Michelob Ultra Pure Gold sponsors WSL’s Founders’ Cup of Surfing

The World Surf League (WSL) has announced the Founders’ Cup of Surfing which will be sponsored by Michelob Ultra Pure Gold.

The region-versus-region team event feaatures a cross-section of the world’s best surfers to be held at Surf Ranch in Lemoore, CA from May 5 – 6, 2018.

Five teams – USA, Brazil, Australia, Europe and World –  made up of men’s and women’s surfers from the elite WSL Championship Tour, will compete over the two-day event at the world-class, man-made wave venue of Surf Ranch in Lemoore, California.

“This technology has captured the imagination of the global surfing community and created a number of new opportunities for the WSL,” Sophie Goldschmidt, WSL CEO, said.

“The Founders’ Cup of Surfing will be the organization’s first public event at the facility and we’re very excited to showcase the wave and the world’s best surfers through this unique team format in May.”

The Founders’ Cup of Surfing will see the men and women competing alongside one another in the team format, a first for WSL events that will add a new dimension to surf competition. The teams will be made up of three men and two women from each region, and the five-person teams will compete against one another throughout the course of the two-day event.

 Kelly Slater (USA), 11-time WSL Men’s Champion, will lead the US men’s and women’s team at the Founders’ Cup. Although still recovering from a foot injury suffered last year in South Africa, Slater is eager to rehabilitate in time to compete in the Founders’ Cup.

“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, first with the Founders’ Cup and then with Surf Ranch Open,” Slater said. “As someone who has competed in probably every competition format there is, the Founders’ Cup region-versus-region, co-ed format is really intriguing to me. I think May is going to be a great showcase for the world’s best surfers at the facility.”

Stephanie Gilmore (AUS), six-time WSL Women’s Champion, has been one of the standouts at the testing facility throughout the past year and the 30-year-old natural-footer will lead the Australian team at the Founders’ Cup this year.

“The facility and the wave at Surf Ranch is amazing,” Gilmore said. “It’s such a fun wave to surf and really high-performance. Having it come online to complement our ocean-based events in 2018 is really exciting and I’m looking forward to leading the Australia team at the Founders’ Cup in May.”

Tickets will be available for sale starting March 12. Registration for pre-sale tickets can be found at WSLFoundersCup.com