“Travelers” are often pretentious. They like to make a clear and rigid distinction between themselves and “tourists.” Travelers like to think that by staying longer in a place, they are somehow more entitled than the average visitor. But they’re fooling themselves. Travellers are just tourists with dirtier luggage. And Nathan Fletcher, who’s never been one to front, knows: To thine own self be true.
“I see us as professional tourists,” Nathan said to Chippa over the wild drone of the Panamanian jungle. “We go places and hang out and surf, and that’s about it. So everywhere we go, we’re looked at like that, which is fine. Because let’s face it: We’re just here to surf.”
“When you look around at everyone else that isn’t from here, really, you’re just like them, only you’re getting paid to be a tourist,” laughed Nathan Fletcher. “And to surf.”
Nathan travels far and wide and often and very well, but is also unassumingly quiet and authentic, and like Chippa, he perceives a place for all it presents. While these professional tourists might not wander aimlessly like “travelers” do, they do pay attention.
“Traveling with Chippa is great,” said Nathan. “With his personality, he’s so easy to get along with. And technically, he’s always been a big inspiration for me.”
“From reef breaks to beaches and points, you name it, they got it there,” said Chippa. “The waves are super punchy, scary even, when it’s big at the beachies and slabby reefs.”
“I’ve traveled with Nathan quite a bit, and it’s always nice catching up and checking what he’s up too,” said Chippa. “He’s knowledgeable in and out, a true professional tourist. It was good watching him charge, too.”
“You wonder sometimes why you do all this, and if it’s even worth it,” pondered Chippa. “The planes, trains, boats, cars; the airport time, bad sleep and weird food. It’s a bit of a mission, but in the end it’s always worth it. To head to a place not knowing what you’re in for most of the time… That mystery is the real payoff.”
The world’s best junior surfers have arrived in the tiny town of Raglan on the North Island of New Zealand, flying in from all over the globe for the Rip Curl GromSearch International Final.They were not only greeted with a warm Māori welcome, but also with the tail end of a solid swell.
From the top of the point all the way through to Manu Bay, Raglan was offering clean six-foot lines and section and mechanical section of watery canvas. (Take that, Founder’s Cup!)
“We are so happy to have the GromSearch International Final held here in Raglan,” says Leon Parkin, the Rip Curl New Zealand Marketing Manager.
“It means a lot for our country to host a global event, and to have the opportunity to show these athletes and the world what a naturally beautiful place we live. We are happy to share our waves and our culture.”
To kick off their New Zealand experience, the athletes competing in the GromSearch International Final will have the opportunity to get to know the wave at Manu Bay by entering in and competing in the 2018 Rip Curl Pro Raglan. The international groms will be up against the very best locals, and will have the opportunity to showcase their talent in a very real and grassroots way to New Zealand. Their result in the Rip Curl Pro Raglan will create their seed into the GromSearch International Final.
2018 List of Competitors:Australia: Finn Hill & Piper HarrisonBrazil: Lucas Vicente & Anne dos SantosEurope: Guilherme Ribeiro (PRT) & Emma Dubes (FRA)Indonesia: Kona Eru & Taina IzquierdaNew Zealand: Caleb Cutmore & Saffi VetteUSA: Cole Houshmand & Keala Tomoda-BannertInternational wildcards: Xavier Huxtable (AUS) & Kirra-Belle Olsson (AUS)New Zealand Local Wildcards: Brie Bennett &Navrone Malone
Make no mistake this is the WSL vision for the Olympics and to take surfing mainstream.
How this is going to play out live I guess depends on the skill of the editors and commentators linking between wave runs, and how the surfers treat the wave itself – will the nose of a board poking out of a perfect barrel get boring to watch after three waves?
It’s going to be worth watch that’s for sure.
Press release here
On May 5 and 6, 2018, the world-class and man-made wave venue of Surf Ranch in Lemoore, CA will host its first public event organized by the World Surf League (WSL). Presented by Michelob ULTRA Pure Gold, the Founders’ Cup of Surfing – a WSL specialty event – will gather the world’s best surfers on a historic region-versus-region teams format. Five teams – USA, Brazil, Australia, Europe and World – made up of men’s and women’s surfers from the elite WSL Championship Tour, will compete over the two-day event.
The Surf Ranch facility, which was revealed online to the public in December 2015, boasts the best man-made wave in history – a 700-yard, high-performance, bi-directional wave featuring barrel sections and maneuver sections. Primarily existing as a testing facility, the Lemoore site has spent the past two years dialing in the technology under the guidance of 11-time WSL Champion Kelly Slater (USA) and feedback from visiting WSL surfers. A private test event last September proved very successful, paving the way for the May Founders’ Cup of Surfing to be the first time the public will be allowed onto the grounds.
EUROPE TEAM:
Captain: Johanne Defay (FRA)
Jeremy Flores (FRA)
Frederico Morais (PRT)
Leonardo Fioravanti (ITA)
Frankie Harrer (DEU)
AUSTRALIA TEAM:
Captain: Stephanie Gilmore (AUS)
Mick Fanning (AUS)
Matt Wilkinson (AUS)
Julian Wilson (AUS)
Tyler Wright (AUS)
BRAZIL TEAM:
Captain: Gabriel Medina (BRA)
Adriano de Souza (BRA)
Filipe Toledo (BRA)
Silvana Lima (BRA)
Taina Hinckel (BRA)
USA TEAM:
Captain: Kelly Slater (USA)
John John Florence (USA)
Kolohe Andino (USA)
Carissa Moore (USA)
Courtney Conlogue (USA)
WORLD TEAM:
Captain: Jordy Smith (ZAF)
Michel Bourez (PYF)
Kanoa Igarashi (JPN)
Paige Hareb (NZL)
Bianca Buitendag (ZAF)
For more information, please visit WSLFoundersCup.com and WorldSurfLeague.com.
