Four-time ASP Women’s World Surfing Champion Stephanie Gilmore assaulted and survives attack

Four-time ASP Women’s World Surfing champion Stephanie Gilmore (22) was attacked by a man carrying a crowbar outside of the stairwell of her apartment complex. Gilmore suffered a broken wrist, cut on the back of her head and cuts to her hand.

Gilmore was rushed to the hospital but the assailant who escaped by bike returned again and was caught by Gilmore’s neighbors.

Gilmore recently won a historic third straight Triple Crown of Surfing in Hawaii and also has won the ASP Women’s World Surfing Championship title four four consecutive years since 2007.

Gilmore has released the following statement to the media:

There was an incident in which I was attacked at my property. It was a completely random act in which I was a victim in the wrong place at the wrong time. It is now a matter for the court. I have sought medical attention and am on my road to recovery in high spirits. I look forward to getting back in the water in six weeks. In the mean time, I’m staying mentally and physically fit every way I can. I have fantastic support from my family and friends and look forward to resting up for a fresh start in the New Year.

Kelly Slater on Andy Iron’s death – “I really miss Andy. He had a really good heart.”

Back in the early 2000′s, Kelly Slater and Andy Irons brought competitive pro surfing to the highest level as the two were the biggest rivals in surfing history as both would challenge each other and it was either one or the other on top. The two brought out the best of each other and have become good friends since. Many have wondered if Slater would comment on Andy’s death.

Slater has released the following statement:

“Andy was an absolutely gifted individual. I’m lucky to have known him and had the times we had together.

I feel blessed that we worked through the differences we had and I was able to learn what I’m made of because of Andy.

We enjoyed many quiet times together with our girls in the last year and I got to know a happy, funny, innocent kid who was happy to live every second with the people he loved. I’m so sad.

My thoughts are with Bruce and Lyndie and their parents and all of his many friends around the world. It’s a huge and far too premature loss for all of us.

He was the most intense competitor I’ve ever known and one of the most sensitive people. He had so much life left in him and it hurts to think about.

We look forward to his memory living on with our memories of him and his child on the way. There are a lot of uncles awaiting his arrival.

I really miss Andy. He had a really good heart.

With love,

Kelly”

3X World Champion Professional Surfer Andy Irons, Dead at 32

News has broken that 3X Professional surfer Andy Irons has passed away. Sources are saying that he has died from Dengue fever. More news is forthcoming.

Official Billabong statement on Andy Irons death:

The world of surfing mourns an incredibly sad loss today with the news that Hawaii’s Andy Irons has died. Andy was a beloved husband, and a true champion. Irons, 32, withdrew from a professional surfing event in Puerto Rico last weekend due to illness and passed away during a layover en-route to his home in Kauai, Hawaii. He had reportedly been battling with dengue fever, a viral disease.

At this time the family thanks his friends and fans for their support, and asks that the community respect its privacy. The family also asks to not be contacted so their focus can remain on one another during this time of profound loss.

The Irons family has released the following statement:

The world of surfing mourns an incredibly sad loss today with the news that Hawaii’s Andy Irons has died. Andy was a beloved husband, and a true champion.

Irons, 32, withdrew from a professional surfing event in Puerto Rico last weekend due to illness, and passed away during a layover en-route to his home in Kauai, Hawaii. He had reportedly been battling with Dengue Fever, a viral disease.

At this time the family thanks his friends and fans for their support, and asks that the community respect its privacy. The family also asks to not be contacted so their focus can remain on one another during this time of profound loss.

Irons, who began his career with the elite ASP World Tour in 1998, went on to collect 20 elite tour victories, four Triple Crown of Surfing Titles, three consecutive ASP World Titles and change the sport forever with his unparalleled ability and comprehensive approach to surfing.

