I celebrate the return of WSL and ALAS competitions, and I do so with much more emphasis than I ever thought; it is hard to accept that championships do so much good for you, but that is how it is…

I want to find out if it is really because I am passionate about the championships or if their return makes me feel more normal in a tragic year that had nothing normal about it.

It is also good to accept that what was normal, that routine that allowed us to walk freely through the world, that let us hug people and that did not require the use of face masks, was great and that we were foolish to complain so much about stupid things.

I tend to be critical of the WSL, but the bold effort to organize a world tour in these circumstances is worthy of appreciation. More than one person will say that they have to do this to survive, but the impression that I and many people get is that they are losing money in the hope that one day they will be bought out or that surfing will finally become mainstream (or both).

In any case, they could, as they did in so many international federations of other sports, just sit back and do nothing. Instead, they pushed ahead.   

The decision was somewhat unexpected. It was a given that the QS would not return, there were only a few days left until the Triple Crown “starts”, an event that brings together 100 surfers from 30 countries and the WSL did not say anything… And it never did say anything but it did confirm that the CT is starting.

And it makes sense because the first division is easier to control; there are 48 surfers in total (32 men and 16 women, permanent) moving around the world, or rather, traveling to Hawaii at first, praying that there is a vaccine or that the destinations that follow have open borders.

And the beginning is not one to be underwhelmed by: Honolua and especially the Pipe Masters, the best world championship in the middle of the Hawaiian season, with points on the line, without invented team events, or that pathetic circus in the Brazilian night.

I look back at what's been in the past and get excited about what's next, with Kelly and John John putting it all on the line at Pipe.

The same applies to ALAS and the government of El Salvador, who instead of shrinking in the face of the circumstances, are repeating the great event they held last year. With thousands of differences and thousands of precautions, but with the Latin title on the line, dollars at stake and feeding the enormous hunger for competition that American surfers have.

On top of that, in quality waves, at La Bocana, one of the most consistent waves in the world.

Even though there is a second wave, even though there are a lot of irresponsible people who do not respect health measures, even though living in this new normal is like Russian roulette, it seems that things are improving. This is not a minor issue, it should be celebrated.