Who needs waves? Slovakia joins the International Surfing Association
Subject line of an email received today: Russia and Slovakia are the Newest ISA Members.
The International Surfing Association (ISA), surfing's world governing authority recognized by the International Olympic Committee, is proud to welcome Russia and Slovakia to its list of Member Nations...
Where, oh where will this malarky end?
Russia, OK. Vladivostok has the odd wave, while the Kamchatka is hard to reach and full of bears but reportedly worth the effort. Slovakia though, how is it that they get accepted as a 'surfing nation'? Did the good people at the ISA not check Slovakia's resume? Or an atlas? Cause if they did they'd realise Slovakia isn't bordered by any of the blue bits. Slovakia is landlocked - they don't even have any decent sized lakes.
Head of the ISA, Fernando Aguerre, has been running his subtle populate or perish campaign for years now, and every couple of weeks I get an email proclaiming that another unlikely country – Burkina Faso or Slovenia - has joined the surfing team. You've gotta wonder what it takes to get admitted. More to the point, what does it take to get refused? Has it ever happened...?
Is old Ferdy too scared to say no to any country that asks lest it shake their fragile self-confidence? Well Ferdy, this ain't third grade where everyone gets a gold star to take home and No Child Gets Left Behind. You can say no. A simple test should be the decider: 'Is there surf in your country?' Let Geography cast the one-and-only vote.
A cynical man would think that this is all a ploy by Ferdy to increase numbers and realise his lifelong ambition of getting surfing into the Olympics. Fortunately I'm not a cynical man so I'll let that idea just float around in the air up there...
...now, back to the topic at hand. Until Slovakia muscle up and invade another country they shall remain a landlocked, waveless nation and therefore have no place at the surfers table. Some things just can't be argued against: You don't see Australians trying to enter Eurovision.
And before I close, I know that some smartarse is gonna come back with the 'Cool Runnings' defence after reading this article. You know, the Jamaican bobsled team. Yet the analogy is poor. The day that we surfers laugh at a movie starring four pale-faced Slovaks floundering their way through the Uluwatu lineup while practicing for the upcoming London Olympics, is the day that I quit surfing to take up bobsledding.
Comments
Don't get this article Stu... what's wrong with someone joining some feken organization (which obviously doesn't have touch with reality anyways, because I will bet you a dollar that surfing in Olympics is never going to happen).... if they want to be part of it, so be it ..... Slovakia actually runs annual surfing championship (together with Czech Republic) in France, and I can tell you they do not take their surfing too seriously at all ..they just love it as much as anyone else ......
Mebbe this'll clear it up Mr Viking: The Maldives is the flattest country on Earth. A person from the Maldives can go and climb the Alps - thoroughly enjoy it too - but having a Maldivian Alpine Society makes no sense.
There was also a second prong to the article, one that involves the five-ring circus, but you're already clued into that.
I know what you mean Stu, but saying that waveless, landlocked nation has no place at the surfers table is bit harsh hey? And just to give you an idea on the Slovak surf scene, you better start looking for a bobsled, because you will meet some Slovak surfers in Uluwatu before you know it :) Viking Da Czech
Wasn't the a movie once: Jamaca we got a Bobsled Team?
Stu, very passionate....Settle down old pal... Plenty worse things than a Slovak in the line up at Ulus! I happen to be one of em a few times year during my annual pilgrimage. I just put the Ozzie accent on to pull rank with my other European compatriots who constantly seem to be getting in the way out there! I’ll tell you why its ok for Slovaks to join the ISA, every ass hole that has ever been to Slovakia knows that it is a land of great beer, Soviet style architecture, a nice castle and thats about it..... So the inhabitants invest in motor homes.... Inside these motor homes is considered Slovak territory. Much the same as an Embassy.... Its a short drive to France, pull up at the Gore, raise the flag, wax the board, get tooooooobed, smash a few pints at Dicks Sand Bar and head home... Job Done, Slovakia now surfs... Piss easy.. ..
Would prefer to see Sloavkians in the Ulu's line-up than Brazilians or knobs from the Canary Islands. This isn't a battle worth fighting Stu - who cares about the ISA anyway?
Good snowboarding there too by all accounts. A 6 day lift ticket will run you about 70 euro (AUD$90). Got that one on the 'to do' list pretty soon.
Also, what is it with Canary Islanders? I've never met one but a mate just got back from the Mentawais and had a serious run in with a couple. Threats of violence etc. He's a really good surfer but the mellowest cat you would ever come across.
