Iconic surf contest shuttered for anniversary of game-changing 1981 event…
It was gonna be a hell of a Bells contest, at least viewed through the prism of history.
Forty Easters ago, on the second-last day of the contest, Simon Anderson, who was twenty-seven, famously rode his new six-six, three-finned surfboard, which he’d called a “thruster”, to dominate in clean fifteen-foot waves, the design legitimised further when he won the final in two-to-three-foot runners.
“There were many skeptics [regarding the Thruster], and some people openly laughed,” Simon told the writer Drew Kampion that year. “All year they were saying that the Thruster wouldn’t work. They said it in Australia, and I proved it there; they said it in Hawaii, and I proved it there, too. It’s a complicated design, and one little thing can throw it off, and it can really turn you off on them if you don’t get hold of a good one.”
Howevs, and as reported earlier, there was little chance Bells was ever gonna run in a state famous for having the world’s strictest lockdown laws.
Entire towers of state government housing shuttered, its residents cowering inside; cops ready to wrestle at the slightest provocation. A pregnant woman, handcuffed in front of her kids and dragged away for planning an anti-lockdown protest on Facebook, despite her offer to delete the post.
Over the course of less than a month, August 4 through September 2, 2020, almost three million dollars in fines were issued.
So, yeah.
“We were not provided with the assurance to land the plane by the Victorian government and we understood and respected that position as we needed an answer right at the time the tennis issue was unfolding in early January so clearly, that was going to be challenging to achieve,” a WSL spokesperson told The Age. “We understood why a decision to land our charter in amongst the tennis issues was not possible but we needed a solution for our sport to stay alive in 2021 and we were very fortunate that NSW was able to provide this to us at extremely short notice.”
The state government said it had bigger fish to fry, frankly.
“Given the stated priority of accommodating returning Australians, we were unable to provide the World Surf League with a guarantee regarding quarantine places for international surfers within the time frame required by them. We continue to work with the World Surf League on plans for the Rip Curl Pro and will have more to say in due course.”
It is estimated the local economy will be stiffed by around eight million bucks.
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Seriously the WSL have only themselves to blame. They had a great COVID plan for pipe. Then Elo got the Rona, and the rest of the Hawaiian season was abandoned. Do you think the Vic Govt didn’t look at that shit show? Now they’re having a sook in the media. They’d be better off having a serious plan for COVID.
So with the latest news being that the WSL says they tried everything to get the Easter Bells Classic to happen and just couldn’t get the Victorian officials to do it……did the WSL contact it’s partners in our Easter Classic , such as the Surf Coast Shire who in 2019 signed a 5 year contract with the WSL for Easter Bells Comp?
Did the WSL contact Rip Curl for help?
Did the WSL contact Surfing Vic , who manage the event?
So far we have been told by the various organizations , that were also shocked to learn of the move to Newcastle…….or were they??
Still so many questions for the local community unanswered…a lot of politics going on…and it’s always detrimental to the local community and fans of surfing…we are treated like mushrooms…..kept in the dark and fed shit for our troubles.
What a lot of people don’t understand is that in1961 a national contest was held at Bells, the birth of modern day surfing ……there has been an evolution of surfing through the Easter Classic , firstly becoming the most visible surf contest in the World…creative and innovative, different judging and contest formats over 60 years , then the rise of the commercial brands in Torquay who became Global household names , providing employment / riches for some…..Family friendships /career’s for generations to come….the joy we experienced from surfing turned into our present day culture……and a big part of what I have just said above all came from Bells Beach…it’s surfing heritage and culture!
So here we are with the USA owned WSL desperately needing to have 3-4 contests for it’s own survival , bringing all it’s problems to Australia via Starky , who is one the most disliked surfers in Australia because of his past history with communities /staff etc……why couldn’t the WSL run it’s damn contests in California …..all that has happened here in Australia is stress every where lies and politics /angst …
Having said all of the above , we here see the bigger picture , in that we love our Easter Bells event , and will welcome the surfers and the contest at a later date…..so the WSL can continue to provide a World Champion , surfing needs to be the winner…..the local community will do all of this , but Easter Next year, back to Bells…not for the $’s but for the Respect of Surfings Heritage!
so you’ve changed your mind about supporting a date change?
Written like a job interview
WTF are you talking about……what job …..?
Did anyone investigate if its not just a question of the Wozzel attempting to phase out cutbacks to appear more modern,,
could’ve fit an extra cut down in there…5 cut downs = 10 point ride.
Given the equipment and style of the day i actually thought he surfed that pretty well , 10 points for opening his soulders up which was not that commen in the day.
leaving applications, event permits till its too late seems to be the wsl’s new approach. I have heard there is a pandemic that is making things somewhat more challenging for holding international events but not sure its a valid excuse for the string of fuckups that started when they missed deadlines for the Hawaiian season.. seems like local and state governments are using it as an excuse to show the wsl that their patronage is not really needed without telling them directly and hurting their feelings.
nice wave nick!
Couldn’t give a two fucks about pro surfing or bells beach in particular
Cracks me up longtom makes a living out of selling the product his on record of hating.
