Gillibrand to Quiksiliver: Return to Long Beach

In a letter to Quiksilver on Wednesday, U.S. Senator Kirsten Gillibrand encouraged the company that sponsors a professional surfing competition to return the event to Long Beach this year.

Quiksilver and the Association of Surfing Professionals announced in December their plans not to return the Pro New York competition to the East Coast as a stop on the 2012 ASP World Title Series. Long Beach hosted the competition last September, marking the sixth of 11 events on the annual series in 2011.

Expressing her disappointment with Quiksilver's decision, Gillibrand wrote a letter to Quiksilver President and CEO Robert McKnight and asked to include Long Beach on this year’s tour. 

“I encourage you to reevaluate your decision to not include Long Beach in the 2012 competition, and to work closely with my office to discuss how to add Long Beach back to the upcoming year’s schedule,” Gillibrand wrote. “I hope that together we can work to put this event back on the schedule, offering Quicksilver an ideal location for the competition and opening up additional economic opportunities for the greater Long Island region.”

Quiksilver had a three-year agreement with the Association of Surfing Professionals to hold the Quiksilver Pro New York in New York for the next two years, but the agreement did not bind the company to hold it in Long Beach.That left the city in competition with other surf-friendly communities such as the Rockaways and Montauk.

Rob Colby, president of Quiksilver Americas, said in a Dec. 16 statement that the 2011 Quiksilver Pro New York event was a “huge success” for the surfers and received and “incredible support from New Yorkers," but the statement did not offer specifics about the decision to opt out of stopping in New York.

"Quiksilver is still very much committed to the ASP and the professional surfing tour in 2012 with the Quiksilver Pro Gold Coast (Australia) and the Quiksilver Pro France,” Colby added.

Quiksilver did not return requests for comment, neither in December nor on Wednesday.

City officials were hopeful for the competition’s return in 2012. Gillibrand released a statement about her letter to Quiksilver on Wednesday morning, which contained a statement from Long Beach City Manager Jack Schnirman.

“On behalf of the new Long Beach City Council and as the new Long Beach city manager, we are looking forward to taking a cooperative, balanced, and fresh approach to bringing top-caliber events to Long Beach,” Schnirman stated. “We would welcome a conversation with Quicksilver about returning to Long Beach.”