ZW
Reged: 06/06/07
Posts: 1166
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http://surfermag.com/features/onlineexclusives/green-jacket/
Pro Surfing's Green Jacket: Pipeline Exemption
AN OPINION
by
Scott Bass
SURFER Magazine
Senior Online Editor At-large
Scott@surfermag.com
It's time for professional surfing to take some cues from another individual professional sport, one that is very successful: golf. The PGA Tour and the ASP Tour already share commonalities. Both pit their athletes in their respective sports' greatest arenas. Both have qualifying tours for their aspiring pros. And on both tours, winning an event solidifies that athlete's place in history.
But one area where the ASP may harvest some added fan connection is the PGA's concept of 'Major' championships. Golf has four "Majors." Professional surfing should look into this concept to help accentuate its rich history and guarantee its future.
I propose that the Bells, Teahupoo, J-Bay and Pipeline events be given "Major" status on the ASP's WCT. Bells, J-Bay and Pipe have gobs of history, legend and lore: both competitively and sub-culturally. Teahupoo, although not long in tooth, is too compelling of a spectacle. It is "Major". To help accentuate the power of a "Major", the points accrued from those "Major" events must be included in the individual surfers season end total. You can't throw away a "Major" result. Food for thought. The decision makers at the ASP have bandied this idea about for years. I've casually discussed it with Rabbit and Brodie Carr on separate occasions. Perhaps its time has come. I hope the ASP board considers and excavates the suggestion during their end of year wrap up. Obviously we've just scratched the surface here.
ANOTHER CUE FROM THE PGA TOUR
Golf of course, has its Masters Tournament. We have ours as well-- the Pipeline Masters. Golf's Masters is played at Augusta National Golf Club, the most revered, demanding and historically significant courses in the world. Sound familiar? Augusta has a vicious inside section. Greg Norman lost 10-strokes and the lead at this Biblical stretch of holes in 1996. "Amen Corner", as it is called, can break a man. Sound familiar? And conversely, to win at Augusta, to be golf's Masters Champion, well, it is a career defining moment. Sound familiar? Of course it does. The congruencies with Golf's Masters Championship and surfing's Pipeline Masters are evident.
Here's what doesn't sound so familiar. If you win golf's Masters, you are automatically seeded into the field - for life. No need to qualify. You've proven yourself. You came. You conquered. You're in, dude!
The PGA tour and its members recognize and reward the greatness inherent in becoming a Masters Champion. The ASP should do the same.
"I am of the opinion that the Pipeline Masters should offer a lifetime exemption," explained 1975 Pipeline Master Champion Shaun Tomson. "If someone has won the most important event in the world and still has the goods to paddle out there and have a dig, he should be given that opportunity."
Perhaps a lifetime exemption is too long. For the Pipeline Masters champion I'm suggesting a 10-year exemption. Imagine this year's event if the exemption was in place: Johnny Boy Gomes, Jake Paterson, Rob Machado and Jamie O'Brien would be automatic seeds. Sounds like a final! Derek Ho, who rode the most memorable Pipeline Masters tube ever, would have been guaranteed a spot up through 2003.
And what about Kelly Slater? What if he retires this year? A Pipeline Masters without Slater would be blasphemous (under the exemption Slater would be eligible through 2009). And what if Bruce Irons fails to qualify for the WCT this year? Under the 10-year exemption Bruce would be good till 2011. Such an exemption would guarantees us, the fans (yoo-hoo…remember us) years of intrigue, upsets, added historical significance and bestows upon the Pipeline Masters Champion a true honor. A figurative Green Jacket if you will.
The exemption concept has been rumbling within me for a while now. It percolated to the surface after I found out Rob Machado will not be competing in the 2007 Billabong Pipeline Masters. Surfing fans around the world (yoo-hoo…remember us) lose because of it. Machado is undeniably one of the greatest and most beloved surfers ever. He is also a man who is at the prime of surfing prowess, and is an incredible world surfing ambassador. But never mind his saintliness. Let's just look at his past performances.
