by The Editors on December 6, 2009
About two minutes into the final of the O’Neill World Cup of Surfing at Sunset 39-year-old Sunny Garcia dropped in on an okay wave, made a couple solid turns, and then ducked perfectly into a racing right barrel. He scored a 9.7 and took the lead for the 30 minutes of the 35 minute heat.
Mick Fanning got some waves, Joel Parkinson grabbed a couple, and Dusty Payne struggled as the sets backed off. Then with two minutes left Parko caught a ripper and snatched the win from Sunny. A collective old-guy sigh was heard around the world. We’d already started writing headlines about how Sunny had come in and dominated the two best surfers in the world. It would have been a great story. But obviously, it was not to be.
“It feels good, but I’m still bummed that I lost,” Garcia said. “I came this far and I wanted to win. I started off with a 9.4 and to need a three at the end of the heat and not get it was a little frustrating. Hopefully, they’ll run the Eddie tomorrow, I’ll go get some big waves and wash out this loss and get ready for Pipe.”
Follow the jump for the press release.
[click to continue…]
by The Editors on December 4, 2009
In a meeting with employees yesterday (December 3, 2009) in the offices of DC Shoes in Vista, California the parent company Quiksilver announced that they are moving the entire DC Shoe business to Huntington Beach, California according to sources familiar with company. The move will reportedly happen in the next six months.
This news has many San Diego County employees wondering how or if they’re going to be able to make the hour and a half commute once the move is complete. And to think, the new vert ramp that Colin McKay and the boys designed is only weeks away from being complete.
We’re sure there will be more to this stories. We’ll keep our ear to the grind and let you know.
by The Editors on December 4, 2009
Wonder how Quiksilver shareholders (and former employees) feel about this little line from a Globe and Mail story on how Rossignol has pulled their company back from the brink of bankruptcy.
For a company that has shed 20 per cent of its work force and narrowly escaped bankruptcy, opening a glitzy new headquarters might look like corporate vanity. . . Not so for Skis Rossignol SA, says new chief executive officer Bruno Cercley, who hopes the glass-fronted new building will motivate staff as the 100-year old company tries to turn the page on recession by focusing on core ski brands.
Guess that page turning thing is easier to do after letting another company take the fall for you. . .
[Link: The Globe and Mail]
by The Editors on December 4, 2009
When a Japanese company (Phoenix’s X-Nix) purchased the rights to dress the 1998 United States Olympic Snowboard Team Burton Snowboards thought that the whole idea of a “uniform” for snowboarders was a terrible idea. In fact, they said that it went against everything that snowboarding stood for.
Now that Burton is been the official snowboard team supplier for a second Olympics things are a quite different, according to a story in the New York Times.
“Board sports, for the most part, are about expressing individuality — that’s what makes them cool,” said Greg Dacyshyn, the company’s creative director. “So the whole uniform thing, you know, it’s a sensitive subject.” . . . “The inspiration was sort of that classic Americana look: the plaid blazer and old jeans,” Dacyshyn said. “Yeah, it’s a uniform, but it’s also an anti-uniform at the same time.”
But more importantly, the uniforms now sport a couple Burton logos. One thing is for sure: these uniforms are going to look real smooth behind gold medals.
[Link: New York Times]
by The Editors on December 3, 2009
The Euro snowboard season kicks off this weekend in Innsbruck with the Billabong Air & Style. Tune in December 5, 2009 for live coverage form Bergisel Stadium in Innsbruck, Austria on Freecaster.tv. Should be a rocking good show with The Hives and K.I.Z. and Peetu Piiroinen and Travis Rice kicking down some stadium rock snowboarding.
[Link: Billabong Air & Style and Freecaster.tv]
by The Editors on December 3, 2009
It appears the cool kids stay cool for ever. Take former shred star Ali Goulet for instance. Thanks to a blown ACL in 2001 he faded away from snowboarding just when it was getting blown out. So what’s the coolest thing going right now? Some would argue it’s Cyclocross. And guess who is dominating the 35+ US Gran Prix of Cyclocross series? According to a story in Velonews it’s, Ali Goulet.
Not only is leading the series, but he is dominating it with four wins and two podium finishes. He also won his first cyclocross state championship in Utah this year, beating Cannondale-Monavie’s Bart Gillespie. . . “When I turned 35 I wanted to race the USGP and do my best to try to win it over all. I wanted to have one year to try it and if it didn’t work out, oh well,” he said. “Then I need to get back to taking care of the kid — trying not to be so selfish.”
Looks like plan A is going quite well for Goulet. How cool is that?
[Link: Velonews via South Of The North]
by The Editors on December 3, 2009
A graphic from Billabong’s “comrade” T-shirt series is stirring up some trouble with a group of Australian Croats, according to a story on Javno.com.
The front of the disputed T-shirt contains emblem that combines the five-pointed star with what remarkably resembles the Croatian coat of arms. . . Behind the five-pointed star is a grain wreath that resembles the iconography which, in Croatia, is commonly associated with the communist Yugoslavia. Behind a checkered coat of arms is an eagle wing, which after a brief observation, may be correlated with the eagle on the Serbian coat of arms.
Natalie Drazic a spokeswoman for the Sydney’s Croatian Youth organization reportedly contacted Billabong but was not happy with the response she got from the company. “Natalie Drazic and the SCY management urged all Croats to boycott products made by the Billabong Company until further notice.”
A little controversy never seems to hurt T-shirt sales.
[Link: Javno.com]
by The Editors on December 3, 2009
Why pay full retail for snowboard gear this Christmas when (for those in Southern California) you can just shop a blowout warehouse sale and get your favorite (“non 09-10, old samples and old inventory”) gear and rock bottom gotta-go prices. Better yet, maybe a couple of them will get together and you can get all your holiday shopping done at once.
686, Modern Amusement, and Paul Frank Industries are throwing a huge party/sale this Friday and Saturday December 4-5, 2009 in Irvine, California. The sale also features a taco cart, DJ and “free giveaways.”
Warehouse Blowout Sale, 20 Goodyear, Irvine, CA 92618
by The Editors on December 2, 2009
Yep, the locals in Seaside, Oregon are still there. They’re still hard and tough. And they still don’t want anyone else to surf their frozen cold waves. They’ll get no grief from us. But that’s not the case with the local KGW.com news crew.
When KGW photographers and a reporter arrived to the Cove of Seaside, two surfers warned them not to take their cameras out to the Point and take pictures. . . They encountered several surfers –some polite, others irate. . . One surfer stood in front of the photographer’s camera and blocked the lens with his hands. . . “We don’t like cameras taking pictures here,” the man said.
We wouldn’t want thousands of people flocking in for ice-cream headaches either.
[Link: KGW.com]
by The Editors on December 2, 2009
Same store states at core mall retailer Zumiez fell 8.5 in November, according to a story on Reuters.
Analysts on average expected same-store sales at the retailer to fall 8.2 percent, according to Thomson Reuters I/B/E/S. . . For the four-week period ended Nov. 28, total net sales fell 1.8 percent to $32 million.
The stock closed up 20 cents today at $11.25.
[Link: Reuters]
