Griffin Colapinto and Carissa Moore Win Surf Ranch Pro, Take Lead in Title Race
Congratulations Griffin Colapinto and Carissa Moore For The Win at Surf Ranch Pro
The Surf Ranch Pro is one of the most unique events on tour. Because it is held in a wave pool, the conditions are completely static and predictable, which means the specific days and even hours of competition can be scheduled months in advance.
In addition, everyone gets the same number of opportunities and waves, so the format is very different than the rest of the events on tour. Instead of man-on-man heats, the entire field surfs against each other, with their top single score on the left and the right tabulated. Similar to snowboarding and skate contests, the top performers in the first round move on to the final, where they have the opportunity to catch a few more waves and improve on their point total. And at the end of the first two rounds, the eight surfers with the highest scores move into the quarterfinals, where the event takes on a more traditional format of man-on-man surfing.
While this might seem like a less dynamic way to run a surf event, the one thing that can’t be predicted is who is going to thrive and perform best on the day of the contest. While there are a number of surfers whose approach perfectly fits the waves at the Surf Ranch, there is also a need to perform under pressure, since the luck factor of the ocean is removed and the focus is on pure performance. For this reason, the winners of the event are always a surprise—although not altogether unexpected. After all, when everything except for performance is removed from the equation, the best in the business tend to rise to the top, and this year was no exception.
After two days of heavy competition in Lemoore, California, the winners of the Surf Ranch Pro were also the two people leading their respective tours—which means that the best, highest-rated surfers at the moment are the people who won the most predictable event. Griffin Colapinto took out the men’s event with a combined total of 17.77 points (over second place finisher Italo Ferreira, who scored 17.13). Meanwhile, women’s champion and Honolulu native Carissa Moore won the women’s event, beating Caroline Marks 16.53 to 15.43.
With their wins, Colapinto and Moore are now solidly in the lead of their respective tours. Colapinto is sitting on around 35,000 points and Moore nearly 40,000, while second-ranked surfers Joao Chianca and Tyler Wright are a bit off the pace with 33,000 and 34,295, respectively.
The top five rated surfers on each tour at the end of the 10-event schedule will compete for the world title at the final event at Lower Trestles in September, so ratings and results are becoming more and more important. There are four more events left in the season (El Salvador, Brazil, Jeffreys Bay, and Teahupoo), and every point counts from here on out. The top five men currently include Colapinto, Chianca, Felipe Toledo, Ethan Ewing, and Jack Robinson, while the top five women are made up of Moore, Wright, Molly Picklum, Marks, and rookie Caitlyn Simmers. Meanwhile, the surfers with the best chance of hopping into the top five are currently Gabriel Medina and John John Florence on the men’s side and Tatiana Weston-Webb and last year’s world champ Steph Gilmore.
To watch highlights from the Surf Ranch Pro in Lemoore, California, log onto https://www.worldsurfleague.com/posts/516944/all-the-highlights-surf-ranch-pro.