Contests - Developments

[Rod Samper]

Excellent concept. It would be great to get more recognition for waveskis.

Perhaps surfers are getting more open minded these days. Could be a good time for waveskiing to become more mainstream. The following form of "paddle surfing" that seems to be on the rise makes me think so:

I see Laird at Little Dume and various others who have followed suit all surfing on big boards with an oar. Isn't an oar a kind of paddle? Looks like paddle surfing to me...

At San O some are doing it too, even Dan Malloy at Rod's point does the standup paddle surf thing.

If people can accept this then it's not much of a stretch to accept a waveski. Two alternative forms of surfing...

As far as having a big name shaper associated with waveskis I have found that surfing on a ski with a name like Beatty on it draws interest, curiosity and positive comments from surfers around me. Which is kind of nice since I can't do a 6 ft air like Steven to impress them.

Maybe a TV segment would be a good act to precede, accompany or follow a piggybacked contest.

I have a friend who represents extreme athletes and does marketing and media with them as well. Pretty big clients..Kelly Slater and Tony Hawk are among them. I should have him talk to you Rod. I know they are looking for new extreme sports and for most people wavesking is new.

I think it would be exciting to see a waveskier like Steven or the other mentioned pros going head to head somehow with a board surfer in the same heat. An air contest or whatever.. any kind of friendly competition would be great and if the waveskier can match or exceed the feats of the board surfer so much the better.

Great thread.

R

[BazzaBrett]

Hi all

If it does not seem too intrusive, I thought I might throw my “outsiders” perspective into the mix.

Don't know if I can add any more profound comments to the great stuff being said over this forum. But having read all of this thread (and the older thread) a few significant issues jumped out at me.

The first was the simple question asked amongst yourselves "who are we in the US?"

I think establishing (or developing and refining) the answer to this will lead on to helping you addressing the other concepts discussed in this forum relative to promotion/exposure; contest administration, then affiliations with other kindred bodies.

From what I understand through reading discussions in this forum, it often appears that the sport of waveski surfing in the US plays second fiddle to other paddle sports (especially in the surf). This I would suggest is purely due to other paddling sports simply possessing greater numbers, and supported by a much bigger membership base (at the recreational and competitive levels), combined with more industry manufacturers, therefore higher levels of production, sponsorship and contest infrastructure.

Waveski surfing is definitely NOT mainstream. Nevertheless, this does not make our chosen sport any less credible.

So this brings me back to your fundamental question of “who are we ? (in the US)”

I think it imperative you guys form a National body. Whilst there is clearly a motivated group of waveskiers wishing to comprise the Western Waveski Association, ask yourselves the question “what really stops this group from evolving into a national body?”

This action would give your sport more credibility when dealing with sponsors and media, etc….but more importantly gives you your own “national” identity. Sure, you will still be overshadowed by the pure numbers existing in other paddling disciplines, but as a truly “national” body you can still retain this identity when it comes to “piggy backing” onto other events or facilitating “stand alone” contests.

Nevertheless, when it comes to contests, it seems you have the right people to pretty much cover both ends of the “real” and “conceptual” spectrum from basic club meets to major events hosting international attendees.

So the next questions relate to your basic objectives in wanting to host events –

Are you initially wanting to raise the profile / awareness of the sport to the public (therefore accessing sponsors and attracting new members) ?

Are you just wanting to cater for existing waveski surfers ? (some who I note readily admit they won’t front up at events at the last minute)

Then of course there is the notion of “contest administration” i.e. What “Rules” will you use and what Judging criteria will apply to your surfing ?

It also seems there is often the imposition of the prevailing surf kayaker mentality that the two surf craft (i.e. waveski & surf kayak) should be mixed into the same contest structure and compete side by side ! Well, I beg to differ ! Great for “demonstration” events that showcase both surf paddle sports but NOT great for waveski surfing to retain its own identity.

Establishing a national waveski surfing body may see you then become aligned with Contest Rules and suggested contest formats of the World Waveski Surfing Association. Here there is no ambiguity when it comes to distinguishing waveski surfing from other surf paddling disciplines.

Having said that, I feel just about every proficient waveski surfer I know (across many different nations) view themselves as surfers in the first instance (not as a paddle surfers). Needless to say, the Judging Criteria is very much aligned with current ASP standards. There is no need to re-invent the wheel. Having undertaken the Level 2 ASP Judging course myself, I am VERY clear on this aspect and how it readily applies to waveski surfing.

In finishing, YES the World Waveski Association would also dearly love to have an officially recognised representative for the United States to correspond with. There is no need for US representatives to attend "in person" at World Titles contests in order for the US to have a voice or possess a central point of contact on international waveski matters. But it is frustrating when a country such as the US has fantastic potential for the sport but at the World Waveski Association level there is little contact in between world titles events.

Keep Surfing

[radams]

Good point. Here we are whining about having to surf at contests with kayaks, and yet there is no national waveski association in the US looking out for our interests. What a sorry bunch of dung we are! This could be a part of our credibility problem. I propose that the persons who started this contest thread/s - thats Rod, Warren, and myself, get our heads together, get a post office box, and form the US Waveski Surfing Association. Those who object will forever surf at kayak contests! How's this for some initiative!

Sometimes is refreshing to see our problems through the perspective of an outsider, thanks BazzaBret,

Roger,

PS I will be out surfing Ventura tomorrow morning. Anyone care to join me or must I be the lone waveskier out there?

[Warren]

I agree. Bazza Brett (Cronin), thank you for that fresh perspective and suggestion of direction. not to mention the kick in the pants.
Let's get a US Association together.

Roger & Rod (& anyone else?), Maybe we can get together this coming week sometime for some coffee?

