SANTA MONICA, California/USA (Thursday, June 8, 2017) - Today, the World Surf League (WSL) is proud to support World Oceans Day, a global day of celebration to raise awareness for the protection and conservation of the ocean.
In partnership with Ocean Conservancy and Outerknown, the WSL aims to create a dialogue around the importance of our oceans, and promote the theme of this year's World Oceans Day, "Our Oceans, Our Future," which focuses on encouraging solutions to plastic pollution and preventing marine litter for a healthier ocean and a better future.
"We're incredibly proud to be supporting Outerknown and Ocean Conservancy with World Oceans Day," said WSL Chief Community Officer, Tim Greenberg. "As surfers ocean health is so important to us at the WSL. This is where we live and work."
The world's best surfers are currently in Fiji for the fifth stop on the WSL Championship Tour, the Outerknown Fiji Pro. A staple on the schedule and a fan and athlete favorite, the Fiji stop epitomizes the "Dream Tour". Fiji consistently delivers some of the best surfing of the season and this year is no exception.
The idyllic South Pacific island setting is the perfect place to highlight the importance of protecting our oceans and the WSL has been working with our athletes to find out what the ocean means to them and why it's so crucial that we all play our part.
"The ocean is everything to me," said 11X WSL Champion Kelly Slater. "The ocean is all of our livelihoods and basically life to us. I don't know what we'd be doing without the ocean. It just brings so much joy to people. It is the most important place on earth really."
"The ocean means everything to me," said Sally Fitzgibbons, WSL Championship Tour athlete. "I love that my day is revolved around it. I love that every single day it provides something different for me and difference challenges and also peace and calm in my life."
"The ocean to me means to much, but really it is my life," said Women's Championship Tour competitor, Sage Erickson. "I spend countless hours in the ocean, whether that is with myself or with friends. It is one of the biggest joys of my life. I try every morning to say thank you and have a moment to appreciate everything because it is so powerful and so out of my control."
"The ocean to me is God's beautiful creation that we get to play in, but also you can heal in it and enjoy pursing my passions," said Bethany Hamilton, sporting icon and OK Fiji Women's Pro wildcard.
The WSL regional offices around the world have also been celebrating by hosting beach clean ups in their local communities.
Also to celebrate World Oceans Day, Outerknown is leading a beach clean up in partnership with WSL and Ocean Conservancy. 100% of sales from Outerknown's #ITSNOTOK collection supports Ocean Conservancy's mission to clean and protect the ocean.
For more information, check out WorldSurfLeague.com.