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World Surf League
Current season, competition or edition: 2024 World Surf League
Sport
Professional Surfing
Founded
2013
Countries
International
Headquarters
Santa Monica, California
Most recent champion(s)
Filipe Toledo (men) (2nd title) Caroline Marks (women) (1st title)
Most titles
Kelly Slater (men) (11) Stephanie Gilmore (women) (8)
Official website
worldsurfleague.com
The World Surf League (WSL)[1] is the governing body for professional surfers and is dedicated to showcasing the world's best talent in a variety of progressive formats.[2] The World Surf League was originally known as the International Professional Surfing founded by Fred Hemmings and Randy Rarick in 1976. IPS created the first world circuit of pro surfing events. In 1983 the Association of Surfing Pros took over management of the world circuit. In 2013, the ASP was acquired by ZoSea, backed by Paul Speaker, Terry Hardy, and Dirk Ziff.[3] At the start of the 2015 season, the ASP changed its name to the World Surf League.[4] Sophie Goldschmidt was appointed as WSL CEO on 19 July 2017.[5] Paul Speaker had stepped down as CEO on 11 January 2017,[6] and Dirk Ziff acted as the interim WSL CEO until Goldschmidt's appointment.
As of December 2017, the WSL had more than 6.5 million Facebook fans, surpassing more established sports such as the National Hockey League, the Association of Tennis Professionals and Major League Soccer. Sports Business Journal reported that 28 million hours of WSL digital video content were consumed during the 2017 season, making WSL the third most watched sport online in United States behind NFL and NBA.[7]
In January 2018, Forbes reported that the WSL had signed an exclusive deal for digital broadcast rights, with Facebook, worth $30 million over two years.[7]
Erik Logan, Former Oprah Winfrey Network (OWN) President and Executive Vice President at Harpo Studios, was appointed as WSL CEO on 14 January 2020.[8] Logan exited his position as CEO on 29 June 2023.[9]
^"World Surf League". worldsurfleague.com. Retrieved 1 December 2016.
^"World Surf League, Frequently Asked Questions, What is the WSL?". Retrieved 30 August 2015.
^"ASP World Surfing Tour taken over by US media company Zo-Sea for 2014 season". ABC News. 28 February 2014. Retrieved 30 August 2015.
^ASP Announces World Surf League: Letter from CEO, 12 September 2014 The WSL has been criticized on BeachGrit and may other surf web sites for rarely having good waves at its contests. The solution is longer waiting periods n places like Hawaii, Tahiti and Puerto Escondido, Mexico.
Archived 5 December 2014 at the Wayback Machine (accessed 28 November 2014)
^"Sophie Goldschmidt Appointed CEO of World Surf League". WSL. 19 July 2017. Retrieved 25 October 2017.
^"Surfing Articles: Latest Surf News, Videos, & Photos at Surfline".
^ abBadenhausen, Kurt. "Facebook And World Surf League Announce Exclusive Partnership". Forbes. Retrieved 3 December 2018.
^"Erik Logan Named WSL CEO". 2 September 2020.
^"World Surf League CEO Logan exits mid-season". Reuters. 30 June 2023. Retrieved 1 July 2023.
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Global Information
2024 World Surf League
Filipe Toledo (men)
Caroline Marks (women) (1st title)
Stephanie Gilmore (women) (8)