The year, 1995. Rob Machado's semi-final heat against Kelly Slater is one of the most memorable Pipeline Masters heats ever. Fast forward five years. Machado wins the 2000 Pipeline Masters in epic, clean 8' surf becoming the first Californian to win the event since Joey Buran's victory in 1984. Six years later, in 2006, Machado wins the Monster Energy Pipeline Pro championships, which qualifies him for the 2006 Pipeline Masters. Machado then goes on to become the only wildcard in 2006 to make it to the finals of the Pipeline Masters. In the process he passes by the already legendary Pipeline Masters Champions Jamie O'Brien and Bruce Irons.
By the way, Machado is fun to watch. If Gerry Lopez's is Mr. Pipeline then Rob Machado is Dr. Smooth. The only surfer to surf Pipeline with a more casual style than Machado is Lopez. Everything Machado does is stylish. I've seen Machado stub his toe and P. Diddy take notes.
- advertisement -
Look, the ASP has done a fabulous job. I'm not trying to bash, I'm just trying to help. I'm the voice of the fan. I know the ASP wants to continue cultivating a fan base (yoo-hoo…remember us). Well I'm here to tell them: we want past champions, we want legacy, we want heritage. It seems like it's good for everyone, except for the three or four Hawaiian seeds that will get bumped so that we, pro surfing fans (yoo-hoo…remember us) can see our surfing heroes.
I'm not alone.
Rory Russell (1976, '77 Pipe Master), Shane Dorian (confirmed respected Pipe charger), and Tom Carroll (1987, '90, '91 Pipe Master) endorsed the concept as has every person I consulted. Nobody said it was a bad idea. And five-time Pipeline Masters Champion Kelly Slater summed it up like this, "I think it (a champions exemption) is long overdue, and I think it's a crime that Machado's not automatically in the event. Surfing should herald its winners and honor them with some sort of traditional long-term exemption for certain events."
Like, say… pro surfing's four new 'major' championships?
What if Bruce Irons fails to re-qualify for the WCT in 2008. Should Bruce Irons have to re-qualify for the Pipeline Masters? Of course not. What if Kalani Chapman wins the event this year. You don't think he deserves to be automatically given a berth into the main event? Should Chapman be made to scrap it out with his fellow Hawaiian brethren every year? Of course not. What if Mikey Bruneau or Randall Paulson or Aamion Goodwin or Jesse Merle-Jones wins the Pipeline Masters? What a story! Let's honor them!
Look, I know that sixteen or so Hawaiians get seeded directly. I think they should. I checked with Rob's accountant. Dude pays brutal quantities of property tax to the state of Hawaii. If it's about paying dues, Machado has receipts. The only thing he and other Pipeline Masters champions don't have is surfing's figurative Green Jacket.
Edited by Scott Bass (12/03/07 09:39 AM)
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bode1
Grom
Reged: 09/01/05
Posts: 79
Loc: South Jersey
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Great idea, long overdue
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Yank me, crank me, spank me
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GWS
Duke status
Reged: 01/11/02
Posts: 32188
Loc: Dustopia
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Great idea. But you need to include Huntington Beach in the Major status catagory. I want to be sure that our champ can do the Huntington Hop, negotiate his way through parking, BMX and vert skating events, mobs of psychotic surf fans and bikini contests that turn into riots.
I know, it's harsh, but I'm old school. A champion should be forged in the fire of surfurbia.
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Only a fool trips over what’s behind them
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srfdrnk66
Michael Peterson status
Reged: 01/02/05
Posts: 2758
Loc: semi-submerged
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I remember when people used to get upset because they felt surfing was getting too similar to little league.
Now we have people who want to make it more like golfing. 
Oh yeah, Kelly and Machado are avid golfers, right. Martin Potter too...
Does it really help make Machado ("laid back" hippy surf capitalist endorser of every product imaginable par excellence) look cooler to throw in a P.Diddy  reference?
Green Jackets and P.Diddy - it's come down to this.
No arguing that RM is a really good surfer. What's stopping him from doing the QS and then going back on the tour - a very luxurious lifestyle in Cardiff?
Let everyone on tour slug it out on somewhat equal footing.
Why make things even easier for the pampered surf pooches?
As far as Kelly Slater being in favor of lifetime exemptions for past champions, he's not concerned about Machado, HE'S THINKING ABOUT WHAT'S BETTER, WHAT'S AN EDGE FOR KELLY SLATER.
So how many times has Machado appeared on "In the line-up", hosted by the prominent Cardiff local who wrote this? (don't ban me S.!) Nothing wrong with having your bro's back but... looks funny --- just sayin' 
I do like your idea of having to keep the results of the 4 contests mentioned in your year's total though! 