Can't see anything wrong with the Slovakians joining the ISA, as long as they don't hold a comp there.
Canary Islanders? Now that's a topic I would like to hear more about.
As for who is or who isn't surfing - give it up! Everyone is going to surf eventually. The media will see to that.
Yo Zenagain, High Tatras defintely worth checkin out if your into snowboarding. No parks or anything fancy, but some nice steep lines to be had and super cheap...
Yo Zenagain, High Tatras defintely worth checkin out if your into snowboarding. No parks or anything fancy, but some nice steep lines to be had and super cheap...
Sweet buddwha, Europe on the cards for winter next year.
I get some pretty awesome local powder here, but up to Hokkaido again for the new year.
Stu, I generally look forward to your well thought out insights on the waveriding culture,and I have ascertained that you are quite intellectual, well read and well educated. However, this rates as the most ridiculous jingoistic drivel for countries with a surfable coastline, lashed with quasi xenophobic undertones. If, for example, Antartica wanted to form a sandboarding assosciation, good on them I say.
Yeah, well I guess I would find the idea faintly ridiculous. Funny, I suppose, in an undergraduate sort of a way, yet when it comes to the arena of competition - international competition - I find it patently absurd. Why do it except to garner a shallow we-are-family type feeling? I don't feel that way about the surfers at my home beach so why the assumption about humans half a world away just because they ride a surfboard in their summer holidays?
Regardless, the real reason for their inclusion isn't some notional fostering of brotherhood but to get surfing into the Olympics.
australia has a mountaineering association, yet you can almost drive a car to the top of Kosiousko (no I cant spell it properly)
Shit we even have a bobsled team.
Bring on the Swiss and Swazilanders.
cant leave out Zimbabweans either with waves like this
Adelaide has ski groups. They go to victoria to ski. Or Mount Lofty for one day once every 10 years. Slovakia has surfers, they go anywhere other than slovakia to surf. "Thelostclimber" - good call re the Aussie Alps. I had an Austrian girlfriend when I was working at Thredbo about '94. "Mountains?!? These are not mountains!!!! These are hills!!!"
Australian snow skiing or boarding associations? It's all a matter of perspective mate.
If you are doing it, regardless of where you are from, you should be able to say "I am a participant in this activity/sport" and then if you are so inclined, make a group representing your pursuit of your passion even if you travel to realise this.
Stu, you gotta be stirring the pot here just to get a reaction surely. Do you really give a shit that the Russians and the Slovakians have joined the ISA?
Nah, I don't care a great deal Mundies. Think I had two minutes of mild indignation before a dog with a puffy tail stole my train of thought. Fortunately I got my thoughts down on paper while the pot was brewing, so to speak.
That the ISA is using whatever means necessary to corral numbers for a shot at the Olympics is, I believe, more pertinent and worthy of thought.
haha, bondi borders most european countrys i believe, i think i may have even seen the whole Jamaican bobsled team out there too on bobsleds this morning. Most of the slovakian crew though are soul surfers these days, riding hemp boards and talking about the old days before they sold out to the ISA. I'm with you though stu, cranky about everything surfing these days, and non surfing also, especially not being able to play the drums.
Funny reaction Stu to what seems like a pretty reasonable claim, to wit, that having a surf association in a land locked country is faintly ridiculous.
It's interesting when you throw your thoughts out there, you never know what you are going to get back.
This story reminds me of the scene in Life of Brian, where one of them wants to be considered a woman, and wishes to be called Loretta from now on.
The discussion progresses, to the great dismay of John Cleese, as they consider action to demand the right for Loretta to have babies. Cleese's retort goes something like;
What's the bleeding point? Where's it gonna gestate, in a box?
I just love that scene.
In fact, the analogy is rather close to the subject matter. :-)
I can't believe how often I am seeing analagous moments to that Life of Brian scene these days. This is just another one.
Wake up waxheads. Fair enough that they have a ski club in Alice Springs and an Alpine Society in Hay but Slovakia in the ISA is closer to Jamaica and Mongolia being paid up members of the International Whaling Commission. This is all just about gravy - keep the choo choo coming. IOC? Enough said.
Thanks for bringing this real life 'life of brian' scene to our attention Stu, classic. But i agree with most here that Slovakia can have what they want, If they want to surf, they got to get organized, so they need an organization and why shouldn't we recognize that?
Any surfer who's parents nurtured them further than an hours drive from the nearest grovel, knows what it's like. You'll do anything even ring the ISA!
.."If they want to surf, they got to get organized"
Which for most of us involves grabbing a wetsuit, towel and wax. Why bring admin into this?
