ASP restructures Qualifying Series for 2015
LOS ANGELES, California/USA (Wednesday, November 5, 2014) - Association of Surfing Professionals (ASP) International is pleased to announce a restructure and rebranding action for the Qualifying Series (QS) that will take effect in 2015. The action is intended to simplify the Qualifying Series from a consumer, media, marketing and athlete standpoint, ensuring the continuation of the world’s best surfers advancing through to the elite Championship Tour where they will contest for the world title.
Moving forward, the former seven levels of QS events will become five with naming designations centered around point offerings:
“1-Star” to become “QS1000”
“2-Star” and “3-Star” to merge and become “QS1500”
“4-Star” and “5-Star” to merge and become “QS3000”
“6-Star” to become “QS6000”
“Prime” to become “QS10000”
The QS tiers have been streamlined, whilst maintaining a similar points differential that exists between the current Prime and Star events.
“Our goal with the Qualifying Series is always to ensure the best surfers are advancing to surfing’s highest level of competition, the Championship Tour” Kieren Perrow, ASP Commissioner, said. “The changes being made to next year’s Qualifying Series are designed to enhance the process already in place and improve the experience for our athletes, fans and event partners”
In addition to the above transition, enhanced emphasis will placed around the seven regional tours in Africa, Australia, Europe, Hawaii, Japan, North America and South America with preferred seeding into all QS events being awarded to regional champions.
Running in conjunction with the evolution of the Qualifying Series, the ASP will roll out significant changes to its Junior Program. Having crowned notable surfers such as Andy Irons, Joel Parkinson, Adriano de Souza, Gabriel Medina, Jessi Miley-Dyer, Sally Fitzgibbons and Pauline Ado in the past, the ASP World Junior Championships are populated through seven regional tours and have long served as the benchmark for future greatness in the surfing world. Historically a 20-and-under age division, the age will drop to 18-and under beginning in 2016.
“The ASP World Junior Championship is the most prestigious junior event on the planet and the calibre of past champions is unparalleled,” Perrow said. “We’ve spent significant time discussing trends within the surfing world, athlete performance and career pathway and have determined that the evolutionary rollout for the ASP Junior Program over the next two years will benefit the sport.”
In 2015, the ASP will become the World Surf League (WSL), overseeing the Men’s Championship Tour, Women’s Championship Tour, Big Wave Tour, Qualifying Series, World Junior Championships and World Longboard Championships.
Comments
Wow, there's been quite a few changes over the last couple of years.
Firstly the introduction of the One-World Ranking System in 2010 - acknowledged by the ASP as a "work in progress" for several years - before reverting back to two ranking systems (WCT and QS) in 2014.
Then ZoSea's acquisition of the ASP and various other professional surfing events in 2013 and 2014, as well as the renaming of the "ASP" to "WSL" for 2015, plus the rebranding of the QS events (see above).
My head is starting to hurt.
stupid idiots! making change for the sole purpose of hearing their own voice (another press release) typical americans... lets take a step back...
the system has aways been confusing, even for a die-hard, however the "star system" is used universally in many sports and anyone can understand the importance of a "1 star" vs a "5 star".... now "QS1500 vs QS6000"come on, are they really trying to drive people away from professional surfing... it sounds so nascar...
ZoSea are trying to clutch at straws and make it look like they are saving the sport, however i get this sickening feeling that in two years they wont gain the huge sponsor they are looking for, and some top dog (cant remember the finance backers name) will look at the spreadsheet, see red cells, and fuck it off...
This will leave the sport of professional surfing dead in the water and tainted for investors forever.... At least the ASP ran the tour on a shoe-string (via big 3 and governments) and the tour could tick along at cost... now if its a fucked private business that has no real product to sell, beside content that can get for free..
my bet, you will soon have to subscribe to ZoSea/WSL like you have to Netflicks in the USA ($15 a month plan) to watch any events...
Is it really private business's fault if the Tour goes under? Take a look at your above paragraph. ASP- previously ran it on a shoe string carried by 3 brands that are now fighting to survive in the marketplace, and the next best cash cow is... governments? hahahaha
Pretty sure its in better hands with ZoSea in terms of survival in today's marketplace.
great point, its not private business fault no-one wants to invest, thats just business. The big 3 are struggling, and are probably relieved that the weigh of the ASP doesn't lay on their shoulders anymore...
Im far from saying government would float pro surfing, Im just saying ASP had a lot of government assistance here in Aus (HPC, Bells, Margies)
I dont trust ZoSea long term investment into surfing, it seems they are coming in flipping everything on its head, and so far are not getting a great response!!!
I hope it happens, i love pro surfing, probably one of the few people that would pay $120 a year to have access to every heat, just not sure how many others would!!
Good bet Hs. They need cash zosea, it's fascinating, Samsung paid nothing. Wonder if Tom Waterhouse is giving odds on a professional tour post 2016.
What do you mean--Samsung paid nothing? Can you explain.........
Was a rumour floating around when I was in SA that the ASP were that desperate for a sponsor they gave it away. What do you know big T?
I shook my head when the ASP made Kelly Slater's injury 'official' via their website and insta account. Slater had already messaged the world with his injury update and all the ASP did was cut and paste and proclaim.
The ASP already owns the WT, the QS, the Women's, The BWWT, the XXL Awards, and now they want to own the 'news' too? Methinks this is going to end ugly.
Poor bloody Kieren Perrow. I wonder if the marionette strings hurt when they make him dance.
Good call rouby must be a tough one keep a stiff upper lip whilst the place is falling apart.
The dream tour eh, well all dreams come to an end sooner or later
Though I occasionally get out on a board and surf happily but kookily, I am primarily a body surfer. But still, while I am as cynical as most; I have gotten a lot of enjoyment, inspiration and instruction from pro surfing over the years.
There are a lot of people coming on this site to bag the tour and Zosea, and fair enough. Go for it. But would this site continue without the tour? Well probably, with the weather forecasting.
But, what about the high performance surf board design advances from the tour?
What about those daydreams you have that define your inspired vision of how you want to surf. They are probably provided by Kelly Slater, Andy Irons, Tom Curren, Steph Gilmore, Parko, JJF, MF, MR, MP, etc, etc. You wouldn't have them without pro surfing.
Even those great clips of non-ASP surfers; it is actually as a response to the ASP Tour that gives those clips added resonance.
I could go on for a few thousand words but, while there might be things you don't like, pro surfing adds a lot of value to the experience of the average surfer,
which includes the pleasure of feeling smugly superior to it, which does feel good I must admit.
Hang on, did you just successfully argue against your own points there wally?
Not in my mind, Ben. I was saying, though pro surfing can be a ludicrous concoction, it has delivered a lot to the average wave rider. Peak surfing performances, exposure to the full variety of earth's waves, board advances, interesting characters and a thousand stories that enrich your surf imaginings.
But it can also be a focal point for what you don't like. Whinging about it is a snooty self-defining pleasure that would be missed if it disappeared. It's another gift of pro surfing.
But would this site continue without the tour?
one of the reasons that I use this site is that it is not overly focused on the pro tour, while I have surfed for almost 40 years the pro tour doe not interest me much.
from , my point of view the site would survive without the tour, the more stories on design, travel and general surfing the better.
Ahhh progress, where would we be without it!
Try not to post positive comments about ASP and ZoSea please Wally - it's not the norm and generally not understood here and you risk getting the awesome foursome fired up,,,,again.
C'mon Bob, let it go. It's getting boring mate.
condensing and then naming the Q events for the points awarded sounds like a sound decision.
attention comp surfer, things just got more competitive! which is nothing but good for the viewers!