Shorter series makes waves
SURF Life Saving Australia will not commit to returning the Nutri-Grain ironman and ironwoman series to a summer-long event, saying it must maintain a “sustainable program’’ before embarking on any expansion.
The event wrapped up at North Cronulla yesterday after being held over just three days – the shortest format in its long history.
SLSA took over running the event from Nutri-Grain this season with the cereal giant moving out of event organisation, and chief executive Melissa King said the organisation was “absolutely’’ committed to continuing that support.
And while “you always want something to be bigger and better and longer’’, King said SLSA would seek feedback from athletes and coaches before making any decisions about the future of the iconic series.
“Surf Life Saving Australia is absolutely committed to a sustainable surf sports program and from that perspective we’re really excited about this weekend and what the future holds,’’ she said. “What does that look like? “We want to get some feedback from this weekend, we want to talk to the athletes and the coaches.’’
High-profile athletes including Shannon Eckstein, Courtney Hancock and Jordan Mercer have voiced their belief that there needs to be change from this season’s compact format, with new series champion Matt Poole also adamant there needs to be a longer season.
The enormous positive this season has been live television coverage for the first time in more than a decade, with Fox Sports having broadcast the final two days of action from North Cronulla in a move that was met with great excitement from athletes and officials and with great feedback already received from viewers.
And SLSA officials are loath to do anything that could jeopardise the long-fought-for move.
“The wonderful thing is we’re live. Live broadcast for two days on Fox Sports, so that’s amazing,’’ King said.
“Whilst it’s a more compact series this year, it’s a live broadcast for the first time in many years.
“So sometimes you’ve got to give something to get something.
“We’re certainly looking to the future.
“At the end of the day, we’d all love something to be bigger and better but the baseline is that we absolutely believe (in) and are committed to a sustainable program – whatever that might look like moving forward.’’