Published: December 19, 2013

December 19, 2013 Views: 3,966







INTERVIEW: YADIN NICOL Catching up with Aussie battler Yadin Nicol after narrow loss to Fanning at Pipe Masters.





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Related "I just wish people would get off this subject," Yadin said of the judging controversy over Mick's winning wave. "It's over. His wave was incredible, and the performance he put in on all year was insane so I can't take anything away from what he did in that heat and what he's done all year." Photo: Ryan Craig

Yadin's 9.33. "Well, there's two ways to skin a cat and the way Mick did it was pretty clean, and the way I did it was a little bit more dramatic maybe," he said. "But you could go either way and say who's is better?" Sequence: Ryan Craig



There are three things people are talking about on the North Shore today.





Yadin, who missed requalifying for the 2013 WCT by one heat at Pipe last year, needed to make the final here this year to make 2014's tour. Which, at the beginning of the event seemed like a long shot. But his performance against Taj in R3 and then his perfect ten - one of three in this event - in R4 made him seem like not such a darkhorse after all.



He led for most of the quarterfinal, keeping Mick and the Rip Curl camp chewing their nails. If Yadin won, Fanning'd have to watch on the sidelines to see if Kelly would win the contest and thus, the title. As we all know, that didn't happen. And since both Kelly and Mick have been interviewed endlessly about the way it went down, we figured it was time to catch up with Yadin himself to get his take on the matter. Turns out, he's bummed at the score, but stoked for Mick and optimistic about surfing. Oh, and he wouldn't mind a surf trip right about now.



HOW DID YOU MENTALLY PREPARE FOR PIPE?

I was fine with not requalifying. I had a lot of time to think about what I was going to do next year and the situation I put myself in. I wasn't in any position to be bummed about not qualifying at Pipe. It wasn't as if I was going in there needing to make one heat and just barely missing out. I dug myself a hole and it was a deep one to get out of. But I pretty much came into the whole Triple Crown thinking I needed to win the whole Triple Crown to re-qualify, and that was my goal. I was off to a really good start in Haleiwa, and then I made a stupid mistake in my quarterfinal heat against Jeremy Flores. But I made the quarters and that was the only time all year I felt good enough to get through a couple heats. I felt good going into Sunset, it was huge. Which was cool, but it's also a tricky wave when it's like that. I just got stuck out the back too long. That was a bummer. But then Pipe. I kind of took a little bit from last year because I did well there last year -- it's pretty straightforward. You've just have to put yourself on the best waves. Especially when it's rights. When it's Backdoor, I know which ones they are. I like surfing that wave. Every heat, I just wanted to make it so bad. I just kept wanting to get another heat out there, that was my main goal. So that was a fun contest to be in.

"If any of those top guys that are going for a world title can't beat me, they don't deserve to be the world champ."





WAS REQUALIFYING IN YOUR MIND?

I didn't even have it in my mind until the final day. I felt pretty comfortable against Mick. I thought that was a pretty even matchup. I felt comfortable that whole week and I felt good about what I was doing and my game plan going into it. I had a few good heats before it and I was just sticking to my game plan, doing my own thing. So I thought I had a chance, for sure.



WHAT ABOUT ROUND 3 WITH TAJ AND THE COUNTBACK?

I didn't even realize there was a countback. All I knew was he needed a score and he didn't get it. I didn't even put two and two together. I don't know. I guess I got lucky with that.



AND THEN ROUND 4 WITH CJ AND JULIAN, TAKING BOTH THEM OUT.

Yeah, I was stoked with that heat. It was weird because it was so freaking good that whole contest. It was incredible. There were heats where they were throwing away high 8s. It felt like there wasn't even a contest at times; it was like having the time of your life. That's sort of how Round 3 was, and then it was so, so slow. CJ had a couple small scores, Julian had nothing with his priority the whole time. And then I snuck a little four-point right in, and then I found myself in priority when a good left came. (One of the event's three ten-point rides.) So that was definitely a bit of luck then. I guess things were going my way.



AND THEN SO MUCH HYPE GOING INTO THE FINAL DAY.

I was shitting myself, to be honest. I was just so stoked to see how big it was the day before because I was like, 'alright it's going to be dropping a little bit for the contest.' I probably had the best night's sleep that night, actually, before any of those events.



DID YOU SURF THE NIGHT BEFORE?

I did. I had a terrible time. It was really hard to put yourself in position, trying to dodge those big sets. From the beach it looked incredible, picture perfect. But when you were out there, you were dodging 12-foot grenades that were steamrolling through. And it was packed.



WERE YOU WATCHING HIS HEAT AGAINST CJ, WONDERING WHO YOU'D RATHER HAVE?

