The Assessment Part II: Attendance and Results of Established Top 34 at Prime and Star Events
Elite tour surfer Patrick Gudauskas (USA), 25, racking up the tube time and ASP World Ranking points at the ASP Prime Mr Price Pro Ballito this season.
COOLANGATTA, Queensland/Australia (Thursday, October 20, 2011) – Yesterday, ASP World Tour Manager and multi-decade veteran of the the ASP offered the first portion of his insights into the radical transitions that the sport has undergone in the past 24 months. Spawned in the ASP Board Meetings of October 2009, these transitions dealt specifically with the system for determining the world’s best surfers who would ultimately decide the undisputed ASP World Champion. In August of 2010, we reduced the number of elite-level surfers from 45 down to 34 and introduced the current 36-man event format. In December of 2010, we used a bridge qualifying criteria which took a select number of surfers directly off the ASP World Title rankings and another select number of surfers directly off the ASP World Rankings.
Commencing in 2011, this transition took full flight with the launching of the ASP World Rankings and the rolling 52-week determination of an individual surfer’s ranking. In August of this year, the ASP completed its first official rotation of the ASP Top 34 with newcomers Gabriel Medina (BRA), 17, Miguel Pupo (BRA), 19, John John Florence (HAW), 19, and Travis Logie (ZAF), 32, becoming full-fledged members of the ASP Top 34 beginning with the Hurley Pro at Trestles. The ASP Technical Committee, comprised of surfers, events and ASP administrators, has been monitoring the situation closely and will continue to do so. Renato Hickel was kind enough to offer his perspective on a number of questions that will be provided in segments and here’s the second one. This…is the story…
Attendance and Results of Established Top 34 at Prime and Star Events
Another important aspect of the “conditions to qualify” and “number of new surfers” with this first Rotation is the much greater attendance of the established Top 34 into the Prime and even Star events in this first half of the year. Such a high number has never been experienced since the inception of the two-tier system back in 1992!
Not only that, but the Top 34 dominated the Prime events results, collecting important points with wins in six out of eight events (Muniz, Hobgood, Otton, Wilson, Gudauskas and Slater – 75%!) and a number of Semifinal and Quarterfinal berths. This all made it difficult for newcomers to break into the elite level of competition, but this is what we want – THE VERY BEST SURFERS ON TOUR. If the surfers aspiring to be part of the Top 34 cannot beat the established Top 34 in Prime and Star events, they will not collect the necessary points to make it into the Top 34 come the next Rotation, and it is indicative that they are not ready yet to be part of such an Elite group of surfers.
If you missed yesterday’s installment, check out The Assessment Part I
Comments
Category: All ASP News, ASP Editorial News, ASP World Tour News
I think the judges are getting the message on claims. Take one point off if they claim like a idiot.
As for the surf companies, I wear there clothing as it is high quality made, not for the logo. No difference than motocross gear from fox and others. And I’ve been buying quicksilver and fox since the 70s. Oakley made motocross googles in the 70s.
These companies were there at the start of there sports, billabong with shorts, rip curl and oneil with wetsuits, fox with motocross boots. They deserve respect for been the innovators and having the love and desire in there chosen sports to make clothing and sports gear.
And like any sports business, they support their athletes and have a right to how these sports should progress.
And if you do like it, don’t comment and go soul surfing in your underwear or stubbies…………
if you hate what it is becoming, don’t watch it, don’t by said corp’s t-shirts and wetsuits. if you think they are clowns, why are you watching/buying their merchandise to begin with. i think the corps suck, which is why my only billabong shirt or long sleeve hurley shirt get worn while i do yard work. f’ing gay to wear their shit unless its free, or if you just want everyone to know you surf, and are thus cool. i watch the webcasts cause its a chance to see these guys surf, i really don’t care who wins or what country they are from, but i do have a hard time understanding how adriano can win events with his whole approach and style.
I agree with the adrSPAZano de silva comment, I think since his ridiculus claims were while he was STILL ON THE WAVE should have counted towards his score. He should have been downgraded just as much as failing an end move. I like a good claim but I hate actors ,,dont worry about the judges, take a valium you and the rest of the brazillians would surf better
This is a crappy media feeder article if I’ve ever seen one. You guys know you screwed up with this mid year rotation. It takes time to adjust to the new format and the level of competition. There are two world champions now, they are crowned first at the half way mark, and again at the end of the year. Think about it, you have one tour that stops 6 months before the other? You have two world champion circuits going and the non-surfers and surfers alike think its a joke. Keep it with one tour, same guys.
