J-BAY OPEN: WORDS WITH WILKO

Published:July 16, 2014
Views:3,861

"I realized that if I surfed a wave solidly my surfing is good enough to get 8.0 or 9.0 points for two or three big turns," Wilko said of his resurgence. "So I pulled back a notch and that gave me the confidence to push when I need to."
"J-Bay's not the kind of place that you just find yourself getting lucky and getting through," Wilko said. "Here, you have to connect six or eight turns to get a score."
"I've surfed J-Bay a bit but it's only ever been when the contest is on; I've been here three times for the comp," Wilko said. "But I feel like my surfing suits J-Bay pretty well."
Wilko's 9.33 against Kelly Slater in Round Three. "I got a long one to start and then the sets kept rolling through and I kept catching better and better looking waves," Wilko said.
Wilko's 9.03 to combo Slater in Round Three. "I started off really solid and waited for the best wave of the set and it worked out," Wilko said.
And just for fun, here's Occy winning the final of the 1984 Country Feeling Classic at J-Bay. "I've been watching clips of Occy a fair bit recently and although we have really different top turns, I've taken a lot from how he comes off the bottom out there and his positioning on the face," Wilko said. [Occy will surf in a special heat against Tom Curren at the J-Bay Open.]

"Good start to the financial year. Hopefully I can keep it going. #IfonlythetourstartedwhenIdid," Matt Wilkinson posted to his Facebook page shortly after he eliminated Kelly Slater and then smoked regularfooters Kolohe Andino and Adriano de Souza to make his first quarterfinal of 2014.

He's right. Before coming to Africa for the season's midway stop, Wilko was rated 33rd out of the Top 34. His best result was making Round Three at Bells Beach.

But something clicked recently. He finished runner-up at the Prime event in Ballito and now has systematically smashed his way to the quarters of the J-Bay Open. His backhand is looking lethal. He flows seamlessly through Supertubes' transitions, precisely placing his turns right in that critical sweet spot -- not an easy thing for a goofyfooter at a wave that changes speeds as much as Jeffreys.

Even Parko noticed, saying, "Wilko looks like Occy right now. When he gets on a roll…it could be like [his win in] Santa Cruz again."

Occy did it at the 1984 Country Feeling Classic. But there hasn't been a goofyfooted champion at J-Bay in the modern era. Could this be Wilko's year? We tracked down the Slater-beating Aussie for a quick chat headed into this weekend's final day.

What changed for you recently?
At the start of the year, I was putting 8.0s on a pedestal. I felt like I had to go absolutely mad to put any points on the board. In Ballito, I realized that if I surfed a wave solidly my surfing is good enough to get 8.0 or 9.0 points for two or three big turns. So I pulled back a notch and that gave me the confidence to push when I need to. Let's hope I can keep doing it.

How much experience do you have competing at J-Bay?
I've surfed J-Bay a bit but it's only ever been when the contest is on; I've been here three times for the comp. But I feel like my surfing suits J-Bay pretty well.

What did you think when you found out you drew Kelly Slater in Round Three?
I knew I was going to get someone in the Top Five. It doesn't matter who you get; they're all amazing and are going to go out there and do massive turns. I knew I needed some big scores and did what I needed.

"To get such high scores against someone like him [Slater] is a massive confidence boost and makes you realize you can beat anyone if you are on the right waves."

-- Wilko

How did you beat Slater?
My heat against Slater felt really good. I started off really solid and waited for the best wave of the set and it worked out. But it's hard to beat anyone out here because you can do eight turns on a wave. So you have to ride a wave with eight turns perfectly to get an 8.0 or a 9.0.

Talk about those waves you got in your heat against Slater?
I got a long one to start and then the sets kept rolling through and I kept catching better and better looking waves. To get such high scores against someone like him is a massive confidence boost and makes you realize you can beat anyone if you are on the right waves.

What board were you riding?
I was on a 6'0" x 18 3/4" x 2 5/16" roundtail DHD, Ducks Nuts model.

How did that heat win help your momentum in the no-losers Round Four?
The waves were slow and I was feeling confident. I got off to a good start again and then just kept the ball rolling. J-Bay's not the kind of place that you just find yourself getting lucky and getting through. Here, you have to connect six or eight turns to get a score.

