Injuries and Wildcards – Portugal 2017
Kelly Slater - OUT injured Surfer/Beachgrit said he was in, Surfline claimed he was out. Everyone else was unsure. He's not in the draw, so the WSL have settled the debate. Nat Young - IN as injury replacement Nat got a handy 9th in France and jumped 4 places up to 29th. He could still qualify with one or two more solid results. Filipe Toledo - IN (injured lifting up... Read more
Last updated October 17, 2017 by Balyn McDonald
Contest Wash-Up - France 2017
There's this pervasive philosophy within pro surfing right now that, to win a world title, it's necessary to 'surf at 70%', but I call bullshit. John John buried that approach at Margaret River. Filipe delivered the eulogy in South Africa. Guys like Josh Kerr, Julian Wilson and Jack Freestone have each been mesmerised by the siren song of conservative heat surfing, only to be drowned by the waves of progress, passion or plain, dumb luck. It was Jordy's turn to succumb. Jordy, who came on tour with so much promise,... Read more
Last updated October 16, 2017 by Balyn McDonald
Contest Preview - France 2017
Where were we? The Trestles event was eclipsed by a wave pool, Wilko's wheels fell off (again), Filipe dominated, while Jordy and John established their leads. Are we all caught up now? Good. Let's set our focus to Europe. Conditions Surfline have dipped their toes in the water with a decent overview of the contest, which you can read here. For those averse to hyperlinks, the important details are thus: The bad news first, it hasn’t been a dreamy run of conditions in France over the last few months.... Read more
Last updated October 4, 2017 by Balyn McDonald
Injuries and Wildcards – France 2017
Kelly Slater - OUT injured That sneaky bastard managed to steal the first wave of the day at the super-hyped KSWC event, despite his 6-months-out-of-the-water foot injury. He's still a chance for Pipe, but I wouldn't expect to see him in Europe. Nat Young - IN as injury replacement We wrote that 'Nat hasn't been able to break out of R3 so far this year, and is still looking for a big result to help... Read more
Last updated October 2, 2017 by Balyn McDonald
Contest Metrics - QuikPro France 2017
Sorry for the lack of a Trestles wrap-up; we've got some bigger things going on behind the scenes and something had to give. Watch this space though; we've got something pretty big on the way... All of our France projections and stats are taken from 2014-2017 WSL contest data. Some 2017 rookies include data from previous WSL events, but many do not have relevant results in significant categories, including data for this particular venue. Their modelling is much less reliable and they may have skewed projections due to their... Read more
Last updated September 29, 2017 by Balyn McDonald
Contest Preview - Trestles 2017
The trials are a distant memory, the forecast is depressingly coming into focus and the metrics have been updated; let's wax the top of our feet and wade out over the cobblestones: Conditions The WSL forecast doesn't look good, and Nick Carroll's overview is even worse; there's some remnants of swell possible on the opening day, followed by fairly miserable projections over the contest window. Bear in mind that, unlike the previous event in Tahiti, the Trestles waiting period will also need to cater for both a... Read more
Last updated September 4, 2017 by Balyn McDonald
Contest Metrics - Trestles 2017
All projections and stats are taken from 2014-2017 WSL contest data. Some 2017 rookies include data from previous WSL events, but many do not have relevant results in significant categories, including data for this particular venue. Their modelling is much less reliable and they may have skewed projections due to their averages being heavily influenced by a small sample size. We have included extra details in... Read more
Last updated August 29, 2017 by Balyn McDonald
Injuries and Wildcards - Trestles 2017
Kelly Slater - OUT Yep, nothing's changed; broken foot, moonboot, maybe Pipe, don't count on it, etc. If you're curious about how the GOAT's going and want to delve into the mind of Mr Slater, then try this. Nat Young - IN as injury replacement Nat hasn't been able to break out of R3 so far this year, and is still looking for a big result to help with his requalification. His overall stats for Trestles aren't spectacular, but he finished 5th in 2015 and has... Read more
Last updated August 27, 2017 by Balyn McDonald
Contest Wash-Up - Billabong Pro Tahiti 2017
"All the crumbs make a loaf of bread" - J. Smith, 2017 Rant Is there a more entertaining individual in pro surfing right now than Jordy Smith? I think not. He's an incredible surfer, yes, but he's also a world-class claim choreographer, a heart-on-your-sleeve emotional roller-coaster, a universal icon for hair stylists everywhere. And now, he's a bona-fide philosopher. Nobody, not Longtom, not Doherty, not even Potz himself, has been able to use such efficiency and poetic flair in describing this contest. Was it epic? Not... Read more
Last updated August 16, 2017 by Balyn McDonald
Contest Preview - Billabong Pro Tahiti 2017
The trials are done, the forecast is coming into focus and the metrics have been updated; let's do this: Conditions The WSL forecast doesn't looks fantastic. There is the potential for the WSL to run the first few rounds on a mild-mannered SSW swell in the first 3 days, possibly getting us past R4 if they can run some on Friday. After that, it doesn't look too impressive. Mind you, last year's forecast was similar, but we were pleasantly surprised by... Read more
Last updated August 10, 2017 by Balyn McDonald