He's back! Four days after being ousted from WSL Tour, Kelly Slater given wild card to return
Bouncing back on his feet like a cat on his ninth life, legendary surfer Kelly Slater was awarded a wild card position Wednesday by the World Surf League after missing the mid-season cut four days earlier.
He will be allowed to complete this season and at least half of next season, and will be allowed to accumulate points toward the Finals and a potential world title, but that would be a long-shot since he was ranked 26th after four of 10 events (and now 23rd).
However, the WSL's decision opened the door for the 51-year-old 11-time world champion from Cocoa Beach to represent the USA in the 2024 Olympics, which he has said was a personal goal after just missing a spot in the inaugural Games two years ago. He also has said the Olympics could be the perfect time to possibly call it a career.
"It is what it is," Slater said, following his third-round exit at the Margaret River Pro in Western Australia on Saturday, when he missed the mid-season cut, instituted two years ago by the WSL. "We'll see what happens."
End of an era: Kelly Slater knocked off WSL Tour as regular competitor for first time since 1990
Paws up! Pups hit the surf during Brevard Humane Society East Coast Dog Surfing Festival
What happened was, like so many times during his 30-year-plus career, the stars — or waves — aligned again. Only one American, California's Griffin Colapinto, is ranked in the Top 10. The other four were battling not only for the second Olympic berth, but survival at mid-season. All of them lost Saturday and missed the 22-man cut.
Slater, who was tied for 26th in the rankings, lost to Australia's Liam O'Brien; Nat Young (tied for 21st) lost to Brazil's Yago Dora; Jake Marshall (tied for 30th) fell to Hawaii's John John Florence (Hawaii is separate than mainland America in surfing); and Kolohe Andino (also tied for 30th) lost to Australia's Ryan Callinan.
It leaves Colapinto and Slater as mainland America's two representatives on the WSL Championship Tour, which heads to Slater's own Surf Ranch in California for the next event in May.
The 2024 Olympics are being hosted by Paris, but the surfing venue was selected to be in Teahupo'o, Tahiti, one of Slater's favorite barreling waves, where he has compiled five of his record 56 major tour victories.
Now, Slater simply needs to avoid injuries. He looked sharp this past week despite a nagging injury in his hip region.
The mid-season cut has been criticized by many since surfers now have to be sharp through just five events. It would be comparable to Major League Baseball sending the fourth- and fifth-place teams in their divisions to the minor leagues at the All-Star break.
Melbourne Beach's Matt Kechele, a former world touring pro, knows Slater all too well, mentoring him at a young age at Sebastian Inlet and then in Hawaii, where he first showed the phenom the thunderous waves of the mighty Banzai Pipeline, where Slater posted his most recent victory — and his eighth career Pipe Masters win — in February 2022, a week before turning 50.
"Sometimes, a surfer like Kelly doesn't get rolling until later in the season," Kechele said, "and, often, the contests with the better waves are in the second half."
The mid-season cut will be re-evaluated after the season, WSL CEO Erik Logan said last Friday during the telecast.
Slater's career spans more than three decades, starting as the Rookie of the Year in 1990, then winning his first world title in 1992 and his most recent world crown in 2011.
A huge bronze statue at the entrance to downtown Cocoa Beach symbolizes his legacy, as does a beach access street, Slater Way, where he first hopped on a Boogie board.
France’s Johanne Defay, who finished No. 3 in the world last year, was awarded the women's wildcard after missing the Top 10 cut.
Miguel Pupo of Brazil and Brisa Hennessy of Costa Rica (already an Olympic qualifier) were awarded the 2024 season wild cards, meaning they will be able to compete in at least the first half of next season.
On the women's side, Melbourne Beach native Caroline Marks, who placed fourth in the inaugural 2021 surfing Summer Games in Japan, came in ranked sixth on the WSL tour. She is among three mainland Americans (with California's Caitlin Simmers and Lakey Peterson) battling for the two Olympic spots.
Marks, 21, has reached the semifinals of the Margaret River Pro event, which has been on hold for a few days. Coincidentally, Marks was awarded a wild card at the midpoint of the 2022 season after taking a four-month medical leave.
This article originally appeared on Florida Today: Kelly Slater awarded wild card slot, back on WSL Tour after four days
