Should the ASP start looking into new venues for the tour?

They should merge the ASP Tour and the Big Wave Tour. No more vaginal air guys

 

I don't think so. Everything could always "be better", but I think the ASP has done an amazing job with the tour. Making every event accessible streaming online. Letting the whole surf community take part in it, but you still have to remember that these tour stops are HUGE for the local economies in which they visit. It's easy to talk about some desolate island in Indo, to fly choppers into and have charter boats taking everyone out, but there is still commercialism involved here. 10s of thousands of people flock to trestles every yeard, and HB is a mob scene. Same with all the Aussie stops....

The ASP has done an admirable job getting the best spots on tour. I put up a list a few weeks ago of my DREAM TOUR and really there were only a couple changes. But like I said before, they can't hold 30 day event windows to wait for swell. You have to remember the amount of moving parts in any traveling tour. I mean, the PGA came to my island last week, and it took MILLIONS of dollars and basically a whole month of preparation by the whole town to prepare for it. Then the g6s and charter flights start flying in... I mean, there is a ton of money involved in the ASP too. Not GOLF money, but its hard enough to do what they do now...

And further more, I think it's equally as boring watching guys drop into DOH+ standup barrels all day. I think it's important for the tour to his beach break and hit a range of conditions to showcase all the surfers.... Surfing isn't just about having the balls to drop in and pump out of a barrel, it has to do with style and all kinds of other variables....

I think all in all, its come a long way....

I think once Kelly retires, the ASP is going to drop MINIMUM 50% viewership and overall marketability....

Its the Tiger Woods affect. The PGA has been talking all year about how golf doesn't need Tiger. The Masters doest need tiger. Well, Tiger didn't compete in the masters this year and viewership dropped 60%. Thats nuts... Meanwhile, Golf Channel etc is all saying, ohh we didn't need him... In reality... No one cares and it was considered one of the most boring finishes to the masters in decades...

So, the ASP should be much more scared of what happens when slater retires, cause by nature, a lot of surfers arent into the tour... They dont even like the competetion. A lot just watch because of Slater Pride...

So, when he actually retires, I think there will be sweeping changes to the ASP... Maybe for good, maybe not. They may even look into more venues like the NYC event 2 years ago, just because of market value. They will have to start thinking outside the box on how to put asses in the seats. ya know?

The waves are okay though.... IMO

 

Gland,desert point, skeleton bay, chicama , tombstones in west oz , dungeons for big wave spot, stuff that's heavy and dangerous. I want people to die. . . .

 

Billabong XXL... That's what it's all about. They do have a few big wave contests every year... That isn't what the ASP is all about though, nor should it be. Big Wave surfing and ASP surfing are almost competely different sports to me. Big Wave surfing is for waterman. For the adrenaline junkies. You have to be a better man in the water than a good surfer to do the big wave stuff. It takes calculation and determination, but as far as surfing skill sets, there isn't much to do in big wave surfing.... Again, maybe one stop a year should be a big wave spot, but these pros didn't sign up for the "Death Tour" they signed up for the dream tour. They shut down competition at Teahupoo when its too big. Its not worth people dying or drowning 12 times per year... And also, what do we do for the women? Make them follow the big wave surfing tour? It would be a sh** show.

They cancelled the Women's Longboard Championship a few years ago at my local beach cause it got 6-8 foot beach break and they didnt want anyone getting hurt. Meanwhile me and the guys were having a blast in it...

 

See, I think the Andy years were NOT exciting. And I think if he were alive and had a few drinks in him, he would admit that it just wasnt the same winning without kelly. Less people watched, and I guarantee everyone was thinking, man, I wonder what he would have done if Kelly was here. Andy beat Kelly a couple times, but Kelly owned him.

Those years without Kelly are like the 94-95 Houston Rockets when they won a title while Jordan was retired. Yeah, it was nice, but everyone said they were lucky that Jordan wasn't around... What happens the next year? Jordan comes back, wins three more titles in row....

The same thing kelly did in the post Andy era... Came right back and said, your welcome bro. You are lucky I was bored.

 

they should add more coldwater venues like thurso and have the final event in december at mavs, it would make title showdowns way more exciting

 

every country should have a seperate tour with a number of contests with a point system like the ASP to find out the best surfer in that country.
that surfer represents the country in the triple crown, the eddie and a long board event at makaha. call it the penta crown.

penta crown winner is the best surfer on the planet that year.

 

Yeah, he had baggy eyes, looked super tired. I think the whole Quiksilver split has been a little harder on him behind closed doors then he thought. Looked like his surfing aged a decade in the last month or so... It was just an off day. He is a health nut. Maybe he has been slacking on his training or something... Definitely looked more human than I have ever seen.

 

I kink of like this idea. And, I think they could also run a few international events spaced throughout the year to serve as pre-qualifiers for a "world cup" run of events.

 

yea id say the contests been boring lately.i only watch certain heats,like Kelly,gabs,jjf,and parko.if I see filipe Toledo or glen hall come on I shut it down.nobody wants to see guys battle it out and win a heat with a 2 wave total of 5.3......the early 2000s were the best,when they had real talent out there.andy and bruce,dean Morrison,bobby Martinez,4 of my favorites on tour.corey lopez,wardo,beschen.theres a lot of pros on tour that completely fell off the face of the earth.i guess it sucks when u don't get paid to be a beach bum and have to find a real job with no skills other than surfing.i get burnt out fast,if I surfed all day everyday I probably wouldn't want to surf anymore.but id still love to get paid for getting wet

 

Yeah, that was a good era. I just think that was part of that black hole void, where surfing progression had starting turning to airs and these crazy board slides and moves that they really didn't know how to score. Those guys could do a lot of that. You would see it in their videos, but not really in the contests. Now that frontside air reverses are the next "cutback" of old, the scoring is different and I think it caters to the younger crowd.

Who knows. I did really like that era, but honestly, I am more impressed with today's crew. They are insane. I think the guys just lack the same character and personality that the older guys did. They were more well spoken and seemed more professional. I feel like some of the younger guys interview etc, its just a bunch of wind... There is no one that you really say man, I would love to go fishing with that guy... Maybe im just out of touch though

 

I think some agry scotts would give those softy rich boys a swift kick in the nether-region to bugger off, dont go too much off the beaten trail, people that work for a living have to surf and a bunch of little fukkn primadonna biotches and their photogs and hangers on RUINS a spot for WEEKS

id like to see a contest in a crowd, kicking the working man out of his spot is a jerkoff move for any contest