Jeremy Flores Storms The Judging Tower At The Quiksilver Festival - Stab Mag

Live Now — Episode 3 Of Surf100 Challenge Series Presented By Pacifico

377 Views
Still GOAT it. Photo: Fred Egli

Jeremy Flores Storms The Judging Tower At The Quiksilver Festival

…to demand they give his teammate, Kelly Slater, an appropriate score.

news // Sep 28, 2024
Words by Brendan Buckley
Reading Time: 3 minutes

Some people confuse the skill of surf forecasting with the act of checking ten different sites for no reason.

Miky Picon exists on the opposite end of the spectrum.

All he must do is stand on the beach, close his eyes, breathe deeply through the nose seven times, then exhale audibly, and he will know exactly what every bank in a ten-kilometer radius will be doing through every tide for the next 24 hours.

You could have checked a forecast (or ten) and thought today wouldn’t work, but the sand shaman found a way to lead the Quik Fest crew into some of the best surfing we’ve seen in the event so far.

In the morning, he moved the fourth round of the (no small feat) to La Nord — the far bar in front of Hossegor’s La Centrale district of beach bars and restaurants. In 2004, Andy beat Bruce in a Quik Pro France final there. As you might imagine, it was not a very mellow night at La Centrale after that.

The morning’s theme was ‘Best Combo’ but, really, this whole event’s theme is ‘Best Surfing Wins.’ If you surf well, the judges will give you a score regardless of the theme. One man who is widely considered to surf well, Kelly Slater, got the round’s most impressive wave — a 9.10 for a duo of meat-cleaving turns.

A normal human probably wouldn’t have looked at the ocean this morning and thought, ‘Hmm, that looks pleasant.’ But once the teams got in the water, the opportunities became very apparent. Photo: Marie Pfisterer

Kelly and his teammate, Jeremy Flores, started the day in 12th place out of 14 teams. The crowd very clearly loved the wave, so Jeremy took the opportunity to storm the judging booth to ensure they would adequately compensate his teammate. And they did: It was a 9.10.

Thankfully, Baguette TV’s extensive production team (well, it’s a bit bigger than the Box To Box crew who did ‘Make Or Break’) captured the moment and will air it in the next episode.

Jeremy did his part in Round 4 as well, putting up a 6.8. Other highlights from the morning included Marc Lacomare’s 8.43 for a turn — it wasn’t a combo, but it also wasn’t a section any of us would hit. Hughie was also nice enough to remind everyone of how good he surfs and got an 8, too.

After many things had been said and done, Miky called it off for a few hours before flicking the light green again for Round 5 back at the main comp site of Les Gardians.

Here we see day’s surf highlights.

The theme was ‘Best Turn.’ Kauli Vaast got the highest score of the day (and event) with a 9.27 for a melange of three turns — told you the judges just want to reward good surfing. Local boy Sam Piter kept himself and his teammate Kylian Guerin in the conversation with an 8.77, and Kelly got another 8.33. Jeremy once again backed him up with a 6.8, and they ended up in the lead. They went from last place to first in three rounds. It’s not a coincidence that it happened with a bunch of swells in the water, conditions that an ordinary surf brain would have a hard time making sense of.

Right now, the maximum amount of points any team could have is 100. Tomorrow will put an additional potential of 20 points out there — which means the Baguette TV team is still in contention, so long as they all get 10s while two CT veterans don’t get more than 2.5 points each.

Maybe — and only just maybe — a win here would give Kelly an opportunity to depart stage right from the podium and retire wearing a jersey soaked in champagne.

We shall see.

One last round will run tomorrow in smaller, cleaner waves at Les Gardians. With tonight being the last Saturday of the waiting period, the lineup of music at La Centrale tonight won’t make the path to victory easier for many of the teams.

Comments

Comments are a Stab Premium feature. Gotta join to talk shop.

Already a member? Sign In

Want to join? Sign Up

Advertisement

Most Recent

Expect No Kiss, All Climax At The “World’s Most Perfect Pointbreak”

A Corona Cero Open J-Bay 2025 preview.

Jul 9, 2025

SEOTY: Liam O’Brien stars in ‘Friction of Perception’

"Hopefully I don’t come across like too much of a peanut."

Jul 8, 2025

10 Shapers To Watch In The Next 10 Years — Part One

“It’s like a drug empire, man. Cut the head off the snakes, and more will…

Jul 7, 2025

Mason Ho Joins Ritual Vision, Releases Remix Of Greatest Hits

Dion Agius riffs on the eyewear brand’s U.S. expansion, Ritualistic Tendencies, and the new stars…

Jul 7, 2025

Is It Time For A New Judging Format?

We have a modest proposal — a WSL head judge disagrees.

Jul 7, 2025

Luke Thompson Turns Last Year’s Priority Disaster Into Ballito Gold

+ earns himself a wildcard into Jbay.

Jul 7, 2025

Fiji Has Its First Professional Surfer, And He’s Unbelievable

16-year-old James Kusitino’s incomprehensible tube lounging leads to a deal with Former.

Jul 6, 2025

Laird Hamilton on The Limitations of Being a Purist, Invention vs. Ownership + Why He Never Had a Sticker Deal 

Untold stories from his How Surfers Get Paid interview.

Jul 4, 2025

Surf100 Challenge Series Presented By Pacifico: Episode 3

"The tribe has spoken," Dane Reynolds pronounced, and a surfer's torch was snuffed.

Jul 3, 2025

When Surfer’s Eye Is Actually Cancer

Erin Campbell's brutal journey from surf camp dreams to chemo drops, cryotherapy, and surgical horror.

Jul 3, 2025

Surfing’s 2025 Q2 Report

An assessment of surfing's vital signs throughout the second quarter of 2025.

Jul 2, 2025

What Actually Happened to Occy’s Mad Max Plunger Pool In Yeppoon?

Surf Lakes’ brass talks: internet hecklers, the unplugging of the plunger, and the Tom Curren…

Jul 2, 2025

Poor Goofy Foots 

Data shows that the world is stacked against goofs — they even make 15% less money than…

Jul 1, 2025

Britain’s First Wavepool Has Closed — What Really Happened?

Bankruptcy, social media hackings, debts unpaid — and yet, reopening looms.

Jul 1, 2025

Watch: Was Matt Meola’s Air Actually Better Than Hughie’s?

Watch the full Swatch Nines highlight reel and decide.

Jun 30, 2025

Houshmand Bludgeons Field To Win Second CT — Molly Picklum Tastes Blood, Snatches World #1 In Brazil

You can't argue with big surfing — that's Saquarema wrapped.

Jun 29, 2025

37 Years Old And World #1 — What’s Changed For Jordy Smith?

On rediscovering decades old surfboard templates, having a personality on the CT, and why this…

Jun 27, 2025

Tom Lowe Stars in ‘Let Me Live’

The wild, improbable ascent of Britain’s best big-wave surfer.

Jun 27, 2025
Advertisement