Pro Surfing and Contests

Rob Machado’s absence from tour

Enough years have passed now that most people have forgotten exactly why Rob Machado is no longer competing on the World Tour.  He has a knack for getting out there, entering the trials of a given event, and kicking ass and taking names.  Every once in a while he crawls out of the woodwork to dominate a World Qualifying Series event to prove to the world and himself why he’s still one of the top 10 most talented surfers in the world.  He has even won a wildcard slot into numerous World Tour events over the years since he left tour.  But most people, even fans, don’t remember exactly why Rob parted with the World Tour in the first place.  Conspiracy theories aside, Rob was a victim of a very bad 2001.  After finishing 3rd on tour in 2000, Rob went all the way to the back of the pack in 2001.  In what was a season shortened by the September 11th attacks, Rob only had the chance to compete in two out of the five events held.  He had the poor luck of getting two bad results and was forced to miss the other three contests because of a broken hand and his wife’s pregnancy complications.  In what should have been Rob’s best year to date, he found himself in a desperate plea for the injury wildcard at the end of the shortened 2001 season.  Missing an intense World Tour surfer’s meeting in Hawaii in November 2001 was straw that broke Machado’s back, with Rob being passed over for the injury wildcard by Shane Dorian, who had only that week hurt his leg at Pipeline and hadn’t missed a single event prior to that meeting.  Rob’s only option for continuing competitive surfing at the time was to head back to the minor leagues.  He opted for a freer path.  We’d all love to see Rob back on tour, but for now, we’ll have to live with his random event appearances and his latest photos and videos.

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