Surfing as a mainstream sport
Worse than death, Permanent Quadriplegia $150,000 wont go far either. That will last you probably 12 months with all the medical bills, but the Quadriplegia and the burden to your family is the rest of your life. Does not sound like great coverage!
As I understand it,if you get hurt and are uninsured the public health system will take care of you. Then if your out of work you can get sickness benefits till your better. Now it seems to me that the govt has spent the last 30yrs trying to get out any fiscal responsibilities in regard to injured citizens that it can, ie compulsory insurances workers comp, duty of care laws ect. All with the intent to finding someone else to pay. Bit like supa so they don,t have to pay pensions any more.
Now you must wonder if there is some sort of a deal going with SA and the govt. Maybe SA gets recognition, regulatory power and maybe funding in return for helping to alleviating the govt of one more area of responsibility ? Not to mention creating a new market for biggest F*#@$ of all,the insurance companys. I don,t know maybe I,am getting paranoid. But damn does'nt the country earn enought out of the mineral boom to be able to look after us ?.
You guys are all fuckwits. Get out of the surf and do something else, what a bunch of negative fucking kooks. Pablo go fuck yourself ya negative asshole and 1963-malibu you can fuck off out of the surf too. Less of you fuckwits will make surfing a better sport. So fuck off
sickness benefits are not exactly what anyone would earn though, if you are the major bread winner, you'll want insurance !
ahhahahah!! Antifroth where did that come from!?
Hilarious!
Benski its a mainstream sport and it does have competition and there are a lot of surfers who are a part of surfing australia and I hope you don't ever have a situation where you need to have coverage in the surf. I hate it when usless people bag something that they know nothing about. If you don't like the way surfing is headded you better hang up your wettie cause its going to get worse.
Have fun.
Hey Antifroth, did not mean to offend you! I have not had any major injuries from surfing, which I understand that you have had that unfortunate experience.
Nobody is taking the piss out of you, we were simply questioning the coverage of the insurance and in my personal opinion I felt that from the listing which was included in this thread that the coverage was not reflective as the actual costs that you would be faced with if you were the main income earner of a household trying to recover from an injury.
antifroth
Man you really frothin then !!!!
Surfing Australia; Jobs for the boys. It's a pyramid, the bigger it gets the more jobs for mates (ex contest surfers) and bigger paychecks for the guys at the top.
Antifroth, It takes a bit to piss me off mate but for some reason you got there.
Very nice of you to care about me needing coverage in the surf. I appreciate it. But wake up to yourself. There's a lot more to surfing than competition. What proportion of surfers are involved in competition? Maybe 10%? Probably less than 5%. Surfing Australia would be the representative body of surfers, or at least they would tell you they are. Yet they want to encourage more surfers into the water on a mass scale. That would fly in the face of the wishes of just about every surfer I know. That's not representing us. That's representing their own interests. Sure it's going to happen anyway, but we as surfers don't need to encourage it and speed it up.
If you don't like a few people discussing that on an internet forum, then I would suggest you really should just get over it. Build a bridge, as they say these days. There's a lot more to surfing than your narrow perspective, yet you've shown a piss poor ability to understand that. Stop carrying on like an grumpy old man. If you've got something to contribute about the good that SA does that perhaps some of us don't know about, beyond fairly useless sports injury insurance, then share it. Otherwise stop whingeing about a bunch of clowns having a yarn on the bloody internet.
Anti means against.So anti froth = against a collection of bubbles (most likely hot air).
So what do you use against bubbles,a quick prick (pop).
Therefore by deductive reasoning could antifroth actually be a quick prick?
Nah, he's probably just impressed with his own opinions.
IMO opinions are just that opinions, neither right or wrong just the belief of the thinker.
Reality is the test of all opinions including this one!
Hey Benski,I agree and I'm the not so grumpy old man.
Fortunately I'm way outside any of the surfing demographics.