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"No time for the old in-out, love, I've just come to read the meter..."
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SouthCoastSurfer
Michael Peterson status
Reged: 02/23/07
Posts: 1931
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Don't agree.
The reason the Pipe Masters is so enjoyable to watch is because of the dog fight that ensues in every heat to scrap to the top. I enjoy seeing the new faces make it deep into the contest and if you grandfathered in all of the past legends you're just going to have the same people over and over and I know I, as a fan, would lose interest.
Where would Makua Rothman and Jamie O'brien be without the Hawaiian wildcard into the Pipe Masters? In my opinion, if you want in, get in - don't create an AARP stop on the "Dream Tour".
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greysuit
Michael Peterson status
Reged: 11/16/06
Posts: 2508
Loc: My god..it's full of k00ks
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Bring on Gerry 
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LAisntsobad
Rabbitt Bartholomew status
Reged: 10/21/03
Posts: 9300
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Against the idea.
As for Machado, like srfdrnk66 said, noone's stopping him from qualifying through WQS. End of story. Shouldn't matter what he has done in his career or what his abilities are and how marketable he is. Taylor Knox has been on the top 20 in WCT more years than Rob Machado. Should he also get a free entry after he retires? As much as TK is my favorite surfer of all time, no.
Comparison to golf = completely moot point. As incredible as Pipe is, being only good at Pipe doesn't make you a top surfer competitively.
As far as overall surfing skills in every type of wave imaginable:
WCT surfers>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>everyone in the wolfpac or Volcom house or whatever the f*ck. If you want to only count Hawaii then WCT should only run in Hawaii.
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SIMA:"Promoting participation in surfing, which will result in increased sales of members' products"
Edited by LAisntsobad (12/03/07 09:07 AM)
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GWS
Duke status
Reged: 01/11/02
Posts: 32188
Loc: Dustopia
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Quote:
Where would Makua Rothman and Jamie O'brien be without the Hawaiian wildcard into the Pipe Masters? In my opinion, if you want in, get in
"if you want in, get in," sounds like an argument AGAINST seeding locals into the contest to me.
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Only a fool trips over what’s behind them
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Bonzer5Fin
Tom Curren status
Reged: 05/09/06
Posts: 10114
Loc: Souther Hell
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A few Major events sounds good, but do not compare it to golf, please. That's a joke. You cannot die while golfing. Chopes and Pipe can and will kill.
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"Waves are too important to let surfers decide who catches them! "
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justsomebody
Gerry Lopez status
Reged: 06/22/07
Posts: 1107
Loc: San Francisco
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This possibly sounds like a good idea, but I am unable to agree with anything that relates surfing and golf.  
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SlicedFeet
Michael Peterson status
Reged: 12/16/04
Posts: 2557
Loc: Swarm Diego
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I disagree. The circuit is the tour and Pipeline is one of the stops for them to prove themselves. Throwing past winners in, no need.
What is needed, if you want to stick with the golf analogy, is a "Skins Pipe." A separate invite only contest with past winners and some local talent/statesmen and then you could have your green jacket. Throw in extra prize money for the deepest toob, deepest cutback, etc. I'd be more fired up to see that webcast any day.
It'd be a club within a club. If a current tour member (and previous pipe winner) wins the "Skin's Pipe." They get a bye to the quarters next year in any contest they want.
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"God, please protect me from your followers"
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GWS
Duke status
Reged: 01/11/02
Posts: 32188
Loc: Dustopia
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Quote:
A few Major events sounds good, but do not compare it to golf, please. That's a joke. You cannot die while golfing. Chopes and Pipe can and will kill.
Actually, 159 people have been killed by lightning while golfing.
