Wave Pool Competition?

[BoMan]

According to Magic Seaweed…

Surf Snowdonia has been officially added to the UK pro surfing tour, with the inaugural competition set to take place next month.
http://magicseaweed.com/news/wave-pool-added-to-pro-tour/9511/

I understand some of the reasons for this – collecting admission, giving fans a closer look, and making consistent waves for riders – but I think it’s the wrong thing to do.

Reading waves is a core skill in surfing and would no longer factor into the competition. We have often discussed the importance of observing the break to get out efficiently, identify the best waves, hunt Spot X and deal with sections. Winners should be smart as well as gifted athletes.

Your thoughts?

[oldmansurfer]

They will need to figure out a different priority system. The wave may have a constant shape but reading them is still needed. What can you do with a wave of this shape (and the shape varies over the course of the wave)? Picking the right wave won't be needed since they are all the same. I think if they get to practice then they are going to find new trick to do that haven't ever been done before because it requires a certain shape in order to pull it off. But this is just the UK pro surfers not the WSL.

[icetime]

Ruins the unpredictability of surfing, they bring it down to just riding instead of wave selection a positioning and other factors that are infact part of the skill set of a good surfer

[dtc]

doesnt the wave pool break down all the time - that will just make it like the US Open surfing at Huntington. And who needs that....

[oldmansurfer]

Yeah that could present some problems. I wonder how quickly they can fix a problem. Seems like they close for a long time to fix problems. Maybe they can replace the usual broken parts before they start the contest

[RinkyDink]

It's a glorified balance beam competition double dipped in a chocolaty flavoring called surf industry marketing. The consumers will love it.