DavidJohn said...
Why are some of the biggest names not there? .. It is a very good question.

Maybe it's because they will be drug testing.. Just kidding.. but some body had to say it..

They say it's because they can't afford it.. Any body believing that?..

It is very weird ..

Go Aussies..

DJ

considering most of the top players are fully sponsered, it would be hard to believe it's a money issue.

weird indeed!

Hawaii had a problem with it last year, but can't remember what the problem was.

Just because someone is sponsored doesn't mean the money is endless. I was reading Candice Applebys take on the whole situation and she said it was going to cost $5k per athlete and surfing America just couldn't afford to send a full team. For her to use the money from her travel allowance would have meant taking more than half of what she gets for the entire year!

Apparently team USA was only announced a month or so before the competition meaning that even if the athletes were to fundraiser themselves time was limited.

From what I gathered reading Candaces FB surfing America really dropped the ball as the athletes were told it was all under control and then at the last minute the pin was pulled.

I agree that even though they are sponsered that it doesnt mean they are earning 100k a year. But in saying that, Team Hawaii/USA would pretty much have the TOP sponsered sup riders in the world from surf and race, by the biggest brands in the business. These guys/girls are all sponsered by more than one company. Between that and other means, say day jobs, fundraisers etc, I would have thought the drive be there. It not like Team Aus doesnt have further to travel and high costs....and look at some of the smaller unkowns travelling to have a crack.

I heard that it was the ISA rep in Hawaii or something similar that dropped the ball last year. Seems like alot of ball dropping

Yes alot of hearsay, but it just seams odd to me.

I can not speak for any one person, but maybe representing your own country at a personal finacial cost means more to some than others???

Again just throwing some ideas around.

IMO it would awesome to see full strength USA and Hawaii there, even though they are ONE country and that it would be at the expense of some Aussie gold.

I think it's fairly simple - this event is not on the radar of the big sponsor companies like Naish, Starboard and Surftech. They are willing to pay out to send their athletes to Hawaii and California but not Peru. The Americans and Hawaiians don't see the pressing need to spend their own money to chase after a title that they don't regard as the most important in SUP racing.

That the Australians, South Africans and many other countries have all attended, with athletes paying their own way is to their credit, and is perhaps more due to the way the event is perceived in these countries.

You can question the Americans' sense of patriotism at your own peril. Let's be honest, there probably is no more insanely patriotic nation in the world than America. Suggesting otherwise will probably place you on a CIA and Homeland Security black list.

PTWoody said...
I think it's fairly simple - this event is not on the radar of the big sponsor companies like Naish, Starboard and Surftech. They are willing to pay out to send their athletes to Hawaii and California but not Peru. The Americans and Hawaiians don't see the pressing need to spend their own money to chase after a title that they don't regard as the most important in SUP racing.

That the Australians, South Africans and many other countries have all attended, with athletes paying their own way is to their credit, and is perhaps more due to the way the event is perceived in these countries.

You can question the Americans' sense of patriotism at your own peril. Let's be honest, there probably is no more insanely patriotic nation in the world than America. Suggesting otherwise will probably place you on a CIA and Homeland Security black list.

In that case perhaps a change of venue to the US or Hawaii is all that would be needed to see sponsors throw in the bucks and all teams show up. Would make more sense than having it all the way down in peru from a cost, logistical and marketing value for the sponsors point of view. If it was run to co-incide with other races/surf events throughout the season it could be a real drawcard for the ISA.

PT you can probably expect a visit from the aformentioned authorities by even typing them on you keyboard

One more thing.. and IMO what having this world championship is all about... The Olympics.. Even one of the race turning bouys had the olympic rings on it.

Before a sport can be a part of the Olympics you need to have a few world championship events first.

Supporting this event is the only way to make it happen for us in the future and I'm guessing the Americans will find the money to send a team to the olympics when that happens.

DJ

$5000 is a joke to come and compete here, who ever is in charge of the USA team needs a kick up the arse. It would have cost both me and Ang about that and that was from aus. It is super disrespectful to All the athletes here for the commentators to say any thing like that if that was what was been said!!
If a athlete wants to be the best then they should be here other wise it's just a what if!! Sean pointer and Colin wanted to compete against the best and somehow they found there way here, amazing some of the use big name pros could not do the same!!

Jacko

paul.j said...
$5000 is a joke to come and compete here, who ever is in charge of the USA team needs a kick up the arse. It would have cost both me and Ang about that and that was from aus. It is super disrespectful to All the athletes here for the commentators to say any thing like that if that was what was been said!!
If a athlete wants to be the best then they should be here other wise it's just a what if!! Sean pointer and Colin wanted to compete against the best and somehow they found there way here, amazing some of the use big name pros could not do the same!!