No pros in my backyard 😂😂😂😂😂😂😂😂😂😂😂😂😂😂😞😞😂😂😂😂😂😂
Not that it matters, but we were told a few weeks a go that most of the fines will not be followed up.
Sucks for those who already paid.
Dan is a total douche.
Shit himself every time Peta Credlin was in the media room.
150 people on the charter plane?
why so many?
can’t they get filmers/OB people/caterers/staff here?
seems ridick they need all those people to fly in.
Someone’s gotta keep pedalling to make the airplane fly.
Ha ha, that’s a goodun.
I highly doubt they are flying in caterers. Surely that’s the surfers (men’s and women’s tour) and their families, coaches, the key wsl staff needed to run events for whom this is their livelihood and without it would be unemployed. Do the math. Gotta stop sniffing for new angles to criticise and new conspiracy theories. Let’s just be happy the tour will fkn run in some capacity and let’s just let these people – surfers and event staff – have a job, and is spectators have surfing to watch.
Hi Bex
Doesn’t look like switching to swellnet was working out for him.
It was actually Brawndo.
This really is quite shitty form. Bells is one of the only comps that cuts through in any sort of specific way to the mainstream. Normies know that Easter=Bells comp.
Who to blame? Power grubbing hypocrite politicians (one case, the border, the border!!!) and the wsl (pissweak, exert some power you pussies) I’m sure if they tried a little harder they could have made it happen.
The current rumours are stating that after the Newcastle event they will go to WA then to QLD back to NSW. Why not just do the 2 NSW comps first in the one State – then head to QLD and then – and only then – if WA lets you – head that way? Seems madness to be going about this way. I would run the NSW Sydney comp first – then go to Newcastle then to Cooli then to WA.
We know Anna loves to shut the border – Hot Mess Gladys does not – whilst Geoff is super trigger happy as well. Surely the risk / reward is to get NSW out of the way first and foremost as QLD and WA seem to be joined at the hip with their border closes.
Because the earlier WA get’s cancelled, the more time you have to re-arrange things. My guess is they’re negotiation flexibly with whatever the last venue will be (Manly? Port Macquarie?) so that if WA locks down they can move the 4th event to 2nd and then they’ve got a whole month to try and sort out a plan-b for the 4th comp (eg postpone Margies, or have another location on standby). If WA is last and they get locked out 2 days beforehand, they’ve got no other options for that last slot.
I smell vidina …
Fe da puta means ‘faith of the whore’ apparently, so ya probably quite right…
I like this current covid contact tracing system in Australia…basically if you test positive your whole life is plastered all over the national news!
This last poor bastasd visited the liquor store 3 times in 2 days…now the whole world knows he is a raging alcoholic
I cant wait for the time when someone gets busted visiting the local brothel…3 times in 2 days…dirty bastard
Hahaha classic
Sounds like a good system.
Over here in poofy dumb-fuck feminist lead NZ everything is kept secret with all that wanky doctory ‘hypocritical’ oath bullshit.
It’s faaaar better to show the truth of who the disease carriers are even (especially ?) if it’s a bit of an exposé of people’s ‘behaviour’…
3 times in 2 days is not a raging alco. i go 3 x per day on average, easy.
I’ve led a very sheltered life
“we needed an answer right at the time the tennis issue was unfolding” Fucking tennis tour. Bobby had it right.
True dis.
My favourite part of the whole article is citing this shit:“A pregnant woman, handcuffed in front of her kids and dragged away for planning an anti-lockdown protest on Facebook, despite her offer to delete the post.”
If that isn’t gender equality, I don’t know what is!
If Torquay is already full to capacity at Easter anyway, how does the community lose $8m in revenue? Comp or not, the joint will already be full.
Also, what’s the resistance to holding Bells at a later date (eg May)? Have read some grumblings about it not happening at any time other than Easter… just curious is all
It’s the Easter Bunny’s favourite contest.
Don’t try it on with him.
He will FUCK. YOU. UP.
Numsayin’?
He will touch your chocolate eggs in a way you will NOT like.
Well half the grumpy old blokes in Torquay have been bitching about the contest for a decade.
Then when it’s supplanted by the bleeding obvious, they start screaming “This is fucked!!! We love the contest!!”
GUARANTEED in three days or so when the WSL announces that they’ve figured all this shit out at last and Bells has a new set of dates in late April, they’ll be the FIRST to start screaming about how fucked THAT is.
btw big Saturday at Bells in 1981 was on April 18. If Bells is on later this year, the surf will probably be better.
Yep
Nice one Nick.
Faarrk did i just say that
Spoiler alert,
Can almost guarantee the Margie’s pro will not happen.
WA will not accept anybody interstate who has come from a state that has had community transmission.
They shut the border down in hours of a reported transmission.
And I’m sure the surfers will refuse to isolate for 2 weeks.
Thing is, if it was the olden days, and the pros had loads of decent weed etc they’d quite happily quarantine for as long as they were asked!
Like going to Hawaii without the surf
Sheeeeeyit.
I’d love to be locked in a hotel room with loads of weed, and room service for two weeks.
As someone who, once upon a time, travelled incessantly for work…hotel rooms suck.
Yeah but right now that would be welcome relief from my daily grind.
I get it. A change of scenery is good.
Doesn’t sound terrible