Press Release:
Surfing World Tour Makes History in the U.S.
-Long Island, San Clemente, San Francisco & Oahu to Host World’s Best Surfers-
ALISO VIEJO, Calif. (September 1, 2011) – For the first time in history, four of the Association of Professional Surfing (ASP) World Title events will be hosted at surf breaks across the United States. Having neverhosted this many contests before, American beaches will be the home of nearly half of the 11 contest locations on the ASP World Title Series, more than any other country.
“I definitely think hosting four contests is extremely positive for surfing in America,” said Damien Hobgood, ASP Top 34 surfer.
“It’s great to have a bigger footprint in the United States and hopefully that provides a bigger fan base for the sport so we can take it to bigger and better places. Also, I definitely enjoy being able to compete so close to home.”
The four events taking place in the United States in 2011 are: the Quiksilver Pro New York, Sept. 4 – 15 in Long Island, N.Y.; the Hurley Pro at Trestles, Sept. 18 – 24 in San Clemente, Calif.; the Rip Curl Pro Search, Nov. 1 -12 in San Francisco, Calif.; and Billabong Pipe Masters, December 8 – 20 in Oahu, Hawaii.
“That we would have four incredible WT events on our shores in the same year affords fans of surfing an historic opportunity and one not to be missed,” says Doug Palladini, SIMA President and Vans’ Vice President of Marketing.
“Such unprecedented access to seeing the world’s best surfers on world class waves will be amazing. I, for one, plan to see all four events myself.”
While the ASP’s World Title Series will also be stopping for contests in Australia, Brazil, France, French Polynesia, Portugal and South Africa, it is clear that America’s beaches will be seeing the most of what the sport has to offer in 2011. Each event will bring the most talented athletes in the sport of surfing, from all over the world, to America’s coasts.
“This year’s ASP World Title Series certainly impacts four major surfing centers in America: Southern and Northern California, the Northeast and Hawaii,” Brodie Carr, ASP International CEO, said.
“It’s great to see this season, and hopefully the waves deliver for the world’s best surfers to do their thing on.”
The business of surfing also has a large presence in the United States. The surf industry posted U.S. retail sales of $6.24 billion in 2010 according to theSurf Industry Manufacturers Association (SIMA) Retail Distribution Study. For more information please visit www.sima.com.
For more information on the ASP, log on to www.aspworldtour.com. For interview requests or to request media badges to attend the events, please contact ASP’s Dave Prodan at dave@aspworldtour.com.
About SIMA
The Surf Industry Manufacturers Association (SIMA) is the official working trade association of more than 300 surf industry suppliers. Founded in 1989, SIMA is a non-profit organization that serves to promote awareness of the surf industry and participation in the sport of surfing through public relations efforts and a variety of services, educational programs and research. In addition, SIMA actively supports oceanic environmental efforts through its 501(c)(3) charitable environmental foundation, the SIMA Environmental Fund.
In the past 22 years, SIMA’s Environmental Fund has raised more than $5.8 million for environmental groups seeking to protect the world’s oceans, beaches and waves. The SIMA Humanitarian Fund, also a 501(c)(3) charitable foundation, was established in 2006 to award grants to various surf or boardsport related social and humanitarian non-profit organizations whose efforts are focused on improving the quality of life, health and/or welfare of people. For more information on SIMA, please visit www.sima.com . Follow us at Twitter.com/SIMA_SURF.
About ASP
The Association of Surfing Professionals (ASP) is the recognized world governing body of professional surfing and has been crowning surfing’s undisputed World Champions since 1976. The ASP sanctions and crowns World Champions for the following tours: the ASP World Tour, the ASP Women’s World Tour, ASP World Junior Tour, ASP World Longboard and Masters Championships. The ASP is dedicated to showcasing the world’s best surfing talent in a variety of progressive formats and has revolutionized the way the world watches surfing via their webcasts and other media platforms. The organization is divided into seven different regions: Africa, Japan, Australasia, Europe, Hawaii, North America, and South America.
