Kelly Slater on the ASP Mid-Year Cutoff by Surfline

Comment Share Posted on Monday July 26th 2010 at 10:12 a.m. Tweet

HUNTINGTON BEACH, California/USA (Sunday, July 25, 2010) - With one event to go before the mid-year field reduction from the ASP Top 45 to the Top 32, the pressure is on for those on the bubble heading into the Billabong Pro Tahiti. Kelly Slater (USA), 38, former nine-time ASP World Champion and current ASP World No. 3, is one man who doesn't have to worry about the cutoff, but the legendary natural-footer has as keen an insight into professional surfing as anyone and Surfline caught up with him recently to discuss his thoughts on the topic. This...is their story...

Surfline: I'm sure for you, right at the top of the ratings, it doesn't make a big difference in terms of staying on tour, but we'd like to ask you about what you think about the implications this has for the overall talent pool. There are already so many great surfers who aren't making it on tour at this stage, and now we're cutting out another 16 of them. Guys have got some pretty mixed opinions about this, but where do you stand?
Kelly Slater: My opinion hasn't changed in years: I think we have too many guys on tour. The best surfing inevitably comes from the quarterfinals on. That's when the best guys do their thing. I almost feel like with the second round, people actually just want the contest to get going the surfers included. But, you know, I think what we have is... it's hard to say because there's obviously a lot of depth, and there's a...

For full interview, check out Surfline.com