The vexed issue of contest permits and a community
chasing a little breathing space…
The heart of the matter is relatively simple to
grasp. In the late 70’s, and again in the early 90’s, the
North Shore community fought for regulations that would minimise
the impact that the competitive season has on a tiny community with
a startlingly primitive infrastructure.
The regulations are clear, not particularly onerous, and the WSL
has decided that they don’t need to follow them.
Recent attempts have been made to amend the present regulations,
inserting language which more or less de-fangs the community’s past
efforts to limit the impact of contests. In the proposed
amended regulations language exists which allows for exemptions to
some requirements for contests on the North Shore, exemptions which
would allow for man-on-man heats and define contest days in
eight-hour increments.
According to the amended regulations, and provided they received
the exemptions (which I think we can safely assume would be the
case), the WSL would be in total compliance this year.
However, the aforementioned amended regulations have repeatedly
failed to be approved, as confirmed by John Blewett of the Honolulu
department of Parks and Recreation:
“There’s new ones that have gone out for public comment three
times, (but) the old ones are still in effect.”
An interesting development, considering a statement from Dave
Prodan, ASP VP of communictaions:
“All ASP events are conducted in compliance with state and local
regulations with the appropriate permits obtained, which includes
all events in Hawaii and on the North Shore. For reference,
we’ve been running man-on-man heats at Pipe consecutively since
2008.”
Rather than demonstrating compliance, Mr. Prodan indicates that
the ASP (now WSL) has instead repeatedly violated the existing
regulations. There is no situation in the current system that
allows for man on man heats. No exemptions, no special
circumstances, only special treatment or, at least, a failure to
enforce regulations.
(Mr Prodan failed to respond to follow up requests for
clarification regarding any potential exemptions.)
Furthermore, the current rules do not allow for running half
days and banking the remaining hours to be used later, an approach
the WSL obviously plans to use, considering Kieren Perrow’s
statements regarding having “one and a half days left” to run the
contest.
Of course, there’s no real reason why enforcement should be
necessary.
“There are so many contests on the North Shore,” says Pancho
Sullivan, “and they all follow the rules. Except for the ASP.
And I don’t know why that is. The point of the rules is to make
sure they run the contest as quickly as possible. If they’re
running four-man heats there’s no reason they couldn’t finish it
the first day, or take two at most.”
As a fan of surfing, it may be difficult to understand the
impact that large scale contests have on the area. Because everyone
loves the Pipe Masters. And rightly so. It’s nearly always one of
the best contests of the year and it’s in a venue that provides a
unique opportunity to be closer to the action than almost any
equivalently heavy and spectacular spot.
But you need to remember, not everyone on the North Shore is a
surfer, and even though the majority of spectators and athletes
have nothing else to do, people still need to live. They need to go
to work, they need to buy food. In order to accomplish almost any
of the requirements of actually surviving in a remote community on
an even more remote archipelago they need to be able to leave.
Something which is a hellish undertaking when your only road in or
out is packed to the proverbial rafters with rubbernecking rental
cars.
The only defense the WSL, or their supporters, are able to trot
out is regarding the economic benefits of allowing unfettered
exploitation of the area’s resources.
“The ASP plays by their own rules,” says Alan Lennard, the man
responsible for running the North Shore Bodysurfing
Classic, the first contest ever run at Pipeline. “But Randy
Rarick is on the North Shore Chamber of Commerce…”
Of course, economic benefits are difficult to prove or disprove.
Does the money brought into the community offset the amount of man
hours wasted by the difficulty of leaving or entering the area
during the event?
Do the supposed benefits take into account the damage done to
the primitive and poorly maintained infrastructure, one designed to
support a tiny bedroom community, by such a huge influx of
visitors? And let’s not ignore the fact that the WSL is a
for-profit company run by non-surfers. The laws of capitalist
enterprise state that their ultimate goal is to suck as much profit
from the event as possible, only contributing the bare minimum to
keep outrage at bay,
The WSL is conducting itself like a rude house guest; tracking
mud across your carpet, eating all the food in your fridge, leaving
dirty dishes to rot in the sink, being kept up half the night
listening to him bang some rotten slag on your couch only to drop a
fifty on your kitchen table and peace out with a nonchalant, “See
you next year.”
And when he calls up the following year you say, “Hey man, you
kind of wore out your welcome last time, maybe you should find
somewhere else to stay.”
“What? C’mon, I gave you fifty bucks.”
“Yeah, that doesn’t go very far. Sorry.”
“Well, I talked to your landlord and he said it was okay and
gave me a set of keys. So I’ll be there next week.”
“Fuck… well, at least be more considerate this time.”
“Nope, I’m gonna do what I want. And you can go fuck
yourself.”
No one wants the Pipe Masters gone, they just want the
organizers to follow the rules.
Unfortunately, this will only happen if they take it upon
themselves to do so. The nature of contest permitting on Oahu means
that, even should the permit applicant be denied for violations,
the permit follows the person, not the contest. So you can rest
assured that it will run in the foreseeable future, though
potentially with a different name on the permit.
