The question of the usual rainbow flag on her shoulder was neatly sidestepped by the WSL, with no flags of any kind adorning competitors’ rashies in Abu Dhabi.
And that was that. On to the surfing.
Night surfing in Abu Dhabi.Credit: Getty Images
The weekend event’s pause as a sandstorm whipped across the water, and wave pool king Filipe Toledo’s collision with a photographer caught in the shallows, added to the ‘Only in Abu Dhabi’ vibes of perfectly engineered waves in six-star surroundings.
There was little quibbling with eventual winners Italo Ferreira (Brazil) and Caity Simmers (US). The in-water rivalry between teen phenom Simmers and Australian Molly Picklum is an admission-worthy match-up that will only continue to be played out in finals and world title bouts.
There was non-stop action and then some for 28 hours of surfing across the first two days (and evening) as every single surfer took four waves each heat.
Considering most ocean rides are sorted in 10-30 seconds, the minute-long rides on the man-made peaks had surfers cramping up throughout the three-day affair.
Italo Ferreira takes flight.Credit: World Surf League
Athleticism took a greater priority over ocean instincts for obvious reasons.
And for anyone who watched for more than a heat or two, it all started to look the same, as perfect, formulaic conditions will almost inevitably produce.
The highlights were certainly that. Rookie Jackson Bunch’s three aerials from one left, including a picture-perfect landing on his second flight, knocked out the last winner of a wave-pool event, world No.3 Griffin Colapinto.
Simmers, Picklum and Australian title contender Jack Robinson all produced eye-catching displays.
But otherwise, with the waves so reliably designed and predictable, the weird was all that was left.
Like the surprise sandstorm that kicked up from beyond the salt water pool and brought a 30-minute pause to Australian Ethan Ewing’s quarter-final against Brazil’s Miguel Pupo.
Or Toledo’s late-ride collision with WSL photographer Thiago Diz, who was caught with nowhere to go as the two-time world champion fins smashed into his camera housing.
Toledo let fly with a volley of expletives afterwards before apologies and hugs all round. The WSL ruled that given the smash-up came at the very end of the Brazilian’s ride, it wouldn’t have significantly altered his score and no re-surf was needed.
Toledo was chasing a heat-winning score at the time and after claiming the women’s title, Simmers gave an insight into “the most pressure you’re going to feel [because] you gotta use skill.
“It’s not luck, like it usually is, where you’re like, ‘The ocean could send me this wave.’ The pool is going to send you this wave and you’ve gotta get the score.”
The collision of wave pool events and non-surfing markets with dubious human rights histories sits uncomfortably for many. Particularly given the influence of large, undisclosed sums of money behind it.
At a spectator level, there’s curiosity at least for the first time round, even if it only lingers for a few rides. Along with some very distinct ‘Only in Abu Dhabi’ vibes.
