"The Age of Unresolved COVID."
Oh but you already knew that the 2020 World Surf League Championship Tour season was cancelled as you are a BeachGrit Man* and get the news before the news but Santa Monica made it official early this morning.
The 2020 World Surf League Championship Tour season is cancelled.
Per a video statement from WSL CEO Erik Logan:
“After careful consideration and extensive discussions with key stakeholders, we have made the decision to cancel the 2020 Championship Tour and Qualifying Series seasons due to the COVID-19 pandemic. While we firmly believe that surfing is amongst the sports best suited for competition to be held safely during the age of unresolved COVID, we have huge respect for the ongoing concerns of many in our community as the world works to resolve this.”
Well hmmmm. What happened to the conviction of one’s beliefs? I mean, I completely agree, too, that surfing is amongst the sports best suited for competition to be held safely during the age of unresolved COVID.
Oooooh “The Age of Unresolved COVID” has such a ring but back to the point, here, why not just hold events? This moment will be viewed, through the lens of historical revisionism, as the one where professional surfing could have become the world’s third most popular sport but, due a lack of leadership, stayed as the world’s sixty-fourth most popular sport, ten spots behind buzkashi.
In other news, and in accordance with BeachGrit’s already delivered summation, the 2021 World Surf League Championship Tour season will begin at Pipeline this December 2020 and roll into the year that looks like this…
-Shiseido Maui Pro presented by ROXY: Maui, Hawaii | November 25 – December 6, 2020
–Billabong Pipe Masters: Oahu, Hawaii | December 8 – 20, 2020
-MEO Pro Portugal: Peniche, Portugal | February 18 – 28, 2021
–Corona Open Gold Coast presented by Billabong: Queensland, Australia | March 18 – 28, 2021
–Rip Curl Pro Bells Beach: Victoria, Australia | April 1 – 11, 2021
-Margaret River Pro: Western Australia, Australia | April 16 – 26, 2021
–Oi Rio Pro presented by Corona: Saquarema, Brasil | May 20 – 29, 2021
-Surf Ranch Pro: California, USA | June 10 – 13, 2021
–Quiksilver Pro G-Land: Indonesia | June 20 – 29, 2021
–Corona Open J-Bay: South Africa | July 7 – 19, 2021
–Outerknown Tahiti Pro: Teahupo’o, Tahiti | August 26 – September 6, 2021
-The WSL Finals: Location TBD | September 8 – 16, 2021
…with a one day event to decide the winner, at the end.
Excited?
Cool.
*The usage of the word “man” in no way denotes “male.”
Bells wont happen…it will be Snapper, Margies and the Bluff for the Australian leg.
Love the frame grab of Elo in a full used card salesman pose. “Have I got a deal for you!”
Point taken! But if you didn’t have fucking kids you would’ve faired far better when you lived there…
my rose coloured glasses are from age 15-20!
September 8 – 16, 2021 , what place could that swell window match? France? Trestles? Baja? Blacks?
Gotta be Lowers. He can’t see beyond what he has seen.
Ha! someone said he looks like Ellen De Generis’ new chick…. LOL.
Dream on…
Do you remember that part in that old surf movie…. ended the thing? Aerosmith to padang footy. i don’t like Aero and gotta admit it kicked ass
Hate to rain in the parade, but no matter what the format, it seems it all comes back to the ‘original’ Wsl ‘problem’, ‘viewer’ ‘numbers’. And while a new format may revitalize a small number of existing fans, if the Wsl can’t get ‘Joe inlander’ watching, it’s not going to be profitable, and I don’t see a bunch of inland football and baseball fans, or other non-surfers, all of a sudden starting to watch surfing. And if it is not profitable– how long will Dirk and Natasha keep it on life support……….
great time for the rebel tour to launch unopposed.
Isn’t it the same issue though? How do you get non-surfers interested in something that they know nothing about. I watch Curling and Bobsled about 50 minutes every 4 years out of curiosity, but I know I’m never gonna Curl or Bobsled, and I’m over it.
I think surfing might fall into the same category for the “legions of the un-stoked” …..
