by The Editors on December 9, 2013
It didn’t take long after Burton Snowboards announced their designs for the 2014 Olympic snowboard uniforms for the company to be forced into responding to stories about how the uniforms were “not made in the United States of America,” according to a story on Fox News. The jackets are apparently made in Japan and here’s the rest:
“The fabric of the competition fleece was woven in Italy, and the technical and waterproof corduroy pant fabric was developed in Taiwan and sewn in Vietnam,” the [Burton] statement continued. “Next, we turned to our longstanding, trusted vendors in China to produce several of the accessories.”
Burton was quick to point out that most of the snowboards ridden by the Burton athletes in the 2013 Sochi Olympics will be handmade in Burlington, Vermont. So if you think you’re going to be riding the same board Shaun White rides in the Olympics, think again. The one you ride will likely be made by one of Burton’s “longstanding, trusted vendors” offshore. Not that this should surprise anyone. . . at all.
[Link: Fox News]
by The Editors on December 9, 2013
The finished films always seem to make snowboarding look smoother and easier than it really is. Here are a few reminders from Kalle Ohlson, Sami Luhtanen and the Pirate TV crew. Just watching it hurts.
by The Editors on December 9, 2013
Harper wrote lyrics to “Pleasure And Pain” on Christian Hosoi’s board, and Hawk had members of The Clash write lyrics from “London Calling” on his. Photo by Jody Morris.
On December 5, 2013 Ben Harper and Tony Hawk kicked off the second annual Boards + Bands auction to benefit at-risk youth from the Clive Davis Theater at The Grammy Museum in Los Angeles, California.
The Boards + Bands initiative brings together the worlds of skateboarding and music to benefit the work of the Tony Hawk Foundation, which helps bring high quality public skateparks to underprivileged children in low-income communities. The chosen recording artists have hand-written the lyrics on one-of-a-kind skateboards from each skater. . . . “The second annual boards and bands has arrived!” said Harper. “I couldn’t be more proud of the work we’ve done at the Tony Hawk Foundation—it is an honor to serve as a member of the Board. Skatepark building is community building, so please help us spread the word about this year’s auction. Thank you!”
Musician and skater match-ups include some interesting combinations like Sir Elton John and Bernie Taupin “Candle In The Wind” on a Chris Cole deck; Daft Punk “Technologic” on Aaron ”Jaws” Homoki’s board; and Panda Bear “You Can Count On Me” with Andrew Reynolds. Last year the boards got pretty expensive but just click on www.BoardsAndBands.org and throw in your bid, or follow the jump for the official word from The Tony Hawk Foundation. [click to continue…]
by The Editors on December 8, 2013
The Billabong Pipe Masters in Memory of Andy Irons kicked off today (December 8, 2013) in firing six to eight foot surf that faded over the course of the day, but never stopped delivering barrels. Brazilian Gabriel Medina put down the highest score of the day (18.67) and landed one of the biggest airs ever done at Pipeline on his way to blazing Bruce Irons.
“I got a little bit lucky,” Medina said. “I got three really good barrels and did the air at the end. I was watching the guys always getting big scores at backdoor and had them in my mind. Somehow, I found those lefts and that was such a fun heat. I’ve always watched Bruce (Irons) and I really respect him. To be surfing with him is a dream come true.”
The top seeds jump into the action tomorrow in round three. For the official word from the ASP including complete results, follow the jump.
[click to continue…]
by The Editors on December 8, 2013
by The Editors on December 6, 2013
You knew it was bound to happen sooner or later, but Riley Hawk (yes, that one) has officially gone pro on his birthday no less, with everyone at his house to surprise him. And yes, he looked completely surprised an overwhelmed. “Happy Birthday,it’s your pro model”, Riley. Oh, and it’s a little bit late, but here’s your “Year’s Best Am” award from The Skateboard Mag. Welcome to the world of pro skater real life.
by The Editors on December 6, 2013
The most glamorous night of action sports award showing goes down tonight live from the North Shore of Oahu as Surfer Magazine presents the 2013 Surfer Poll Awards. Here’s what Surfer has to say for themselves:
The night of the 6th, we’ll honor the Top Ten men and Top Five women as voted by the readers of SURFER Magazine, and we’ll be presenting awards for Best Barrel, Worst Wipeout, Heavy Water (our award for excellence/craziness in big-wave charging), Best Performance, Best Cinematography, Best Short (for films under 20 minutes), and the big one, Movie of the Year.
The live show rolls out on Surferpoll.com (and via Oceanic Time Warner Cable in Hawaii) at 7 pm HST, 9 pm PST and midnight on the East Coast. For more info, click the link.
[Link: Surfer Poll]
by The Editors on December 5, 2013
While filming for snowboard movies things don’t always go right. Here are a couple wrong moments from the Pirate TV Crew. Pow, pow, pow. . .
by The Editors on December 4, 2013
The US Snowboarding Team will be representing the United States of America in Sochi, Russia this year dressed like stylish Appalachian hobos (a.k.a. “heirloom hippy”) thanks to Burton Snowboard’s new Team Uniforms designs. How to make an American quilt?
The uniforms are a fitting tribute to hard times in the old USA, and to heritage and the resilience of the family, and of America itself. Here, we’ll let Danny Davis explain it. Or, you can follow the jump for the official word from Burton. [click to continue…]
by The Editors on December 3, 2013
When the Boston Globe wants to do a story on snowboarding it apparently heads directly to the local ski shop and talks to some skiers to get the latest news. They spoke to Adam Sanchez and his boss Mike Murphy (pictured right) at Sportworks in Duxbury about just what happened to that old white-hot sport of snowboarding.
“I snowboarded for four seasons,” said Sanchez. “The skis then were pretty traditional, and the technology was not advancing. But the past couple of years, the new designs have made skiing much easier, especially in powder and the woods. So I went back into skiing.”
Even the researchers are telling tales of woe. RRC Associates director of operations Nate Fristoe, who presented some numbers to the National Ski Area Association reportedly says snowboarding has been falling off for years even though some used to claim “snowboarding saved the ski industry” (we wrote that line).
“Snowboarding lost some of its mojo around 2005 and 2006, and we’ve been running on fumes since then. It’s like any kind of trend — full of all sorts of energy until it isn’t.”
Well, now that all the snowboard tourists are finally packing it up it looks like there will be more snow for us. We never really like them anyway. Yay skiing!
[Link: Boston Globe via Bobstonite]
