The SURFER Poll Awards drew a large crowd to the Turtle Bay Resort Thursday night including a wide range of pro surfers, industry executives and retailers.
Some fresh blood entered the top 10 on the men’s side including Gabriel Medina at No. 4 and John John Florence, the most courted man in surfing at the moment, who debuted at No 2.
Several of the surfers’ speeches improved from last year, with a few offering gracious words for their competitors. There were also a few friendly jokes about the new additions to the Hurley surf team.
Julian Wilson thanked Hurley for “taking me on,” to laughs and claps from the crowd. Julian said it’s a major change for him, but “there’s no greater people I could fall in the hands of.”
Nike Surfer Carissa Moore, who came in No. 4 on the women’s side, also said she was excited to join the Hurley team.
That prompted show co-host Freddy Patacchia to quip, “Did I not get the memo? Am I now riding for Hurley?”
Dane Reynolds, No. 3, came on stage twice. Upon accepting his SURFER Poll award he said, “I neglected all ordinary adult responsibility to surf … And I was rewarded with this.”
He also won for Best Performance and spoke about working on always doing his best instead of trying halfway because of fear of failing.
“I’ve approached quite a few things in life with one foot in and one foot out, because if you fail you’re like ‘ah I tried,’ he said. “For the first time, with this film, I really tried hard to surf my best. I guess this means I didn’t fail.”
Kelly Slater, again No. 1, was gracious during his speech, wishing Joel Parkinson and Mick Fanning luck as they and Slater compete for the world title at Pipeline.
“Let the best man win and let’s have a good, fun” contest, he said.
See Page 2 for more about the SURFER Poll Awards, including the complete list of winners
People are very, very excited about the world title hunt being decided at Pipeline, and it was fun to talk to so many people last night who are so looking forward to watching what happens.
Pipeline is expected to start sometime Saturday.
Here are the full results. The awards are decided by readers’ votes.
Men’s Awards
1. Kelly Slater – Quiksilver
2. John John Florence
3. Dane Reynolds
4. Gabriel Medina
5. Mick Fanning
6. Joel Parkinson
7. Julian Wilson
8. Taj Burrow
9. Jordy Smith
10. Owen Wright
Women’s Awards
1. Steph Gilmore
2. Alana Blanchard
3. Coco Ho
4. Carissa Moore
5. Sally Fitzgibbons
Other awards
AI Breakthrough Performer Presented by New Era
Gabriel Medina
Movie of the Year
Dear Suburbia by Kai Neville
Best Performance
Dane Reynolds, Dear Suburbia
Heavy Water
Shane Dorian
Best Barrel
Reef McIntosh, Fiji Freight Trains
Worst Wipeout
Mark Mathews, Fighting Fear
Short of the Year
Electric Blue Heaven, by Joe G
Agent of Change
Jack Shimko and Paddle2Live
