The Brazilian Storm Has Arrived

There has been a lot of chatter about Brazilian surfing in recent years, some positive and some not so. Maybe the reason why Brazilian surfing gets a bad rap is because on occasion there is some contraversory over their success or the surfers go straight to the judges tower after losing a heat. If you need some evidence, just watch the Quarterfinals Heat between De Souza vs Owen Wright.

I wonder if that is a first in contest surfing for someone to get an 8.23 for a massive “critical” floater? I would like to hear what Kelly Slater’s take is on the judging of the QuarterFinal heat between Owen and Adriano. He’s had his share of winning heats and has experience to weigh in on the matter. Even after reading the ASP International Judge Retrospection of the heat in question, doesn’t really settle the debate. The debate can go on whether or not Brazilians can surf or not, but you cannot ignore the fact that Adriano De Souza just won his second event title and is currently ranked #1 in the World Title Race. Congrats Adriano on your win over Taj Burrow at the Billabong Rio Pro.

It’s no longer just Slater or the Aussies winning events, the Brazilian surfers on tour are cementing themselves into surfing history. Last year, two event titles went to a Brazilian: Jadsen Andre for the Billabong Pro in Brazil and Adriano for the Billabong Pro in Mundaka. Hmm I guess these Billabong events have been good to the Brazilians. Not to mention there are 5 surfers on tour from Brazil, only 2 from Hawaii, and 2 from Europe (Jeremy Flores and Tiago Pires), 1 from Tahiti and South Africa. Needless to say, there Brazilians are here to stay and will remain a force to be reckon with. Who knows, we might even see our first Brazilian World Champion this year!