I’ve been chatting up our Brazilian future so rambunctiously since the end of ’18 that I forgot any other surfing nations even existed, aside from the funny ones like Canada and Senegal aiming for 2020 Olympic gold.
Oh sure, theoretically I know that Jordy Smith is from South Africa, Micheal Bourez is from France, Owen Wright is from Children of the Corn, Strider Wasilewski is from Poland, Adriano de Souza is from Willy Wonka’s Chocolate Factory etc. but all I really see is green and gold.
I assumed, by this time in the season the top 5 would read 1) Gabriel 2) Filipe Toledo 3) Italo Ferriera 4) Willian Cardoso 5) Joe Turpel.
Well guess who just waltzed through the door and put South America in a chokehold?
Real America!
And the world news is all over it. Let’s take a quick perusal together, after affixing red, white and blue stickers to our Fords. Let’s head to the Associated Press.
John John Florence won the men’s event after fellow American and 11-time world champion Kelly Slater was eliminated in the quarterfinals, while American Courtney Conlogue took the women’s competition at the Bells Beach World Surf League stop.
Florence beat Filipe Toledo of Brazil in a close final Saturday. Toledo needed a score of 6.98 points when he caught his last wave with 12 seconds left, but the judges awarded 5.90 and Florence won 14.30 to 13.98.
American, American, American, Andino, American.
Suck it, everyone.
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Ain't nothing trivial or tinkling about Filipe Toledo and John John Florence. Two classy champs.
Rip Curl Pro, Bells, Finals day: John John Florence beats Filipe Toledo and “Whistle-happy refs ruin an otherwise perfect Final Day!”
Nothing trivial or tinkling about a final's day in six-foot waves with Filipe Toledo, John John Florence, Gabriel Medina Ryan Callinan, Jordy Smith and Italo Ferriera…
How did you sleep? Me, poorly.
Tossing and turning all night mulling over the action from an epic day.
We all pondered the effect, mostly the energy balance equations for each competitor and seeing as surfing is a drug free sport minus recovery aiding PED’s like EPO, how much they would be diminished going into the Finals Day.
But we didn’t stop and consider the fatigue effect on judges after a full day of over-lapping heats in giant surf.
Imagine how fried the priority judge was last night after a day on the tools like the one yesterday.
Unprecedented. More on this later, of course.
Seeing as we have all had so much fun analysing in real-time the days action the wrap today will be focussed on turning points, to try and add value to what has already been mulled over.
There were many.
Excuse me though, I need to go pee. Japanese bladder. I once stood in front of the magistrate in Byron Bay Court and (successfully) defended myself on a charge of public obscenity using the Japanese bladder defence. The defence was suggested to me by a certain manager of a certain pro surfer who went on to a long and illustrious career.
Can anyone now successfully defend the current career phase of Kelly Slater using the “wait till he gets in good waves” D? Totally erased in clean six-to-eight-foot Bells Bowl. Kelly lost on all levels. Positioning gone. Bizarre mid-heat Hail Mary paddle up to somewhere near Rincon.
I digress.
Can anyone now successfully defend the current career phase of Kelly Slater using the “wait till he gets in good waves” D? Totally erased in clean six-to-eight-foot Bells Bowl. Kelly lost on all levels. Positioning gone. Bizarre mid-heat Hail Mary paddle up to somewhere near Rincon.
Equipment, not cutting it, even according to the champ’s own admission.
Three ten-point heat totals got him to the quarters where he was brutally exposed. Judges squashed down R-Cal’s heat total to at least keep Kelly nominally in the heat but the 5.67 heat total says it all.
Mercifully, Rosie threw him the angel ring of an injury get out in the post heat presser and he clung to it like a drowning man does.
He said he had been “in denial about how bad it is.”
How much denial can the GOAT tolerate?
I assume you watched the JJF/Medina super heat and have your own opinions on it. My initial take was JJF won it clean.
Other opinions took a contrary view.
The crux rested on the scoring of Medina’s first wave. One huge perfect turn on the outside and a huge perfect upside-down smash on the shorebreak. Judges awarded a 6.67. Looks a clear underscore on the analyzer, by a point and a half. A low eight.