Suit Up For An All New Adrenaline Charged Adventure Based On One Of The Most Popular Surfing Movies Of A Generation BLUE CRUSH 2 Head Out To The Exotic Beaches of South Africa As Some Of The World’s Most Spectacular Waves Are Unleashed

Exclusively On Blu-Ray & DVD Spring 2011

Universal City, California, Thursday, July 15th, 2010—The search for the ultimate wave becomes an exotic and exhilarating journey of self-discovery and heartfelt friendship in Blue Crush 2, currently filming on location along the wild coast of South Africa, famous for its bone crushing waves. The all-new movie installment based on 2002’s hugely popular Blue Crush, which starred Kate Bosworth and Michelle Rodriguez, follows an adventurous young woman on the surf adventure of a lifetime. Blue Crush 2 is directed and produced by Mike Elliott (Beethoven’s Big Break). Brian Grazer (A Beautiful Mind, Blue Crush) and Ron Howard (Frost/Nixon, Angels & Demons) are also producing for Imagine Entertainment. The film is an official South African/German Co-Production, produced in South Africa by Universal Pictures Productions GmbH and Moonlighting Blue Crush Productions, and is co-produced by Genevieve Hofmeyr and Ralph Tuebben. The film will premiere exclusively on Blu-ray Hi-Def and DVD Spring 2011 and will be distributed by Universal Studios Home Entertainment.

The film’s hot, young, international cast includes Sasha Jackson (“One Tree Hill”), Sharni Vinson (Step Up 3-D), Elizabeth Mathis (Enchanted), Ben Milliken (Newcastle) and newcomer Chris Fisher. In Blue Crush 2, a young California girl treks across her late mother’s beloved South African beaches riding some of the world’s most spectacular waves, while making lifelong friends and gaining new insights into her past and future. Filmed along the beautiful coastline of South Africa, Blue Crush 2 features some of the most picturesque beaches on the planet, including the renowned “home of the perfect wave,” Jeffrey’s Bay (aka “J-Bay”), North Beach, Glenmore, Banana Beach and Coffee Bay.

The film also features many world-class female surfers from the Roxy team, some of whom currently hold a Women’s World Ranking from the Association of Surfing Professionals[1] including: Sally Fitzgibbons (#1), Laura Enever (#3), Bianca Buitendag (#14-tied) Rosy Hodge (#17-tied), Tanika Hoffman, and Danielle Le Roux. Additional female surfers featured in the film include Sarah Baum (#24-tied), Roxy Louw, Tarryn Chudleigh, Kirsty Delport, Mia Hordyk, Morag Steele and Heidi Palmboom.

Performing daring stunts and conquering some of the wildest surf ever seen on film on the men’s side is Taj Burrow, Jordy Smith and Travis Logie who are ranked #1, #2 and #36 respectively on ASP’s Men’s World Rankings[2]. The film also features big wave surfer Grant “Twiggy” Baker, Rudi Palmboom Sr, Casey Grant, Warwick Wright, Mikey February and Andrew “Roosta” Lange.

SYNOPSIS
Dana (Sasha Jackson) is 18, gorgeous and a killer surfer with a shelf full of trophies to prove it. When her father pressures her to buckle down and go to college, Dana flees her Beverly Hills home for the beaches of South Africa, the site of some of the world’s most awesome surf and her late mother’s home country. With her mom’s journal in hand and a mismatched gang of surf fanatics watching her back, Dana embarks on an odyssey along the breathtaking southern coast of Africa to fulfill her mother’s dream—one long, flawless journey down the barrel of the killer waves of J-Bay.

Universal Studios Home Entertainment is a unit of Universal Pictures, a division of Universal Studios (www.universalstudios.com). Universal Studios is a part of NBC Universal, one of the world’s leading media and entertainment companies in the development, production, and marketing of entertainment, news, and information to a global audience. Formed in May 2004 through the combining of NBC and Vivendi Universal Entertainment, NBC Universal owns and operates a valuable portfolio of news and entertainment networks, a premier motion picture company, significant television production operations, a leading television stations group, and world-renowned theme parks. NBC Universal is 80%-owned by General Electric, with 20% owned by Vivendi.

[1] Women’s rankings as of 7/13/10

[2] Men’s rankings as of 7/13/10

Unveiling of Plaque Honoring Three Surfing Princes to Take Place at Lighthouse Point, April 9 @ 11:30 a.m.

