Rule bars world's elite from local club comps

Club Updates

ASP imposes sanctioning rules for club events this year

Surfersvillage Global Surf News, 25 January, 2013 : - - The Gold Coast's best surfers have been banned from representing their clubs in contests by the sport's governing body. The Association of Surfing Professionals (ASP) has imposed strict sanctioning rules which now prohibit the likes of Joel Parkinson and Mick Fanning from competing for their local boardriding clubs.

The ban was apparent at last weekend's Jim Beam Surftag event at Duranbah where no world tour surfers competed. World tour surfers have always been prohibited from competing in contests that weren't sanctioned by the ASP but representing their clubs was exempt from the rule until this year. Coolangatta's world champion Parkinson competed in last year's Surftag event for his club, Snapper Rocks Surfriders.

But the Australian contingent in the world's top 34 received an email from the ASP on the eve of the Surftag contest saying they would be heavily fined if they competed. Parkinson said it was a "bummer" he couldn't surf for his club -- unless contest organisers coughed up the exorbitant sanctioning fees.

"It's a bummer I think. When you're a kid you start in your club and they feed you everything," he said. "They make the steps along the way a lot easier. They pay entry fees for the kids but then you can't give back. That's the one thing I get a bit bummed about... I'd love nothing more than to be able to surf for my club but in saying that, there is a lot of politics in it and it's not worth getting involved."

The Bulletin understands Surftag organisers were asked to pay $5000 to the ASP for every world tour surfer that competes, to a maximum of $50,000. The Surftag event at Duranbah last Saturday had a first prize of just $1500, meaning paying the sanctioning fees to attract the top surfers isn't feasible.

In a statement issued to the Bulletin, the ASP denied the surfers had been banned but confirmed the rules had changed. "The surfers have not been 'banned' from surfing in this event (or any event like it) at all," it read. "The rule is and has always been no WCT (World Championship Tour) surfer can surf in an non-sanctioned event.

Read the full article at the Gold Coast Bulletin

Source: Bulletin

Author: Travis Meyn

Tags: Snapper Rocks Boardriders Club, Joel Parkinson, ASP,

ASP: Surfersvillage