Hurley said it inked a deal to be the official apparel sponsor of the Wallex US Open of Surfing, which kicks off Sunday in Huntington Beach.
The deal comes as a dozen Hurley team riders compete in this year’s event, including Filipe Toledo, Kade Matson, Eli Hanneman, Jake Marshall, Zoe McDougall, Kirra Pinkerton, Zoe Benedetto, Carolina Mendes, Daniel Emslie, and Adur Amatriain. That’s in addition to wildcards Taj Lindblad and Sara Freyre.
Hurley Vice President of Marketing Christine Peddy underscored the importance of Hurley supporting its athletes in speaking to the one-year deal.
“It was important for Hurley to be at this event, because we love the community and all the surf specialty shops here,” Peddy told SES. “Plus, we love connecting with consumers through music, so we are excited to help put the best local bands on the WSL main stage for concerts. We are grateful to have a strong partnership with the WSL team, and plan to sponsor as many future events as we can.”
The brand also has collaborations with Jack’s Surfboards and Huntington Surf & Sport that Peddy described as “destination themed.” The Hurley Huntington Beach collection is currently available at local retailers and includes hats and T-shirts.
Jack’s and HSS also partnered with Hurley on athlete signings taking place during the competition.
The World Surf League said last month it signed a one-year deal with Wallex.US to be title sponsor of the US Open. The digital payment provider succeeds Vans, which confirmed earlier this year it would not renew its title sponsorship deal in favor of more company-owned, branded events.
The Wallex US Open of Surfing runs July 29 through Aug. 6 in Huntington Beach.
Kari Hamanaka can be reached at kari@shop-eat-surf-outdoor.com.