Turkey has joined the International Surfing Association!
"The International Surfing Association (ISA), surfing's world governing authority recognized by the International Olympic Committee, is proud to welcome Turkey to its list of member nations."
"The Turkish American Sports Club (TASC) led by General Director Tunc Ucyildiz, has been a leader in the growing popularity of the sport of surfing in the country. It is now the country's National Governing Body (NGB) of surfing, as determined by the Turkey Sports Ministry and accepted by the ISA."
Not sure about the quality of waves but at least Turkey has coastline, unlike the last country to join the ISA - the landlocked Slovakia.
Stu brah, what part of the ISA mission statement did you miss?
"The ISA is the International Federation for the sport of surfing. It governs all wave riding activities, including Bodyboard, Bodysurf, Jet Surf, Kitesurf (in waves and freestyle), Kneeboard, Longboard, Paddle Surfing (Prone, paddling with hands), Short Board, Skimboard, Stand Up Paddleboard (SUP), Surf Kayak and Tandem. The ISA is dedicated to the development of these sports worldwide".
Objectives
l) "To purchase, acquire, sell, deal in, build, construct or reconstruct, take on lease or in exchange or otherwise acquire or dispose of any movable, immovable, corporeal or incorporeal property anywhere in the world".
http://www.isasurf.org/home_mission.php
Or possibly the Slovenes buy heaps of them Reef calendars.
Ripping in budgie smugglers.
Turkey? Maybe our cash strapped surfing multinational's could return to the tried and true methods of raising revenue by starting a little import/export business with some of Turkey's national products?
Press release received this morning:
"THE ISA WELCOMES THE CZECH REPUBLIC AS ITS 75th MEMBER NATION"
Check the image (link below) that accompanied the press release. Not, I am not kidding.
http://www.isasurf.org/wp-content/uploads/2013/10/SUP-nature.jpg
When is this going to end?! Overnight the ISA welcomed their 77th member nation, Belgium. Unlike past members such as Slovakia and Czech Republic, Belgium does actually have a coastline. According to the press release, Belgium has "over 60 km's of of straight coastline that produces great waves for Surfing."
So, back to the first question: When is this going to end? My guess is when all 193 countries of the world, landlocked or not, sign up to the ISA. Then Ferdy can take his gig to the International Olympic Committee and get surfing into the Olympics.
Because, make no mistake, getting surfing into the Olympics is the ISA's raison d'être. You can take every 'making the world a better place' slogan the ISA has bandied about and stick them where the ASP's sun don't shine.
Creating a voting bloc to take surfing to the Olympics - under the auspices of the ISA and, very importantly, not the ASP - is their sole motive.
will be interesting to see if the ISA gets Surfing into the Olympics...and then the Public will demand the best surfers from each country...which will come from the ASP.....which will????
An interesting side show to Surfing in the Olympics will be the advent of pool surfing......which any country will be able to build...but who will get the nod as the Olympic endorsed surf pool,there is a shit load of money to be made!!!
As for the ISA...International South America.....does anybody even watch their events?
Seems to me that the ISA and the rest of the surfing Feds/Asoc,are building surfings biggest Bureaucracy...whith events that don't relate back into the culture or market place....Hmmm could be a conspiracy to take over surfing......no opps that's already happened!
I wonder what Zosea think about the ever increasing presence of the ISA and its connections to S A....?
"the Public will demand the best surfers from each country...which will come from the ASP.....which will????"
Not hard to see how that's gonna clash, eh MC? Although the ASP can release its surfers...for a fee. Still, there's a power play developing here: Surfing's peak body, the ASP, potentially gazumped by the ISA who take the sport to the biggest stage in the world.
I wonder if ZoSea will have all their contracted surfers unavailable for the Olympics.....or will Zosea try to control ISA.....
Fernando is a control freak and wants his place in surfing History,like most bureaucrats...Hmm but ZoSea is a private Company and out to make money.....
who will jump first on the Surf Pools....imagine the possibility of getting Olympic accreditation for your Design Pool and ya get 50 orders from 50 different countries...as they are all Olympic members.....shit we better start buying stocks in.....which pool was it again??
Same old story people using surfing to increase their own status. The Olympics would be a total nightmare, think quickly what can we do to bring the sport into disrepute?
ISA world Booger champs...Argentina,Brasil Costa Rico,Equador,Marocco,Dominican Republic,Peurto Rico and Venuzuela....
how exciting to have hardly any other major Surfing nations compete...no Europeans,No USA/Hawaii/Australia/NZ/Indo...shit not even Japan....
