"Pipeline for the fucking girls," said Caity Simmers. "I respect everyone who wants a part of it and I respect anyone who doesn't want a part of it."
Teenager Caity Simmers and Australian Molly Picklum have delivered the best performance ever by women at Pipeline, with Caity Simmers beating hall-of-fame performer Picklum in a final marked by good, but diminishing, four-to-six-foot surf.
The waves peaked, fine, offshore glass, in Molly Picklum’s semi-final with Hawaiian Bettylou Sakura Johnson. And, Picklum, who is twenty-one, rode a wave that shattered the belief that only men or women raised at the infamous left could expertly ride a set wave there.
Taking off on a six-foot peak, Molly Picklum rode with the sorta form usually characterised by a John John Florence or a Jamie O’Brien, scoring unanimous tens from the panel of judges.
Caity Simmers wasn’t far behind in her ability to wrangle Pipeline, although preferring the Backdoor. The dimunitive, befreckled surfer from San Clemente, who held a three-zero head-to-head lead over Molly Picklum prior to the final, was always in the game, almost matching Picklum’s 9.27 with a long Backdoor tube.
The difference between the pair would, ultimately, be each surfer’s second wave score, Picklum holding onto a 1.37 and Caity a 3.83.
Pipeline for the fucking girls,” said Caity Simmers, now rated #1 in the world. “I respect everyone who wants a part of it and I respect anyone who doesn’t want a part of it.”
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Obviously didn’t write enough cause most of it went over your head.
I know the scale is determined per heat. But that is irrelevant in regards to how well that particular wave that Molly caught was ridden. Could it have been surfed better by a man or a woman or a transgender? Yes. That was a 10 based upon a woman’s scale. These women are not playing with smaller basketballs and lowered rims on a completely separate venue. They are competing at the same locale and same conditions as the men. How is that benefitting their progress if you give them a 10 for a wave that would garner a 7 by the men’s? Same constraints the WSL is historically creating by sending the women out in shit conditions cause they factually worry about their safety. You want equality? Treat them equally. Cause it was proven that day that some of these women have more sack than even a Men’s world champ.
And you seemed to have missed my last point in which I stated, at some point I believe a woman could compete against men at Pipe. They just needed their wave count and experience to increase. Erin Brooks in 5-7yrs could very well surf against men at Chopes or Pipe. What are you suggesting then? That Erin gets to be judged on a women’s scale while her male counterparts are judged “normally”? Equality is not just about pay mate.
Yes! So nice to see the women on the CT finally stepping up and fulfilling the potential they always had as far as athleticism and surfing skills go. This is a watershed moment, lots more talented and fearless girls are coming up and women’s surfing is going to be even better to watch than it is already. The women basically did the opposite of Felipe (all the skill but no interest vs enough skills to make it stick and all the heart to send it) and everyone loves that, in the boys and the girls!
Caity should be a feminist icon. She’s not bc trans activists threw feminism under the bus.
Media used to treat San Diego County like we were just a hick suburb of L.A. Now Oceanside is just a suburb of San Clemente. Where’s Rodney Dangerfield when we need him.
San Diego County was a hick suburb of LA.
It was better that way.
I moved there when Huntington wasn’t scummy enough for me, any more. Now there’s no place scummy enough where you don’t need a 3 mil all Summer.
Caity is not from San Clemente, she’s from Oceanside, a world away from Orange County.
Prolly doesn’t respect journos who don’t know where she is from….they don’t talk like that in San Clem!
Thing is, they couldn’t. But holy heck they can now.
Molly was superb, but all hail Caity.
Would have loved to see MJW and Vahine F there too.
A few dinosaurs on the CT feeling sheepish, I’m guessing.
Did the announcemodels keep calling it an All Non-Hawaiian Final?
I wish they would.
I love Simmers’ personal style. The crass language. The sarcasm. We need more of that back in surfing!
If the guys aren’t man enough, the baton goes to the girls.
she said f*ck?
Fuckin’ A.
Is that a Stackhat?
Maybe, but not yolk coloured.
Better safe than soz!
Molly would’ve beaten Filipe in that same heat with Betty Lou. Like if you agree.
Hey, let’s not get sidetracked talking about the transbrazilians.
