By Norb Garrett
San Clemente Times
Surfing America shuffles the deck as WSA Prime is born and NSSA takes a pass
Amateur surfing as it’s known today is changing—and many of the sports’ leaders think it’s for the better. With an eye toward fielding more competitive international amateur and youth teams, the sports’ governing body—San Juan Capistrano–based Surfing America—has outlined an aggressive plan to help streamline competitive surfing nationwide. The changes—largely structural in terms of how best to categorize age groups while also laying out more detail regarding competition, including judging criteria and cutting the number of surfers per heat from six to four at most amateur contests—also will change the amateur landscape as the preeminent National Scholastic Surfing Association has chosen not to participate in the new structure.
At a high-powered meeting of major surf media last week at the Surfing Heritage Foundation in San Clemente, Surfing America Executive Director Mike Gerard outlined a master plan for Surfing America, which will streamline its efforts along with those of the major national amateur associations including the Western Surfing Association as well as the Eastern Surfing Association, Texas Gulf Surfing Association and Hawaiian Amateur Surfing Association.
The NSSA wasn’t present as its longtime Executive Director Janice Aragon made it known late last year that her 28-year-old association would not participate because of the new criteria outlined by Surfing America.
Those associations that did sign on will continue to provide entrants for slots in the Surfing America USA Championships. Those in turn lead to opportunities to surf for the U.S. national teams. The NSSA will no longer be eligible to send surfers through to the Surfing America nationals via allotted slots although, this year Surfing America will invite top-ranked NSSA surfers since the NSSA’s decision not to participate wasn’t made until mid-season.
The changes not only affect young amateur local surfers already surfing on the national team, including Kolohe Andino and Riley Metcalf, but will also have a profound effect on the San Clemente–based WSA. In response to Surfing America’s direction and in light of the NSSA’s decision not to participate, the WSA is adding a new advanced layer to its platform starting next season: WSA Prime.
According to WSA board member Greg Cruse, who also will serve as president of WSA Prime, the new invite-only tour aims to “provide the best solution possible for the kids.” And WSA Prime’s objectives are to “prepare the region’s most talented under-18 surfers for the Surfing America PacSun U.S. Surf Team and success at the ISA World Junior Championships.”
Cruse will run WSA Prime with Andrea Swayne. The current WSA organization, which has been in existence for 50 years and is headed by Executive Director Mary Lou Drummy, will be unchanged save for the changes outlined in its agreement with Surfing America to abide by a similar set of competitive divisions and regulations. “We figured out a way to come up with an entirely new program that fits on top of the WSA as a separate entity where we can put together the best program for amateur junior surfing anywhere,” said Cruse. “This is a way where we can keep WSA as it is, as popular as it is as a recreational kind of thing as an entry into the U.S. championships for all the divisions other than the ISA junior shortboard divisions.”
WSA Prime
The competitive divisions that have been agreed upon by all member organizations include Boys Under 12, Boys Under 14, Boys Under 16, Boys Under 18, Men 18–29, Girls Under 12, Girls Under 16, Girls Under 18, Women 18+, Masters 30–39, Senior Men 40–49, Legends 50+, Junior Longboard Under 18, Men Longboard 18–39, Senior Longboard 40+, Girls Longboard Under 18, Women Longboard 18+, Men Open Bodyboard and Women Open Bodyboard. All member groups were asked to adopt these divisions for 2008.
WSA Prime will start in late summer 2008 with divisions for Boys Under 12, Under 14, Under 16 and Under 18; Girls Under 16 and Under 18. There will be eight to 10 events held at Southern California breaks including Church, Steamer Lane in Santa Cruz and Huntington Beach.
Hot Links
www.wsaprime.org
www.surfingamerica.org
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