Snapper locked in as top WSL gig

THE World Surfing League has dismissed concerns about the future of the Quiksilver Pro after the tour’s billionaire owner made a fleeting visit to the Gold Coast this week.

Extremely private New Yorker Dirk Ziff, worth an estimated $4.8 billion, made a rare appearance before competition started on Wednesday.

Mr Ziff was called in to be interim WSL chief executive in January after co-owner Paul Speaker stepped down and the tour’s major naming rights sponsor Samsung chose not to renew its multimillion-dollar deal.

Asked if Mr Ziff was casting an eye over the competition, a WSL spokesman said the organisation was always “refining the product”.

However, he said Snapper Rocks was a world-class surfing destination.

With Tourism and Events Queensland having the event locked in until 2018, he said there were no plans to drop the Gold Coast from the tour. The event is worth about $20 million to the local economy.

Mr Ziff’s visit comes amid speculation tour organisers may shorten or even cut some of its 11 world tour events and its roster of surfers.

“We have no plans to drop the Gold Coast from the cham- pionship tour at this time,” the spokesman said.

“The waves this week are a reminder that the Gold Coast is home to world-class surfing and the venues exist as a great canvas for the world’s best surfers to perform.”

The WSL said the tour would be very different in coming years as the push into Asia ahead of the 2020 Tokyo Olympics and the South America market matured.

“Both in the water and on

We have no plans to drop the Gold Coast from the championship tour at this time

WSL SPOKESMAN

land has improved considerably since five years ago. Five years from now, the WSL aim is to be in a significantly evolved place as well.”

The tour has six million followers on Facebook and live streaming of events this week, for the first time, has lured up to 3500 people at one time.

That number jumps to 350,000 views of individual heats in the days following.

“We’re engaging with our fan base daily and refining our efforts in delivering this sport to the world.”