Comments on: Slater Defeats Wright in Historic Final to Win Hurley Pro at Trestles, Strengthens ASP Ratings’ Lead

By: Jess

Jess — Sun, 25 Sep 2011 00:01:29 +0000

Agreed. That interference call on Julian was totally bogus. Either double interference or none at all. Nobody had priority. It was a split peak AND Julian was to his feet first. The judging this year overall has been not good. I know it’s subjective but facryin’ out loud. Very disappointed in the call. We can do better.

By: Big D

Big D — Sat, 24 Sep 2011 06:05:55 +0000

There is no one that is more powerful than Slater in this contest. Owen does not lay his surfboard on edge as well as Slater. Period. I watched the final at least 6 times, and I’m sorry to all you “flickers”, power surfing at it’s best is still Slater. His 1st turn on his last wave was insane. Owen’s air was not better on his last wave. To sum it up, getting airs is a part of surfing…. but Julian Wilson actually looked to be a better surfer when he was power surfing and getting airs. I hope that others will see what I see. Looking at Fanning’s power surfing throughout the contest, and then looking at Slater’s surfing, I see why he is winning. It’s his extreme turns. And now he has pulled off some insane airs now too!

By: Kahuna

Kahuna — Fri, 23 Sep 2011 23:28:52 +0000

Newblood is all about airs; old school is more manuevers; which is better; only time will tell.

By: renato

renato — Fri, 23 Sep 2011 20:26:04 +0000

Hey stop crying, all the guys were claiming and hassling, so what? If you just see brazilians doing it is because you are blind.
Hassling is part of competition, and claims dont make any difference at the end. Dont you see taj hassling against adriano? So dont cry, it makes you look like an idiot

By: Moon

Moon — Fri, 23 Sep 2011 17:51:39 +0000

Are you joking me!!! I walked away from the comp think Slater is getting better & better and still kicking everyone! The young surfers want to do one move on a wave every time and get the big score to win the heat…or they do 3 or 4 of the same thing like the brazilians, then feel underscored. So many of these guys are so predictable…Slater and a very few are creative and unpredictable. Call it the same “old turns” or 90′s…but still no one has been able to match it…try paying more attention to the fine details. You want to see a skater surf and win! Most want to see a surfer surf and win…Slater earns everything he gets!!

By: Jon

Jon — Fri, 23 Sep 2011 13:49:06 +0000

The heat was really close, looking at all their waves I can’t definitely say Kelly or Owen won it.
What I know for sure is that Kelly shouldn’t have been given 8.5 for his second last wave.

By: Redsman

Redsman — Fri, 23 Sep 2011 07:33:51 +0000

I agree airs are harder for most (chance of falling higher) – but think of this fact -If airs start getting scored real high all the time the top 5 surfers in the world will all come from brazil and other areas that seem to produce air-only, flicky surfing. I think power carves still have their place just VARIETY on a wave that matters. In saying all this Owen definitely showed more variety in final – but Parko too got scored pretty high on turns only in a couple of his rounds… so dont think its a biased thing just the way the judges set a precedent earlier on in the comp.

By: James

James — Fri, 23 Sep 2011 03:09:01 +0000

@Sticky . . . Slater only did one air and it was basic while Owen did airs Slater didn’t even try to attempt possibly for fear of falling. Keeping the judging criteria in mind Owen was clearly underscored therefore Slater was not the clear winner. If he did deserve to win it should have been by a narrow margin and not the better part of a point. Enjoy this while it lasts because the judges won’t get away with handing out cushion scores to Slater much longer.

By: James

James — Fri, 23 Sep 2011 02:57:58 +0000

One more thing, anybody who has ever surfed knows any air is harder than even the biggest turn, overscoring Slater’s turns is not promoting or rewarding innovation therefore it hurts the coolest sport on the planet. I was actually shocked when Slater got the 9, i picked my jaw up off of the floor. I am a huge Kelly fan, but i want to see him really earn the title and not just cruise doing turns i saw him do in 1994. Owen’s variety and airs were mindblowing, Kelly’s surfing was the same old stuff. Also, proper credit was not given to Owen’s beyond vertical backside snaps or his grab airs. Slater’s air was not in the same league as Owen. Basically the whole thing was a total bummer

By: James

James — Fri, 23 Sep 2011 02:49:56 +0000

I agree completely. The best surfer didn’t win, he got second because the scores were skewed in favor of the more famous surfer, total shame, and it feels like the legitimacy of the world title is now called into question. I love the ASP and it is a great organization, new format is an improvement of course, but the majority of people who saw the heat don’t think the right guy won in this case. The judges are good at what they do but its not rocket science picking a winner. Owen had more variety, more progression, performed airs on both scoring waves whereas Slater only did one air and it was stock, and Owen equaled Slater in power and flow, what were the judges thinking? It seems Slater has too many friends who are judges and too many people who want to be on his good side who are unwilling to call foul when they see it. Disappointing that the commentators just pay endless lip service to Slater instead of really speaking their mind. Lets keep it real from now on huh?