There’s a very good chance that if you experienced the Freshwater Pro this year, it was from a screen of some sort. Maybe live on the WSL’s site, or if you’re especially frothy, from other various commentary on other sites. And that various commentary was, in the most part, kinda critical of this particular event for a bunch of reasons. So with this in mind, rather than a traditional contest wrap — “Gabriel Medina and Lakey Peterson Win Surf Ranch Pro Presented by Outerknown!” — which you probably just saw online anyways, we figured it was worth bringing up some questions that this event has surfaced — and provide a little insight from the ground and multiple conversations here over the past couple days.
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Lakey Peterson’s last movie of her last wave of the day pushed it over the edge. Photo: Van Kirk/WSL
Does Anyone Care?
Again, from the comfort of various screens across the world, the criticisms have been loud and clear and consistent. This event is boring. It’s predictable. It’s confusing. Etc. But from the little media tent on-site, which sits right at the general admission entrance, I watched as a few thousand fans streamed in throughout the course of the day on Saturday. Moms, dads, kids, LA hipsters, adult learners, frothy Brazilians — 90% of whom had made at least a four-hour boring-as-hell drive to this hot, dusty town in the middle of the state. No-one ended up here by accident. They didn’t stumble down the beach from the BMX halfpipe. They cared enough to yeah, make the drive, but also pay actual money to watch. And apart from a few sunburned kids who wanted more ice cream, I didn’t see one bummed out fan. In fact, the biggest comment — same as last year — was that it’s so much more impressive in person than on a screen. The wave’s bigger, faster, and the whole scope of the place is so much more visceral in person than on-screen, where it’s distilled to just another surf event. This is a different beast.
The crowd is close enough to have a conversation with here. Photo: Morris/WSL
What Was Up With That Format Again?
Nobody, including many of the surfers and WSL staff, had any idea how the format worked on the first day or two. There were runs and bonus waves and top two advanced plus the top ten — and then who got those bonus waves again? — plus, nobody was able to put enough meaningful time in the basin pre-event to really practice and feel the wave out. And what are they being judged on this time? And where was the schedule? By Saturday morning, though, the whole leaderboard thing was all pretty clear and compelling. Guys and gals would go into their run knowing what they needed, and got out of the water and look up at the big screen to see how they did. There was a clear dividing line, based purely on two-wave total scores — top eight men, top four women. Got it. The finals were even more clear. And as should happen, the best surfing happened in the finals.
Spot Check: Kelly Slater Breaks Down the Surf Ranch
Filipe just barely had to surrender the Yellow jersey to Gabby today. Photo: Miers/WSL
Should it be a WCT Event?
According dozens of folks on the ground, industry and otherwise, no. Unless, as a few have suggested, there’s at least one more wavepool on tour — both for judges and surfers. But having one event of 11 that’s structured completely differently from the rest of the events isn’t fair to surfers. But that’s not to say there shouldn’t be an event here. There should. It’s an amazing venue for showcasing excellent surfing. And the other perhaps unintended affect of the format is that everyone — from bros to pros to casual fans — now has a theory about how to make it better. Head-to-head boxing style. (“John John Versus Gabriel: Two waves, winner takes all!”) Country versus country, Founder’s Cup style. Airshow. Alternative craft expression session. Logging extravaganza. Split the pool into different sections that judge different tricks. A mixture of all that. The potential here for an entertaining surf contest showcasing the best in the world is endless and worth exploring. (The September ‘CT event should return to its rightful home of Lowers.)
Joanne Defay’s tuberiding was on par with all the men — and better than most. That’s progressive. Photo: Miers/WSL
Isn’t It Supposed to Be Progressive?
As Nick Carroll pointed out in our preview, there are fewer waves ridden at the Surf Ranch than any other event. So there’s that. Plus, it’s way too long — most so-called progressive waves tend to be short and peaky, not long and drawn out. (Think France versus J-Bay.) That said, the highest placing surfers did get there with progressive surfing, whether it be Lakey’s air-reverse, Filipe’s club sandwich, Julian’s big spin — or Medina’s multiple alley-oops and reverses all day long. The other, often overlooked aspect of progression at this event, is that the women and the men are more on par here, performance wise, than any other event on tour. Joanne Defay got one of the longest, deepest barrels of the event. Lakey, Carissa, Joanne Caroline and Steph’s frontside wraps rivaled any of the men’s — and were scored appropriately. It was a fitting place last year to introduce the whole equal pay thing, because it was equal performance. Ultimately, though, surf contests were created to determine the best surfer on a given day in the given conditions with the given criteria. And if you look at the eight/four finalists, they were inarguably the best surfers. And the winners? They didn’t win by accident.
“Here I come.” Photo: Cestari/WSL
Do The Pros Take it Seriously?
The highlight of the event for me personally, was right after Medina decimated his first final run. He did the obligatory post-heat interview with Rosie for the broadcast. I stood patiently to the side, waiting to ask a couple simple questions. He finished with Rosie. I politely requested if I could ask two questions. He looked right through me, subtly shook his head, said he had to catch a ride back and kept walking. Thing was, ironically, there was no Jeep waiting to shuttle him back. So he just started walking, by himself, focused as hell, down the dusty track towards the competitors area. “Yeah, Gabby doesn’t talk much on days like this,” someone said. That’s Gabby, though. He doesn’t need to “answer a couple questions.” His surfing speaks volumes. And what it says right now is that he’s number one in the world heading into the last three events of the year — all of which he’s won. So really, all his surfing is saying is, “look out.”
Read More: How Does Gabriel Medina Win?
Results:
Men’s:
1. Gabriel Medina
2. Filipe Toledo
=3: Owen Wright, Griffin Colapinto
=5: Julian Wilson, Yago Dora, Ace Buchan, Jordy Smith
Women’s
1. Lakey Peterson
2. Joanne Defay
=3: Carissa Moore, Caroline Marks
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