Waves Very Small, World Surf League Calls Pipe Pro ON
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It’s been a tumultuous two weeks to start the World Surf League’s 2024 Championship Tour season, and its kickoff event, the Lexus Pipe Pro.
Opening day saw solid six-to-eight foot Pipe as the men’s division rolled through round one and the elimination round. Then, a couple lay days, followed by Massive Monday, in which the WSL controversially called off the contest, igniting online uproar.
And now, time is running out. Today, Friday, the women’s division is back in the water at very small Pipeline, with finals day for both the men and women on Saturday.
“The waves are looking pretty fun,” said WSL Chief of Sport, Jessi Miley Dyer, on the webcast. “It’s definitely going to continue to pick up throughout the afternoon. We know that. We’ve been eyeing that swell. We’ve waited as long as we can to start.”
Then the first heat went out; they waited a full 10 minutes out of the 30-minute heat before they caught a wave; 5x world champion, Carissa Moore, was knocked out of competition with only two waves (totaling 2.37) in her last heat at Pipeline before retirement.
Related: Waves Too Big, World Surf League Calls Off Pipe Pro
Surf fans, as expected were dismayed with the small waves.
“If you guys would’ve run on the big day, then time would’ve been on your side,” wrote North Shore legend and former Pipe Master, Johnny Boy Gomes. “There was some roll throughs in the morning but it cleaned up and it was firing all day. WTF happened to pro surfing, it seems like a small wave tour. Fake is the new real. That’s why I don’t fit in.”
“It’s literally 1ft lol,” wrote another fan.
Stay tuned. There’s a massive swell headed to Hawaii in about a week. The Eddie Aikau Big Wave Invitational is on yellow alert. And the Sunset Pro starts Feb. 12th.
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