I'll write my thoughts on this tomorrow but it will be interesting to see what people think!!!! What about you mark what are your thoughts on where we stand on all this??
Jacko

well for my 2 cents worth some of the people I have seen around the traps and on youtube clips pasted here I would say that from a surfing perspective there are a few people here that are right up there with the best I have seen else where without a doubt.

As far as sales go I am not sure but anecdotol evidence I have seen would indicate that whilst SUP is growing here rapidly (there were 12 SUPs out at Manly at 6am the other day) its has a long way to go to catch up with the numbers that I saw in California last month. I am sure that some of the sponsors of this site would be able to give us a basic idea without giving too much away re % increases in volumes they have been selling etc. I reckon that would be interesting eg: Sold 50% more this yr than the previous 12mths etc

Racing perspective - limited - my gf went in a race a few months back and she was the only girl and there were 6 blokes from memory - 2 of them drove up from Canberra. So I am not really sure abt that. There is a race here this weekend which may provide a better estimate - although the surf will be cranking which may affect things! So if you compare my limited knowledge re what I have seen posted here re Hawaii then we are a long long long way behind - not in the talent but in the numbers.

hilly said...

Have go agree Ted numbers wise we would be miles behind. The whole race scene is non existent in WA. Surf numbers are small and mainly guys coming from windsurfing or kiting. No young guys at all.

hilly, starting to see some younger crew around, but yeah, there needs to be more. the problem is they see it as something you do when your older and need something different to do. when i was a kid, nothing exist much outside surfing my 6'1 board. mind you with the shocking run of surf we are having at the goldie, i'm seeing novice suppers in droves at the moment
cheers

As far as numbers Australia is a very small fish in a big pond population wise , so you would expect boards overseas as far as outright sales go to smash us.The downwind racing side of things we are obviouslwy way behind in participation stakes.I think the bop style races are where the numbers would be , and i personally would like to see more of those , rather than tagging along with the Oc crew.(i know that neccessary at the moment).The bop style format opens the sport up to far more people and is spectator friendly too , i rekon short sprint races could aslo be popular.

Getting younger people involved would aslo be a key , but im sure the participation rate would explode if races attracted good prize money.Bop races in decent surf would be great to watch and may attract t.v coverage too.

As far as talent goes we are at the top of the pile as far as i can tell in both surfing and racing.

teatrea said...

As far as numbers Australia is a very small fish in a big pond population wise , so you would expect boards overseas as far as outright sales go to smash us.The downwind racing side of things we are obviouslwy way behind in participation stakes.I think the bop style races are where the numbers would be , and i personally would like to see more of those , rather than tagging along with the Oc crew.(i know that neccessary at the moment).The bop style format opens the sport up to far more people and is spectator friendly too , i rekon short sprint races could aslo be popular.

Getting younger people involved would aslo be a key , but im sure the participation rate would explode if races attracted good prize money.Bop races in decent surf would be great to watch and may attract t.v coverage too.

As far as talent goes we are at the top of the pile as far as i can tell in both surfing and racing.

i'll would go with that youth and bop- that's the future in australia.
some people might'n like it, but if the clubbies get the scent- look out
cheers
ps don't know about other areas, but there is a pretty strong crew of paddlers going to the us bop from the goldie, if they do well, that might get australia a bit more on the scale of things

I got some stats sent to me from Stand Up Paddle Surfing Mag ,deleted it after I read it ,but from memory the hits on their web site where counted over the last 12 months as an indicator to interest in SUP

USA 150,000
AUS 8,000
Can 8,000
and so on

If you were selling a mass produced product from China you wouldn't waste the time packing a container load to sell in OZ

PT SUP said...


I got some stats sent to me from Stand Up Paddle Surfing Mag ,deleted it after I read it ,but from memory the hits on their web site where counted over the last 12 months as an indicator to interest in SUP

USA 150,000
AUS 8,000
Can 8,000
and so on

If you were selling a mass produced product from China you wouldn't waste the time packing a container load to sell in OZ

They revised these figures as they were incorrect as per the press release. Really though how many people here regularly check that site?? Laurie could give you better numbers on registered users and active posters etc from this site.

hilly said...

In WA downwinding should be huge. It is weird that very few are interested as we have some of the most consistent winds in the world.

