Team Updates
Wavegarden allows new duel-style format to change things up
Surfersvillage Global Surf News, 23 September, 2015 - World number 25 Jordy Smith was a keen observer at Red Bull Unleashed this past weekend, currently landlocked but more than happy to be cheering on the athletes as they took the wave pool renaissance movement to never-before-seen heights.
On site DJs, a medieval theme, and a new duel-style format really mixed things up, and the powerful South African was a big fan of all that he witnessed. We figured we'd better have a chat with Smith about his Welsh experience, where he sees surfing headed, and how he's holding up after a horror run of injuries.
Jordy Smith! How's Wales?
It's actually really cool. I've honestly been here for less than a day, but we've seen some castles, this wave pool is unreal, and I'm looking forward to the rest of our trip.
Could you ever have imagined coming to Wales to surf?
Definitely not! I didn't even know I was coming until about 24-hours ago, then I got the call to come to Snowdonia for this event, and now that I'm here I'm really glad I sucked it up and jumped on the flight.
Surf Snowdonia's wavegarden © Red Bull/Johnson
Thoughts on the wave?
Amazing! I've surfed a few wave pools so far, and this is definitely the most high performance by a mile. There's a place called Sun City in South Africa that's pretty small and you can do an air against the wall at the end, but for variety of turns, length of wave, and overall perfection, this is definitely the best one in the world. I surfed the prototype WaveGarden in Spain, it's the same concept, but a little smaller, and I just can't wait to see what's coming in the next five, 10 years. It's going to be unbelievable!
What have the boys said about the crowd sitting on top of them?
A couple of them have been getting super nervous! I guess there's always going to be different sorts of pressure, it's just a case of what they are. In the ocean you're wondering if you're going to get enough waves, or run out of time, but here you know there's going to be a wave every three minutes. You know there's no physical risk, but at the same time the crowd is right above you, as close as you could possibly get to a person on a wave, there's music pumping and you're on the big screen with thousands of people watching you, and you know you've only got three chances and can't blow it.
You said some surfers have been nervous but a few have definitely fed off the crowd too, it's almost like watching a snowboarder at the top of a halfpipe getting psyched as they sit and wait for their waves and interact with the crowd.
Yeah! Some definitely thrive off the energy (laughs) as a knight walks past in full armour! There's something you're not going to see at the beach every day! The battle format is really cool too, on that note. Everyone has an equal opportunity, which is one of the crazy things about our regular competition formats. Here you get the same wave, over and over, and the best surfer wins.
