The Assessment Part IV: Overall ASP World Tour Appeal and Audience Numbers
At the end of the day, all changes aside, it's the surfers and the surfing that make the biggest impact - Jeremy Flores (FRA), 23, changing perceptions in Tahiti.
COOLANGATTA, Queensland/Australia (Saturday, October 22, 2011) – ASP World Tour Manager and multi-decade veteran of the the ASP Renato Hickel has offered the the first three portions of his insights into the radical transitions that the sport has undergone in the past 24 months, and now we’re prepared for the fourth and final. 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 fourth and final one. This…is the story…
Overall ASP World Tour Appeal – Webcasting Audience/Numbers – Prime & Star:
It is undeniable. We now have a much more appealing overall package for the ASP World Tour. Webcasting numbers, worldwide, have increased dramatically in the past 18 months. This is due, in large part, to the changes made to the system – changes that not only created a more dynamic product but have also encouraged the level of surfing to reach unprecedented heights.
The hype is no longer for and around ASP World Title events, but also the revamped Prime and Star series. Never before has ASP experienced such big audiences at web level at Prime events – due to bigger attendance of Elite Top 34 surfers, better locations, infrastructure, prize purses, and, most importantly, the weight that Prime and 6-Star events have in determining those who make the Rotations. The fact that we are exchanging surfers mid-season brings excitement and expectations for the ASP World Tour as a whole, something which was very evident after the New York event going into Trestles.
Sure we can improve and the Technical Committee is keeping a close eye in all aspects of this new System and Format. If necessary, points and system structure can be adjust in the future, but for now we are pretty confident that the system is working and the best surfers comprise the Elite to deliver the best competition surf to the World.
For those who are just joining, be sure to catch up on the Assessment Part I, Part II and Part III.
Category: All ASP News, ASP Editorial News
I like your ideas, make contests more up-close and personal, hear the sound of the crunch waves, give the audience a better idea on what the contestants are experiencing, facial expressions instead of a small blur – don’t get in the way though but just give us more. yeah good one.
Hey lets get real , there is so much people around the world watching this, Part of the scoring should be judged by us the internet audience. Like another judge.And the mid season surfers coming in is cool cuz they been surfing in 6 star events all over the world and their goal is to qualify in to the main tour so they surf good they have a shot to be in tour with the bests . Thats better than not being in the tour at al or waiting til next 2012
Here’s two problems I have with the midyear cut-off:
1) New comers do not have a legitimate shot at the title, they only have 5 contests in which to grab points towards the title. There will always be the “what if” question, i.e. what if Gabriel surfed a full 2011 year tour, would he of posed a bigger threat to Slater’s title hopes?
2) Those leaving do not get a full year on tour, qualifying for the tour does not mean one will surf at Pipe at the end of the season. And that’s a shame. The whole reason for qualifying is to have a full year on tour and a shot at the title.
Here’s another side to your two “problems”
1) Newcomers are more than stoked on joining the tour, whether it’s at the beginning or halfway through the tour. I bet if you asked John John, Gabriel or Miguel if they were bummed at not having a shot at the title and only joining halfway through, they’d say they just psyched to be on tour. That’s what they’ve been working their buts off to achieve. And the peeps they are replacing don’t have a hope in hell of taking the title either. It pushes you to perform and it’s always nice to see some fresh blood on tour.
2) The whole reason for qualifing is to have a shot at the title and not a year on tour and if you are not performing then you must unfortunately step aside…
Karl, that’s definitely an interesting way to see it.
Karl,
Your point is one of impatience, not what is necessarily in the interests of surfers and surfing on the whole. JJF and Medina are both very young and their spots on the CT were assured under either tour structure. Matthew’s points are far more salient.
The average spectator is not going to be able to tell the difference which is why it makes no sense. What makes much more sense is to keep the action in the water during heats the attention grabber. This is achieved with the round 4, 3 man rip-fest. More so with Slater’s dual heat format. People want to see people surfing as much as possible, period. All the other mind games are just that and ultimately do more harm than good. Drop the pointless MTV histrionics and work on the real entertainment factor: the surfing.
