Arrgh!!!! I'm pretty sure that I saw Iron Phil Downwinder on Fuel TV doing the Molokai, Looking very good by the way!!!
Which brings me to a question. The first part of the Stand Up segment centred on SUP surfing...... Why aren't Keahi, Geoff Breen and about ten other guys that I see regularly posting incredible vids here not competing?
I know that Keahi is the world champ kiting so he is probably otherwise busy, but seriously besides Leco, Kai and Justin, it seemed to me that the quality of the top 10 SUP surfers in Australia easily matches those on the world tour. This is not meant to bag OS SUP surfers but encourage some of our best to compete!!
I realise it all costs money, but surely it would be in the best interests for some of the bigger shops and Australian manufacturers to sponsor a group of young guys to participate in these comps.
We all talk about the future of SUP in Australia and encouraging people to participate, I'm sure it would have a much higher profile if we had the top three in the world constantly making the news!! Aussies love a World Champ.
Ripcurl and Quiksilver started off small and sponsored guys which lifted their profile worldwide! IMHO, as well as nurturing a sport with unlimited potential, there is currently an under utilised business opportunity here as well. It would be interesting to hear from the bigger retailers and manufacturers as to why this doesn't happen. Surely they could band together like a coterie group so that it becomes more cost effective to divide the initial costs and later reap the rewards. It doesn't have to be ten, but you've got an excellent pool of talent to choose at least three from!!
Each world tour event has qualifying rounds so you need to be there to qualify , it's a money thing. Keahi , Geoff Breen & Jackson Close all JP Australia riders will be at Huntington CA world tour event in September and thats only because JP Australia helped them get there.
Talent is not enough you need the bucks behind you to get to the event , anyone can trail you just have to get there.
. It's great to hear JP Australia is helping them!! Maybe a few more could take a leaf out of their book.
I'm sure that many people working in the industry will reap the benefit if they experience continued success on the world stage.
JP are trying to go big in OZ at the moment, hence recruiting Piros ,Geoff , Keahi and Jackson and pushing for media exposure.
Yes I'm with you Leroy, Kyron Rathbone is one of the Countries hottest surfers, maybe Fanatic should sponsor him to go on tour, and of course Chris Clarke should get a Fanatic sponsor's ticket as well. that would be good to get both Vic and Tassie surfers out there so its not all top end Australia centric
