The ASP World Tour as you've known it is no more.

The full impact of the changes announced last fall during the European leg are now being realized, and they're much more significant than first thought. Apparently Slater's threats weren't in vain.

The reason for the surprise? Well, the ASP didn't actually implement their new "world ranking" system until the beginning of this year. Word on the street is the process was a much more painful to figure out than anticipated (which explains why they unveiled it with very little fanfare).

The major sticking point was deciding how to properly format the new "world ranking" that will ultimately control a surfers destiny in the years ahead. Valuing the ASP's various tiers: World Tour, Prime, and Star events, was no easy feat, as each level's results had to be merged into the larger ranking picture.

When their homework was finally completed the ruling was to punish losers and reward winners more significantly at every level. Going forward, this means there will be a much higher turnover at the top ranks, and job security for surfers like Jay Thompson (above) will be non-existent as ranking volatility increases.

Ultimately, the best part of these changes is surfers can rise faster than ever before to the world championship level. The scariest part (for them) is they can fall just as fast.

Most fans are already aware this season has been essentially cut in half. Indeed, after stop number five in Tahiti, the 12 lowest ranked surfers on the current World Tour will be sent back to the minors as the field is reduced to 32. Only the top 22 of the remaining 32 will qualify for the 2011 World Tour based on their World Title ranking. The remaining 10 slots will be filled by using the all-inclusive "world ranking."

All points earned -- regardless of tier level -- count toward a surfers World Ranking.

While things out on the World Tour just got a lot tougher, with the new world ranking the Prime and Star rated events play a much more significant -- and immediate -- role in the larger picture as well.

In fact, the payoffs available in Prime and 6 Star events are now impossible for World Tour surfers to ignore, which is why 33 of the Top 45 showed up at Margaret River for the recent Prime event there. The Nike Pro at Trestles, Hurley U.S. Open in Huntington and Cold Water Classic in Santa Cruz is slated to be stacked as well.

Why are the big guns showing up? Well, the breakdown on the right will help explain it. Note how even a 37th place finish in a Prime event (the second tier in blue) will net him 368 more points than yet another 33rd in a World Tour event (in black). Frankly, this is as it should be, since a 33rd on the World Tour is a last place finish, and a 37th place finish in a Prime event means that surfer made it through a couple tough rounds.

A surfer that actually goes on to win a PRIME event will net as many points as if he finished in 3rd place in a World Tour event, which will play a huge factor in boosting his world ranking, whether he's already on the tour or not.

The greater meaning of all this is the minor leagues aren't so minor any more. That's a good thing for surfing fans.

What's most encouraging about this new rating system is it takes solid results to survive at every tier. Mediocrity is being punished, while winning pays more than before. In fact, this year the point spread between a last place finish (33rd) and World Tour win is 9500 points -- a 73% jump from 2009. The spread between a win and 17th place is 50% larger; 9th place by 26%; 5th by 15%; 3rd by 11%, and 2nd place by 7%.

In other words, the thrill of victory is growing...but so too is the agony of defeat.

Come 2011, those factors will be magnified as the ASP says it will be constantly refreshing it's World Tour events using the up to date world ranking. It has yet to be decided how often they'll be hitting the reset button, but the fact is one no longer has to wait until the year's end to climb to the top (or fall out of it).

A surfers world ranking will be based on the best 8 results of the last 12 months, regardless of where we are in the current season. So while the year-end ranking will matter if you're shooting for a world title, the process of moving up and down the ranks will be much more fluid throughout the year.

With events at every level weighing much heavier in the big picture, things are sure to get a lot more interesting.

Huntington Beach's own Brett Simpson is right where he wants to be in life. This year, it seems that just about everything is falling in place for the 24-year-old Californian. Despite having a chipped bone in his ankle that's required a bit of rehab, Simpson's looking stronger than ever as of late. Currently nestled comfortably at the number-eight position on the 'QS, Simpo is looking strong to qualify for the 'CT next year. If that wasn't enough, he's also accomplished a lifelong dream of his, winning the US Open and the richest prize purse in surfing's history, affront a crowd of thousands--all with that nagging chipped bone in his foot. On the heels of his US Open win, Simpson is surfing as a wildcard at the Hurley Lowers Pro this week and is slated to surf against...err...Slater in Round 3 of the comp. Before the event started, we caught up with Simpo to get his take on his phenomenal year and his game plan for Trestles.