A ceremony honoring the three Hawaiian princes who first introduced surfing to Santa Cruz, and to the mainland of the Americas will take place at Lighthouse Point, Friday, April 9 at 11:30 a.m.

A three-dimensional brass plaque, gifted to the City of Santa Cruz by the Royal Hawaiian Family, pays tribute to the three teenage brothers, princes Jonah Kuhio Kalaniana’ole, David Kawananakoa and Edward Keliiahonui, who first rode redwood surf boards at the mouth of the San Lorenzo River during the summer of 1885.

A contemporary newspaper account from the Santa Cruz Surf noted that “the young Hawaiian princes were in the water, enjoying it hugely and giving interesting exhibitions of surf-board swimming as practiced in their native islands.” This “exhibition” marks the first recorded board surfing anywhere in North and South America.

Hawaiians introducing surfing to Santa Cruz and to the mainland of the Americas in the Summer of 1885. Painting by Jim Phillips

The plaque, designed in Honolulu by Kristin Zambucka, with the assistance of Harry Lee, and coordinated locally by historian Geoffrey Dunn, will be unveiled during the ceremony. Members of the plaque committee include Harry Mayo, Kim Stoner, Dan Young and Dunn. The base for the plaque was designed by local artists Sean Monaghan and Tom Ralston.

Royal descendants of the Kawananakoa and Marignoli families funded the production of the plaque. Contributions for the base were provided by the Santa Cruz Woodies Club and Friends of Parks and Recreation.

The unveiling ceremony, sponsored by the City of Santa Cruz Parks and Recreation Department and the Santa Cruz Surfing Club Preservation Society will feature Hawaiian music by Grammy award-winner Ken Emerson. Hawaiian pupus will be provided by Hula’s Island Grill. The public is invited. Aloha wear is encouraged.

For more information call the City of Santa Cruz Parks and Recreation Department at 831-420-5270.

Kelly Slater Joins World Surfing Reserves Movement

Nine-times World Surfing Champion Kelly Slater joined National Surfing Reserves founder Brad Farmer to announce his endorsement for the World Surfing Reserves program, and that 2010 will be the year of global surf spot enshrinements. In announcing this historic year for surf-spot preservation, Slater stated, “This is a pretty exciting thing for me to be a part of and support. It’s almost mind-numbing that [WSR] hasn’t happened yet, especially in Hawaii, the birthplace of surfing.”

World Surfing Reserves seeks to identify and enshrine the most important and cherished surf areas around the world, in partnership with local surf communities. World Surfing Reserve (WSR) sites are nominated and selected based on four major criteria: quality and consistency of waves, importance to surf culture and history, environmental characteristics, and community support.

The naming of the specific WSR sites is anticipated soon, according to Dean LaTourrette, Executive Director of the California-based Save The Waves Coalition, which launched the World Surfing Reserves program in 2009, in conjunction with National Surfing Reserves Australia.

Several surf areas in Australia, California, and Hawaii have been proposed for enshrinement as initial WSRs. These were selected from over 125 iconic beaches nominated from 34 countries. The nominations include sites like North Narrabeen and Manly Beach in Australia, Malibu and Santa Cruz in California, and Waikiki and Oahu’s North Shore in Hawaii, in addition to many others around the world.

Beyond its cultural and aesthetic significance, each WSR is a meeting of land and sea selected for the unique and salutary nature of its waves and natural setting. The dedication of each WSR seeks the protection of this coastal zone of waves and habitat from wanton destruction and exploitation – through no other mechanism but the positive force of appreciation and valuation.

On hand at the Bondi announcement was Brad Farmer, founder of Australia’s National Surfing Reserves (NSR) program, which enshrines exceptional and culturally significant waves and beaches in Australia. The NSR program has been an inspiration and model for the global WSR effort.

