Kelly Slater and an ESPN made-for-TV pro surf association? That’s the idea being discussed in a story posted on Wetsand yesterday.
You’ve probably read the details by now, about ESPN giving the whole pro surfing thing another shot, but with real money and a completely new format that will culminate in an eight-event summer tour, ESPN coverage, live webcasts and a three-year commitment. But there is a significant rub. The tour will feature only 16 surfers, and allegedly, those surfers will be comprised of the top 8 rated surfers in the world, and 8 hand-picked wild cards. . . Slater has been understandably critical of the way the sport has been governed for some time. His dissatisfaction stems from the fact that the ASP is a toothless body, which it is. It has no real assets. It acts merely a sanctioning body that’s controlled by the owners of its events: Quiksilver, Billabong, Rip Curl, Hurley, Vans and O’Neill.
For as much criticism as the “toothless” ASP gets, it’s difficult to imagine a scenario where adding ESPN to the team would make it better for surfers, surfing, or the audience.
[Link: Wetsand]
You’re pretty late with this story, it’s been around for nearly a week now: http://www.theextremescene.com/article/update-kelly-slater-might-be-starting-his-own-dream-tour
A week? Try months, this is old news.
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