During an interview he said a buddy was using it and said he should try it out. The friend's friend brought the fin to the comp for Slater. He said it just helps stabilize the board between turns where a quad can have a tendency to slide and be a bit unpredictable.
I'll bet the glasser at the CI factory in China is going to get extra lashes for Kelly's board breaking.
ignorant statement...CI's are made in the US. BUT...owen's first tour win, no? & over slater...watch that kid closely, i think!
BUT...owen's first tour win, no? & over slater...watch that kid closely, i think![/QUOTE] Ya,you got to give Owen props.Guy surfed his a$$ off.I did think he had better wave selection during the heat.
Slater should have not even been in the finals. If you were there or saw the video, Taj clearly out surfed him. Judges gave ks a 10 for 1 single boost. Taj got robbed straight up.
Taj didn't get robbed. He surfed amazingly well and he dominated the heat. Slater's air was stunning and judges have been scoring airs quite high all comp. Single move airs getting into the 9's and Slaters was awesome. Slater proved that he's clutch, that he never quits and is smart. I know Taj was crushed, but if you're going to take down the champ you better beat him by a lot.
The airs were especially hard today with the offshores. Most attempts the board would blow away from the surfer. Yesterday the wind was holding the boards onto their feet. The problem with the Taj/Slater heat was that the judges threw out 9s on the first few waves setting the scale to high. They had nowhere to go on Slater's boost because of the earlier 9s, but to give him a 10.
I was there... and seeing him land that huge, full rotation air reverse was awesome, but I understand what you are saying. I think maybe its at least a 9 and the crowd influence and claim may have influenced the judges. That crowd went nuts when he stuck that. I thought the judges handed out too many really high scores and didn't leave enough room at the high end of the scale for even better rides. Looking at the review of that heat, I would give Slater the win.
Nice that you were there, Micah! It must have been really cool today. I definitely appreciate your perspective and agree with the scoring. Definitley some really high scores early in the heat. Airs were especially tough to land, (Kelly missed 3) and the one he landed was quite impressive.
I was there as well and saw him land that huge air. I agree too the crowd had an influence on the score. He boosted the hugest air of the whole comp. Was it great? Yes!...was it a 10?...No! Like you said at least a 9. If he had gotten a 9 he would have lost. Personally, I believe that wave was only a 7.5....by giving people 10.0's for a single trick...is doing nothing but ruining the sport. The only exception is getting huge or endless tubes. It was kind of fun though to watch some of the pros getting worked just like we do here..
totally agree. the early 9's were a bit high so i might have scored slater's final air just below 10 but he won the heat. he was way more active in the water probably doubling taj's wave count which doesn't count for score but i think affects judges. i thought his barrels were better even if he blew some airs finishing them and like he always does, he built up the drama and when he stuck that massive last air the whole surfing world had chicken skin. best heat of an amazing event. really proud to be a north east surfer today. stoked!
I dunno dudes.....I have been to enough ASP contests to know that the judges at this one were super favorable to certain surfers. I don't know where you were exactly in the contest...but, I was shooting by the waters edge and when the judges said ks scored a 10...everyone around me including me was like wtf.....a 10?!?!?. Josh Kerr IMO had the best waves period. I can't see how you can give someone a perfect 10 for 1 single trick...So, let me ask you this. Do you think Slaters boost was better then Josh Kerrs waves? If anyone deserved a 10 it was Josh Kerr. Now, I am not taking anything from Slater. He is still the greatest surfer to live. Just not in my top favorite. I was actually glad he lost. Owen Wright destroyed him. A very well deserved win for Owen.
My 2 cents: the judging thing is pretty unbalanced. I was hoping for KS to win in our country, on our coast, but it's good to see he can be beat. The conditions were the most impressive part. Those lucky bastards got Long Beach better than J-Bay??? Unreal.
definitely agree on the final and kerr's airs were a little better but each heat is different. like i said above, slater is the master of creating his own heat story. i think the airs he missed actually set up a bigger score for the one he made. by being so active he established that the wind was tricky and landing airs was tougher than previously which the judges responded to. i mean, they're human and slater forced them to watch him more. taj is one of my favorite surfers but i think he could have taken more waves and pulled the judges eyes back on him and off kelly. just my two cents. either way, i think this heat will be talked about for a long time.
Yeah dude. It is what it is. Whenever slates is in the water he is always a favorite. I know the wind wasn't like the day before where most people were sticking their airs. And, he was able to stick one. I was a just giving my opinion on whether he deserved a perfect 10. And, you know how opinions go.....
Totally agree. I thought Kerr won his heat vs Kelly. He pulled the same trick they gave Kelly a 10 for pulling. Kelly's was a little higher, but I thought Kerr surfed that heat better.
