It’s been a doozy of a season so far. Last week we looked at the cancellation of Margaret River and examined whose world title it was to lose. We know the Brazilian Storm has transformed into a tsunami with their collective form and Italo Ferriera has been electric. But who else has been shaking things up this season? Let’s take another hit from the WSL bong!
Introducing Griffin Colapinto
Geez where do we start with this rookie sensation. He makes Kolohe look old and has officially bumped him off the mantle of being touted as ‘America’s Great White Hope. The Rookie of the Year elect has been cutting down everyone this season while wearing that cheeky smirk. And isn’t it refreshing watching a young gun jump on Tour with an infectious positive energy rather than being another sulky, spoilt brat? Perhaps that’s why we love Griff. He knows he has won the lottery of life. He has the sponsors, the boards from Biolos and the support of a loving a family letting him learn and find his feed. He might only be 19 but he surfs like a man with a complete hi-fi act and is without question living up to the hype.
VOLUME ONE from Griffin Colapinto on Vimeo.
John John’s Kryptonite
The back-to-back World Champ appeared hungry at the beginning for the year. Not content to kick back and sip Mai Tais and go sailing (his other passion) all winter after claiming title number two he showed up to Snapper with 17 fresh Pyzel shooters while the rest of the tour were hitting the gym. But the same focus has appeared missing in a contest jersey. He’s ranked 22nd on the Jeep Leader Board Rankings, had only five heat wins and carries a measly heat average of 12.28. So where did it all go wrong? Zeke Lau imposed a controversial tactic of getting up Florence’s grill at Bells which seemed to rattle the World Champ. Many have questioned whether John even possesses the competitive fire to counter such attacks. That heat was ultimately a pivotal moment in John’s career. Since then he’s lacked the wizardry we’ve come to expect. He was nuked by wildcard Mikey Wright at Rio and lost out to the low seeded Yago Dora in Brazil. Suffering an injury while freesurfing in Bali is probably the best thing that could have happened given his form. We can only hope he comes back with a lot more mongrel and starts raining 10s.
The Kelly Dilemma
Will he or won’t he. He has forever stolen the spotlight just when he appeared out of sight. Robert Kelly Slater is pro surfing. He would like it to remain that way, I suppose, forever. And no doubt he will with the advent of his wave pool now property of the WSL. When Kelly speaks, we listen and we hang off his every word. But his public image has taken a hit this season. The foot injury he suffered at J-Bay last year has now become a well-worn out excuse for missing events. He competed at The Founders Cup but withdrew from Brazil. Then a Cloudbreak mega-swell appeared and he was miraculously paddling into 30-foot bombs and surfing perfect Restaurants on Tavarua. Then he withdrew from J-Bay. A week later he announced he would be in the draw. Was it divine intervention? Or does he worry that the longer he sits outs from CT events the less we will rely upon him to surf at the highest level? There is no question he is the greatest surfer of all time. The most content? Not a chance.
Indo Forever
The reinstatement of Keramas and the addition of Uluwatu as saviour for Margies just felt right. If there is someone in WSL’s ivory tower who gets surfing then both events will be on tour in 2019. Despite Keramas looking like a shadow of its former self and scheduled when the onshore winds prevail (move it to September), it is still one of the most high performance waves in the world. Ulus adds plenty of historical credibility to the tour given that surfers have been making the pilgrimage there since the 70s and pioneers like Jim Banks still live nearby and surf it regularly to this day. It’s a long wave like Cloudbreak (RIP) which can handle 2 foot to 20 foot and exposes flaws in a surfers’ arsenal. From a production stand point it’d be great to have seen the WSL celebrate Indonesian surfers, tell stories about the region and give a true sense of the contribution Indonesia has given to surfing and surfers around the world.
