NEW YORK SURF FILM FESTIVAL DROPS IN AGAIN AT TRIBECA CINEMAS
SEPTEMBER 25th to 27th, 2009

Submissions Deadline Closing May 31, 2009

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

May 14th, 2009, New York, NY – The second annual New York Surf Film Festival will return to Tribeca Cinemas September 25th to 27th, 2009. Located in lower Manhattan, Tribeca Cinemas is an art?house rental theater in operation since 2004. The theater hosts between 12?15 film festivals annually including Tribeca Film Festival, Brazilian Film Festival and the NYC Horror Film Festival. In addition, Tribeca Cinemas hosts a variety of private tastemaker screenings and events throughout the year.

Keith Weckstein, Director of Operations at Tribeca Cinemas said, “Tribeca Cinemas is
stoked to be the host venue of the New York Surf Film Festival for the second straight
year. Once again we’re excited to be able to welcome the Festival’s attendees and
guests to the venue and make sure everyone has a positive experience.” Tyler Breuer,
NYSFF Co?Founder adds, “It’s an honor for us to hold our festival in such an iconic
theater. After having such an incredible first year, it’s really hard to imagine doing the
festival anywhere else. ”

The submissions deadline is 17 days away, closing May 31st, 2009. The New York Surf
Film Festival Competition is open to independently produced feature?length and short
films in the surf genre. In order to be considered for the Festival’s Film Competition for
U.S and International films, submitted films must have been completed after January 1,
2004. The running time for features must be greater than 30 minutes. Short films under
30 minutes in length are eligible for participation in the Shorts Program. The submission
form and complete information regarding eligibility and entry rules for the 2009 New
York Surf Film Festival are available on the New York Surf Film Festival website at
www.NYSurfFilm.com.

Support our 2008 Filmmakers! The NYSFF DVD Store is now open on our site.

Show your support and get up?to?date festival news by becoming a Fan of NYSFF on our Facebook Page. Email info@nysurffilm.com if you would like to volunteer for
2009.

New York Surf Film Festival
The New York Surf Film Festival is the premier showcase for international independent surf film.
The mission of the New York Surf Film Festival is to provide filmmakers who are exploring the
diversity of surfing an opportunity to present their work to a larger audience. As surf culture
becomes more popular, the notion of what it means to be a surfer expands. The New York Surf
Film Festival’s aim is to build upon and shape the idea of what a surf film is, while fostering the
growth of this global community in NYC.

NYSFF is proudly supported by NewYorkSurf.com, Sundown Surfshop, Surfersvillage, Downtown
Community Television Center, The Surfer’s Path and STAB magazine.

For submission, media, and sponsorship inquiries please contact:

Morgan Rae Berk
morgan@nysurffilm.com
917.658.2927
Don’t Drop In, LLC
P.O. Box 310361
Brooklyn, NY 11231

Entropy Surfboards, a division of Entropy Sports, Amroy Europe (Amroy) Ltd., and Bayer MaterialScience (BMS) LLC have teamed up to deliver a new line of custom-made surfboards that incorporate carbon nanotubes from BMS.

Entropy Surfboards believes that epoxy systems are the future of and a key ingredient in making a more durable and lively surfboard. For that reason, the company is using Hybtonite®, an advanced epoxy system from Amroy that incorporates Baytubes® carbon nanotubes from BMS, resulting in composite structures that are tougher and more durable than standard epoxy systems. The surfboards combine performance and durability with the traditional feel of a custom-shaped board. The dimensions and weight of the boards will vary per the specifications of each customer.

The basic construction process for surfboards has remained basically unchanged for over 50 years, making customers very particular about how their boards look and feel. The core consists of a type of foam with a stringer made of wood or plastic that spans from the nose to the tail, and is then wrapped in fiberglass. It is the final step that sets Entropy surfboards apart from traditional boards, when the Hybtonite system is used. The incorporation of BMS’ Baytubes carbon nanotubes allows Entropy to achieve increased toughness without sacrificing the flex properties of the board.

The epoxy systems used in Entropy Surfboards, as well as other Entropy Sports high performance products and materials, are lab tested at the Berkeley Composites Lab on the campus of the University of California, Berkeley. Entropy surfboards, featuring various materials, shapes and construction methods, are also tested year round in a variety of surf conditions.

“The Bayer carbon nanotubes increase durability by a factor of two to three, while also decreasing the fatigue that is often seen in traditional boards subjected to everyday conditions,” said Rey Banatao of Entropy. “Because of the benefits they offer, we decided to pursue using carbon nanotubes in our products once they became available and affordable.”

“BMS has succeeded in producing high-quality carbon nanotubes in a cost-effective process,” said Joe Ventura, business development manager, Baytubes carbon nanotubes, Bayer MaterialScience LLC. “As a result, our Baytubes are helping create entirely new materials with revolutionary properties for applications, like the Entropy Surfboard, in numerous fields.”

Bayer MaterialScience LLC is one of the leading producers of polymers and high-performance plastics in North America and is part of the global Bayer MaterialScience business with nearly 15,100 employees at 30 sites around the world and 2008 sales of 9.7 billion euros. Business activities are focused on the manufacture of high-tech polymer materials and the development of innovative solutions for products used in many areas of daily life. The main segments served are the automotive, electrical and electronics, construction, medical, and sports and leisure industries.

Bayer Corporation, headquartered in Pittsburgh, is a subsidiary of Bayer AG, an international health care, nutrition and high-tech materials group based in Leverkusen, Germany. In North America, Bayer had 2008 net sales of approximately 8 billion euros (about $12 billion) and employed 17,000 at year end. Bayer’s three subgroups, Bayer HealthCare, Bayer CropScience and Bayer MaterialScience, improve people’s lives through a broad range of essential products that help diagnose, prevent and treat diseases; protect crops and enhance yields; and advance automobile safety and durability. For more information, go to www.bayerus.com.

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A recent article on ESPN’s website really got under my skin, so I apologize now to all the non-kooks who enjoy ESPN (Disney) coverage of their sporting events… hum not really.

The kook author, Jake Howard, ESPN blogger and senior writer for Surfer Magazine, makes arrogant remarks and furthers the misconceptions by saying, “most surfers can hardly add let alone figure out Kelly Slater’s career win/loss ratio.” This remark seems surprising coming from a guy who writes for surfing culture magazines and internet blogs. (Well, I guess this is one reason surfing mag went bankrupt, poor choices.)

The “journalist” Jake Howard notes that there is no “database” to search surfer data and, admittedly, their is not an official “database” although their are countless records, if you know where to look.  Despite the many shortcomings of the article, Howard unknowingly unearths some interesting questions about surfing.

Should surfing become another stat filled commercially covered game like baseball? I question the good databases would do for the surfing community and I defiantly have my reservations. But as more and more $money$ comes pouring into the “cool” sport of surfing, is it inevitable? YES.

Stats and coverage will drive sales and boost bottom lines of both companies and the pro surfers, but what is the affect on the line up? I think we can all admit we don’t need any more kooks out there. I think we are all aware of over crowding in every line up around the world.

One of the central problems with stats and surfing is the subjectivity of the sport and what is considered a 10.0 ride. We all know what good surfing looks like, but there are often variations in style and form that are often subjectively viewed as good and bad. Ultimately, stats raise the question of how to really judge surfing contests and how the events should be formatted.

Surfing as a pure sport with stats and live coverage is in its infancy and we are only just figuring these things out. Go back to the begining of any sport, including baseball and you’ll find only weak stats available.

Well, I look forward to comments…