Owner of the last four world titles –and six of the last eight–, Brazil has established wide dominance of the men’s surfing circuit. There are several consolidated names, three champions in action, emerging figures. Only one champion is missing.
According to the executive of the WSL (World Surfing League), it is a matter of time.
Erik Logan, 50, who has run the organization since 2020, sees the women’s category as the next territory to be conquered by the “Brazilian Storm”, the “Brazilian storm” that has taken the sport by storm over the last almost ten years. According to him, in addition to the established Tatiana Weston-Webb, there are a number of young people with the potential to achieve something similar to what Adriano de Souza, Gabriel Medina, Italo Ferreira and Filipe Toledo did in the men’s event.
“Brazilian women are great. Tatiana pushed Carissa Moore to the limit [na final de 2021]. If you look at Luana, who is now competing for Brazil… You can’t ignore Sophia Medina and the genes she carries, you know? So I’m pretty confident that their time will come,” the American told Sheet.
Weston-Webb, 26, came very close to the title in 2021 and in 2022 was eliminated in the decisive tournament –in a questioned decision by the judges–by Australian Stephanie Gilmore, who would become eight-time world champion that day. Sophia Medina, 17, is the sister of three-time champion Gabriel and is in the elite access division, as is Luana Silva, 18, who was born in Hawaii, but is the daughter of Brazilians and announced in September that she would start competing for Brazil.
Green-and-yellow women’s success at the highest level would be important for surfing in general and the WSL in particular to expand its tentacles across the country. Even with all the recent victories, assesses the league, there is room for growth in the land of the last champions.
“Brazil is hugely strategic for the growth of global surfing. I think there’s still loads of potential across the country. The events we’ve done to date in Brazil have been some of the most successful, if not the most successful, on the calendar. “, Eric stated.
Saquarema, in 2022, was the only place on the planet to host an event from the elite circuit, one from the access division, one from the longboard, one from the regional qualifiers and one from the Junior Worlds. The Rio de Janeiro city has a good relationship with the league’s management, which seeks new opportunities on the Brazilian coast.
“The connection that fans [em Saquarema] have with surfing is one of the most exciting things for our business. But if you take that and expand it a bit, what we have is the cultural alignment and opportunity that professional surfing has in Brazil. We are always working with our team, with Ivan [Martinho, executivo da liga para a América Latina]to unlock opportunities and to organize regional events,” said Logan.
Unlocking opportunities is what he has been trying to do since he assumed the role of CEO of the WSL, in 2020. A media man, former president of the presenter Oprah Winfrey’s network, the North American used his experience to make the sport more attractive to people who were not used to it.
In a partnership with the production company Box to Box – the same as the Netflix series “Drive to Survive”, decisive for the growth of Formula 1 among young people-, the league produced “Make or Break”, which is in its second season. on Apple TV+ showing the backstage of the World Cup. In the United States, the league shows “The Ultimate Surfer” on ABC, a dispute between promising athletes conducted by the legendary Kelly Slater, 50, which is worth invitations to the elite stages.
“It’s been intentional. Apple TV+, for example, is a massive global platform with more fans than we have in the World Surfing League. So having material and telling a story on platforms with millions of people, exposing our material and our sport will only bear fruit for years to come. The number one focus that we have as a league is really creating the world’s greatest platform for professional surfing,” said Logan.
In this effort to present an attractive product, the WSL changed the format of the championship, which traditionally took place in a running points type dispute, often decided in advance. Since 2021, the top five men and top five women of the season have been fighting for the title in a final stage. Fifth, with far fewer points, can climb to the top by beating those ahead of them in the rankings.
If the tournament became more exciting, the change was not well received by traditional fans of the sport. And also by some of the main elite surfers, such as the Brazilian Italo Ferreira, world champion in 2019.
“If you ask most surfers, they will say they are not in favor. Sometimes, some changes are very radical. Then we have to adapt very quickly”, he told the Sheet the potiguar. “But the game is played, right? Putting it to the other side, from business, it ends up bringing more brands, more companies and more money for that whole show to happen. It’s part of the game.”
According to Logan, the changes have been “a huge success by all metrics”. According to him, between the first and second editions of the vale-tudo stage, the WSL Finals, there was a 22% growth in audience, which reached a record level. The league also implemented a cut in the middle of the season, when 22 men and 12 women survive in the dispute – there is also a quota for guests.
The others have to look for the access division, the Challenger Series, to return to the elite. More drama, more images for the Apple series.
“In all sports, whether it’s football, American football, baseball, F1, you see leagues innovating to reflect the desires of fans, seeking to engage in another way. Our sport is no different. The changes established in recent years three or four years seems very substantial. But the reality is that we haven’t instituted much change in at least a decade, maybe more,” said the executive.
“So when a sport goes through changes, you’re always going to get a reaction from more traditional people. What we do as a league is take all of that into consideration, consult with our surfers and our partners, and work on the best way to keep taking the sport forward, to have the engagement of a vast and young public”, he added.
The WSL, which for years had trouble avoiding the red, does not release its numbers. But, according to Erik, the damage caused by the Covid-19 pandemic has been overcome. “I can say without a doubt that this is the healthiest financial state for the company in the history of the sport. We are happy with where we are and very excited about where we are going.”
The new season will start this Sunday (29), with the opening of the window for the stage in the traditional waves of Pipeline, in Hawaii. Filipe Toledo will defend his title, coveted by nine Brazilians. The female dispute, for now, has only one Brazilian, Tatiana Weston-Webb, who, the WSL hopes, will soon have competition from Luana Silva, Sophia Medina and other compatriots.
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