Jacko

Lol the commentators didnt say that mate , I was summizing how much it would cost in Travel food accomidation ECT , and I plucked $5,000 out. If it only costing you around $2,500 from AUS , thats a pretty cheap Holiday to go race for your Country. Any Ways keep up the good work team AUS & NZ.

As far as event loctation is concerned. If it takes having it in their backyard to get them to join, what will it take for an international event to be held in Aus. It seems every year we think we are going to get a leg of the so called SUP World Tour...and every year there is a reason not to. I could understand if Australia wasnt one of the largets markets and contributors of SUP outside the USA.....

anyway enough of this rant.

How good are these ISA games!! looks like everyone is having a cracking time. Really good vibe and the whole ISA crew seams to be really genuinly behind it....top stuff

And not to forget the excellent work by Team SUPRacer

teatrea said...

paul.j said...
$5000 is a joke to come and compete here, who ever is in charge of the USA team needs a kick up the arse. It would have cost both me and Ang about that and that was from aus. It is super disrespectful to All the athletes here for the commentators to say any thing like that if that was what was been said!!
If a athlete wants to be the best then they should be here other wise it's just a what if!! Sean pointer and Colin wanted to compete against the best and somehow they found there way here, amazing some of the use big name pros could not do the same!!

Jacko

Lol the commentators didnt say that mate , I was summizing how much it would cost in Travel food accomidation ECT , and I plucked $5,000 out. If it only costing you around $2,500 from AUS , thats a pretty cheap Holiday to go race for your Country. Any Ways keep up the good work team AUS & NZ.

It's alright mate the $5000 thing was put out there by the USA team boss from what i read.

BeauOBrian said...
In reply to what DJ and mick smith are going on about. All the top riders that are fully sponsored don't have unlimited funds, some even do run a full time job. Which for me includes running my own business, I dont get paid for days off, That's the reason why I pulled out of the team. I have a mortgage to pay too. Like Australia the US had no financial support to get their paddles over there. It is a World Title event but there is no prize money and it would have cost $4000 to $5000, plus time lost at work. Because there is no prize money there is no chance of trying to recoup the cost of travelling. Drug claims have nothing to do with it. The worlds best are always in attendance at the battle of paddle California so this year when drug testing is happening there will be no innuendo. Due to the airlines restrictions on the boards it is impossible to get a easy flight and it usually takes several flights and a long time to get there. We all wish we could do every International race but it is not possible.

Thanks for your reply and thoughts about this..

No one is pointing their finger at you and i understand about people like you and so many others like you around the world but huge names like Connor, Kai and Candice have big sponsores and it's a shame that they didn't step up help and the fact that there is no prize money should not come into it with an event like this.. There's plenty of other events for that.. IMO its more about testing yourself against the best.. win or loose.. and supporting the sport.

I'm no expert about all this and probably don't know half of what's really going on.. It's just my personal thoughts.

On the plus side we now have a regular Seabreezer as the sup world champ and another as number four in the world... Awesome.. .. Good luck guys and gals in the BOP type race finials.

DJ

There are a couple of ways to look at it. From the average punters perspective I am sure they would give their arm and a leg to go and represent their country (even though giving that away might not help their paddling) as it would be a once in a life time experience.

On the other hand for the pros, and I use that term losely as by definition it means that that is your main source of income, travel to a number of events around the world each year so they have to be particular about the events they go to. They essentially have to run themselves like a business and look to get a return on their investment. Yes a world championship title would help them when negotiating a deal with sponsors but they still have to outlay that money.

Until the sport gets to the Olympic stage it will still be a case of most guys/girls having to pay thier own way. When it gets to the Olympics then the Government will start funding it and putting more money into it allowing more people the opportunity to enter. I always love hearing the stat after each Olympics about how much each gold medal cost a nation.

It's stand up paddling guys.

Relax.......

BeauOBrian said...
In reply to what DJ and mick smith are going on about. All the top riders that are fully sponsored don't have unlimited funds, some even do run a full time job. Which for me includes running my own business, I dont get paid for days off, That's the reason why I pulled out of the team. I have a mortgage to pay too. Like Australia the US had no financial support to get their paddles over there. It is a World Title event but there is no prize money and it would have cost $4000 to $5000, plus time lost at work. Because there is no prize money there is no chance of trying to recoup the cost of travelling. Drug claims have nothing to do with it. The worlds best are always in attendance at the battle of paddle California so this year when drug testing is happening there will be no innuendo. Due to the airlines restrictions on the boards it is impossible to get a easy flight and it usually takes several flights and a long time to get there. We all wish we could do every International race but it is not possible.

I'm not going on about anything.
1. refering to Hawaiian-US participation or lack there of
2. I did say most top players (again refering to Hawaii-US) not all.

Just like with you I would expect some americans-hawaiians would not be able to go.
But none from Hawaii, that does seem strange

But really couldn't care two hoots who turns up

What a quote from Jacko!