Greenlight, if you put every competitor on the same board i think that would be absolutely antiswaylockian!, i mean, we’re talking about how much the guys at the WCT hold back diversity in the water and you want them all officially on the same exact board? Maybe a good experiment for one event, but each surfer has it’s own preferences and sure that said design would favor some more than others. I don’t see all bicyclers on the same bike at the Tour.
Solo, you said “The idea behind the ASP is for everyone to be on pretty much the same equipment.”, i’ve been inside the ASP and i can’t buy that idea. Cornelius has feedback and close relationship with some pro surfers and i don’t think he buys that idea, no one of the pros i heard from the WCT believe that’s true, so i don’t really know how you, from the outside can be so sure of such a thing… but, of course i respect your ideas.
In fact Solo, Kelly tried to compete on a quad, why?, well i’m sure it’s because maybe putting everyone on a different fin configuration is the only thing he didn’t make in this “sport”… yet! Go figure if he won the tour on a quad!, every kid would be throuwing to the trashcan his thruster and buying a quad, that means more sales for the industry! Bringing a different valid design would be one of the greatest things for the industry i think, so holding that back has no sense for me.
Just figure how good would be for a pro if he finds that magic board that pushes his surfing to a higher level… he would take advantage of that, no doubt.
Human error: of course there’s human error!, it is on every contest, no matter how good are the judges, how good is the angle from where they’re watching, there’s always human error, no doubt. My point is that there’s no intention of favoring some surfers over the rest, there’s no intention of favoring certain brands more than others, i’m convinced of that after being inside some years. For example, many people say that Slater is often overscored and i strongly disagree with that. As Solo said i think Slater is underscored SOMEtimes because he makes some things look so easy. Everyone talks about the Slater Vs Andy J-Bay final, where everyone, from judges to pros agree that Slater deserved to win that heat with his last wave, even if he felt on the last turn, because the rest of his turns had a higher degree of difficulty and where done in a much more critical wave with more critical sections. But none talks about last year’s Bede Vs Slater heat where I THINK that Slater should won that heat. What’s the logic behind that heat? Bede just lost his sponsor, Billabong, and the judges that are supposedly bough by the brands where giving Bede the heat, how can you explain that?
Lennox, Pritamo was my first Head Judge on the ASP and he’s a young guy (young for being a judge, that is). He’s a cool guy, a really good surfer and an excellent judge. Love his attitude judging.
I have to say that i’m sorry for my words: “I’m done with this until someone shows me how it is related to surfboard design and construction.”, but at the beginning i was feeling that this thread was going to a “contest suck” discussion that adds no light and has no end, also it wasn’t my best day. So my most sincere apologies for that.
My personal feeling about all this is that we’re mixing two different things:
1.- Are the boards the surfers use at the WCT the best boards for the high performance surfing they’re developing now a days?
I think they're the best boards they found till now. In fact most pros think the subtle variations made this recent years are allowing them to surf in a way never before seen and putting themselves in places of the wave untouched previously.
2.- Are the boards the surfers use at the WCT the best boards for the average joe?
Absolutely NOT, and that's holding back most peoples surfing ability. But that's not the WCT's fault, that's the consequence of being an uneducated surfer who bough a board in a shop with an uneducated seller. I would never buy an F1 car as my daily driver... i need the reverse gear!!!
Wow, 23:30 here boys, i have to have dinner or my wife will send me to the sofa this night.
Good night!