The All-Conquering WSL

Perhaps its a chance for the professionals to show what they got when it comes to "real world" surfing that the rest of us get out in most days - like they had to do, learning their craft!

Agree that absolute sh1t, but what do you want them to do?
They already extended it for two days on the hope of a cyclone swell. I suspect logistically and financially, very difficult to extend any further.

Classic! Grumpy Medina!

Run it in the contestable surf they had at Dbah a bunch of days before.

Sponsor politics apparently got in the way of good waves.

KP was damned if he did, damned if he didn't, I suppose.

That being said, i'd kill for the waves they had yesterday atm!

Interesting article Prawnhead.

It's highly doubtful that the current presentation with its 'Seppofied' production values, asanine commentary, boring and predictable interviews and general de-personalising of the competitors is going to attract and engage a broader non-surfing audience. One things for certain is that its going to alienate its core surfing audience.

Turning it into just another jock-sport shows, to me, a deep misunderstanding of the act of surfing, and a misguided expectation that by making the product look 'pretty', it will engage Joe from the burbs who has never even been to f##king beach!!

I can imagine a non-surfer tuning and thinking this is just like any other boring sport broadcast, except without the excitement or action. Its riveting viewing to watch two blokes sitting around for twenty minutes, listening to filler from a bunch ex pros who can barely string a sentence together. Let's let the judges 'marinate' on that for a while...

To the WSL ( I know you're cruising the Seabreeze forums)

Embrace surfing's (maybe outdated) counter-cultural image
No one cares, why each surfer wears what number, they do care what shenaningans Kolohe, Wilko and Taj got up to on the lay days. (Well I like the idea of living vicariously through them anyway)
Get Rosy Hodge and that Chelsea chick into a bikini.
Smack Joe Turdpel in his 'fun to watch' face
Tell Pottz that 'three to the beach' and safety snaps aren't progressive
Get Snake and Dooma back into the commentary box
Build those Webber/Slater/ Wavegarden wave pools, or at least have a more flexible competition window...
Get rid of that giant 80's style presenter's desk (who designed that monstroscity?)
Go broke and fade into obscurity with your integrity intact!

And if I have to watch those same advertisements in a row one more time, i'm going to cut out my eyeballs.

Go Taj

Rant over. Back to my f**king computer screen

There you go...A Brazzo...and current world champion doesn't understand the rules.
Kind of makes sense out of the behaviour of his fellow countrymen in the water sometimes.

+1 for Dooma and Snake to come back, those two were a crackup. I haaaaate the commentators now, even Ronnie Blakey, who used to be pretty honest, is a WSL kissa$$ now.

The judging is always average 50% of the time (it just depends on your perspective!)

Interesting article from Carve Magazine. The said that if you listen carefully when Pete Mel takes the microphone away, Medina says "if Glenn tells me to fark off again I am going to teach him how to say it in Portugese" !

Where to begin
Firstly the judges gets one back on the poor judging in last years final for Gabriel Medina
Secondly
That was the most entertaining interview from Medina or any surfer for that matter for a long time
Not the cliched boring responses to every question
Taking it one heat at a time
This is amazing
Im just trying to have fun
Classic response by Medina and it makes him sound less like a trained surfing robot
As for the supposed big changes from ASP to WSL
Absolutely no difference
You would think they would have spent some time training the commentators for a start
Pottz still has his half dozen sentences that he repeats every heat
You know the ones
Best on the planet
This comp is massive
That was progressive blah blah blah
As for commissioner Gordon, I mean Perrow
I have huge respect for the guy but if he had shown the figs he does when surfing he would have run the second last day at Duranbah
Maybe they couldn't move that stupid table in time
Anyways they kept us all watching but left us wondering why.

Basically the World Surf League seems like a sell out and for their first contest - Karma pay back happened with pathetic waves after the prior weeks perfection!

It was good watching it live and not having to listen to the repetitive and contrived commentary on-line and to be out of audible range of the beach commentary. The commentators need to take a break and be recycled every event to break the same old crap coming out of their mouths.

There would have to be many cheaper options with commentary - like getting in a eloquent local legend or former event winner (or loser) to have a go! Or guys who retired the year before or whatever to be invited to commentate for an event in their country.