“Today,” Farmer announced, “I join Kelly in announcing that spots in Hawaii, California, and Australia are finalists to become World Surfing Reserves.” He added that, “In Australia, the three finalists are Margaret River (WA), the Gold Coast (QLD), and a Sydney (NSW) beach.”

Farmer said that Australia’s Prime Minister will announce the final decision in June and that, “we expect that beach to be dedicated as a WSR in October 2010.”

Today at Bondi, Farmer and Slater also announced the launch of a new NSR website (www.surfingreserves.org ), which offers access to this exciting new vision of respect and valuation to beach-lovers all over the world. This new site, combined with Save The Waves’ WSR site (www.worldsurfingreserves.org ) provides further details on the global surfing reserves movement.

Surf Ride $100k Freedom Pro-AM Sets Up for Double Header, Adds Thousands to Prize Purse

Surf Ride $100,000 Pro-Am Surf Series by Vans Sets Up for Back to Back Contests, Adds Thousands to Prize Purse

Surf Ride is pleased to announce the dates and locations of stops #2 and #3 of the $100,000 Freedom Pro-Am Surf Series by Vans.

Event #2 is scheduled to take place Saturday April 3, 2010 at Brookhurst Street in World famous Huntington Beach (this event originally scheduled for 3/27)

Event #3 will be held the following Sunday, April 11th at Mission Beach in San Diego.

Registration is now OPEN on-line at Freedom.Surfride.com

“The level of surfing by Chris Waring, Timmy Reyes and the other pros in our first contest this past February was electrifying. It¹s exciting to see what happens when kids, pros and families get together for a day of California surfing action, barbeque and prizes.

For the remaining events we¹ve added thousands of dollars to the pro prize purse. This measure was taken to ensure that all the pros that make it through a round or two will go home with cash in their pockets. Not to mention if one of these pros gets hot they could walk away with $10,000 over the course of a week.² Chris Williams-executive director

First Place for each event is $5,000 with $20,000 up for grabs at the Season Championships in May.

Family Divisions winners will also take home thousands of dollars in Surf Ride Gift Cards.

The Surf Ride events feature ASP trained judges, real time scores and 20 minute heats. Proceeds benefit Camp Pendleton Military Kids Surf Club.

REGISTRATION OPEN for both events on-line at: Freedom.Surfride.com

Visit Freedom.surfride.com for more details

Video & photos checkout: http://vimeo.com/9663181

The Surf Ride $100,000 Pro-Am is brought to you by Vans, Dakine, XS Energy, Dragon Optics, Watermans Applied Science, Bubble Gum Wax and Billabong Camps.

Third Annual New York Surf Film Festival Announces the Official 2010 Screening Panel

The New York Surf Film Festival is pleased to announce it’s official 2010 Screening Panel. The 2010 Screening Panel is made up of both international and local surfers with a wide range of credentials ranging from magazine editor to filmmaker, recognized artist, surfboard shaper, local surf shop owner and more. The panel will judge the NYSFF 2010 Official Selections across a growing categories list this year, including not limited to: Best Feature, Best Short, Best Cinematography, Best Musical Score, and Best Animation.

Official 2010 NYSFF Screening Panel:

Alex Karinsky started the first ever surfing TV show in NY called “NYC Wipeout!” and founded the Gotham Surf Club.

Mike Becker of Nature Shapes Surfboards, which began in 1993 and has grown to become the second largest surfboard company in NY.

Todd DiCiurcio is an artist and surfer living in Brooklyn, NY. Acclaimed for his portrait work, he has created a dialogue between art and music with his live drawings.

Alex Dick-Read is the Founding Editor of The Surfer’s Path magazine, which he started 12 years ago in the UK.

Lewis Samuels formerly of Surfline’s Power Rankings and infamous PostSurf.com. In the course of analyzing the greatest surfers on earth, Lewis has become perhaps the most hated man in surfing.

Thad Ziolkowski is the author of On a Wave (Grove/Atlantic 2002), a memoir about growing up surfing in Melbourne Beach, Florida during the 1970′s.

Jeremy Dean FL/NY Surfer who spent six years making the independent feature length documentary Dare Not Walk Alone about civil rights and social justice, that appearedin theaters across the country in 2008.

