Press Release:
2013 ASP PRIME LOWERS PRO POSTPONED; TO RETURN IN 2014
SAN CLEMENTE, Calif., March 5, 2013 – GrindMedia announced today that the Association of Surfing Professionals (ASP) Prime 2013 Lowers Pro, which it has licensed and produced since 2004, has officially been postponed. The annual event at San Onofre State Beach, originally scheduled to run April 30 through May 4, 2013, is considered to be one of the most progressive surf contests in existence and a favorite event for the world’s top pro surfers. It is scheduled to return to the same legendary break in May of 2014.
“We are committed to operating the Lowers Pro at the Prime level to deliver the most value to the surfers competing, our audience, and brands supporting surfing,” said GrindMedia Director of Event Operations and Lowers Pro Event Director Sean Nielsen. “Due to the economic climate and timing of the transition of the former title sponsor, we have not secured a new partner in the title position to operate at the Prime level. The content emerging from the Lowers Pro rivals that of any World Tour event, and we look forward to delivering this experience to surf fans next year.”
The storied event has had many incarnations over the past several decades, most recently as the Nike Lowers Pro for the last five years and the Body Glove Surfbout prior to that. Originating in 1981 as the Stubbies U.S. Trials, the event ran for three consecutive years before going on hiatus for five years until its return in 1989. GrindMedia took over the license in 2004 and has built the contest into the world-class event it is today.
“It’s obviously unfortunate to lose such a great venue from the ASP North America schedule, but we also realize that finding a new title sponsor with short notice in our current economy was incredibly challenging,” Meg Bernardo, ASP North America Executive Manager said. “The team at GrindMedia consistently produces high-quality events and we’re confident that another premier contest will be back on the schedule for 2014.”
“State Parks, Orange Coast District is sorry to see the Lowers Pro surf contest go dark this year,” said Rich Haydon, Superintendent III, California State Parks. “The local community and park visitors have enjoyed this event tremendously over the years.”
Many notables have clinched the Lower Trestles title over the event’s illustrious history including Tom Curren (1982, 2001), Christian Fletcher (1989), Kelly Slater (1990), Rob Machado (1998), Andy Irons (2004) and back-to-back Brazilian champions Miguel Pupo (2011) and Gabriel Medina (2012).
About SURFER
In 1960, SURFER Magazine began as the original. After a long history of delivering provocative and insightful editorial features, revealing interviews and award winning state-of-the-art photography, SURFER remains the authoritative voice of the surfing world and thus earned the moniker “the bible of the sport.” The SURFER brand has also grown to include Surfermag.com, Fantasy Surfer, and the SURFER message boards. All of these assets combine to make the SURFER network the most current and reliable channel of information to the surf community. The magazine is published by Source Interlink’s GrindMedia, which reaches more than 22-million active sports enthusiasts through an integrated network of magazines, online properties, events and television programming. To learn more, visit surfermag.com
About GrindMedia
Source Interlink Media’s GrindMedia is home to renowned action and adventure sports magazine brands Surfer, Surfing, Snowboarder, Skateboarder, Powder, Bike, Canoe & Kayak, SUP-Standup Paddler, Dirt Rider, ATV Rider, and Paved. Along with our standalone websites, including GrindTV.com, Newschoolers.com and Motocross.com, GrindMedia is the leading provider of print and online action sports and entertainment content in the United States. Delivering significant reach across both action sports enthusiast and various in-market consumer audiences, GrindMedia produces more than 20 leading events and webcasts such as Surfer Awards, Powder Awards, Lowers Pro, EnduroCross and International Surfing Day. GrindMedia is also the exclusive action and adventure sports content provider for Yahoo! Sports. To learn more, visit grindmedia.com.
