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View Full Version : CP sat 01/17 - my opinion on comp there


BrianSB
01-17-2009, 04:31 PM
Surfed CP 9:30-4:00.

Ugh, checked the cam at around 7 and I see tents?

Was it the Rincon classic or CP classic...

anyways, looked small, so decided to wait a bit before I headed out.

Get there, yeah full parking lot, surf tourny going on? DP surf team? I don't know.

Get in the water, very low tide at that point, but whatever, still some fun ones.

My session was alright, minus the countless drop-ins from the competitors, quickly want to say thanks to one competitor in particular on a white swallow-tail (think it was a Dave Johnson board) who didn't drop-in. I've seen him out quite a few times before, wouldn't be suprised if this guy won the contest because he rips.

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READER DISCLAIMER: text beyond this line MAY include sarcasm, lite-bitching, and lite-aggression. And it's a lot.

EDIT: Also, watch out for the bitchassness.
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ANYWAYS. I think tourny's are awesome, competing is great, and this isn't me 'dissing' the competitors or admins. or whatever, but just my honest feedback on the competition, etc.

There was a guy with a loud speaker, and he KEPT saying, "all non-competitors leave the contest area, these are just kids, don't burn the kids". I'm only 19 btw, so they aren't that much younger than me...were all teens...ANYWAY

Dude on loud speaker memorable quotes:

"Couldn't you guys just surf Sands, it's better anyways"
"You guys need to LEAVE the competition area, they are better than you anyway"
and the droning repetition: "All non-competitors, please leave the competition area"

Okay my first...'complaint' the admins. had ZERO tact. First off, there were at least at any point in time throughout the day while I was there 5-10+ people not in the tourny just surfing. And a few of them were chargers (follow the experienced lead, altho I wouldn't have gotten out anyways).

Around 1PM or something, some girl paddles out, I assume she was admin-ing the contest: "Okay, you guys need to leave, there are TONS of other spots that are just FIIIIIIRING right now, you can find another spot, and these kids, you know these kids are trying to excel out here" (I swear to god, I couldn't make this shit up, she actually said, "these kids are trying to excel") then some guy says (I assume he was an admin / parent), "yeah, and they are local kids". Okay, me too, I've lived in SB since I was 5 years old. It's irrelevant. As far as the lady goes, maybe other spots were firing, but my thought process was: I rode my bike to campus point 30 minutes from my house with my board, I'm already suited up and in the water, I'm not going to go 'check out' sands. Maybe I should have asked her for a ride.

Also, I heard one of the competitors say to another surfer something like, "Well, if you go, I'm just going to have to get in your way".

+ one competitor gave me a 10 second stink-eye...just for being out...

Okay, guys, the entire time I'm thinking to myself, "the way they are acting is not making me want to leave, and I'm sure the other 10 'non-competitors' feel the same way also"

I never got mad at any drop-ins tho, infact a lot of the time I just let the competitors get waves, even if I was right of way. Well, okay, I did jokingly do a double middle-finger every time I get dropped in on, but I do that anyways.

The thing is, I'm not gonna go paddle out at some ASP event or the Rincon Classic. I knew about the Rincon Classic months before hand, it was all publicized, and it's a more serious competition. Oh, and Chris Keets basically taught me to surf when I was a little kid, so yeah, respect. Did I want to go to rincon this weekend to surf? yeah, but I went to CP instead, because I knew the contest was there at Rincon. Also, why did these guys have a contest the same day as the Rincon Classic. Why aren't these guys competiting at the classic either?

A competition like this basically gives a bunch of guys 'carte blanche' to drop in on others and go ballistic and shout when they get dropped in on. (I actually accidentally dropped in once on the sponger competitor - swear to god, he came out of no where, but he actually dropped in on a non-competitor surfer on that wave...so whatever).

I'm thinking I'm going to buy myself a loud speaker, a tent, and get my friend to have the loud speaker. I'll buy some competition rashie, while he yells at the beach competition nonsense and I drop in on everyone and tell them this is the competition area.

