Old school still setting the pace on the ASP World Tour

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It wasn’t enough that Taylor Knox made history at the Jeffreys Bay ASP World Tour event last week. Kelly Slater then went on to win it, his fourth event this year and further establish his claim to yet another title.

By scoring 19.70 out of a possible 20, Taylor Knox scored his best ever combined heat score, and the highest seen in the event’s history.

This the culmination thus far of a life pushed from the beginning, having being told at aged 15 he might not surf again because of emergency back surgery for an old skate injury. He didn’t listen to advice and, upon recovery, moved fast up the amateur rankings at the same time as Kelly Slater.

The old school now were once the ‘New School’ in the 90s, pulling fast, powerful moves and pushing the boundaries of what was considered normal. Whilst Kelly Slater homed in on world domination, Taylor Knox hit the headlines with a winning ride in the first K2 Big-Wave Challenge in 1998. He then disappeared for a while, came back, and has been up and down the rankings since.

Currently up and widely thought of as the surfer’s surfer for his style and power, he and Kelly Slater are longevity personified, emerging from the Curren years and pushing the sport on to a new level. How long they push on for is anyone’s guess, but right now they are holding court whatever school you’re from.