I was on Twitter and saw a tweet from Surfline that read, "Rumors are circulating today that another event is set to be culled - either the Volcom Pro Fiji or the Billabong Pro Teahupoo." (Neither of which has denied these rumors) I immediately responded asking for clarification and a source. They responded with a link to their page which briefly touched on the subject as well as a quote from Kelly Slater on the Matter. It is shocking to me that just days after Billabong downgraded the J-Bay contest to a 6-Star Prime, that they are in the spotlight again but with arguably fans favorite contest next to Pipe (also a Billabong sponsored event). Volcom was quick to add the Volcom Pro Fiji this past year with excitement from the Tour surfers and fans alike. It obviously comes down to money, something that Billabong has stated they are struggling with. It is the reason why J-Bay was downgraded and it would make sense if this was the reason for Teahupoo as well. Volcom has some credibility as well. It is difficult to run contests at sites like Fiji or Teahupoo where there is no room for mass crowds to build and watch the event. One of the only ways, if not the only way to make money off contests like this is advertisements through the Webcasts. It is a win-lose situation for these companies; win because they are sponsoring an event at a world class wave like those in Fiji or Teahupoo, something that fans want to see and surfers want to surf. It is a loss because they simply will not make enough money off of the event. A small profit may be made, but it will most likely not be substantial. Personally, if either of these companies plan to make the money they want off of risky investments like these, they will need to find another source of income other than advertisements. In situations like these, we may see Billabong or Volcom implement a fee to watch the webcasts online. This could potentially backfire; I know that I, an avid surf fan and someone who watches every event, would not pay to watch a webcast. I love surfing, but I do not have the funds to pay to watch an event that I am not at. Other than myself and my beliefs, I have reason to believe that most surf fans will side with me and not pay to watch.
These two companies need to think hard about their commitments to this sport if they are experiencing financial troubles. Billabong, last year, was the sponsor of four ASP World Tour event, not to mention all of their Prime and Jr events. Volcom, who is using the Fiji event as their first WCT sponsored event, was very quick to act when world came out about a new event to be added to the schedule. I think that locations like these are necessary if the ASP uses the term "Dream Tour" to describe the Mens ASP Tour. They are dream locations that every surfer dreams of traveling too. It has been quite some time since we have seen a schedule of "dream" locations; in my opinion, the last year could be 2008, possibly. These surfers are the reason these companies can even afford to host these events; there has been continued frustration with the best surfers in the world on location choices by the major sponsors and how they are completely contradictory to the theme of the Tour. But in the end, it comes down to money and which locations will bring in the most profit. With the exception of a few locations on tour, I think that many surfers and fans will begin to become bored of the usual sloppy, beach-break, non-dream tour-esque locations. We want excitement, we want to see Kelly airdrop into a backside barrel at Teahupoo or perfect waves in Fiji and Indo.
So in my final words to the big corporations - Bring those events back, give the fans what they want, but most importantly, give the surfers (who pay your bills) what they want!
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