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Only a fool trips over what’s behind them
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diro
Phil Edwards status
Reged: 06/30/05
Posts: 7658
Loc: Dirty South
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i love the idea and something me and Groundswell have bounced around quite a bit. too bad the ASP Board of Directors are too conversative, too stuck in their ways, and too willing to give in to outside pressures demanding they DON'T CHANGE.
a parallel idea has been floated around in the past was to allow past WCT World Champions an exemption to surf various Tour Events. i don't like this idea as much as i like an exemption for past Pipe Masters winners.
edit: having 4 (or "X" number of) "Major" events is fantastic. i love giving more of a weighted point-scale to those events and having them be mandatory in terms of a surfer's requalification. heck - even award an individual end-of-year special bonus recognition/prize to the winner who finishes highest overall in all 4 Majors.
and don't fret about the comparison of surfing to golf. no one is arguing that they are in the same league in terms of risk, intimidation, or threat to bodily harm. however, both leagues have strong similarities in terms of qualification process, tournament structure, seeding, and the fact that the players/athletes are in essence "independent contractors" who incorporate themselves as a business. that is all. nothing more, nothing less.
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life is not about finding yourself. life is about creating yourself.
Edited by diro (12/03/07 10:21 AM)
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LAisntsobad
Rabbitt Bartholomew status
Reged: 10/21/03
Posts: 9300
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Quote:
having 4 (or "X" number of) "Major" events is fantastic. i love giving more of a weighted point-scale to those events and having them be mandatory in terms of a surfer's requalification.
Agree in principle but Brazil is going to be pissed that even fewer top guys will show up at their events. That no-show trend might even cross over into the Europe leg if you give too many points for majors.
It would suck having to watch Bernardo Mirana vs Gabe Kling etc in the semi's of those "no show" events.
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SIMA:"Promoting participation in surfing, which will result in increased sales of members' products"
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dkennedys11
Miki Dora status
Reged: 07/17/06
Posts: 5006
Loc: beneath the blue suburban sky
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Good idea but most havent surf pipe in a long time and would probably just get knocked out in the first rounds...
Its time for a new crew anyway...
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Bomb Hills not Countries.
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Bonzer5Fin
Tom Curren status
Reged: 05/09/06
Posts: 10114
Loc: Souther Hell
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Quote:
Quote:
A few Major events sounds good, but do not compare it to golf, please. That's a joke. You cannot die while golfing. Chopes and Pipe can and will kill.
Actually, 159 people have been killed by lightning while golfing.
While that may be true, look at the odds. A few hundred surfers compete on the QS and the CT. Millions of people golf. I could shoot 100 at Augusta if I practised a lot. I doubt I could even get a 1.00 at Chopes. Sure, I could make waves if I went out for fun, but competing there is a whole different beast. How many people have died recreationally while surfing, percentage wise, compared to golf? Surfing is way more dangerous.
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"Waves are too important to let surfers decide who catches them! "
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stu dog
Duke status
Reged: 01/15/03
Posts: 21707
Loc: CA
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Quote:
Quote:
Quote:
A few Major events sounds good, but do not compare it to golf, please. That's a joke. You cannot die while golfing. Chopes and Pipe can and will kill.
Actually, 159 people have been killed by lightning while golfing.
While that may be true, look at the odds. A few hundred surfers compete on the QS and the CT. Millions of people golf. I could shoot 100 at Augusta if I practised a lot. I doubt I could even get a 1.00 at Chopes. Sure, I could make waves if I went out for fun, but competing there is a whole different beast. How many people have died recreationally while surfing, percentage wise, compared to golf? Surfing is way more dangerous.
yeah.....surfing should really look to golf for guidance when it comes to competition
and will surfing follow golf's fashion sense too?
   
Edited by stu dog (12/03/07 11:40 AM)
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R_surf
Legend (inyourownmind)
Reged: 08/23/06
Posts: 426
Loc: S. Cali , US
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Article sounds a little one sided to me. It seems that you only asked the people that would obviously support it. THe poeple that would gain advantage from possibly lifetime or ten year exemption, or those that would have. It would have been a little more insightful if you got some opinions of others that would not have benefited form this idea.
I don't particularly care for giving significantly more weight to certain events. As it has been stated already, I would imagine a lot more people would be ditching comps, and an ASP champion should be able to surf all kinds of waves, not just large and/or hollow.
This seems to overlap a little bit with the previous article about Pipe being given "super major status" and having it always coming down to pipe. Although I like when it does come down to pipe, I don't think that should be a requirement.
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hallucinogenic_toreador
Phil Edwards status
Reged: 03/31/06
Posts: 5955
Loc: socal beachbreak barrels
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Quote:
Quote:
Quote:
A few Major events sounds good, but do not compare it to golf, please. That's a joke. You cannot die while golfing. Chopes and Pipe can and will kill.
