ASR Blog

Bob Mignogna on the NSSA breaking away from Surfing America

You may have seen the press release earlier this week stating that the NSSA is no longer a part of Surfing America. This is pretty big news—it was a huge victory when all the different surfing organizations (NSSA, ESA, etc.) agreed to have Surfing America be it’s governing body a few years back, but already, the NSSA is backing out. The system, and how it works, can be pretty confusing, so I asked former Surfing Magazine Publisher Bob Mignogna, who was instrumental in helping create one governing body for amateur surfing, if he could explain what exactly the NSSA pulling out means. His words are below.

Since Surfing America was granted National Governing Body (NGB)  status for the sport in America by the International Surfing Associate three years ago, all of the major regional surf associations (NSSA, ESA, WSA, HASA, TGSA) have been members operating under the Surfing America umbrella.  As a result of unity within the sport’s governing body, a program has been built with a successful, annual USA Championships and, even more importantly, a bona fide official USA Surf Team program.  The surf industry companies and media have been in full support. 

In a board meeting held the latter part of 2007, the decision was made that all surfers competing in the regional association’s programs must become members of Surfing America.  The thinking was to increase awareness of Surfing America with the athletes, and to raise much needed funds for the NGB through a Surfing America member fee for each surfer.   All Surfing America board members supported this decision, except the NSSA, whose leadership chose to not renew it’s membership as an organization in Surfing America.  This decision became effective February 26, 2008.

Surfing America conducts the annual USA Championships and selects, trains and promotes the Official USA Surf Team.  To participate in either, surfers must compete in a rigorous series of events produced by Surfing America’s regional association members. As NSSA will no longer be a Surfing America regional association member, surfers competing in NSSA only events will not be able to compete in the USA Championships or be on the Official USA Surf Team, except for this year, which will be a transition year, as the NSSA’s decision to forgo Surfing America membership was made mid-way through the competition year, so it would be unfair to NSSA surfers to put this policy into effect until the beginning of the next competition year.  That starts the day after the USA Championships ends this summer.

The NSSA’s decision appears to have been made in order to keep their program distinct from the programs run by the member organizations in Surfing America. Some of the hot issues debated were the number of surfers in heats and the use of trained judges.  Surfing America promotes following the format used by the ISA in International competition – four surfer heats, ASP trained judges – but the NSSA balked at both. 

For the surf industry, surfers and their families, this will be a confusing time in the sport as there will now be two governing bodies.  Surfing America, of course, continues as the NGB under the ISA world umbrella, but NSSA is also the “governing body” of their own organization.  It is a near certainty there will be schedule conflicts between NSSA events and those of the Surfing America regionals, yet many surfers will want to compete in both.  It will be a challenge for industry companies to equally support both organizations. Many issues will arise and get in the way of a peaceful relationship between NSSA and Surfing America.

Amph

Has anyone heard of Amph? I hadn’t until I read the release up on Surfer’s Village today. It states, “Amph is a platform from which creativity and progression can develop. From surfers to artists, the Amph Series will encourage experimentation and will provide a stage to showcase the progress of everyone involved.” Amph sponsors four surfers who are part of the Amph Program. What’s the Program you ask? It’s . . . “dedicated to breaking the boundaries of surfing with radical and progressive tricks.” So, from what I can tell, Amph will sponsor surfers whose sole mission is to come up with the surf trick of tomorrow by going on trips and surfing in expression sessions. Sweet deal.

After reading the release, I checked out the site, and it wasn’t until then that I noticed the O’Neill wave tucked into the A of the Amph logo. The O’Neill logo is also seen throughout the site as graffiti (check it out and you’ll see what I mean). I hadn’t heard that O’Neill started a new line, and after asking around, no one that I asked had heard of it either. Interesting that it just popped up. . .

TV to grow skateboarding

In the constant pushing and pulling of the two skateboard camps—1) growing the sport and 2) keeping it close—the semi-recent evolution of skateboarding on TV is either loved or hated. In the new, February ’08 issue of Transworld Business, Sean Mortimer writes a really interesting article titled, "Skate TV", on the subject. As it says in the story’s subhead, “Reaching millions more than endemic media, skateboard shows are impacting and dividing the industry.” Mainly focusing on the MTV shows Jackass, Viva La Bam, Rob and Big and Life of Ryan, the article says that while the shows are good for the companies whose stars are on their roster, those that aren’t affiliated with the celebrity pro think that it’s selling out the sport. So, as sales for Ryan Sheckler’s signature etnies shoe are going through the roof and obvious non skaters are lining up to get Rob Dyrdek’s autograph, skateboarders are asking, is this really good?

