The World Surf League on Monday announced the five-team Founders' Cup of Surfing, a region-vs.-region event that will be held at Surf Ranch in Lemoore, Calif., from May 5-6. It will be presented by Michelob Ultra Pure Gold, as part of the WSL's partnership with AB InBev. The participating co-ed teams will represent the U.S., Brazil, Australia, Europe and the world. "Surfing and the World Surf League is becoming more and more global each year," WSL CEO Sophie Goldschmidt said. "We now have athletes from all regions and a significant number of countries, so it's great that we were able to get the balance with the format and structure that we've chosen." Each team will include three men and two women selected by the WSL commissioner’s office, which named Kelly Slater (U.S.), Stephanie Gilmore (Australia), Gabriel Medina (Brazil), Johanne Defay (Europe) and Jordy Smith (World) team captains. The Surf Ranch facility will play host to the first-of-its-kind team competition, utilizing its 700-yard bi-directional wave featuring barrel sections and maneuver sections. It was designed by the WSL-owned Kelly Slater Wave Co., and has been continually evaluated and improved by 11-time WSL champion Slater as well as visiting surfers since its public reveal in Dec. '15.
11-time WSL champion Kelly Slater will participate in various activations with Michelob Ultra Pure Gold.WSL
Slater said, "Surf Ranch and the wave system are obviously special to me and it's really exciting to see it come online for the public in 2018." Tickets for the event will go on sale in March, with the WSL hoping to create a festival atmosphere including food, drinks, music and special guests on site. The league will construct stands alongside the man-made wave to create a unique viewing perspective. However, Goldschmidt added, "There will be various viewing opportunities around the facility as well as various immersive experiences so that fans can truly enjoy a holistic surfing experience." The athletes will be competing for a trophy and regional pride, but the WSL is taking an uncommon approach to its financial reward. "There will be prize money, but we have designed it so that the winning team will donate the prize money back to their national governing body to a development grassroots program within that country," Goldschmidt said. The prize will be proportionally divided among the regional teams' national federations. Details for live broadcast coverage of the competition will be confirmed in the coming weeks.