Freddy P is on the money with his assessments. Bobby’s tirades simply demonstrate a lack of maturity and the need to start hitting the books so that he can learn how to be more constructive and dignified in addressing concerns.
If scoring rides is such a big part of professional surfing, they should film the judges in their box, and have a camera moving from the first judge to the last, with some close ups of the judges as they think hard about what score to give… It would add more drama and the audience wouldn’t just be waiting for the score… they could actually participate in the suffocating debate the judges are having with themselves…and see the scores coming out one at a time. Make it very brief though, unless those judges are retired legends (surfers) we all want to see.
More important would be close-ups of the surfers as they wait for the waves or prepare to catch one, or exit a perfect ride. Their body language and claims is often enough, but as in tennis, some facial expression would bring us even closer to the action, the athletes, and the drama unfolding.
If each contest was a movie or a documentary, such camera work would make sense. Over the last few years contest coverage has improved a bit, but there’s still a lot of room for improvement, not so much in the equipment they use to film, but in the way it’s directed. Also, as in formula 1, it would also be interesting if surfers carried a tiny camera on a light weight helmet, at places such as Pipeline and Teahupo. To encourage the pros to carry such equipment, it should be the athlete’s own sponsor who pays for the extra equipment and right to broadcast, with possibly, the sponsor’s name overlayed in the footage, or else, equipment manufacturers such as Gopro and Contour paying for the privilege to be featured to the ASP and the athletes.
Another element missing from the footage is sound. The ocean roar, the waves breaking and spitting is such a big part of surfing. THis too should be brought to the audience with highly sophisticated sound equipments. No one knows what a wave at Teahupo or Pipeline sounds like unless they’ve been there. So let those annoying commentators stop jabbering at every opportunity and let us, the audience, feel the power of the ocean as if we were there. Or give us the option: commentators, ocean sound, crowd sound, and make some effort to bring us 5 channel sound broadcast worthy for our home theater system.
JonMark has some great insight and direction the ASP should seriously consider (i.e. implement
to bring it to the next level with the camera out the back showing competitors faces in the lineup and reaction to scores, etc as well as improved sound technology incorporated into the production. Whether in a heavy tube or capturing speed and snaps off the top at a beach break, it would enhance the experience tremendously. They’ve done a great job so far, but there is a lot of room to grow and the items listed above to look at in the offseason for 2012. This would really bring in more audience members who are non surfers to the drama of the contests and heats. The only tough sell is helmets w/ cams. I own a gopro and asking surfers to add it at dangerous spots with water dripping from the helmet as they drop in would interfere with safety and performance, but I love the thinking. Gopro even has a new camera, gopro2 that has wifi and instant live video feed. I think a start would be having good surfers pre-contest wear it for stock footage to show the audience what it’s like to be in those barrels in those conditions with riders willing to wear it while their sponsors are featured.
All I can say is, I’m stoked at what going on now, it a pleasure to watch. No matter how good something is, your always going to have people unhappy. I love the face that big moves are rewarded, it advances the level immensely. Yet the power turns are still held high, think Taylor Knox. ASP, good job, keep it up, this stuff is amazing, and Thank-you! Larry
SORRRYYY..,MY BRUDDAHS & SISTAS…BLESS ALL; LOOK ALL WAYS……!
I’ve been watching the events for eight years and surfing most my life. I personally found this season, thus far, more gut wrenching and exciting than most others. Everyone whines that people do’nt want to take risks in heats because of the point system. The points are there if they take the risk and complete it! There has to be some scale for judging or it would turn to pure anarchy and chaos and the judges do the best they can, they are just as human as you complainers. If guys want to be progressive and throw huge, and be risky, they can free surf and make vids all they want. The progression is still there, the moves just are’nt pulled in heats until fully capable to finish. I’d like to know what the top 34 honestly has to say without getting fines or punishment…? Most of the whiners do’nt stay consistent enough to keep up anyways and have certain animosity. (I’m no pro surfer, just love the life and watch the show.)
As for the mid-year rotation… Why not throw in the people performing that are thirsty at a critical time? A lot of the guys that get cut or would get cut, have so much going on that they really dont care that much to begin with. Most would rathe free surf anyways and it shows in performances so let the boys chomping at the bit come in and cause a ruckus.
One of your comments suggested that more heat footage from past events would be better filler than a static shot of the flat line up and two contestants waiting for the next set, as commentators verbally describe how so-and-so surfed this break better in ’05, but there is no visual because another sponsor(or Alan Gibby) owns the footage and they don’t share it. It seems this is a bigger problem than just the video ownership, as it strays into the whole question of event sponsors, their team riders, event footage, world title ratings, and, of course judging vs sponsor/popularity/viewer ratings. This argument has been going on since the time of the ’84 L.A. Olympics, when the overly subjective judging turned off Olympic officials back then. Everything else about the physical production values of the events and the athletic aspects of the sport itself have improved greatly, but because of the surf-industry umbilical cord, at the very least, that perception remains a troubling one, as evidenced by the comments here. Having said that, I am glued to my monitor at every event because they are entertaining, and with the quality of surf this season – very exciting.
MY BRUDDAHS..,HAVE WE REALLY FORGOT WHY WE SURF..?..I LUV IT ALL..BUT IT HAS GOTTEN TO BE A HOLLYWOOD POPU CONTEST..KELLY IS GOOD OL’SCHOOL..MIXED DIVERSITY..THE JUDGING IS BIEST..AS ANY CONTEST..,LOCAL OR WORLDWIDE…SEEMS LIKE TO ME..! THE INDUSTRY ALONG W/OTHERS WITHIN ARE CONTROLLING,WHAT IS GOIN ON…? BIG ONE THERE…BEEN VERY FORTUNATE TO HAVE TRAVELED;ALMOST ABROAD…SEEN THEM ALL COME & GO…ALOT OF GOOD SURFERS OUT THERE.,BUT AS FANS..!!!?? OF DA SPORT NEED TO BE HEARD & REVISIONS NEED TO BE MADE…ACCORDINGLY….? THOSE WHO..,AND WE ALL ARE A PART OF THIS NEED TO UNITE…AND HERE EACH OTHER OUT…MAKE NOT ONLY CHANGES….! BUT REMEMBER WHY WE SURF & ARE CONNECTED TO THE WAVES…ITS A RELEASE & CLEANSING OF DA SOUL..WE ARE ALL CHOSEN…! DO DO DA RIGHT THING TOWARDS ONE ANOTHER…RESPECT IT FOR WHAT IT IS NO MATTER WHAT ASPECT/LEVEL UR ON……MORE LATER…………..INTERNATIONAL AMBASSADOR…….CHOSEN..,JUST A HUMBLE SERVANT..
Watching surfing live for free is a luxury and when so many minds are tuned in people will notice the ASP ‘agenda’ sometimes more than the actual surfing. The obvious favoring hurts your credibility.
I will never forget how Travis Logie smoked Taj in France. With two minutes left, everybody knew Taj’s last wave was not score he needed. The judges held the scores and let Travis ride out the heat with priority thinking he was in the lead only to buff Taj’s score and announce it after the horn. That’s low. Then Rosie goes into the judges booth and there is ten guys in there and they all had the body language of someone trying to hide. Taj knows when he gets buffed and mentally collapses in the very next heat. Same scenario happened with Taj and Evan Geiselman in the US Open.
See what I mean, that memory is more vivid to me than Medinas’s amazing run to the podium. That’s a shame.
Don’t get too excited about the ‘numbers’. Conscious people realize that there is an ASP agenda, and most people need somebody to tell them what to do.
I agree with the scoring. The ASP should adopt the scoring system used in snowboarding where each judge scores a specific aspect of the competitors surfing and a final total given
Of course the world of surfing wants to watch the best surfers at the best waves on the planet. And from what I have seen so far , that is what we have been getting. Apart from the odd beach break surfspot , which at any given time are very fickle, the majority of the contests have been held in superb surf. Pity that the judging has been all over the place. If the ASP wants the sport to progress then some sort of review system has to be put in place. Tennis has it, as does Baseball, Rugby and Cricket, and Soccer will definitely be following suit soon. There is too much at stake in pro sports not to have such a system, so that blatant bias or errors are no longer allowed. And surfers themselves will surely welcome the opportunity to ask for a review.In addition , until such a system is in place , no sanction should be imposed on anyone who questions the judging results. To do so only brings the ASP into disrepute.
