Mikey Wright, winner of the best mullet at the 2016 Quiki Pro Gold Coast. Photo: Wade Carroll
The WSL gets a lot of shit. The media, surf fans, disgruntled locals… pretty much everyone these days has something negative to say. The grand majority of these arguments, of course, are baseless and petty, to say the very least. Contrary to those naysayers, the WSL is actually doing a pretty fine job this year, particularly with their choices of wildcards.
Competitive surfing can be exhausting at times, I know. And conditions haven’t been exactly ideal this year. But seeing guys like Mikey Wright, Mason Ho, Stuart Kennedy, Jack Robinson, and Jay Davies has been a breath of fresh air, and it’s expunged most of the monotony associated with seeing the same old faces doing the same old maneuvers in the same old venues over and over again. Those new faces are novel. They’re exciting. And they bring a new energy to competitive surfing. They’re there to rustle some feathers and prove that just because the others are on tour doesn’t mean they’re the best, nor the most qualified. And look what they’ve accomplished so far. Last year’s top seeds are sitting uncharacteristically low on the ratings this year. And for that, competitive surfing has become way, way more exciting.
Now, the surf world is reaching out to the WSL and asking them to continue that run of fine wildcard choices. The hashtag #PutClayInFiji is circling the web, demanding the WSL put one of surfing’s rawest, most electric talents into the 2016 Fiji Pro come June 5th. The goofyfooters hard-charging, spontaneous style would definitely be a perfect fit for the waves at Cloudbreak and Restaurants. And it sure as hell would hold up the WSL’s “world’s best surfers in the world’s best waves” mantra. Not to mention it would attract a ton of more viewers.
Perhaps the WSL can take it step further by considering guys like Albee Layer, Craig Anderson, Chippa Wilson, Droid, Ryan Burch, or Yago Dora, to name a few, for future events. That would surely make things interesting. At the end of the day, we remain at the mercy of the WSL. Ball’s in your court, fellas. Don’t miss this great opportunity.