I was watching the heat. I didn't really care. Both would be hard. CJ is so gnarly. I didn't care who I got, to be honest. It would be a wave-catching contest -- whoever was going to be on the best waves. I felt like I could go out and do that against either of them.



ANY THOUGHTS ABOUT KNOCKING OUT THE POTENTIAL AUSSIE WORLD CHAMP?

No, not at all. The way I see it, if any of those top guys that are going for a world title can't beat me, they don't deserve to be the world champ.



DID YOU SAY ANYTHING TO HIM DURING THE HEAT?

Nah. I tried to talk to him at the start of the heat. He doesn't like talking in heats. Some guys just don't like talking in heats. Joel doesn't like talking that much until he starts smoking you, then he'll get pretty chatty. And Kelly likes talking because he likes getting into people's mind. He's like, 'nice call.' I was saying hi to the photographers and then I looked at Mick and realized he wasn't going to say hi to me. Then I decided to just let him be.



AND MICK'S LAST WAVE?

He had priority. I was sitting right next to him. I looked at it and it didn't look like anything special, to be honest. It didn't look like it was going to give him the scoring potential. I wasn't worried at the time he was paddling into it. Then I heard the cheer of the crowd and they just took for ages to read out the score, so that's never a good sign. So that's pretty much what happened there.



WHERE WERE YOU WHEN THEY READ THE SCORE?

I was on the beach. The first person I saw was [Hurley's] Brandon Guilmette, and he said, 'Nah [he didn't get it] but they're taking their time.' Which is never a good sign. So I was at the beach when I heard the call and then I was just pissed off after that. Not because of Mick or anything like that. I didn't even see his wave. I was just bummed that I had an opportunity to go further in the contest and that didn't happen. And it was pretty dramatic. Then I was running up to the Volcom Houses and I saw Jamie O'Brien and I asked him, 'do you think it was the score?' And he goes, 'Nah.' So then I was really angry. But I hadn't seen it, I was just going off what other people said.



WHEN YOU SAW IT, WHAT WERE YOUR THOUGHTS?

When I first saw it, I was pretty pissed off. And then to hear how head judge Richie Porta had to come on the webcast to defend the judges on why they gave him that, because that doesn't usually happen.



WHAT PISSED YOU OFF, PORTA'S DEFENSE OR THE FACT THAT HE HAD TO DO IT?

A little bit of both. How he was pretty stoked on Mick's bottom turn. Nothing against the wave itself, I thought it was an incredible wave. I've seen it a bunch of times since and he couldn't have done any more on that wave. But I don't know.



OBVIOUSLY A LOT OF PEOPLE HAVE BEEN COMMENTING ON IT.

Well, there's two ways to skin a cat and the way he did it was pretty clean, and the way I did it was a little bit more dramatic maybe. But you could go either way and say who's is better? But do I think it was a perfect 9.77 or whatever it was? No. I don't think it should have gone that high. I don't know. It's a hard one. He did ride the wave pretty perfect. I rode mine pretty good. It is what it is.



DID YOU TALK TO THE JUDGES?

I wasn't in any state to talk to them.



HAVE YOU SEEN MICK SINCE THEN?

Yeah. I ran down and gave him a big hug. I'm stoked for Mick, man. If it had've been Kelly, if it had been Mick I'd be stoked for either one of them. They're the best surfers in the whole entire world. And Kelly is just a fricken freak what he does. Same with Mick, too. Every performance he put in this year was incredible. I was stoked for him. I just wish I could have gone on.



WHAT ARE YOUR PLANS FOR NEXT YEAR?

I don't know yet. I'm just cruising. I haven't had a surf trip in a while, so I'm pretty keen to get some trips under my belt. I know Globe is doing a new movie that I haven't really worked for at all yet, so I'd like to do some trips with them. I'll do some Primes, but I just want to go on some surf trips.



ARE YOU FEELING MUCH DESIRE TO GET BACK ON THE TOUR FOR 2015?

Not right now, no.



ANYTHING ELSE?

