Making the Call: An Interview with Commissioner Kieren Perrow
4:36

Making the Call: An Interview with Commissioner Kieren Perrow

Kieren Perrow may just have the toughest job on tour. As commissioner, the job of making the crucial "It's ON!" call each day is ultimately his. And while that's an easy thing to do when the waves are firing and the forecast is solid, those cases are rare. Even with 10-day waiting periods and the world's best lineups things can and do get complicated.

WSL Commissioner, Kieren Perrow, inspects the conditions during a lay day at the Fiji Pro. Perrow likes to sample the goods whenever possible before making the call. - WSL / Kirstin

The job begins long before the tour even begins. Perrow's first priority is insuring that the Championship Tour schedule is conducive to scoring the highest quality surf at each stop. Windows are scientifically researched before they're selected and approved. But as anyone who's been skunked on a surf trip can tell you, there are no guarantees.

Once the event is underway Perrow's priority shifts to figuring out how to squeeze 51 heats -- or 28 hours of competition -- into the best possible window of the forecasted swell. It takes just under four days to complete an event, so when the forecasts get tricky like they have this week at Teahupo'o, there are a number of factors Perrow must weigh. None is bigger, however, than getting the world's best surfers in the world's best waves.

On Dawn Patrol Monday, Perrow joined Surfline Surf Forecaster Kurt Korte on the WSL desk to discuss the many variables that play into making the call.

 

Up next

World Surf League
Download it for free on the App store. Download it for free on Google Play.