Roxy Pro and Quiksilver Pro France 2021
Charlie at the surf competition
After two long years, Charlie was finally back on the beach in Hossegor to watch a surf competition. The COVID-19 pandemic had made it difficult – now it was finally possible again for Charlie to travel and watch some of the world’s best surfers.
The Roxy Pro France and Quiksilver Pro France were on between 16th and 24th of October 2021. Things were a little different compared to the Quiksilver Pro France 2019. Back in the day, Hossegor had been a stop at the WSL Championship Tour, now it was part of a new format, the Challenger Series. This means that there would be a lot more athletes to compete hoping to qualify for the 2022 CT. This means it was mostly surfers at the start of their careers. The best in the CS could secure their spot in the upcoming Championship Tour.
Instead of La Gravière, the competition was held this year at the beach Les Culs Nus a bit further up north and away from the beach promenade with all the bars and shops.
Entry was as usually free and there was no need for tickets, but you had to have proof of vaccination in 2021. Charlie was taken a bit by surprise when she was asked for a “pass” at the entrance. Did she need a ticket? No, the lady was referring to the COVID-Pass. Charlie had that on her phone! She needed it for the flight anyway.
Spotting the pros
Charlie walked down to the beach to find a good spot to set up the camera. The beach was quite empty, probably because it was still early in the morning and the waves were small that day. Most people weren’t sure if the competition would be on. That made it very easy for Charlie to find a place. Right as she put her backpack down, a group of people sat down next to her, and she didn’t even realize that two of them were in the contest: Brisa Hennessy and Alyssa Spencer. Charlie stood right next to them and their families.
Roxy Pro France: Round of 64
It made Charlie feel a bit special to be this close to the athletes. Hearing the coach comment on Brisa’s performance made it even more extraordinary. She took two waves before the other 3 surfers had even started and scored a 7.0 ride early on. Needless to say, she clearly dominated the heat and progressed into the next round.
Alyssa Spencer was on for the next heat and scored the best ride of the day with a 7.5 – she also progressed into the next round.
To Charlie’s left was another family of a contestant. Maud Le Car got a good luck kiss from her daughter before going in the water. Whenever she took on a wave the little girl supported her with a strong “Allez, allez!”
The competition was put on hold for the day by lunchtime as the conditions were only getting worse. The last heat had been restarted halfway through due to a lack of waves.
It was supposed to continue by 5 p.m. but Charlie did not come down to the beach a second time. She stayed as usual at Carwyn’s Surfhouse in Seignosse and it was quite a way to cycle. Once per day was enough! (In the end, the competition did not continue by 5 p.m.)
The Heat is On!
After an enjoyable first day, Charlie had to be a little patient. The sea was flat on Sunday and Monday. The competition was on hold. Charlie spent the Sunday in Bayonne instead.
The Roxy Pro France 2021 continued on Tuesday morning with heats 9 to 14. To make the best use of the conditions and to win back some time, they were running the competition on double banks that day. That meant that there would be two heats running at the same time, on a north and a south bank. Charlie had to decide which heats to watch.
It was an unusually hot day for the second half of October. It was blue skies and 28 degrees. The waves were tiny in the morning but got gradually bigger throughout the day and the Atlantic Ocean presented perfect A-frames and overhead barrels by the afternoon.
From Sunrise to Sunset
The third day of the competition started a little different for Charlie. Roxy was organising Yoga classes by the lake in Hossegor and Charlie jumped on the opportunity. She left Carwyn’s Surfhouse before sunrise that morning to cycle down to the lake. On her way she saw the sky turning pink and orange in between the trees. It was simply beautiful! She didn’t have time though to stop for a photo, she had to get to her Yoga class.
It was still surprisingly warm for the second half of October and the Yoga class was outside. From that little beach on the lake, they could see the sun rise in between the trees as the group got into their practice. It was a beautiful morning and an almost magical experience.
After the Yoga, Charlie cycled a bit further down to the beach Les Culs Nus where the Roxy Pro and Quiksilver Pro took place. It wasn’t far from the lake.
From 96 down to 48 at the Quiksilver Pro France 2021
The round of 96 of the Quiksilver Pro 2021 was full on when Charlie got to the beach at around 10. They were still running double banks, i.e. two heats at the same time, one on the south bank and the other one further up north. The day before they were close enough to one another to see them both, but today the distance seemed a little bigger. Charlie had to decide where to position herself and she decided for south. After all, that was the bank where they would go back to if they stopped the double heats.