Richard Phillips is an artist living and working in New York City. His paintings have been the subject of recent solo exhibitions at the Gagosian Gallery in Los Angeles and White Cube Gallery in London

John M. Schultz was born and raised in New York he is an archivist who maintains a sizable quiver of vintage and contemporary surfboards, has been awarded two Emmy Awards for his documentary work.

Charlie Bunger, Jr. manages Bunger Surf Shop in Babylon, NY. Bunger Surf Shop is one of the oldest family owned and operated surf shops in the USA. Charlie lives and surfs on Long Island.

Jamie Brisick has written two books: We Approach Our Martinis With Such High Expectations (Consafos Press, 2002) and Have Board, Will Travel: The Definitive History of Surf, Skate, and Snow (HarperCollins, 2004). His writings have appeared in The New York Times, The Guardian, and The Surfer’s Journal. In 2007 he was awarded a Fulbright Scholarship to Japan. He lives in New York City with his wife and 5’10″ Channel Islands Pod.

Diana ”Di”Mattison grew up in Northern California, started surfing at age 6, competing at 14 but cut her pro career short opting for academia. She graduated from UC Berkeley with a degree in religious studies and is currently working on a masters of philosophy at the New School for Social Research. She writes the Women’s Power Rankings on Surfline.com and loves all boards, but is admittedly pumped on single fins and her retro fish. She still takes out her standard shorty from time to time. At the end of the day, she thinks that the most important element in surfing is a graceful approach.

Thomas ‘Snapwater’ Colla is a New York photographer and underground shredder whose work has been featured in the Surfers Journal, Newsday, Transworld, Glide (Japan), Surfer, Surfing, EXPN.com and Slide (NZ).

Dave Denis is the main man/stuff maker; a product of the Long Beach, New York surf scene circa 1986

Sancho Rodriguez is the founder and organizer of the San Sebastián Surfilm Festibal, perhaps the oldest surf film festival in the world. Sancho says ” I just came out of the water, enjoyed a couple of 5 footers at Lafitenia, St Jean de Luz. Good vibes in the water with some of the classics and a couple of young guys. But there was this guy who kept paddling around everyone, he transmitted bad vibes, he was not enjoying it and neither us around him. But at the end we will see how the good vibes will make a BIG comeback… get ready, smile and come to enjoy a Txuleta to the basque country!”

Mark Fragale is a Surf Journalist, archivist, and collector of historic surfing artifacts. Mark is a founding member of the Surfing Heritage Foundation and has been actively surfing for more than forty-five years; He lives in Kailua, Hawaii.

Tom Parrish is a 70′s North Shore shaping God who continues to make magic boards on Maui, where he also practices law when not surfing.

Chris Gentile was born in Rhode Island. Lives and works in New York City. Represented by Jeff Bailey Gallery NY and Gregory Lind Gallery SF. Associate Professor 2000-2002 Virginia Commonwealth University Doha, Qatar Middle East. Chris is a Photographer with works published in, Mens Vogue, Vogue Japan, Vogue China, Bon Appitte, Glamour, Vanity Fair, GQ, Details, Domino, Nylon, Surface, Art Forum, Topic…others, and happens to be Co-Owner Mollusk Surf Shop Brooklyn NY.

Denny Aaberg began his filmmaking journey in 1970 when he worked with George Greenough, creating the soundtrack for George’s surf classic, “Innermost Limits of Pure Fun.” In the mid-seventies, Aaberg became deeply involved in the Hollywood movie business, co-scripting, with Director, John Milius, the Warner Bros. cult classic, “Big Wednesday.” Over the years, Denny has continued to nurture his passion for filmmaking, writing screenplays, making short films, and most recently, working on Greg MacGillvray’s upcoming documentary, “Hollywood Don’t Surf,” to be released this year.

The Third Annual New York Surf Film Festival will return to Tribeca Cinemas September 24th-26th, 2010.

