By Morgan Martin

The first day of the World Surf League (WSL) season taunts mainland America from afar. North Shore Oahu’s clear water looks tantalizing as pro surfers converge on the waves; but more incredible, the surfers are from around the world to compete. 

The first tour stop features world champions like Florida’s Kelly Slater, Hawaii’s John John Florence, and Brazil’s Italo Ferreira and Gabriel Medina while the athletes from South Africa, Australia, France, Peru, Japan and Portugal paddle out to fight for the coveted Pipe Master title.

Hawaii’s strict and decisive COVID-19 response -- including mandatory testing for island travel and two lockdowns for the island of Oahu -- has led the state to one of the lowest COVID rates in the entire country. 

A disciplined pandemic response has awarded locals with a taste of normalcy. 

On Dec. 8, the surfing fans of the world feasted on eight hours of world-class coverage from day one of the tournament. While no spectators were allowed to fill the beach this year, the first round brought viscous competition, thrills and upsets.

Expected favorites delight on day one; 2019 world champion Italo Ferreira amazes with massive aerials. Slater, 11-time world champion, debuts his new twin fin allowing for clean cut backs. Florence and Deivid Silva go barrel hunting in an action packed heat. Oahu local Joshua Moniz outsurfs two world champions after winning the qualifier.

WSL precautions like staff and athlete testing, smaller heats and distanced interviews appear to keep athletes and staff within safety regulations as Pipe Masters tries to set an international precedent for individual sports in 2021. 

On Dec. 11, WSL announced a suspension of competition due to positive COVID-19 results among an undisclosed number of tournament staff. Despite the appearance of a skeleton crew on the North Shore sand, there are about 300 staff members who have been tested every bi-weekly. The event is on an indefinite hold as the infected staff members isolate and contact trace but local officials have yet to determine the future of the event. 

No athletes have tested positive which allows for a handful of options: surf resuming after a waiting period reveals who is infected, new site may be chosen or complete cancelation. With a single day of competition completed and 35 heats until a champion is crowned, it seems 2020 has more turmoil in store for the sporting world.

The tournament was slated from Dec. 8 through Dec. 20 where the surf conditions will be monitored each morning and directors will decide whether or not to compete. Each heat lasts 30 minutes with wave priority rotating between competitors. Judges will determine the score of a ride by the difficulty, variety, execution and speed of sequences. The surfer’s combined score of their two best waves will determine their ranking.

For free viewing, coverage and recaps visit https://www.worldsurfleague.com 

Check out Van’s highlight reel from the qualifier tournament below:

For more gnarly waves check out Jaws Championship Pe’ahi for some monstrous Maui waves on Dec. 21.

Morgan is a culture writer for La Tonique