Built for the Arena: The CEO of WPSL speaks about the World's First Wave Pool Surf League.
After 40 years in the water, I believe it's time to blow surfing wide open
After nearly 40 years of surfing, I've been obsessed, I've been jaded, and I've been so deep into the sport that it led me to coaching — simply to coach myself. That path took me to a Post Graduate Certificate in Sports Education, and now to the opportunity of a lifetime: building WPSL, the world's first Wave Pool Surf League.
I'm doing this alongside an incredible team. Dan Luger MBE, England Rugby World Cup winner, joins as Co-Founder & Chairman. Barton Lynch, 1988 ASP World Champion, leads our commentary team. Jamie Mitchell, ten-time Molokai to Oahu Paddleboard World Champion and Nazaré Big Wave Champion, is part of our athlete ambassador roster. Around them sits a group of executives with backgrounds spanning Sony Music, Red Bull, Universal Music, Birkenstock and On — people who understand how to build entertainment properties, not just events.
“with nearly 200 wave pools under construction or in planning stages around the world”.
It feels like time to really give back to surfing. And it's a prime moment to do it — with nearly 200 wave pools under construction or in planning stages around the world, there's a genuine opportunity to shape what surfing becomes next. We are not here to replace competition at the local beach. We are here to educate a new generation of wave pool surfers on surfing's long and rich culture, and to expand what the sport can be rather than simply replicate what it has always been. Wave pool technology means limitless wave formations and near-perfect conditions on demand — this is a canvas that will keep expanding for decades.
“Heats will be open to all genders competing against each other”.
WPSL is poised to be the first, the most innovative, and the league that crowns the very first Wave Pool Surf League Champion of the World. And we're doing it with a rebellious judging and rule set, throwing out old criteria that simply doesn't fit the wave pool environment. Heats will be open to all genders competing against each other. The idea that men and women can't compete head-to-head has always struck me as absurd — yes, surfing demands power, but it demands agility, style, grace and timing in equal measure. Strip away the old prejudices and outdated gong formats, and there is no good reason women's surfing can't be every bit as entertaining as men's, heat for heat.
Surfing's roots are in rebellion — from Miki Dora in Malibu to countless characters since who refused to be boxed in. Somewhere along the way, the sport became stereotyped. Judged to a format. Boxed into criteria that even the very best surfers in the world are forced to surf within, rather than surfing being allowed to define itself. We're going to blow that open. Let the best surfers in the world show us what surfing is — not a panel of judges deciding what it should be.
As we grow WPSL beyond our flagship event, WPSL1 Adrena, Saudi Arabia, we'll be building our team and our network from the ground up. If you want to be part of it, don't hesitate to reach out — whether that's with a CV, a sponsorship conversation, or an investment enquiry.
This is the start of something built for the arena. Come and build it with us.
— Justin West, Founder & CEO, WPSL