"The New Team Scene," Margo Oberg, Honolulu Advertiser, Jan 11, 1979

"World Team Surfing will begin at 12:00 noon at Haleiwa, and we'll start with the women's event," announced IPS competition director Randy Rarick over his constantly busy phone.

Once all the competitors and camera crews from CBS arrived at Haleiwa, with waves running 3-5 feet, the competition started to take shape. Rell Sunn, a top Hawaii surfer and commentator for CBS at the World Team Surfing championships, gathered the Hawaii team of Lynn Boyer, Becky Benson and myself.

"Hawaii's got to win," proclaimed Sunn "The Mainland girls are planning to use blocking and various distraction tactics to make sure you don’t catch any good waves," Sunn continued.

From this conversation, we learned that World Team Surfing would not use the standard interference rule that stressed one rider per wave. Instead, it would be a free-for-all in which any number of competitors could ride the same wave. Basically, everything was permissible except body contact. An offender crashing into another competitor would receive zero points for that ride and that wave would automatically count as one of the team's top five rides.

During the women's competition, the Mainland USA team of Jericho Poppler, Brenda Scott, and Linda Davoli utilized blocking and dropping-in tactics against the Hawaii team. Their defensive plan was successful on the small waves, but when the big sets came, Boyer and I were able to out-paddle the rest and secure the best waves of the contest.

At certain stages of the contest, competitors from both teams were laughing, joking around, and splashing water on each other. The whole scene was relaxed and playful, making it as enjoyable as a Sunday afternoon beach party. As Boyer put it, "This type of contest is actually fun."

The Hawaii team won the contest, earning $1,000 to share between the three competitors.

The men's WTS, held in near-perfect 8- to 10-foot waves at Sunset Beach, was not as lighthearted and relaxed as the women's event the day before.

Featuring eight two-man teams, a strong undercurrent of nationalistic and regional pride stirred the competitors. As one competitor described it. ‘I'm out for blood and I'm going to win."

Why such intensity? Frankly, it's because each team seriously believed it was the best. Except, of course for the Japanese team members who humbly replied, ‘‘We try. We try."

Other teams were quite bold in their description of their chances. "Michael and I are a great team," said Shaun Tomson of his thrill to surf with his cousin instead of against him.

"We’ve been a team for a long time and we're tough," proclaimed Peter Townend of the famed and bronzed Aussie team.

Hawaii's Buzzy Kerbox and Michael Ho, each winners of a major championship on the North Shore this year, were feeling super happy. "We re gonna geev'um," they both said cheerfully

My prediction was that the finals would be between the Australians and either the Hawauans or the South Africans

The Australians—Cheyne Horan and Peter Townend—surfed their way into the finals but barely escaped defeat by the Japanese team in the first round. (Japanese surfers will prove to be a big threat in international competition next year.)

To everyone's surprise, the other team in the finals was was the USA-East team of two Floridians, Pat Mulhern and Steve Massfeller.

An even greater shocker was that the East team won—and deserved it.

"Everyone thinks East Coasters are only good in small waves. But they are wrong. We can win in anything," smiled victor Pat Mulhem.

"More Upsets as Surf Season Ends," Honolulu Advertiser, Dec 29, 1978

When the International Professional Surfing circuit moved to Hawaii in November, the world's top wave athletes figured to compete on the best breaks with the best conditions of the year

What they found, instead, was mostly stormy, choppy surf along Oahu's North Shore To surfing organizers, sponsors and network telecasters, the surf was a bit upsetting

At Sunset Beach yesterday, the surf was upsetting again. But this time, the waves were near-perfect, 8- to 10-foot breaks. What was upsetting was the outcome of the first-ever World Team Surfing Championship, featuring eight 2-man teams representing six nations, with three teams from the United States.

So who got the big bucks at the end. None other than water luminaries Steve Massfeller and Pat Mulhem. Yep, a couple of Floridians rated 21st and next-to-nothing, respectively, on the IPS circuit. They surfed under the flag of USA East and knocked off No. 2-rated Cheyne Horan and Peter Townend (5) of Australia.

Australians Horan and Townend barely surfed past the low-seeded Japanese team of Norihiko Okano (55) and Masaki Kobayashi (69) The two teams were tied after four waves and the highly rated Aussies had to go to the fifth wave to win the heat. "That was one of the big surprises of the meet." said surfing enthusiast Fred Hemmings. "Nobody expected that kind of competition from the Japanese "

South Africans Shaun (4) and Michael (11) Tomson ousted the USA West team of Joey Buran (27) and Dan Flecky (59) in surf 6- to 8-foot surf.

USA East (Mulhem and Massfeller) outsurfed Brazil's Lipe Dylong (40) and Ricardo Bacao

Ted Deerhurst (57) and Mark Richards (10), representing the Commonwealth. defeated Hawaii's Michael Ho (3) and Buzzy Kerbox (6), an upset.

In the semifinals, Horan and Townend, taking advantage of blocking their opponents on the waves, eliminated the Tomson cousins. Then the Floridians bumped off Commonwealth.

1978 World Team Challenge

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