You're coming off a huge win at the US Open and you're going into the CT at Lowers as a wildcard. How important would you say being on a roll is in competitive surfing?

I'd say a lot of it has to do with confidence and confidence is huge in any competitive sport. When you're feeling good about what you can do, it definitely helps a lot. Look at basketball or other sports. When you're confident, it really shows.

So how have you been preparing yourself for the event?

I've just been trying to get my cardio up a bit and just strengthening up the rest of the body. I've also been surfing as much as possible to stay in game shape even though the waves have been small the last few days.

What would be considered a good showing to you at the event and what would be considered a disappointment?

Well, I'm really stoked to just be in the event. These are the best surfers in the world, and I'm glad to be there. As far as what would be considered a good showing goes, I'm not gonna kill myself or anything if I get a 33rd. I'll be a little disappointed but I'm not too stressed. And a good showing? I'd say anything better than a ninth would be a good showing for me.

In your eyes, who's the biggest threat in the event and why?

Probably Joel Parkinson. He's been on a roll all year and has shown that he can surf point breaks like Lowers really well. He's so smooth on his forehand that he'll be someone to keep your eyes on at Lowers for sure.

Can you walk me through what your typical night looks like before a big heat?

For me, I'm pretty mellow, especially before an event. I'll probably go to bed around 10 pm and get up early and go for a surf before my heat. I try and eat really healthy too. I definitely eat a healthy meal the night before I surf, actually, I really start eating healthy and getting my body into it about a week before the event.

As far as venues go, do you think Lowers suits your surfing well?

Yeah, definitely. It's such a good wave. There aren't really any barrels out there, but it's so rippable and good for maneuvers...and I think that's where I can stand out a lot. There's a whole lot of wall to work with out there and I'm just really stoked to be surfing in this event.

So, I obviously got super stoked on the 3rd Annual Supergirl Jam because of the fact that they are bringing snow to Venice Beach September 6th; however, I just realized that maybe some people want to hear about the results of the surf portion, the Supergirl Pro Junior (ASP Grade 4). Courtney Conlogue, the 2009 Hurley US Open of Surfing champ took home the win down in Oceanside, CA this past weekend, followed closely by Malia Manuel. Here are the results and a link to read more about it - I am definitely not the person to be reporting about surfing, I'll let the experts handle it.

Supergirl Pro Junior Day 2 Results - ASP Grade-4 Pro Junior
1 - Courtney Conlogue (USA) 12.90
2 - Malia Manuel (HAW) 12.40
3 - Sage Erickson (USA) 8.15
4 - Nikita Robb (ZAF) 6.45

Supergirl Pro Junior News

Also - here's the info about the next stop of the 3rd Annual Supergirl Jam.... Supergirl Pro-Am

Kelly Slater was trying to play the patience game in his heat vs. Adriano De Souza this morning. It failed him miserably. Slater was defeated by the kid from Brazil, who, by the way, also happens to be sitting above him in the ASP World Tour rankings. The loss eliminated any hopes of an All-American Final. Kelly was the last line of defense on the lower half of the leader board for that to happen.

Throughout this event Slater's strategy has been to stay busy, and that plan has worked. But the lineup in Huntington is a mixed bag today, as the huge south swell that's pounded the coast of California for the last couple of days is on the decline. The good waves are getting harder to find, as the lineup is constantly shifting with the tides. Slater elected to stay close to the pier, where he's been finding some good righthanders all week. But he sat for too long.

By the time Slater got his first good score under his belt,he was running out of time. Then he compunded his early error by making another one; he moved to the far south side of the playing field, where waves with shape are hard to find. Meanwhile, De Souza, who never rolls over, made Kelly pay for his mistakes. He managed to surf two medium size waves solidly, and moved through to the Semifinals where he'll face 2007 World Champion Mick Fanning.