Another nail in the World Surf League coffin.
Keala Kennelly is a multi-hyphenate trailblazer. The Kauai-born 45-year-old is an actor, a professional surfer, a big wave world champion, a DJ, an LGBTQ+ icon just to name but a very few of her talents and accomplishments. She is wildly respected in the surf world and, thus, the sledgehammer she took to the “global home of surfing,” yesterday, is significant.
In a four-part to-camera Instagram series, the platinum blonde declared she would not be participating in the Jaws event this year. Part due chronic pain, most due the “stupid” idea of the World Surf League transitioning the yearly XXL Big Wave Awards to the Big Wave Records Chase as a way to get out of paying big wave surfers. The WSL calls themselves a ‘sports league.’ They are a medium company and what does a media company need? Attention.”
Keala Kennelly Goes Ham
Kennelly digs into that attention-seeking by bringing up Laura Enever’s recent controversial Guinness record, covered only and dutifully here. She goes on to compare a monster wave she caught at Jaws with Andrea Moller’s Jaws wave, also at Jaws, with Enever’s outer reef Oahu bear, noting how similar they appear.
She then brings universally beloved Carissa Moore into the conversation, sharing how far the Olympic gold medalist was ahead in the rankings before the World Surf League magically introduced “Finals Day” for “clickbait.
As a proud and honest click farmer, I felt anger at Kennelly tarnishing the noble profession with what the World Surf League produces but carried on nevertheless.
In the last blow she details how the World Surf League keeps its proprietary wave measuring sauce secret. How the surfers asked for transparency and were denied.
Math not mathing for her.
I’d imagine much consternation in El Segundo today, the cries of dying animals drowning out a sinking feeling that the end is nigh.
But only momentarily.
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….Try Cialis today
Did she mention world championships given to a surfer who didnt make a single wave ?
you dodged a bullet there, amiga!
https://uploads.disquscdn.c…
One word: ‘Insurance’.
This dude complaining, again!? I guess the whole butch thing hasn’t paid well…..
Because it’s mostly pretty boring.
I’ve come to the realization/accepted that surfing contests are best served via highlights and I think webcasts have exposed how boring they really are, aside from the (increasingly) rare exceptions of events with firing waves. I think that’s why there’s an increase in popularity of mainly highlights-based video releases on YouTube (a la Nathan Florence etc.)
I will watch an entire contest and be entertained, but will switch off the highlights after two minutes.
Yeah cause the highlights only last two minutes
What does this have to do with your trip to Yemen twenty years ago?
What do these groups and groupies have in common? Hollywood, WSL, The Inertia, Surfer, KK, and Nic Cage have got surfing all wrong. And endings are never pretty…
https://youtu.be/Ve24Ax8AI7…
Nick has a lot of work to do to sell himself off as a surfer….
Would it be possible to please get some event coverage in the rare out-of-season instances there are well known events happening? I browse the grit daily no doubt but some cold water coverage, for example, would get me through these hard times.
Pretty petty shit considering this dumb cunt won the Jaws contest without completing a wave.
WSL must be measuring from the taint rather than the base of the shaft, classic move on their part.
All about the yaw
One cannot credibly claim being a DJ is an accomplishment: it’s ordinariness defines it.
gay icon?
you think its easy pressing a space bar?
While waving one arm in the air
“It’s harder than it looks, it’s a long way to the top.”
Sounds great in mums livingroom!
I feel for Keala. It’s hard getting old.
Where are the tunes about osteoarthritis and carpet delamination? Those tales need telling.
Kinda funny that this world title winner doesn’t mention the other hot topic of ride completion.
I mean, I assume she doesn’t mention it because no fucking way am I watching those instagrams.