ASP Makes Big Oops

The ASP's miscalculation fuels the fire after a year of controversy and criticism capped by an outburst by Bobby Martinez at the New York event when he said "I don't wanna be part of this fucking dumb wannabe tennis tour". This followed the unsuccessful bid by Jamie O'Brien to get Bruce Irons a wildcard entry at Teahupoo as a tribute to his brother Andy.

The ASP admitted to the blunder, perhaps the biggest oops in its history, after Kelly himself alerted them. Kelly tweeted: "ASP isn't gonna be happy with me or this, but realized last night and confirmed just now with them. Only honest thing to do."

Kelly told his fans they should give their caps and shirts back because he had in fact not won his 11th world title.

Websites across the world were pulling down their Ke11y banners when the ASP belatedly announced their miscalculation half a day after Kelly announced it. The irony of course is that despite the ASP's huge blooper it is only a matter of time before Kelly becomes Ke11y ... properly. Only a bizarre combination of luck and skill will hand Owen Wright the crown. Basically Kelly must fail for the rest of the year. He must not win a heat in the next event in San Fransisco. Owen must win the event. This will send the title race to Hawaii, where Kelly must not win a heat at Pipeline and Owen must win it.

If this happens, a rarely if ever used clause in ASP rules calls for the two to enter a 'Surf Off' to determine the champion. That ain't gonna happen, but you never know. Maybe the ASP rule book will fall on Kelly's head and he is knocked unconscious until Christmas?

There has been outrage and hilarity over the embarrassing blunder. The congratulatory burst of media from articles ti video and slideshows? Pearshaped. And irritating for editors who have to pull content off their websites or offer corrections in subsequent print editions.

After the tennis comment in New York that earned him a suspension (see video below), Bobby Martinez took the opportunity to rub it in on Twitter: "ASP DONT EVEN NO HOW TO WORK THERE OWN NEW TENNIS SYSTEM! HAHA FUKEN IDIOTS LEAVE TENNIS SYSTEM TO THE TENNIS PLAYERS U DUMB FUCKS! HAHA"

Wok (Warwick Wright) uploaded an expletive-laden video to Youtube where he spoofs the guy who made the call, which he called on Twitter his 'best yet' (video below). Shaun Joubert asked "Is this the darkest hour for @aspworldtour. Surely after a year of controversies this is the final straw!?" Jarvi tweeted: "Professional surfing is the butt of all jokes this morning. Nice one ASP", and so, the ripples continue to spread.

Kelly was quite cool about it though, and in a Tweet to the ASP said: "We all make errors. Maybe I made one going public but on the bright side it will create bigger interest." Of course, if this was his last shot at the title, and it had just been wrenched from his grasp, he may have been a tad less conciliatory. But his 11th title is a mere heat away.

While the majority of South African surfers gets shacked in epic surf conditions all around, the ASP soap opera continues.

Official explanation

“Our rankings’ system is designed to split tie-breaks based off of seed points,” Renato Hickel, ASP World Tour Manager, said. “Kelly (Slater) and Owen (Wright) tied at best nine of 11 results, so we went to best eight of 11 results and the system gave it to Kelly based off his higher seed position.

We were operating under that assumption and created the ASP World Title scenarios based off of that. This was a mistake. In the end, we’re responsible for this and should be held accountable. We apologize to our fans, the surfers and to Owen and Kelly.”

“Our rankings’ system is designed to split tie-breaks based off of seed points,” Renato Hickel, ASP World Tour Manager, said. “Kelly (Slater) and Owen (Wright) tied at best nine of 11 results, so we went to best eight of 11 results and the system gave it to Kelly based off his higher seed position.

Moving forward, Slater must win one more heat, either at the Rip Curl Pro Search San Francisco or at the following event at Pipeline in Hawaii to confirm his 2011 ASP World Title. For Wright to remain in the hunt, he must win both the Rip Curl Pro Search San Francisco and the following event at Pipeline in Hawaii.

REVISED 2011 ASP WORLD TITLE SCENARIOS

• If Kelly wins either Round 4 or 5 (one more heat win) in San Francisco, he will confirm his 2011 ASP World Title.
• If Kelly fails to win another heat in San Francisco, Owen must win this event to send the 2011 ASP World Title race to Hawaii.
• If the race goes to Hawaii, Kelly must advance out of one heat to confirm his 2011 ASP World Title. If Kelly fails to advance through a heat at Pipeline, Owen must also win this event to stay in the 2011 ASP World Title Race.
• If Kelly fails to advance out of another heat this season, and Owen wins in San Francisco and Pipeline, the two will tie at best of nine, eight, seven, etc. events, and the 2011 ASP World Title will be decided in a “Surf Off”.

BOBBY

{youtube}orpi_b49Sig{/youtube}

WOK

{youtube}RMLht1OmFB0{/youtube}

BOBBY DUBSTEP VERSION

{youtube}r_INucOToK8{/youtube}