Shea's Take On The Final Day
How the headline would’ve read in 2009: Congratulations Bede Durbidge J-Bay Pro Champion! But it’s 2010 and the ASP has changed the judging criteria. They now have deemed every heat to be an airshow. Apologies to Bede for my error. But what I witnessed was Bede catching proper J-Bay walls and tearing them to pieces. And from Jordy–well, he surfed a great heat if he was surfing one-foot beachbreak.
Is there really a comparison though? I don’t think so. There is more to surfing than aerials, and the waves Bede surfed didn’t even offer the opportunity to perform above the lip, as a proper J-Bay wave will give you. Take note of this result–riding smaller waves that allow you to perform aerials easier can and will score you above your wildest dreams.
Congratulations Jordy Smith! You are the 2010 Billabong Pro J-Bay Champion! Jordy was by far the best surfer of the event. Taj had moments, but every wave Jordy caught was surfed to its maximum and well above its potential. Taj was noticeably surfing beyond himself, and was making mistakes–most regrettably on his last wave in the semi-final. With a clean finish to that wave, he stood a good chance of receiving the score required to win the heat. Plain and simple the best surfer won. His questionable semi-final heat win was actually a testament to his mastery of the system that perfectly goes hand-in-hand with his freakish ability to perform. With Jordy’s first WT (World Tour) victory and now leading the WT rankings, it’s official–Jordy Smith has learned how to win on a WT level with a planned, precise, and deadly attack. It’s ok to be scared now Kelly. Jordy wants a world title of his own and is doing the dirty work to achieve it. Now if Dane would get his hands dirty as well, Kelly would have reason to be afraid–very afraid actually.
Hope you enjoyed the 4th and final day or night of WT action. I know I did. Especially seeing Adam Melling crush heat after heat all the way to the finals. With the form he is capable of, it would’ve been a shame to see him get the boot after Teahupoo. As it stands now, we will be able to witness his committed hyper-speed surfing for the remainder of the season.
Goodnight or good morning and see you all next at Teahupoo–now I’m going to work on getting back on a normal sleeping schedule.
Comments
July 19, 2010 12:49 pm
Meanwhile RUFFO got busted for METH again!! Im sure SURFER is going to give him the PROFILE next month and glorify him for overcoming his battle with METH,,, right,,,
July 19, 2010 7:33 am
Even Jordy commented after his semi-final heat that he thought his air was weak, but the judges ‘must have judged the wave overall’. I’m not going to pass any judgment on that. I’d just like to say that the overall talent level of the WT seems to have gone off the scale this year. Changes to the tour structure may hurt some guys, but it certainly has lit a fire under everyone, and that’s good for the sport and those of us mind surfing the waves along with them.
July 18, 2010 2:10 pm
I agree on the Bede/Jordy Semi. The fact that the airs Jordy were doing were tiny and about 10% of what he actually can do made it worse. Not bagging Jordy at all, he’s the man for working the system to his advantage, but yeah the judges are definitely having issues.
July 18, 2010 12:34 pm
I think Kelly can be relieved that he finally has someone to give his crown to. Stoked for Jordy on a great overall event.