If you’re a surf fan, there’s plenty of competition to get your teeth sunk into. Today the EDP Ericeira Pro kicks off in Portugal. It is the fifth event of six on the Challenger Series and will go a long way to determine the make-up of the CT for 2025. There are 80 Men, and 48 women, drawn from all corners of the surfing globe, all fighting for a handful of CT places. You can come for the surfing, and stay for the commentary. I’ve heard they’ve assembled an A-grade team.
And if the nit and grit, or cut and thrust, of the Challenger Series isn’t your bag then the Abu Dhabi Longboard Classic is underway in the Middle East. If you ignore the sports-washing element of the event, which seems pretty much everyone with a snout in the trough has, then it’s the chance to watch the world’s best loggers two-step through Kelly Slater’s imagined perfection.
Of course, you may have noticed, that both events lack one crucial element: star power. In Ericeira, the only current CT surfers (ie those that made the cut) competing are Kanoa Igarashi and Leo Fioravanti. In the Middle East, the field is packed with World Champs and longboard legends, but there are no real Box Office stars.
Related: All You Need To Know About The EDP Ericeira Pro
Surfing it seems might be the only non-seasonal sport that has off-season. The WSL Finals finished on the 6th of September. We won’t see the new World Champions John John Florence and Caity Simmers surfing in anger until the 29th of January, 2025 at Pipe.
In most other sports, athletes are complaining of packed calendars and burnout. In European football, elite players can play up to 74 matches for club and country in a schedule that starts in early August and ends in late June. One of the world’s best players Rodri, who plays for Manchester City (owned, like Kelly’s new pool, by the UAE) and Spain said that players will soon have to go on strike to protect themselves. Four days later he snapped his cruciate ligament, and will now be out for 12 months.
In the NBA a new rule was introduced where players have to play at least 65 games of the 82-game season (excluding play-offs) to be eligible for postseason awards. And this is match time; which makes up a small percentage of the time spent in training. Players have complained of injuries and burnout due to the extended season.
Caity Simmers surfed 33 heats to win her World Title, just over 16 hours of actual competitive surfing, spread over 11 events and eight months.
They make a strong point; athlete welfare is important and often a neglected platform of all elite sports. However, it’s hard to say the current batch of surf stars are overworked. Caity Simmers surfed 33 heats to win her World Title, just over 16 hours of actual competitive surfing, spread over 11 events and eight months. Not a bad two-day shift. Meanwhile, John surfed 42 CT heats this year, or another five hours of heat time on Simmers. Let’s compare that to golfer Rory McIlroy, who played 22 events last year, and spent around 80 days on the course.
Unlike Rory, the top echelon of the surf stars then has five months off to recuperate and recharge from the rigours of competition. Surf fans need to check in on their social media or their sponsor’s platforms to catch their surfing. The WSL has no access, and therefore influence, to their prized assets for a huge chunk of the year.
In that dead zone, surf fans should and will tune into the competitive offerings they’ve been given. The Challenger Series offers a look into the future of surfing, and no small amount of narrative and drama. The Longboard event is historic and also shiny and new. It might be part of a long-term plan to burnish the reputation of an abusive and profoundly undemocratic fossil fuel-based state, but it is a fresh angle.
But like with all sports, fans want to see the best athletes performing on the biggest stage. The current calendar means that won’t be happening for four months. Surely there has to be a better way?
Related: 18-Year-Old Caity Simmers Makes History As Youngest Women’s World Champ Ever