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isobars
Joined: 12 Dec 1999
Posts: 20935
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 Posted: Wed Feb 06, 2008 12:27 pm Post subject: |
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| SWE106 wrote: | | Why are there no PWA contests on the US mainland (anymore)? |
Picture this: sponsors invest tens of thousands of dollars setting up and hyping an event, only to have no wind. No wind = no crowds = lost money and cred. The U.S. just doesn't have any spot with wind highly likely to blow on a weekend picked months in advance. EVERY time someone asks me whether I'm going sailing on some future date, my answer is, "I'll know by 6:00 PM that evening ... probably."
\m/ |
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tsokat
Joined: 15 May 1997
Posts: 326
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| Posted: Wed Feb 06, 2008 12:41 pm Post subject: |
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| isobars wrote: | | SWE106 wrote: | | Why are there no PWA contests on the US mainland (anymore)? |
The U.S. just doesn't have any spot with wind highly likely to blow on a weekend picked months in advance."
\m/ |
OK, I will go out on a limb and make a prediction here. It will be sailable somewhere in the Bay Area during the weekend of July 12 and 13. |
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nealpar
Joined: 25 Oct 1998
Posts: 624
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| Posted: Wed Feb 06, 2008 1:56 pm Post subject: |
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| SWE106 wrote: | LA's population is the same as that of the entire Netherlands, and I can think of a few good Dutch riders: Remko de Weerd, Kevin Mevissen, Ben van der Stijn, Peter Volwater, Pieter Bijl, Annemarie Reichman, etc... but where are the LA riders? And windsurfing is not better in holland, trust me, I know.
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Correct me if I'm wrong, but aren't most of the people you listed above Maui residents? Or have spent a heck of a lot of time in Maui or traveling the world competing???
By the way, the Pritchards are from a place near L.A., I believe....(not sure where exactly...) |
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mogunn
Joined: 03 Apr 2006
Posts: 1307
Location: SF Bay
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| Posted: Wed Feb 06, 2008 2:58 pm Post subject: |
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| tsokat wrote: | | OK, I will go out on a limb and make a prediction here. It will be sailable somewhere in the Bay Area during the weekend of July 12 and 13. |
Most events require extensive preparation and lead time for success and many Bay Area sites require use permits.
_________________
mo |
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jakethesnake
Joined: 08 Feb 2007
Posts: 153
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| Posted: Wed Feb 06, 2008 4:08 pm Post subject: Re: no loyalty |
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| attila wrote: | so, Mr. J. Miller. why the change to goya? you are in the flow of things. i have never seen so much brand swaping as now. i just read angulo made the switch to maui sails.
how is josh more marketable than KP for example from maui sails perspective. i don't get it its not like these companies can throw millions of dollars at these guys to get them to sign.
the one thing is. maybe ezzy is unwilling to make race sails and josh wants to do a bit of that.
still, there is a lot of change. even the uk guys have been swapping gear this year. |
All I can do is speak for myself. The are a couple of reasons I switched. For one I am the US distributor for Quatro and Goya and I have watched the progression of the sail line and really wanted to be a part of it. The guys at Goya really like a lot of input from multiple people and I wanted to help in the development of the sails. With the crew we have now the sails are the best on the market, I am confident about that! The other reason I switched is because Goya is really about supporting team riders that help support the company and there is a great opportunity for both of us to grow! |
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jakethesnake
Joined: 08 Feb 2007
Posts: 153
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| Posted: Wed Feb 06, 2008 4:15 pm Post subject: |
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| sergem wrote: | | jakethesnake wrote: | If your looking for demo gear check out www.goyawindsurfing.com and www.quatrointernational.com
Contact any of our dealers and they all should have gear for demo. We agree the best way for a person to decide what they like is to try it. If they do not have gear to try please contact me personally and I can help you find some gear to try. |
Jake - no one in SF Bay Area (AirWave is a board bag company); Last time I demoed anything was last year on Maui. - QED.
