In October of 2017, California-based Relik held their inaugural Modern + Classic longboard Invitational at First Point Malibu. They’d offered up $75,000 in prize money to competitors from seven different countries, with athletes who’d held a combination of nine World Championships and 12 World Titles.
On Monday, Relik announced they will be following up the 2017 event with a two-stop professional tour and double the prize money for 2018. “Our goal for this new tour is simple,” says Connor Guest, Relik’s Tour Director. “We want to celebrate the art and lifestyle of longboard surfing by gathering its best performers at the world’s most iconic surf breaks. But for us, this tour is so much more than just another typical competitive sporting event. Each Relik tour stop is ultimately about building community around a subculture of waveriding—and its way of life—that has already inspired many thousands of surfers globally.”
On Monday, Relik announced 16 wild card slots for the tour, open to athletes who send video submissions through April 15. Then, a waiting period for the 2018 version of their Malibu event will run from June 15-June 25 and stop number two will be held at Lower Trestles between September 9-September 19.
“We are honored and appreciative that Lower’s locals will be sharing their world-class, high-performance surf break with our longboard competitors for a few days this summer,” Guest says. “As an organization that gives back to the communities at each event, we are excited that our partnership directly supports San Onofre State Park with much-needed funds going toward keeping its facilities and staffing up and running. In addition, we’ll be working between now and then on more ways to involve the community, as well as bringing awareness to the importance of protecting sacred places like Lower Trestles.”
With three competitive categories, Men’s Modern, Women’s Modern, and a Classic division, the $150,00 in prize money will be split evenly between men and women across the board.
Note: Prospective competitors can learn about Relik’s Open Qualifier by Video submission through April 15 here.
