The Hurley Pro will see Wayne “Rabbit” Bartholomew, Shaun Tomson, Simon Anderson, Cheyne Horan and Michael Ho showcase their skills in a Heritage Series Expression Session.
Photo: WSL
How often do we get to watch a heat that represents a combined 12 World Titles? Or how many times have you watched Shaun Tomson, Rabbit Bartholomew, Simon Anderson, Michael Ho and Cheyne Horan surf the world’s most playful wave at the same time?
That’s what’s on deck when the WSL brings back the Heritage Series at this month’s Hurley Pro and Swatch Women’s Pro. This is the same series that gave us Curren vs Occy at J-Bay, revived the rivalry between Gerlach and Pottz, and gave Tom Carroll another victory at Pipe, all in the last 365 days. So it’s safe to say if you are one for nostalgia, then the Heritage Series is worth the hype. The beautiful thing about something like this is that there aren’t many sports that could offer the same entertainment value by bringing back past icons in a competitive arena. In surfing, we’ll all gladly line up to watch legends charge the world’s best waves with pride, hoping we too only get better with age. The shelf life of a tennis player is short. Olympic track stars lose more than a step as they get older. Soccer players, basketball stars, professional baseball and football players all break down after hitting an early prime. But luckily, surfing is rooted in style and the best only get better and wiser with each passing year.
The Heritage Series lineup is another all star event this year. Aside from the men mentioned for the Hurley Pro’s expression session, the women’s bout will have three surfers with a combined dozen world titles on their resumes. Layne Beachley, Lisa Andersen and Sofia Mulanovich owned women’s surfing between 1994 and 2004, so for at least one more day they’ll all take center stage in professional surfing again.
