The Florence Brothers Will Surf Firing Pipeline All By Themselves Today

The Da Hui Backdoor Shootout begins today. 

If you’re to believe the forecasts, the waves will be firing. From the look of things at first light, that prophecy is correct. And, the whole event will be live-streamed on Youtube for anyone who’s not fortunate enough to be on the North Shore to watch (see link above). 

But that is not the most exciting news surrounding this event. The most exciting news revolves around one of the event’s eight teams, made up exclusively of The Brothers Florence.

Or, at least, that was true when this story first went live. After stiff-arming friends who were begging them for that final spot, John, Nathan and Ivan decided to invite their hanai brother, Eli Olson, onto their team.

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A post shared by John john Florence (@john_john_florence)

The Backdoor Shootout is not your typical surf contest. 

It’s team-based, for one, meaning that you don’t surf against your competitors, but rather with your teammates, in an effort to earn the highest collective score across the multiple days of competition. 

In other words, you and three friends paddle out to Pipe and hoot each other into bombs, with no one else in sight, trying to score the best waves of your life and maybe win some money in the process. It’s pretty freakin’ surreal. 

The other strange thing about this event is that wave scores can go up to 12, as opposed to the traditional 10-point scale. This is meant to leave room for those once-in-lifetime Pipe waves that transcend perfection, and for whatever reason (perhaps the barren lineup), tend to occur in this event. 

Koa Rothman’s 2017 WOTW winner comes to mind. As does Keito Matsuoka’s suicide drop to tube. 

There are eight teams in total, comprised of four surfers apiece (plus potential alternates). Over the next two weeks, each team will get an equal number of sessions alone out at Pipeline — the number of sessions will vary depending on the number of days with quality surf. 

At the end of the waiting period, the best rides from each team are counted, and a winning team + surfer are crowned as the Da Hui Backdoor Shootout champions. 

As 2021 is a year of universal inclusion, teams may consist of any group of individuals who share a common nation, brand, film, gender, sporting organization, or genetic makeup. 

Here’s the team list for this year’s Backdoor Shootout:

• Snapt 4
• Quiksilver
• Volcom
• Japan
• WSL (an all-female team!)
• Da Hui
• Peru
• Florence

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A post shared by Nathan Florence (@nathan_florence)

That last listed team has put in their time, paid their dues, and will now receive the one thing they’ve always wanted in life, but couldn’t buy with all the NFTS in the metaverse: Pipeline, all to themselves. 

You may be wondering: how is it that John can surf in an event outside of the WSL’s jurisdiction, when that’s expressly prohibited for CT surfers?

Well, it turns out there’s a special rule that grants CT surfers clemency to surf non-sanctioned events within their home region. Because this event is literally in John’s backyard, he’s been granted an exemption. Same goes for Seth Moniz, on team Snapt4.

The event starts sometime between 8:30 and 9 am HST. Here’s the official heat order for day one.

Now if you haven’t already, click play on the webcast link above to watch the Da Hui Backdoor Shootout live.

Pumping Pipe with just the best of the best — this is what surfing’s all about.