Quiksilver Pro New York

In case you were all Rip Van Winkle yesterday or didn't hear the rumors the past few months, Quiksilver and the Association of Surfing Professionals announced yesterday that the surfing world tour is coming to New York this September in the form of the Quiksilver Pro New York. Yes, that New York. The city that never sleeps. The Big Apple. Home of Jay-Z, Saturday Night Live, and hot dogs from street vendors that probably are really selling dogs in those buns. The amazing part isn't that it's being held in the media capital of the world or that NY surf is notoriously fickle but rather the $1 million dollar prize purse. Plus you have to factor in the permit costs, construction costs, etc etc etc. And since Nike/Hurley have stepped it up big time with the construction of a small city every summer at the US Open of Surfing in Huntington Beach, CA (with attendance near a half million people during the week long event), I expect Quiksilver to do at least the same. With the population of New York City alone at 8 million, this event could be absolutely nuts. Glad I'm not workin security detail at this event. The official press release is below.

Quiksilver and the Association of Surfing Professionals (ASP) have announced a new stop on the ASP 2011 World Tour. The Quiksilver Pro New York will be the sixth stop of the tour, taking place in Long Beach, New York from September 4-15, 2011.

The Quiksilver Pro New York will be the first ASP World Title Race held on the East Coast and the first professional surfing event with a $1 million prize purse. The Quiksilver Pro Global Series also includes the Quiksilver Pro Gold Coast in Australia, February 26 to March 9,2010, and the Quiksilver Pro France, October 4-15, 2010.

“We are beyond excited to host the biggest pro surf event in the world this September in New York,” said CEO of Quiksilver Bob McKnight. “There has always been a huge contingent of dedicated surfers and surf enthusiasts on the East Coast and they will now get a chance to watch the world’s best surfers in Long Beach.”

“ASP International is very pleased to sanction The Quiksilver Pro New York, which joins a short and prestigious list of ASP World Tour sites around the world, including Australia, Portugal, France, South America and Hawaii’s North Shore,” said ASP International CEO Brodie Carr. “In addition to bringing the world’s best surfers to the East Coast of the United States, Quiksilver is breaking boundaries as the first event in history to put up a $1 Million prize purse. This speaks volumes of Quiksilver’s commitment to excellence, and the ASP has every confidence in our teams working together to produce the best possible event. Long Island is considered one of the hallowed sites of East Coast surfing and the experts at both Quiksilver and the ASP, as well as the unparalleled talent of the ASP Top 34, will come together to make this one of the most memorable events in surfing history.”

According to an independent study from Surfline.com, September 4-15 is one of the most consistent periods for sizable surf in Long Island, New York. “The surf climate in Western Long Island is greatly affected by the underwater Hudson Canyon offshore, which can turn average surf into very high quality surf comparable to many of the best surf spots in the world on the right day. We are also in a La Nina year, so we expect the 2011 Atlantic hurricane season to be a little more active and hopefully we can score great surf with the world’s top surfers in one of the best cities in the world,” said Chief Forecaster and President of Surfline.com Sean Collins.

“When I was young, I remember some great waves on Long Island with my brother Sean and our friends,” said 10x ASP World Champion Kelly Slater. “This event itself will be unique and kind of an unknown for us and bringing the ASP tour to New York will be fun ’cause there’s a big surf culture there already and some great surf shops.”