Nice one AirFX!
Just another call to everyone to sign the petition and make sure you get others you know who care anything about the sport to sign up too. This is huge, if we lose Pipe what's going to happen next year? Do you think that they are going to grant the permit back that easily? And I've heard mention of perhaps getting a contest window for March - we don't want late season scraps!!! So if everyone does not stand up for what they believe in then that may just be what we're going to get. Pipe is bodyboarding and everyone knows it and the contests held there over the winter should ideally reflect the same proportion of riders who use the break over the winter.
Basically all we want is what has always been granted to us and we want it this year! One contest in the prime of the winter season.
I don't want this to become a surfer/bodyboarder issue and it shouldn't become one, the fact that I've made my above comments is to highlight that bodyboarding has a place at Pipe - it is literally the home of bodyboarding, the birth place ... the place that you would think we would almost have a devine right to hold our crowning event of our world tour. At the moment the issue is that the authorities decided not to issue the bodyboarders with a permit. Why not? I have not heard. The Mayor is apparantly displeased with the process and has said the city will be drafting new rules and regulations, but it would not be appropriate to change this year's schedule. Or could that read that he's weighed up his options, they've ruffled the bodyboarders already and wouldn't want to upset the surfers now also rather than righting a wrong. You make your decision.
And unless we hear otherwise that is how it should remain (bodyboarders vs the city) and I wouldn't want anyone trying to make this into something which it is not. At present we have the support of a portion of the surfing community and I would encourage them to sign the petition too. If the shoe was on the other foot I'd like to think that we'd be fighting for the surfers ... let's hope we have the same support.
OK - now to what I want you to do ... we want signatures and we want them fast so send out an email to your mailing list and then check the petition to see if your mates have signed. Hit [Ctrl+F] and search for their name - if it's not there, email them again, phone them, sms them ... just make sure they sign and soon (it's late in the day already) and then get them to do the same. Most of your ballies, family or other board riding mates have most probably been following your involvement in the sport - explain to them the issue, if they think it is wrong then ask them to sign. It only takes 2 minutes.
I'll be sending out another email to our members to follow up on my earlier email request.
To those who have signed - nice one!!! The rest - get on the case ... and to everyone ... get onto your mates and make them sign ... if the Pipe event doesn't happen it is going to hurt everyone and that means you too ... we're staring down the barrell and chances are looking slim.
Get on the case!