The New York Surf Film 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, 2005. The running time for features must be greater than 30 minutes. Films under 30 minutes in length are eligible for participation in the Short Film Program.

Submissions are open from January 5th to May 15th, 2010.

The submission form and complete information regarding eligibility and entry rules for the 2010 New York Surf Film Festival are available on the New York Surf Film Festival website at www.NYSurfFilm.com . Information is also available through Don’t Drop In, LLC at 917.658.2927, info@nysurffilm.com, or by regular mail to Don’t Drop In, LLC P.O. Box 310361 Brooklyn, NY 11231.

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 movie is, while fostering the growth of this global community in NYC. The New York Surf Film Festival is a Don’t Drop In Production, founded by Adam Cannizzaro, Tyler Breuer, Michael Machemer, and Morgan Rae Berk in 2008.

Surfers from 1960′s Plan Huge Reunion in Cape Town

The simple query “When are you gonna get the guys together?” by 1960′s Muizenberg surfing stalwart Henk ‘Farmer’ Schagen has triggered a sequence of events that will culminate in over 500 people from every corner of the globe re-uniting in Cape Town in March to celebrate their memories of the time they spent at the iconic ‘Surfers Corner’ between four and five decades ago.

The question, posed to Charlie Moir in late 2009, led the longboard surfing veteran to consult with good friend and former surfing administrator Nick Hough. The pair who resurrected local longboard surfing in the mid 1980′s by forming the Western Province Longboard Club decided to start making enquiries about the whereabouts of their 1960′s peers.

Their quest immediately drew positive feedback from everyone approached and within weeks there were nearly 100 names on the list of Sixties surfers, lifesavers, girls, beach bums, musicians and others who were keen to meet and reminisce about the magical era as the so-called ‘baby-boomers’ started to come of age.

Thanks to modern communications facilities, word of the reunion soon spread throughout the Muizenberg diaspora and enquiries started flooding in from all corners of the country and the planet. With a month to go before the official Surfers Corner Sixties Reunion at Muizenberg on March 19, there are already 500 confirmed attendees and organisers have stopped taking more.

“It’s unbelievable how the project has grown,” says Moir whose portfolio includes what he calls the ‘nuts and bolts’ of the event, ensuring that the ticketing, staffing, decorations, catering, entertainment and other aspects of the reunion function are in place.

“What we expected would be a casual get-together of around a hundred people has escalated into this huge party with people who used to hang out at Surfers Corner 40 to 50 years ago coming from all over the country and the world.”

Hough, who has worked tirelessly in handling the communications and guest list, gathering archive materials and trying to raise sponsorship so everyone can attend the event at no cost, is equally amazed at the response the reunion has generated.

“The response has been mind-boggling,” says Hough, who grew up in Muizenberg. “It’s good to know there are so many generous people and companies out there who have contributed everything from cash and posters to photographic services, PA systems and sausages, not forgetting all those who have dug into their archives and found some fascinating historical photos and artifacts from that magical 1960′s era.”

Arguably the most beneficial aspect of the event has been the rekindling of friendships from decades ago made possible via the contact list containing well over 300 interested parties compiled by the organisers. People who spent their formative years hanging out on the beach at Surfers Corner but who have not seen or heard from each other for decades are now back in touch and communicating.

A video presentation featuring archive footage and images, interviews with personalities from the ’60′s and music from the period is being produced by Carlos Feyder to be shown at the event. Tentatively titled ‘Surfers Corner – The Movie’ with a sub-title of ‘Should have been here yesterday’, the trailer for the movie can be found at http://www.vimeo.com/9373680 Additional material recorded at the function will be included in the finished production which will be available to all participants after the event.

The dress code for the function is ‘casual, with a hint of Hawaiian’ and the organisers foresee the men wearing floral shirts while women can wear leis and flowers in their hair. Patrons will be seated according to their original home base or surf club affiliation during the sixties and designated areas will house those from Deep South, Southern Suburbs and Atlantic Seaboard which produced clubs like the Muizenberg Corner, Point and Atlantic and their elite offshoots such as Surf Club Swamis and Surf Club Da Cat.

