Talking about Competitive Surfing

Competitive professional surfing is a very specialized narrow part of the whole world of surfing, unfortunately it has become the premier way to rate surfers. It doesn't really matter because now everybody is so good. It takes a certain type of personality to excel in a professional surfing event, with that kind of personality there is a chance of success, if you don't have the personality it is futile to pursue this end of the surfing spectrum.

Almost any Indonesian surfer could promote himself more as a free surfer, surfing Indonesia's beautiful waves, showing what uninhibited surfing is in showing what total free surfing is in really good waves. This is a higher part of the sport, rather than battling for waves with one or four guys in a heat. Sure surfing progresses because of these competitions, but the surfer needs the skills before he goes to competition, the surfers don' t really need the competition to prove themselves. With really good waves you can produce really good surfers, this is an historical fact; places with most waves/ constant waves produce the best surfers.

For example Kelly and Lisa who are both from Florida, the waves are not great in Florida. Because a lot of contests are in such poor waves it is better to be from Florida and learn to surf those waves every day so that when you go into a contest situation you are ready. If you come from somewhere like Indo you are at a disadvantage; like us when we came from Hawaii, we would go to a contest it would be 1 foot, onshore, cold and you would say, "I am going to the movies not going surfing today!" This is the case for a great number of the professional events, and these events then become the criteria to rate the professional surfer who is the best. To me the best surfer is the guy who is having the most fun.



I see a move in the world of surfing towards the free surfer, free spirit, free lifestyle compared to the competitive. There are a lot of pros now who tag along but they are not serious about the comps they are more serious about taking a surf trip with a photographer and making a story about it. They are pushing their surfing more in free surfing sessions than in comps. I never had much success in comps; unless I am having fun I am not that interested, that motivated. Comps can be fun but most of the time they are just frustrating.

This article was written by Gerry Lopez for Surf Time Magazine.