By 12 p.m. the round of 96 was done and they switched to the Roxy Pro. When Charlie arrived at the beach earlier it had been very windy and a bit cloudy – nothing compared to the day before. Charlie had to add a layer of clothes and a woolen hat. By midday, the sky had cleared, and the wind stopped. It suddenly was very warm, and Charlie changed into shorts. The waves were a lot cleaner now and they became bigger and bigger throughout the day.
Roxy Pro France 2021 Round of 32 and Round of 16
Once again Charlie found herself in between the contestants as they were waiting for their turns. To her left, there were Brisa Hennessy and Alyssa Spencer with their coaches, to her right was Sara Wakita with her mum and her coach. Charlie stood right next to them as Alyssa and Brisa gave each other a high five before getting in the same heat. Somehow, they must have known that they would both make it through to the next heat.
Charlie also noticed that Sara Wakita did not return to the spot where her mum was sitting after the heat. Instead, she went straight to the changing room. She was obviously disappointed. She had missed her spot into the next heat by 0.04 points. Another contestant couldn’t hide her feelings either. There were tears on her face as the German Rachel Presti only came fourth.
Alyssa Spencer once again showed an outstanding performance in the round of 16 challenging Tia Blanco with a combination score. With a 7.27 and a 7.43 score, she seemed unbeatable in the waves that day. Molly Picklum and Johanne Defay kept the excitement up throughout the heat with Molly taking the win to shore.
Round of 48
After the women’s round of 16, the competition moved back to the Quiksilver Pro. The round of 48 was up next. The conditions in the water that made the double bank system possible had to be used to get through the 12 heats as quickly as possible.
Charlie can’t explain it, but it seems as if the Brazilians simply have it in their blood. Italo Ferreira and Gabriel Medina were not competing at the Quiksilver Pro 2021 and Charlie was already worried that she might not see those amazing aerials. Other surfers though took care of that and surprisingly, they’re all Brazilian: Edgard Groggia, Yago Dora, and Mateus Herdy surprised the audience with their aerial surfing that day.
Through wind and rain
The competition was on hold the next day. The waves were up to 10ft high, and it was very windy with occasional rain showers. The forecast for Friday looked a little better. The wind was supposed to drop a bit and it should rain less. Charlie was waiting for the next call in the morning and kept an eye on the webcams for the beach during breakfast. It was still windy, and the competition kept on being postponed that day. Charlie got some work done and had a lovely lunch with Carwyn, Jane, and two friends of them. Carwyn made a prawn curry. That’s what Charlie liked so much about this place: it has a homely feel to it. Carwyn usually cooks once per day, and everyone is welcome to join. The two friends who joined for lunch that day were stopping by during a trip. They had met at Carwyn’s Surfhouse years ago, fell in love, and now brought the good news: they had gotten married and were expecting a baby. This place has so many stories to tell!
Round of 24
The competition would finally start at 2.45 pm and Charlie cycled down to the beach. It was still cloudy and windy. It was difficult to spot the surfers in the sea in those messy conditions. The sun finally came out by around 5 pm and Charlie was jumping up and down behind the camera to keep her feet warm. It was chilly, nothing compared to the sunny days earlier that week. Autumn had finally arrived in Hossegor.
The surfers that Charlie had enjoyed watching in the previous round did not let her down in the round of 24. Mateus Herdy impressed with stunning aerial techniques. Edgard Groggia kept the heat exciting by letting Jesse Mendes get ahead. Jesse had caught quite a few waves before Edgard finally took one. Charlie stood next to Edgard’s team on the beach, and she could feel the tension. Would he make it? He did! He came second and moved into the next round.
Charlie enjoyed the last two heats the most as the waves had gotten a lot cleaner, and the sun was out and about to set over the sea. Not only were the surfers well visible and the rides long, but the light was perfect for pictures.
Finals Day
Saturday morning, perfect conditions and the competition was on! Charlie cycled down to the beach and did not expect that they would still run it on double banks for the last few rounds, but they did. Charlie had missed the first two heats of the round of 16 of the Quiksilver Pro France 2021. The third and fourth heats were already in progress. She doesn’t like the double banks because it means that you have to decide where to stand to take pictures. The South Bank always wins because that is the one where it would continue if they returned to the single heat format. As a photographer, you wouldn’t want to give up your spot in the front row.
