The Dynasty of Dane
“I want to make it so you can’t win a world title without surfing that way,” said Dane Reynolds after stomping Joel Parkinson today. A win in which he made the world title runner-up, tournament favourite and Snapper local look like he was from a bygone era. An amazing feat, considering up to that point, Parko was considered the form athlete of the event.
Dane also criticised judging during the event for rewarding well-ridden waves with high scores when the emphasis should be on the surfer “having to push it.” Dane congratulated the judges for not awarding a 10 during the event because, “it should be the wave of the decade to get a [a perfect score].”
Officially, the Dane vs Parko heat finished with scores reading 19.20 to 17.47, a difference of less than two points and a poor reflection of the performance chasm between the two.
Later, Parko said Dane was the “biggest freak” and thanked him for “pushing” his own performance. As for the Ventura surfer’s continued competitive irrelevancy, he said the performances of the type Dane threw down today were rare. More often he'd execute his performance-barrier-shattering moves on only “half a wave, or one wave in a heat.”
There was no better testament to this than Dane’s round four heat with Australian Dan Ross. Dane progressed with two scoring rides spluttered with bogs and overcooked turns. Asked whether he would contemplate surfing more conservatively for the sake of his competitive future, Dane said: “It doesn’t feel natural doing that. I feel aggressive on the wave.”
Not even if it meant winning his maiden World Tour event or a world title?
“No, because a world title isn’t a goal of mine, right now.”
A semi-final at the Quiksilver Pro is his best result at the event to date. Better yet, it sets up a showdown with fellow progressive surfing exponent Jordy Smith. The clash will be more than a battle of surfing ability, it will be one of surfing ideologies.
Where Dane refuses to nullify his surfing to suit a competitive format, Jordy has compromised. He’s mixed the flow of Bede, Parko and Fanning with prog-surfing razzle dazzle to great affect. Attributing his round four win over Kelly to employing “basic surfing” as opposed “to trying surf in another realm,” a mistake he said many had been guilty of.
There is every chance Jordy’s brand of basic surfing will topple Dane Reynolds. If Dane replicates his performance of today, however, there’s not a snowball’s chance in hell he’ll lose. – Jed Smith
Photos from our premo lensman, Matt O'Brien are on the way.
QUIKSILVER PRO GOLD COAST ROUND 4 RESULTS:
Heat 1: Adriano de Souza (BRA) 14.86 def. Adrian Buchan (AUS) 14.50
Heat 2: Taj Burrow (AUS) 16.53 def. Chris Davidson (AUS) 10.60
Heat 3: Bobby Martinez (USA) 16.06 def. Damien Hobgood (USA) 12.43
Heat 4: Kai Otton (AUS) 15.76 def. Mick Fanning (AUS) 15.57
Heat 5: Joel Parkinson (AUS) 15.44 def. Fredrick Patacchia (HAW) 14.23
Heat 6: Dane Reynolds (USA) 12.63 def. Daniel Ross (AUS) 10.33
Heat 7: Bede Durbidge (AUS) 15.97 def. Kieren Perrow (AUS) 9.17
Heat 8: Jordy Smith (ZAF) 16.10 def. Kelly Slater (USA) 13.17
QUIKSILVER PRO GOLD COAST ROUND QUARTERFINAL RESULTS:
QF 1: Taj Burrow (AUS) 17.70 def. Adriano de Souza (BRA) 14.40
QF 2: Bobby Martinez (USA) 16.66 def. Kai Otton (AUS) 10.64
QF 3: Dane Reynolds (USA) 19.20 def. Joel Parkinson (AUS) 17.47
QF 4: Jordy Smith (ZAF) 14.10 def. Bede Durbidge (AUS) 13.77
QUIKSILVER PRO GOLD COAST ROUND SEMIFINAL MATCH-UPS:
SF 1: Taj Burrow (AUS) vs. Bobby Martinez (USA)
SF 2: Dane Reynolds (USA) vs. Jordy Smith (ZAF)
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Reply #74 on : Tue March 09, 2010, 20:29:00