Page 4 - MidWeek West - Sep 14, 2022

4
SEPTEMBER 14, 2022
Aloha surfers and beachgoers,
By the time you have your eyes on this col- umn, the Rip Curl World Surf League Finals will have kicked off the holding period Sept. 8-16 at Trestles in sunny Southern Califor- nia. Trestles is actually a collection of high-perfor- mance surf spots between San Onofre in north San Diego and south San Cle- mente in Orange County. The particular wave the fi- nal five will compete in for the world title is at Lower Trestles. It is truly one of
BY GARY KEWLEY
Hawai‘i’s Carissa Moore Is Top Woman In WSL Finals
Brazil’s Gabriel Medina (left) and Hawai‘i’s Carissa Moore were crowned champions of the 2021 Rip Curl World Surf League Finals. Moore is up for the title again this year. PHOTO COURTESY WORLD SURF LEAGUE
two. That winner then faces the No. 2 ranked surfer in match three. Then, that win- ner has to face the No. 1-rat- ed best surfer in the world in the big title match. It’s the
the best high-performance, rippable waves in the world. You can expect to see lots of high airs and hard, creative carving.
ty of their careers to get a world title.
the new WSL Finals day. It’s also the gnarliest tal- ent pool ever seen. More surfers can win a world title
This is the one-day, win- ner-take-all, grand finale of the entire year of 11 World Championship Tour events. They take the top five wom- en and men, and let them go in a fresh format matchup.
Hawai‘i’s Carissa Moore is the top seed, and she’s won five world titles. The most heats she’ ll surf is three. Brazil’s Filipe Tole- do is the men’s top-seeded talent with no world titles to his credit. He, too, may have to slug it out in three intense heats. Whoever gets two heat wins is the victor.
than we’ ve ever witnessed. Last year, when our cur- rent world champs, Moore and Gabriel Medina, won on WSL Finals day, more people watched than at any other time in surfing history. Something tells me this year
The sequence is a bit hard to picture, but basically the No. 5-rated surfers go up against No. 4 in the world in match one. Then, the winner of this first heat takes on the No. 3-rated surfer in match
best of three heats.
So, the No. 1 seeds don’t
There’s definitely more pressure now on the WCT since the tour began in 1976.
won’t be any different.
So, do not miss this. I’ ll let you know more at
need to surf near as many heatsasNo.4orNo.5 rated, but the lower seeds have the biggest opportuni-
First pressure cook- er is that there is the new mid-season cut, second is
surfnewsnetwork.com. GQ, droppin’ in 4 U!
gary@surfnewsnetwork.com
Hawaii’s Most Trusted Movers Since 1968
Always on the Move
Call us for all your moving and storage needs!
100% Employee Owned
808.456.4200 • info@mdyerglobal.com
98-054 Kuleana Road, Pearl City
PREPARE YOUR
HURRICANE SUPPLIES NOW
MAKE SURE LOVED ONES ARE READY WITH AN EMERGENCY PLAN.
Learn more at PrepareNowHawaii.org
PACKING MATERIALS FOR SALE!