The function gets underway at 7pm and a massive group photo is planned for 7.30 with the image rushed off for processing and printing before being inserted in a frame and a copy presented to all participants before they leave that evening, along with a copy of the poster specially designed for the event.

After the welcome by the organisers, a special toast will be made to the late John Whitmore, the Doyen of South African surfing and an icon of the sixties surfing lifestyle. The tribute, to include ‘absent friends’, will be led by Claus ‘Bosco’ Andrup who is traveling from Canada specifically to attend the event.

A cash bar, run as a fund-raiser by the Western Province Longboard Club, along with a choice of convenient foods will be available at the venue while the entertainment for the evening includes original sixties music performed by a band that includes Paul de Villiers, Jimmy Moffatt, Clive Maasch and others, with harmonies from the Surfing Sixties Sisters.

A raffle featuring dozens prizes ranging from a Firewire longboard through apparel from multinational brands to numerous alcohol products, accommodation vouchers, surfing equipment and many, many more will ensure that virtually everyone who attends will take something home.

Further details on the event can be found on the Facebook group Surfers Corner Sixties Reunion where there are well over a hundred old time images, many threads of friends connecting and more than 250 members.

Save The Waves to Release “Surfonomics” Study at Mavericks Contest

Save The Waves Coalition announced it has completed its second “Surfonomics” study, a measure of the economic value of the world-famous big-wave break at Mavericks in Half Moon Bay, California. The study found that the surfing site and area has an estimated economic value to visitors of nearly $24 million per year, based on approximately 420,000 annual visitors.

“Mavericks is an iconic, world-renowned surf break that’s truly unique,” said Save The Waves executive director Dean LaTourrette. “This study provides evidence of not just its environmental value, but of its economic value as well. This further reinforces the notion that it and other special coastal areas around the world need and deserve to be protected.” The study, which includes an economic value report as well as an analysis on the value of the break from an ecotourism perspective, will be available beginning on Saturday, February 13th, 2010 at the Mavericks Surf Contest. ©

The study combined the economic value visitors place on the wave with intrinsic or cultural values of a coastal location with a world-class wave such as Mavericks. An important goal of the project was to build a model that can inform decision makers in coastal communities with important waves around the world. While prior studies of the value of waves have focused on the economic impacts of a contest or industry to local economies, this study looked at the benefits that surfing provides to surfers and observers by focusing on the value they place on the Mavericks wave through what they give up to experience it, as well as their qualitative comments.

The combined study, entitled “The Value of a Wave: An Analysis of the Mavericks Region and the Mavericks Wave from an Ecotourism Perspective,” was conducted by University of Hawaii Economic Research Organization, in partnership with the Center for Responsible Travel at Stanford University, under the guidance of Save The Waves Coalition.

The complete study is available just in time for the 2009/2010 Mavericks Surf Contest,© which has been called on Saturday, February 13, 2010, at Mavericks Beach. Save The Waves is an environmental partner for the contest and will have a booth at the event, as well as more detail on the study.

Summary of Key Findings:

1) The wave at Mavericks has an estimated minimum economic value to visitors of $23.9 million per year.1

2) The average visitor is willing to pay a minimum of $56.70 per trip to the Mavericks surf area.

3) Surfers visit the area nearly five times more often than non-surfers and thus accrue more value from the area.

4) The study did not include the Mavericks Surf Contest, which has drawn anywhere from 10,000 to 50,000 people to the area on contest day, and thus results in additional economic value to visitors each year.

5) Almost 90% of the respondents labeled surfing an ecotourism activity, and thus important to the cultural and environmental health of the community. Respondents believed that Mavericks helped to positively define the Half Moon Bay area.

1 Based on estimated visitation levels of 421,431 per year
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About Save The Waves Coalition: Save The Waves Coalition is a global nonprofit organization dedicated to protecting and preserving the coastal environment, with an emphasis on the surf zone, and educating the public about its value. Save The Waves is a 501(c)3 non-profit. http://www.savethewaves.org

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