National Surf League (NSL) Offers All-Star Line-Up for X Games

Got Game? (c) Bass

Cardiff, Calif. - July 21, 2003 - The National Surf League (NSL) and The Game are excited to announce the all-star line-up for surfing's first-ever appearance at the X Games. The Game, Brad Gerlach's revolutionary team surfing format, will also be making its first major debut. The Game is scheduled to take place August 9, 2003 at 10:00am in surf city USA's Huntington Beach, California and will be broadcast into more than 160 million households around the world between August 16th and 21st.

The Game at X Games IX will feature the West Coast of the United States versus the East Coast. Each team has been hand selected by their head coaches, who are surf stars themselves. Mike Parsons for the West and Matt Kechele for the East have chosen the following squads to represent their side of the country:

• West Coast
• Rob Machado
• Taylor Knox
• Shane Beschen
• Pat O'Connell
• Tim Curran
• Chris Ward
• Coach: Mike Parsons
• Asst Coach: Dino Andino
• Asst Coach: Chris Drummy
  
  
• East Coast
• Kelly Slater
• CJ Hobgood
• Damien Hobgood
• Cory Lopez
• Shea Lopez
• Ben Bourgeois
• Coach: Matt Kechele
• Asst Coach: Todd Kline
• Asst Coach: Todd Morcom

In addition to the already stacked line-up of athletes, the NSL and ESPN have invited four 'Wild Card' surfers to the event and they will be chosen at random to surf on either team.

Wildcards Taj Burrow, Shane Dorian, Dean Morrison, Joel Parkinson

"To have this caliber of talent in the X Games is my dream come true. The Game format really takes the level of surfing to new heights. The already explosive nature of this list of surfers will be exponentially increased when they are pushing each other in the line up," says founder of The Game format and co-founder of the NSL Brad Gerlach. "The Game is a great opportunity for the world's best surfers to work together as a team, dazzle the crowd and showcase their incredible talent."

The Game's format encompasses a team element never seen before in the sport of surfing and makes for a competitive, fun and entertaining competition. The Game format is as follows:

• Two teams with 8 starting surfers and 2 subs
• One head coach and 2 assistant coaches
• Four quarters with a top and a bottom to each
• Each team surfs as a group with 4 surfers in the water at a time
• Each rider is judged on their best 2 waves
• The team with the most points wins the game
• Played for pride!

NSL/The Game surf venue for X Games IX will be held at 10:00am on the south side of the Huntington Beach pier. There are over 40,000 spectators expected to watch the star-studded cast take surfing into the future. For those who don't make it to the live event, X Games will be broadcast into more than 160 million households in over 48 countries around the world on ABC, ESPN and ESPN2 between August 16th and 21st. Look for specific NSL/The Game surf programming August 19-20th, prime-time.

To kick off the big event, there will be an exclusive invite-only, 'Wild Card' draw party on July 30th at the Detroit Bar in Costa Mesa, California. The event will be hosted by NSL and EXPN commentator Sal Masekela and will feature music by DJ Greyboy.

The Game is a revolutionary surfing competition format founded by Brad Gerlach, pro surfer and co-founder of the National Surf League (NSL).

The NSL's objective is to develop a revolutionary surfing format that is dedicated to the pursuit of surfing excellence, building awareness for the sport and creating a fun, competitive landscape for all types of competitive surfers.

nslgame.com