"Finals Day belongs in Indonesia or the South Pacific or maybe Hawaii if you really need to baby out and stay close to home."
It’s been five years since surfing’s great Flim-Flam man, Erik Logan, long disappeared now for crimes unknown, announced the world title would be decided in a thrilling one-day play-off called, simply, Finals Day.
It would be held at Lower Trestles, a playful wave suitable for beginners and experts, near San Clemente, a solid little town with a storied surf culture. If memory serves, and in front of some of the WSL’s biggest online audiences, Gabriel Medina beat Filipe Toledo and Carissa Moore racing her Cadillac Mayhems along the smooth walls with the frenetic energy of a man whose nostril hairs are frosted with coke sank the dreams of Tatiana Weston-Webb.
Filipe Toledo won the next two, John John got it last year and Steph, Caroline Marks and Caity Simmers wrapped up the gals.
The choice of location was a sore point with surf fans, and those surfers who felt a little neutered to be chasing their ultimate goal in soft three-foot waves built, ideally, for timid children.
Trestles for the first year? Okay, why not, make it easy on everybody I guess. Trestles three years in a row? That’s basically an insult, a fuck-you to the pros, to the fans, to the game. Finals Day belongs in Indonesia or the South Pacific or maybe Hawaii if you really need to baby out and stay close to home. It does not belong anywhere near Lower Trestles, and keeping it there year after year turns this thing into a low-stakes hostage situation. As fans, we’ve been frog-marched to Lowers. The pros, I’m guessing—apart from Toledo who lives in nearby San Clemente, is scared of big tropical reef waves, and knows Lowers better than you know the opening lines of your favorite Taylor Swift song—hate Lowers Finals Day even more than we do.
Because the WSL never, ever does not step on its own dick, and holding Finals Day at Lower Trestles three years running is so aggressively and spectacularly wrong-headed that I would at this point vote to go back to the old format, with Pipeline as the last event of the year and the champ picked by aggregate points over the season.
And so the tour moved Finals Day to the impossible-to-argue-with-location Cloudbreak which, if swell predictions are correct and the jigsaw pieces assemble correctly, will be six-to-eight-foot tomoz morn.
Yago, Jordy, Griff, Jack and Italo swinging for the men; Molly, Gaby, Caity, Caz and Betty-Lou for the gals.
Next year, back to a title that may be decided long before surfers take to the water at Pipeline.
A move forwards, stilling the choked murmurs of a couple of sad pro surfers, or a wasted opportunity to inject drama and consequence into a fading sports league?
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where’s the fucken chat link?
I’m going to moaning (more than usual) if they run it at restuarants.
I’ll moan alongside! Better to decide in shifty ten-foot barrels than pretty head-high runners.
even if gals get lost at sea?
Yes! Be prepared to pay ultimate price etc.
Why not run them at Swimming pools simultaneously?
Derek’s anti-American rant disguised as a critique of the ultimate Ebike friendly break has me wondering if this is Trump’s fault? Trump has the entire world hating on the USA and surfing is not immune to this hatred. How will we Americans survive this dynamic?
Sending the word out again—unofficial BG watch party at Los Molinos Brewey in SC.
I’ll be there in a wisp of vapoury spirit.
DR, you are always there in spirit.
Can you afford to buy me an air ticket? I’ll be over in a jiffy.
Was that James Taylor song about South Carolina? In his mind he’s goin’ to “Carolina” but didn’t state which one.
Young girls?
depends on whether Houshmand releases any from his Andrew Tate Romanian sex dungeon for the occasion
Finals Day should stay – if decided in waves of consequence, the format is so much more compelling than someone holding an insurmountable lead coming into the last event of the season – yawn.
Ain’t that the truth Brother Johnny.
Someone could go on a 89 champ like run and still lose the title. Not a legit format.
It’s a great idea if your plan is to shrink the tour into one mushy onshore event.
Best in the world should win when it counts, no?
No, old format with every heat counting was better – especially when ending at Pipe. The Dream Tour was everything we needed – bring it back!
Bullshit. If someone has a huge lead they earned it, unlike the #5 seed who sneaks in then wins five heats like Gilmore. No other sport has this lame format.
Stephane did not steal anything.
The higher-seeded competitors choked.
Gilmore capitalized on their weakness under pressure and seized the opportunity to win another World Title with both hands.
That’s how sport is supposed to work –
She stole it fair and square trestles should not decide the world title of professional surfing.
BLOCKED!!!
Imagine this flog driving a car at 78 or whatever the fuck he is…ooor taking a photo….of the ground
She can’t surf backside
Imagine if Chas locked on to that?
She didn’t win at cloud break bro she won it at the same spot 12 year olds win nationals
What does that have to do with the format, bro?
Nothing, I agree with you, the format to decide a world title is a joke especially when held at trestles.
Unlikely as the last event of 2026 is at Pipe with 15,000 points for the winners instead of the usual 10,000. Anyone in the top 10 could possibly win based on the extra points up for grabs.