ASP does have a review system. The judges watch and re-watch each wave before posting scores. W/ tennis, etc reviews are made on non-subjective calls. Surfing is all subjective so how could one overturn an opinion? Agreed on all mate. To me its more akin to boxing. Judges decide who won each round according to what they saw. Bad calls will always be a part of it all.
Said it well, if there were buoys and lines and such like tennis, things would be different. It’s surfing, its nature and opinion and they simply do their best to ballpark it. If it was set in stone and like most other sports, I would’nt watch it anyways. Emotion comes in the human genes, ca’nt help that.
the scoring has always been the let down with the pro tour ,i like how the asp are making changes and rewarding big moves but at the same time im worried that 4 beautiful smooth power turns can be beaten by two tricks when even though in between the tricks he kooks out but yes the scoring is the problem they need to change the system with not jus coing out with these ridiculous scores as surfing is so much more intricate and deserves more analisis using technology and showing the audience and the world actually how awsome the sport is.
the problem with the tour is there trying to figure out who the winner of the heat is with the scores leave the official 2 best scores at the end after the judges analize them via technology give the surfers and the audience an idea on the progress of the heat via high to low scores but give the official scores at the end let the surfers surf the heat as the scores alot of the time seem really bad and pressured theres no need let the surfers surf so many great surfers get let down by the scoring and the commentators like to say ohhh well you win 1 you lose 1 but it doesnt need to be like that coz underrated surfers win all the time but the judges come out with silly scores under pressure or score surfers because of reputation
when you see surfers free surfing on an everyday basis its clear who the best surfer is when watching just for 15 to 30 minutes. It could easily be the same, judge the heat after everyone has surfed. the best one will stand out.
the competition between all surfers is awsome change the changes are good but the judging even though they have made changes is a joke and old it needs to be brought into the future its sad and the scoring system is illigitimate but i suppose they have to justify all of kelly slaters titiles
I would suggest that any increase in viewership is related to improved technology, and webcasts, and a slightly more organized ASP website!
Here are my votes -
Expand number of athletes, and get rid of mid year cut off!!!
Web announcers should not have a financial tie to sponsors, or be related to the athletes.
New judging standards are good and going in the right direction, but judging remains inconsistent and should be analyzed in a transparent way.
Expand number of athletes, and get rid of mid year cut off!!!
Add 2 events, one of which should be Sunset and / or a point break on one of the outer Hawaiian islands.
Web announcers should discuss style, and timing alot more. A score should swing if timing is off by the smallest of margins, yet the experts never mention what it means if a turn is early, late, squared up perfectly…
Talk about style and ability to link turns with fluidity! Underrated, and harder then an air reverse ( Break down Kelly’s surfing frame by frame and see him execute this to perfection )
very good views all your points are very good but do the asp listen
I agree in parts but the mid year cutoff throws excitement into the mix and brings intp performers at critical timing, and timing has been mentioned much more as of recent, to my suprise… What do web announcers have to do with anything? Its just like football or any other sport, theres always a certain bias.
I love watching the ASP and will do so as long as the stream and video quality is good. Too often however, the stream is poor especially when watching on iPad and when watching “lesser” events.
My only frustration with the contest format is the priority rule. The rule encourages the surfers not to surf. I don’t care about tactics, I want to see surfing. The best surfer should win not the one who sits on the other with a lead playing tactics to his advantage. Change the rules to encourage surfing.
This is true, that last few minutes kills me but what are the alternatives?
