The 2016 VISSLA ISA World Junior Surfing Championship (September 17 – 27, 2016) in São Miguel Island, Azores, Portugal has broken the record for largest number of athletes and countries participating in the event’s 37-year history. Three hundred and seventy surfers hailing from 38 countries have arrived to compete in the Azores, shattering the previous record set at the 2015 VISSLA ISA World Junior Surfing Championship in Oceanside, California, which featured 322 surfers from 36 National Surfing Teams.
On September 14, at Lowers, Jordy Smith squeaked by Joel Parkinson (by .44) to win the 2016 Hurley Pro.
“I’ve had a really good surfboard under my feet this event,” Smith said. “I came into the event with an open mind. I missed it last year when the waves were firing so I just wanted to come in and take it heat-by-heat. I’ve watched Joel [Parkinson] throughout my career and he’s one of my favorite surfers. I’m frothing and I’m over the moon.”
On the women’s side Tyler Wright took out 6-time World Champ Stephanie Gilmore to win her fourth event of the season and extender her lead in the world title race. For the official word from the owners of the event please follow the jump.
We’d like to interrupt the squabbling regarding the Round 3 Heat 7 match up between Gabriel Medina and Tanner Gudauskas at the Hurley Pro that has been boiling nearly nonstop for days now to make an announcement: the surfers, the judges, and the events are the exclusive property of a privately owned entertainment company specializing in event and online streaming whose primary focus is making money for the company’s owners. Everything else is just a ruse. Now, back to your squabbles.
SurfStitch the Australian online surf retailer who was formerly owned (partially) by Billabong (and then took over Billabong’s North American online business including Swell.com) had a pretty rough go in fiscal 2016. According to a story on the Orange County Business Journal, the company (which went public in 2014) lost $116.4 million on $176.9 million in revenue for 2016.
The loss accounts for “strategic review adjustments,” including impairment, administrative, selling and distribution expenses. Its revenue total includes $157.5 million in retail revenue, $16.82 million from Surf Hardware, and $2.55 million from its media properties (Stab Magazine and Magicseaweed.com).
They were reportedly planning on “rebranding” the entire business under the Swell.com name, but things at Swell.com didn’t go much better in 2016 so they’re going to put those changes off for a bit.
Swell in Irvine, which will shrink to 14 employees after 65% staff reduction is complete in October, contributed $18.92 million to retail total. That’s down 12 % from $21.6 million the brand posted in fiscal 2015. Swell’s gross earnings were down 44% to $5.4 million.
Apparently, the kids just aren’t blowing all their money on expensive, branded, logo’d surf togs anymore. What a surprise.
Oh, and if you know anyone who wants to buy San Diego, California’s Surf Hardware International(parent company of FCS Fins), please let SurfStitch know. They bought the company in November 2015 for $16.6 million, but have now decided that it’s not such a good fit.
Hey SoCal, you like watching the big boys play in the smoothest, rampiest, most consistent contest waves in the world? Now is your only real chance to see how a certain privately owned entertainment company specializing in event and online streaming content production does it right in your own backyard, with the Hurley Pro at Trestles. The show begins September 7, 2016 with a window open until September 18, 2016.
With four events remaining on this year’s CT a thrilling three-way title race is emerging between John John Florence (HAW), Matt Wilkinson (AUS) and Gabriel Medina (BRA). Florence and Wilkinson are on the hunt for their first world title while Medina looks to reclaim his 2014 surfing crown. . . Florence will wear the coveted Jeep Leader Jersey heading into the Hurley Pro after taking back-to-back runner-up finishes as the previous two events on the CT in South Africa and Tahiti. Florence, whose best result at Lower Trestles was a second place in 2014, will be looking to improve on last year’s 25th place finish at the event and extend his lead heading into the European leg of the tour. Florence will face Davey Cathels (AUS) and either Brett Simpson (USA) or Tanner Gudauskas (USA) in Round 1.
And remember, if you only watch one round, make it Round 1. That’s the round that everyone is in. Duh! For the official word from that privately owned entertainment company specializing in event and online streaming content production, please follow the jump.
Sebastien Zanella, the dark lord of dark action videos, has produced an inspiration short movie featuring Nixon surfer William Aliotti. The dark movie is titled You Only Tell The Truth In The Dark.