The other contention was Florence’s high score, an 8.87, which Peter Mel said contained “two errors”, including a question mark (dreaded question mark!) on the final turn. You can’t deny the power, aggression and commitment of the turns in between, but bringing it back a half-point seems reasonable.
The turning point. Fifteen minutes to go.
Medina catches his last scoring wave. Please go and look at the “high-line lip float” and study. Insane, yes. 8.5? Maybe even a nine.
Gabe Medina, superior strategist, lets a beautiful mid-sized wave drift underneath him right into John’s paw. Florence tears it about three new orifices, causing Peter Mel to groan orgasmically, “Oh my God!” Eight-point ride. That was the heat-winning wave. A crazy unforced error from Gabe, completely unremarked upon in the booth.
11.21 remaining, John ahead, Medina needing a 7.17. With priority. With motherfucking priority!
Gabe Medina, superior strategist, lets a beautiful mid-sized wave drift underneath him right into John’s paw. Florence tears it about three new orifices, causing Peter Mel to groan orgasmically, “Oh my God!” Eight-point ride.
That was the heat-winning wave. A crazy unforced error from Gabe, completely unremarked upon in the booth.
Back in the line-up John paddled slowly around Gabe in a slow, circling arc. A “soft” Zeke. Glorious hustle! Gabe did not ride another wave. It could have gone either way but for that piece of brilliance alone John John erases last year and takes the bikkies.
How would Italo respond to yesterday’s shellacking in the southern Ocean, where the cold gets in your bones and makes young men feel old and old men feel their mortality creeping in on them. He looked unsteady against a Jordy Smith who, by comparison to the previous heat, looked slow through the turn.
Italo came back with an excellent ride before he was cruelled by an interference call.
Every pro sport has officials who have to make judgement calls. And to eliminate another competitor from the contest via such a judgement call should only be done for the gravest of reasons, with a very high burden of proof.
Beyond reasonable doubt, at least.
Italo took a wave, a clean set wave, doubtful he saw Jordy lurking under the lip and spinning in the whitewater until he was passed him. He kicked out immediately. Jordy rode the wave well for a mid-six. Very, very long minutes passed before the interference call was announced to a disbelieving commentary booth, who seemed coached to not question a major call.
It was what UFC Middleweight Champion Khabib Nurmogomedov would call “Number one bullshit”.
The interference rule was supposed to apply where there was a hindrance to the scoring potential of the wave. Seeing as Jordy was still on his guts in the whitewater before Italo’s track even reached him then rode the wave successfully in what universe was his scoring potential hindered?
Answer: One where severely fatigued judges made a judgement call which should never have been made.
In a proper pro sport there would be an oversight committee where calls like that would be reviewed and if not able to be reversed at least admissions made or alterations to rule interpretations conducted.
There were shades of J-Bay 2017 for Filipe Toledo in his semi-Final against R-Cal. Except he couldn’t close out the final manouevre.
Rcal let him off the hook – major turning point – when he bogged a hard rail-turn on a major set wave. “Shhiiiiiiiiiiitttttt” went coach Dog Marsh on the stairs. Filipe needing a six caught a wave on the buzzer, fat outside, got good work done on the inside.
Fell on the finish.
I wrote “Nope”. Judges went “Yep”. R-Cal should have got that but let him off the hook.
You could feel the fatigue setting in for JJF in his semi with Jordy. Jordy was coming to life, putting a 6’6” Arakawa through the full arc of a turn. Slower, yes, but with variation.
John started to fall on the closing turn.
I do not subscribe to the view that the closing turns from John John were boring or monotonous. There was variation in angle of approach and rotation. Always the turn speed and aggression > Jordy.
Seven Minutes to go, John slipped away outside from Jordy and caught the biggest set wave of the day, carving a deep trench in it on multiple turns before a clean finish.
A cute Norwegian looking gal clapped on the stairs. Where did she come from? Who knew John had a gal? I saw the 9.43 as a historical rebalancing after the injustice of 2017, when John clearly the best surfer of the event was robbed of a final’s berth.
The Final was JJF battling fatigue and Filipe bringing turns that were a bit soft, blurry, lacking in focus.
John fell and fell again. Maybe he’s a cooked goose, I thought.
A set wave came with John holding priority. He allowed Filipe to go. Major turn on the outside, big cutback then Filipe kicked out, dodging the close-out hit. At the halfway point that was it. A big score there and John would have been toast.
