As the El Segundo-based World Surf League gears up to kick off its 2024 season in Hawaii, a list of sponsors have been announced, giving insight on what brands surf fans will find at upcoming pro surfing contests.
Among them is a collaboration with Jason Momoa, the “Aquaman” lead who founded an aluminum water bottle company called Mananalu.
The brand aims at eliminating single-use plastic and will be the exclusive canned water onsite at the World Surf League’s North American events, including the US Open of Surfing in Huntington Beach and the WSL finals held at Lower Trestles, just south of San Clemente, according to a news release.
Mananalu will also be an official partner of WSL PURE, the league’s nonprofit that runs an annual grant program “to support global credible nonprofit organizations focused on improving the health of global ocean ecosystems,” WSL officials said.
Founded by the actor and ocean activist who grew up in Hawaii, Mananalu also has a partnership with rePurpose Global in the mission of removing one water bottle’s worth of plastic from ocean-bound waste for every bottle purchased, with the equivalent of 15 million bottles so far removed.
The WSL also this week announced a partnership with ESPN, giving the sports channel U.S. rights for the 2024 season.
All 10 WSL World Tour events and the U.S. Open of Surfing will be streamed live on ESPN+, showcasing both men’s and women’s divisions – starting with the Lexus Pipe Pro, scheduled from Jan. 29 – Feb. 10.
ESPN will also air episodes of “WSL: Inside Pro Surfing,” on ESPN2, throughout the year.
“Working with ESPN this season is a fantastic opportunity to bring the sport to more viewers and new audiences across different platforms in the United States,” said Cherie Cohen, WSL Chief Revenue Officer, in a release. “They are the biggest name in sports content in the USA, and this agreement offers us the opportunity to share surfing with the millions of subscribers across their digital properties as well as on linear television.”
