ASP One Ranking System Unveiled for 2010 and Beyond

Pictured: Taj Burrow (AUS), 31, winner of the Billabong Pipe Masters and 2009 ASP World No. 4, will look to continue the momentum as the 2010 season commences. Credit: © ASP/ CI/ SCHOLTZ via GETTY IMAGES

COOLANGATTA, Queensland/Australia (Tuesday, December 29, 2009) - Beginning in 2010, ASP International will activate a One Ranking system for the men's ASP Dream Tour and the ASP World Qualifying Series (WQS).

The concept of the ASP One Ranking system is to make ASP-sanctioned World Tour and Qualifying Series events contribute to a surfer's year-end rating. The ASP One Ranking system will be the primary means for determining if a surfer is eligible to compete in ASP World Tour events and the highly-rated ASP Qualifying events.

Surfers will begin to accumulate their respective ASP One Ranking points from the start of the 2010 season. However, the first season will be a bridge year to allow ASP to ensure that points are correct across all events and the changeover points onto the ASP World Tour are finalized.

Below is a brief summary of the ASP One Ranking System and how the crowning of the ASP World Champion will work. We have begun with 2011, as it is the first full year season of operation.

ASP One Rankings from 2011

• A surfer's ASP ranking is determined by their best eight results from 2010. These results can come from any ASP event.
• As a surfer progresses through the 2011 ASP World Tour, they begin to replace and drop results, but always counting their best eight results from the past 12 months. Essentially, a surfer's ranking constantly changes throughout their career (subsequent years will work in a similar fashion).
• EXAMPLE: if a surfer is counting a result from the 2010 Quiksilver Pro Gold Coast, once the 2011 Quiksilver Pro Gold Coast comes around, they need to drop that result and pick up their next best. That next best result can (but does not have to) come from the 2011 Quiksilver Pro Gold Coast if they perform better than the previous year or from their 9th best result of the past 12 months.
• The ASP One Ranking system will determine which surfers qualify for the 32-man ASP World Tour events at pre-determined changeover points throughout the year. The ASP is currently considering that the changeovers will occur approximately every three events or three months. However, 2010 will be used to better analyze the results of the ASP One Ranking system before finalizing.
• The changeover points for each season will be announced as soon as the following year's schedule is finalized.
• A surfer cannot count the same event twice in their top eight results should that event change dates to fall twice in 12 months.

The ASP World Champion will be determined by counting only results from ASP World Tour events. Each year, a new ASP World Title race will begin and surfers can only win by counting their best eight results from ASP World Tour events. The rationale behind this is to ensure that the surfers competing for the prestigious ASP World Title are all competing at a level playing field and not chasing points in ASP Qualifying events at the end of the season,

ASP Bridge Year in 2010

2010 will act as a bridge year for the transformation into the ASP One Ranking system. ASP One Ranking points will begin accumulating from the first ASP-sanctioned event of 2010 - the ASP 1-Star Movistar Pro Peru from January 15 - 17, 2010.

The ASP Top 45 (the Top 27 from the 2009 ASP World Tour, the Top 15 from the 2009 ASP WQS and three wildcards) will commence 2010 as they have in the past, with the first ASP World Tour event at the Quiksilver Pro Gold Coast.

After the fifth ASP World Tour event (the Billabong Pro Teahupoo), the field will be reduced to the Top 32 from the 45 who qualified for the start of the 2010 season. After the final ASP World Tour event of 2010 (the Billabong Pipe Masters), the ASP will determine the Top 32 surfers for the 2011 ASP World Tour. ASP International has built in a safety net to guarantee the number of surfers that comprise the 2011 ASP Top 32 - 22 from the ASP World Tour events and 10 from the ASP One Rankings events.

For more information, log onto www.aspworldtour.com