by Board Retailers Association | Sep 22, 2022 | Competitions, Industry, Olympics, Surf
Will Filipe defend his title? The schedule would seem to support a repeat run for the Brazilian. Photo: Pat Nolan//World Surf League With the 2022 season freshly minted, the World Surf League wasted little time in releasing its 2023 schedule. Highlights? The Surf Ranch returns, as does Trestles as the WSL Finals location. But judging by the recent fan reaction to Lowers as an end-of-year-championship venue, there’s sure to be blowback. Last season’s end-all party to 2021 was an anomaly at Lowers: big swell and offshore Santa Ana winds made for dreamy conditions for the Finals – the ideal scenario. The League bet on Lowers again in 2022, hoping for similar conditions within its early September window. But those dream conditions failed to return and normal Lower Trestles ensued: good size, glassy in the morning followed by an afternoon wind that shut the waves down with less-than-stellar championship conditions. The fan furor was swift on the WSL social pages, as well as on this site and its social outlets. I reached out to WSL CEO Erik Logan and am waiting to hear back. The League has of course kept its premier locales in play. Pipeline kicks the season off January 29 (the WSL will not start its season in 2022, keeping everything in a single-year package). Margaret River will be the final event before the mid-year cut, and Teahupo’o returns August 11-20. “Following the incredible momentum and milestones we’ve hit in 2022, we will continue to build our global platform to progress and elevate professional surfing,” read Logan’s statement in a release. “We experienced the redesign in its entirety for the first time this year, and...
by Board Retailers Association | Sep 16, 2022 | Awards, Competitions, Industry, News, Surf
She earned it. And we forgot about her. Photo: Thiago Diz//World Surf League “Some are born great, some achieve greatness, and some have greatness thrust upon them,” wrote bad boy Billy Shakespeare. Or in Stephanie Gilmore’s case, some quietly achieve GOAT status whilst no one is watching. Perhaps of the most remarkable aspects of Gilmore’s eighth world title was that no one had given her a chance of making history. In a massive fail in surfing groupthink, it’s hard, in hindsight, to justify how most surf fans, and so-called experts, underestimated and ignored the greatest female surfer of all time. How did a seven-time world champion, one of the most stylish humans to ever ride a surfboard, and with a competitive track record only bettered by Kelly Slater, get written off before the WSL Finals? It was an incredible lack of foresight, matched only by a dearth of respect of which I was very much a part of. And yes, I can pathetically list all my reasons for writing off Gilmore. After all, she had to surf six, maybe seven, heats at Trestles, the last two or three against Carissa Moore, by far the best surfer of the last five years. The WSL Finals format was set up to reward performances throughout the calendar year, and Gilmore had been handed a severe handicap based on a largely mundane 2022. Having missed Pipeline due to COVID, in the next five events she managed just a single semifinal. Early on there was talk not of world titles and impending greatness, but of relegation and retirement under the brutal new cut system. After Margaret River, Gilmore...
by Board Retailers Association | Sep 7, 2022 | Mental Health, Surf
Maybe it’s simply moments like this that make us happy? Photo: Paz Arando//Unsplash “Surfing is the source, man. It’ll change your life. Swear to God.” – Surf shop grom from Point Break Sappy, soppy, mystical explanations and platitudes abound for describing surfing’s transcendental health benefits. But trite spirituality aside, what does surfing offer that pumping iron or riding a treadmill can’t? I took a harder look at the question and even asked a neuroscientist to see if research might offer any clues. Is it the exposure to the elements in lieu of the sterile, fluorescent-lit chambers of sweat crossed with body spray and rusty iron? Maybe it’s the adrenaline rush that only occurs occasionally in the gym when you attempt to bench too much? Or if the steroid-addled mongoloid next to you doesn’t like the way you’re looking at them? There are certainly close brushes with death when running off-trail or blazing down a cliff’s edge on a mountain bike. Or is it the satisfaction of improvisational decision-making? Something you can find in surfing, skateboarding, jazz music, or a blank canvas, but only vaguely offered by weight-lifting, running, cycling, or any activity with steadfast rules. Anyone who’s ever gotten their heart rate up, or surfed, knows that the benefits of physical activity on mental health are many. However, the stimulation we experience in pursuit of activities with few or no bounds might be mediated by something called synaptic plasticity, says Santi Solé Domenech, a Weill Cornell Medical College Research Associate and Google Scholar specializing in biochemistry and neuroscience. A synapse, neurologically speaking, connects neurons in the brain to those in the rest of the body, including sensory organs that register...
