A Honolulu hearing seeks to change surf contest rules!
I, like you, am waiting for Longtom’s recap of J-Bay day two. The heat where Kelly Slater lost to Jordy Smith and the World Surf League called Round 2 “dreaded” on its own website. But while we wait should we discuss the current state of the World Surf League’s relationship with Hawaii and most specifically Honolulu?
My favorite part of the J-Bay day one recap was LT’s tracking Facebook viewers in real time. The slight swell and precipitous drop generally in the low five figures. The storm of angry emoji faces raining down. The thought that by both alienating its core fanbase while offering nothing to newcomers the new World Surf League brass might actually kill professional surfing once and all.
Maybe that is too hyperbolic but maybe not. Herr Paul Speaker (who I think still has an ownership stake in the venture) kicked off this new era so perfectly and Backward Beth carries the torch of bald ineptitude magnificently. And do you remember Hawaii? How the League lost next year’s Pipeline event even after a personal trip to Honolulu from new CEO Soph Goldschmidt?
Magnificently seems to be an understatement. But there is movement on Da Island! And let’s turn to Hawaii’s own KHON2 News for more.
A hearing on whether the city should change its rules when it comes to surf contests will be held Tuesday.
Potential changes include creating an advisory committee to help resolve scheduling conflicts and allowing the city to fill the vacancy when an application is withdrawn, denied, or revoked.
In the past, problems with the permitting process have led to complaints from the World Surf League and the family of Eddie Aikau.
The hearing will be held in the first floor conference room of the Mission Memorial Building at 550 South King Street.
It starts at 2:00 p.m.
Well? Do you happen to be in Honolulu right now? Want a job as BeachGrit’s man/woman on the ground? Just head to the first floor conference room of the Mission Memorial Building at 550 South King Street at 2:00 p.m. It would be nice if you could maybe cut out some cardboard angry emoji faces to throw during the meeting.
I wonder what will come out of this. Potentially, it seems, a new bureaucratic office which is certain to suck money from schools and old folks homes.
So long pro surfing! You were funny while you lasted!
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Pretty much every surfer I know cares zero about the tour. The interwebs is the only place, specifically beach grits, that I get any tour news. I want gossip, affairs, feuds, and general bad bad when I visit. Beating the dead horse that is the WSL is/has become dull.
both of them?
Someone on the beach showed Kolohe the viewership numbers and he instantly knew that the WSL will cease to exist in a year or so and that he will never have a world title. Poor guy. His surfing is bush league anyway, I never understood the hype in his surfing ability.
You and everyone else who’s not from San Clemente!
Dino’s son. You have Pete, Strider and a few more apples lobbying for him at every venue, including and importantly at the webcast.
Send Wiggs there. He’ll provide an objective view for us.
Hawaii is fucked. The Wolf Pack is old and saggy. The beach boys are excommunicated from Waikiki. A major hurricane is pointing in their direction this season. John John’s leg (spirit) is broken. The Eddie Rothman’s instagram account has less than 5K followers with 2 posts. And just this last month, Spam has been recalled for contamination in the metal tins. Ho Braddah!
Hawaii is a patriarchal society and has a resistant instinct against being pushed around by outsiders…. Sophie thinking she had leverage and making demands was not the right way to present her interests with a govt. that doesn’t care about Sophie’s revenue stream. Huge fail and left a stench only her departure can clear.
Bright side? Most of the north shore residents I know won’t miss the contest one bit. Kam highway is not built to accommodate dozens of cars attending anyway and no one likes traffic.
Well, I guess Hawaii is like everywhere else and Sophie didn’t have enough money to sound serious.
You have to understand the nuances with any negotiating party, a skill the president lacks as well. Humility is the key in Hawaii…. they don’t need the WSL, but the WSL needs Pipe.
Oh I’m sorry, but I don’t think so. Humility has nothing to do with it. I’ve never been in Hawaii, but seen, heard, read so much about it, and often from hawaiian themselves. Humility is never obvious, to say the least.
Just a question of money, business as usual. If Sophie had enough money, she would have cut the deal.
Fricken groms all surf the same I tell you!!! I’d rather watch CNN than see another claim by Jordy or felipe.. Good grief. As for Honolulu, good riddance. WSL needs pipe, pipe don’t need WSL. Tchau Tchau you fakas 6 weeks on NS just turned into 4. Aloha braddahs.
I would totally not mind being in Honolulu right now but I don’t think I could stand to sit through a city committee meeting thing. Yikes.
We’d walk over to The Pig and the Lady afterwards so it would be worth the trip.
Can we just skip straight to that part? Because that part sounds alright.
That certainly works for me.
Pig and The Lady is overhyped.
I had a booking at The Pig and Lady, but forgot to confirm in time, so the cancelled my scheduled event.
Nope.
Will the advisory committee get a tennis racquet sponsorship deal?
See Sophie and ask for a backhand slice ?
Yeah…the Repurposed Busted Down Door Rabbit Tribute Throwback Model
The 78 world champ loved his tennis 🎾!
If it is like the last heat at J Bay today, it is going to end in tears ?
What happened? Kolohe cried? I don’t have a fb account!
It was a close heat and Kolohe fell on a Hail Mary Air with a minute to go and appeared on screen 30 seconds later ,sobbing until the end of the heat . I hope ,for him, he was only disappointed and not injured .
He spent entire waves setting up one hail mary while Fred just kept turning.
That first air ( wonderful for T street ) was telegraphed , telephoned , Morse coded , semaphored , faxed ,smoke signaled ,e-mailed ,instagrammed …………for 200 m with one minor check turn on a wave at J Bay your average punter would kill for .
I’m gonna watch this on youtube, though. Thanks.