As always, it’s great to grow the sport and generate new people wanting to buy your brand’s product, but skateboarding is such a core, tight community, the insiders don’t want it exploited. As etnies Marketing Director Don Brown says in the article, “. . . the shows are intriguing to people because skateboarding is against the grain—it’s a whole other world they don’t understand. Skateboarding is constantly evolving and elusive to the point where you can never really ‘catch it.’ As soon as people do catch up with it then we’re in trouble. It’s up to us as an industry to keep moving and not get caught and not let people emulate who we are and make sure we’re being ourselves.” This is a great point—as long as we’re still one step ahead of the non-endemic, then we’re good. We’ll keep growing sales, building businesses, and creating that next thing that the mainstream has to have. This is the way to grow the sport and not sell out.

The Green Room

For those of you who have never been barreled here’s your chance—in an effort to increase online traffic, Red Bull has given those behind the computer the chance to obtain the ultimate feeling in surfing. How? According to an Adweek article, Redbullsurfing.com “has incorporated video technology, created by Immersive Media, to provide viewers with the feeling that they are a part of the action. The technology uses a special camera that captures 11 separate video streams, which are arranged according to geodesic geometry to create a spherical image intended to provide a 360-degree view.” How sweet is that?

In order to get the content, Red Bull team rider Jamie O’Brien, along with pro surfers Raimana Van Bastolaer and Ian Walsh surfed with the video equipment in order to capture the feeling of surfing. And it’s not just a little “video equipment.” According to the Red Bull Surfing site, it was 25 pounds worth, which the guys strapped on their back and then paddled out to Teahupoo with. So not only do these guys have to contend with Teahupoo’s frightening waves, but they have the equivalent of a toddler hooked to their back as well.

So for those whose barrel experience is nil you will now know what it’s like to get tubed. All without having to move from behind your desk. As Josh Kendrick, Red Bull’s athletic marketing manager says, “We’ve captured a totally new perspective of riding inside the barrel. By taking control of the camera, viewers become participants in the action - not just observers.”

Packing Heat?

I’m on Burton’s newsletter list, so I’m usually stoked to get the email blast—it always pretty funny and usually has interesting updates. But today, the blast went out and I was confused. It’s a shot of Jeremy Jones doing a rail slide and he talks about the shoot the day the photo was taken and what equipment he used. The newsletter goes on to talk about his board preference, as well as the season averages of Denver (where the photo was taken). All good and well, but then in the bottom corner, there’s an “Insider Knowledge” box where Jeremy gives tips on doing rail slides in public places. Now to the confused part—he talks about packing heat and when doing so, razor blades are best. I was pretty shocked, so I’ve copied it here so you can take a look. Am I taking it too literally? Am I not getting the joke?

Danny Jumps

When looking for news on Action Profile’s skate site, I stumbled across a tidbit of info on Danny Way. Looks like he may have his sites set on Vegas once again; fans may remember that in 2006 Danny dropped off from the top of the guitar that’s mounted outside the Hard Rock Hotel and Casino. Well now, he’s upping his own ante and may be seen going down the Luxorand jumping the Sphynx. Though there’s been no official word from him or DC, rumor has it that he was spotted meeting with engineers outside the casino. Make sure to check out the story—it’s worth a read because the author recounts all of Danny’s harrowing jumps, and it sends a chill through your body.

Photo taken from Skate Daily

Gambling on Surfing

I was cruising around the 5ones blog, when I came across an entry on the start of the 2008 WCT. Clicking on it, the author opened up my eyes to something I had never even considered—betting on the tour. Now almost everyone I know participates in Surfer Magazine’s Fantasy Surfer, but actually throwing down real money for a surf contest? I don’t know about that. 5ones says on the site, “U.S. bookmaker BetUs has arrived to be the first and onlyU.S. bookmaker to field for both the 2008 WCT, World title Futures market and this weekend’s Quiksilver Pro on the Gold Coast. Following suit are the South Africans and it’s pretty easy to see why the bookmakers at Black Pearl are also throwing out their own odds for the 2008 WCT.” I checked out BetUs and you can bet from a minimum $5.00 to a maximum of $10,000.00. Unbelievable!