Actually, 159 people have been killed by lightning while golfing.
While that may be true, look at the odds. A few hundred surfers compete on the QS and the CT. Millions of people golf. I could shoot 100 at Augusta if I practised a lot. I doubt I could even get a 1.00 at Chopes. Sure, I could make waves if I went out for fun, but competing there is a whole different beast. How many people have died recreationally while surfing, percentage wise, compared to golf? Surfing is way more dangerous.
since when does danger level have anything to do with a sport's legitimacy? golf is INFINITELY more legitimate as a contestable sport than surfing is.
playing good golf is an objective determination. surfing good is a completely subjective determination, and is not a 'real' sport--it is a just simply a style popularity contest, an athletic beauty pageant.
there is a reason why some of the world's best surfers become golf addicts--it requires unbelivable levels of skill, practice, and concentration to do it well, and the only thing that matters is getting the ball in the hole in the fewest number of strokes possible, and you're popularity, style, approach, sponsors, judges, etc., have absolutely NO bearing or inflationary influence on the number on your scorecard at the end of the day.
i can't even stand to play golf, and i can see this as clear as day.
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"...we woke up to perfect lefts, and that was our mission."
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Bonzer5Fin
Tom Curren status
Reged: 05/09/06
Posts: 10114
Loc: Souther Hell
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Golfing: something you do less of makes you better?
I will never understand that concept. If I pay money to go play a course, I want my moneys worth. See ALL of the place, drive the golf cart off of jumps, chase ducks, look for lost balls in the woods. Shoot 120, 130, fine. I don't care.
What if they scored surfing on one ride?
Yep, b o r i n g .
You're right about surfing being not much of a contestable sport. Imagine Sunny loosing a heat, but instead of yelling at the judges, he was telling them that he had the most fun out there, so he should advance.
Who can figure that out?
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"Waves are too important to let surfers decide who catches them! "
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GWS
Duke status
Reged: 01/11/02
Posts: 32188
Loc: Dustopia
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ENOUGH WITH THE GOLF SHIT ALREADY!!!!!!
Surfing is much more like ice dancing or rhythmic gymnastics.
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Only a fool trips over what’s behind them
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MojoNixon
Miki Dora status
Reged: 10/23/06
Posts: 4169
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surfing is watery and golf has grass. 
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blakestah
Phil Edwards status
Reged: 09/10/02
Posts: 6139
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The real reason to do exemptions has everything to do with marketing the event.
If you win a Masters, you are well known to the fans of the sport (in all likelihood). More of them will watch the event with you in it. Therefore, even 5 or 10 years after your time in the spotlight has gone, the fans get to watch you in one of the top events in the world.
That means more money for the event sponsors, and that is what they are all about.
But don't get confused. Just put the old guys in the first round, with the wildcards and the other non-seeds. A seed should be earned. A spot in the lineup may be exempted for life, but the Simon Anderson's are going to have to fight to get further than that.
As to the "majors", I disagree. The majors in golf are special because ALL THE BEST GUYS IN THE WORLD SHOW UP. There are not that many tournaments that all the best golfers compete in - it takes a special prestige in the event. Therefore winning such an event means you had to beat a tough field made up of the world's best.
Surfing is different - NASCAR-ish in that the top pros compete in every event unless they are injured. So why should there be extra prestige? Each event is chosen to reflect a part of the surfing market and a type of wave, from a mushball like Trestles to a heaving pit like Chopes. To win any event a pro has to beat the best in the world. No, the analogy of golf's majors is not there.
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CL Smooth
Legend (inyourownmind)
Reged: 10/09/07
Posts: 371
Loc: west maui
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Pipe offers a way to prove yourself. If you can qualify, then you have that chance in front of the surfing world. Kalani Chapman didn't even win the contest, but he did well enough to secure a multi-year contract with Rusty. Had the winners from the past 10 years been automatically seeded, he probably would not have gotten that chance.
If you have already won the Pipe Masters and are off the tour, but think you still have, it, then just do well at the qualifying contest (which also happens to be at pipe)
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Drifter's Escape
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Bonzer5Fin
Tom Curren status
Reged: 05/09/06
Posts: 10114
Loc: Souther Hell
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Hey GWS,
Wanna go shoot the back 9 at River Ridge?
