It is a weird concept to apply to the rootsiness of riding an alaia or other finless style board, but with the popularity of this style of surfing, competition is a reality. I believe the first modern heats of stand up finless surfing was at the 2009 Buffalo Big Board Classic at Makaha. Since then their has been exhibitions at the Noosa contest in Australia, continuing divisions at The Buffalo BBC, and I am sure, other events. This year Australia has included a finless division at the Noosa Contest. Most amazing though, is the addition of a finless division at the Aussie Titles, which is like the Super Bowl to Australians. Australians take competition very seriously. The surfers and the judges will be aggressive and critical. Tom, my brother, is concerned that the judges in these contests look at wave riding on finless boards differently then finned boards, since one rides waves differently on the two types boards. He put together a video describing some of the maneuvers that can be judged. Think what you may about competition, the video has great surfing in great waves on great Wegener Surfboards. The outcome of all this shows the impact the alaia and its effect on modern surfing. It is more than a passing trend. It will continue to influence how waves are ridden and the designs of the modern surfboard. It also means their will be more finless surfing competitions, and the popularity of this king of surfingwill become more mainstream.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qxlPtbKlEBc,
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nice Tom whens the first contest. i want in
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