just read it in a surfline article but there are rumors that in addition to J-Bay becoming a Six-Star this year and not a world title stop (confirmed), either the Fiji Pro or the Chopes pro will also be dropped.
so no east coast event, no rip curl search event, j bay a six star and now this?
that doesn't sound good. My guess isn't the sponsorship money is fading...
yea reading through the words to the actual reasons seems like it has a lot to do with the sponsorship budgets drying up.
at what point is the tour bagged all together? the women's tour is only like 5 stops right now which seems pretty pointless.
lower prize purses...
Billabong as a company isn't fairing well in the market. If you see here, http://finance.yahoo.com/echarts?s=B...BG.AX;range=2y their stock plummeted this year.
I'll be pissed if fiji or teahupoo were canceled.
yikes, thats quite a dive over the last year.
Originally Posted by GnarActually
right? they wouldn't cancel teahupoo, especially after the wild success that it was last year. there are still videos floating around social media websites of those 'amazing waves' 6-7 months ago.
i was totally looking forward to fiji as well. they should get rid of brazil
Thsoe amazing wave vids are from the tow sessions, which just by pure luck happened in the middle of the waiting period, they weren't part of the event. Though they were broadcast on the live event stream as it happened. I think the co-sponsorship route is the way to go for the events, but I foresee some backlash when the events start being called the Allstate/Quik pro. Oh and if I have to pay to watch a stream online my pro event watching days will be over. But why fiji and chopes? Cause of their outta the way locale? 2 of the best stops on tour for waves, don't do it ASP! I'm with Motion drop Brazil!
no way you drop brazil. did you see how many brazzos where at snapper yesterday when adrian was in the final?!! unreal! surfing is getting huge there so it wouldnt be a good move. if anything that is a HUGE emerging market for the surf industry.
chopes and fiji could be out because of logistical costs. it costs a ton of money to get all those people there.
the surf at snapper SUCKED all contest. i hope bells is better but bells is a pretty boring wave imo. if it goes to winkipop it'll be more fun for the new school dudes rather than watching heitor alves get to the friggin quarters doing 4 off the tops.
They'll keep Brazil because of the market and the audience. In these rough economic times, the sponsors care more about being able to stay afloat financially (no pun intended) than going to exotic locales with world class waves.
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