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"Waves are too important to let surfers decide who catches them! "
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dkennedys11
Miki Dora status
Reged: 07/17/06
Posts: 5006
Loc: beneath the blue suburban sky
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Iv never heard of a golfer dying because he skills werent up to par(pun intended)
But if your not on the top of your game at pipeline.....
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Bomb Hills not Countries.
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GWS
Duke status
Reged: 01/11/02
Posts: 32188
Loc: Dustopia
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Quote:
Hey GWS,
Wanna go shoot the back 9 at River Ridge?
hey! HEY! HEY!!!!!
Homey don't swing that way.
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Only a fool trips over what’s behind them
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swegin
Gerry Lopez status
Reged: 09/20/07
Posts: 1068
Loc: carolina
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I think that Pipe Masters winners should have a lifetime exemption for qualifying for the event. Or not. Actually, I don't give a rat's ass.
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"Elitist" is the neocon codeword for "anyone smarter than we are".
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Who's Your Daddy
Tom Curren status
Reged: 01/10/02
Posts: 12771
Loc: Carlsbad, California
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Quote:
If you have already won the Pipe Masters and are off the tour, but think you still have, it, then just do well at the qualifying contest (which also happens to be at pipe)
This is good in theory, but only for the Hawaiians. I don't know the specifics, but I think Rob M. got second in the trials this year (I know he was in the final), but was not given a spot in the Pipe Masters since he was not "Hawaiian". For a non-Hawaiian to get in the Pipe Masters without tour credentials, he has to WIN the trials. I think there are at least eight to ten Hawaiians in the Pipe Masters who Rob beat in the trials yet they have a spot and he doesn't. I find this wrong.
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This space available for rent
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SmackDaddy
Duke status
Reged: 02/12/02
Posts: 15775
Loc: San Diego, CA
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I was worried for a second that a lot you guys were going to agree with this crap, thanks for restoring my faith. Why is it crap you ask? Because this is jackall about the prestige of the sport, like Blakestah said, it's all about marketing, hyping, and pimping the sport so the retailers make more cash and more people surf. Hey Zweisberg, stop trying to pimp surfing every chance you get. 99% of surfers out there don't give a rat's asss about the pro tour all they want is less donkey's in the water and all you and your colleagues do is pimp it out more and more so you can make your living do nothing worthwhile. Go get a real job and leave surfing alone. After about two decades I stopped buying Surfer because it became so much crap. Take some lessons from Surfer's Journal and Surfer's Path - surfing is about the people not the pros, ho's, and the want mo's.
ooooo you say Surfer has regulated the proho crap to the back of the mag, yet every freakin' story is nothing but the pros on a pimped out tour boat - how the fck are we suppose to relate to that? How about stories on regular guys taking on adventures? yea yea yea.
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"It makes the Mach 5 look like a vagina!" - S.Archer
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otf
Tom Curren status
Reged: 01/11/02
Posts: 11140
Loc: clownburg the OC
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............ nevermind  ..............
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trucker
Nep status
Reged: 07/20/03
Posts: 698
Loc: OB, san diego
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I definitely agree that there should be some surfing "majors" that must be counted towards your WCT points. If can't count your results at Chopes, Bells, JBay and Pipe, you're not the champ.
Actually, I was thinking a few days ago that the point system should be changed so that mathematically the world title can't be wrapped up before the Triple Crown....Why not? What good reason is there to force the world title to be decided as part of the Triple Crown. Actually, if surfing wants to look at some other extremely tedious & boring land sport as an example, they could make the Triple Crown their World Series in a way).
The Pipe Exemption is pretty half-baked, but we all know that Pipe is the biggest & best show in the surfing world. You should have to perform well at Pipe to win the title. Randy Rarick was right when he said we all remember the surfers who make their mark in Hawaii (not every world champ has).
If Pro surfing wants to be a "sport" they should realize that all world titles are decided in the last game of the season. If they want to build excitement, they should stop letting world championships be decided in some random heat at a beachbreak. If they want to honor Hawaii, then a great performance in the Triple Crown should be mandatory to win the world title.
Just my two cents.
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otf
Tom Curren status
Reged: 01/11/02
Posts: 11140
Loc: clownburg the OC
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Quote:
I definitely agree that there should be some surfing "majors" that must be counted towards your WCT points. If can't count your results at Chopes, Bells, JBay and Pipe, you're not the champ.
