Nike Lowers Pro Returns May 1-5, 2012

by The Editors on April 10, 2012

The Nike Lowers Pro returns to San Clemente, California May 1 – 5, 2012. The ASP Prime contest features at $250,000 prize purse and maybe even a few touring pros that don’t surf for Nike.

With a win at the Nike Lowers Pro equivalent in ratings points to a third-place finish at an ASP World Tour event, it’s typical to see many of the World’s Elite 34 in the line up. Past winners have included: 11-time World Champion Kelly Slater (Cocoa Beach, Fla.), the late, great three-time World Champion Andy Irons (Hanalei, Haw.), Rob Machado (Encinitas, Calif.) and Tom Curren (Santa Barbara, Calif.), to name just a few.

So yeah, this is a pretty serious contest. Click the year for photos from past Nike Lowers Pros: 2011, 2010 or follow the jump for the official word.$250K ASP PRIME NIKE LOWERS PRO DESCENDS UPON LOWER TRESTLES MAY 1-5, 2012

High-performance wave and top talent warrant a progressive event that pushes the limits of contest surfing year after year

SAN CLEMENTE, Calif., April 10, 2012 – The Nike Lowers Pro returns to Lower Trestles, San Clemente, Calif., May 1-5, for the fifth consecutive year. The Association of Surfing Professionals (ASP) PRIME contest is one of only two events of the highest caliber on the US Mainland this year, and touts a $250,000 prize purse with a highly coveted one-of-a-kind 14-karat gold railroad spike trophy worth more than $30,000.

“Lowers has been an instrumental part in building Nike’s legacy in surfing and in the progression of the sport,” says Zach Boon, Nike Action Sports North American Brand Manager. “It’s an honor to be in our fifth year of this heritage event, and we look forward to elevating the stage for the surfers yet again.”

Each year, Lower Trestles has proven the ultimate playing field for the world’s best talent to perform in ideal high-performance conditions. Both seasoned and up-and-coming surfers turn up to surf the elite wave (with just a few others in the water) delivering aerials and other progressive maneuvers heat after heat during the competition. Perfect 10 scores are not uncommon and the event has become synonymous with pushing the limits of competitive surfing.

With a win at the Nike Lowers Pro equivalent in ratings points to a third-place finish at an ASP World Tour event, it’s typical to see many of the World’s Elite 34 in the line up. Past winners have included: 11-time World Champion Kelly Slater (Cocoa Beach, Fla.), the late, great three-time World Champion Andy Irons (Hanalei, Haw.), Rob Machado (Encinitas, Calif.) and Tom Curren (Santa Barbara, Calif.), to name just a few.

This year, a narrow field of 96 athletes from around the globe will vie for the $250,000 prize purse, ASP ratings points (the most possible in a single qualifying event) and the valuable gold railroad spike trophy.

Last year’s event came down to a heated Final between local standout Tanner Gudauskas (San Clemente, Calif.) and Brazilian powerhouse Miguel Pupo. Pupo claimed the $40,000 first prize check and 6,500 ASP World Ranking points, which ultimately helped him qualify for the elite ASP World Tour in 2012.

The Nike Lowers Pro will feature an HD-quality webcast with live video coverage and scoring for all five days of competition. Many upgrades to the production are in store this year including a super slow motion camera for frame by frame analysis of game-changing maneuvers, heat-by-heat analyzer and the incorporation of athlete and viewer Tweets and Instagram photos during the broadcast for an insider’s view of the event. A “Judge It” game will also give users the opportunity to guess the winner and the winning score of heats via Twitter to win gear and other prizes.

For more information on the Nike Lowers Pro, follow the action before, during and after the event online at NikeLowersPro.com, on Facebook NikeSurfing and SurferMag and on Twitter and Instagram @NikeSurfing and @Surfer_Magazine. Start the discussion using #NIKELOWERSPRO right now.

The 2012 Nike Lowers Pro would not be possible without the generous support of sponsors. Special thanks go out to Nike and other event partners Oakley, Verizon, Red Bull, SURFER and ASP.

About Nike Action
Engineered for world-class athletes, Nike Action unites the performance innovation of Nike with a deep commitment to the history, creativity, and raw athleticism of action sports. With a focus on Skateboarding, Snowboarding and Surfing, our footwear and apparel merge advanced materials and design with classic styling, driven by the voice of our athletes. Based at Nike headquarters in Beaverton, Oregon, Nike Action is dedicated to inspiring and supporting the world of action sports.

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 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 Poll Awards, Powder Video Awards, Nike 6.0 Lowers Pro, EnduroCross and International Surfing Day. Grind Media is also the exclusive action and adventure sports content provider for Yahoo! Sports. To learn more, visit grindmedia.com.

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