Now we’re on Fox Sports, we’ve got to do really well

But he will be back in action at Alexandra Headland tomorrow when the Summer of Surf series kicks off.

“The way the sport is this year, the Summer of Surf is a big part of it,’’ he said.

“Now we’re on Fox Sports, we’ve got to do really well on Fox because that’s the future of our sport.

“The (Nutri-Grain) finals series is going live but Summer of Surf isn’t at this stage but if we do really well, it could be live as well. And that’s the way to get new sponsors in the sport.’’

A rugby league tragic, Eckstein sees the Summer of Surf akin to the NRL’s home-andaway season, with the NutriGrain series the finals.

“You want to do well in the home-and-away season to put yourself in a good spot for the finals series, that’s the way I’m looking at it,’’ he said.

“I had a little break (after the world titles in the Netherlands) but I’m doing the first three Summer of Surfs – at Alex, Newport and then Fingal Bay – and then I’ll probably have a light December and then focus again on Surfers Paradise and then the Kellogg’s finals at the end of February.”