The feedback I’m seeing here and elsewhere confirms what I and the majority of people I have spoken with about this agree on: a) the new “rotation” isn’t what has changed the numbers in viewership so much as considerable advancements in web tech like smart phones and tablets, as well as improvements in judging and viewer format b) the mid-year cutoff is wholly unnecessary and harmful to the careers of all but the very top ranked guys who have nothing to worry about either way – it’s purely superfluous hype and does nothing to improve performances, c) maneuvering to draw attention to prime QS events is a good idea and one I support but the MYC/R is not at all necessary to achieve this, d) the ASP needs to focus more on what benefits the surfers and the global surfing community (the people who actually structure their lives around being able to get in the ocean as much as possible), thereby creating a better platform with which to educate spectators and lay people on what makes surfing both unique and spectacular as well as fragile in terms of how people choose to conduct themselves in lineups.
It just seems that the ASP is unnecessarily throwing its athletes under the bus for a purpose that makes too little sense or real impact to be warranted. Medina is hardly the first rookie to blow up out of the gates so using his win as an example to support the new rotation is merely hyperbole.
If you want to keep spectators and viewers entertained you should be focusing on improving content during webcasts, not silly mind games that are little more than hollow distractions. You need to start utilizing split screen tech that allows for biopic pieces (which could easily include stock footage of athletes through their careers) when there is a break in the action and dead air to be filled. The commentators need to start broadening their range of pertinent info and knowledge, as it is they are far too repetitive. There’s no excuse for that; surfing has a rich history and more could be said about both the sport and its participants when the live action is not happening.
I am a devoted fan of the sport. I want to see it grow but I also want to see it do so without hurting those who have made it possible to begin with.
Respectfully.
couldn’t be more insightful! The ASP would love to pretend the viewer hype etc is due to their”changes”, when in actuality it is due to an increased awareness that you can watch the best surfers rip cool locales…the mid season cut off and endless excuses promoted by the pro surfing media hipsters is suggesting that because Gabrial Mendina is on tour and CJ is off at mid point, that were all watching more…I think that is WAYY off… as Jeff stated because we all have smart phones, I pads and lap tops like we never didn’t have em… it makes sense that surfers now can easily watch a heat or 2…plus the webcasts have heats on demand and such and word spread that you can watch your favorite heats when u want, not when its live…and the viewing on the videos is better than the live feed. technology is what will increase viewer and market presence, not mid season cut offs…
i like yr words yes utilize the time in between heats not looking at old heads talking boring stuff to waist time surfers understand what needs to be done i think and the 1 thing is the judging it needs to be brought into the future yes they go on about this scale bullshite but the scores they throw out are a joke they need to come out with the official score at the end of each heat after ananlizing thru technology and it would be ore entertaining for all let the surfers surf and giv them ligitimate scores i love watching the pros surf but its the scoring that is the let down i just wanted to say this as therte is never any feed back from asp or anything they run there own bullcrap
I just like watching the pro’s battle it out, actually the the main reason people are watching ASP world tour events, Star and Prime events than ever before is the fact ASP has finally gotten its act together regarding first class mobile web transmission. Allowing the average punter to watch it streaming live at such high quality is the draw card not the new system.
By far the best event this year has been chopes…….cant wait for the volcan event at cloudbreak 2012.
sweeeeeeet!
i like the commentator dudes, though rip curl seems to have the least appealing. what about dave stansfield, he’s awesome, shaun tomson is good too, gerr, barton lynch. i really like the full heats saved for later watching. nike has the best recap after the immediate heat end. the looks of defeat are classic. good work boys.
Yeah the sport is growing and the webcasts are great however I just attended the quikky pro in france, and I thought the way the whole thing was set up was ordinary. I admit the surf wasn’t great but there was no where on the beach you could get a decent coffee or drink, any type of meal, or any merchandise. Also no toilets for the punters. I’m not sure if this is ASP or quicksilver but it’s something to address.
Good Live broadcasting it the reason I spend a lot of time watching ASP events. Just remember to acquire a quality connection and generous bandwidth to keep the streaming trouble free. If you don’t people will drop right off and onto the million other sites on the web.
I believe the main reason for more people watching the webcast is the change in the judging criteria. It is good to see surfers getting rewarded for taking chances and not surfing conservatively (boring). As for the rest of the changes what are you guys thinking?? BRING BACK THE DREAM TOUR!!!