The Association of Surfing Professionals (ASP) is the governing body for professional surfing. Think of the ASP like the NBA; it is "the league" itself. There are two levels of professional surfing tours at the international level that the ASP manages:
(For our purposes here, I've assume you are interested in only men's international pro surfing although the ASP handles women's pro surfing as well)
1. WCT Tour - "The Show", "The Big Leagues"...whatever you want to call it. These are the Top 44 surfers in the world. You can find the current rankings and contest schedule at the ASP's official website below. The ASP runs the WCT tour which is the 12 or so contests where the Top 44 surfers in the world compete against each other at various surf spots around the world.
2. The World Qualifying Series (WQS) Tour - Think of the WQS as the 'minor leagues' of pro surfing. In order to be on the WCT (major league) you have to 'qualify' (get it?) by surfing on the WQS tour. At the end of the season final rankings, the top 16 to 20or-so surfers on the WQS graduate up to the WCT and replace the bottom ranked 20or-so surfers on the WCT. If you are familiar with the English Premier League's relegation system it is kinda like that.
Kelly Slater and Mick Fanning surf in the WCT. Joel Parkinson (AUS) is currently ranked #1 on the WCT tour.
