Often referred to as the best free surfer in the world, Dane Reynolds has been stuck in limbo between the free surfing vs. competition surfing dichotomy. Photo: WSL / Kelly Cestari
Following the dawn patrol coverage of John John’s ankle injury during the Women’s Fiji Pro, Martin Potter said, “This is all happening in free surfs. These guys have got to learn to maybe pull back a little bit.” While we all wish we could see JJF compete in Fiji, I hope that Pottz’s statement does not reflect his employer’s attitude. The WSL should celebrate free surfing, not discourage it.
I am not one of those pundits who believe competition is bad for surfing. I believe the WSL should foster an atmosphere wherein its surfers are treated like professional athletes who strive to win. But continuing to perpetuate the “free surfing vs. competitive surfing” dichotomy doesn’t do any favors to the WSL or its fan base. In fact, the WSL should be making every effort to integrate free surfing with the Championship Tour.
How exactly could this happen? Why might this be a good thing? Here are four answers to each question:
How: Fewer, longer events.
Limiting the number of tour stops and lengthening the waiting period would allow the WSL to focus its resources on providing top-tier coverage of the best surfers in the world riding perfect waves. There would be a lot of exciting options if they ever chose to go in this direction. Perhaps most significantly, it would allow them to find multiple ways to integrate free surfing with competition.
How: Planned, webcasted trips during the waiting periods
“The Pipeline Masters will not run tomorrow. However, because of the northerly direction of the swell, the Rip Curl team will be making a strike mission to Honolua Bay. Tune in at 12 p.m. PST to watch Mick Fanning, Owen Wright, Gabriel Medina, Matt Wilkinson, Mason Ho, and Dillion Perillo tackle Maui’s famous right-hander live on the WSL website.” I’d watch that, and I bet you would too.
How: Star-studded free surf videos
Okay, so they can’t webcast everything (though with fewer events and longer waiting periods, they’d have more broadcasting flexibility). But the videos of the super sessions at North Point and Portuguese beach breaks in the last two seasons tore up the Internet. Rather than waiting until those videos hit the Internet and then halfheartedly sharing them, the WSL should be recording, releasing, and promoting their stars doing amazing things during free surf sessions.
How: A simple change in attitude.
If Lebron James hurt his ankle playing one-on-one with his friends, Pottz would have been right to admonish him and advise him to “pull back a little.” But basketball only exists within the frame of competition. It was invented as a game with a winner and a loser. Any positive progression in basketball by definition serves the ultimate, exclusive purpose of playing basketball, which is winning.
Surfing will never be like that. Surfing’s fans will never believe that winning is the ultimate, exclusive purpose of riding waves. The WSL would do well to acknowledge the fact that surfing professionally has multiple facets by integrating their contests into a framework that supports free surfing.
Why: Retaining and growing fans (customers).
At the simplest level, organizations grow and make money by maintaining a satisfied customer base while gaining new customers. For the WSL to keep its current base happy, it needs to acknowledge (by its behavior) that the most exciting things in surfing usually happen outside of competition. People who aren’t fans of the WSL can be split into two groups: surfers and non-surfers. To grow, the WSL will have to attract both.
Many of the surfers who refuse to follow the WSL do so because the very nature of competition represents the antithesis of what surfing means to them. Find a way to get guys like Bryce Young, Matt Meola, and, of course, Dane Reynolds involved regularly, and they might be a little more likely to tune in.
As for non-surfers, the boredom of watching three straight 12-9 heats in mediocre beach break is enough to write surfing off as a viewing experience. But a 2-hour live webcast of the Rip Curl team tackling a massive slab in West Oz? Or even, say, Filipe, Josh, and Dane dicking around at D-Bah? That might grow some real interest in the sport and the art of riding waves.
Why: Better product.
Cool shit will happen. Get it on video and release it. Show highlights during the lulls in competition. If the WSL enabled itself to provide more expansive, comprehensive coverage of not just competitive surfing, but surfing as a whole, it would have a better product to offer. And better products are…well, better.
Why: Sponsor integration.
All but the most jaded surf fan acknowledges that corporations play a significant role in all aspects of professional surfing. Whether you’re Jamie O’Brien or Bede Durbidge or Paul Speaker, you have to get money from somewhere.
Integrating brands into the free surfing aspect of each event could happen in a variety of ways. How about the Hawaiian Airlines Best Air? The Jeep Rugged Performance of the Event? Keep in mind that when I say “event,” I’m referring to the surfing occurring both during competition and during free surfs. Sure, it’s a little hokey, but you’d pay attention to see who won. You’d watch the associated sponsored content. Why? The level of surfing would be out of control.
Why: Progression and inclusion.
What if Matt Meola had done the spindle flip while fellow Dakine team riders Joel Parkinson, CJ Hobgood, Brett Simpson, and Miguel Pupo looked on during a waiting period free surf? What if Kelly’s crazy 540 last year in Portugal had been broadcast live? The WSL would be able to associate itself with the most progressive surfing in the world. Its competition-only setup right now makes it nearly impossible for the WSL to put itself on the forefront of progression.
Does Martin Potter think Kelly was “pulling back a little” when he stuck that air? Pro surfers get that good by pushing themselves, whether they’re in a jersey or not. Which is why the WSL needs to foster free surfing.
These changes don’t need to—and probably can’t—be as radical as most of what I’ve suggested. But a simple change in attitude would be a good start. Pro surfing is not a dichotomy of competitive surfing vs. free surfing; it exists on a spectrum. The more of the spectrum the WSL embraces, the better it will be able to function as the leading organization of the surf world.