I just wish people would kind of get off this subject. It's over. His wave was incredible, and the performance he put in on all year was insane so I can't take anything away from what he did in that heat and what he's done all year. I didn't even have it in my mind until the final day. I felt pretty comfortable against Mick. I thought that was a pretty even matchup. I felt comfortable that whole week and I felt good about what I was doing and my game plan going into it. I had a few good heats before it and I was just sticking to my game plan, doing my own thing. So I thought I had a chance, for sure.I didn't even realize there was a countback. All I knew was he needed a score and he didn't get it. I didn't even put two and two together. I don't know. I guess I got lucky with that.Yeah, I was stoked with that heat. It was weird because it was so freaking good that whole contest. It was incredible. There were heats where they were throwing away high 8s. It felt like there wasn't even a contest at times; it was like having the time of your life. That's sort of how Round 3 was, and then it was so, so slow. CJ had a couple small scores, Julian had nothing with his priority the whole time. And then I snuck a little four-point right in, and then I found myself in priority when a good left came. (One of the event's three ten-point rides.) So that was definitely a bit of luck then. I guess things were going my way.I was shitting myself, to be honest. I was just so stoked to see how big it was the day before because I was like, 'alright it's going to be dropping a little bit for the contest.' I probably had the best night's sleep that night, actually, before any of those events.I did. I had a terrible time. It was really hard to put yourself in position, trying to dodge those big sets. From the beach it looked incredible, picture perfect. But when you were out there, you were dodging 12-foot grenades that were steamrolling through. And it was packed.I was watching the heat. I didn't really care. Both would be hard. CJ is so gnarly. I didn't care who I got, to be honest. It would be a wave-catching contest -- whoever was going to be on the best waves. I felt like I could go out and do that against either of them.No, not at all. The way I see it, if any of those top guys that are going for a world title can't beat me, they don't deserve to be the world champ.Nah. I tried to talk to him at the start of the heat. He doesn't like talking in heats. Some guys just don't like talking in heats. Joel doesn't like talking that much until he starts smoking you, then he'll get pretty chatty. And Kelly likes talking because he likes getting into people's mind. He's like, 'nice call.' I was saying hi to the photographers and then I looked at Mick and realized he wasn't going to say hi to me. Then I decided to just let him be.He had priority. I was sitting right next to him. I looked at it and it didn't look like anything special, to be honest. It didn't look like it was going to give him the scoring potential. I wasn't worried at the time he was paddling into it. Then I heard the cheer of the crowd and they just took for ages to read out the score, so that's never a good sign. So that's pretty much what happened there.I was on the beach. The first person I saw was [Hurley's] Brandon Guilmette, and he said, 'Nah [he didn't get it] but they're taking their time.' Which is never a good sign. So I was at the beach when I heard the call and then I was just pissed off after that. Not because of Mick or anything like that. I didn't even see his wave. I was just bummed that I had an opportunity to go further in the contest and that didn't happen. And it was pretty dramatic. Then I was running up to the Volcom Houses and I saw Jamie O'Brien and I asked him, 'do you think it was the score?' And he goes, 'Nah.' So then I was really angry. But I hadn't seen it, I was just going off what other people said.When I first saw it, I was pretty pissed off. And then to hear how head judge Richie Porta had to come on the webcast to defend the judges on why they gave him that, because that doesn't usually happen.A little bit of both. How he was pretty stoked on Mick's bottom turn. Nothing against the wave itself, I thought it was an incredible wave. I've seen it a bunch of times since and he couldn't have done any more on that wave. But I don't know.Well, there's two ways to skin a cat and the way he did it was pretty clean, and the way I did it was a little bit more dramatic maybe. But you could go either way and say who's is better? But do I think it was a perfect 9.77 or whatever it was? No. I don't think it should have gone that high. I don't know. It's a hard one. He did ride the wave pretty perfect. I rode mine pretty good. It is what it is.I wasn't in any state to talk to them.Yeah. I ran down and gave him a big hug. I'm stoked for Mick, man. If it had've been Kelly, if it had been Mick I'd be stoked for either one of them. They're the best surfers in the whole entire world. And Kelly is just a fricken freak what he does. Same with Mick, too. Every performance he put in this year was incredible. I was stoked for him. I just wish I could have gone on.I don't know yet. I'm just cruising. I haven't had a surf trip in a while, so I'm pretty keen to get some trips under my belt. I know Globe is doing a new movie that I haven't really worked for at all yet, so I'd like to do some trips with them. I'll do some Primes, but I just want to go on some surf trips.Not right now, no.I just wish people would kind of get off this subject. It's over. His wave was incredible, and the performance he put in on all year was insane so I can't take anything away from what he did in that heat and what he's done all year.

The coming west swell, which is starting to show on the buoys. When/if they're going home for the holidays. And -- still -- Mick's world title-winning buzzer-beater against Yadin Nicol in the quarterfinals.The debate rages on. There are the purists, who claim that Mick's delayed bottom turn to deep, perfectly ridden tube deserved the 9.7, and there are those who maintain that Yadin's freefall pigdog on the foamball was better. This is not new, of course. Judging debates are endless in any sport that has judges. The only fact of the matter is that Mick Fanning is three-time world champ and most of Coolangatta is still hammered.