YOU GET TO CHOOSE WHO’S IN FOR

NELSCOTT REEF BIG WAVE PRO-AM EVENT

ALTERNATE ONLINE VOTING SELECTION PROCESS UNDERWAY

Posted 10-17-17

It’s been a bad couple of years for voting. These days, it seems like every time the people are presented with a choice, there are no good options.

Simon and Garfunkel summed it up in “Mrs. Robinson” when they sang, “Any way you look at it you lose,” and it would appear that 50 years later not much has changed. But finally, there is something worth voting for.

The selection process for big wave events has always suffered from transparency issues. Invitationals and events where half the field is made up of wildcards will, by definition, tend to generate controversy, especially when politics and sponsor dollars get involved.

Whether it’s the Eddie, Titans of Mavericks, or Big Wave World Tour events, there are always a handful of selections that are met with grumbling, and the Nelscott event this year was no different.

When the list of competitors was finalized last week, there were those who felt they’d been slighted for various reasons, as is bound to happen when 75 big wave fiends are all petitioning for 25 spots.

Questions were asked, as they always are, about how the invitees were selected, especially by those who had been passed up for others they felt were less worthy. This is standard in the big wave world, where egos abound, and a list of invitees can’t be released without at least a few people getting their feelings hurt.

But now the people get a chance to have their voices heard. Around 40 surfers have thrown their hats into the ring as potential alternates for the Nelscott Surfing Pro-AM Event (including MSW’s Matt Rott), and 15 will be selected as alternates, with at least a few of those likely to get into the event.

The selection process is simple and transparent (although not without its own set of controversies): a popular vote. Go HERE to do so. We can each vote for three athletes we’d like to see in the contest. The 15 athletes with the most votes will get alternate spots.

Whoever you end up choosing, the important thing is to vote. The future of your country depends on it. You have until October 21, 2017 at Midnight PST.

Cover Shot: Wild Card Entry Tyler Muth / Richard Hallman