As many may have heard by now there is a buzz about the ASP (Association of Surfing Professionals) WCT (World Championship Tour) or the "Dream Tour" being replaced by a new organization and possibly format. This endorsed by Kelly Slater.
I watched an interview with Kelly during the J-Bay event. Kelly did not provide a lot of information, but confirmed that the rumors were true. He did state that the ASP did not have its own media rights, and that was the root of the problem. He also made it clear that he feels replacing the ASP will be more effective than fixing it. Video of that interview is no longer available on the J-Bay webcast site:
http://www.billabongpro.com/jbay09/index.php Scott Bass and Jeff Baldwin talked about this possible new tour on the July 12 down the line radio show:
http://downthelineradio.com They were basing most of their info on Phil Jarratt's blog:
http://noosa-journal.whereilive.com.au/sport/story/slater-for-world-tour Scott seemed to think that Kelly's new tour would be a Young Guns style affair with emphasis on airs. Baldy pointed out that tube riding would also have to be an essential component. The guts of the new tour was reported to be ESPN television coverage. Towards the end of the show Randy Rarick, in an interview about his vintage surfboard auction:
http://hawaiiansurfauction.com stated that he believed the new Slater Tour would be a specialty event, not to conflict with the WCT and would ultimately have the ASPs blessing.
Obviously, information is still being gathered by the experts and insiders at this point.
My take is that while there is a lot of room for improvement with the webcast and sponsor controlled events that make up the WCT, Television and therefore ESPN is not the answer. Also, anything less than taking all the current Dream Tour pros over to the new tour just won't cut it.
Webcasts can be horrible at times, but they are a big improvement over not being able to see the contest live. Surfing is not golf, NASCAR, or baseball. The waiting periods, lay days, and long tournament style events will not translate into good television. Often the most exciting surfing of the event occurs in the early rounds. Sometimes the final round is terrible if the waves will not cooperate. Hey, if ESPN wants to run an HD Highlight Video, I am all for it. But how could they ever cover a quality event profitably? I stayed up until 3:30 am to watch Dane Reynolds surf, but that's my problem. If ESPN were to throw its weight behind standardizing and improving the webcasts, that could be money. After that we could all look forward to that HD Highlight Video on TV.