Your broke and need money excuse huh? Here are a few ideas to spice things up for everyone, rather than screwing them up for everyone:
1. Get rid of priority rules with 2 minutes left to go in each heat.
2. Go back and begin scoring wave selection again, one move waves don’t equal 5 move waves when the surfer repeats that one move the other did with the same radicallity, technicality and positioning on the wave).
3. Get online announcers who have tonal changes in their voices (sorry Turpell, love ya Joe, you’re a good guy, but mix it up for once, crack jokes, it’d be easy with your vast knowledge of surf world stories and information you have); this si why people love Sal and Occy behind the mic! Go watch sport center, especially episodes with Charles Barkley!
4. Seed the third round according to performance for that specific contest! Now that would make things interesting.
5. Hire a decent online media broadcasting crew, have heat summaries up ASAP, people want interaction with the online experience and lots of multitasking interaction.
6. Keep it a 36 man tour, year-round.
7. Dump Bells Beach, find a hollow right hander (which guys have wanted before and after the Search in Mexico) ya its history, it’ll be in the books, but no one wants to see the worlds best on soft mushy waves.
8. Please consider the above recommendations to maintain the integrity of the sport of surfing for surfers and non-surfers alike. You are starting to lose your fan base of surfers, and if you do that, its over for you all… the non-surfers will stop coming once the integrity of the sport is out the tubes among its own athletes.
cant believe i wasted my time reading that drivel dude. youve got no idea hey..
This guy is a idiot.
A world champ every 6 months. How can you come to this with a whole year of competitions around the globe. Bottom surfers drop out, new surfers enter, top of the rankings do not change.
Dump Bells? Turn pro surfing into rollerblading. Waves like Bells reveal who the chop hoppers on tour are. Full rail turns and flow. If you dont have it, Bells will make it clear.
Losing your “fan base”? Surfing shouldn’t have a “fan base”. Its not….base ball. Its a life style. You either are a surfer or you’re not. A “surf fan” may bring in the bucks, but real surfers, including the majority of pros would surf anyway.
Watch the feed for fun, mute it if you must then turn off your computer and go surfing instead? Chroi in Oz
The new rookies, JJ, GM and MP should also be somehow able to compete for rookie of the year. Not fair that only the newcommers in the beginning of the year get this opportunity. Should be a revolving year so that the rooks can compete against those who join at the same time.
So there is a system – lets see what happens after a few rotations over the next 18 Mths or so. Next thing – get non partial judges for each event – this is the hardest thing to do – judging so many elite athletes on so many waves for each heat.. what to do to keep the sport professionally developing? Are there different non partial judges at each event? THKS HR
what has been said is utter B shit!! full stop. saying that the guys on star tours if they cannot beat the current top 34 are not ready, alot of the names you mentioned ie Hobgood, wilson etc are getting payed 100′s of $$ in sponsership a lot of guys doing well on star tour are getting paid sweeet fark all this is a huge confidence thing, ASP get ya hands off the dicks of Quick billi and Rip Curl,
maningreysuit – of course the sponsors will shape the sport as they have the $$ and the capacity to do such.
Surfing will continue to be commercialised – its way of this world…. Expect more brazilians too as from a commercial POV it makes a lot of $$ and sense.
maningreysuit I AGREE WITH YOU
It’s not the system that’s the problem, it’s the judging. At the moment it’s the ASP who determine the elite 34 through there biased judging and “old boy club” antics and nothing to do with how well any individual surfs.
“old boy club” is that what you belong too? ( we wont go into detail on what you do at these “club” meetings. ) since a 17 yr old who had only surfed in two ct events just won an event i think your reasoning is very flawed. if anything the judges are looking to advance the sport by throwing high scores for new tricks. you may need to stop going to your “club” and start actually watching the events. cheers.
@ Chard As i said it’s not the system it’s the juding thats ruining the ASP. As for the “Old Boys Club” Who do you think owns the ASP? The big 4 own each event and thus the tour, take your head out your little hole and see what’s happing to our sport.