Extremely poor sportsmanship.
The glory of yesterday’s Eddie Aikau Invitational is still ringing in the ethers. Everything about it, every shining moment, toed the line of perfection. Waves, waves that scratched the heavens and marched in never ceasing formation through Waimea’s bay. Men and women, heroic in their pursuit of glory, conquering fear and force and wind.
A victor, at the end, worthy of the contest’s namesake.
Was it the best Eddie of all-time? The biggest? Most entertaining? Debates can, and will, rage amongst surf fans, or at least surf fans who dwell outside of the “global home of surfing” where it is as if January 22, 2023 never existed.
Yes, while everyone from the Associated Press to your neighbor down the street was writing, thinking, posting about The Eddie, the World Surf League remained completely mum. No congratulations to the on-duty lifeguard Luke Shepardson on the World Surf League homepage. No Instagram posts or stories praising the valor of Ross Clarke-Jones. Not even a TikTok dance performed in honor of Keala Kennelly dropping from the sky.
Nothing.
And nothing on the personal pages of WSL brass either. SVP of Tours, Head of Competition Jessi Miley-Dyer featured a photo of herself posing with juniors in North County, San Diego. CEO Erik Logan, aptly, a congratulations to himself for being interviewed as part of a new tennis program.
Wild.
And could the hush hush be attributed to simpering jealousy? As Derek Rielly wrote, yesterday, “A little ironic, I suppose, that the ‘best day in surfing history,’ as big-wave world champ Billy Kemper described it, had nothing to do with the WSL, surf brands or even, as the winner was announced on the beach by Clyde Aikau, a professional surfer.
The machinations of the League both absent and completely unnecessary. At one point during yesterday’s broadcast, some 90,000 souls were logged on and watching. The most I’ve ever seen for a WSL event is lower 20,000 something (not counting millions upon millions who are continuing to tune into the live airing of Final’s Day).
And, so, while the WSL has every right to be embarrassed, looking so embarrassed is… unchill.
Extremely poor sportsmanship.
Boo, WSL.
Boo.
Competitive surfing brings massive improvements in technique, materials , performance levels and results. Sorry i forgot to mention Massive Amount of Business to surf companies.
Sorry, i forgot something else again: Competitive modern surfing kills the soul of the Surfing, the stoke, the pleasure of sharing something unique, special and beautiful that is the surf.
For those involved and reaping the benefits this is great.
For those who only wanted to surf for pleasure is a disaster.
Let’s make a civil surf war.
I forgot to say again something else:
Let’s not make war, let’s all relax and be friends to eachother, nevermind our differences.
Aloha
Yeah mate. “Woke” is the problem.
crossed -kneed at the park bench…loco motto breathe!
leave me alome! allah?
https://youtu.be/B0jMPI_pUec
90 thousand?
Is that like a lot?
You know, compared to a pro football game or a soccer game?
Just asking.
Could the Wsl survive if 90 thousand were watching every time they had a contest?
Or, as Brazzo gentlemen put ever so graciously, World Shame League. Boo.
But how exciting to the world is a home of world surfing final event at head high mushy trestles!!! Serious miscalculation by the o. Witney alumni
Nor would he send help.
Greta is in need of some fat shaming.
Even the NY Times has a story on it (complete with a pathetically bad pic of Luke about to pull out of his bomb) … can’t get further from the global home of surfing than the NYT, but there it is, an homage to the lifeguard’s cinderella story. Yet further confirmation Chas’s take is right on (as if anything further were needed).
Maybe the aikau’s told the WSL to fuck off and if they try to benefit from the event they will get sued
Possible..
Waimea is ignored by the WSL because it’s an optical illusion based on shorter than average surfer size and swell proximity in relation to it breaking on the small Hawaiian island chain which gives the swell an artificially enlarged appearance when compared to somewhere like Florida where the waves appear smaller as they’re breaking on a far larger mainland. Everyone that’s anyone knows the secret big wave spots globally like Red beaches point break off Auckland in the southern hemisphere are considerably more gnarly than anything so called ‘big wave’ location Waimea serves up so wake up people!
long period. short period. size. tide. bathymetry. direction. precision. decisions? i see the illusions and will add…kaleidiscope!
I am not sure you appreciate how heavy Waimea is in WSW swell……the take off are another level when the swells the direction it was…..I just trust the surfers who were out there calling it for what it was big epic waves where you need every part of you committed to tackle the sets and take offs…..
I know the spot well, even had flights booked to visit until COVID hit, yes it gets big on that swell direction however there’s footage of local Lard Hamilton surfing the pier there when it gets heavy so no way anyone’s doing that at a genuine big wave break IMHO
Imagine the Ziffs next dinner party when Natasha works into the conversation that they own Pro Surfers and everyone else at the table starts talking about the Eddie and what a amazing event it was.
The Ziffs faces would be like stone.
The Eddie dont need no stinking WSL.
But it does need their web cast production crew.
The Eddie is everything the WSL could and should be. Name one thing “The Corporation” hasn’t drained the soul out of its “product”
The Eddie is a charity event, while the WSL is a charity tour
I thought you told us a million times the global home of surfing is Peru?
That’s the global hometown of surfing.
Would assume they’d be acting more like a sponsor than a ‘governing body’, throwing some cash in exchange for street cred.
Hot off the press… Elo, JMD and the NS Life Guards have listened. Luke Shepardson will be granted a year long wildcard slot on tour. Backfilling Luke’s position in the LG tower will be Mikey Wright.
Remind me again please, why exactly is this a non-wsl endorsed surf competition? Who short-changed who?.
back in the quik days it was given a “speciality event” status by the asp – thus allowing the asp surfers to compete and giving the asp a vague connection to the event. It looks more fun now and I’m getting used to getting by with no live scoring or spotting surfers the more Hawaiian events I watch.
Yeah. Less athleticism, more beer-in hand peanut gallery commenters.
Bit like those darts competitions, in a grim, dark pub, rowdy crowd, people having fun watching ‘sports’
E Lo is gonna bring Strider in the booth and send Kaipo and Pete Mel back on the ski as punishment for cheating on him.