Claiming’s the new not-claiming

Did y’notice the celebrations? The joyous fist-pump, self-applause, index finger-to-sky, bicep-flex, bicep-slap, two-handed gimme-ten, face-to-sky, arms-open how-ya-like-that, fall-onto-back-in-ecstasy that went down for the entirety of the Rip Curl Pro, Portugal? We did. We couldn’t help it. In the collage below, you’ll see Adriano De Souza, Michel Bourez, Kelly Slater, Mick Fanning, Bede Durbidge, Julian Wilson, Freddy Patacchia and Chris Davidson throwing down all the aforementioned claim styles. Try and match the claim style to the picture! We aren’t the only ones who noticed, either. “Claiming’s the new not-claiming,” Tweeted Kelly Slater. “I hope (Tom) Curren doesn’t watch these events.” Jeremy Flores, sidelined with busted ankle, had plenty of time to observe: “Never seen so many claim (sic).Pretty much every waves.But i guess now that everyone claimed, u better claim too if you want the high score…” Chris Cote, the exquisite man who edits Transworld Surf, said “Kelly (Slater) Claims a lot, and that’s fine when he rides waves like that.” And Jamie O’Brien chose his favourite: “I think (Michel) Bourez just took claim of the event! So far.” We’re guessing he means the dropped-knee, arms-out, bowed-head (four down, three in on the collage). That’s our favourite, anyhow. Adriano, notorious for his love of post-wave celebrations, told Stab in an interview some months back that claiming’s part of who he is: Stab: Tell me about claiming waves. What’s the rationale behind it for you? Adriano De Souza: “I’m really passionate about what I’m doing. I claimed that one wave at Snapper, with the three reos and the air. You know, whatever, I really enjoy what I’m doing. If I’m happy, I’m going to show that, there’s no other reason behind it. My opinion is that the judges are there to judge what you’re doing on the wave, not the claims. If they’re judging for the claims, it’s a claim competition, not a surf competition. Some guys say to me, “You claim a lot,” but it doesn’t worry me. I’m fucking happy, man. It’s just a show of emotion. I claimed a 3.5 and no one talked about that.” You’ve claimed a 3.5? “Yeah, in Portugal. I lost the heat. No one talked about that. I claimed that wave, I really enjoyed that moment. I got like, a little barrel, it was tiny but I was so in there, you know? It was only small but I fit in it! And I came out, was like, “Yeah!”, and I was like fuck, this competition’s on! And then it was like “Adriano, your last score was a 3.5″ and I was like, perfect! (laughs). Fuck man, I wanna be genuine, I don’t wanna be a fake. That’s me.” Read the full interview here.  *Since posting this, Jules Tweeted: “My opinion on claiming. It’s hard not too when the waves are that good. I claimed everyone else’s best waves for them from the beach haha.” Then, “The boys rode a lot of waves well worth a good claim. Special event to be a part of. Tahiti still has the nod this year!” So, what’s your favourite? Or, d’you think they should be outlawed?