So I find my wave up the beach where I want, do what you want to do,
be what you want to be and I still like to froth!
the amount of people they think surf in australia sounds pretty far fetched (3.5M). 3.5 million might go to the beach once a year.
i don't think what they want to do is as full-on as some people are making out, there's signs at places like the pass anyway that say don't drop in, dont snake etc. if it was as full-on as malibu reckons it would never fly in reality. it's just one person's solution to the crowds but they're clutching at straws cause nothing can be done.
storm in a tea cup.
@danielson
"storm in a tea cup."
I think I agree with you really. And as has been said, you don't have to work too hard to avoid crowds, just sacrifice surfing the points. And I reckon a perfect wave ceases to be that when there are 100 people scratching across its face. But I just don't like the face of what we do (SA) pushing an envelope of promotion. If they can do something else for the benefit of the majority of surfers then I'll certainly change my tune about them. I don't know what that might be though.
Anyway, I think I'm spent on this one.
I'm not sure where the stats came from (number of surfers), but the Sweeney Report is regularly cited in these kinds of articles and surveys.
In the 05-06 Sweeney Report, there was a small disclaimer at the end that said "It must be stated that the survey is undertaken in capital cities only and does not take into account some of Australia’s regional areas where surfing is part of the community such as Newcastle, Wollongong, the Gold Coast, the Sunshine Coast, Torquay and the north coast of NSW."
So, they only surveyed people living in our capital cities. Are these sample regions suitable enough to make a valid assessment of the surfing population?
Furthermore, under the category of "Interest by capital city", the Sweeney Report also said "Hobart this year registered the highest interest of 32% of respondents then Brisbane with 30%."
So, if I'm reading this correctly, Hobart and Brisbane both had more respondents interested in surfing than Sydney!
What do the sampled people mean by surfing? Covers everything from a splash and giggle between the flags to a neck breaking experience at Ours on all sorts of craft.
WTF is a surfer anyway? Two types those who are and those who would like to be! AAAARGH!
jaffa, to answer your question... this is a surfer
Wow don't we all get caught up with just a few words - "mainstream sport". Like surfing is a sport - like we have produced many world champions and are proud of it. Where did those world champs come from - they come from the club associations through out Aus and all those organised competitions - with clubs - between clubs - local sponsored comps and higher & higher levels of competition - so is it a sport - this is a slam dunk. Is it or will it be Main stream - well yes for the aspiring lucky ones that can make a living out of doing what they love - whether it is in the retail shops - surf shops or on the waves. Are we getting mixed up accepting that surfing is part of our culture and way of life for many lucky Aussies or the fact that over crowding of surf banks takes away the essence why we all go surfing. Were is the balance between main stream sport and just doing what we love - maybe a couple of paid snipers on the headland taking out any kooks or greedy pigs or simply apprecaiting the sun rise while out in the water with ya mates.
jaffa, to answer your question... this is a surfer
By: "benski"
Funny shit Benski, that looks like our old mate BrianWu.....
I did wonder what he looked like pete.
for green ferret
Like surfing is a sport - like we have produced many world champions and are proud of it. Where did those world champs come from - they come from the club associations through out Aus and all those organised competitions - with clubs - between clubs - local sponsored comps and higher & higher levels of competition - so is it a sport - this is a slam dunk.
Can we just move the perception a little bit here?
You say we are PROUD of the world champion surfers.
That is a over generalisation.
I am not proud of them in the slightest.
They are part of the problem.
contests produce winners.
winners produced marketing.
marketing makes crowds.
take away the contests, no winners, no marketing, no crowds.
