To the WSL community…
I’m generally not a big theatergoer. As you know, I’ve fallen in love with ballet and I enjoy watching the symphony, but live theatre, be it dramatic, comedic or musical, often leaves me with a somewhat uneasy feeling. It may have something to do with increasing exaggerated emotions. I had to sell love, hate, sadness and joy to the back of the room, and I’m almost sure I would have felt a little uncomfortable sitting in the audience for Surfing the Holyland, a one-woman show , which is currently being performed at the Brighton Fringe on the coast of England , although I would have loved to have supported it and am sorry at heart.
The staged story follows Heather, a native of Ohio, and the culture shock she experiences when she moves to Tel Aviv with her husband, Zach, who “finds God” in Orthodox Judaism. She finds surfing herself and experiences “the life and camaraderie in the waves” from her “sexy surfing instructor”.
Plastic boxes are used as surfboards and rearranged for different surfing scenes.
While reviewers lauded actress and author Erin Hunter’s athleticism and “oodles of charm,” there were some criticisms.
“It doesn’t always feel deep enough in its alternation between light and dark,” Arifa Akbar of The Guardian wrote“And the analogy between surfing and Heather’s life – from her drowning in a new culture to learning to handle the waves – is underwhelming. Zach remains a caricature and we can’t believe in marriage. When things come to a head, we don’t care enough; It’s Heather we care about and the awakening she experiences on her surfboard.”
Hmmm.
Do you think Erik Logan will write and perform his own one-man play about the awakening he experiences on his surfboard? This includes the current scene with Gabriel Medina, Filipe Toledo and Italo Ferreira Or leave it on the editing room floor?
Let’s read his letter again, just for fun.
To the WSL community,
I want to address the discussion that took place in our community following the recent Championship Tour event at Surf Ranch. As you are probably aware, a small number of athletes have made statements questioning the judging of the competition and the final results.
I want to address these statements head-on, but first we need to address a much more important issue. In recent days, a number of surfers, WSL judges and staff have faced harassment, intimidation and threats of violence, including death threats, as a direct result of these statements. Things like this should never happen in our sport or any other sport and we are devastated that members of our community have been affected. It’s an important reminder for all of us that words have consequences. We hope that the entire WSL community will join us in opposing all forms of harassment and intimidation.
In light of the statements made, we strongly disagree with any claim that the evaluation of our competitions is in any way unfair or biased. These claims are not supported by any evidence.
First, the evaluation criteria are communicated to the athletes before each competition. All athletes participating in the Surf Ranch Pro received these materials on May 20th. At that time, every athlete had the opportunity to ask questions about the criteria. None of the athletes making these statements took advantage of the opportunity at the Surf Ranch Pro.
Second, our rules allow each athlete to review each wave’s score with the judges and get a more detailed explanation of how they were scored with the judges. This process has been in place for several years and is the direct result of working with surfers to bring more transparency to the rating process. It is unacceptable and a violation of League policy for surfers to choose not to participate in due process and instead to post complaints on social media.
A number of athletes at the Surf Ranch Pro received points for elements such as progression and variety. Therefore, it is simply wrong to claim that these are not taken into account in the evaluation criteria. Additionally, our rules have been consistently applied throughout the season, including in this season’s events won by athletes who are now challenging the same rules.
Surfing is an ever-evolving, subjective sport and we welcome a lively debate on the evolution of our sport and the criteria by which our competitions are judged. However, it is unacceptable for an athlete to question the integrity of our judges who, like our surfers, are elite professionals.
No single person or group of people stands above the integrity of the sport.
sincerely,
Eric Logan
WSL Managing Director
That’s better.