by Board Retailers Association | Aug 20, 2022 | Awards, Competitions, News, Surf
The surfers came. And Teahupo’o absolutely delivered all week. While the waves weren’t quite as big for finals day, the conditions were clean and glorious throughout as Courtney Conlogue made a late-season push, winning at Teahupo’o and Miguel Pupo nabbed his maiden CT victory. Push Play to view Finals Day of this remarkable Surf Contest Conlogue, who’d had a relatively quiet year (two even thirds in Australia were her best finishes), took down Brisa Hennessy in the final, who surfed brilliantly as well throughout the event, solidifying her spot in the final five at Trestles in September. That quiet year kept Conlogue, an Orange County native, from qualifying for the WSL Final at her home break but did move her into the seven slot in the rankings, easily within re-qualification for next year and sending her home with some momentum to close out the season. Miguel Pupo’s 2021-2022 campaign was an even slower burn than Conlogue’s. His younger brother, Samuel, it could be argued might have had a stronger season. Until now, that is. The 30-year-old Brazilian’s best finish this year was an even third at Pipeline. But Teahupo’o’s walls were a good match for the goofy-footer as he captured one of the most prestigious CT wins on the tour. It’s been a slow career burn for Pupo, in fact, who’s been grinding on the CT since 2011. The highlights were many in easily the WSL’s best event of the year. We leave you with two questions. How do you create more events like Teahupo’o? And doesn’t it feel like the WSL Final should take place somewhere like “The End of the Road?” Be...
by Board Retailers Association | Aug 17, 2022 | Industry, News, Resources, Retail Strategy, Seasonal Products, Skateboard, SUP, Surf, Trade Shows, Wake Skate, Wake Surf, Wakeboard
Photo courtesy of Surf Expo PRESS RELEASES | Re-Published August 2022 ORLANDO, Fla.– (July 25, 2022) Surf Expo, the premier watersports and coastal lifestyle tradeshow, returns to the Orange County Convention Center in Orlando on Sept. 8-10 in the West Concourse with a wide range of brands and a diverse floor plan. Over 600 exhibitors are participating this September with an 18% increase in square footage compared to the previous September show. “We are thrilled to return to Orlando this summer with an extensive and impressive list of brands to help retailers fulfill all their buying needs,” said Roy Turner, Surf Expo senior vice president and show director. “Coastal and beach related categories have been in high demand the past two years, and with our increased list of exhibitors, we look forward to introducing buyers to new brands as well as offering them a productive environment to connect with their existing brand partners.” Brands exhibiting in the Watersports sections of Surf Expo include 4ocean, AVID Sportswear, Billabong, BN3TH, Body Glove, Brixton, Carve Designs, Carver Skateboards, Captain Fin, Dark Seas, Fair Harbor Clothing, Havaianas, HAYDENSHAPES SURFBOARDS, Hurley, IMSY, IPD International, Jetty, Katin, …LOST, Lotus and Luna, Manhattan Beachwear, O’Neill, Otis Eyewear, Party Pants, POP Board Co., Psycho Tuna, Pura Vida Bracelets, Quiksilver, Rastaclat, Reef Apparel, Rhythm, Rip Curl, Roark, ROXY, RSVLTS, Rusty, RVCA, Saint Maddox, Salty Crew, Sand Cloud, SEATEC OUTFITTERS, Simbi, Sisstrevolution, Sun Bum, Surfer Dudes, Tahe Outdoors, Teva, Thread, Vissla, Volcom and YETI. In the Coastal Life categories, brands attending the show include Beach & Barn, Bogg Bag, Dippin Daisys, ELAN, EXIST, Hang Loose, HUK, Kanga Coolers, Lakeshirts/Blue84, LowTides...
by Board Retailers Association | Aug 15, 2022 | Brick & Mortar, Community, Distinguished Retail Members, Industry, News, Retail History, Surf, Tourism
Ron Jon Surf Shop at Disney Springs in Orlando, Florida – SES file photo By Tiffany Montgomery | Published Aug 2022 We speak to Ron Jon Surf Shop President Michele Goodwin, who provides very interesting details about sales and brand trends at the important retailer that has 13 high-volume stores along the East Coast.This article is available to our Executive Edition members. https://shop-eat-surf.com/2022/08/retail-check-in-ron-jon-surf-shop/ Click here to login or click here to sign up for a free 30 day Executive Edition trial. We, at BRA, feel that the benefits of the SES Executive Edition Membership outweigh the cost. Be sure to visit the Shop Eat Surf website to view valuable Industry News and Resourceful Articles regularly via this link: Shop Eat Surf If you are not yet a BRA Retail Member, you can easily opt in to either Regular (no cost) or Distinguished ($100/yr.) Membership via this super simple join...
