Giddy anticipation loomed over Western Australia on Wednesday, as the World Surf League returned to the infamous slab known as The Box for the first time in six long years. And in the first heat of the day, there were fireworks – Griffin Colapinto wrangled one of the heaviest, most cartoonishly cumbersome foamballs of all time, riding out successfully into the channel. Perfect 10? It had to be.
But no. The judges awarded Griff a 9.00 for his ride. Soon after, legions of keyboard warriors chimed in with the likes of “That was a 10 all day!” and “No but seriously, how is this not a 10” and “What u want him to come out walking on water?” and so on. Must be tough being a WSL judge.
Anyway, check out the wave below.
For Griff’s part, the San Clemente, CA native was merely stoked to go get barreled, regardless of a potential snub from the judging panel:
“I feel like that’s one of the best heats of my life,” he said. “Getting barreled in a jersey is the dream, and I feel like I’ve kind of missed out on that a lot in my career, where like I lose and then the next day is just all-time barreling, you know Teahupo’o or Pipe, and I’m just on the sidelines, just so bummed. And today I woke up and went, wow, I’m in this, like I get to surf in this, you know, and I was just so grateful for that opportunity.”
Related: Gallery: The Box is Back and it Was Beautiful
Had this wave gone down in a later heat, it might’ve been a different story. It’s a known fact that WSL judges don’t wanna blow their loads too soon, show their cards early on, and wait and see what’s possible during a day of competition before setting the bar for perfection in those specific conditions.
But boy did he wrangle that foamball. WSL commentator and creative orator Chris Cote commented: “Inverse Floater? Frontside Barrel Roll? This is incredible. Full on wizard move.”
Whaddya reckon? Shoulda been a 10?
Related: West Oz Slab Shenanigans with the Florence Bros (Watch)