Kelly Slater and World Surf League put on quite a show at Lemoore's Surf Ranch

Photos by Gary Feinstein/Feinsteinfotos

Slater was no slouch on the man-made waves this past week. He predicted a Brazil win. Slater finished third in the final standings behind Medina and the world’s No. 1 ranked surfer, Brazil’s Filipe Toledo. Toledo continues to lead the WSL 2018 tour while on the women’s side, Australia’s Stephanie Gilmore leads in the world rankings.

The next stop on the WSL Championship Tour will be the Quiksilver and Roxy Pro France beginning Oct. 3.

At Wednesday’s press conference Slater made news, announcing that he plans to try out for the 2020 Olympic squad where surfing will make its debut. “I’m going to try my best to make the American Team,” he said. Slater, is arguably one of the best surfers in the world, winning a total of 11 WSL titles, including five consecutive titles from 1994-98.

Slater had to be pleased with the reception his Surf Ranch is getting in the surfing world. Thousands of prospective fans, many of whom had never visited a surfing competition, paid good money this week to watch the world’s best compete in Lemoore.

Lemoore also played host to the world premiere of “Unstoppable,” a documentary highlighting the career of Bethany Hamilton, a championship surfer, attacked by a shark when she was just a youngster. The tall, pretty surfer joined about 100 others at the Lemoore Stadium Cinemas Thursday night, but still managed to find time to ride the waves at Surf Ranch.

Slater and the WSL put on an impressive show, highlighted by the spit and polish atmosphere of the venue and the quality of the competition. It was well organized too, from the high standards in the concessions to the event’s organization.

Certainly, the world’s best surfers were in attendance. So was the WSL’s top brass. Chief Executive Officer, Sophie Goldschmidt, fresh from a trip to Tokyo, the site of the 2020 Olympic Games, surveyed the venue and hosted a Wednesday afternoon press conference where she highlighted the significance of Lemoore’s first-ever surfing championship.

“This is a historic moment,” said Goldschmidt. “For the first time we’re having a championship tour event in Lemoore.” She raised the possibility of a Lemoore-like venue in Tokyo. “Maybe there will be one of these facilities in 2020.”

A different kind of history was made this week. Goldschmidt also announced that as of this week, men and women will receive equal prize money. “This is a momentous day for WSL surfing,” she said. “We’re the first (sport) to have equal prize money.

“This has been in the works for years. This is simply the right thing to do. I think importantly we’re the first only globally-based sports league to have equal prize money. It’s a significant milestone for us.”

Slater echoed Goldschmidt’s remarks. “I was more or less raised by a single mom, raising three boys, and to see her struggles, I can relate to this, the situation of women not getting equal pay, and the hardships with being a female in the world. I’m proud that we’re doing this here at Surf Ranch.”

The old adage, “build it and they will come” held true for the first-annual Surf Ranch Pro. Thousands of spectators, many from Lemoore, converged on the impressive concrete and blue water facility, filling stands and lining the nearly 800-yard lone pool where a monstrous hydrofoil created wave after perfect wave.

The inspiration for Surf Ranch was the brainchild of Slater who spent years thinking about and then building the venue. The WSL owns the facility now and plans to build additional surfing sites in California and Florida, and maybe Japan and other countries where surfing is popular.