If the topic is surfing, Joel Tudor is bound to have an opinion. The outspoken three-time WSL longboard champion’s latest take came in the form of a meme about the WSL longboard event in Abu Dhabi over the weekend.
Set to the song A Change Is Gonna Come, the meme read: “The WSL has the wave pool set at beginner level again for the longboard crew.”
“Two years in a row y’all just sit there and take it!” Tudor wrote in his caption.
But Tudor didn’t stop at criticizing the WSL’s wave settings – he also took aim at the competitors, claiming most of them aren’t skilled enough to ride the barrel on a longboard.
“The sadder part is majority of the crew competing don’t mind because none of them can actually ride the barrel!” added Tudor. “I’ve said it many of times, if there is no one there to guide them….nobody to speak up for representation and the majority of competitors are afraid of surf above head high or can’t ride the tube to save their life……..longboarding on a competitive level is truly doomed! Hopefully someday a change will come!”
In the comments, Tudor accused competitors of “outrunning” and “dodging” the barrel, adding that only about five percent of them are capable of riding the tube.
France’s Edouard Delpero and Hawaii’s Honolua Blomfield claimed wins in Abu Dhabi. Tudor’s criticism didn’t appear to extend to Blomfield, who he congratulated in an Instagram story.
The win pushed Delpero to the top of the men’s longboard rankings, while Avalon Gall, who finished runner-up to Blomfield, leads the women’s. The world title will be determined in El Salvador November 5-9.
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