The thought has often occurred to me when crafting the schedule for the “It’s Game Time Somewhere” Tour that I might occasionally have to deal with weather wiping an event off the scoreboard. I never thought that a lack of weather might be the culprit though.

But when the Pacific turned to glass for three straight days prior to my visit to the ASP Hurley Pro, it occurred to me that I might not be able to claim surfing as one of the Nifty Fifty sports that ultimately make up the Tour. As Jeff Spicoli might say, “Bogus, dude – we need some righteous waves out here, pronto!”

I can only dream of someday being that eloquent.  

Fortunately, in the wee hours of the morning, somebody kick-started the wave machine. And while the early action at the Lower Trestles venue was a little slow when I arrived beachside, things got better quickly. Much better.

This day featured the long-delayed continuation of Round Two of the Hurley Pro – the first of the event’s elimination rounds. In Round One, each heat had featured three surfers. The winner received a bye and moved on to Round Three, while the others got re-seeded for Round Two. Today’s heat winners would move on to Round Three. The losers would take their wetsuits and go home.

Each heat lasts 30 minutes, and during that time the surfer’s mission is simple:  Catch a lot of waves, ride them for as long as possible, and pull off as many stunts as you can while doing so. Judges assign a score for each wave that a surfer commits to, even if momentarily, and each surfer’s overall score for the heat is the combination of their two best rides.

The scoring system is similar to that of an Olympic sport, in that a 10 is theoretically a perfect ride. What makes surfing unique and much more subjective in scoring though, is that the sport’s “apparatus” constantly changes. While a pommel horse or a balance beam just sits there awaiting the next competitor, any given wave is completely different from all others. A surfer could absolutely maximize the potential that a wave provides, but if the wave behind that one enables their competitor to pull off more stunts, that second surfer will most likely score better. 

Once the clock begins its 30 minute countdown, the first wave of a heat is open territory – either surfer may make a move for it. And at the Lower Trestles, many waves arrive in a wedge shape, enabling both surfers to ride it, heading in opposite directions – called “splitting the peak”. Once the first wave has been ridden, a priority system is in place which enables the surfer “with priority” to take ownership of any given wave. This leads to some interesting strategizing.

Often times, the surfer with priority will fake interest in a wave that they have no intention of riding, luring their opponent into jumping on it after they’ve passed it up – insuring that, if they are right in their assessment, their opponent rides a less than ideal wave for scoring.

The best heat that I saw was the finale of Round Two, which matched fellow Australians Kai Otten and Luke Stedman. As had been hoped, the building ocean swell had started to deliver some sizable waves, and both surfers took advantage.

Because this heat was significantly less “wave-starved”, it spotlighted both of the key skill sets required of elite surfers:  the ability to wide waves, and the ability to spot them – specifically, the ability to pick out the one wave among the many forming outside the break that will provide a potential scoring edge. Pick the wrong one and it doesn’t matter how flawlessly you perform – your ability to deliver a long, stunt-filled ride is compromised.

Although it was close throughout, Otten led for most of the heat. As time was running out though, Stedman caught the best wave of the day and turned in a great run. With no more time to paddle out and catch another wave, he turned and watched helplessly from the shore, waiting for his score on that final wave – and for Otten’s final assault.

At literally the moment Otten caught his final wave, Stedman’s score was announced – a 6.43 that edged him in the lead. When Otten also put together a good ride, the outcome of the heat was completely in doubt for several tense minutes.

Finally the judges determined that Otten’s score on that last wave was not quite good enough to replace one of his earlier scores. Stedman’s final ride had catapulted him into Round 3 and bounced his countryman from the competition.

As the day progressed, the quality and frequency of the waves improved. I saw several rides that scored in the high 6’s, and quite honestly I had no idea how they could have possibly been improved upon – until I saw the Expression Session.

The Expression Session was convened once all of the Round Two heats had been completed and the final field was set for Round Three. I can’t say for sure, but my Session impression was that it was purely an exhibition – a “jam” – and an opportunity for the surfers to both practice and show off their most outrageous tricks. For while money and trophies are nice, every surfer lives to draw some oohs and ahhs from the beach.

The Expression Session was also my only opportunity to see a legend. Or was it an icon?  What is the combination of a legend and an icon? Lecon? Igend? It’s neither. It’s Kelly Slater.

Even passing fans of surfing know the name. Absolutely dominating in his prime, when he won five straight ASP World Championship titles in the mid-90’s, Slater is still one of the very best in the world. His $2.12 million in lifetime ASP winnings is 40% more than that of his closest competitor, Andy Irons.  

Coming into the Hurley Pro, the sixth of the ten events that make up the 2010 ASP World Tour, Slater stood in second place in Tour points. Not surprisingly, he had made quick work of his Round One heat, enabling him to move directly into Round 3 – and resigning me to the fact that I would not see him on this day.

But then…what to my wondering eyes should appear, but Slater himself entering the water only a few yards away from me, preparing to join the free-for-all fray that is the Expression Session. And he did not disappoint – nor did his fellow pros.

By this point in the day the waves were half again as large as they had been when I arrived, and one surfer after another took flight on incredible rides. While the earlier action had been very sporadic and spread out, you couldn’t look away for more than a few seconds of the Expression Session without missing something amazing. I hated for it to be over.

Oh, and BTW…a few days later, Kelly Slater wound up winning the Hurley Pro for the fourth time. In so doing, he vaulted into first place on the ASP World Tour rankings, positioning himself for a highly improbable tenth ASP World title.

Did I mention that he’s 38 years old?

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