To hell with cry-babies Jeter and Lebron! Matt
"Mayhem" Biolos on the miracle of the ASP…
The ASP has put together the
most dynamic, ever-changing, globally diverse group of
athletes, with the widest age group, in the most elite
field of competitors of any organised sport in the world today.
The tour is that good. Let me
explain.
This year I decided to focus more on my
work with athletes on the world tour. That means travelling more to
the events rather than just sitting here at Trestles all year
waiting for the US Open and The Hurley Pro.
The first stop was Snapper. Then I went
to Rio for the Brazil event. I dragged my entire family of six to
South Africa for the Ballito Prime and the J-Bay Pro. Back home for
the US Open at HB and, of course, we settled in for the Hurley Pro
at my home break of Lowers.
In September, we loaded up the four kids
and hit the road to Europe for the Roxy and Quik Pro in Hossegor.
This made for five men’s world tour events and, with HB being a CT
for the girls, five women’s events that I attended in person. When
you watch that many events up close you start to really realise the
scope of this tour and the challenges it puts on these elite
athletes.
And this is without even being at the
South Pacific events which are the heaviest waves on the
schedule.
And what about France? What these guys
do is paddle out in what is essentially
impossible-to-paddle-out-to, closed-out wash-throughs in
low-tide beachbreaks that were enough to drown Lebron James and
send Derek Jeter crying to Mariah Carey.
But what of the qualifying series? When
you watch a few of the bigger events like the Mr Price Ballito or
the US Open you realise that of the 100 or so athletes in these
events only a handful have a chance to qualify. Meaning only a
handful look good enough.
Even more telling is that of the yearly
qualifiers. Many don’t look like they could compete at the level
required to make it on the world tour anyway. It’s just so elite.
It’s becoming a tour of super freaks. I cant think of anything else
like it except maybe the genetic curios of sprinting.
I love the the global-ness of the tour.
Other tours travel the world but a tennis court is man-made, golf
courses are man-made, even downhill ski races are on tracks cut out
of the mountain and groomed by tractors.
The ever-changing playing field in
surfing is like no other. No other sport is so intertwined with
nature. The variety of the waves on tour are impressive and can be
even more diverse with a few tweaks. Bring back a slab like Chile
or The Box. Maybe a radical cold-water expedition or a truly
big-wave spot.
The humanity of the pro tour is also
something that lights up every town it stops at. The tour surfers
are very visible and for a couple weeks each year become pert of
the fabric of the community. Pro surfers are everywhere: the coffee
shops, bars, restaurants, and most importantly for our little
culture to thrive, the surf spots. Every day, the guys and girls
are out searching and surfing the local breaks. Not just the
contest peak but all over. This is exciting and inspires the local
kids and adult surfers alike.
In what other sport can you interact
with the world’s best while they warm-up or practise for the next
heat? Split a peak with Slater at Lowers? Priceless. You want to
chat with Jordy between sets at J-Bay? Just paddle up and ask
“Howzit?”
That point is also a double-edged sword.
It’s the only sport I can think of where the athletes don’t have a
closed-off, designated place to warm-up or practise. Six am,
contest day, Trestles and Gabe Medina wants to warm up a little.
There are 80 of his closest friends waiting to greet and compete
with him for waves. It’s just not like that in any other sport.
And what about the dramatic age
differences? For a man-on-man sport of high athletic demand, it’s
got to be the most diverse age group going. Sure, there are
specialists in various team sports who can remain valuable to a
team into their mid 40’s. And surely some golfers can stay
competitive pretty long in the tooth, but can you imagine an
Olympic gymnast or ATP tennis player competing at a top level over
35, even 40. It doesn’t happen.
As for the webcasts, these are the
single most unifying thing in the global surf community today. You
can be on a beach on Bondi or Dubai, Trestles or Tel Aviv, and have
the same conversation with the local surfers about the intricacies
of a wave or heat or score for any one of these tour athletes.
We don’t all watch every little freesurf
web edit that gets whipped up and drops on the internet at an
alarming rate, but (especially with heats on demand, replays, and
the highlight reels) more than any other time in the sports
history, it seems like everyone is watching these events.
The presentations are slick, the
announcers are doing a good job, and the back-end productions are
solid. Honestly, its an incredible product they are giving us.
But lest the ASP should get any ideas
about pay-per-view, listen: the broadcasts have to remain free. I
mean, we don’t pay to watch Monday Night Football or the Baseball
or NBA playoffs. Why should we need to pay to watch our surfing?
The sponsors are paying to “Present” as in a Christmas Present,
right?
Now if they could have just not made
that godforsaken name change…
