After a wave starved Quiky Pro at the Superbank the whole surfing world is praying for some swell of consequence to roll on in to the Bells Beach arena and give the pros a chance to showcase their skills. They want it, we want it, so a silent prayer will go out to the powers that be tonight right after I have brushed my pegs.
What can we expect and from who? It seems quite clear to me that, looking at the way the waves were last contest, it will really depend a lot on conditions. No sh*t you might say but I don't ever remember a time when the rankings looked like this before, here are some facts for you to chew on.
- Three out of the top four in the rankings are Brazilian.
- Three out of the bottom four in the rankings are American.
- Gabriel Medina, Kelly Slater, Joel Parkinson and John John Florence are all sitting at joint 13th place.
- Taj Burrows and Mick Fanning are sitting at joint 5th place.- The average age of the top four surfers on tour at the moment is twenty four.
While we have to remember that we have only ticked off one event on the calendar so far, this does still look a bit odd. Like I say, there is no need to panic, but I am thinking that the writing has been on the wall for a while. Maybe there is a changing of the guard here, last year saw the battle between young and old but this year it just looks like the old have given up.
The fact is that, as I have already mentioned, this year feels different. The rookies don't seem to fear the old names like Kelly or Joel, they seem like they relish the challenge. They all have the skills to pay the bills also and seem to believe they can do it, at least in small conditions.
I would briefly like to mention one of the rookies on tour who stands out as someone who looks like he will do well. Italo Ferreira. This kid is calm, collected and has an amazing backhand, an unprecedented arial game AND, this is a big AND, he beat Kelly Slater. Have a look at this clip and tell me this lad cannot surf.
So back to the Rip Curl Bells Beach competition, the defending champ there is Mick Fanning, who seems to be surfing as good as ever at the moment. No doubt Kelly will be fuming about losing in the 3rd round at Snapper and a motivated Kelly is a Kelly who we have seen win 11 world titles. Toledo and Wilson, they are in the hot seats at the moment and we can expect big performances from them. One I would keep my eye on at Bells is Jeremy Flores, his rail work is one of the best on tour and he seems hungry for the win after near relegation last year.
All in all, as Snapper proved, it could be anyone that will take the podium and that makes it exciting. We just need the waves to show up, so if you have read this article then join me in a silent bowing of the head before going to bed tonight.
Bells