Pro Surfing and Contests

Hell no, Coco Ho!

 

Scroll to 2:11 on the video above to see what all the fuss is about.

It’s the final day of the women’s Reef Hawaiian Pro.  Haleiwa is clean and rippable.  In the dying minutes of the contest, Coco Ho is sitting in last place in the final, while her close friend, Carissa Moore is sitting in first.  All that is standing between Carissa and victory is seven time World Champ, Layne Beachley, who is sitting in second and only needs an easily attainable (for her) 6.68 to take the lead.  Coco Ho, out of frustration or trying to help out Carissa, inexplicably drops in on Layne, leaving Layne frustrated and Carissa in the lead.  The buzzer sounds and the contest is over.  Layne Beachley is steaming, Carissa is glowing, and the collective crowd, even many Hawaiian locals, cry out in unison, “What the f@ck?”  This certainly wasn’t Coco’s finest moment and definitely not something her forbears in the Ho family would be too proud of.  To Carissa’s credit, she surfed phenomenally.  Layne however, was cheated out of a chance to redeem herself at the end of the heat. 

So what did the ASP have to say about Coco’s moment of shame?  Though they found that Coco’s drop in was intentional, the ASP Athlete Rules & Discipline Committee gave Coco little more than a light slap on the wrist.  Citing her as being, “100% cooperative throughout the investigation” and “heartbroken” over the entire mess, they have sentenced Coco to “a lengthy counseling session and orientation to the rules and the protocol of sportsmanlike behavior during ASP events”.  Considering that she’s only 17, with a big career ahead of her, most people will agree that she shouldn’t be banned from the sport, but it couldn’t hurt to punish her by having her skip the Roxy Pro at Sunset Beach, since as a WQS surfer, she has no real stake in the race.  It would certainly be more effective in making her think more carefully about future aggressive tactics than a lengthy counseling session would.  If nothing else, Coco’s action and Carissa’s will have sparked announced retiree, Layne to make a real victory push in the final two events.  She must be frothing to stick it to the kids at Sunset.  We all look forward to the show.  Let’s keep it clean, ladies.

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