I am with Nealpar - rather than making big deal out of pros, help local test centers. Our best local shop - ASD - is out of business since last summer, Boardsports Berkeley (and SF) are closed, the last solid demo shop is in Rio Vista - 2+ hour drive and poisoned river  |
AirWave will have boards to demo, so all you need to do is call them up. We also have team riders in the area that are always willing to let people take a spin on their gear. The San Fran market is really tough for shops due to the fact a lot of people are looking for a deal and don't support their local shops instead of buying online or in other states. We are in the works to get a solid shop going to be a dealer and to have demos. If you want shops to survive you need to support them and buy locally! |
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jakethesnake
Joined: 08 Feb 2007
Posts: 153
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| Posted: Wed Feb 06, 2008 4:19 pm Post subject: |
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| nealpar wrote: | | SWE106 wrote: | LA's population is the same as that of the entire Netherlands, and I can think of a few good Dutch riders: Remko de Weerd, Kevin Mevissen, Ben van der Stijn, Peter Volwater, Pieter Bijl, Annemarie Reichman, etc... but where are the LA riders? And windsurfing is not better in holland, trust me, I know.
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Correct me if I'm wrong, but aren't most of the people you listed above Maui residents? Or have spent a heck of a lot of time in Maui or traveling the world competing???
By the way, the Pritchards are from a place near L.A., I believe....(not sure where exactly...) |
I actually lived in LA and worked for Captain Kirks for a couple of years. I sailed Cabrillo all of the time. I know the LA conditions very well! I also did the Lake Isabella demo tour every year with Peter Jones and scored every time I went. Both locations are great places to sail and great for mainland standards! |
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jakethesnake
Joined: 08 Feb 2007
Posts: 153
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| Posted: Wed Feb 06, 2008 4:27 pm Post subject: |
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| nealpar wrote: | But the LA territory was never considered very important to any of the manufacturers. In a way it's crazy though.........that in a town with about 16 million people that more creative ways haven't been found to generate an increased participation in the sport. .....
However, with the attitude of ...."nah, it's too expensive to provide demo gear", it will surely never get any better either. |
I would like to disagree with this statement. The LA territory is very important to companies like Quatro and Goya. Goya will be helping sponsor the 2nd annual Cabrillo Enduro and Quatro has been apart of the Lake Isabella demos for the past three years including this one! I agree there needs to be more grassroots events and if there are, we will always try to support those events. On the issue that providing demo gear is too expensive. Yes it is expensive and trying to resell the gear is tough as well. But we do feel that demo programs are the absolute best way for our gear to be sold. Not by a pro saying its the best he's ever used, but by letting the gear sell itself! |
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slayer666
Joined: 18 Jan 2008
Posts: 41
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| Posted: Wed Feb 06, 2008 4:47 pm Post subject: |
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Just some random thoughts..
* pro's - what does that mean today ? how many of those guys actually make a living of windsurfing without a side job ? It's not like 20 years ago with TV coverage everywhere. The money is not there anymore to have competitors travelling, having contests, etc...
* In the Bay Area I seldom see new folks picking up the sport, probably because surfing is cheaper and well marketed
* equipment... just talking about wave gear (that's all I know) - I do not want to spend $600 on a new sail that I could trash the first time out. I feel better charging on a used/closeout sail from the year before at half price... maybe I am just a cheap guy |
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carl
Joined: 25 Feb 1997
Posts: 2674
Location: SF bay area
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| Posted: Wed Feb 06, 2008 5:34 pm Post subject: |
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| slayer666 wrote: | * In the Bay Area I seldom see new folks picking up the sport, probably because surfing is cheaper and well marketed
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I remember someone saying on another thread (i think Coach),
that kids today are so involved with video games, that they don't
even want to do regular sports like soccer, baseball etc. My theory is that
with the video game, you get instant gratification, whereas most sports, you need to practice alot before it becomes fun. (also they're getting fat just sitting front of the game screen.)
As for surfing, yes it's cheep but it's actually the boogie board that makes it real easy to learn waves and is now very popular. Surfing is the natural step up for the more ambitious. |
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