Over the years there was always a trials event for a wildcard into the Corona Open JBay. It had many guises and sponsors, but the local surf club JBU ran it, and it coughed up a South African surfer into the main event. JBay is the sort of location that seems to enjoy wildcard freedom, and wildcards have flourished in the past.
Joel Parkinson was an event wildcard when he won the contest in 1999. He came from Reunion Island where he came last in his first heat, and then he just went to town at perfect Supers, flying all the way to the final.
Sean ‘The Nemesis’ Holmes was another wildcard who could do anything at Supers, deposing of Andy Irons (RIP) year after year, and taking out Kelly Slater as well when it was needed.
Mikey February has been a contestant in the invite-only Supertrial, but always seemed to come second, posting three runner-up results in the event over the years. This year there will be no trials event for that coveted wildcard, but it’s no longer a worry for Mikey, as he is on the tour for the year.
He received an opportunity at Snapper, with Kelly fudging around, unable to commit, hoping that he would somehow miraculously recover the day before the event. Eventually he manned-up, did the right thing and acknowledged that he was not going to be able to surf and ceded his slot to the popular South African.
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Now with the official announcement that Kelly won’t be surfing, Mikey is in for the second event, which is also the final tournament for the three-times world champion Mick Fanning. So with Mick out, even if Kelly comes back, from Margaret River onwards, South Africa gets its official second men’s Championship Tour surfer alongside Jordy Smith. The lithe natural-footer is going to surprise many people, especially when things start getting real.
He has grown up in amongst the juice of the powerful deep-south waves of Cape Town. While he might not be at the level of some of the guys who wait around for Dungeons and Sunset Reef, the two most notorious big wave spots, he is on it when it’s eight foot and square barrels down the beach, and when some of the other big wave spots come to life at 10 foot and thereabout, he’s all over it.
Other positives are his small wave game. He has the airs, he has the flair, and he has a very strong and kinky backhand, trained up on the fading, fading, fading closeouts of his home break Long Beach. Surfing left beachies will please him, somewhat surprisingly for a lanky natural-footer.
He is also an extremely positive person. Growing up a person of colour in South Africa definitely meant that there were times that he had to dig a bit deeper than his blonde friends, but it has made him a strong person, a positive beacon, and a grateful and humble human being.
Before I get accused of working as MFeb’s media liaison dude (I’m not), let’s look at a few of his weaknesses.
The first, and most obvious, would be experience at the heavier spots. On a CT level he probably needs a bit of competitive experience at places like Teahupo’o and Pipe, to name two.
He isn’t as cutthroat as he could be. He’s not the surfer to get into a ferocious paddle battle, go over the falls, get marked for interference and say ‘Fuck you Micro,’ on the live webcast, nor is he the surfer to stomp his board on an inside rock, or jump on his board on the JBay stairs, or start mouthing off about some tennis tour thing. Still, he could surprise us here as well.
He also likes to please everyone, and does his best to make sure every one’s stoked around him. Sometimes, in order to be as successful as possible in a sport like surfing, you need to be brutally self-centered and selfish. Look back at a list of former world champions, and you’ll soon realise that maybe they have mellowed and are more altruistic these days, but when they were winning world titles they were fucking selfish human beings.
Mikey’s best chances are still going to be on the right-handers though, and he has enough of these coming up. Bells, the rights around Margaret River (Box, North Point) Supertubes, Keramas, the rights of the Lemoore wave pool and more. Rio throws a lot of rights, and Portugal does the same. Should they decide to change the final event of the year from Pipe to an event in the Mentawais, it might be at a right-hander as well. MFeb would do well at a final event at HT’s or Rifles or Rags Right. We’re looking forward to see what he brings to the party for the rest of the year, because the Championship Tour is a year-long party, isn’t it?
