Eighteen surfers. Four-hour long events. Oh it sounds like a prophecy from the future of professional surfing…
If you were in Huntington Beach last night, which neither Chas or I were, you might’ve stumbled into the saloon where Josh Kerr was busy announcing the format for the WSL’s airshow at France in October.
Alongside walls of crudely drawn nudes, Josh laid out a plan to exorcise the demons of Airshows Past while still fulfilling WSL CEO Sophie Goldschmidt’s prophecy that “Many people say the future of surfing is in the air.”
According to Josh, and as reported by Surfer magazine’s Todd Prodanovitch,
–There will be 18 competitors: 16 hand-picked by Kerr, and two wildcard slots that will be up for grabs (they have yet to announce how surfers will be able to snag those last two spots)
–The entire contest will be a 4 hours long
–There will be 6, 30-minute preliminary heats, with 6 surfers in each heat, each surfer surfing in two heats
–Airs are the only maneuvers that will be scored, and only the top two airs from each surfer will be counted
–The cumulative two-air score of each surfer will be ranked against all other surfers in the competition, regardless of heat, leaderboard-style
–A surfer’s best air is doubled, and their two scoring airs don’t have to be from the same heat
–At the end of the preliminary heats, after a 20-minute break, the top 6 surfers on the leaderboard will surf in a 40-minute final
–Competitors in 7th place or below will get equal prize money
“I tried to create a format where you have enough time to really go for it and pull something if you’re a consistent aerialist, which all the invitees are, of course,” says Kerr. “It’s all about creating an environment where no one is holding back. We’re going to be really harsh on the judging criteria, whether it’s layback landings or forcing the air on a bad section. To get in the 9-point range, you’re going to need to pull something close to the maneuver of the year.”
It’s a departure from the format of the old airshows of the ’90s and ’00s, where you had to land two airs in every heat to advance. According to Kerr, that encouraged low-risk, more consistent airs rather than unbridled progression, which is the goal of the new Air Invitational.
Eighteen surfers? Four-hour long events?
That’s sugar I can swallow…
the WSL will need to relax its control they want the best aerialists on board. gag orders on instagram accounts and not being able to say “fuck the wsl” or make tennis references during post heat interviews will seriously limit the field.
I like watching the girls surf. They fucking rip. But they gotta diva up. They desperately need a rock star to get our attention. At the moment there’s not a personality among them (at least outwardly) ((kinda like the men))
Cmon girls. Write your future! Fucking say something, anything! Make us remember you. And for gods sake stop congratulating each other. Enough of the mutual admiration society. If you love your opponent so will we.
PS. Everything I just said applies to the men too.
Larry Blair ( Barry Lair ) had that pre fight boxer type attitude to interviews and heats . The smiling assassin said what he thought and backed it up winning the 78 Surfabout and back to back Pipeline Masters.Yago showed signs of it today after a frustrating loss .
So many characters still out there , but the fear of losing sponsorship sadly takes the downward spiral to self censorship.
A surfing equivalent of Conor McGregor. Gives me the shits but he generates lots of interest/blood lust/$$.
Invitation only with no trials is always going to be a political shit fight . Just ask Australia’s best big wave surfers how hard it is to get invited to a WSL EVENT ?
Oh that will be useful to those surfers struggling without a sponsor. A hand picked invitational chosen by a paid employee of the for-profit organisation that requires money from sponsorship, which coincidentally is often the same sponsors that sponsor the competitors, to subsist and thrive. Can’t seen an issue there.
Jobs for the boys . Sadly nothing has changed for generations . In the 80s Sponsor paid for advertising space in magazine , their surfers got photos and articles. Now it’s wildcards and invitations and photos and videos and articles and access to potential instagram followers etc which leads to more of the same . AD(vertising) INFINITUM !
“create an environment where nobody holds back”. That’s easy just have a bikini contest in front of the event…winner takes all….the losers watch!
80s Style !Win the contest , score the chicks . As the talented surfer Gary Green once said “ If I win today I’ll probably get a Ronnie Coote “ !
They should get the indo dude to shoot the pier in his bitch bait boat
Hmm, Air title or World title ?
(Jordy, Kolohe and Julian hope like fuck all the kids go kill themselves.)
I watched about two heats this morning. Yago mocked the judges for being cruelly sacrificed for the home town boy, Griffin, who got a 5.5 for catching edges and doing shit turns, Shit surf, shit judging, shit comp.
Yago, mocking badly ?
Disrespectfully ?
Maybe for a millennial or passive-aggressive SoCal kid but he failed to meet the bar set by his countrymen the Padaratzs.
[SMIRK]
After watching the heat the commentary was worse than the judging. Reef is not American so Coté and Strider have no idea that he finished 2nd last year at the US Open juniors at the same venue and was a favorite to win the world juniors 6 months ago in Kiama ,got 3rd at this year’s Australian Open 6000 and before this event was rated 32 on the QS . However if you want to know the name of Kei Kobayashi’s Hairdresser or some obscure skate reference they are definitely the go to men .
The Air Invitational? Guess that’s one way to phase out the A.I. Award.
Wiggolly’s Paddling Style reveals new mixed race co-ed ping pong show format. Tonight. Eighteen girls and boys of varying skill level. 4 hour long events. Free high pressure hose and Safeway snags included. Live on Facebook or Instagram stories.
You’re pushing the envelope Wiggs. Awesome. Ping-pong will never be the same after this.
Especially if that hose was randomly turned on the players throughout the heats. What a spectacle!!!
I wonder if I can get “Pushing the envelope” t-shirts made up by this afternoon. Might have to head in to the big smoke, Geelong.
Kerzy can get “Pushing Shit Uphill” tees made.
They’ll be wsl’s best selling piece of merchandise by far.
Here’s some professionally made, bespoke graphics I wot done for you.
Don’t say I never give you nuffin. https://uploads.disquscdn.c…
Haring-esque. If you can make it slightly more pornographic then we are really cooking.
https://uploads.disquscdn.c…
You have to much spare time!
‘too’
live stream it.
VB can sponsor it and get Longtom to call it.
Guys running for title… WSL will pressure them to compete?
Imagine last year… race horse, head by head… I simply can’t imagine one of those contenders to the title, competing.
First injury and they’ll all avoid it like the plague.
It’s Doomed.
Totally agree Astro!!! For minus of it, JJF it’s out, maybe for a entire year.. and by what I’ve read, with the possibility of an affected career.
Italo it’s another example…
What guy will push hard for the limits and money, with an world title in his path?
Just can’t figure how this will work with the top CT guys.
Yea – maybe it’ll be a pathway for others like Matt Meola, Albee and all the other fin chuckers out there. Idk.
But yea – can’t see felipe risking it. Italo- none of them.