Facing the Turn

With a historic world title on the line, Kelly Slater may have been justified in asking whether Fanning should have come third in the event Kelly won.

Our sport is controlled by subjectivity, and thus every single heat result in every single contest around the world is going to be viewed differently. Emotions, personal attachment and basic bias are going to taint every heat in competitive surfing. Some people view it as a stranglehold, whilst others praise the simple vagueness of it all.

The screaming question that has arisen from the Billabong Pipeline Masters is: did Fanning deserve the 9.7 against Yadin Nicol that saw him win the world title, or was it a blatant over-score?  

The first answer is: is it even a question? How is there such an answer to a known state of subjectivity?

He might have been over-scored, or he might not have. That Slater cast doubt on the score is irrelevant, as he was totally self-absorbed at the time, and that sort of statement from the person chasing a 12th world title was an obvious.

He might have been over-scored, or he might not have. That Slater cast doubt on the score is irrelevant, as he was totally self-absorbed at the time, and that sort of statement from the person chasing a 12th world title was an obvious. Even Slater admitted that he watched it on a screen, which as a process does not relay the entire scope of the ride and the wave correctly.

The wave itself was quite incredible. From a deceptively easy second reef roll-in, to a long and delayed fading bottom turn, to a grab-rail set-up deep in the tube and a foot-placement shuffle for added speed, Fanning hung on and came bursting out on a wave that warranted an excellent score. An excellent score, according to the ASP Rule Book, is a score between 8.00 and 10.00. Therein lies your degree of subjectivity. Two points of spread. He might have been over-scored or he might not have.

People compared Mick’s wave to Yadin’s wave, and compared Mick’s wave to what Slater could have done, in theory, on such a wave. They are all irrelevant. Fanning did what Fanning did, the judges reacted, with their knowledge along with their built-in degreed of subjectivity, and the results spoke.

Fanning gets his third world title and congratulations to him. Slater wins the Billabong Pipeline Masters, and feeling slightly bemused, states “I don’t know what happens for me in 2014, but I think this has pissed me off enough to come back.”Just to cement his feelings and to cast no shadow of doubt to those that care, he continues to say that, “I’m definitely back next year.” And so he should. His performance at Pipeline was beyond incredible, proving him to be the best surfer in the world right now by a long shot.

Without wishing to detract from Fanning, who had a good and consistent year and thus won the world title, Slater with a Bunsen burner under his arse, as he had at Pipe, reveals an otherworldly force incomparable in the world of surfing that shows no sign whatsoever of tapping off. He must not leave at what seems like the very height of his career. His surfing needs to be showcased at the top level of competitive surfing.

Without wishing to detract from Fanning, who had a good and consistent year and thus won the world title, Slater with a Bunsen burner under his arse, as he had at Pipe, reveals an otherworldly force incomparable in the world of surfing that shows no sign whatsoever of tapping off. He must not leave at what seems like the very height of his career. His surfing needs to be showcased at the top level of competitive surfing.  

Young John John Florence, who won the Van Triple Crown for the second time in his still fresh career, has a similar vibe to the whole thing, and his hunger has started to kick in as a result of the proceedings. “This result has me motivated for next year,” said John John of the Pipe final in which he lost to Slater “ It's eating me inside how close I was.”

In essence, the situation is incredibly positive for the sport of Pro Surfing. Three deserved winners, all sorts of hunger kicking in for 2014, and excellent surfing throughout the final event of the year at Pipeline. That Fanning’s score caused people to howl online and cry foul is moot and lame, as it is done and dusted and all we have left to do is look forward to the next season.

Underneath all the winning, the losing, the scoring, the judges, the anger, the trolls, the conspiracy theories and the subjectivity, the sport of professional surfing is looking ok. Hoo boy!