Quick question: does anyone know who the current world amateur surfing champions are? I’m guessing no, even though one of them is an Aussie. What about the world amateur longboard champs?
Why don’t we know or even care about any of these champions?
If there's one thing you can count on in modern surfing, it's this: when big waves break the real turbulence hits, not at the moment of impact, but a few days afterward when the media steps into the fray.
Wildcards are a curious anomaly, their existence is partly to appease local surfing communities and partly a value add for the company ponying up the prizemoney.
Which is all well and good till they interfere with world title campaigns.
Obamacare will lead to less crowded surf...maybe.
In news that will delight grizzled surf purists the world over, the United States budget debacle may shutdown weather prediction services, including every automated surf forecast that relies on them.
It is hard to put a date on exactly when surfing allowed itself to become a milk cow for the entrepreneurial class. At some point the balance between the power of the corporations and the power of the surfing communities from which they sprang changed.
When Curren surfed 12 foot waves on a bizarre 5'7" board it sent metaphorical shockwaves around the world. In the recent Surfline feature, author Marcus Sanders, called it 'The Quiet Revolution' attributing the session to the subsequent resurgence of fish surfboards and a wholesale reduction in board length.
Over the last eleven and a half years, Swellnet has relied almost exclusively on advertising to remain a free service. Ads are nothing new on Swellnet. Recently however, we ran a sponsorship of our Wave Of The Day photo which met with strong criticism.
Less than eighteen months after leaving Billabong with a $2.5 million termination payout, former CEO Derek O'Neill is assisting in the creation of a rival brand to his former employer.
I have believed for a long time that surfing has been oversold. By this I mean that the thrills, benefits and general attractions have been exaggerated.
In the wake of the Fukushima nuclear disaster a modern version of Chinese whispers has emerged, and it's been created and perpetuated by internet journalism. It's presence highlighting the flaws and limitations of the medium.
Quiksilver recently opened its first store in Myanmar and it chose the location well. Situated in Yangon on the east side of Inya Road, a prosperous upmarket neighbourhood. The United States and German embassies are nearby, as is the University of Foreign Languages. Into this auspicious environment the Mountain and the Wave have made their latest foray.
Competitive surfing has a chequered history when it comes to child prodigies. For every teenage sensation that successfully made the leap to a professional career there are hundreds who fell by the wayside. Swellnet speaks to Steve Clements, father of Kobi, who at just 8-years-old is the latest - and perhaps the youngest - surfer to have the spotlight fall his way.
