ASP continues its expansion in Far East with Murasaki Quiksilver Open of Surfing in North Korea
The Association of Surfing Professionals (ASP) will be bringing the thrilling surfing action to the Republic of Korea with the newly-sanctioned 2-Star men’s event Murasaki Quiksilver Open of Surfing in June.
The increasing popularity of surfing became apparent as the ASP explored the waves in China with the 4-Star Hainan Classic and Women’s Longboard Tour event, which turned out to be a huge success despite a few set-backs such as the refusal of the Women’s
Longboard Champion Cori Schumacher to compete in the event as she did not agree with China’s human rights policies.
Following the wonderful response and enthusiasm shown by the Chinese crowd, the ASP felt encouraged to spread its wings even further in the Far East.
The current year has seen ASP land on China’s soil already and will soon be heading to Jeju Island in South Korea in June to sanction the 2-Star Murasaki Quiksilver Open of Surfing. The surfing action will continue in the Far East region with three events
in Japan, where the people have already made their enthusiasm for the sport known.
“As with all our branches, our goal is to develop and maintain robust and stable tours in all ASP regions,” ASP international media director Dave Prodan said, explaining why the organization has recently emphasized the Far East. “Opportunities in the Asia
region, such as the ASP WLT event in China and the forthcoming ASP 2-Star event in South Korea, have been presented to us in recent years and we're pleased to assist and develop professional surfing in these locations.”
Even though the surfing event in Jeju event is not new, it is the first time that the event will take place under the umbrella of ASP. This is expected to take the intensity of competition to an entirely new level as there will be a bigger prize money and
coveted ASP rating points on offer.
The marketing manager for Murasaki Sports M. Shimada expressed his hope to see the surfing culture grow in the Republic of Korea and eventually gain a renowned reputation worldwide. He further added that he hoped to see the Juju Island event become a permanent
part of the ASP international calendar.
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