WSL Commish, Kieren Perrow’s Take On Kelly Slater’s Wavepool

Now that Kelly’s wave and the WSL are an adhesive, there’s a lot of chatter about the “future”. It looks like surfing will be in the Olympic games, Japan 2020. And Kelly’s said, that an artificial wave would be a good choice for an alternate playing field. “Whether this wave is it or not,” he said, “I don’t know… but I hope it is.” WSL CEO Paul Speaker’s called it a “game changer” and has declared he’ll “personally commit the best surfers to the 2020 Olympic games.” With the International Olympic Committee, ISA and WSL being buddy-buddy at the moment, it seems a likely solution. And that’s not yet scraping the surface of the possibility for a stop on tour being held at Kelly’s wave. For contestable conditions, the wave would have to be altered. Judging by the this clip, and the when Kelly had Today’s Natalie Morales on it, he toned it down to a setting that echo’d Wavegarden quality. The question’s raised that with the same wave coming through, would it take away the spontaneity of riding a wave? Would surf contest in a wavepool turn into gymnastics, with a set routine? 

Kelly’s suggested a new judging criteria for the (potential) future event, with five rounds: Air, Maneuver, Carve, X-Factor and Barrel. A speciality event deserves speciality guidelines… 

WSL commish, Kieren Perrow’s taken serious interest in Kelly’s wave. KP’s a level-headed gent that doesn’t fall victim to the hyperbole that seeps through the surf world. He calls it as he see’s it. The wave at the “Surf Ranch” is the prototype, the tech will only evolve from here. “When I rode Kelly’s wave, I was blown away by the experience,” he said. “It has more energy and power than I expected and this technology holds the potential for future development of surfing just starting out and those already competing on the Championship Tour.”