Kiting seems to be picking up the most numbers here it has taken over from windsurfing and appeals to the younger crew. Need a few more bans

I love my SUB but only when its <10 knots.

When that seabreeze kicks in (and it did today), its time to down paddle and hoist the sail. Yewww. Just love skimming across that sparkly azure at speed.

Downwinding? What a hassle - car shuffling - no speed - I'm sure its fun but IMHO, why bother when you can adrenalin surge on the wings of the wind?

Piros said...

PT SUP said...


I got some stats sent to me from Stand Up Paddle Surfing Mag ,deleted it after I read it ,but from memory the hits on their web site where counted over the last 12 months as an indicator to interest in SUP

USA 150,000
AUS 8,000
Can 8,000
and so on

If you were selling a mass produced product from China you wouldn't waste the time packing a container load to sell in OZ

We all love numbers & stats what about these: Last year the Battle of the paddle was won by an Australian Jamie Mitchell on a board made on the Gold Coast this year another Australian Travis Grant came second on another Gold Coast built board , how many places did we get in this years Molakai sup race by people from this site HEAPS we might be only represent less than 10% of total sales but with our races and surfers we are way way above that.

Would be very interesting if the BOP or the world Sup surfing where held here I reckon very trophies would leave the country.

Yes I am poking the tiger.

Rob

imagine a international bop at say the goldie.there would be all sorts of elite paddlers from all sorts of walks of life fronting up for that one.
hell, thats all it needs -a BIG EVENT

This is the race course we have planned for the Kirra Surfstock Festival in November, BOP style around Kirra point, maximum exposure for spectators, who will be able to watch the whole race from Kirra Point or Kirra Hill. Feel free to get behind it, the more sponsors we get, the more prizes, the better the race.

Scotty

Tryfan said...




This is the race course we have planned for the Kirra Surfstock Festival in November, BOP style around Kirra point, maximum exposure for spectators, who will be able to watch the whole race from Kirra Point or Kirra Hill. Feel free to get behind it, the more sponsors we get, the more prizes, the better the race.

Scotty

good one scotty. you've been keeping that one under your hat

Piros said...

Fantastic Scotty , I'll back this I'm in for sponsorship

Rob

Good stuff mate, looking at a SUP expo to go with it including demos, gear, etc

Ted the Kiwi said...

"Getting younger people involved would aslo be a key , but im sure the participation rate would explode if races attracted good prize money.Bop races in decent surf would be great to watch and may attract t.v coverage too."

I think one of the main issues re the uptake (especially with the younger crew) is the cost. Lots of younger people ask me in the surf how much the gear costs and their eyes just roll over when you start with a paddle at $500. Then they get to the board and I tell them I got it secondhand for $1.400 and they freak.

I know for myself that I would love to have 3 boards but cost wise I prohibited for the moment in obtaining the rest. Surfboard wise its cheap to have 4 or 5 boards.

Lets hope its like all new electronic inventions ie: Plamsa, ipods, laptops, hard drives etc and the costs fall rapidly in the next few yrs.......I do not think this will be the case though!!!!

This may be difficult to achieve when you consider the foam alone for say a 10' can be over $350. Then machine profile it, shape it, laminate, sand, filler, fins, sand, wetrub art if you like. Profit margins are pretty small. The only real way it gets cheaper is if the people working on the boards do not eat. The retailer needs to keep their doors open as well.

Shortboard shapers here in Australia have been accustomed to making $50 a board for a while but it can be viable (kind of) if you make enough of them, rounded square 6'2's are relatively easy to produce and you can make a lot of them. If you wholesale them then wait 90 days to get your $50 margin while you have paid your staff months ago. Great business eh, wanna get into it???

SUP's are much slower to produce so to be viable at all they need to be at a decent price.

I have always thought about it like this: People do not blink about $300 for a pair of $3 to make mass produced Nike runners or the like but mention $1500 for something made custom for you by hand in Australia as a one off and they start to freak about the price. These people need a tour of a surfboard factory!

Jumping down from my soap box and back to the thread, how much fun does Scotties race look? Great work Scotty! Think big time with this mate. Look to your suppliers and outside, if you can get the support this could be huge. Anything I can do to help let me know......