So E-Lo has made the call. Seasons be damned. Traditions be damned too. The masses must be enthralled and there exists no spectacle more enthralling, no format that recalls the glorious bloodbaths of the Roman coliseum more, than the fabled surf-off.
But where exactly does one decide a surf-off?
Pipe still stands as the most obvious call, according to the guys I asked.
CJ Hobgood, himself a world champion decided under unusual and somewhat controversial circumstances reckons it’s the joint to hold it. Yadin Nichol does too. Troy Brooks reckons have it at Pipe the first year before shipping it around to different locations after that – Indo, Mexico, maybe Ireland or France or Tassie. Jake Paterson, former Pipe Master and current coach to the stars, reckons a good old-fashioned 10-day round robin on the North Shore is the way to do it because Hawaii “is the hardest testing ground.”
But he’s not a fan of the surf-off concept. Yadin is. Troy is sitting on the fence until more details emerge and CJ is interested but confused.
Reef Heazlewood, whose surfing should hopefully land him on the world tour in the not too distant future, isn’t a fan of the one-event showdown but if that’s the way it’s going to go, wants it to be held somewhere equitable and diplomatic.
“I think Lakey Peak – both lefts and rights, barrels, airs, and turns,” he said. “Or somewhere else with all those things to make it as fair as possible for everyone.”
Soli Bailey rates Macaronis for the high-performance canvas it would provide. Davey Cathels went with Fiji.
E-Lo and the crew at the Wozzle are yet to indicate their preferences, but while I’m asking, where do you think it should be held?
