Rip Curl announce three-year renewal of Bells Beach and Supertubos
A month after signing Mick Fanning to a decade-long deal, the Curl are locking down more of their assets.
Today Rip Curl have announced they've renewed their sponsorship of two CT comps: Bells and Supertubos. Each is secured for a further three years, taking them out to 2021.
On the back of this, Rip Curl have made the Rip Curl Pro Portugal a Women's event, so they too can have title decisions play out in shifty European closeouts.
“Rip Curl is celebrating 50 years of surfing this year and Championship Tour events have always been a part of what we do," says Neil Ridgway from Rip Curl. "We love the sound of the heat hooter in the morning!"
2019 will mark the 58th year of the Rip Curl Pro Bells Beach, and the 11th edition of the Meo Rip Curl Pro Portugal. This three-year renewal will see Bells through to its 60th year, a mammoth landmark for competitive surfing.
“We were born at Bells, so our place there goes without saying; and we have been in Peniche 30 years too and our love for the town and the event gets bigger every year."
Jose Farinha, the General Manager of Rip Curl Portugal, has seen how a CT event has grown surfing in and around his region. “Since we first started holding an event in Portugal back in 2009, we’ve seen a huge increase in surfing and surf tourism in the country – and with this, positive socioeconomic effects."
“For Rip Curl, Portugal has been an important part of the history of our company in Europe. We couldn’t be more excited to extend this relationship once again.”
The Rip Curl Pro Bells Beach will run from April 17 until April 27 and the Meo Rip Curl Pro Portugal holds a waiting period from October 16 through 28.
Comments
Two things - 1/ Exactly how extreme is the lack of self awareness within industry become when it can say things like this without flinching - “ Since we’ve first started our event we’ve seen a huge increase in surfing and with this positive socioeconomic effects “ ?
Are they even aware that to the vast majority of people , economics and surfing are literally polar opposites in the effects they have on the fulfilment of our lives ? Save your corpo speak for the boardroom. Surfers just want to catch a few fun waves - without the crowds you’re so proudly producing- and feel uplifted by the experience.
Can’t help but feeling that the pure greed play of pro surfing’s billionaire rent - seeking Lord Palpatine, Dirk Ziff is permeating down to the lower levels and emboldening the minions to reveal their true motives.
Live the Search ......for new markets and greater margins.
2/ This line is beautiful : “On the back of this, Rip Curl have made the Rip Curl Pro Portugal a Women's event, so they too can have title decisions play out in shifty European closeouts”
Haha !
I agree Blowin however it is a very different set up over there. Blokes and ladies come from inland Croatia to try this surf thing for 2 weeks a year. They get to Peniche booked into a surf school and spend the whole two weeks trying to stand. Then they pack up and head home never to return again, bucket list stuff. There are not anywhere near the number of hard core surfers there are on say the west coast of Vic and when it fires there seems to be plenty of waves around for those good enough to surf them. In a weird way it has given the place a bit of a lift as Portugal, without help from the European Community would be extremely poor, and Peniche doubly so as it is not a tourist Mecca (even if it wanted to be). The shops rent boards and wetties and the cafés get to open their doors. Outside of the summer holidays it is extremely laid back and quite and I think will remain so as the sea fogs are crazy and many of the beaches are rocky.
Crowds (aside from close to Lisbon) were non-existent surfing there in December a couple of years ago. Peniche and Baleal (the towns) were also very quiet.
Fair enough. Good to hear.
Blowin your first comment sounds like a similar argument we had recently (albeit a slightly different situation) and I still get the stink of selfishness and an unrealistic view of the world in your comments and can't help but retort.
I think you are way of the mark in assuming the vast majority of people see a total disconnect with surfing and economics. Like you I 'just want to catch a few waves' (to quote you) but I also want to be able to earn enough to buy new boards and feed my kids. So I understand that a local economy needs to be healthy for me to earn enough to do these kind of things.
Do you think that the local Peniche surf shop assistant, board shaper, ding repair guy or surf school instructor (who would all be surfers) are cursing the fact that they now have regular income? Of course not. Also I can guarantee that a huge number of non-surfers would more than appreciate the extra business/jobs that have been generated for the town. Maybe some young people who would have otherwise had to move away to find a decent job can now stay in their home town?
Just because you dont like other people in the water with you doesn't mean that more surfers in a town isn't a positive outcome both socially and economically. I totally disagree with your statement that it is 'corpo speak'.
