| "The
truth is," agreed Doyle, "I never felt that surfing as a
competitive sport made much sense. Surfing is very difficult to judge
because there's an act of god that influences how each wave will
behave...
"But probably
the worst thing about surf contests," continued Doyle, striking a
blow, "is that they're contrary to the very essence of the sport,
which is freedom. If you make up a bunch of arbitrary rules that are
supposed to define good surfing, the creative freedom of surfing gets
destroyed.
"I wasn't the
only surfer of my era who felt this way. There were a lot of great
surfers -- Kemp Aaberg, Lance Carson,
Phil Edwards , and Mickey Dora -- who rarely entered contests. If a big
contest was being held at Malibu, they'd much rather go down the road
someplace and surf by themselves all day."
From a tribute to Mickey
"Da Cat" Dora
at
www.legendarysurfers.com
Last, speaking
for myself, I'm the guy you want with you in a competitive heat.
If you're really super stoked I'll give the wave away. Some times you'll
do the same for me. And, sometimes, now and then, in the right wave -
maybe an open head high with enough room and at the right break - we'll
ride the same wave together, looking out for each other . . . and
laughing on the way in to the beach like little children.
-Ray |