Wave of the Summer… At Puerto Escondido!

Wave of the Summer… At Puerto Escondido!

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DAVE MAILMAN

JULY 24, 2012

Although the title is a bit pretentious, you can’t blame Surfline and Nike for believing their own hype about the ‘Wave of the Summer’ competition.  While their contest of (almost) the same name, ‘Wave of the Winter’ included every break along the 7 Mile Miracle, a.k.a the North Shore of Oahu, Hawaii, the summertime version only includes waves ridden at Puerto Escondido in Mexico’s Oaxaca region.  No one will argue the fact that during the Northern Hemisphere winter, there is a 99% chance that the best waves in the world over the course of the season are breaking on the North Shore.  It is not the surfing world’s version of Mecca for nothing!

Filipe Cesarano pulling into his chance to win $15,000 at Playa Zicatela, a.k.a. the Mexican Pipeline! Frame grab: Wave of the Summer entry / Andres Petroni

However, even though Puerto’s number one spot, Playa Zicatela is nicknamed the Mexican Pipeline, the chances of it serving up the best wave in world this summer are not nearly as high as for the North Shore in winter.  Especially when taking into consideration that Tahiti, Fiji and the Mentawais are also firing on all cylinders in the same swell window.

Dave Wassel on his way to a beer break after another “wave of the summer” at Cloudbreak. Frame grab: Fiji Freight Trains / Volcom Stone YAE

Nonetheless, the bookmakers at Nike and Surfline decided to go with a spot that at least has a shot at taking the top spot at the finish line, rather than betting on a rank outsider, or shooting for a tri-fecta by opening up the contest to multiple locations. If not for the historic swell at Cloudbreak, it looks like their bet may have paid off.

Alex Gray was on hand for the historic Fiji swell, and has scored a few bombs this summer in Puerto Escondido too. Lucky man! Frame grab: Wave of the Summer entry / Andres Petroni

No matter what your take is, you can’t argue that there have been some amazing waves crashing down at the premiere break in Mainland Mexico this summer, and as a cherry on the cake, that a local Mexican surfer will most likely be the one following in the footsteps of Reef McIntosh and walking away with the $15,000 winner take all prize money!

On or about August 31, 2012 an esteemed judging panel of Peter Mel, Roger Ramirez, Ruben Pina, and Roberto Salinas will select the ultimate winning wave/surfer as well as the season’s Overall Performance Award based on the following criteria (“Judging Criteria”):
- Wave Size (25%);
- Degree of Difficulty of Maneuvers (25%);
- Style (25%); and
- Overall “Heaviness” Factor (25%).

May the best man (or woman) win! Amen!

POSTED IN: Surfing