…
No. The ASP and WSL have never focused their effort/product on the actual existing market. It may not be ridiculously lucrative, but it’s solid and can grow. Horse before the cart type thing.
If you can’t interest the active participants of a sport, you have no chance selling it to the masses that don’t surf.
If it’s not lucrative, I don’t think Ziff is interested, and after 5 years, I don’t think he’s gonna go back to square one and start over– they have their sights on the masses.
and he will find out that surfing is a sport and not a business.
Fuck the inlanders who needs them I’ll happily pay per view and tell the VAL inlanders to buggar off!
So Pip has to have a real go at Chopes to make it to the “big” dance at Trestles haha. Poetry.
Irony is comedy
Whether he falters or flies it will god damn entertaining so win win.
where are the finals held then? no location
Elo’s secret wave.
Venice pier
I’m hoping that means they have 2-3 options up their sleeve. Chuck everyone in a plane and go to where is best. Ments, Fiji, Mex…
cloudie would be amazing….
but that is too many lefts to end the year upon… 3 in a row.
J-Bays right in the mix too. And who cares about left or right when its truely pumping.
Ya bro, agree 100% but that leaves Felipe out of the mix and I like his surfing.
I know several here don’t, but he’s a fucking spark.
Ending at Gland and Chopes is like giving Gabby another title.
I love his surfing too. But don’t be too woke about it, he/they better step the fuck up if they really want it!
It’s deciding the World Champion after all.
I should work for Elo at the rate I’m selling this thing for them!
Prolly pays better than DR and Chastity.
Agree on Toledo… but he’s so quick twitch talented and proved (to me) that he can handle slabs at the Rio venue last year. His heat with Ke11y was so next level… looked like giant closeouts and they put on a show.
I think he’s talented enough to figure it out. If not, it allows Ke11y a slim hope… dude can finish that tour as well as anyone.
Kelly will be a very happy man and rightly so.
cat bird seat.
Ride the wave of destruction
Twice in the podcast you guys said “throw yourself over the lip”.Call me an old fart bit I’d always thought it was “over the LEDGE”. First ledge. Followed by lip. Over the lip reminds me of poorly drawn surfing cartoons where the board is on top of the lip. Like Goofy here.
https://www.google.com/sear…
if you do a cut down, the tube monster won’t get you!
Yeah, kids nowadays!!! Its over the ledge. I go over with the lip more often than not nowadays!
Check this drawing. out, even has some people swimming under the riders.Body womping in the shorebreak.
https://www.museumofbritish…
Is anyone mourning the loss of France from the CT calendar (apart from defending Quik Pro champ Jeremy)? First time no CT event there since 1982. Or is this the harsh reality of the surf industry in Europe…HQ of the big brands that are no longer relevant to the people? Maybe Quiky needs to launch a line of gen-z hipster berets to get the euros flowing again? Peniche clearly won the portuguese tart vs tarte au citron man on man heat….
Yeah ultimately Portugal has more potential for scoring waves assuming the event is mobile.
* opposite in relation to me…”male (though very small, I was born with a penis) in no way denotes a real man”
They have still missed the boat – literally on a boat – buy a cruiseship be cheaper than running 1 event – convert it with nuclear fission reactor, cruise the planet, broadcast everything they do – we get a fix of reality tv – via cooking show, singing and comedy, gambling, fishing etc , and then maybe a “sport”!!! We can watch as under performers and general cunts are made to walk the plank. If anyone gets sick they just chuck em overboard and they can recruit from all over the globe too easy!!
au revoir
Hard to imagine Pipe happening in December. Such a production Hawaii committed to 2 week quarantine till at least sept. 1st.
If numbers are still bad in early September they pull the plug.
Is Elo rooting Ellen? What a lovely lesbian couple.
Ellen would be the rooter though, pegging elo for all she’s worth
Should primates have such shiny white teeth?
My take. Elo needs needs to be wearing a sharp Hawaiian shirt to balance out Pats casual ironic barefoot surfy look.
Oh, and I’m pumped on the announcement even if it’s pushed back even more due to Covid.
Oh now I get it. 5 minutes spent reorganising the tour, three and a half months spent choosing the right shade of green for the rebrand.
Zombie green for a zombie tour?