SURFING’S equivalent of the Gladiator movie begins in Hawaii on Saturday (NZ time), with four of the world’s best battling it out for the 2018 world title.
Pipeline, the location of the final leg of the World Surf League Championship Tour, is also known as surfing’s “Colosseum”.
Located in the middle of the infamous North Shore on the island of Oahu, which points directly at the Arctic, Pipeline is battered by some of the most powerful swells known.
During the northern winter these swells march unimpeded across thousands of kilometres of the Pacific Ocean, before arriving abruptly at the volcanic island and detonating over a horror show of lava caves and coral reef.
Waves break here with a ferocity matched by only a few other places on the planet (some of them just down the road). As alluded to in the name, Pipeline almost defines what a barrel is, with opportunities to surf “Pipe”, a towering and gaping left-hand tube, and “Backdoor”, a right-hander that often runs slightly longer.
What location could be better suited for the finale than Pipeline, an almighty beast of a wave where surfers have literally died?
Several of the current CT surfers have suffered major injuries there, including Australia’s Owen Wright, who took all of 2016 off surfing to recover from a brain injury endured after a horrific wipeout.
It is a wave with a fine line between making the wave of a lifetime and meeting your maker.
From a spectator’s perspective, there is nothing better — with all of the action taking place 50 metres from the shore.
This year’s world title race will be making the WSL bosses happy, with four surfers in with a chance of claiming the title and wild speculation about who will take it out dragging on for months.
Defending CT champion Hawaiian John John Florence tops the CT leaderboard. Florence grew up on the beach at Pipeline, which he reportedly first surfed as a seven-year-old.
That a wave as terrifying as Pipeline could be somebody’s bread and butter is one of life’s true mysteries. This title is his to lose.
Brazil’s Gabriel Medina, the 2014 CT champion, is hot on Florence’s heels and has a lot of momentum after taking out the last two competitions in France and Portugal. Trailing behind both of them but still with a shot are South Africa’s Jordy Smith, and Julian Wilson from Australia’s Sunshine Coast.
To top all of this off, the swell forecast is looking promising. At this stage the winds might not be perfect, but throughout the 13-day event window, several solid swells are predicted.
There is no doubt there will be some magic in there, somewhere.
Here are the scenarios (as provided by WSL):
If Florence finishes first or second, he will clinch the title.If Florence finishes third or fifth, Medina will need a first to win the crown.If Florence finishes ninth, Medina needs a second and Jordy Smith needs a first to head his rivals. If Florence finishes 13th or 25th, Medina needs a fifth, Smith a second and Wilson a first.Wilson is the only one of them who has won the Pipeline Masters.Here is how they have each placed in the past six events there:
Florence: 5th, 13th, 2nd, 5th, 9th, 5th.Medina: 5th, 9th, 13th, 2nd, 2nd, 13th.Smith: 13th, 13th, injured, 25th, 13th, 5th.Wilson: 13th, 13th, 5th, 1st, 13th, 13th.Despite his homeground advantage, Florence has been past the quarterfinals only once in six appearances.
Medina had back-to-back runner-up finishes in 2014 and 2015, while Smith has never made it past the quarterfinals.
Based on history, it is anyone’s game.
Last weekend I competed in my first competition — the Tauawhi No Violence Longboard Classic at north Makorori Beach.
It was a great day out, with fun waves, loads of sunshine, awesome people and a really good cause to get behind.
Competition-wise it was a short day for me, as I was knocked out in the first heat of the day. After dragging myself out of bed at the unGodly weekend hour of 6am, less than 20 minutes after it had begun my competitive debut was over.
The waves were super fun for the 20-minute heat, and I felt like I was just getting into my groove. But then all of a sudden it was over. I just wanted to keep surfing but I guess that’s competitions eh?
Gisborne surfers, I am sorry to say it is another weekend of average surf. Next week is looking like an east/northeast swell is on the cards, which will hopefully work its way into a few Gisborne locations.
See you out the back.