"Eligibility depends more on social media influence than on true merit and earned accomplishments."

It might be difficult for the adult learner, those who’ve come into surfing in the past few years, to believe but it wasn’t that long ago when Oahu’s North Shore was where everything that mattered in surf happened.

The contests, the magazines, the interviews, were a build-up to the mighty Triple Crown, awarded to the surfer who dominated the three North Shore events, Haleiwa, Sunset and Pipe. It was regarded as even more prestigious than a world title.

Sunny Garcia five of ’em, John John four, Andy Irons, four, Parko three, Kelly Slater three.

In 2024, a Pipe Masters is an invitation-only event, with preference given to Vans surfers, and the Triple Crown, which went digital during Covid, now goes to the surfer who sends in the best clips from the three marquee waves.

Two weeks back, Jamie O’Brien, born and bred at Pipeline, was told by Vans he was too old to make the invite list despite being in the top three surfers at Pipe. After a public outcry, Jamie was taken off the bench although reverberations from the decision continue to shake the Hawaiian surf community.

Real talk: he is old but age ain’t gonna weary the great James Duncan O’Brien.

Earlier today, North Shore shredder Shayden Pacarro penned an impassioned cri de coeur about the state of play on the North Shore.

As a surfer from Hawaii, participating in surf contests feels pointless without the prestigious Triple Crown of Surfing, a Pipeline Pro title, or qualifications for the Pipe Masters, along with sufficient rewards to support ourselves and our families. We can’t represent Hawaii in the Olympic Games but yet we are not apart of the North American region. We are the Hawaii/Tahiti region. It feels as if our rights to surfing has been stripped away! It seems as if everywhere else in the world has more opportunities, points and incentives than we do. How can it be that the “mecca” and birthplace of surfing has become the smallest arena in competitive surfing? For the very little events that are still alive in Hawaii, how can we secure a live broadcast? @wsl @wsl.qs That feels like a harsh reality check for us. The less we vocalize our concerns, the more they seem to take away from us.

 

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A post shared by Shayden Pacarro (@shaydo.p)

How can you secure an invitation to the newly revamped Vans Pipe Masters, which actually offers significant payment? Honestly, it’s quite unclear and remains a significant grey area. There isn’t a legitimate ranking or point system in place, no established hierarchy, and no seniority to consider. Eligibility appears to depend more on social media influence than on true merit and earned accomplishments. They say you should dedicate time at the Pipe to earn your place in the lineup, but from what I’ve seen, some of the most legendary Pipe surfers, who have scored numerous 10-point rides and pipe titles aren’t even on the invite list. These unclear determinations reflect a lack of class and undermine the integrity of surfing, as well as those who genuinely deserve to be part of its legendary history.  Pipeline: It’s not just about the money; it’s about the invaluable honor of riding one of the world’s most treacherous waves alongside only three other surfers, a special brotherhood. This privilege should be reserved for those who have demonstrated dedication and commitment over time.

Jamie O’Brien, Shane Dorian, Zeke Lau, Josh Moniz, Andy’s widow Lyndie, all dived into the comments to underscore Shayden’s message.

“He claims I threatened to slit the throats of white children and said, ‘The night of the long knives is coming.’”

The pretty surf town of Jeffreys Bay, just off the N2 Highway, 75 clicks southwest of Port Elizabeth there, has long played hard in the imaginations of surfers. 

The long, not-so-heavy but challenging enough. righthand point has hauled in some of the greatest performances in surfing history: Tom Curren’s second-ever war there, as featured in Sonny Miller’s 1993 film Searching for Tom Curren, Filipe Toledo’s double-oop in 2018, Andy Irons, Kelly Slater, Occy, Mikey February, Stephanie Gilmore, all of ‘em painting gorgeous timeless lines. 

The J-Bay Open was a regular fixture on the tour from the eighties until 2023 when it was abruptly pulled from the tour following Jamie Curries’s devastating claim the contest had killed pro surfing and that it was an “an endless drone of punditry, empty statistics, half-remembered anecdotes apropos of not very much, tales of waves that were, been and gone and meaningless.”

Jeffreys Bay has again come under the microscope after a black surfer claimed he was told to fuck off and called what is euphemistically referred to as the K-word, a wildly offensive racial slur that has deep roots in South Africa’s apartheid history. 

Rasool Hendricks, forty-nine, said him and his pal were about to hit Supertubes back in March when, they allege, local guest house operator and J-Bay shredder Remi Petersen told ‘em to beat it and allegedly used the ol K-word. 

“I struggled to understand why he wanted to keep me out of the waves,” Hendricks told the local press. “We are acquainted, he knows I surf in Jeffreys Bay all the time, and I was very surprised when he and some other surfers approached us and told us to leave. The matter escalated and an argument ensued. At one state, they tried to grab out surfboards. Then Remi (allegedly) called me a k**** and told me to fuck off and go back to the location. The whole thing was quite upsetting.” 

Hendricks said he wrote a letter and thought about sending it to the Human Rights Commission. It then went up on a chat group where “other surfers of colour” were asked for their opinion. 

And, here’s the twist. 

“I thought the whole thing was behind us, but then I got a phone call that I needed to appear in court in Humansdorp,” says Hendricks. “When I arrived Remi was there with an attorney and an advocate and I heard he was applying for a protection order against me. He claims I threatened to slit the throats of white children and told him, ‘The night of the long knives is coming.’” 

Back in 2013, photos appeared of a man, allegedly Rasool Hendricks, baptising an Australian surfer in the water.

“When asked if he was indeed the surfer depicted in photographs dunking another surfer, Rasool Hendricks told the Cape Times: “The whole thing was a joke. It was pure speculation.”

On a different post about the same alleged baptism, one commenter wrote:

There is no place for violence in the surf, not of this nature. Opinions about localism are mostly a grey area, but putting someone in headlock and almost choking them out while in the water is, legally speaking, assault with intent to cause grievous bodily harm. It is typically punishable by 3 to 10 years prison sentence.

Regardless of whether the victim presses charges or not, I think it is our duty as a surf community to make it known to him that his behaviour is unacceptable and that he is unwelcome to share the water with us. By this I don’t mean lowering ourselves to his level of personal violence, but there are many ways to skin a cat, as the saying goes.

Furthermore, I’ve also heard from many friends within the surfing community, and have personally seen him being verbally abusive and disrespectful to everyone in the water, regardless of sex or age. 

Allegedly, allegedly, allegedly. Sheeeeesh.

So, anyway, Hendricks lawyers up, applies for a counter protection order and, not real sure why, but the World Surf League has sent their regional director Tasha Mentasti to monitor court proceedings.

“Once the matter has been finalised in court, we will make a decision on possible further steps for the good of the sport,” Mentasti told The Herald.

Further steps unspecified.