Finally, it’s starting. Tomorrow the Quicksilver Pro Gold Coast will begin this year’s Association of Surfing Professional’s WCT when the twelve-day competition window opens.
Last year’s competition was taken out by Western Australia’s favourite son Taj Burrow.
Burrow narrowly defeated Brazil’s Adriano De Souza, to win the Gold Coast Pro for the second time in his career (2012, 2010).
Australians have dominated the previous eleven years of competition on the Gold Coast, except for the occasional blip on the record caused by American Kelly Slater (in 2011, 2008 and 2006).
Kelly is also the first professional to win the event three times. Typical. But as I was saying, it is otherwise dominated by Australians.
Taj, Mick Fanning and Joel Parkinson (incumbent World Champion) have each won two.
The event will be a good indication as to Joel Parkinson’s headspace after winning the World Title last year. Will there be complacency from the world champ? Or will the removal of pressure and expectation by last year’s win help his surfing?
He certainly seems to think the latter. It is a cloud that he has surfed under for so long now that it is going to be incredibly interesting to see him surf without it looming ominously above.
Dane Reynolds will compete as a wild card (he is sponsored by Quicksilver). For those not in the know, Dane is the living embodiment of all that is cool for surfing’s youth.
The man is an iconoclast. His style involves unique lines with high-risk manoeuvres and many, many, airs.
Dane is full of potential that is arguably unfulfilled in a competition-based format.
I’m given the impression that he doesn’t like competing all that much. You see, just when he exploded onto the tour, coming fourth in 2010 (his third year on the tour), he dropped off it.
He now pursues a free-surfing lifestyle and occasionally pops up as a wild card at Quicksilver events on the tour.
He could be a future world champion if he learns to mentally deal with the pressures of competing on the world tour. Frankly, I love watching him surf and will be making sure to catch all of his heats.
Dane is one of two wild cards. The other will be decided today at the Moskova Trials at Snapper. The winner of that event will take the second wild card position.
Expect a large Brazilian contingent of supporters on snapper rocks cheering on Adriano de Souza (runner up twice at snapper) and Gabriel Medina. These Brazilians have been performing well on the tour in recent years and will be strong competition at Snapper – particularly Adriano.
The tour will be more open this year. The young up and comers have grown and become more experienced with competing.
Although the waves up at snapper may not be breathtaking, very often when the tour comes through the event will be an excellent indicator of things to come.
And for that reason I will be glued to the broadcasting. Speaking of which, the broadcasting will be available on Fuel TV for those with Foxtel, or it can be streamed online from the Quicksilver Pro Gold Coast website.
Below are the Round One Heat Line Ups.
Note: TBD – To Be Decided, these will be wildcard entries Dane Reynolds and the winner of the Moskova Trials.
Heat 1: Taj Burrow (AUS), Bede Durbidge (AUS), Raoni Monteiro (BRA)
Heat 2: Adriano de Souza (BRA), Travis Logie (ZAF), Dusty Payne (HAW)
Heat 3: John John Florence (HAW), Kai Otton (AUS), Patrick Gudauskas (USA)
Heat 4: Mick Fanning (AUS), Sebastian Zietz (HAW), Willian Cardoso (BRA)
Heat 5: Kelly Slater (USA), Kolohe Andino (USA), TBD
Heat 6: Joel Parkinson (AUS), Matt Wilkinson (AUS), TBD
Heat 7: Gabriel Medina (BRA), Kieren Perrow (AUS), Tiago Pires (PRT)
Heat 8: Josh Kerr (AUS), Alejo Muniz (BRA), Nat Young (USA)
Heat 9: Julian Wilson (AUS), Damien Hobgood (USA), Adam Melling (AUS)
Heat 10: Owen Wright (AUS), Michel Bourez (PYF), Filipe Toledo (BRA)
Heat 11: Jeremy Flores (FRA), Adrian Buchan (AUS), Brett Simpson (USA)
Heat 12: Jordy Smith (ZAF), C.J. Hobgood (USA), Glenn Hall (IRL)
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