One of the greatest joys of being a surfer is spending time in the ocean. The thrill of a new swell, paddling out to a perfect peak and the anticipation of making the drop on a steep wave for better or worse will be stained into our consciousness forever.
And as surfers we crave perfection. Yet the barrel is elusive. It is not a programmable algorithm, set to the clock or managed by a set of controls in an engine room. That’s why we keep coming back, day after day, swell upon swell, doing whatever we can to avoid the responsibilities of life all for a few perfect waves.
William Finnegan’s masterful ‘Barbarian Days’ eloquently captured the essence of what it means to be a surfer. Finnegan’s long infatuation with surfing helped him work out his place in the world and for many of us surfing has played the same role.
Whether it’s spending three months in G-Land every year, winters at The Bluff or dedicating yourself to living in a van in front of a suburban reef break, surfers have a uniquely dedicated themselves to getting their fix.
But as we draw closer to the WSL’s Surf Ranch Pro at Kelly’s wave pool part of me wonders what trajectory surfing is on and whether technology will factor in to what surfers might become.
Once Kelly teamed up with engineers and scientists who specially-designed a 100-ton hydrofoil to create a perfect wave surfing as we knew it shifted on its axis. And like it or not Surf Ranch’s acquisition by the WSL means wave pool events will play a part in pro surfing and change the sport as we know it.
The WSL’s CT event at Surf Ranch will have no variables. It’s as far removed from a surf in the ocean you can get. Even where Lemoore sits geographically is hundreds of miles away from the coast in a farm belt community. 396 identical waves will be ridden and when it’s all said in done we’ll comment on whether it worked.
The event format has been neutered of any of the drama we’ve come to expect. All 54 competitors will surf two waves per day (one right, one left) for the first three days of the event, then reseeded based on their current top two scores. At the end of day three each surfer will count their top rides (again one left and one right) from their six total waves surfed, and the top eight men and top four women will advance to the “finals” on day four.
On finals day, each surfer will surf six waves where their top left and right waves will be counted towards their two-wave total. The winner will be decided on the top score once each surfer has completed their runs. That’s it. No man-on-man heats, no priority paddle battles, three days of warm ups and a potentially exciting finals day.
The WSL are taking a big punt of selling pro surfing to the masses. And I mean literally, with this event a ticketed affair and fans provided other entertainment aside from the waves ridden by the pros.
But how Joe Average will be able to understand why Keanu Asing’s 5.67 was different to Ace Buchan’s 6.60 remains the biggest unknown for the WSL brass. Those nuances, despite the technology, choreographed rides from competitors and equal number of waves ridden will stand to be the difference on whether wave pools are truly here for the long haul. No doubt the commentary will be watered down but without the high stakes spectacle we’ve come to expect, it’s doubtful die hard surfers will tune in.
So, will you tune in or tune out? Or do you just reject the whole notion of the competitive format and where surfing is headed and rather see the whole thing crash and burn?
