"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?
why not make all one tour, year round every single day of the year?
start at one location, the first rounds are locals and low rankers, then the seeds start coming in, then the top guys, then as they are eliminated they go to the next location and start again. it becomes the human caterpillar of surfing? constant entertainment and never a day off.
So, basically they’re just bringing back the Super Series. Doesn’t change a thing really…
He, he, he! Bingo Dave! 😉
What about having a CT, a challenger series and QS but the challenger series is separate from the QS. Top 16 from the CT move on, bottom 16 get sent down to the challenger series to try and re-qualify. Top 16 of the challenger series go on to the CT the next year. The bottom 16 of the CT can’t re-qualify in the same year, they will have to take the next year in the challenger series to try and requallify and if they dont they get sent down again to the QS. The QS would take best 16 each year and they go on to the Challenger series to try and qualify for the CT. Basically a major and minor league but you have to go through the QS to get into the minor league first then on to the majors. Like Captain Planet says that way you dont have guys always re-qualifying each year by doing QS events. And would probably work better with only 20 CT guys and 20 in the Challangers. Top 10 move on, bottom 10 move down every year.
i would say take it a step further and make it so that if you are currently on the WCT, and fail to re-qualify via your WCT ranking, you cannot simultaneously re qualify for the tour via the WQS in the same year. This would at least create a bit more diversity in product assortment on tour. How many times do we have to watch Jadsen Andre requalify through the wqs while on the WCT tour? You have to admire his ability to multi task…. He doesnt make the cut, but yet he continues to muddy up the ranks of the WCT and show that he doesnt posses the talent to stay among the elite. Also see Jesse Mendes, Miguel Pupo, etc.. If you qualify for the CT, focus on that and give it your all, you can adjust the rankings for seeding the following year. This would at least bring in a new crop of fresh faces each year to test their merit.
Careful what you wish for people the ct is about to be cut back to 20 surfers
I’ve noticed the current footwear of choice is also now a bright white tennis shoe. Shoes so bright that you need a welding helmet to protect your eyes. Tennis is becoming cool.
God I wish they’d stop the corporate speak – it pisses me off more than when Cter’s say “blessed” or “journey”!
Sorta. I think I wrote about the CT future plan a while back in CW. The thought was to have a bunch of CTs in the first half of the year, then take the top 16 or whatever and do four super-CTs to decide a world champ. This wouldn’t be till after the Olympics etc
You should just post all the Coastalwatch stories in the comments here bc there is zero overlap with yank readers thanks. signed, yank
long time listener, first time caller. according to nz media there will be 600 million world wild viewers for the piha comp???
Can’t be right. They probably mend 600 trillion.
QS slop, CT slop, same thing. They were lucky in Tahiti this year and still didn’t run the trials on the right day.
If they really wanted to make the Challenger Series any different from QS slop, they’d put the events at genuine good spots and allow more time for them. 1 week windows can pretty much only work at shitty-but-contestable beachies. Or ultra-consistent Indo or equivalent reef breaks but it’s all about being “commercially positive” right?
Exciting content opportunities
let’s go full tennis, have 4 majors a year (for the top 16/32) and an end of year #1. the rest of the current CT events not on the big 4 go onto the challenger series.
Good thing they scrapped the big wave tour to add a few more Queys and Longboarding. That 10k at Philip Island will be edge of your seat stuff
I love Phillip Island (pseudo-local bias) but it’s a fucked place for a 10k.
I know, summer ENE it’s fun, but winter SW and it’s…
It *can* get waves, just like most of the other Challenger spots. But very unlikely when you’re on a fixed window
Gets good but tide and wind affected.
Grueling for a 28 day comp I imagine. Good for the economy though
Make Krui a 10k … or where is it cheapest to run a 10k with good waves? How about a JBay 10k around the time of Ballito? Focus on quality waves for once.
My pick would Punta Roca. Not sure how expensive it is to run a contest there but it’s been done before.
Yes Punta Roca. Puerto Escondido/La Punta? Lakey Peak? Arica,Chile for 10k rather than 3k?
I agree that quality waves is key for both the CT and QS 10k’s.
Krui was fucking epic – so many backups around there too good call
Optimistic view: This is the groundwork for cutting the ‘CT field down. They now have somewhere to stash the Jadson Andres and Ricardo Christies of the world. Much tastier shit sandwich than just narrowing the field. And, now they have a means of feeding wonderboys through to the big time.
That could be the path forward but if we’ve learned anything, it won’t be and Bobby was 100% right.
I’ll be world champ one day, cuzzie!
Yay, more of an opportunity to keep the Adam Mellings on Tour!…
“Ratings release webcam parties so wild they’d make the Marquis de Sade beam with pride.”
Much fun had at the BG corporate office yesterday!
https://www.youtube.com/wat…
Wait, IS Adam Melling still on tour? Or is that Ace Buchan?