Oh, and Mikey and I will be out at Rincon or C. ST at dawn - ?. Hope we see you there! Call me if you want to talk location.. I think you have my cell #?

Cheers,

Warren

[Warren]

(**Maybe I should have mentioned that Brett there is the President of the World Waveski Association.. He has quite a bit to draw upon in terms of experience with events, comps, sport development etc.. )

..:

w

[hotrod]

Yo! Great to see all the action on this board! Especially good to get some input from "Down Under"!

Brett, you've absolutely hit the nail on the head...."who are we?'. The answer to that question is the "problem" (if, in fact there is a problem) that anyone will face in trying to organize and grow waveskiing in the US. By far, the great majority of participants in waveskiing here range in age from "middle age" to flat out "old farts" (with all due respect to yours truly, please!). Efforts to get this crew to organize and participate has, historically, met with failure. This difficulty is further compounded by the fact that US waveskiing has a very strong "underground" mentality, with the attendant "anarchistic" attitudes. I would be willing to bet that, if you took a poll of US waveskiers, you would find that the majority to give a big fat damn whether or not the sport organizes, holds contests or grows! And this position has some merit.

Altruism isn't going to "get the show on the road", as it were. Money motivation just might. Clyde Beatty is not interested from the "goodness of his heart". He wants to sell waveskis. If he suddenly grabbed the whole US waveski market, he still wouldn't be ordering his new Rolls Royce. Until we start to see 10, 111, 12 year olds on waveskis, the outlook for the growth of the sport is fairly grim. But there are elements working that might facilitate market growth. With the exception of a couple of big surfboard manufacturers, the glut of pop-out surfboards from across the waves has put a major hurt on the custom surfboard industry. Some of the more prudent marketers now see the value of niche markets. A good example is waveskiing!

Having said all this, I'm really stoked by the energy Rod Samper, Warren and Roger bring to the table. I'm also totally behind not sitting on our ass and waiting for someone else to "do it all for us" (as some of you know, I tried to put something together at a meeting at my house several months ago...without success).

This week is not good for me...my assistant got married over the weekend and is on her honeymoon for the duration of the week. But, starting next weekend I'm good for getting together. Cell phone is [phone].

Certainly do welcome more input from every one. Warren and Brett, if you guys could troll Waveski.info to get some others to get active in this group.......................YES!

[vsg]

It sounds like a good idea to actually start a US Waveskiing organization; do you think it would be a good idea politically to invite folks from the other waveskiing hotspots like Florida, Virginia Beach and New England to participate nominally in getting the organization going. If your main purpose is to get a large tournament off the ground they really won't be able to help out in the organizing of the tournament at Ventura much but you will probably insure better participation in events and more credibility with sponsors and better prospects for long term success. I know there are avid waveskiers in New England, North Carolina, etc.

[radamski]

Another Good point, the US has more than one coast, so where does the USWSA set up shop, and how do we reach out to to riders located in the far reaches of the USA?

I suggest we open up a USWSA forum on this site, and take it from there. Waveskiers can meet locally, then post on the forum any issues that they have to get a more national response.

Later
Roger

[hotrod]

I like the idea of a "bottom up" organization. It might be easier, initially, to organize local chapters (ie San Diego, Orange County, LA, Tri-Counties, etc). These might then converge into a West Coast organization and an East Coast organization, which, in turn could merge into a national organization.

Rod

[Tyler]

waveski as one word or two? i say one...

tyler

[Warren]

Hmm.. I'm not so sure about the 'bottom up' route. It sounds nice, but it seems like it might never happen if that many people are told to organize and figure out their regional stuff.

What if we formed a Forum specifically for the US Association, and then put together and email campaign to get the word out to different parts of the country? Then they could have a structure/guidelines to follow when creating regional chapters/clubs etc - which would in turn 'grow' the National Body.

Bottom up sounds good in theory, but my concern is that it isn't good to leave it up to regional chapters if they aren't motivated? What if one chapter is lagging for 3 years? Does the National Association have to wait then for that last chapter to get it together?

I am not set on this way of thinking, but at the moment feel that it might be better to at least start out Top-down.

More discussion!

Cheers,

Warren

p.s. I still have to post on WSI to get more folks in on this discussion. Ill do it tonight.

[radamski]

Tyler,

USWSA stands for United States Waveski Surfing Association. We don't want to be confused with the petrol powered jetskis that run all over the ocean and surf.

Warren,

I agree with you that creating a forum for all discussion related to USWSA matters including its organization is the route to go. The bottom up approach will work at a regional level but we need some level of unity and decision making at the national level. I am sure that when Bill gets back, aside from being shocked at all the discussion that's taken place, he would be happy to get another forum started.

Best plan is to get the forum started, contact all waveskiers, and post some charter or reason for being and watch all the fireworks on the forum.

It's funny, whenever there is a thread about a contest, this forum comes alive.

Roger

[hotrod]

Roger: You're right! It's amazing all the action this subject generates!

Warren & Roger: What you're proposing is not at odds with what I'm thinking. I didn't think that we'd keep the idea of a nationa organization a "deep, dark secret" until later. My point is this: there are many waveskiers "out there" who do not post/follow any of the discussions on this board, or any other, for that matter. It's going to take a "grass roots" effort to get any sizeable participation. Any national organization, to be successful, must reflect the collective interests of people at a local level.

Warren: That would be great if you could get some of the waveski.info gang to start participating on this board. Maybe you could get John to put a "jump" to this site on his?

Tyler: Yes, "waveski" is correctly spelled as one word.

Rod

[Tyler]

doh! waveski surfing, of course! and maybe vis versa on the wsi linking?

tyler

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