The University of the North Shore

If you plan on qualifying for the Championship Tour and campaigning against the world’s elite, it’s highly recommended that you enrol yourself in the University of the North Shore. The 7-mile miracle, the most famous strip of real estate in the surfing world, that has seen surfers rise to the occasion to do great things, or fail under the pressure and disappear into oblivion. Unless you’re a wonder-kid like Filipe Toledo, Jordy Smith or Gabriel Medina, chances are you’ll be forced into putting the finishing touches of your QS campaign on, in Hawaii.

Because when on that day of reckoning, when you lie within striking distance of CT qualification with a couple hungry Brazilians gnashing at your ankles and breathing down your neck, you’d want to feel comfortable facing giants at Haleiwa, or walking past the Hawaiian heavies who parade themselves as gangsters in surfers clothing out at Pipeline. One such grom who understands the importance of obtaining an undergraduate at the University of the North Shore is young Mr Masencamp. 

Cover Image: WSL/Heff

Looking to enrol at UNS (University of the North Shore)? Benji Brand knows a thing or two about courses offered. Image: WSL/Keoki

Adin’s First Hawaiian Passport Stamp: Rumour has it Adin took out a bank loan, bought a couple pintail surfboards, a big board bag, and a return ticket to the North Shore, kissed his mother on the cheek, gave his father a warm hug, and headed out, determined to make his dream a reality. Billabong couldn’t even guarantee him space in the Billabong house, but Adin remained. Unwavering, he rocked up, board bag in hand, and the mense at the Billabong house tasked with providing him with a place to rest his head. 

After a particularly shaky start at the HIC Pro, Adin came to the party at the first Jewel of the Triple Crown, the Hawaiian Pro. Adin surfed a fantastic round 1 heat. Like a poker player throwing all his chips on the table for the last bet, Adin sat out back with priority and waited out the whole heat for one last roll of the dice. And when that roll of the dice came, Adin brought home the bacon. He surfed his last-ditch effort with a flawless, gritty determination – something that we’ve come to love from Adin, and comparable to the late Andy Irons in many ways. Adin won the heat, eliminating two heavy Hawaiians in the process and then went on to place second in his round 2 heat and got knocked in round 3.

Adin Massencamp and a carve filled with a certain gritty determination. Image: WSL/Heff

The Round 3 Hop: The City Surf Series has done wonders for South African surfers. Adin Masencamp and Matty Mc G can testify to that. Adin Masencamp is into QS 10 000 on his first year on the Q. Just to put this into perspective, it took Mikey February 3 years before he even had a sniff at the top 100 and was able to enter Prime events. But the groms still struggle with the round three hop. Round three in a QS 10 000 is where the men come to play. Round three is where it gets real.

One minute you’re in a heat with three other QS hopefuls, next you’re in a heat with two CT stallions. Veterans of the game. And suddenly, as a grom, you’re faced with the challenge of taking down a fully grown man, with a beard, and his offspring building sand castles on the beach. Men have seen future talents come and go, and they’ll dispose of you like another well marketed Billabong hopeful with his face on a pair of boardshorts.

Mikey Feb knows all about the round 3 Hop. He learned it last year when he qualified for the World Tour. ImageL WSL/Keoki

Dave Van Zyl Does the Round 3 Hop: Davey Van Zyl is one such kid who knows how to handle the round three hop. Perhaps it’s because his warm smile is so disarming, people don’t view him as a threat, but as soon as the waves get alarming, Davey gets blasting. You can almost see Davey bubbling with joy when he takes off on an 8-foot bomb, and you can feel his elation when he lays down one of his patented DVZ carves in the bowl.

Davey acquired two of the highest heat score totals in round 2 and 3 but came unstuck in round 4. For some reason, we feel like Davey’s just going through the motions on the QS tour. Kinda rocking up at events he’s able to do, and just sorta cruising. But from our perspective, DVZ is a ball hair away from making a proper crack at CT qualification. Maybe he should put all his chips on the table, work on aspects of his surfing he sucks at (like maybe small waves) and gives this thing a no holds barred ‘all chips on the table’ crack. We think he’ll even surprise himself. Lord knows he has the talent.

When David Van Zyl lays it on the rail, on 6ft bombs in Hawaii, you can feel the pure elation watching it on the live webcast on the other side of the globe. Image: WSL/Heff

The Final, A Battle of the Generations: As much as the final was a four-man heat, it was a two-man affair. It was a battle of old vs new. Of youth vs wisdom. Mateus and Joel were on opposite sides of the draw, Mateus putting on a show, all youthful flair, fancy trickery, fins-free manoeuvres, and lightning quick turns, while Parko plugged away through heats with smooth, clean lines, excellent wave choice and the type of power you can only acquire with age. 

Part of Red Bull’s ‘new recruits’ of hot young talent, Mateus made his intentions for the future of surfing very clear with his performance at the Hawaiian Pro. Image: WSL/Heff

While Mateus searched for waves which allowed him to take flight and wow the judges, Parko stroked into a wave which by all accounts looked like a white watery dud, but with so many years of experience, Parko saw a diamond in the rough, the supermodel in the poorly lad girl.

He displayed superior wisdom over his younger flashier opponent and scrambled into the wave of the heat. The whitewater gave way to a clean open face down the line, and the wave bent on to the reef, perfectly standing up to attention like a ‘Boys School’ student when the principal walks into the classroom. And Parko, went to town, laying down some of the filthiest carves of the event, earning a 9.33 and an event win in the process. 

What an incredible way to exit the world of competitive surfing, teaching the groms how it’s done. Here’s to a superb career. Image: WSL/Keoki

This is the first of Parko’s last three competitions surfing amongst the world’s elite, and what a beautiful way to end your career; at the top of your game taking out one of the most hyped up groms of the next generation. Well done Parko, and long live power surfing.