Oh yeah, and Schick’s got something to do with it, as well. Photo: ASP
You know what’s great? When amazing surfers get to surf amazing waves. Professional surfing does a pretty decent job of walking that tightrope between shitty waves with lots of viewers and amazing waves with none, but sometimes it falls flat. Mother Nature can be a real bitch sometimes, right? And of course, the women nearly always get the short straw. One day of great waves in the contest window? We’re watching the men’s heats. As soon as the junk rolls in, the women get to surf. There’s the rare occasion when they actually get to showcase what they are capable of during a contest, but it’s not too often.
But there’s a pretty good chance that’s going to change this year. The girls are returning to Honolua Bay, Maui’s most perfect pointbreak. This is good news for everyone, except the ones who despise any form of business involved in surfing that’s bigger than burned-out Bob selling homemade surf wax out of his trunk. It is not good news for them. They will being spewing hatred and cheeto-spit all over their screens when they read the following: the ASP announced that Target will be the title sponsor for the Maui Women’s Pro, which is the final stop on the 2014 Samsung Galaxy ASP Women’s World Championship Tour. The last time Honolua was a part of the women’s tour was back in 2009, and it was absolutely pumping. It was a fitting goodbye to the women’s tour for a few years, though – eight to ten foot Honolua graced that final day, and the women had a chance to show what they can do in perfect waves. Then it was dropped as a venue, and everyone swore under their breath. I did, anyway. If I’m not going to surf eight to ten foot Honolua Bay, I at least want to see someone tearing the lid off the place, even if they are in a bikini, threatening my caveman-like sense of masculinity.
Although Target’s been sponsoring athletes on the Tour for a few years now – and how everyone hates it! – this is their first time as a real event sponsor. I’m not exactly sure what everyone’s beef is with “non-surf companies” dipping their feet in the surfing world’s waters, (although I’m sure someone will let me know in the comments section below), but if they’re making it possible for the women to head back to a place they should be surfing, then that’s a good thing. After all, if you don’t want to shop at Target, no amount of their bullseyes are going to send you through those automatic sliding doors. I don’t like big business, but it exists. No matter how much I yell about it, the Targets and WalMarts of the world are not going to crumble, unless I blow them up, and I’m not THAT against them. I just don’t shop there (although I did just buy a hummingbird feeder from them. You should see it. The hummingbirds love it!) But you know what I will do? I’ll watch the best women in the world surf at one of the best waves in the world, courtesy of a non-surf brand, and I will thoroughly enjoy it. Unless Mother Nature throws a twist in there, but I’m sure Target’s got some kind of pull with her.