ISA.....Island of South America?
The ISA's 79th Member Nation has been announced - Poland. Well, at least it has a coastline. And a river wave. From the ISA press release:
"While the ancient nation might be better known for its rich history over its waves, there is a growing community of surfers in Poland, who aren't afraid to brave the country's various surf breaks. Recently, a new river wave, discovered on the country's Bobr River, has also been attracting die-hard surfers from across the globe."
World domination is clearly their objective:
http://www.surfertoday.com/surfing/8814-polish-surfers-discover-the-bobr...
Yes Turkey have waves , and good ones. It has a huge coast line to Mediterranean Sea on the South and Black Sea on the North. We have beach breaks, sand breaks, reef breaks, left and right point breaks, peeling waves, barreling waves etc. You can find pretty much any rippable wave in Turkey. The waves can go up to 4 meters, more than double over head time to time. Winter time in south can be very consistent as to averaging 2-3 days surfable waves a week with warm crystal clear water of Mediterranean. Check some photos from this website of some waves from Alanya Turkey.
http://surfinginturkey.com/baska-ne-var--.html There are much better ones on the way, because we just started recording as per last year or so. Well surfing level is not great yet but it will get there by time.
As per other countries joining ISA without any shoreline; I do not agree the criticism supporting that they should not join and represent their country. First of all not every athlete train in their own country. Many athletes train and improve themselves outside of their country in world cups and Olympics. Take Nigeria Soccer team. None of them has improved their soccer level in their own country nor playing in their own country yet they are one of the best teams in world cup. There are no quality leagues in Nigeria nor fields with green grass suitable for soccer. So that should not prevent them going abroad , find suitable conditions to train , improve themselves and represent their country.Matter of fact thats what exactly they did like many other national athletes and Olympians. This example can be expanded to many countries with different sports, like Slovenia Surfing Team. Although they dont have any shoreline in their country , they can train abroad and represent their country. There is nothing wrong with that. Do you think French national Gabriel Madina has improved himself in France ? He was traviling to train in Hawaii and many other spots since he was a kid. Staying in France would never make him a top 30 surfer.
2nd Point:
In world cup or Olympics the best Athletes for their nation represent their country. But this does not mean that they are the best in the world. Some of them are very weak compared to other nations. They know they have no chance , yet they still join and compete. Other wise there would be no Olympics nor World Cup. You would only see 3 or 4 athletes competing for 100 meter gold medal for example. So the idea is the philosophy and importance is participation. This is the Olympic soul.
Gabriel Medina French national ?
...and the ISA Express rolls on! Last night the ISA welcomed Afghanistan into the fold. Yep, Afghanistan.
Said ISA head Ferdy Aguerre: "While still in its infant stage, there are a lot of opportunities for surfers and SUPers in Afghanistan."
Not sure how many surfing opportunities a landlocked country without big lakes can offer. But never mind the minutae - welcome Afghanistan!
http://www.isasurf.org/the-isa-announces-afghanistan-as-its-82nd-member-nation/
:/
Got me. I think Batfink and Karate had the best analogy to the above story:
Come on down.. Latvia!
"Officially called the Republic of Latvia, the country is located in the Baltic region of Northern Europe. It is bordered by Estonia, Lithuania, Russia, Belarus and by a maritime border to the west with Sweden.
The water-rich country boasts hundreds of rivers and lakes, as well as the Baltic Sea, which has made it an up-and-coming destination for water tourism including Surfing and more recently StandUp Paddle (SUP). While Surfing is focused primarily in a variety of beach breaks and river mouths in the Baltic Sea, Latvia also has hundreds of rivers and waterways that have made it popular among its rapidly expanding SUP community. Half of Latvia is comprised of untouched, natural ecosystems. The country's low population density has helped Latvia retain its natural environment and made it a hot spot for eco-tourism and sustainable travel."
Unbelievable - the ISA has just signed up a country that actually gets surf. Lebanon.
They included this impressive photo from a spot called "Chekkas" (easily found on Google Earth).
Go Nepal! The tiny, mountainous, landlocked Himalayan country has joined the ISA!
N.E.P.A.L. Viva Nepal!
Turkey has surf!
An old mate of mine spent a few years around the Med and saw good quality 3 feet waves in Turkey. I saw the photos. He said it was seasonal and inconsistent. He also surfed Israel and Lebanon. Good seasonal waves are known in those places as well as Greece so there may be many places which conceivably qualify as" surfing counties"