by The Editors on January 22, 2008
According to a report issued by the UK’s Debenhams Travel Insurance snowboarders are nearly twice and likely to be injured as skiers.
Snowboarding is a relatively new sport – but now we are seeing just how hazardous it could be, with 34 per cent of snowboarders – compared to 17 per cent of skiers – likely to sustain an injury from their sport,” said Diane Jackson, spokesperson for Debenhams Travel Insurance, which has carried out the research.
She also was sure to remind everyone how important travel insurance is. Hmmm, wonder how “official” this “research” was?
[Link: Travelbite.co.uk]
by The Editors on January 21, 2008
Companies who want to extend their eco-cred are hunting far and wide for people who can help them look green even when they aren’t. Enter Eric Ritz. His company Global Inheritance has helped Fuel TV with their Swerve Festival and more impressively, helped the X Games squeeze onto the eco-marketing bandwagon. ESPN’s Chris Stiepock calls him a “solution-based realist.”
In fact, what Ritz says sets him apart is that he and his “Generation Y audience don’t see big business as the enemy.” Convenient, huh? And so commercial.
[Link: LA Times]
by The Editors on January 21, 2008
James McLean, a 33-year-old podiatrist from Leawood, Kansas, apparently died on his snowboard after he “went airborne” then landed on the top of his head while riding in the Park Lake Terrain park on January 20, 2008 at Breckenridge, Colorado.
Breckenridge Ski Patrol got the call around 2 p.m. and took McLean to the Breckenridge Medical Center where he was pronounced dead. The coroner said he died from a fractured neck. McLean was wearing a helmet at the time of the accident, police spokesman Nick DeFord said.
[Link: The Denver Channel]
by The Editors on January 20, 2008
The Sugarloaf trees claim a life on Saturday, January 19, 2008:
A 19-year-old Colby College freshman was killed Saturday morning in a snowboarding accident at Sugarloaf in Carrabassett Valley. . . . Andrew M. Peff of Philadelphia was snowboarding with friends on the expert-level Haulback Trail around 11 a.m. when he went off the trail and into the woods. He died on the mountain, a Sugarloaf security and police supervisor said.
[Link: Sun Journal]
by The Editors on January 18, 2008
The athletes are probably saying it’s about time, but ESPN has decided to reward the athletes with a little more than nation TV exposure this year as they up the prize purse to $1 million, according to a story in the Aspen Times.
The overall prize purse is up 38 percent from last year’s, and the total purse for all X Games competitions to be held in 2008 exceeds $3 million. This year, X Games events will be held in Aspen, Shanghai, Los Angeles, Mexico City, Dubai and two other international markets yet to be announced. . . . “ESPN is committed to ensuring that the best action sports athletes in the world compete on action sports’ grandest stage – the X Games,” said Rick Alessandri, senior vice president and managing director, X Games franchise.
One meeelllioooon dollars, yes. They better get paid.
[Link: Aspen Times]
by The Editors on January 18, 2008
Here is a classic case of conflict of interest: ESPN the Magazine is covering The X Games, a wholly-owned product of Disney/ABC/ESPN as an actual sporting event when, in fact, it is a made-for-TV action sports spectacle.
We’re glad that Gretchen Bleiler can get this kind of coverage (she’s only the fourth woman ever to be featured on the magazine’s cover), and she looks great on the cover, but please, isn’t ESPN doing enough self-promotion for their X Games brand already? Obviously, no one cares about any of this because all the coverage helps move product. Then why aren’t we happy about it? We’ll get back to you on that.
[Link: Center Daily]
by The Editors on January 18, 2008
Volcom is blaming a “weak retail environment” for causing it to lower it’s 2008 financial outlook.
The apparel company now says 10 percent earnings growth and 18 percent revenue growth “are achievable” in 2008. It previously forecast 20 percent growth for profit and sales. . . . Volcom now expects to report fourth-quarter earnings of 29 cents or 30 cents per-share on revenue of $67 million to $68 million. Volcom earlier estimated profit of 30 cents to 32 cents per share and sales of $70 million to $73 million.
[Link: CNNMoney.com]
by The Editors on January 16, 2008
It’s been rumored forever and denied forever, yet strangely today it was officially announced that Volcom, the big, powerful, publicly traded company has purchased tiny, core, eyewear company Electric Visual for $25.5 million in cash. Wooly is happy about it.
Culturally, Electric is a perfect fit for our company,” Woolcott continued. “We’ve known the Electric team for a long time, and we recognize they share the same passion and love for action sports as we do here at Volcom. Our companies are very much on the same wavelength, sharing similarities in product distribution, marketing efforts and a strong commitment to quality and innovation. Everyone here is stoked to welcome Electric into the Volcom family.”
Bruce Beach, who continually denied any such thing likes the idea as well (not surprisingly).
We believe this partnership will enable us to take the Electric brand to the next level,” said Bruce Beach, co-president and chief executive officer of Electric. “We are very excited about working closely with the Volcom team to grow our existing eyewear business and further expand into new product categories. Additionally, this partnership will enable us to grow our retail relationships and to continue to strengthen our operational capabilities.”
And we’re happy because it means we know at least four more millionaires. . . and they’re good people to know.
[Link: BusinessWire]
by The Editors on January 15, 2008
Daniel James Hedlund, 30, of New Zealand died January 9, 2008 in an avalanche at Tignes in the French Alps. Hedlund was living in France and on his day off from his job as chef at the Alpaka Hotel when he got caught in a slide.
He went snowboarding with two friends. He jumped off a small cliff, and was was buried under about 1.5m of snow by an avalanche. . . One of the men he was with tried to dig him out with a shovel, while the other went to get help. . . ski patrol used a heart defibrillator on Mr Hedlund, but could not revive him. . . A doctor was flown to the scene by helicopter but Mr Hedlund died 45 minutes later.
According to police, the group was properly equipped with beacons and shovels.
[Link: New Zealand Herald]
by The Editors on January 14, 2008
Every year Zumiez has big part for all the people who moved more than 100k in product. This year’s party was held at Keystone, Colorado and the winner sold $600k in gear. Her name is Jennifer Huynh. She got buried in prizes handed out by two-thirds of the boarding trifecta: Kelly Slater and Tony Hawk. If only someone at T-Dub could have mentioned what shop she was from. Follow the link for all the photos.
[Link: TransWorld Snowboarding]