Have you studied Occy's surfing J-Bay at all?
I've been watching clips of Occy a fair bit recently and although we have really different top turns, I've taken a lot from how he comes off the bottom out there and his positioning on the face. I think that's helped me a lot.

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peter 07/17/2014 01:09 AM

Love watching JBay comps! Hacks and turns is my kinda surfing!

steve 07/16/2014 10:59 PM

6 to 8 turns for a good score. so about 40 more basic turns and you win jbay wilco. this is not progressive surfing. also, i am sick of hearing yeah but he has a good bottom turn

07/16/2014 09:49 PM * PREMIUM MEMBER - Nickname

Wilko killed it in that heat and took advantage of Kelly's misteps. I can't beleive all the haters... Wilko is one of my favorite goofy footers to watch! I agree with some that the ASP doesn't reward people who a pushing the limits of surfing... heat wise surfers are better off just completing the wave. It seems like one of the reasons Dane didn't excel on tour, he wanted to rip the bag out of it and when you're trying moves that are pushing the limits you end up losing heats.

Matthew Wilhite 07/16/2014 05:20 PM * PREMIUM MEMBER - Real Name

Go CJ. He is such a bad ass, having no sponsor until recently. Great back hand attack; hope he wins the whole thing.

truth 07/16/2014 05:20 PM

Based on some faulty logic, I can see some have reached their conclusions. Stephen A. Smith and Jim Rome seem to garner much attention and accolade, and yet neither of them have enough talent in their pinkie to go up against the athletes they commentate on. The idea that this comment section should be a place of mediocre thought and "atta boy" commentary is disturbing. I guess one is a "hater" for simply pointing out subtle differences in one's surfing approach. Start doing some journalism.

Matthew Gillenberg 07/16/2014 05:11 PM * PREMIUM MEMBER - Real Name

Nothing would please me more than to see Wilko win this thing.

w3rd to Noah b. 07/16/2014 04:25 PM

Yep. Finally it is happening. Finally someone is finally saying it - he is not ripping. Over the course of a wave, he's 2 steps slower and he falls on what were formally pedestrian moves for him.

Uhhh 07/16/2014 04:23 PM

Ok, so he did 6 moves on the first wave, 5 of which were rather mundane top turns and were all exactly the same. The other move was kind of a lip hit floater type thing. Yes, the backside bottom turn is a thing of beauty. The 9.03 actually had 7 moves with a bit more variety, tho some were weak-ish. I think this is the first time the judges have ever seen someone surf backside on a point wave and they just went all Lady Gaga on him. No matter; Slater looked like a kook falling likemad.

Timothy Lockfeld 07/16/2014 03:22 PM * PREMIUM MEMBER - Real Name ** EDITOR'S PICK

In surfing whoever has the most fun wins. Wilco has been winning for years.

jack 07/16/2014 03:19 PM

armchair coaches the only thing that matters is when the box gets checked in the win column. yay for the underdog slaters hardly done though. he'll win two more before the seasons up.

@Rob 07/16/2014 03:16 PM

@Rob He also won the event as a prime in 2010

One Love 07/16/2014 03:06 PM * PREMIUM MEMBER - Nickname

Rob, Wilko won the CWC the year before when it was a QS. Wilko has one of the best backhand attacks out of anybody, goofy or regular. He has so many different variations of a backside off-the-lip that adapts to the wave and maximizes radicalness. His backside bottom turn is the key to his success...the best in the business!

Mik 07/16/2014 01:59 PM

good for Wilko, but Slater's attack was far more interesting and radical, had he not slipped off. Kelly seems to be having some board issues? Maybe stick with a design closer to what he rode when he won 3 titles in a row? Kelly knows what he's doing, so forgive me for presuming to suggest, but just sayin.....

Marcelo 07/16/2014 01:20 PM

Go Wilco!

RPSD 07/16/2014 01:15 PM * PREMIUM MEMBER - Nickname

I love reading all the haters doing their thing. Couple questions for ya: Have you ever surfed Jbay? Have you ever surfed with Wilko? Have you ever made it out of a single heat of a 1 star contest? I'm going to assume most of these haters will say no to all of the above. If that's you, how much credibility do you have? Answer: none. Fact is, Wilko surfed amazing against Slater whose rattles most lower seeds. Who cares if its mid contest, he blew up, big props to him, great insight.

J-BAY OPEN: WORDS WITH WILKO

Dissecting Matt Wilkinson's best performance of the year at Supertubes

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