Quarter Finals
Things got exciting in the water as the Roxy Pro moved into the quarter-finals. Sawyer Lindblad had already scored 15 points before Dimity Stoyle had even caught her first wave. Molly Picklum and India Robinson built up tension when it seemed as if Molly wouldn’t catch any waves. India had already scored a 6.67 and a 3.83 when Molly came in with an 8.17 ride. It could have changed the game, but India was the one playing the cards better and moving into the next round.
The men’s quarter-finals followed next. Connor O’Leary was clearly dominating the first heat. Maxime Huscenot though had the support of the crowd. A French surfer on the French coast is always celebrated on the beach. Heat 3 was a competition of aerial surfing between Carlos Munoz and Mateus Herdy. The Brazilian moved into the next round.
The competition was still running on double banks and Charlie could see from afar how Frederico Morais threw his surfboard away after heat 4. She knew that it must have been Michel Bourez moving into the semi-finals. First up were the ladies though!
Semi-finals
The next round continued in excitement as Brisa Hennessy and Sawyer Lindblad took turns leading this heat. The spot in the final though went to Brisa. India Robinson was strongly leading over Caitlin Simmers in the second heat and also secured her spot in the final.
It probably came a little unexpected for everyone when Connor O’Leary won the first heat in the semi-finals of the Quiksilver Pro over Kanoa Igarashi. The Australian was on fire flying high in the air. Kanoa showed no emotions but stalled his return to the beach. He probably needed a moment to himself in the waves. There were plenty of kids waiting for him on the shore to take pictures. Charlie can only imagine how much self-control it takes to lose in a semi-final and then smile for the camera and sign t-shirts on the beach.
The second heat of the semi-final was dominated by Michel Bourez. Mateus Herdy’s stunning aerial techniques could not hold up against the consistency of the French surfer.
And the winner is…
In convincing performances, Brisa Hennessy and Connor O’Leary took the trophy home from France in 2021. Brisa won over India Robinson in the final of the Roxy Pro France 2021 with 9 scoring waves (vs 4 by India) and a total score of 15.23. The situation was similar for the final of the Quiksilver Pro France 2021: Connor O’Leary scored a 12.76 in 13 waves vs. Michel Bourez with 7 waves and 10.73 points only.
Cute redefined
By the end of the competition that day, Charlie stood in the water to her knees. She didn’t plan to get wet that day and was still wearing multiple layers. It was nice and warm in the afternoon, but it had been freezing cold in the morning. She could have done well with gloves when she cycled down to the beach. During the afternoon she saw the tide coming closer and closer – but did she want to give up her front-row spot? It would have been difficult either way to get through the crowd. The finals day had attracted quite a lot of visitors. At first, Charlie picked up her backpack to prevent it from getting wet. She was still indecisive. Another photographer next to her asked about her shoes. A minute later, the shoes were hanging on the tripod.
When the finals were over, all the photographers left, and the crowd moved away from the shore. That was Charlie’s moment to walk a bit further up and put the backpack down again in the sand. Right at that moment she saw 15 surf girls enter the water. That must be good! It was the Roxy Cute competition where the female pros would compete once again in a free surf session. It wasn’t for points this time but for courage and commitment. And the girls committed! Charlie never understood why the girls weren’t surfing like the men. You never saw them up in the air. Now they were flying. That was the proof: They can surf like the man; they just don’t like taking that risk in a competition. Aerials are difficult and chances are that you aren’t landing it well. Charlie picked her backpack up again turned towards the sea and got the surfgirls in focus.
Once again Charlie had had an amazing week in Hossegor, at Carwyn’s Surfhouse, and at the Quiksilver and Roxy Pro France. The competition had finished a day early and Charlie had the Sunday off. It was surprisingly warm for the end of October and Charlie went down to the beach, surfed a bit herself, and enjoyed a day in the sun – this time lying down and relaxing instead of standing behind a tripod. Yes, after a week of competition, after cycling down to the beach and standing in the sun all day, Charlie was tired, but it was a good tired! She will definitely do it again!
