CONDENSED WSL TOUR IN PIPELINE

THE new boss of professional surfing’s peak body says the relentless 10month world tour schedule will be condensed to be like a typical footy season from next year to keep fans interested.

“At the moment it’s a long season and there’s a lot of gaps and sometimes it’s hard to kind of keep that fan engagement,” said World Surf League CEO Sophie Goldschmidt, after an epic first leg of the tour on the Gold Coast last week.

“We’re always looking to learn and improve. I think the sport is in a great position, in a very healthy shape, but we can learn from other sports and other businesses about how we can improve things even more.”

She said a tighter 2019 season, which is expected to feature a “Superbowlstyle” playoff to determine a world champion, would be easier for fans to follow.