Surfing
World number one Caity Simmers talks exclusively about her run through the wildest event female surfing has ever seen, complete with a star turn from Molly Picklum and Carissa Moore saying farewell.
In just her second year on the WSL Championship Tour, California's Caitlin Simmers finds herself in the tour leader's yellow jersey after winning the season-opening Lexus Pipe Pro last week to cap off a finals day that's already being touted as the greatest in women's surfing history. Simmers, Australian star Molly Picklum and Hawaiian Bettylou Sakura Johnson pushed themselves harder and harder on the rights of Backdoor and lefts of Pipeline as the rounds progressed.
While Simmers and Picklum started on opposite sides of the draw, the pair fed off each other's energy from afar, their performances levelling up each time they hit the water. A showdown in the final seemed all but inevitable and, while Picklum banked the wave of the season when she locked in the first-ever perfect 10 by a female at Pipeline in the semis, it was the Californian who took home the trophy after a blow-for-blow battle in the ultimate match.
In the moments after her win, Simmers entered surfing folklore when congratulated on her success. Without missing a beat, Simmers grabbed the microphone and announced to the world that "Pipeline is for the f*****g girls", in one of the great sporting mic drops.
A few days removed from her milestone achievement, we caught up with the in-demand yet understated Californian to download her thoughts on a crazy week in surfing, find out how she feels about being a part of an insanely talented female next generation, hear her pay tribute to retiring five-time world champion, Carissa Moore, and much more.
Now that you've had time to reflect, are you more excited about the win or the day in general?
I'm probably more excited that I had a good day at Pipeline and got a couple of waves, because I usually don't. I was in Hawaii before the comp started and there were days where I had really, really frustrating sessions and didn't make a single barrel. It's weird having to train for an event, but you can't because there's 150 people out and you can't get a wave. It's crazy trying to mind-surf every wave and imagine what you would be doing if there wasn't anyone else out there.
Do you think you got some of your best-ever waves at Pipeline on the final day?
Yeah! How many waves did I get that day, like three good ones? So they're probably the three best waves I've ever got out there. The first wave I got was the first proper Pipe one I've ever made, so I was pretty hyped on that. I've never really got a wave at Pipe until that heat.
The first wave I got was the first proper Pipe one I've ever made
Is the chance to have another crack at uncrowded Pipe the incentive to keep getting through heats?
Well, the incentive is winning, but the waves were a big bonus because they weren't like that when they ran a couple of days earlier. Those waves were pretty questionable. The incentive to do turns and be really scrappy and force yourself to act like you're surfing a left bank in France when you're at Pipeline is pretty hard, but it was worth it for that day at the end.
There's been a lot of talk about what a landmark day that was for women's surfing. Do you think about those things? Is it important for you to be a part of this movement, and be a role model to younger girls who might be wanting to follow in your footsteps?
Yeah, I'm a big advocate for Girl Power. Maybe it's not that it's cool to be a part of it, as much as it is that's it's cool to see it go down. I'm pretty proud just to be a part of it all, it was crazy. It's just cool that the women got the chance to show they can surf well, because a lot of the time at Pipe they've run the girls when it wasn't that good and they haven't been able to showcase their best. Obviously Moana Jones Wong has been getting great waves in the comps, but she's so good at Pipe that she can get a good wave out there on any day. It was just cool that we had that one perfect day of waves that the women have never had before and we could show that we can get barreled.
Was 'Pipeline's for the f*****g girls' spontaneous?
It was an in-the-moment thing, rather than thinking, 'Oh, this is going to go viral,' because you can't really plan winning an event like that. It was more of something that came to my mind on the day, when I was watching Bettylou and Molly sending it on huge waves. It was so cool, I'd never seen anything like that in person. There were 10-footers and Molly was dropping into Pipe bombs like it was nothing and I just thought that Pipe is for the girls too, because in the freesurfs it never really seems like it is. So, for me, it was more of 'See! If you give us waves we can do it!'
Before the final, I was like, 'Pipe is for the f*****g girls,' to Molly and she went, 'Yeah, Pipe is for the bitches!' We were talking, saying how we're here at Pipe, it's perfect and we're about to have a final together, and it's pretty cool that Pipe is for the girls. I just thought, 'Okay, whoever wins has to say it.' I usually find it pretty hard to articulate my thoughts after a win and the only thing in my mind was that I didn't want to say, 'I don't know,' again in an interview. So, I just said that.
Something that was really impressive was seeing you get more confident and more comfortable. Could you feel yourself growing through the whole day?
Yeah. Starting out in the morning, seeing the waves and that it was really good got me excited, but again that morning I didn't get a single wave. I ended up paddling in. The only wave I got was a foamy Pipe wave with a sketchy drop, but I forced myself to go just to get a feel for it. Then, when I ended up getting that first wave in my first heat, it definitely gave me a lot of confidence. I guess it started from there and ended up working out.
Do you know your surfing history?
I'm not much of a surf nerd, if that's what you mean. I don't really study contests and stuff, but I watch a lot of surf videos.
What were some of the movies you had on repeat growing up?
I would watch a lot of Dane Reynolds. He had an edit called Sampler that I watched every morning for a long time. That and his YouTube channel, Marine Layer Productions. Before this event I was watching a lot of Steph Gilmore's frontside tube riding and there's a girls' movie called Surfing that's pretty cool. I was watching that a lot, too.
The thought of big wave surfing is so unappealing, but the idea of being inside of the wave is pretty amazing to me
How does this tiny human from California turn into a 10-foot-tall beast at the world's scariest wave?
I think it just comes from the love of getting barrelled and pulling into closeouts at Oceanside Pier. You have to love eating s**t, which I guess I don't, but I love to get a vision and get barrelled. The thought of big wave surfing is so unappealing, but the idea of being inside of the wave is pretty amazing to me, so it probably just stems from that.
You're part of the new vanguard of women's surfing alongside Molly Picklum, with Sierra Kerr and Erin Brooks waiting in the wings getting ready to join you. Do you feel that and is it exciting to be part of this next step in women's pro surfing?
It's just a cool thing to watch. Whether I'm a part of it or not, it would be sick. The fact that I can even be in there and have an impact is pretty cool. Sierra and Erin are amazing, I just watched Sierra's new edit and it was crazy. She's going on 10-foot Teahupo'o waves and it's pretty cool to see.
Are you in it?
I have a couple of waves... at one-foot Oceanside.
That's where people train to win Pipeline, isn't it?
Yeah, that's where you hone your craft!
This was Carissa Moore's final event. Talk to us about the influence she's had on your surfing and the lives of female surfers all over the world.
It sucked that she wasn't able to surf on that final day, that was a bummer. She's one of the greatest female surfers of all time and obviously has had a massive impact on me, because that's what I love to do. She's always been at the top, so I've always looked up to her. She's just really, really good at surfing and especially barrel riding.
When someone like Carissa walks away, selfishly you're probably excited that it helps your chances of winning, but are you also disappointed that you won't get to compete against her again?
Totally. One of my favourite things to do is go up against the girls who are so experienced and just so good at what they do. I'd definitely love a couple more heats against Carissa. Hopefully I'll get them one day.
How does the yellow jersey feel? Does that even mean anything to you?
No, it's just a colour. I'm kidding, it's weird being on the top. It's sick, it's crazy and I guess it's the first time I've ever been number one, but it's the first event so as of now it doesn't mean anything more than I won the first event.
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