Hurley today announced a comprehensive live HD webcast for the Hurley Pro, September 13 to 19 at Lower Trestles. The only U.S. Mainland appearance of the ASP World Tour, the Hurley Pro will broadcast in HD on www.thehurleypro.com and www.fuel.tv . A Facebook stream will be available at www.facebook.com/hurley.
Following an epic Hurley U.S. Open of Surfing, the Hurley Pro moves from the stadium to the stage, where the world’s best will be competing at the ultimate high-performance event. Stop number six (6) on the ASP’s elite grand prix circuit, the Hurley Pro at Lower Trestles pushes the top surfers to redefine the possibilities on a perfect, head-high wave. The Hurley Pro comes at a critical point on the year-long tour where world title contenders either finish the job or lose steam…and virtually every minute of it will be available online for the world to see.
The state-of-the-art Hurley Pro webcast, produced by Echo Entertainment, will feature unprecedented content for consumers including multiple videos and photos, heats on demand and pre-produced “broadcast-quality” segments. The extensive content also will be made available to print and broadcast media, free of charge. Press outlets can access the daily coverage via myriad sources including the web, ftp and satellite feeds on all five days that the event is slated to run (details forthcoming).
“Echo Entertainment is thrilled to be involved with this amazing event yet again,” said Echo’s Director of Production, Phil Smith. “The surfers, crowd, sponsors and city all go to great efforts to make this a premier stop on the ASP World Tour and we strive to bring innovative coverage of the event to the web and to television. Eight high definition cameras will capture the excitement of the Hurley Pro like never before and we have a few new ideas for the webcast to enhance the viewing experience.”
Leaving no cobblestone unturned, Hurley has lined up a world-class team of hosts, reporters, color commentators and special guests. Hosts include Dave Stanfield, Mark Fewell and Mitchell Ross. Pat O’Connell, Evan Slater, Brock Little and Saxon Boucher headline the color commentators and beach reporters are led by Jodie Nelson, Rosie O’Laskey and Peter King.
In addition to “yet to be named” celebrities, Hurley Pro guest commentators include Bob Hurley, Sean Collins, Rob Machado, Peter Townend, Ian Cairns and San Clemente locals Tanner Gudauskas, Pat Gudauskas, Dino Andino, Mike Parsons and the Hurley Sliders.
Along with all the great content, Hurley will be giving the fans a voice with the Hurley Expression Session powered by Facebook. “We wanted to give the online audience an opportunity to really be involved,” said Hurley Pro Contest Director, Pat O’Connell. “Everyone thinks they’re a good judge — now they have their chance. In the early rounds of the event, we will be holding an expression session with the world’s best surfers. At the end of the heat, the online audience votes for the winner on our facebook page at www.facebook.com/hurley . Stay tuned to the webcast for more details.”
Part of the philosophy in creating this elevated webcast is to allow surf fans across the globe to enjoy the Hurley Pro from the comfort of their laptop (and not drive to Trestles). With this in mind, Hurley is embracing Save the Waves’ World Surfing Reserve initiative and is implementing a comprehensive program to lessen the environmental impact on Trestles. The World Surfing Reserve initiative is designed to bring awareness to the world’s most pristine and valued surf spots.
“We understand that Trestles is a fragile ecosystem and want to do everything we can to minimize our impact on this world-class wave,” said Hurley’s Evan Slater. “Of course, we have all intentions of leaving the beach cleaner than we found it.”
The $340,000 Hurley Pro, September 13 to 19, 2009 at Lower Trestles, San Clemente, is Hurley’s first as the sole sponsor of an ASP World Tour event. Lined with cobblestones, Trestles is California’s premier point/reef break and a world-class showcase for high performance surfing. The five day competition, held during a weeklong window, features the ASP’s top 45 surfers (Kelly Slater, Joel Parkinson, C.J. Hobgood, etc.) and three wildcards (Brett Simpson, Rob Machado and World Junior Champion Kai Barger).