What’s Kanoa Igarashi’s Downtime Between CT Events Like?

The idea of a full-time gig where your top priority is surfing against one person at a time in the best waves on the planet is dreamy. That “Dream Tour” moniker really takes front and center in our imagination when we think about what Championship Tour athletes work for, and eventually get, to experience for as long as they’re the top 36 men and 18 women in the world.

Of course, if you’re the kind of person who doesn’t sleep all that well in any bed other than your own then tour life would probably suck. And if you can’t handle jet lag, time changes, and the terrible sleep that comes with overseas flights then the CT isn’t much of a dream at all.

For example, Kanoa Igarashi got a grand total of 24 hours at home in Huntington Beach, Calif. between the MEO Rip Curl Pro Portugal and the start of the Australian leg at the Rip Curl Pro Bells Beach. His last heat in Portugal took place on March 11, giving him a five-day head start on the athletes who made it to Finals Day at Supertubos. Meanwhile, the window for Bells opened on March 26. Considering competitors often go straight from one event to the next (on different continents) and get their free surf reps in, those windows between each stop don’t leave for a ton of downtime.

The hectic lifestyle offers its fair share of perks though. You naturally end up with close friends from every corner of the globe and a list of diverse places that become adopted homes. Suddenly, you’re soaking up a few free hours with old friends on the golf course and having a laugh. And with Formula 1’s Australian Grand Prix just 90 minutes up the road from Bells, Igarashi also took some time to cheer on a good friend, fellow countryman Yuki Tsunoda.

Downtime on tour may look hectic but it definitely doesn’t look boring. 

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