Actually, I was thinking a few days ago that the point system should be changed so that mathematically the world title can't be wrapped up before the Triple Crown....Why not? What good reason is there to force the world title to be decided as part of the Triple Crown. Actually, if surfing wants to look at some other extremely tedious & boring land sport as an example, they could make the Triple Crown their World Series in a way).
The Pipe Exemption is pretty half-baked, but we all know that Pipe is the biggest & best show in the surfing world. You should have to perform well at Pipe to win the title. Randy Rarick was right when he said we all remember the surfers who make their mark in Hawaii (not every world champ has).
If Pro surfing wants to be a "sport" they should realize that all world titles are decided in the last game of the season. If they want to build excitement, they should stop letting world championships be decided in some random heat at a beachbreak. If they want to honor Hawaii, then a great performance in the Triple Crown should be mandatory to win the world title.
Just my two cents.
Before they make anything a major in surfing to compare with other sports.
They better cough up the major money that goes along with the winning titles.
One major golf tournement has more money involved than the whole WCT does for the whole year. You want to bring surfing to the masses and give them major titles, then have the surf companies kick in bigger purses to go along with said championships.
Killer! You just won the Pipe Masters and the green jacket bro. Here is your check for 30,000 minus the irs.  WCT MAJORS!
FOUR!!!!!!!!!
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Frank Booth
Miki Dora status
Reged: 01/15/02
Posts: 4241
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Quote:
Hey Zweisberg, stop trying to pimp surfing every chance you get. 99% of surfers out there don't give a rat's asss about the pro tour all they want is less donkey's in the water
I don't give a rat's azz about the pro tour, golf, or any form of competitive surfing.
Golf is a four letter word, and pro rhymes with ho.
Nuff said.
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How many syllables, Mario?
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=sEr8SYqTc3s
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Voltaire77
Nep status
Reged: 12/01/05
Posts: 560
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Quote:
Hey Zweisberg, stop trying to pimp surfing every chance you get. 99% of surfers out there don't give a rat's asss about the pro tour all they want is less donkey's in the water and all you and your colleagues do is pimp it out more and more so you can make your living do nothing worthwhile. Go get a real job and leave surfing alone.
Scott Bass wrote the editorial.
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Crush the vile thing.
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trucker
Nep status
Reged: 07/20/03
Posts: 698
Loc: OB, san diego
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Quote:
Before they make anything a major in surfing to compare with other sports.
They better cough up the major money that goes along with the winning titles.
One major golf tournement has more money involved than the whole WCT does for the whole year. You want to bring surfing to the masses and give them major titles, then have the surf companies kick in bigger purses to go along with said championships.
Killer! You just won the Pipe Masters and the green jacket bro. Here is your check for 30,000 minus the irs. WCT MAJORS!
FOUR!!!!!!!!!
This may sound pretty naive, but why does the money really have to change? Golf sponsorships cost so much because the economies of each sport is so different. How many people go to a major event in golf? How many people are on the beach at Pipe Masters? I think that may have something to do with the different pricing....
Just make it so you have to win in big, fast surf and at historic locations to truly be the champ. Honestly, this decision is just better for surfing. Be true to the Hawaiian roots and make the WCT champ also have to seriously perform in the Triple Crown in order to win.
And, for all of the pro-surf fans, why wouldn't you want a little more excitement and a guarantee that the season doesn't end until the Triple Crown goes off? If you're an advertiser, you've got to know that people would be checking the webcasts more often if the top three or four all still had a shot at the title right now.
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otf
Tom Curren status
Reged: 01/11/02
Posts: 11140
Loc: clownburg the OC
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Quote:
Quote:
Before they make anything a major in surfing to compare with other sports.
They better cough up the major money that goes along with the winning titles.
One major golf tournement has more money involved than the whole WCT does for the whole year. You want to bring surfing to the masses and give them major titles, then have the surf companies kick in bigger purses to go along with said championships.
Killer! You just won the Pipe Masters and the green jacket bro. Here is your check for 30,000 minus the irs. WCT MAJORS!
FOUR!!!!!!!!!
This may sound pretty naive, but why does the money really have to change? Golf sponsorships cost so much because the economies of each sport is so different. How many people go to a major event in golf? How many people are on the beach at Pipe Masters? I think that may have something to do with the different pricing....