So, the allure of Olympic Gold seems to be persuading a lot of people to jump ship on their homelands, particularly at the elite end – looking at you WSL surfers – to surf under flags of convenience.
But are they surfing for the nations of their heart, or seeking easy routes into the Japan games and taking away the chances from born and bred surfers?
On a recent Carve Twitter poll 73% were against this happening. But it is a widespread practice in all other sports.
It’s not as easy as that in surfing I know. Lots of surfers these days are second generation water babies and fortunate that their globe trotting parents moved to wave soaked paradises. Also thrown in is the fact that most surfers don’t judge others on skin colour, or other racist undertones, so if you lived and surfed in say Costa Rica, or Hawaii all your life your nationality in surfing terms tends to be classified on this rather than origins gene pools or passports.
But… with cash strapped Surfing NGO’s now looking for ringers to gain funds (UK and various countries sporting bodies attribute grant funding on medal chances) and ‘athletes’ looking for the golden goose, a lot of surfers are changing thier nationalities. And we are going to see more.
Tati West who lives in Hawaii and has surfed under the Hawaian flag is now surfing for Brazil because her mother was born there and “her heart is in Brazil”. Her Dad is English so she could have easily surfed for Team GB. But it appears Brazil threw out some big cash, or the promise of. On top of that Hawaii is considered part of the USA so with Carissa Moore, Lakey Peterson and Caroline Marks all in the running, Brazil (or UK) is her best shot at inclusion in the games… Actually the UK would have been better, but we have no money… Or sunshine…warm water…
“Brazil has always been an important part of who I am and, recently, I was approached by the Brazilian Olympic Committee with an opportunity to represent the country in a major way.’ she says ‘ It’s always been a dream of mine to compete in the Olympics and when surfing was announced as an official Olympic sport, I knew that my dream had a chance of becoming a reality.”
Kanoa Ingarashi is surfing for Japan. His mum and dad made a huge move to California ‘with the singular goal of giving Kanoa a shot at his dad’s dream’ before he was born. So he is born and bred US, but holds dual passports. WSL state “He’s already a household name there (in Japan), having starred in a reality TV show since the age of 11. Japanese TV have been following him while on Tour, and he’s gaining fame in China, Taiwan and Korea.”
Tia Blanco who captained USA at the ISA worlds in 2016 is now surfing for Puerto Rico…
The World’s Top Groms Prepare for the GromSearch International Final in Raglan
Held from May 4–8 in Raglan, North Island, New Zealand, the Rip Curl GromSearch International will play host to 16 of the world’s top junior surfers from seven countries around the globe.The world’s best junior surfers are getting ready to compete in the 2018 Rip Curl GromSearch International, a yearly event that marks the culmination of GromSearch series around the globe. This year the International Final willbe held in the long left-hand point that is Raglan, Manu Bay on the North Island of New Zealand.
Former competitors at the GromSearch
International Final include WSL World Champions Gabriel Medina (2014), Tyler Wright (2016, 2017) and Steph Gilmore (six times World Champion), as well as WSL World Tour regulars Owen Wright, Jordy Smith, Nikki Van Dijk, Sally Fitzgibbons and Caroline Marks –and with a list like that, the pressure is on to take home the trophy.16-year-old Kirra Belle-Ollsen, an up-and-coming Australian surfer who was selected to be one of two International Wildcards, has been prepping for the event since she got the news just last week. “I am so stoked to be selected to compete in the International Final,” she said. “It’s an absolute dreamto be able to surf Raglan with just a few other girls out!” “I’m a goofy foot like my Uncle (Matt Wilkinson), and surfing this wave has been one of the biggest items on my bucket list for as long as I can remember.
Let’s just hope that forehand magic will take me to the Final!”
2018 List of Competitors:Australia: Finn Hill & Piper HarrisonBrazil: Lucas Vicente & Anne dos SantosEurope: Guilherme Ribeiro (PRT) & Emma Dubes (FRA)
Indonesia: Kona Eru & Taina Izquierda
New Zealand: Caleb Cutmore & Saffi Vette
USA: Cole Houshmand & Keala Tomoda-Bannert
Raglan wildcards: TBC at a local trials event
International wildcards: Xavier Huxtable (AUS) & Kirra-Belle Olsson (AUS)
Rip Curl ran the first ever GromSearch event in 1999 to provide a fun competitive event for 16-and-under junior surfers, and since then it has developed into a worldwide series that culminated at the International Final. This Final is held at a different location each year, with a focus on nurturing the development of the next generation of elite surfers. The Rip Curl GromSearch International final will be run in conjunction with the Rip Curl Pro –Raglan.
We all know the surfer’s guilty secret, we’re all environmental hypocrites, for all our beach cleans and reusable water bottles we surf boards and wear suits that currently end up clogging landfill and they aren’t exactly non-toxic. So a functional performance wooden board is a dream come true. If it can handle the reefs of Clare underneath the feet of Fergal Smith then that’s a good indication they ain’t going to snap like a twig. Good work fellas, look forward to finding out more.
