Where's our number 1?
Some of the world’s very best surfers are either in, or headed to, Huntington Beach, California this very moment as the thrilling ISA World Surfing Games are set to kick off in mere hours. Megastars Kolohe Andino, Sally Fitzgibbons, Italo Ferreira will all be there, trying to punch their ticket to the Paris 2024 Olympiad.
As you know, the two best surfers from each country, on the World Surf League rankings, qualify for their teams, though, I think, participation in a certain amount of ISA World Surfing Games is required.
This upcoming festival will be extra exciting as, for the first time in history, one extra Olympic slot is being given to the country whose teams win on both the men’s and the women’s side.
While powerhouse Brazil is an odds-on favorite, newly-minted World Surf League champion Filipe Toledo is notably missing. Miggy and Sammy Pupo, anchored by sitting Olympic gold medalist Italo Ferreira, will paddle out for the green and gold on the quest for a historic repeat.
Toledo would, of course, make the team that much stronger, especially in Huntington Beach’s knee-high dribblers, but emotional surf fans to wonder if the “Teahupo’o Tremors” are still keeping the world’s best small wave surfer up at night. The “end of the road” is where the surfing portion of Paris ’24 will be hosted, colonialism etc., and Toledo’s reprisal of his “brave act of cowardice” there just weeks ago is still very fresh in minds.
The haunting perfect scary. The moving images of two very old bald men dancing in menacing maws flickering.
Do you think he will forego the Olympic dream altogether?
Or is this just a scheduling snafu and he will be at the next ISA World Games pride and confidence roaring?
The only approach to take is of the “wait and see” varietal, I suppose.
Toledo and his physical and mental problems will be bigger than the waves come Teahupoo time. I’m going for the Aussies to win gold there whatever happens with the Brazilian titch.
Robinson for the win. He deserves it.
Edit- cuz he’s a real fucking surfer.
Not a one truck pony.
I think a RE-MAKE is looooonnng overdue, set in Kabul and with Gwyneth Paltrows gender neutral offspring in the starring role.
The film will be 4¾ hours long and feature music by Afghan neo pop punk threepiece, “Oscars OxyMorons”, with title music by “Steven” with his sitar based classical chart number one “Snowflakes”.
Surf scenes will of course be shot at Teahoopoo, which will break right, because I am entitled, and feature much “whooping” from the channel, where heavily clad food groupies wearing full length woolen swimsuits, will prepare poppy seed salads for the surfers, from on board traditional 12 litre diesel engined Tahitian watercraft.
(All poppy seeds will of course be organically grown and transported to Tahiti by donkey/s.)
Surely BG with the billions you make from the WSL in sponsorship and product placement payments, you can make this film happen.
Film WILL be solely for release on YourTubes, my brand new online video hosting platform, where anyone can post footage of anything surfing related, for free. It’s gonna be the next big thing, trust me.
I predict production costs OIRO £75million dollars. Please send 10% down payment to me now in cash to secure rights, or I’m going to sell to Warner sisters.
9-16 thru 24th…Surfcrime shows 4-6 german fibias and consistent onshore winds…stay tuned…
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We need giant Hurluley sticker on the nose. Get him on the team!!!
He performs like a real Hurluley team rider at Chopes. Flailing.
It will be interesting watching the newly manufactured china team pulling in at chopes…
Still seems like some very very stupid idea, at least logistics-wise.
France has beaches, waves, and a rich&solid history of organizing surfing contests, why not hold it there? Not like its austria. Did anyone thought of holding an insignificant part of the london 2012 olympics in some farfetch, money-laundering commonwealth islet in the atlantic?
And i thought french polynesia was only french for nuclear testing.
so the trials for the Chopes olympics is at Huntington….FFS, how do you run a qualifying event in the smallest shittiest waves on the planet , then take them one of the most dangerous waves in the World….duty of care?
I wonder if someone who qualifies for the Olympics in HB and got hurt at Chopes could sue the ISA?
They don’t care about that, they care about $$$.
And Orange County United States is where the money is at.
Maybe Olympics should just be “rivals” format? Every surfer from anywhere in world just posts 3 hrs of surfing from their local – best 2 waves scored !!
Should keep those expert judges bogged down for next 15-50 years and pro surfing will die a slow sickening death?
I like Toledo and thinks he surfs better than I could ever imagine in my head. I don’t mind that he doesn’t surf good at da chopoo. Big manly wave. I could also give two fucks about surfing in the Olympics. I won’t watch this one just like I didn’t watch the last.
now there’s a show I would watch.
he was / is a local fixture in Sumner, always a classic to bump into out on the piss.
where is felipe going next? maybe joinin the sub F1 racing league?
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At this point do we really care about Pro Surfing as I just want to surf more. Who cares about this stuff.
Are you kidding?
BG cares big-time.
Unfortunately….
Living vicariously as a kid in a grown up body.
Just following Toledo on Instagram. The reception back to Brazil seems a little muted compared to what I expected. It also looks like Italo has fucked up his foot somehow!
Perhaps its the meth?
Speaking of which….What is the drug testing regime of the W.S.L. ?
Turn away and cough?
Not a fan of drug testing. But wsl claim they embrace it, but don’t do it.
I think it would be more entertaining to watch full blown roid/coke/meth/LSD fueled surfers battle it out than the current bland tennis tour.
I rember when Green and Gold was always Australia.
But was also South Africa.
But could also be Brazil ….
More Southern Hemisphere fuckery.
it’s crazy.
training too… they just going to dump water from those huge mining trucks on to them while they teeter on a balance board?
who is coaching the NZ team? Lazza was saying he had been approached.