Take a look at SurfingOdds—you can sign up and get email blasts prior to the WCT contest and get the odds of each surfer winning. What will this do to Fantasy Surfer­—it gives players an unfair advantage. I know rookies Jordy Smith and Dane Reynolds are much anticipated, but to try and make a buck off of it? Don’t know about that.

SUPER Idea

Because this press release came out right before ASR, I think it may have flown under the radar a bit. But I wanted to go back and revisit it—it talks about the launch of SUPER surfboards. The creation of pro surfers Clay Marzo, Kolohe Andino and Dion Agius, along with pro skater, Tosh Townend, SUPER surfboards is thinking about surfboard design/manufacturing in a whole new way. In skateboarding, the board is branded after the skater (i.e. Element has the Tosh model) whereas in surfing, the board is modeled after the shaper (i.e. I have a Timmy Patterson 5’9”). But with SUPER, a kid who admires Clay can walk in the shop and just get the Clay model. A little confused? As Dion says, “Each surfer has their own board, art, and dimensions. Now you can go out and buy the Clay Marzo model and throw hacks like Clay or get the Kolohe model if you're a grom. Kids can finally have the boards of the guys they want to emulate.”

Interesting idea, especially with the strong skate influence. The press release says that “The thing that makes SUPER unique is that we're involved with every aspect of the company so that everything we put out--from the shapes and designs all the way to the graphics on 'em -- inspired from skateboard and street art --is a true representation of who we are. ” And the other thing that makes SUPER unique is the ages of the owners—Tosh and Dion are the oldest at 22, while Clay (born in ‘89) and Kolohe (born in ‘94) are only teenagers. Since they are practically still kids themselves, they should know what kids want, so I’m assuming that SUPER will do just fine.

To see pictures from the SUPER launch party, check out the TWSurf site.

Create A Skate

When I was in high school, I think the coolest (a.k.a. fun) class was ASB or yearbook. And, the only real thing that made it cool was that our teacher (same one for both) used to tape Beverly Hills 90210 and let us watch it in class. Nowadays, there seems to be a plethora of fun classes. Especially if you’re a skater—you can take skateboarding for PE, or, as I just read about in the LA Times, you can take Create A Skate were you actually make a skateboard. It’s wood shop for the modern times, how great is that?

The genius of Paul Schmitt, who owns PS Stix, one of the biggest skateboard manufacturers in Southern California, the class is geared to those in 5^th to 12^th grades. In it, the students may think they’re just creating a skateboard, but they’re actually being taught lessons about biology, science, and math—to name a few of the lessons. To pay for the supplies, the kids stage fundraisers, and Schmitt encourages local retailers to help out by offering discounts or letting the kids hold the fundraisers in their shops. Schmitt points out that it’s a win-win—the kids get their funds for materials, while the shop gets traffic.

The point of it all? Not only does Schmitt want to continue to grow the sport and to give back to it, but he says that the program helps draw a new audience to the skate industry. In theory, the program creates new, young customers because they now know the ins and outs of skateboarding, such as when to get a longer board for their skills or when they should buy bigger wheels. Shop workers also benefit if they take the class—they do a better job helping out the customer’s needs when they’ve created the product for themselves.

When it’s all said and done, the student gets the joy of skating on something they created themselves—who wouldn’t want to do that?

For more info, check out the LA Times article from this past Sunday.

DC launches TV

It seems as if our “little” action sports companies just keep growing and growing. It’s so cool to see what were once, small companies started by people who had a passion for a sport, evolve into multi-million dollar brands who have the marketing savvy to hit on what’s next. Case in point—DC announced today that they are launching DC Skateboarding TV. Available on your computer, they wanted to launch the site “to give skateboarders what they want on the internet.” It’ll have videos, photos, blogs and easy access to product. It looks as if they’re going to have podcasts as well.

It all sounds pretty cool, check it out here.