ASP Officially Acquires Big Wave World Tour

Here it is: The ASP have just announced the acquisition of the Big Wave World Tour. Phew! Arrangements have been made for support in 2013, and the formal sanctioning will commence in 2014. Can y’believe it? Now, before we dive into details, you should know the most exciting aspect of this new partnership: ASP top 34 World Tour surfers will now be allowed to compete in Big Wave World Tour events. So, along with gunning for the world title, guys like Kelly, Joel and John John will be able to compete at places like Mavericks, Todos Santos and Nelscott.

Back in January, Kelly withdrew from the Mavericks event because he didn’t wanna risk any conflict. Under his ASP tour agreement, if he’d competed at Mavs (a non-ASP sanctioned event), he could’ve been fined, lost points and had his seeding changed. No such sweat from here on out though. Kelly will be able to compete in whichever Big Wave World Tour events he wishes.

“We are very pleased to have finalised the deal between the ASP and the Big Wave World Tour,” says the new(ish) ASP CEO, Paul Speaker. “The competitors on the BWWT are some of the fiercest and most-respected watermen on the planet and we are eager about the opportunity to take their tour to the next level. 2014 will be an exciting year on all fronts.”

Reckon Gary Linden, founder of the BWWT, was excited to have been scooped up by surfing’s government body? “The Big Wave World Tour is thrilled to be joining the ASP family,” Gary says. “ASP run the best events in the world and we’re thrilled to have their support and guidance as we continue to build the platform of big wave surfing. We also look forward to seeing some of the world’s best surfers tackle some of the world’s biggest waves in the coming years.”

Strangely, the BWWT ain’t had the fame or attention it’s deserved until now. Big wave surfing is a very glamourous part of our sport. Whenever Hollywood makes a surfing film, it’s all about big waves. Visually, it’s the one thing that’s guaranteed a reaction from non-surfers. The Billabong XXL Awards has, til now, been as glitter as it’s got. But that’s all about to change, especially when surfing’s biggest names are in the mix. Obviously, points gained by Dream Tour surfers on the BWWT won’t compliment WCT points, but that ain’t the… uh, point. “It adds another dimension to the sport and will make it significantly easier for ASP Top 34 surfers to compete in big-wave events,” says ASP Commissioner, Kieren Perrow. “We have the utmost respect for the athletes on the BWWT and we really look forward to working with them.”

So, we all feeling better about ZoSea’s management of the ASP? – Elliot Struck

The BWWT schedule looks like this: