Yep, it’s true, the news is everywhere. WSL Holdings, the parent company of the WSL, has acquired a majority stake in Kelly’s wave pool company. Which means, inevitably, that the world tour is getting a wave pool contest, whether the powers that be are willing to admit it yet or not.
WSL CEO Paul Speaker is remaining pretty coy at this stage, stating, ‘No firm plans have been made for the inclusion of a man-made wave-based competition. We will be evaluating all the possibilities in the coming months with the Commissioners’ Office and WSL athletes.’
Which, considering KP (or Commissioner Perrow, as it’s much more fun to call him) recently took to the pool for a test run and was, in his own words, ‘blown away by the experience’, roughly translates to: ‘Yes, there is a wave pool contest coming, probably pretty soon, probably in 2017.’
Because can you really imagine the governing body of professional surfing buying into the best wave pool technology in the world and not using it for competition?
Neither can I.
So what will a world tour event at Kelly’s wave pool look like? Judging by the reactions of the pros who’ve had a whirl on the thing so far, they’re pretty rapt with what’s on offer. And there’s no doubt it’s a spectacle, a phenomenal feat of science and engineering. But how will it translate for spectators? If an event was to go ahead under the current format of fifty-one 25-30 minute heats per competition, there’s the distinct possibility that watching the same wave roll in over and over could get pretty boring, no matter how good the guys riding it are. And what about those who want to rock up and watch it in the flesh? At the moment surfing is pretty unique in the fact that it’s one of the few sports in the world where you can spectate for free, but considering a wave pool event would be held on private property with some kind of human capacity limit, it doesn’t take much foresight to envision that entry fees would most likely be introduced.
Of course, these are just a few of the questions that pop up when you consider the prospect of a WSL event being held at a man-made wave. And they’re not even the most important ones. What about the goofy-footers, for example, is there going to be a left? And what’s the likelihood a competitor could get hit if Medina’s old man decides to throw another chair?
Anyway, I’m getting ahead of myself. No wave pool event has been announced for the world tour at this stage. But considering the implications of this latest transaction between King Kelly and the WSL, and the fact that ‘competition in a man-made environment will offer previously impossible opportunities such as the creation of surrounding spectator environments, as well as certainty of scheduling’, who wants to start taking bets as to when it will.