GET IT?!
dunno malibu. surfing takes dedication and whilst marketing might sell t-shirts i dunno if it makes that many people actually go out and surf. the main reason people will take it up is cause they live near the beach and have family or friends that surf and get them into it.
people that do it on a whim will go out not be able to stand up and rip like they thought and instantly be over it.
if you look at a lot of surfers as you would see in this column many resent the marketing and it's not the reason they surf in the slightest.
i had a friend that watched that braboys movie and wanted to go surfing after it, so i said ok lets go. after 10 minutes of paddling in circles he went in and that was the first and last time he surfed.
hey 1963-malibu is that your birthday or the age of your board? man you need a holiday. quit your job, sell your house, buy a caravan and check out australia. its full of empty waves. or surf that little bank down the beach you talk about! ive been surfing for over 30 years and i live in the country but i love going to the goldy, always find an uncrowded little peak somewhere and even jag a few on the points. if i get frustrated i just smile and think how lucky i am to be a surfer!
Surfing is a sport, but for the majority of people actively surfing, their ego drives them more than their love of the activity. If you can go out and enjoy a wave just for fun and for communion with the sea, then you will likely have no interest in contests, brands, board fashions, competence or aggressiveness.
I try to surf around people who are just out there to have fun, and not to bolster their ego or bank account. Corporate glamour campaigns intend one thing and one thing only- more sales, therefore more participants and more competition to massage the egos of the needy and greedy.
Unfortunately, we live in a world with unbridled population growth and the corporations see this as an opportunity to exploit for their bottom line. There is no way to stop the fungus from spreading. All you can do is surf on the edge of it and not get swallowed up by it.
I long for the 60's, but wtf, that was 50 years ago, so give it up old man, and make every effort to let your dick drag through the water as many days of the week as you can regardless of the wave quality.
ive been surfing for over 30 years and i live in the country but i love going to the goldy
By: "yorkessurfer"
Surely not :p
If I were living over at Yorkes, the last place I would be wanting to go is the Goldy!
fair enough but if you live out there a holiday is somewhere thats different to where you live. i love the warm water, variety of places to eat, cheap surfboards, fun beachbreaks. more perve action etc. oh and i love going home at the end of my trip!
^^Yeah I can understand that. I guess sometimes you would be looking for a little more action and girls than the ones passing through on road trips. Also the warmer water is a big plus!
"benski" wrote:jaffa, to answer your question... this is a surfer
By: "pete_79"
Funny shit Benski, that looks like our old mate BrianWu.....
Straight off Wutube
fair enough but if you live out there a holiday is somewhere thats different to where you live. i love the warm water, variety of places to eat, cheap surfboards, fun beachbreaks. more perve action etc. oh and i love going home at the end of my trip!
By: "yorkessurfer"
Could be true after looking at salmon holes or baby lizards,all good, then white pointers with the cold water shrivellies on gonads, a holiday would be crowds, warm water and pink pointers and Cane Toad libido.
Difference, so true.
Surfings like a root, make money out of it and you're prostitute.
Too simplistic 1963.
Without a single contest in the world there would still be movies, magazines and marketing.
A surf industry etc etc.
Hard to think of a single human endeavour where competition doesn't enter into it : I think that might be what evolutionary biologists refer to as human nature. IE it's hard wired into us that we will compete for scarce resources, mates etc etc.
Mostly, crowds now are a function of proximity to major population centres.
If you're serious about escaping crowds it's remarkably easy to get away from people.
If your anywhere near SEQLD or Sydney and are complaining about crowds then you're dealing in futility.
i don't think the sponsors are doing much new but i think the media has changed recently. look at sites like this one or coastalwatch - they probably do contribute to crowds on good days.
something i have noticed over the past couple of years is that you used to watch surf flicks on tv and all it would be is surfers ripping exotic waves, and that's what i want to watch - which probably only appeals to surfers. now you have shows like a lot of the ones on foxtel where 75% of the show is some surfer talking shit about surfing and how great it is and how great they are, trying to glorify surfing and themselves - that's shit.
