"We are delighted at the initial level of interest from partners and key stakeholders," says CEO Sophie Goldschmidt.
Heady times around the BeachGrit (official Yellow Jersey Holders of the World Surf Media PT Cruiser Leaderboard) HQ of late.
Great White blood feuds. Alleged wavepool culls. Ratings release webcam parties so wild they’d make the Marquis de Sade beam with pride.
It’s been so heccas, in fact, that we missed some sorta significant news for all the Jaddy Andre enthusiasts out there.
The WSL has announced an apparent overhaul of the QS for next year.
From their website.
“In 2020, the WSL will launch the Challenger Series, a new level of competition that will provide athletes more opportunities at the highest level to qualify for the elite Championship Tour.”
“This is another important step in our evolution. We are delighted at the initial level of interest from partners and key stakeholders for the Challenger Series. We expect the series to further enhance the career path for future CT athletes and to also become commercially positive,” stated CEO Sophie Goldschmidt.
Read more here, and marvel at their ability to say so much while conveying so little.
The 2020 Qualifying Series, the new name for the development and qualification tier of the CT, will feature two primary segments: the Challenger Series (consisting of eight 10,000 point events) and the regular QS tour with its 5000, 3000, 1500 and 1000 events.
Whether the increase in 10,000 events will be offset by a decrease in small ones is not clear.
On face value it’s the equivalent of printing more money in a recession. Increasing the number of 10,000 comps will only decrease their value.
Current wisdom is that around 30,000 points will see you re/qualify for the tour. That number will now jump significantly.
So, what’s changed?
Perhaps the locations are better, you say. Maybe the 10k comps will be held at world-class locations like Indo, Mex, etc.
Not really. The eight venues are Piha, Ballito, Huntington, Pantin, Ericeira, Phillip Island, Haleiwa and Sunset. A smattering of quality in a sea of mediocrity.
Perhaps qualifying tactics will change? Possibly.
Top-tier pros are more likely to focus on the 10k events, which could allow the next rung down more of a chance at the lower queys.
But, I still can’t see that having any impact on who qualifies overall, and it certainly does nothing to address the fact that the CT itself is already more inflated than the Weimar republic.
Why not cut the CT in half? Sixteen competitors, five comps. Make the remaining comps part of the Challenger Series.
Ya? No?
There’s also a glaring omission from the new 10,000 events. Not one in Brazil. Is this…problematic?
Finally, if the name of the new series rings a bell, it’s ‘cause they stole it from second-tier tennis tour.
Just how prescient was Bobby Martinez?