“And we’re off!” Another Championship Tour season is officially a go now that the Billabong Pipe Pro is firing and boy, has Pipe delivered.
The action leading up to Finals Day was unreal this week. John John Florence and Joao Chianca faced off in a Round of 16 heat that can only be described as a crowd-pleaser. John John did John John things and escaped with a win but it wasn’t without Chianca announcing his presence on Tour in grand fashion. It may be early in his CT career but man, if he can put it to people like the two-time champ more often he’s going to be an exciting athlete to watch for a long time.
But if we’re being honest, the real drama came from Kelly Slater. He pulled a classic Kelly move with a buzzer-beating 9.23 earlier in the day that sent a dangerous Barron Mamiya home. Here’s a tough pill to swallow: Kelly Slater hasn’t finished a season in the Top 5 since 2014. But it’s tough to ignore that the man still has that je ne sais quoi for delivering moments like this from time to time.
“It’s just crazy thinking back on 30 years — how many times that’s happened to me and just gone my way,” he says. “I don’t know what to chalk it up to.”
All of this couldn’t overshadow that the women’s tour is busy making history. Before the 2022 Billabong Pipe Pro began there had never been a full-length women’s Championship Tour event at Pipe.
“The women deserve serious waves. We deserve the challenge and opportunity to show our level of surfing,” Coco Ho told The Inertia back in 2013. They’re getting that chance at Pipe now. Finally.
Meanwhile, The Inertia Studios Manager Jordyn Romero delivered a fresh edit from Rincon with some classic, long, fun rides and something we’re pretty sure is a human boardslide.
On the editorial side, Will Sileo ate some humble pie. A lifelong skier, Will’s never buckled into snowboard bindings and sent it down the hill atop a single plank…until a couple of weeks ago. Let’s just say his first day on a snowboard didn’t end on a snowboard. Writer Ella Boyd penned a love letter to Maine’s winter surf experience and New Yorker Owen James Burke authored a love letter of his own — about a newfound dedication to foamies.
Welcome back to the Weekly Wrap, where The Inertia’s Juan Hernandez wraps up all the best stories on our site each week.