With just a van, a few boards and a camera, William Aliotti and Sebastian Zanella embarked on a 3000km solo surf exploration road trip along the Chilean coastline, travelling across the dusty Atacama desert, ghost towns and fishermen villages from Santiago all the way to Arica. . . The loneliness atmosphere expressed here is a romantic, pastoral attitude which inspires us to leave culture and technology behind, and to rediscover nature through surfing, an exploration beyond social conventions.
And don’t kid yourself, Zanella knows dark. If the name isn’t familiar, he’s the one responsible for the often lauded, always inky Desillusion Magazine.
There must be a ton of money in proposing wave pools, because it seems people are always proposing them and never building them, ever. The latest example is the $25 million park being proposed by Perth, Australia based Wave Park Group in Western Australia, according to WA Today.
“Perth is blessed with a number of idyllic beaches but the surf quality at some of those beaches is often poor, with over-crowding in the line-up also becoming an increasing issue,” said Wave Park Group Executive Andrew Ross. . . “Surfing is enjoyed by millions of Australians for excitement, lifestyle and recognised health benefits and is second only to AFL in terms of participation, so it seems fitting that Tompkins Park, a hugely popular sporting hub, could now include a surfs sports facility.”
The pitch sounds intriguing, doesn’t it? It’s a “Wave Garden” design after all. Let us know when it’s built. Oh, and one more thing, if anyone anywhere has surfed a wave pool that they loved so much they’ve gone back week after week and bought a season pass (not counting Kelly’s central valley compound), please let us know. We’d love to be less bitter on this topic and good info would help.
Kelly Slater remains an inspiration to all middle-aged men. He proved that he’s old, but he can still whoop the best kids in the world at Teahupo’o. In this case the kid was 2 John Florence.
“When I look back that will for sure be one of the best wins I have ever had,” said Slater. “To have John John [Florence] in the Final is a dream for me. It is no secret that I am towards the tail-end of my career. John John and Gabriel [Medina] are on their way up and those guys are just monsters. John John is all of our favorite surfers, so I want to see how many heats I can get with him before I am done and to have him out here where he and Gabriel are the favorites. This is a really special time for me. I am stoked.”
The surf world is still undecided on Slater’s early round”perfect heat,” and while we tend to line up with those who believed his second wave was a 9.49 or so, there is still no doubt that Slater remains the King of Teahupo’o. For the official word from Kelly’s business partners at the surf content generation company, please follow the jump.
Patagonia is making us feel bad about our old wetsuits and we don’t even know why exactly. Apparently, their new Yulex wetsuits are the first suits ever to be made from natural rubber and that is reportedly better for the environment and just as good as neoprene. Here’s why:
. . . because the main polymer is produced in trees instead of factories, using natural rubber reduces the CO2 emitted in wetsuit manufacturing by up to ~80 percent. The FSC certified rubber is blended with a small amount of chlorine-free synthetic rubber for increased ozone and UV resistance, and to meet Patagonia’s rigorous demands for durability and strength. The Yulex process also removes over 99% of impurities, resulting in a nonsensitizing material.
If you’d like to help reduce your own carbon footprint (while rocking a cool new wetsuit) you might be interested in one of Patagonia’s 21 new offerings. For the official word and all the details, please follow the jump. [click to continue…]
Group Y will be celebrating 10 years in action sports and youth culture with a special gathering Wednesday, August 10, 2016 in Huntington Beach, California. The event kicks off at 6:30 PM at SeaLegs At the Beach with food, drinks and a speaking appearance by Ryan Kingman, President of the newly launched Villager Goods coconut water.
“It’s incredible to see how Group Y has grown over the past decade with the support of the sports and entertainment industry, world renowned athletes and creatives, our dedicated marketing partners and the media.” says Mark Sperling, Group Y co-founder. “When we started back in 2006 there was a huge need to create a forum that would allow this community to come together to share ideas and experience that would grow the industry and address the uniqueness of youth culture programs and products. This night will be about sharing stories, creating new ideas and saying thank you.”
We know it seems like the Vans US Open of Surfing just ended yesterday, but it’s time to get back out in the mix. You’ve had enough time to recover, but then who are we to talk. For the official word from Group Y including all the details, please follow the jump.
