As the current WSL season has shown, surfing is a sport that stops for no one. Since the beginning of the season, several changes have been made to the Men’s Championship Tour standings, and at this point, 10 tournaments have been played. After beating Australian surfer Ethan Ewing in the finals of the Corona Open J-Bay, Filipe Toledo shone and extended his points lead. Again, the community is divided over a scoring dispute, but this time it’s the Brazilian audience against the Australian surfer. But 11-time surfing world champion Kelly Slater came to the rescue of the Aussie, fighting the doubters.

There are several ongoing issues in the community, and Ethan Ewing has been involved in one of them. A lot of people paid attention to the WSL’s social media post that revealed the new rankings, but the Brazilian fans didn’t seem too thrilled by the news. The comment section crowd quickly turned on Ewing, but surfing legend Kelly Slater stepped in to defend the Aussie surfer.

The clash between the surfing community and the GOAT

Since the 2023 Surf Ranch Pro, the surfing world has been divided regarding how contests should be scored. A growing number of players have voiced concerns about the WSL scoring system, although the league has yet to address these concerns. This time, the community expressed their dissatisfaction in an Instagram post revealing the latest Championship Tour standings. However, a remark on Instagram that read “regular surfer who only surfs the edge” and was directed towards Australian surfer Ethan Ewing went viral. Kelly Slater, the undisputed king of surfing, was among many who were angered by this remark.

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The ultimate surfer’s first words were, “Do you surf?” Slater continued by expressing that he was disappointed by the community’s response, adding, “It’s insane to hear a few brazilian fans try and say this about Ethan.” The Australian surfer was singled out as well, with Slater calling him “probably the best and cleanest power surfer on tour today.” Many commenters in the same post also defended surfing’s all-time great in that thread, further fueling the debate.

Kelly Slater’s season has been rough so far, but what’s really hurting him is how the WSL’s recent choices have split the surfing community.

What really happened in the semi-finals of Corona Open J-Bay?

At Supertubes, Ethan Ewing and Gabriel Medina fought it out. The 40 minutes of intense surfing were much appreciated by the enthusiastic audience. Only in the first wave did Ewing begin with a 7.50. But Gabriel Medina, whose pick rate was 66%, received a score of 5.17 on the second wave.

Ewing caught a 6.00 on the third wave, while the Brazilian surfer caught a 6.87 on the fourth. With a final score of 13.50, Ethan Ewing advanced to face Filipe Toledo in the finals. This was also the impetus for renewed community discussion on scoring.

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