With two events done and dusted on the 2010 ASP World Tour, the dynamic transitions instituted this season are beginning to take shape. The unified system, dubbed the ‘ASP World Rankings’, will soon be in full swing and we thought it an apt time to touch base with ASP Tour Manager Al Hunt. This…is his story…

In 2010, ASP has made changes to the way the male surfers qualify for and gain ranking points towards the ASP World Title. The ASP World Tour and ASP World Qualifying Series (WQS) are no more as such, being combined in terms of rankings under the umbrella “ASP World Tour” banner, and distinguished through the “ASP World Title Race” and the “ASP World Rankings”.

The ASP World Title Race consists initially of 45 surfers fighting it out for points to decide the undisputed ASP World Champion. These 45 surfers all compete in the first five events of the year (Gold Coast, Bells Beach, Brazil, J-Bay and Tahiti) and then the Top 32 seeds move on into the second half of the year from Hurley Pro at Trestles to the Billabong Pro at Pipeline.

The surfer with the most points from just the ASP World Title Race events will be crowned the 2010 ASP Men’s World Champion. This will also be the system for every year to come in deciding the ASP World Champion.

In addition to the ASP World Title events, the ASP World Tour will encompass the former ASP WQS, running events from ASP 1-Star through 6-Star to PRIME as it was previously. This will allow ASP to have a continual rankings based on a surfers best 8 results, which will be used to select and seed surfers into the ASP World Title events plus ASP 1- 6 Star and PRIME events.

After 12 months, previously counting best 8 events are replaced by current events. This means that a surfer may have been counting his result from the Quiksilver Pro in February all year until it gets replaced the following year by the surfer’s next best 8th result. You CANNOT count events for more than 12 months and once the same event has run the previous points are replaced by the new points even if they are worth less.

2010 will also be a transition year with a couple of minor differences to what it will be instituted from 2011 onwards. The differences are that the ASP Men’s World Title 32 seeded surfers for 2011 will be the 2010 Top 22 plus the next 10 based on the ASP World Tour Rankings as of end of the Billabong Pipeline Pro in December, along with two wild cards selected by ASP.

During 2011, there will be changes to the ASP World Title Race selected surfers, with the Top 32 from the ASP World Tour Rankings being selected after a yet to be determined number of events.

If ASP decides to have two, three or four changeovers, it would work like this:

Say ASP decides to have three changeover dates during the year, then after the third event, the previous Top 32 would be replaced by the current Top 32 on the ASP World Rankings. These 32 may still be the same or they could be slightly different with a handful or more new faces. No one knows the exact number, but for sure, any newcomer if they have great results can break into the ASP World Title Race events at any time and not have to slave on the previous WQS for at least one year. Fast tracking those that are good enough is what it is all about.

To summarize, in 2010 things are pretty similar to previous years with the exception of adding the ASP World Title event points to a new ASP World Tour Rankings using all previous WQS events.

From 2011 onwards, this new ASP World Ranking will decide who gets to compete in the ASP World Title events and eventually decide the ASP World Champion. These ASP World Rankings also decide the selection order and seeding for all men’s events from ASP World Title through PRIME to 1-Star.

ASP is excited about these changes and look forward to them until such time a better format comes about and you can rest assured ASP will change when that time comes to remain at the forefront of progressive thinking.

Your’s In Surfing, Al Hunt – ASP Tour Manager

Q & A

Who can win the 2010 ASP World Title?
Anyone of the ASP Top 45 surfers that were invited at the start of the 2010 season. The one with the most points at the end of the year is the undisputed ASP World Champion.

Will there be any changes to ASP World Title invited surfers during the year?
The Top 45 will be cut back to 32 at the end of the 5th event. These 32 are the highest 32 seeds on the ASP World Title Rankings.

Will ASP World Tour surfers be able to break into the ASP World Title events during 2010?
No, only during 2011 tour will there be changeover periods. The number of changeover periods is yet to be decided.

What happened to the ASP WQS?
The WQS has been replaced by a Star and PRIME events. Events range in progressive importance from 1-Star through 6-Star to PRIME.

What events can be used to count towards rankings?
The best 8 of all 10 ASP World Title events count towards the ASP World Title Rankings and best 8 of all 10 ASP World Title plus all 1-6 Star and PRIME count towards the ASP World Rankings.

Do ASP World Title event seed replacements and wildcards get to use their results towards their ASP World Rankings?
ASP World Title replacement seeds can use the results, but wildcards cannot.

Who will contest the ASP World Title events in 2011?
The Top 22 from the end of 2010 ASP World Title Rankings will automatically start the 2011 year as ASP World Title event seeds. These 22, along with the Top 10 from the ASP World Tour Rankings (combined World Title and 1-6 Star and PRIME results) plus two ASP wildcards will start the 2011 year.

