by The Editors on March 11, 2009
Snowboarder Caleb Szajner, 21, of Lake Elmo, Minnesota died from injuries he received after landing on his head while attempting an what is being reported as a “backflip” at Wisoconsin’s Trollhaugen Ski Area, according to a story in the Stillwater Courier.
Szajner was transported to St. Croix Falls Hospital briefly and was airlifted later to Regions Hospital in St. Paul. On Tuesday afternoon, he was removed from life support and his organs were donated for transplantation.
Our thoughts are will Szainjer’s family and friends.
[Link: Stillwater Courier and Fox 9 News]
by The Editors on March 11, 2009
by The Editors on March 11, 2009
We don’t have a Wii and we aren’t planning on getting one anytime soon, but if you do, then the new We Ski and Snowboard might be a good addition to the game collection as it now includes snowboarding, according to a review on Blend Games.
We Ski and Snowboard is a really great way to use that balance board that’s been collecting dust since you realized that Wii Fit isn’t a magic lose-weight machine. It’s a very solid game that has a one-of-a-kind mission structure for a sport game. . . If you’re looking for something low-stress to play on your Wii that’s not a steaming pile of crap like 90% of the games currently being released, We Ski and Snowboard is your best bet.
It’s too bad about the skiing, though.
[Link: Blendgames]
by The Editors on March 11, 2009
Tahoe snowboarder Nick Gorman, 27, recounts his tale of getting stuck in snow up to his neck at Heavenly Resort on March 4, 2009 floundering around for hours thinking he was going to die only to be rescued by a Navy Helicopter four hours later in a story in the Tahoe Daily Tribune.
Tired and unable to sustain any amount of ride, he looked around and saw nothing but trees and snow. His breathing became heavy. Panic overcame him. “I’m looking at two miles from the bottom, and every time I move I’m getting deeper and deeper into trouble,” he said. Snow flowed like sand down his parka, into his gloves and through his pants. One foot of powder is something he could handle easily, he said. But four feet of it and going nowhere, Gorman knew he was in trouble. . . . Beginning to hyperventilate and his clothes soaking wet, he took off his gloves and went for his cell phone. His hands numb, he had trouble dialing 911. He began sucking on his fingers to get some feeling back and was able to complete the dial.
The finger sucking was apparently the only thing that worked for Gorman that day. By 6 PM a Navy helicopter found and lifted him to safety. Gorman refused medical treatment in Carson City because he didn’t have insurance and spent the night in a local motel. The next day Gorman returned to his car only to find it had been towed and ticketed costing him $600.
As much as we’d like to think this could happen to anyone, somehow we think Nick Gorman has a special gift. . . or something.
[Link: Tahoe Daily Tribune]
by The Editors on March 11, 2009
It’s a classic California skateboard success story: kid from Brighton, England moves to San Diego at 18 and freestyles his way into the position of skateboard industry titan. It’s the Don Brown true skateboarding story as told by Red Bull in their Red Bulletin.
“I was living in the moment,” he recalls. “I remember going to a contest in Huntington Beach one day, looking in my wallet and realising I only had a dollar to my name.” So, Brown took a warehouse job with Vision Skateboarding. After winning three consecutive amateur contests, Vision became his sponsor, eventually giving him what no other English skater before him had managed – a professional board model named after him.
That was only the beginning. In the early 90s Don joined Pierre Senizergues at Etnies and the skateboard footwear world was never the same again. Then again, neither was any industry event that Don attended, but we’ll keep those stories to ourselves.
[Link: Red Bulletin]
by The Editors on March 11, 2009
Quiksilver review their Q1 financials today, March 11, 2009 in a conference call that will be broadcast live over the Internet at 1:30 Pacific Time. The broadcast will be hosted at www.quiksilverinc.com and at www.viavid.net.
This maybe one of those calls we won’t want to miss.
[Link: MarketWatch]
by The Editors on March 10, 2009
by The Editors on March 10, 2009
According to a Form 8-K filing today with the SEC, Quiksilver’s big Euro lender paying has been pushed off until June 30, 2009.
On March 9, 2009, a French subsidiary of the Company, Pilot S.A.S. (“Pilot”), entered into an amendment to its € 55,000,000 Line of Credit Agreement (the “LC Agreement”) with Societe Generale, BNP Paribas and Credit Lyonnais (collectively, the “Banks”) pursuant to which the Banks extended the LC Agreement from March 14, 2009 to June 30, 2009. This amendment will become effective March 13, 2009, subject to the satisfaction of certain closing conditions. The Company intends to conclude either a strategic or refinancing transaction within the period covered by this extension, in which case, the indebtedness subject to the LC Agreement would either be refinanced or repaid.
Interestingly, the lender has increased the interest on the loan to EURIBOR plus 2.8% from EURIBOR plus 1.6 and tacks on a .5% administration fee and “requires a mandatory prepayment of the LC Agreement upon the occurrence of certain events (e.g., sale of the Company’s Quiksilver, Roxy or DC Shoes trademarks or businesses, termination of the Company’s French tax consolidation, or the default under or cancellation of certain other debt arrangements).”
What does this all mean? Well, it looks like the lenders want to get paid straight away if Quiksilver decided to sell something. Maybe tomorrow’s conference call will help sort things out.
[Link: Hoovers.com via Transworld Business]
by The Editors on March 10, 2009
by The Editors on March 10, 2009
When Joel Parkinson and Mick Fanning face off in the semi-finals of the Quiksilver Pro later today it will be a battle between to Coolangatta Kids, according to a story on Goldcoast.com.au.
Me and Joel have been great friends since we were little kids and it is going to be a tough heat,” said Fanning. “We always push each other. Sometimes it is pretty, sometimes it is ugly. “I am lucky that I have got my best friends on tour but it is unlucky that we are going for the same thing.”
But they’re not alone. Taj Burrow and Adriano de Souza are also battling for the finals. Either way, it’s going to be a great day to sit in front of the computer and watch surfers fight some pretty ugly waves on the Goldie.
[Link: Goldcoast.com.au]