Smorto - Is it unrealistic to wish for a global equality? Perhaps where companies profits are taxed at a high enough level that the average joe can pay less and therefore afford ‘new boards and to feed his kids’. Or even better - a global not for profit movement! Nah that’d be shit, actually paying for something’s worth. You’d heaps prefer to keep truckin along getting ripped blind by big business and unfair taxation levels because the school (the guys that write the curriculum are the same ones that tax ya!) that provided your education told you the current economic structure is the best and only way to go. The current global economic structure is based around the world having infinite resources - might take a while but Humphrey’s gunna hit the fan one day.
Pfft.. mate if anyone’s comments stink it’s yours.
Also froffed on the closeout line...
Haha froffed at your entire comment. Global equality? So nomatter how hard you work you only get rewarded the same as everyone else? Sounds like communism. I studied my arse off at school and uni but I should be paid equal to the blokes who went and smoked bongs. Yeah na mate. You sound like those kids protesting for 100% renewables by 2030, no understanding of how the world works.
And your failure to realise that the kids calling for 100 percent renewables by 2030 are merely engaged in the ancient art of negotiation whereby one overstates their acceptable position in the hope of bettering the final outcome,
You must have been sick the day they taught that during your BA because that is literally how the world works.
Haha pretty sure I wasn't sick that day because I know there's a difference between overstating your position and making an over-the-top and totally unrealistic demand that undermines your credibility at the negotiating table and weakens your overall position. Your demands have to be within the realms of possibility to maintain your credibility in the discussion.
Even if they asked for 75% renewables I would have more respect, but to even think that non-renewables could be 100% phased out by 2030 is so far off the mark you just cant take them seriously.
I just watched Dan Bilzerian at surf ranch. Surfing as we know it is fucked
"We love the sound of the heat hooter in the morning!"
Bend over Neil so I can show you where to stick that hooter...
What about the rumour on Stab magazine that Rip Curl paid for the information leading to their exposure of “ The Snake “ ?!?!
If true that’s some hard core mercenary shit. The private owners didn’t buy the directions to the wave to ride it themselves, they bought them so that they could try and sell more boardshorts cause they’re down to their last $50M dollars each.
How fucking perverse is that ?
Rich as god and they’re still looking for new places to ruin in the pursuit of more money than they can ever spend.
Is that the spirit you keep espousing Neil Ridgeway ?
Remember when he said “ We'll never say never to a comp at Gnaraloo “ despite the utter opposition to it by the locals ?
Nice.
Its so very easy to hate on the corporates.
Haha agreed. Its also very easy to hate on oil companies whilst riding surfboards made from petroleum based materials and doing your surf check in a large SUV.
:)))
Even easier to hate on them when the biggest of oil company, Exxon, has made $33 billion profit in Australia over the last four years and not paid a dollar in tax.
I totally agree - bit of a long bow - RipCurl / Exxon.
My comment was really aimed at people hating on the corporates and in this case RipCurl. With my dealings with the company and the founders, I have found them very, very genuine.
On the face of things I've always though Rip Curl are the surf company with the most credibility out of all the big names, generally still about making good wetsuits and selling wetsuits and doing shit with surfing, opposed to just exploiting surfing for the non surfing market.
But that said on the flip side they are also the one that have sold out surf spots with the search etc and i agree with Blowins comments and if that snake thing is true then that really sucks.
How many years have they scored supertubos? It’s usually garbage viewing at such a critical time of year.
Be good if they were mobile enough to incorporate ericiera.
Agree - some super fun waves very close by that would be great to see the pros on
Good call.
"On the back of this, Rip Curl have made the Rip Curl Pro Portugal a Women's event, so they too can have title decisions play out in shifty European closeouts."
Liked this so much!
Perhaps we can shift the triple crown to Scarborough, Secret Harbour and Mullaloo.
Ahhh.
Many moons ago a lived for a short while in a little fishing town in Portugal...
Great waves , fickle ocean that Atlantic though. Can go flat for weeks ...some might even say months...
I am happy to see bells and tubos back on the map.
Find both contests interesting.
Seems the banks at tubos have changed over the years. Or it just needs a certain size and swell direction. Doesn't seem to break the same as it used to ....cool town though.
Portugese are fuckers in the water anyway, don't think a bunch of blow ins would affect their wave count