"...this doesn't have to happen."

Lineups have been, undeniably, more choked in these the Covid years of our lives than any time previously in surfing’s long and sordid history. Everyone home from work/school, everyone looking to add fitness to weary lives, the ocean providing natural social distancing except at places like Cardiff Reef, Malibu, Noosa where soft rollers beg to be feasted upon by the VAL horde.

Well, an Australian man recently became scaled whilst out in the aforementioned Noosa and has calm but serious words for his perpetrator.

The scene is laid when Derek Symons decided to take a summer day’s surf and he picks up the story from here…

“One person cut me off and knocked me off a wave, and then while I was recovering and trying to untangle everything, his partner or friend caught the next wave and just ploughed straight over the top of me. It’s just stupid actions and people don’t think about the consequences but it could have been way worse. Honestly I hope next time she seriously thinks about all the people out there and doesn’t snake people and cut people off. I am a capable surfer, a strong paddler and have been surfing in Noosa for over 20 years now. To go out there and not turn when you could have easily gone around someone — why would people purposely want to hammer someone? Lucky it was on top of my head and not my face or spine. Surfing is supposed to be fun. Please watch out for others out there especially when it is pumping … this doesn’t have to happen.”

That top of his head required seventeen staples to close but how wonderful is his attitude? I would be spitting expletives if I had been scalped but he calmly offers advice.

Not the hero we deserve but certainly the hero we need.

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Almost one year ago, to date, or maybe six months, I strapped a WHOOP band around my wrist, logged on to a technical breakdown by the WHOOP team and bathed myself in an unhealthy skepticism. The media attache was bubbly and fit, excited about how the personal digital fitness and health coach had changed her life, excited about how it would change ours.

Except dubiousness reigned in my foolish heart.

What she said made sense, sure, but I was ok, didn’t need no help, would never need help.

WHOOP was for someone else. For the generally unfit, lightly out of shape. The Gogganses of this world.

Still, I kept the sleek neoprene strop around wrist and even began checking in with the easy to navigate cellular telephone application that marked just how much my life had succumbed to a pitiful inertia.

Movement, actual movement, heart-pumping, blood-pulsing movement a rarity.

Well, I committed to changing that, slowly, at first, with a rapid uptick once I realized how much better I felt when sore, when physically tired, when actually pushing myself.

How much better I surfed.

And so I started jogging and checking my Strain numbers. I started dancing ballet and checking my Strain numbers. I began sleeping when told, resting when warned, surfing more.

And better.

All of a sudden, the active, healthy life was mine though without some major reckoning but rather simple daily reminders, tips, data and statistics.

I began plotting even more ballet performances, a path toward climbing Mt. Everest, under 6 minute mile time, session at the  legendary wave that crowns surfing champions.

Lower Trestles.

WHOOP, at the end, is a dream maker and while you may remain skeptical, dubious, foolish, I dare you to try to break your own dismal inertia for we all know inertia is death.

Embarrassing demise.

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Special.

There were rumors, weeks ago, that the World Surf League would move its new finals day format to an exciting and dynamic wave for the 2022 Championship Tour season. Last year’s debut, at Lower Trestles in sunny Southern California, was a success by any measure, top five surfers doing heat by heat battle, winner advancing, though the wave… I don’t know. I love Lowers as much as the next homeschooled child but this would all be much more exciting and dynamic at, say, Barra de la Cruz in Mexico.

In any case…

Today, the World Surf League (WSL) announced the location for the 2022 Rip Curl WSL Finals and released the updated 2022 Championship Tour (CT) schedule. As part of Rip Curl’s three-year partnership, the second edition of the one-day, winner-take-all showdown, the Rip Curl WSL Finals, will return to California State Parks, San Onofre State Beach, Lower Trestles. The 2022 Rip Curl WSL Finals waiting period will run from September 8 – 16, an ideal time of year for solid Southern Hemisphere swells to light up the cobblestone point of one of the most high-performance waves in the world.

At the conclusion of the regular 2022 CT season, the top five men and top five women on the CT rankings will head to Lowers in San Clemente where they will battle head-to-head for the World Title.

“The inaugural edition of the Rip Curl WSL Finals was an incredible success,” said Erik Logan, WSL CEO. “To see the WSL Final 5 go head-to-head in amazing waves and to witness the women’s and men’s World Titles be decided on the same day, in the water, for the first time was special. This new format captivated our audience and drove consumption like never before and was the most-watched day of professional surfing with the largest live digital audience in WSL history. We are excited to return to Lowers this season.”

Rip Curl’s commitment and support of professional surfing continues through the three-year partnership of the Rip Curl WSL Finals.

“We’re incredibly supportive of the return to Lower Trestles for the 2022 Rip Curl WSL Finals,” said Brooke Farris, Rip Curl CEO. “As a world-class, high-performance wave, it’s the perfect canvas for the world’s best surfers to push the boundaries of what’s possible in the water. While our brand was born at Bells Beach Australia, Rip Curl has an incredible heritage at Trestles, the surfing heart of California. We’re beyond excited to continue building on our brand’s legacy as we partner with the WSL to crown the undisputed world champions of surfing.”

Etc.