Instead of having the awkward crappy interviews - what about having the guy or girl competitor who has lost (even if their English is bad) - having to go and do an hour behind the microphone and talk naturally before they can pick up their cheque? We could hear something more broadly entertaining and interesting rather than the same old drivel!

The whole thing has become so highly commercialised that it is a turn off and I reckon that the sponsors need to take a step back ie. rather than the Samsung Galaxy Championship Tour which doesn't really give surfing much credibility..... the Surfing World Championship Tour.

Quite often it seems like a most people think that the judging stinks. They should be accountable to their decisions otherwise it sometimes seems like they are smoking crack!

For example Slaters 5.6 or whatever in the first round. The judging seems to need an overhaul.... maybe rather than just picking a wrong score out of the air - the judges need to have a big sheet of numbers that relate to possible rides ie. that carving 360 got a 4.0, that barrel a 2.5, that hack a 1.6 = 8.1 or whatever.

Another example Parkos final with Medina last year. Parkos barrel behind the rock a 4.5 the roundhouse a 2.2, the whatever a 1, the floater a 1.5 = 9.2 VS Medina same turn 2.1 times 4 = 8.4 and actually show the working would make it more accountable and interesting! Definitely have some style factor ie. perfect style gets 100% of Parkos 9.2........ and actually Medinas style is only 90% so he only gets 90% of his 8.4.

People will soon lose interest in it if Karma continues and the Brazos keep winning in the small stuff - Fillipe Tolido was incredible and deservedly won the comp......

However possibly a new tour should start that doesn't have the massive overheads and is more about surfing than phones and banks!

I almost forgot
What a performance from Filipe
As John Shimooka said "Holy Toledo"
Absolutely killed it in conditions that are tailor made for his skills
Now Pottz that's what I call progressive
Now lets see what he can do for the rest of the year

you people are ****ing delusional.....you have to have set dates....unless all you knockers want to chip some coin in to extend the event to help.

its not like football,golf or motor sport....or any other event that is not controlled by mother nature. yet you legends wants to whinge...instead of whinging,how about explaining how things can be done better perhaps.

good old razz bagging the energy drink,ffs mate...if you want events like this to exist,well that's what they have to do to pay the bills mate...unless your going to pay for the free surfing event anywhere in the world with the best swells....unlike the big wave game,which has fark all competitors and the comp is run on a second tier basis when it comes to professionalism.

yes I thought it was run in **** waves...but the pros were being way greedy and enjoying a killer spell of waves just a week before...hence how do you manipulate mother nature to stop people whining.


so please spew forth your expert opinions on how this debacle could be better

ok...lets start with the dbah point...unlike QUEENSLAND,the two spots you have spoken of are in the same state...they could not move it to dbah with the amount of money the QLD government has given to have the event held in QUEENSLAND....me , I surfed some nice waves at straddie which was even better than dbah....BUT you then miss the crowd and the natural amphitheatre which is snapper....so once again instead of a rant how about a solution.

on the add side there is not much anyone can do....except if it pisses people off that much,well don't watch it...unless you or some super rich bastard wants to fund the tour and give it to us add free. otherwise you have two choices...watch it and don't complain,or don't watch it and you will not be offended.

extend the window...your kidding me are you not...imagine the amount of money that would cost.....AND more importantly,what about the people who live here. so we lose a prime beach for how long...ffs most surfers already resent the contest...and you want to stretch it out for how long? until the the end of the bells contest? then skip bells and run it at a later date?

once again I semi understand your gripe....but how about a soloution instead of a whinge....its sad because it seem to be the aussie way to do things these days

moving snapper to dbah would of been easy its a kilometre away, fully easy lgitimate solution, dbah may be one state away but its closer than burleigh and currumbin. its probably closer than kirra to be honest....im not sure how much the government puts in to these events,however judging by the amount of people in the area i reckon they got a fair return along with all the local buisnesses. people would still be spending their money within a kilometre of where the comp was held and i dont think anyone could say they had missed out.. id definatly say surfing would of gained, the viewer would of gained and the sponsers would of gained. i know snapper has an ampitheatre but i reckon you would get a pretty good view of dbah, off the beach,rockwall,top carpark,hill outside the surfclub etc etc
im still calling dbahgate.