A major turning point arrived.
A set wave came with John holding priority. He allowed Filipe to go. Major turn on the outside, big cutback then Filipe kicked out, dodging the close-out hit. At the halfway point that was it.
A big score there and John would have been toast.
Twenty minutes remaining and John had to start again. He showed no nerves. Cut a smaller inside wave into pieces with a blade that was looking duller with each strike. Mid-six was enough to get back in.
His next wave, a 7.63, was far from his best, but good enough to be a heat winner.
Like he did with Gabe he sat right next to Filipe. Not in his grill, but at a competitive distance. Filipe got his wave on the buzzer but it was nowhere near enough. Another 15 minutes and John would have been cooked, properly. A perfectly timed run. Props to his crew, they prepped their man beautifully.
Edit: I just read the WSL rule book: the rule is clear about crossing paths. Which means, shit rule that needs changing. What do you think? I just hate whistle-happy refs ruining the contest and an otherwise perfect Final Day.
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Gabe took the Occhilupo high-water mark of the ’97 Skins event and threw it in the rubbish bin like an empty six pack*. Line and length off the bottom, pure edge control, giant slalom S-turns, a total absence of bobble, pumping or line hesitation coupled with perfectly timed massive end section stabs. | Photo: WSL
Open thread: Comment live, finals day, Rip Curl Pro, Bells!
Can't make it to a sports bar? Get your kicks, live, here.
The best joint to watch the finals of a CT-er is a rowdy bar with a gang of pals. Half the fun of the game are the ill-advised words mingled with those fantastic observations that come, uncensored, in the moment.
Grab a seat. Order a whisky sour (or whatever puts you in an argumentative state.)
Surf is six-to-eight-foot and clean.
Topics to consider: Kelly’s ability to grind out a couple more heats and win a fifth Bell, the most in (male) history. Has Italo been stunned into submission after yesterday’s brush with mortality? Who’s gonna win the super heat tween John and Gabriel?
First up, men’s quarter-finals.
Rip Curl Pro Bells Beach Men’s Quarterfinal Matchups:
Heat 1: Kelly Slater (USA) vs. Ryan Callinan (AUS)
Heat 2: Filipe Toledo (BRA) vs. Jacob Willcox (AUS)
Heat 3: Gabriel Medina (BRA) vs. John John Florence (HAW)
Heat 4: Italo Ferreira (BRA) vs. Jordy Smith (ZAF)
Then the women’s semis.
Rip Curl Pro Bells Beach Women’s Semifinal Matchups:
Heat 1: Lakey Peterson (USA) vs. Courtney Conlogue (USA)
Heat 2: Malia Manuel (HAW) vs. Caroline Marks (USA)
Cute and culturally appropriate for all your Middle Eastern surf adventures!
And once again, how wonderful has the 50 year storm been? Brilliantly marketed, brilliantly executed and impossible to turn away from. All those professional surfers in the water at once, a good handful of which look like they’ve never been in an angry ocean. It has been that good and, if for some reason, you found it possible to turn away then here is Longtom for you. Words even louder than the action.
But, real quick, while I was watching yesterday, on the World Surf League website, I saw a strange advertisement pop up. Eyes peering at me from the bottom of a surfboard and smaller eyes also peering at me from the bottom of two legs.
At first I thought the WSL was pranking me with some sophisticated geo-tagging. As you know, I’m busy on a book about the Middle East and in the Middle East men, who would get in trouble for having stickers of curvaceous babes on the backs of their taxis, put two doe-like women’s eyes instead. It’s all very classy and I wondered if the WSL was letting me know that they know where my head’s at.
I was so fascinated that I clicked and… voila! Even better than sexless sexiness, I was ushered into the world of Shark Eyes or…
The Waterman’s Visual Shark Deterrent
Shark Eyes is the world’s most affordable visual shark deterrent. From watermen to professionals to every day ocean lovers, Shark Eyes is for all water users who want to minimize their risk of a shark attack.
The Shark Eyes decal applies easily to water sports equipment and aims to trick the shark into thinking it’s been spotted, thereby removing the element of surprise and deterring an attack. Stay safer with Shark Eyes, which easily applies to water sports equipment, needs no recharging, doesn’t alter performance, and respects the environment.
