ASP Europe New Board of Directors to Lead Strong European Tours for Four Years

CAPBRETON, France (Wednesday, February 2, 2011) -Following the last Annual General Assembly of November 15, 2010, that took place in Gran Canaria, Canary Islands, the new elected Board of Directors of the Association of Surfing Professionals (ASP) Europe has officially started its four-year term this past month, taking the wheel to continue the management and development of Europe's surfing tours.

Made of seven persons including President Franck Goudou, Vice-President Jan Holzer, Treasurer Adur Letamendia, Secretary Sam Carrier, Surfers' representatives Alain Riou and Aritz Aranburu and member Cheyne Bradburn, the Board of Directors is set to pursue the growth of the sport in Europe, and follow over twenty years of improvement that has made the region the leading territory in terms of career opportunities.

"Professional surfing is going through some great changes on an international level with the One world ranking, the emergence of the ASP Prime status and the importance of the ASP 6-Star events, to name a few," ASP Europe President Franck Goudou said.
"These changes emphasize the importance and role to be played by each region in the organization of a true and indisputable World Tour. The new Board of Directors of the ASP Europe is obviously looking forward to some great challenges in reinforcing the quality and consistency of events the 'Old Continent' has been offering for the past 20 years. In collaboration with ASP International, we will be working closely to leverage the value, skills and assets of such a strong region," President Goudou continued.

ASP Europe Board member since 2007 and current EuroSIMA Board member, newly elected president Franck Goudou will be driving the organisation's policy along with its directors looking to consolidate the existence of some of the world's longest running surf events (Newquay, Lacanau, Pantin…) as well as attracting new events to the dynamic European Tour that is comprised of male, female, junior and longboard divisions.

"Alongside with Hawaii and South America, the ASP Europe has been one of the most active regions over the past seasons, offering an amazing platform of events for European and International male and female surfers, including all divisions from junior to surfboard and longboard," Goudoud said. "The quality of the offer will obviously remain one of our main focuses, helping the dynamics of professional surfing in Europe as a whole."

Created in 1989 by Rip Curl Int'l chairman François Payot to give European surfers a true professional career path, the ASP Europe through its stakeholders has built the largest regional surf tour in two decades, attracting the world's best surfers to the shores of Europe. With over US$ 2 million of prize purse for 2011, not counting the two stops of the ASP World Tour, the strength and value of the regional tours mirror the recent steps taken by its athletes in the past few years, with Jeremy Flores, Tiago Pires and Michel Bourez leading the charge.

"European professional surfing has been living some of its most memorable achievements in the past few years with European surfers pushing their limits to shine on the international scene," Goudou continued. "Just in the past 12 months, Maxime Huscenot won the ASP World Junior title, Marc Lacomare performed excellently at all ASP 6-Star events in Europe leading to his ASP European title, Antoine Delpero finished ASP World Longboard Tour No. 2, Pauline Ado qualified for the elite ASP Top 17 and Jeremy Flores made history again, by winning the Billabong Pipeline Masters. With Alizee Arnaud clinching the ASP Women's World Junior title a couple of weeks ago, we are proud of leading a long lasting, healthy, faithful and committed organization around the sport of surfing in Europe."

A non-lucrative organization built with the surf industry as well as a large number of independent event promoters, the ASP Europe remains a unique structure in which both athletes and events' representatives vote to determine the future of their label, based in Capbreton, France, in the heart of Europe's surfing core.

Flying the flag high for Europe in 2011 will be Jeremy Flores (Capbreton, FRA), Tiago Pires (Ericeira, PRT), Michel Bourez (Tahiti, PYF) and Pauline Ado (Hendaye, FRA) on the elite ASP World Tour and ASP Women's World Tour. Standing right behind and ready to perform at any ASP events on the globe, Aritz Aranburu (Zarautz, EUK), Alain Riou (Tahiti, PYF), Hodei Collazo (Zarautz, EUK), Joan Duru (Ondres, FRA), Marc Lacomare (Hossegor, FRA), Romain Cloitre (Reunion Island, FRA), Amandine Sanchez (Anglet, FRA), Canelle Bulard (Reunion Island, FRA) and many more will be representing the region and performing as much as possible.

Photos, videos, news and results of all events of the 2011 ASP European Tour will be available at www.aspeurope.com

ASP Europe Board Of Directors

President, Franck Goudou (FRA)
Vice-President, Jan Holzer (DEU)
Treasurer, Adur Letamendia (EUK)
Secretary, Sam Carrier (AUS)
Surfers' Representatives, Aritz Aranburu (EUK) and Alain Riou (PYF)
Official, Cheyne Bradburn (FRA)

ASP Europe Technical Committee

Chairman, Gregoire Puget (FRA)
ASP representative, Robert Gunning (AUS/ESP)
Brands events representative, Bram Van Vugt (NDL)
Independent events representative, Cyril Camu (FRA)
Surfers' representatives, Caroline Sarran (FRA) and Marlon Lipke (DEU)
Independent consultants, Franck Corbery (FRA) and Clyde Martin (ZAF/ESP)

ASP Europe Management

European Manager, Gregoire Puget (FRA)
European Tour manager, Robert Gunning (AUS/ESP)
European Head Judge, Iain Buchanan (NZL)
European office Accountant, Sonia Claveranne (FRA)
Spanish Head Judge, Aitor Aguirremota (EUK)
Portuguese Head Judge, Michel Amaro (PRT)