Why have an ASP World Tour Ranking?
The ASP World Tour Ranking after the first 12 months will be used to decide who makes the cut into the ASP World Title events, decide the seeding order for all events plus who gets into 1-6 Star and PRIME events. If any event is oversubscribed as of the closing date, then the ASP World Tour Rankings are used to decide who gets into the event, along with a few exceptions like defending champions, event wildcards and ASP World Junior wildcards if applicable.

When do ASP World Tour events get replaced?
The best 8 ASP World Tour event results are replaced when a surfer betters their 8th lowest score or an event becomes more than 12 months old. No results can be used for more than 12 months.

www.aspworldtour.com

story via ASP

Oregon-based firm will hold sponsorship rights to the annual Huntington Beach event, which drew 500,000 attendees in 2009.

The owners of the U.S. Open of Surfing have inked a multiyear agreement with Oregon-based NIKE Inc. for sponsorship rights to the annual Huntington Beach event.

The world’s largest professional surfing competition, slated this year for July 31 through Aug. 8, drew 500,000 onlookers last year. The number was a record high, according to Los Angeles-based IMG Action Sports, the event’s executive producer and owner.

The event brings $25 million into Huntington Beach, according to estimates by IMG Sports.

The 12-acre festival is held adjacent to the pier and also features skateboarding and BMX events, among other activities.

NIKE’s subsidiaries, including Hurley, Nike 6.0 and Converse, will maintain visual branding at the event.

“Some of our best creative work comes out of the collaboration of our three brands,” says Sandy Bodecker, vice president of global design and action sports for NIKE. “Our goal is to help transform the U.S. Open into one of the most exciting sporting moments of the summer.”

“Last year’s relationship with Hurley, Nike 6.0 and Converse provided a glimpse of the U.S. Open of Surfing’s true potential,” says James Leitz, senior vice president of IMG Action Sports, a division of IMG Worldwide. “The NIKE Inc. action-sports family raised the bar in all areas and continues an aggressive push toward excellence in 2010.”

The Huntington Beach venue is the only location in North America to offer combined six-star World Qualifying Series-rated men’s and women’s events. IMG Action Sports calls the competition a “pivotal point” in the Association of Surfing Professionals World Tour.

“As we saw last year, there’s no better ‘surf stadium’ than Huntington Beach,” says Bob Hurley, Hurley founder and chairman. “We’re always looking to improve the experience both in the water and on the sand, and we’re excited to continue working with Nike 6.0 and Converse to help make that happen in 2010 and beyond.”

The U.S. Open was founded in 1994, but the event’s roots go back to 1959 as the U.S. Surfing Championships.

Huntington Beach, also known as Surf City USA, is home to the International Surfing Museum, the Surfing Walk of Fame and the Surfers’ Hall of Fame.

story via ocmetro.com

After more than three months of waiting, contestants and fans alike were rewarded for their patience with an historic day for big-wave surfing, as Chris Bertish etched his name in Mavericks lore and was crowned champion of the
2009/2010 Mavericks Surf Contest® Presented by Sony Ericsson and Barracuda Networks.

With waves described by the competitors as some of the biggest they have ever paddled into, and in front of a crowd of approximately 50,000 fans, Bertish outlasted Shane Desmond, Anthony Tashnick, Dave Wassel, Carlos Burle, and Kenny “Skindog” Collins to claim the Jim Beam Jersey and a $50,000 check from prize purse sponsors Moose Guen and Jane Sutherland of MVision and Barracuda Networks.

The total prize purse of $150,000 was the largest in big-wave surfing history, with $50,000 going to Bertish, $25,000 to Desmond in second, $15,000 to Tashnick in third, $10,000 to Wassel in fourth, $8,000 to Burle in fifth, and $6,000 to Collins in sixth.

2008 Champion Greg Long summed up the day perfectly while passing along the Jim Beam Champion’s jersey to Bertish.  “The entire book of big wave surfing was rewritten today.”  Bertish, a native of Cape Town, South Africa was overcome with emotion, adding, “It was an honor just to be here today and paddle out with these other guys.  I flew 36 hours to be here, and this has been a dream come true.”

The competitors were greeted by huge waves as soon as the Contest began, with heats one through four being won by Dave Wassel, Peter Mel, Alex Martins, and Ryan Seelbach respectively.  “These were  definitely the biggest waves I have ever paddled into,” said second-place winner, Shane Desmond.    After two memorable semi-f-inals which were won by Anthony Tashnick and Carlos Burle, the hard-charging Bertish pulled through in the final round.

read more at surfertoday