Redeem Team!
America is, without doubt, an Olympic powerhouse tallying 1755 more medals, since the Games’ rebirth in 1896, than its nearest competitor that just so happens to be defunct (RIP USSR). Absolute and utter dominance and the country’s general public, residing from sea to shining sea, may well have expected absolute and utter domination over surfing as it made its grand debut two summers ago.
Carissa Moore did her part, taking gold for the red, white, blue on the women’s side but the men were put to shame by Brazil, Japan and Australia in that order.
Unchill.
But might redemption be nigh? The World Surfing Games is currently underway in sunny Huntington Beach and, I think*, three Americans are still in the draw.
Kolohe Andino, Nat Young, Griffin Colapinto.
Each surfs on World Surf League’s Champion Tour with the exception, possibly, of Nat Young. Each Californian. And get this, the country that wins the World Surfing Games gets an extra slot for an Olympic surfer (three instead of two). Let’s say either Andino, Young or Colapinto win this thing. Let’s say they, each, head to the 2024 Teahupo’o Olympics.
Sweep?
*I really don’t know how to read this.
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If the surf gets bigger than six foot does that make the winner the legitimate world champion and the WSL the rebels league?
Wow! Didn’t know you could cram so much mediocrity in one place.
Forgive my ignorance but why are they holding qualifiers on a wave nothing like chopes?
Why is Nat Young possibly not surfing on the Championship Tour?
For the lols the ISA could schedule their comp when the wave pool event is on, forcing all the olympic qualifiers to bail.
Glad you got there in the end
I just read the fine print. Winning the 2022 event just gives your country an extra slot. So lets say USA wins, places will get allocated to the top 3 USA surfers from WSL ranks (provided there are 3 US surfers in the top 10). If not, the third US spot would go to higest placed US competitor at the 2023 ISA games.
Also theres some really vague stuff in there about the “universality place”, which seems to be a free spot for a surfer from somewhere with heavy left hand reef breaks. Or maybe its a free spot set aside for kelly!
Kinda surprising that Natty Florist, Koa Redman, Koa Schmidt, (O’drama) Bin Graven and other well-known amateurs aren’t in it to potentially boost their YouTube/Only Fans numbers and merch sales.
Or have they already been knocked out by higher ranking Lithuanians, Turks, Ukrainians and Greeks etc ?
Heat 26, the surfer from Finland destroyed the competitors from legit surfing countries including kolohe. What a champ.
Also good to see ukraine flying the flag.
Twin Finland?
Though it looks like he’s the only guy from Finland still in it.
So K-hole was officially beaten by a single Finn…
Very good!
Hurluley needs to get him on the fin cozy team.
And that single Finn is just 15 years-old. His name is Eeli Temperi …
Isn’t this whole thing only really important for the lesser surfing countries as a way to qualify?
Pretty sure the rule is the top 10 wsl get parachuted in, provided there’s no more than two from each county, in order of ranking.
So basically the US, Brasilian and Aussie surfers don’t need to bother with this from a placings point of view. Though i think there’s some clause about needing to participate in the isa games to just tick a box.
80% of these guys I have never heard of. And never will. In the current economic environment it sure would be nice if some businesses could take down there help wanted signs.
The issues of surfing is that corporate is trying to make money off it but it really is still a grass roots sports that most non surfers don’t understand.
Or for many a lifestyle not a actual sport as such
Aquatic poncing is all it is
Lots of room for an interpreter; maybe even an intervention. Or a cargo ship making a drive
fly-by to get the surf action going…and, to wake up the homeless and bored crowd on the beach.“What could possibly be better than winning a World Surfing Games Gold Medal?” Asked Kolohe.
“Winning a WCT event” answered Griffin while still puzzling over the latest koan he had heard “which is heavier, a ton of coal or a ton of feathers?”
Fuken jimmy the brain.
So do all the brazzos.