WSL Final’s Kick Off With Lively San Clemente Press Conference
“Welcome to the center of the surfing universe!,” exclaimed San Clemente City Council member Chris Duncan, greeting the crowd at the WSL press conference staged just above the pier on a perfect, cloudless, wave-less Wednesday morning.
While that could be considered a bold a claim, at the moment he boomed it out, with cameras wyrring and the audience cheering, it might not have been an overstatement. With two of the top ten contestants living in town, and Caity Simmers just one town south, the Southern California pride of place was everywhere.
“It’s unbelievable how much fun being here is,” said Molly Picklum, still hoarse after an evening at the San Clemente Surf Night, which drew a capacity crowd at the Community Center. “It’s such a surfer community!”
“It feels like a hurricane,” stated women’s rating leader Caity Simmers, who’s year-long performance has amazed but not surprised the surfing world at 18. the “I’m just trying to slow down a little and feel more familiar with the vibe.”
“It a different way of looking at world title now,” number one seed John John Florence noted.
“I’m excited about competing against number two!,” he concluded, a nod to his closest rival Griffin Colapinto.
Then there’s Australian Ethan Ewing, who like Colapinto, is hungry to win his first world title. “It’s been 11 years since Mick Fanning won one for Oz,” Ewing remarked. “It would be an absolute dream,” said last year’s runner-up.
“Being able to represent Costa Rica is such an awesome honor,” said Brisa Hennessey the leader of a new crew of smaller nations emerging as serious threats to the titan trio of Oz, USA and Brazil. Tatiana Weston-Webb, an undeniable contender, echoed Brisa’s sentiments nearly verbatim.
In quite a few past years (as it was in this one), a powerful showing early in the tour race would end up making the leader a runaway champ, taking the air out of the last contests of the season, where the world title had already been determined. The whole premise of the WSL Final’s was intended to keep the excitement going to the very end of the year. And no one felt the opportunity like Italo Ferreira.
“I have a chance to go step-by-step, keep working towards the ultimate goal again,” Italo told me, confidence rising in his voice.
“Trestles looks like a wave pool!” Italo finished. “I am ready to play hard with the boys here.”
The opening invocation by the Acjachemen native tribe was an inclusive connection that lent soul to the ceremony and made note of who the OG locals really are – a respectful touch.
Jessi Miley-Dyer took the stage last to give the colored jerseys to the competitors – and give the crowd what they had been waiting to hear to close the press conference: “We’ll be sending out a yellow call on WSL Instagram,” she told the hushed audience. “As we speak, it looks like Friday is likely THE day for us.”
Indeed, the swell angle and buoy movement backs the prediction – those who have known Trestles magic for a few decades can read the swell forecast like Goggle Maps.
Stay tuned for a knock-down, drag out prize fight. You have aerial artists, long-time locals, no-holds barred rookies and iconic vets, on a wave that just about anything can be done on.