Maybe the like minded majority against regulation and commercialisation of surfing need to form some loosely organised body to counter the effects of SA and quickrippabong.Maybe a forum like this is all you need. Free membership for a contrabution of your time and skills.ie you may have
Time to talk and spread the message to your buddies
organisational skills ie boycotts
printing skills ie bumper stickers and posters
Ideas
computer skills ie maybe a website
promo skills ie compiling list of alternate supplyers of surf goods
I,ve heard alot of whinging on this topic ,some of it my own. Maybe it,s time to get off our arse,s
Anyone else got a suggestion?
I understand where your coming from pablo but its hard to promote anti-promotion. Maybe it all started to go to shit when we lost our anti-establishment status. Dole bludging, dope smoking surfy bums-no parent wanted their kid to be one! Then one day someone started working toward an image makeover. It was the beginning of the end of surfing being an underground sport/lifestyle/whatever. Shit even deputyPM Wayne Swan and wannabe PM Abbott are life long surfers. Mainstream? You bet! And yes that does suck!
I can't believe this topic has dragged on for so long, seriously do people care this much about image? Surfing is what you make it, if you don't want the crowds, get up early, explore other breaks, shit you might even recapture this soul surfer image you are complaining is being exploited by the corporations.
I enjoy surf contests, they are a great way to see how the world's best do there thing, I gladly enjoy giving up one of my local breaks for a week in return for a few quiet beers with the lads watching the greats attack waves in ways I would only imagine. Sure there are great local surfers there daily, but I'm sure even they get inspired seeing impossible sections being made almost effortlessly and snaps which would send us falling down the face without divine intervention.
Blaming the corporations, governing bodies or contests is a weak excuse bordering on raising the white flag, just deal with surfing being popular, enjoy the waves and get creative.
out.
Its a hot topic bob and im glad to hear your views. I personally would want the pro- circus coming to my town. About 10 years ago we had the option of turning our yearly surf competition into a WQS event. the marjority of competitors didnt want it. I wonder how the area i live would have coped with the exposure and the hordes of wannabe heros that would have turned up "training" for the big event. no doubt telling us to fuck off because its their job. You can have it bob and you sound like your past your prime- no offence:)
I was never in my prime man, but way to pass judgement non the less.
Not trying to hang shit on ya mate. im past my prime too. i just want surfing in my area not to change and become like margret river, bells or the superbank. the young surfers down my way still have a pure surfing experience. i like watching surf comps on TV or reading about them in a surf mag. if thats selfish....well guess what? surfing is a selfish sport!
its way too good and unique to call a sport but I guess the pro surfing fits the category better than free surfing, to me its more of a cretaive and almost spiritual recreation activity...
Note to Bob and Yorkes: You can be in your prime for the age you are now!!!
FFS I'm 61, there are still people who IMO I surf better than and there are hordes more who surf better than me. Always has been that way!
I have my fair place in the line up, but I am beyond the commercial push and have been since the days of the Tracks house at Whale beach!
"I stand firm in believing the only way to turn this ship around is along the lines of getting back to surfers being shitheads, drug smoking, unemployable social fuck ups. "
What and who organise into a bunch of computer nerds fighting against the death star?
Meanwhile, you post from a computer (maybe in an office cubicle) on a surfing website ?
Are we supposed to take this seriously?
If you want to be an unemployable shitehead then head out to the desert and go for it....plenty of uncrowded waves out there.
Yawn..mmm coffee.
Guys, I dont know why you are arguing, it is past the point of repair. Surfing has been turned into a trend by some clever marketing by quickrippabong trying to make the lifestyle look cool, this marketing works on a few levels, it has made people take up surfing who like the look or the image and it has worked on another lvel of people wh do not surf and have no intention of surfing but like the look. If you do not agree with me then pick a country town which is inland and google the name of the town, then the word 'surf shop', I did "Wagga Wagga Surf Shop" and hey presto Myami Surf & Street Wear came up. If it is not trendy or percieved as a cool image to have, then why the fuck have we got surf shops nowhere near the surf.
