Or to quote Jules Winnfield, "The path of the righteous man is beset on all sides by the iniquities of the selfish and the tyranny of evil men."
Professional surfing has come to Oahu and tension hangs thick in the tropical rot and slaps are certainly waiting in the hydrangeas. Differences between the ASP and local interests have already reached a boiling point with still a month to go in the North Shore season. Issues surrounding how many Hawaiian wildcards will be allowed to surf in the Pipeline event, how the event is run and who will patrol the water scald.
Today, the ASP announced it is changing the WQS star system to some odd QS1000-QS10000 format but, structurally, it is the same thing. Issues surrounding the way points are given scald too.
“Money equals stars, stars equal points…” Eddie Rothman tells me on a bright sunshiney day, his growl seeming more angry and more exasperated at the same time. And points equal a birth on the World Tour and minor glory and very low level fame. The Sunset Pro, which is in its waiting period, is a mere 4 star (or QS3000) while the Burton Toyota Pro, in Newcastle, Australia, is a six star (or QS6000). Eddie’s beef is that the stars don’t reflect wave quality/difficulty. They simply reflect how much a sponsor paid for the event. “How many professional sports events in the world are fucken run like that?” He asks. “Those kids out there putting it on the line at Sunset, a serious wave, and they get less points than some shitty little beachbreak contest in France? Come on, how does that work?”
I don’t have an answer for him but I am sure Graham Stapleberg does and if Eddie can make it through his paid-security detail he should ask.
next on Eddie Rothmans ramblings “contests should only be held in hawaii with only hawaiians allowed to enter”
I was under the impression that the lower the star level, the lower level seeds get a berth in the event. As in, if the HIC pro were a 6 star, many of the same kids Eddie is talking about would not be able to get in the event because of all the higher seeds who would come to compete. Lower star events give the back end of the rankings (like, #250 and lower) a chance to compete and gain points.
shhh, that’s actual fact man. Eddie don’t deal in what is, just what should be!