SC Times - WSL Gets A Salt Creek Connection: Dana Point’s Pat O’Connell Named WSL Commissioner
It was announced this week that Dana Point’s Pat O’Connell will be the new commissioner of the World Surf League (WSL). His official title will be senior vice president, tours & head of competition. He will take the place of Australia’s Kieren Perrow, who has held the position for the past six years.
“Words can’t describe the amount of respect I have for the WSL, Kieren and his team,” O’Connell said in a press release from the WSL. “From competitor to surfer rep to board member to commissioner, he really has given his all for surfing to get it to where it is today, and I couldn’t be more thankful.”
O’Connell landed in Dana Point when his family moved west from Chicago when he was young. After graduating from Dana Hills High School and having a successful surf career as an amateur, he spent time as a competitor on the World Tour. Since retiring from competition in 2004, he has been working as the VP of sports marketing at Hurley. A star in Bruce Brown’s Endless Summer 2, O’Connell’s a diehard Salt Creek regular and a distinguished member of the Dana Point Surf Club.