Goofy's Are Getting Rorted!

The numbers are in, and the data doesn’t lie.

Goofy footed surfers are getting skanked on tour – big time. 

But don’t take my word for it, keep reading to find out for yourself.

GOOFY WINNER PERCENTAGES

With all things equal, you’d should expect roughly a 50% distribution of world titles between goofy footers and regular footers. 

Let’s take a look at the numbers:

MENS WORLD CHAMPS SINCE 2004

2023: Filipe Toledo (Regular)

2022: Filipe Toledo (Regular)

2021: Gabriel Medina (Goofy)

2020: No World Champion due to COVID-19 pandemic

2019: Italo Ferreira (Goofy)

2018: Gabriel Medina (Regular)

2017: John John Florence (Regular)

2016: John John Florence (Regular)

2015: Adriano de Souza (Regular)

2014: Gabriel Medina (Goofy)

2013: Mick Fanning (Regular)

2012: Joel Parkinson (Regular)

2011: Kelly Slater (Regular)

2010: Kelly Slater (Regular)

2009: Mick Fanning (Regular)

2008: Kelly Slater (Regular)

2007: Mick Fanning (Regular)

2006: Kelly Slater (Regular)

2005: Kelly Slater (Regular)

2004: Andy Irons (Regular)

Just 20% of World Champions over the past 20 years have been goofy footers (word up to Gabe, and Italo).

That’s a pretty wild stat.

And in the women’s the results are even more startling:

WOMEN’S WORLD CHAMPS SINCE 2004

2023: Caroline Marks (Goofy)

2022: Stephanie Gilmore (Regular)

2021: Carissa Moore (Regular)

2020: No World Champion due to COVID-19 pandemic

2019: Carissa Moore (Regular)

2018: Stephanie Gilmore (Regular)

2017: Tyler Wright (Regular)

2016: Tyler Wright (Regular)

2015: Carissa Moore (Regular)

2014: Stephanie Gilmore (Regular)

2013: Carissa Moore (Regular)

2012: Stephanie Gilmore (Regular)

2011: Carissa Moore (Regular)

2010: Stephanie Gilmore (Regular)

2009: Stephanie Gilmore (Regular)

2008: Stephanie Gilmore (Regular)

2007: Stephanie Gilmore (Regular)

2006: Layne Beachley (Regular)

2005: Chelsea Georgeson (Goofy)

2004: Sofia Mulanovich (Regular)

Just 10% of Women’s World Champions in the past 20 years have been goofy!

So why is this?

Is it coincidence, is it just bad timing, or is the whole thing just not fair?

Let’s take a look at some possible reasons. 

TOUR SCHEDULE

There’s been a bunch of noise over the past decade about the lack of left-handers on tour, most notably from the goofy footed contingent, but they’ve got a point. 

Take this years tour schedule as an example:

PIPE: Right & Left (although backdoor generally offers longer tubes)

SUNSET BEACH: Right

PORTUGAL: Rights & Lefts

BELLS: Right

MARGARET RIVER: Right

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TAHITI: Left (arguably favours regular footers stalling on their backside)

EL SALVADOR: Right

BRAZIL: Bit of everything

FIJI: Left

TRESTLES: Lefts & Rights (Rights are way better)

Taking a look at the tour schedule a few things jump out:

• 40% of the tour locations are exclusively right handers (please don’t moan at me saying Marg’s is a left, it’s not).
• 60% of tour locations are predominantly right handers.
• Only two tour stops are designated left handers.

With that in mind it’s no wonder goofy footers on tour are pissed.

FOREHAND SURFING IS EASIER (AND MORE DYNAMIC)

Surfing forehand and backhand are completely different beasts – and they’re not equal. 

Think about it for a minute, it’s so much easier to add variation and be dynamic on your forehand. 

A fin blow here, a tail slide there, wrapping cutbacks, laybacks, straight airs, and crazy airs.

It’s so much easier to add that variation (which is a big part of the judging criteria I might add). 

The backhand in contrast is much more limited; top to bottom, top to bottom – and that’s kind of it (if you’re Occy it is at least). 

The only time when backside surfing can be an advantage is in tubes, preferably big, short, heavy ones, just like Pipe and Chopes (another advantage to the regulars).

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60-40 REGULAR VS GOOFY

Alright, alright I know, there are more regular footers than goofy’s (roughly 60-40) and this must impact the stats right?

Sure, this must have a significant impact, but when analysed against snowboarding and skateboarding the insights are very interesting.

In street skating, 85% of the World Champs over the past 20 years have been goofy footers, that’s totally counterintuitive. 

Furthermore, 58.3% of World Champion snowboarders over the past 12 years are goofy also. 

So what this tells me is that the discrepancy between the ratios of regular vs goofy footed surfers shouldn’t impact the winners as much as it currently does.

HOW TO FIX IT

If this is a problem – which I think it is – it needs addressing. 

Quite simply, there needs to be an equal distribution of rights and lefts on tour, a fair playing field for all. 

Without that, who’s to say we’re not crowning the wrong surfers each year?

It does beg the question doesn’t it. 

I mean, would Steph Gilmore have won x8 World Titles if the tour was flipped around?

I don’t think so. 

How about Mick Fanning?

Do you think he’d have bagged x3 World Titles if Snapper, Bells & Jeffries Bay were all lefts?

Highly unlikely.

To end it here, goofy footers are getting unfairly discriminated against on tour and this could potentially delegitimise future world champions.

Either that, or I’m full of shit (probably the latter).

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