I think Shark Eyes, combined with our new pet Killer Whales and delivery vessel, means the day and age of shark on surfer violence is officially over.
Who knew that sharks were so sensitive to prying eye stickers?
Italo Ferreira will be tortured of images of a different kind when he closes his eyes tonight.Demolished by a shorebreak that looked like Waimea he was washed around the Winkipop button, signalling frantically to the jetskis, who were fully engaged rescuing Jordy Smith. That terrifying I'm-in-deep-shit feeling was written all over his face as he collapsed on the Bells stairs.
Rip Curl Pro, Bells, Day Four: “Up to our ovaries in carnage, chaos and confusion! And the greatest pro surfing ever seen at Bells!”
And world number one Italo Ferriera gets a little too close to God…
There are days when you need to suspend the critical faculties and abandon yourself completely to the spectacle.
Days like today, which I love the most as a fan and hate the most as a surf writer, because it becomes as D. Rielly said via text msg “A race to see who can find the prettiest superlative”.
Today could have been, should have been, a debacle except for the master-stroke of Kieren Perrow. I think we can all agree: the greatest call made by a contest director in the history or pre-history of competitive surfing.
To recap: He made the call to run the Mens round of 32 and 16 as overlapping 50-minute heats. Allowing time and opportunity for victory at sea conditions to be not just tamed, but artfully dominated by the few. The very rare few, which is always what pro surfing has been about.
If hype and big calls annoy, go straight to the comments.
Or read on and call bullshit at your leisure.
At one point during the afternoon, in a rabid 10-12-foot lineup being strafed by winds and huge chunks of ocean, we viewed Gabe Medina, John John Florence and Owen Wright sharing a line-up.
It was the greatest hour of professional surfing measured by commitment, performance and pure wave-riding skill ever seen at Bells, easily eclipsing the previous 1981 high-water mark.
Gabe took the Occhilupo high-water mark of the ’97 Skins event and threw it in the rubbish bin like an empty six pack*. Line and length off the bottom, pure edge control, giant slalom S-turns, a total absence of bobble, pumping or line hesitation coupled with perfectly timed massive end section stabs.
It will take some time to digest.
Gabe and John John looked like they were riding different boards in a different spot on a different ocean. Simply no comparison between them and the rest of the field.
I felt goosebumps watching that I haven’t had since Margaret River 2017. John framed his turns with moments of absolute stillness – a Parko affectation that elongates the moment and makes judges swoon.
John John had been set back on his heels early by an egregious over-score on Owen Wright’s first wave, which drew a rare unanimous note of dissent from the booth, as well as Strider on the stairs.
Could JJF surf his way out of adversity?
How would he respond?
With huge turns.
A grotesque end section in front of the Winkipop button was whipped into submission for a 9.63. I felt goosebumps watching that I haven’t had since Margaret River 2017. John framed his turns with moments of absolute stillness – a Parko affectation that elongates the moment and makes judges swoon.
Malia Manuel looked the most comfortable amongst the women quarter finalists in a line-up being disfigured by a rapidly rising swell. Pure lines on a bigger board.
“I trust my instincts,” she said, “and have my instincts trust me.”
Caroline Marks was better, the big turns more symmetrical and less awkwardly angular on a bigger sloping wall. There was no match between her and Briana Hennesy.
There was what Ronnie (correctly) termed equipment confusion plus mad hustles for boards, broken boards everywhere, snapped leashes.
Slater waxed a 6’0” Simon Anderson, then took out a Webber Quad, presumably with a double concave deck for the opening of his heat with Peterson Crisanto. That board looked OK, I thought, a consensus seemed to rapidly build against it online and he swapped it out for the Simon.
Another shakey, inconclusive un-Slater-like Slater heat ensued.
For the third time this event, mediocre performances have led to victory.
The Simon did not look magic.
“I couldn’t figure it out, whatever,” he admitted. Going into the quarter-finals his self-assessment that “I don’t feel like I’ve got any momentum going” is stunningly accurate.