This ain’t farcebook brai
She is showing female bobby vibes. You know they will fine her for that shit.
This is written with all due respect to the ladies as they charged hard as fuck today. The equal pay can be justified (as long as the viewership numbers are supported – which the women benefit from because it’s run at the same time as the men. If there was a comp in which it was announced it would be a “ladies only” full day – I dare the WSL would voluntarily divulge their viewership numbers anymore than the WNBA would use their numbers vs the NBA’s to fight for equal pay. These are businesses and not non-profit societal movements).
BUT… until the scoring SCALES are treated equally it’s the WSL that is being hypocritical in their quest for “equality”. Because not a single surfer on planet earth could say that Molly’s 10 was equal to Barron’s 10. Everyone knows that women are judged on an adjusted scale. (What happened to equality? Same waves and same day right?) Hey if a woman decides to golf in a men’s tournament (ie.. Same playing field and conditions), she doesn’t get to tee off from the forward tees. Her Par is also not scored as a Birdie. That is called a “handicap” in golf. Are we “handicapping” the women’s scores?
True Equality is: “How good can a HUMAN surf 6-8ft Pipe on a scale of 1-10”. Not “How good could could a woman surf 6-8ft in comparison to a male.” The WSL’s own judging system creates inequality. It says that it is the men who are setting the bar and are riding the waves in regards to that wave’s full scoring potential and women are scaled down to that same maximum – because women are incapable of the max scores. The WSL’s historical decisions to constantly coddle the women and not send them out when conditions are gnarly is what also has been “handicapping” women’s surfing. Today proved that when forced to go in challenging conditions – the women will step the fuck up. If not for being the last day and having no options, I am certain that the WSL would not have even sent the women out yesterday. They would’ve crowned a men’s champ and then the women’s the next day in shitty, small surf.
After today, I also firmly believe that within a decade or so time, a woman WILL be able to compete against men at Pipe. Pipe is “basically” a drop and tube technique and does not revolve mostly upon speed, amplitude in airs and snaps derived by power in which men have a genetic, physical advantage. At Pipe, all the ladies ever needed was the water time and wave count under their belts. BLSJ, Molly and CS sent it hard. Their techniques (or lack thereof) were indicative of their experience up til now. But soon, that straight drop will evolve into a mid face, butt drag stall from takeoff to get deeper and deeper, ….and at that point, all bets will be off in regards to gender. Fuck, I am already confident in saying that Molly would’ve beaten Filipe in that same heat with BLSJ, with EITHER men’s or women’s scales used. Thus supporting my argument that gender does not matter at Pipe. That is true equality. Not how much you are paid.
well, it’s a very physical and very risky sport so sex does matter. Women have fought long and hard to have a separate women’s division – I don’t think you’d be doing them any favours by taking that away. I’d keep the women’s as they are (very strictly for biological women so sorry, no trans-, inter- or abnomaly-sex genders) and simply make the men’s division of every contest an open division and anyone!, man or women, who wants to test themselves against everyone can take part in that contest in the open division if they want to. The women’s would stay a protected division for a fair sporting playing field in the same way as juniors and masters are protected divisions.
classic simmers: on the award stage , asked about molly’s perfect 10 , she said ‘ um. yeah well enjoy your yeti cooler’ : 0
sarcasm missed on all wsl.
WSL is now doing for yeti what it did for Apple Watches.
Simmers is the about the best thing going on in WSL, the main reason we should all not yet give up on it. So of course these imbeciles at WSL HQ will begin to scratch away at her soul and persona, thus assuring we do throw in the towel right before Dork Ziff pulls the plug on this whole joke right after the food-poisoning survivor claims another “title” at belly-high Lowers…
Love her hand over hand microphone technique. She’s gonna make a great president one day.
^tears^,
Go pat your boy felipe on the back
San Diego mf
It’s like claiming trestles is orange 🍊 county
If you go left at Uppers, it is.
San Clemente?
The women blew my mind today. Managed to catch the final and some highlights. I had expectations of Molly and Caity charging but they completely exceeded anything that I could have imagined. Epic. Even my wife was into it ‘I haven’t seen the girls surf like this before’. Needle shifted today for sure. Can’t wait for Tahiti!