Page 6 - MidWeek East - Feb 2, 2022

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FEBRUARY 2, 2022
A loha surfers and beachgoers,
BY GARY KEWLEY
Surfers Ready To Rumble For Season’s Large Waves
off at University of Hawai‘i Kennedy Theatre recently and has three more shows this weekend, Feb. 4-6. It’s a won- derful tribute to Eddie Aikau and adapted for young audi- ences. Author/playwright and former Hōkūle‘a crewmem- ber Marion Lyman-Mersereau was on that fateful voyage in 1978. Just search the inter- net for “Eddie Wen Go” for tickets and I’ll see you there. Aloha and thank you for being here!
GQ, droppin’ in 4 U!
gary@surfnewsnetwork.com
It’s Time to Beat the Heat!
Ihavetosayit again. Wow, what a season
When Pipe’s doing its thing, it spits chunks after det- onating on the shallow volca- nic reef. So, it is truly break- ing ground for sports — and equality in general — to allow women the chance to go for it and pushing the boundaries of women’s surfing. Surfing is also the first major sport to give female pros the same pay as men. We can and should be proud of our sport of kings and queens.
Brazil’s first world surfing champ in 2014 — announced he’s taking an indefinite leave from competition. This is huge. Medina is pretty much the best competitive surfer in the world. His performances last year were astonishing and his title campaign was indis- putably dominant.
had made all the prepara- tions medically — I took my COVID vaccination during my holidays — and mentally and physically. But I’m not in a place where I believe I can perform against the world’s best surfers right now and I need to focus on my well-be- ing. I don’t know how long it will take, but I aim to return to the championship tour as soon as I am ready,” he said.
You may also recall that our very own current world champ and Olympic gold medalist Carissa Moore took a year off in 2020. This proved to be perfect timing with the shutdown due to COVID. She came back in 2021 and won her fifth world title.
of surf!
I’ve lost exact count but,
in my gut, I’d give us an av- erage of two to three swells per week for the past two to three months. It’s been nearly nonstop with tons of warn- ing level swells, too. Waimea pumped to 20 feet, even near 25 feet on a few waves on Jan. 22. All the big guns were out, like Kelly Slater, John John Florence and others. So, stay waxed and ready to rumble. We still have all of February, which is one of the big three months for extra large surf.
Another bite of big break- ing news is that on Jan. 24 the current reigning world champ, Gabriel Medina —
“The past few months have been a difficult time for me personally and it has taken a toll. As such, I’ve decided to withdraw from the start of the 2022 WSL Championship Tour. I had every intention of competing for the full season,
“At the end of the season, I was completely exhaust- ed,’ he added, describing the year as “a roller coaster of emotions.”
Us regular folks can’t grasp what world-class athletes en- dure, but surfing is a great healer and I’m sure Medina will be in the water a lot. He’ll come back stronger than ever.
The other big news is that the World Championship Tour kicked off last Jan. 29 at the Banzai. A brand-new solid triple-plus overhead north- west swell greeted day one. The 13-day holding period is needed to give mother nature enough time to deliver the goods. Well, she did and right on time! It’s also the first time in history that the Billabong Pro Pipeline is starting off the WCT year versus finishing it in December as part of the Vans Triple Crown. Indeed, so much has changed.
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The other historic news is this: all WCT women are equal competitors in this illus- trious event.
Pipeline as we know is a death-defying wave. At one time, before the 1950s, few, if anyone, thought it was ride- able — male or female. Pipe was first ridden in December 1961, over 60 years ago, by Phil Edwards.
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Also, don’t miss Eddie Wen’ Go: The Story of the Up- side-Down Canoe. It kicked
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