Just make it so you have to win in big, fast surf and at historic locations to truly be the champ. Honestly, this decision is just better for surfing. Be true to the Hawaiian roots and make the WCT champ also have to seriously perform in the Triple Crown in order to win.
And, for all of the pro-surf fans, why wouldn't you want a little more excitement and a guarantee that the season doesn't end until the Triple Crown goes off? If you're an advertiser, you've got to know that people would be checking the webcasts more often if the top three or four all still had a shot at the title right now.
Why be a pro surfer if you are not going to get paid for what you do. THe trophy's and titles are for ego and bragging rights only. They won't put food on the table or pay the bills, unless you stay at the top while you are on tour.
Pro surfers should pay the WCT for getting to surf all those waves with few guys out while the rest of the world grovels and competes with crowds.
naive? don't think so. misguided maybe.
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Getting old is not for wimps ~ O.T.
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sponge
Miki Dora status
Reged: 02/10/02
Posts: 4772
Loc: Honolulu, HI, USA
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Looking at it from a financial standpoint, besides brand recognition I think surf companies want to promote their up and coming kids at the big contests that they sponsor (thus, the sponsor-exempt surfers). Having other surfers in the mix (who probably aren't under their sponsorship umbrella) would dilute their chances of promoting their company.
For instance, this year the Pipeline Masters is sponsored by Billabong. It would really suck for Billabong if Tom Carroll (Quiksilver) was granted a Masters champion seeding and won the event over Andy Irons.
Wasn't the two-tiered ASP system partly intended to distinguish the events? Kinda like bodyboarding where they actually had (2001) a "Supertour" within the GOB/IBA framework (Shark Island, Teahupoo, Indo, and Pipeline). To be established as a Supertour event, think the sponsors provided a bigger purse. (Right now, all ASP WCT events are the minimum $300k.)
As for the golf analogy, I'd have to agree that this is a bad analogy. I'd say they are polar opposites when it comes to sporting events (although I must admit that the Triple Crown of Surfing came out of the horseracing Triple Crown.)
Didn't the ASP have hopes of doing a Masters tour? Now there's only one ASP specialty event in Brazil for the old surfers.
OBTW, Augusta, where the golf Masters is held, doesn't allow any women to be members (don't think they allow African Americans either, though Tiger may be the exception). Kind of reminiscent of the Gunston 500 in South Africa back in the day, don't you think? Do we want to go back to those days?
As for allowing former Pipeline Masters lifetime entries, one need not look further than Arnold Palmer in the golf Masters. Though he was a dominant player in the 60's, Arnie last made the cut in 1983, yet continued to play until 2004 I believe. Must've been painful to watch him slowly become uncompetitive.
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sponge
www.hisurfadvisory.com
Edited by sponge (12/03/07 10:40 PM)
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RayG
Legend (inyourownmind)
Reged: 12/03/02
Posts: 389
Loc: Astoria, NY USA
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So in the unlikely event some wildcard comes out and wins Chopes or Pipe at 3-5 ft, he's in for 10 years? What happens when you have to drag him crying and screaming from his Wavepool the next year when it's 15' and eating small children and PWC's.
Eddie would go, but Kane would die...
Instead, taking the golf analogy a step further- have a 1 day "Invitational", like The Eddie. Biggest, cleanest conditions dictate when. Give 20 guys 4 hours to show their stuff. Top 5 waves count. With added Bonus points for worst survived wipeout.
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LAisntsobad
Rabbitt Bartholomew status
Reged: 10/21/03
Posts: 9300
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Quote:
Randy Rarick was right when he said we all remember the surfers who make their mark in Hawaii (not every world champ has).
I would have agreed with that statement pre-dreamtour. Back when Hawaii was the only big wave events. Now that's no longer the case.
Someone else mentioned Nascar. Nascar and F1, generally speaking, racing rewards a driver for consistency. I think it should be the same in WCT surfing.
Surfing's World Champ must be able to charge heaving 15ft bombs, then draw super clean lines at a long pointbreak, then rip the crap out of 2-3 foot slop.
When the title changes to "Hawaii Surfing Champ" then fine, but we already have that in the TripleCrown.
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SIMA:"Promoting participation in surfing, which will result in increased sales of members' products"
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