Ok, this is not really “surf news that matters” 🙂
Lindsay Lohan had yet another body part escape her clothing, when her right breast plopped out of her bathing suit while body surfing in Miami.
So, in less than a week we’ve exposed two breasts and a hoo-hah.
Brigham Young University – Hawaii Alliance for Marketing Professionals & Students has released its independent economic impact study on the 2010 Vans Triple Crown of Surfing. The study reports that the winter big wave surf series held on Oahu’s North Shore generated $20.9 million in spending, up more than $6 million from the previous study conducted in 2006.
The Vans Triple Crown of Surfing is the premier series of surfing events and the grand finale of the Association of Surfing Professionals world tour each year. It is held at three North Shore surf venues (Haleiwa, Sunset Beach, Pipeline) during the period of November 12 through December 20, with 12 actual days of surfing competition required.
“The Vans Triple Crown of Surfing is a treasure for Hawaii’s tourism industry, particularly for Oahu’s North Shore,” said Lenard Huff, Professor of Marketing, BYUH.
“Our study took a two-pronged approach: the traditional economic impact study that estimates the net spending, both direct and indirect, that is generated from participants of the Triple Crown; and the less measurable, but equally important contributions that the Triple Crown makes to Hawaii’s image and brand. Not only does the Vans Triple Crown add to Hawaii’s economy, but it also provides global exposure of the best that Hawaii has to offer.”
Randy Rarick has been involved with the Triple Crown of Surfing since it began in 1983, then under the direction of former world champion surfer Fred Hemmings. He has seen it grow from a “bullhorn and card table” operation to a world class sporting event that is quintessentially Hawaiian.
“Surfing today is a global industry and the Vans Triple Crown of Surfing is recognized as the showcase of the sport,” said Rarick, who directs the series today. “We’ve come a long way over the past 30 years and surfing has infiltrated every echelon of society.
“Today, Oahu’s North Shore is recognized as the Mecca of the sport, whether you’re a surf enthusiast or not. To see the world’s best surfers ride the world’s most famous big waves, in the birthplace of the sport, is a memory of Hawaii that people carry with them for life.”
Coming soon to a surfing lineup near you: jet-powered boards designed to make paddling, catching and even riding waves easier and more enjoyable.
“Wavejet” surfboards, after 10 years of development, are set to debut as part of a U.S. demo tour this summer. They’ll sell for $4,500 apiece, or about five times the cost of an ordinary board, and enable surfers to paddle at two to three times their normal speed.
It’s hoped the boards will pique the interest of surfers of all levels, but they figure to be most attractive to aging surfers with waning arm strength and perhaps lifeguards who would benefit from swifter access to victims during rescue operations.
Purists, of course, will cringe at the notion, as they cringed 15 years ago when “tow surfers” began to catch waves while being pulled from ropes behind jet-powered personal watercraft; and more recently when the standup, or SUP phenomenon began.
“I’d say about 95% of the people are going to say, ‘This is amazing and cool,’ but you’re always going to get those people who are angry about anything new coming into the sport,” said Steve Walden, a Wavejet board designer whose shop in Ventura, Calif., will serve as the primary outlet facility.
