Day one of the waiting period for the Roxy Pro in Landes, France kicks off today, and I figure I’m not alone in hoping for something a little more exhilarating than Cascais.
The women’s 8th tour event of the year happened in Portugal two weeks ago. The surf was small and mushy, and not exciting, despite the WSL tagline for the highlights clip: ‘watch the best action from a dramatic finals day…’
I’m usually a keen spectator of the women’s events. Cascais though, completely dropped off my radar. The contest was done and dusted before I even realised it was on. I heard nothing about it from friends, acquaintances in the surf or online through social media. Which made me wonder, did anyone watch Cascais? In a way, it slipped through the cracks, because nothing really happened.
When I finally got around to catching up on the event via WSL replays, I was fairly unenthused by what I saw. In case you missed it too, Conlogue took out the event in a pretty lacklustre final against Lakey Peterson. It’s no criticism of the surfers; they did their best in the circumstances. It’s the nature of the sport. No matter how much money, sponsorship and marketing are thrown at a surfing event, there can be no guarantee of good waves. It was just a bummer to have to watch the girls grovelling in two-foot slop once again.
The women’s 2015 tour is now in its final stages. With only two events left on the schedule – Landes, France and Honolua Bay in Maui, Hawaii – the title race is heating up. Steph Gilmore is back in the water, at long last, after an injury that’s kept her on the sidelines since West Aus. She’s out of the running for a title though, and the top contenders are Courtney Conlogue, Carissa Moore and Sally Fitzgibbons. Conlogue goes into this event as the top dog. She has a pretty good track record in southwest France’s peaky beachies, having claimed second place here last year, with Tyler Wright taking the win. Fitzgibbons, once again, is a few paces behind her opponents. Despite her determination and intense desire to win, the world title has remained a dangling carrot for Fitzgibbons in recent years.
The forecast for France isn’t looking too crash hot at this stage, but with a mistress as unpredictable as the ocean herself, who knows what we’re going to get. Let’s just hope that the next couple of events can bring us to the edges of our seats at least once or twice. Bring us to yelling at the computer screen or jumping off the couch and into the air in triumph maybe. I’ve never watched a lot of sports, but every now and then when the WSL delivers the goods, I can almost understand, for a short while, the fun in fanaticism.
Women’s Samsung Galaxy Championship Tour Rankings
1. Courtney Conlogue (USA) 58,600
2. Carissa Moore (HAW) 56,300
3. Sally Fitzgibbons (AUS) 49,300
4. Lakey Peterson (USA) 47,000
5. Bianca Buitendag (ZAF) 44,050
