World Surf League
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| Sport | Professional Surfing |
|---|---|
| Abbreviation | WSL |
| Founded | 1976 |
| Location | Santa Monica, CA, United States |
| Official website | |
| www |
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The World Surf League (WSL) is a governing body for professional surfers and is dedicated to showcasing the world’s best talent in a variety of progressive formats. It was known as the Association of Surfing Professionals (ASP) from 1983 to 2014. The organization was founded in 1976 by Hawaiian surfers Fred Hemmings and Randy Rarick.
In 2013, the ASP was acquired by ZoSea, backed by Paul Speaker, Terry Hardy, and Dirk Ziff. At the start of the 2015 season, the ASP changed its name to the World Surf League (WSL). As of 2016, the WSL CEO is Paul Speaker, a non-surfer and former NFL (National Football League) executive who had previously produced the Quiksilver Pro New York.
As of December 2016, the WSL had more than 5.2 million Facebook fans, surpassing more established sports such as the National Hockey League, the Association of Tennis Professionals and Major League Soccer.
In March 2015, WSL launched a free downloadable app, which garnered more than a million downloads in its first year. The app provides real-time updates on competitions and provides personalized alerts, letting fans know when their favorite athletes are about to enter the water.
In April 2016, the World Surf League introduced WSL PURE, its philanthropic initiative dedicated to supporting ocean health through research, education and advocacy. WSL PURE has contributed an initial $1.5 million in funding that will support scientists from the Columbia University Lamont-Doherty Earth Observatory, as they lead research into ocean health & ecosystems, ocean acidification, sea-level rise, and the role the oceans play in climate change.
The predecessors of the WSL relates to what organization predominantly represented individual professional surfers at that time. This is an important point because the International Surfing Federation (ISF) still functions to this day as the International Surfing Association (ISA) and also refers to competition winners as world champions (or variants thereof).
Ian Cairns watched the demise of the IPS commence throughout 1982 and saw an opportunity. In January 1983, Cairns launched the ASP and lured the world circuit organizers to the new organization, which effectively pushed aside the IPS who were left to operate only the Hawaiian pro events. By December 1984, the ASP had sanctioned the IPS controlled Pipeline Masters as a specialty event available to ASP members to enter for the first time. At the start of the 2015 season, the ASP changed its name to the World Surf League (WSL). The WSL has remained the predominant surfing organization and sanctioning body for professional surfers since its formation. The WSL's first world champions were Tom Carroll (men's) and Kim Mearig (women's) in 1983.
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