Surfing legend and Malibu resident Kelly Slater was made to wait another day for his 11th world surfing title after officials from the Association of Surfing Professionals (ASP) incorrectly calculated his season score. ASP officials believed Slater only needed to win the first two heats of this week’s Rip Curl Pro Search competition in San Francisco to best world number two Owen Wright.
Slater did indeed win the first two heats of the competition, setting off a raucous celebration Wednesday with champagne and cheering crowds, according to the San Francisco Chronicle. But while later reading Internet reports of his victory, Slater noticed a comment by a fan on one of the stories stating that, by the fan’s calculations, Slater was still short. Slater did the math himself, realized the fan was right and contacted tour officials.
Slater must now win one more heat in the competition, but the event was postponed Friday and Saturday due to poor conditions.