Silver medalist Jack Robinson slams little wave wizard Filipe Toledo-backed initiative to contest Olympic surfing in wave pool

"And from a spectator’s perspective, I personally don’t think wave pools are great to watch."

Olympic surfing, man. Here, dear and in your face. But who amongst us would have imagined a day when our surfing shortboard heroes and heroines would compete for gold, silver and bronze on the grandest sporting stage in history? But a mirage before Tokyo 2021 nee 2020 but now, after Paris 2024 and its Teahupoo, heading into LA 2028 and its… Huntington Beach? Lower Trestles? Kelly Slater’s Surf Ranch? Wherever it will be, its as real as former World Surf League CEO’s new career as a social media influencer.

But back to the “where” for LA28, though.

After Teahupoo was beset by lulls and less-than-ideal conditions during most of the waiting period, a movement emerged to host future Games in artificial wave pools. Even superlative critic JP Currie wrote at the end of Olympic shortboard surfing’s second running, “Whilst we might appreciate the technical skill required to ride a barrel, just as the climber appreciates the aesthetic line up the whole mountain, what the general audience wants to see are surfers flipping and spinning on a consistent stage, or climbers racing up an artificial wall. They don’t care about the intricacies of waves or weather. They simply want to see sport that’s consistent, fair, and relatable. Call me delirious, tell me it’s my current sick state of mind, but if surfing has an Olympic future, it must be in a wavepool.”

The drive to tub found a likely ally in the world’s best small wave surfer Filipe Toledo, a boy with an understandable terror of large lefts over shallow reef, who declared, “I love the sea and I don’t think anything beats nature! But, when it comes to the Olympics, I think it would be the fairest way! Everyone would have enough chance to put their best foot forward! Let’s be honest, if the sea continued as it was in round three, Gabriel would win the gold and we know that! The pool provides this condition from start to finish, and in the end, the best surfer really wins! If I lost in the wave pool, I would at least lose surfing and giving my best, which wasn’t the case with Gabriel, who in my opinion didn’t even lose, he just didn’t have a chance!”

Well, in a stunning riposte, silver medalist Jack Robinson, who hails from Australia, smashed the notion to bits in a new Sydney Morning Herald interview. The handsome Western Australian, perhaps nodding to Toledo and his father Ricardo, definitively stated, “Personally, if a (Olympic) host country has waves, use them. America has waves in Hawaii and California. Some people might prefer a wave pool because it suits their surfing, but for me, training in the ocean is a huge part of competitive surfing. It’s such a skill and you take that with you into a wave pool. And from a spectator’s perspective, I personally don’t think wave pools are great to watch. Maybe they will be someday. But right now I find it very repetitive to watch. Usually the waves can only handle a certain size and if a wave is quite long it gets boring, it’s the same old manoeuvres and movements over and over again. I’m not writing off wave pools, I think they will have their place at some point. But right now, for the Olympics, I don’t think so.”

Phi Slamma Jamma.

Some housekeeping.

Do you think the World Surf League will fine Robinson for openly opining that “I personally don’t think wave pools are great to watch” what with the ink not yet dry on the announcement of next year’s Abu Dhabi Pro?

Do you think Filipe Toledo will re-think his stance, admit to a shortcoming and learn to conquer his fear through dogged training and effort?

I guess that’s mostly it.

Thoughts?