We all like new stuff. A new shirt, a new hat, a new car, whatever the product, we like its newness — unless it’s a phone or laptop update, then I’m all about that “remind me tomorrow” button. But typically, new things rejuvenate our souls and make our senses tingle in a fashion that we crave. I’m probably giving a little too much credit to a t-shirt, but everyone likes to break the daily monotony with some fresh experiences.
This week’s Championship Tour event provides just that as the men and women head to Indonesia for the Corona Bali Protected. The WSL has instituted some changes for this season and next, with this being towards the top of my list in terms of excitement. Adding a Bali event just gives the tour a little more intrigue and unpredictability, so having the world’s best take on Keramas will be an awesome midpoint to the 2018 calendar.
The women’s tour has been all about the unpredictable this season, as powerhouses like Carissa Moore and Tyler Wright have not yet reached a semifinal round. With five world titles between them, the pair hasn’t put their best work on display to this point and Bali would certainly be a great spot to course correct.
Moore has been solid but not her spectacular self just yet. She’s reached the quarterfinals in all four contests and could have been heading to a top result at Margaret River if not for the cancellation there. But she’s been taken out by Malia Manuel, Silvana Lima and Lakey Peterson in those heats, all of which would be considered upsets. Despite that, she’s still in fourth place in the rankings and could make a quick move with just one or two wins from here on out.
Wright has a little more ground to make up, as she’s currently ranked seventh with just two quarterfinal appearances and two fourth-round exits. Her draws have been tough, having fallen to Tatiana Weston-Webb and Sally Fitzgibbons in those fourth-round matchups. Had this been a few years ago, the slow start may have felt like too much for Wright to overcome. But her mindset has changed over the past two seasons. She’s much stronger mentally and certainly not out of the running for a third straight championship just yet.
As of now, Kelly Slater is set to make his CT season debut this week. Slater has held himself out of competition to this point, recovering from the broken foot he suffered last year at Jeffreys Bay. He’s been able to surf a good amount and participated in the Founders’ Cup, but this will be his first event back on the world tour if he doesn’t make a last-minute decision to pull out of the competition.
He’s slated to take on Griffin Colapinto and Ace Buchan in the opening round.
The men’s results haven’t been quite as unpredictable as the women, with Julian Wilson, Filipe Toledo, Italo Ferreira and Gabriel Medina topping the leaderboard. But John John Florence remains conspicuous in his absence, as does Jordy Smith. The two currently rank 17th and 25th, respectively. It’s not an area either is used to and just some finals day showings are not going to get either to where they’d like to be. That’s only going to happen with some steady top-three results and hoping nobody up top starts to run away with the points lead.
Florence still has a favorable first-round draw, thanks to his previous ranking. He’ll be taking on rookies Michael Rodrigues and Michael February in their opening heat. Smith will go up against Kanoa Igarashi and Jesse Mendes.
Sebastian Zietz has had identical results to Florence thus far, which would typically be an enormous boast but is only mediocre as of now. Zietz will start his contest against a pair of Brazilians, Adriano de Souza and Yago Dora.
The waiting period begins Saturday (Sunday in Bali) for this exciting addition to the usual schedule. They have plenty of time to allow for ideal conditions (May 27-June 9), so Indo should be the perfect way to freshen up the tour.
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David Simon can be reached at dsimon@thegardenisland.com.