The way I see it and if you do not like the crowds you have three options:
1. Deal with the hordes
2. Pack the camping gear into the 4WD and go to a surf spot far far away.
3. Or find yourself something different to do.
I think that we have ourselves to blame, Quickrippabong have purely seen the opportunity and marketed it accordingly. I try and not buy the over priced crap from quickrippabong or any other of the millions of other companies that they own, but it is really difficult not to when they have such a strangle hold on the industry.
They are such rip off merchants, why would anyone buy boardies and pay over $100, WTF they are a pair of shorts for god sake.
Yeah, maybe it is to late ! I've seen some changes in 40yrs of surfing that would make a lesser man cry. I,ve seen paradises lost by the dozen, like Indo and the N Coast. Does,nt mean I have to get over it. But I do suggest that some of you exersise your crysal balls and look into the future based on the last 4 decades and tell me that its pretty.
Your all gonna run out of places to hide quicker than you think, and if you think that your gonna be saved by the fact that surfing is difficult, then think again cause thats why man invented the boogeyboard. At some stage your gonna wish that at least you'd tryed
I think if surfing was going to become mainstream (not saying that it already isnt) but more people will give surfing a go. And by that I mean alot of kooks just going surfing for a one off I personally don't think that the crowds are going to increase that significantly for a while.
Peace out
It is never too late.
i surf narra on the gold coast and they put in an artificial reef that improves the surf. There was alot of hype about it being one of a kind. Rumors go around that they may put them in throughout the surfers paradise stretch. Perhaps with more surfers crowding the waves this will force it to become a reality one day.
OK, Pablo and 1963M.......just how exactly do you propose we stop or slow down the amount of people surfing in a democratic, free market country like Australia.
My sympathies are with you : if you have a plan, then lets hear it.
Otherwise, I reckon we should stop whinging, get off the friggin computer and go surfing.
I surfed a North Coast poinbreak solo yesterday arvo and had a friggin ball.
Surfing is still amazing, even in 2010.
This is a silly thread isnt it?
Who really cares whether it's mainstream, a big secret or reserved for Hawaiian Royalty??
I like others surf because it's fun, sure, uncrowded good waves are more fun than crowded ones but hey I live in the Gold Coast. Don't like crowds, don't surf Snapper.
Whatever way you slice it surfing is more mainstream now than it was. It's not Golf or Tennis though. It is still special, I had great waves this morning. Stay fit and healthy, crowds are not a problem if you can out-paddle them.
Other than that move somewhere cold, with big waves and less hospitable with big sharks. That seems to sort out the posers.
Surfing is fun though, remember?
Ok ,What to do. make a format for some flyers based on what we have well and truly discussed in this thread, sure you don.t need me to repeat it all. Then regional beleivers recruit local cadre.s to place a flyer on every car windscreen at every surf break next time it,s pumping. Disaster may be inevitable but harm mitagation is possible. I,d be happy to take on the Tweed Coast.
Actually I do need you to repeat it.
So, let me get this straight.
Your saying that by putting flyers on car windscreens we are going to reduce the number of people who take up surfing?
Have I got you straight there.
So just to humour me, what exactly would you put on the flyer....
Something like : "Hey, fuck off, me and my mates are sick of crowds and we want you stop surfing".
Or would it be more philosphical : "You are all cogs in a giant commercial machine and the only way to bring meaning into your life is to stop surfing immediately."
Ok so I've just read the interview with the CEO of Surfing Australia that's been posted at coastalwatch. This comment "I’d like to think that we’d be considered a mainstream sport." is possibly the most controversial. And the dude asking questions makes the point that it won't be popular. I'm interested in what others think.
I certainly don't want it to become any more mainstream than it already is but that's just because I don't want more crowds. Who does? While I do see the advantages of surf schools for groms cos I'm sick of all those bastards snaking out in the water (was particularly bad this morning), I'd rather it just be left alone without this big brother type management of surfing.
But what do you reckon? Does anyone care? Or is it a good idea and I just can't see past increased numbers in the water.