Tis the season for the specialty event, it seems. Last week saw the Rip Curl Cup Padang Padang light up in perfect waves on Bali’s Bukit Peninsula, and this week we’ll see the lengthily named Four Seasons Maldives Surfing Champions Trophy run and be won in the dreamy blue waters of the North Indian Ocean.
One of the more unique contests in world surfing, the Four Seasons’ event extends invites to a select and diversified few and then pits the blessed buggers against each other on single fins, twinnies and thrusters. Held on the world-class and exquisitely playful right-hander of Sultans, the contest has consistently scored good waves over the years, and with competitors being hosted at the nearby luxury resort and spending time between heats on the extravagant-looking Four Seasons Explorer vessel, the invitational has more than lived up to its self-proclaimed title of the world’s most luxurious surfing event. Won by David Rastovich in 2014 and Shane Dorian in last year’s affair, the 2016 event will see Dorian return to defend his title against first-time challengers Jamie O’Brien, Rob Machado, Travis Logie, local boy Hussain ‘Iboo’ Areef, Bethany Hamilton, and the recently retired Taj Burrow.
It’ll be the first time we’ll have seen Taj in a jersey since his highly entertaining last stand against John John Florence in the Fiji Pro, and knowing the enduring appeal the era-defining West Australian retains, a lot of people should enjoy seeing him return to a looser but nonetheless respected form of competition. Likewise, Bethany Hamilton will re-enter the competitive arena after her gutsy, almost unstoppable charge through the women’s draw of the Fiji Pro in May. Unlike on that occasion, however, the smiling Hawaiian will not compete in a separate female division but instead join her male counterparts throughout the three rounds of competition, which, according to Rasta, adds a pleasing element of egalitarianism to the event.
‘That sort of thing doesn’t happen enough in surfing,’ he said of competing against 2004 women’s world champion Sofia Mulanovich in 2015. ‘Every line-up in the world is always better with women in the water. I think that’s one of the best things about this event, great diversity.’