I woke up in the wee hours having a nightmare that I was mowing Derek Rielly’s Bondi lawn after playing hooker for the Manly Sea Eagles (true). Italo Ferreira will be tortured of images of a different kind when he closes his eyes tonight. Demolished by a shorebreak that looked like Waimea he was washed around the Winkipop button, signalling frantically to the jetskis, who were fully engaged rescuing Jordy Smith. That terrifying I’m-in-deep-shit feeling was written all over his face as he collapsed on the Bells stairs.
By the time Filipe Toledo hit the water we were up to our ovaries in carnage, chaos and confusion. Toledo needed three board changes to defeat a hapless Seth Moniz who was devoured by the Bells shorebreak. That is worth chasing on the heat analyzer. Filipe looks a little behind the John/Gabe pace but seeing as they will face off in the quarters that could be the ideal place to be if they exhaust their mojo during that clash.
I woke up in the wee hours having a nightmare that I was mowing Derek Rielly’s Bondi lawn after playing hooker for the Manly Sea Eagles (true). Italo Ferreira will be tortured of images of a different kind when he closes his eyes tonight.
Demolished by a shorebreak that looked like Waimea he was washed around the Winkipop button, signalling frantically to the jetskis, who were fully engaged rescuing Jordy Smith.
That terrifying I’m-in-deep-shit feeling was written all over his face as he collapsed on the Bells stairs. Somehow he managed to still ride what looked to be the biggest waves of the day. Legit Hawaiian size waves.
It was the first time I’ve ever been able to get on board, 100%, with Joe Turpel’s “that was so fun to watch” aphorism.
This over-lapping heat format is up there with Pritamo Ahrendt’s re-jigging of the judging scale as the greatest innovation of Pro Surfing since man on man.
It would take a peculiar kind of grinch not to get a kick out of today and feel just a little moist about the prospects for tomorrow.
Did anyone else see Jack Freestone’s purple velour tracksuit in the booth? Thoughts?
*4 Pines Kolsch
Rip Curl Pro Bells Beach Remaining Men’s Round 3 (H9-16) Results:
Heat 9: Gabriel Medina (BRA) 16.03 DEF. Reef Heazlewood (AUS) 7.80
Heat 10: Willian Cardoso (BRA) 12.20 DEF. Yago Dora (BRA) 9.63
Heat 11: Owen Wright (AUS) 16.10 DEF. Ricardo Christie (NZL) 12.07
Heat 12: John John Florence (HAW) 17.67 DEF. Jadson Andre (BRA) 11.24
Heat 13: Italo Ferreira (BRA) 13.76 DEF. Jack Freestone (AUS) 9.10
Heat 14: Jeremy Flores (FRA) 14.03 DEF. Ezekiel Lau (HAW) 13.44
Heat 15: Kanoa Igarashi (JPN) 12.07 DEF. Adrian Buchan (AUS) 11.93
Heat 16: Jordy Smith (ZAF) 14.10 DEF. Leonardo Fioravanti (ITA) 13.27
Rip Curl Pro Bells Beach Men’s Round 4 Results:
Heat 1: Kelly Slater (USA) 10.80 DEF. Peterson Crisanto (BRA) 6.87
Heat 2: Ryan Callinan (AUS) 13.93 DEF. Conner Coffin (USA) 9.93
Heat 3: Filipe Toledo (BRA) 14.10 DEF. Seth Moniz (HAW) 7.13
Heat 4: Jacob Willcox (AUS) 11.80 DEF. Deivid Silva (BRA) 10.04
Heat 5: Gabriel Medina (BRA) 17.27 DEF. Willian Cardoso (BRA) 7.76
Heat 6: John John Florence (HAW) 18.16 DEF. Owen Wright (AUS) 16.97
Heat 7: Italo Ferreira (BRA) 12.20 DEF. Jeremy Flores (FRA) 6.03
Heat 8: Jordy Smith (ZAF) 13.10 DEF. Kanoa Igarashi (JPN) 11.03
Rip Curl Pro Bells Beach Men’s Quarterfinal Matchups:
Heat 1: Kelly Slater (USA) vs. Ryan Callinan (AUS)
Heat 2: Filipe Toledo (BRA) vs. Jacob Willcox (AUS)
Heat 3: Gabriel Medina (BRA) vs. John John Florence (HAW)
Heat 4: Italo Ferreira (BRA) vs. Jordy Smith (ZAF)
