two ago, about Joel Parkinson.

I guess we have similar values as surfers.

May I ask, what are these similar values?

[Nick Carroll]

Nick, you said a month or two ago, about Joel Parkinson.

I guess we have similar values as surfers.

May I ask, what are these similar values?

Roots in Australian power surfing culture

Respect for Hawaiian surfing culture and an ongoing commitment to engaging with it

A competitive nature with roots in the Australian sporting milieu; blurred lines between good surfers and ironperson/surf racers

His uncle Darryl is part of my surfing generation, and Darryl and I have a similar connection through the AB six channel thing for which we all have a lot of love and respect

Plus, I dunno, just a similar sort of sense of things, of what being a core committed surfer means in the Australian context. Does that make sense?

[foamy]

Yep, makes sense.

[Beanpole]

Yes, I remember when Daryl was an up and coming hottie in the seventies.

[Over55yrs]

Over on another site - Tom and Nick on the Channel of Bones

http://www.coastalwatch.com/surfing/148 ... l-of-bones

[chrisb]

Over on another site - Tom and Nick on the Channel of Bones

http://www.coastalwatch.com/surfing/148 ... l-of-bones

Judging from that photo Tom trusts you.

[foamy]

Kelly's 4.17.


The judges do a great job.
Kelly totally lost the air but the judges never seem to rate Kelly's 360. I really rate it and consider it at least equal to a big hack. What do you reckon?

edit: not knocking Legion's question, but I am referring to the 360 following Kelly's recovery from the missed air.

[PeepeelaPew]

...

[Nick Carroll]

Well it looks like a hard one to score. I reckon 15 years ago the panel would have given this a 10.

But the bar is way higher now for this stuff and Kelly completely lost control of this move, somehow getting back on his board in the whitewater was pretty freakish but also favoured much by fortune, I would say the panel kinda wrote off the big air as a failed move, like any other failed move, and scored him merely on the rest of the ride.

You don't get special points for fcuking up something difficult at this level of competition, you only get special points for making it clean and riding out with flow intact.

foamy I don't view KS's tail down 360s as anything very special, if they fit into the wave and nothing more fluid and impressive or innovative could have been done then good-o, it can add to the judges' overall impression of the ride.

[PeepeelaPew]

...

[Nick Carroll]

Oh I agree, it clearly made a lot of people go WTF. I had a chicken skin reaction to it too. Definitely a hard one.

I did notice that Kelly wasn't exactly claiming it on the way back out, he had the look of an NRL player who's got it over the line but knows the video replay is gonna end up ruling No Try.

Current judging criteria:

Surfers must perform to the WSL judging key elements to maximize their
scoring potential. Judges analyze the following major elements when
scoring a Ride:
- Commitment and degree of difficulty
- Innovative and progressive manoeuvres
- Combination of major manoeuvres
- Variety of manoeuvres
- Speed, power and flow
NOTE: It’s important to note that the emphasis of certain elements is
contingent upon the location and the conditions on the day, as well as
changes of conditions during the day.

[foamy]

Joe Turpel summed it up well with his immediate response.
'What an entertaining ride!'
Not a great ride, but it sure was entertaining.