Who am I competing against?

Ugh, the ocean and myself, my buddy over there is scoring me.

cluckaluck
01-17-2009, 06:23 PM
it was a local high school surf contest, lighten up. they may have been extra pushy but what do you expect with defiance? double middle fingers? geez. but thanks once again for a VERY descriptive post session report...

BrianSB
01-17-2009, 06:46 PM
it was a local high school surf contest, lighten up. they may have been extra pushy but what do you expect with defiance? double middle fingers? geez. but thanks once again for a VERY descriptive post session report...

Yeah, it was DP.

You didn't have to read it all, as per the disclaimer :).

The thing is, the admins. FAILED at any sort of proper or polite communication with any of the surfers out there. Screaming for us to get out of the water, etc etc. It's just silly, and ontop of that purely ineffective at persuading us out the water. It was pure bullying - that didn't work.

It was basically localism, but they had 'carte blanche' to do so because they had a comp going.

How could they have gotten us out the water? Well, in all honesty, they probably couldn't have, even if they were nice and polite. But instead, they just unstoke themselves and put a bad vibe out there.

I like your 'lighten up' comment, because I honestly feel that applies more to THEM, than to me. Afterall, it's just a HS surf competiton.

EDIT: Also, I apologize if I offended you with my post, I was just expressing my opinion on the whole thing. Maybe there is some sort of proper behavior to do at lesser minor surf competitions, and I did check before heading into the water that other non-competitors were also out. It seemed like the consensus was between the non-competitors (including some very good non-competiting surfers who were also out) that it was clearly okay to be out there. So I wasn't the only one befuddled by the whole situation today.

Would you have gone out of the water? Would you have not paddled out?

smoknJay
01-17-2009, 07:01 PM
I just hope you didnt interfere with the contest or any of the constestants judgement

I would have looked elsewhere. Its kind of like just shooting hoops by yourself while others who have come there collectively are trying to play a game on the same court.

But hey! whatever gets YOUR stoke on

BrianSB
01-17-2009, 07:06 PM
I just hope you didnt interfere with the contest or any of the constestants judgement

I would have looked elsewhere. Its kind of like just shooting hoops by yourself while others who have come there collectively are trying to play a game on the same court.

But hey! whatever gets YOUR stoke on

No, I don't feel like I interfered with the contest, never got in a riders way if they were on a wave. (I won't omit that I did accidentally drop-in on a sponger on a wave that just swung way to the left, and figured it was clear. Usually never happes...But he had dropped in on someone else on that wave...so...yeah two wrongs don't make a right, but whatever, it was an accident).

Goletagirl
01-18-2009, 09:58 AM
I drove up at 6:15 yesterday. Saw the cars. Saw the tents. Moved on. Sure I could've paddled out and let the competitors have all the best waves and pulled out of any they dropped in on, but is that fun?
It's a great motivator to find other fun spots.

morgan
01-18-2009, 07:17 PM
a close second to your "drama at mondos"

Surferguy80
01-18-2009, 07:32 PM
I drove up at 6:15 yesterday. Saw the cars. Saw the tents. Moved on. Sure I could've paddled out and let the competitors have all the best waves and pulled out of any they dropped in on, but is that fun?
It's a great motivator to find other fun spots.

+1
a little adventure and we scored almost 8 hours of head high racetracks to ourselves...the further from CP you get, the more you'll enjoy surfing :D

carpjaws
01-19-2009, 05:42 AM
reconciling the ideal to the real can induce angst primordial or...but questing away from the rest can be key to be free, and i hear that in our close knit community and it consoles me...B-SB, carpas can relate to two wheel proximity and have peddled to many primo sessions in my time but scares from to many cars has lead to smarter not harder tactics that have kept the peak experience the object of attention in my minds eye...but let it all out, anytime, because we dig though waves, too and we're good for it...