IBA DK World Tour

Kelly
December 2008
The DK World Tour launched back in the later half of the 1990's, was embraced by some of the top DK enthusiasts of the day but sadly the tour died off somewhere around 2000 when bodyboarding went through some tough years. Now it is back and in its final event for 2008, I thought I'd follow the event but unlike the Mens World Tour which is packed with well known riders, I only recognised the following riders which are left in the Quarter Finals:

Dave Winchester, Ryan Hardy, Jeff Hubbard, Ardiel Jimenez, Dave Hubbard

Ardiel & Dave are competing for the World Title but there are no other recognisable DK riders that I know of - Winny, Hardy & Jeff Hubbard are hardly known for their DK skills and while a victory is a victory, for me it only means anything if there is a decent level of competition. Granted there are some local Spanish riders there that I hope have some skills on the knee and push this event but word from Ferrol was that Darren Halse (2nd) was a class above the rest of the field and Dave Hubbard (1st) was in a class of his own.

Obviously there are some DK riders missing from this tour - with not much prize money up for grabs it makes it tougher to be able to afford to travel to the events - and for some DK riders they do not compete and it is all about free surfing but the IBA have launched this tour again and while it is part of their job to attract competitors, it is also up to the bodyboarders to support.

So my question is - who would you like to see competing on the DK tour .... or do you not care? And what do you reckon is the missing ingredient for a successful tour?

In the past there have been some great DK duels that I was exposed to and I would like to see today's generation of up and coming bodyboarders enjoying the same.

[attachment=0]Confital IBA World Tour 08 - DK QTR Finals.jpg[/attachment]

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10 Replies

craigtrilivas
December 2008
Would be amazing if they could have like a DK legends part of the tour or category aswell as the rest of the guys killin it nowdays.
Maybe a category of the "founders & pioneers" or "Elders" if u will
Obviously our country's finest would be sick too!
December 2008
well for myself, if its a completely seperate tour / different events and times from the normal IBA Tour i wouldnt support it as leaning towards a split in the sport. If you have the whole lot under the same event then cool.

i think owes would compete if they are on the IBA tour already and just means entering another heat / division.

otherwise for me doesnt appeal, but the contests never have appealed to me either.

rather have contests to see who can find, conquer and explore the deepest oceans with the maddest slabs and breaks!! Bodyboarding contests are generally lame i find and not for me watching owes grovel for 20mins at a time...rather free surf and go big and make the sport look good

that should start the forum up
dsc
December 2008
I think I would have to agree with Mark in that if its a separate tour to the usual world tour then it is going to suffer. For some reason DK has died off a lot over the last few years with the progression of the sport to the new school arial type stuff we see a lot of. There are not that many really good DK riders in SA at the moment probably due to this.

Another massive reason is the concentration of money in this sport. A lot of it is primarily only in a few hot locations around the world. Judges score big on clean prone riding with sleak and stylishly executed arial moves. Not forgetting hand cutties into the pit on a late takeoff haha! Another point being that DK has always been a separate "heat" in events and if riders that could both DK and prone etc should combine in a normal heat it could ad some excitement. Surely and 8-10FT DK pit to win a heat would ad some excitement to things!!?

I think DK still has its place though, and I would love to see some sick DK in some big pits!

Robert Starke is definitely one of SA's most styling DK riders and I reckon if he didnt have a bad back he would do well on the DK world tour!
Spy Dude
December 2008
Spy dont post in forum no more cos he is too negative
December 2008
ja for sure....its tricky cause contests are suffering at they are at the moment, so splitting it into two would mean double the work and half the funds going into contests as owes wont cough up for two serperate events....due to local industry and recsession around the world the sports will suffer over the next few years....they predicted 50% of all major retail brands will come to an end very soon cause of the markets. At the moment Quiksilver (Owned by YQK) are on the brink of shutting down....as much as they seem to be so big and established as one of the big surfing giants they are colapsing very very fast and will probably hit liquidation very soon / get bought out.

Dam the NYSE as would be investing into some possible quick turnover capital, yes has high risk but could pay off very well as think there shares are sitting at $1.20 and dropping fast....
Kelly
December 2008

dsc wrote:
Another point being that DK has always been a separate "heat" in events and if riders that could both DK and prone etc should combine in a normal heat it could ad some excitement. Surely and 8-10FT DK pit to win a heat would ad some excitement to things!!?

A slight correction here - that is how it used to be. Maybe showing my age here ... I think I rode my first DK heat in '92 or '93 - a bit of a speciality event at the Dairy Maid contest in Durban in the summer. Even then, DK was not introduced onto the SABA circuit till after '98 at least. I rode a SABA event at St Michaels in 1998 where we turned the Seniors division (now Mens) into an unofficial DK division - and with internationals like Kyle Maligro and Manny Vargas down for the event competing in the division in some fairly size surf, it became the division to watch. In the final Kyle's air made a double spread in the US Bodyboarding magazine.

After that, I'm not sure when it was introduced, but it was there in 2002 if I remember correctly.

So this is where we came from and I think we have progressed - you can still ride DK in the normal heats but the judging is subjective and having moved to the separate division makes it easier to judge the two disciplines against each other. Consider putting a longboarder against a shortboarder - and try work out who wins? Ask the question - what scores more ... a DK tube against a prone tube, a DK cuttie against a prone cutback or a DK floater against a prone backflip? And then you start to debate ...

But I do enjoy seeing the prone vs DK duels ... and if anyone can remember Kainoa McGee or Jack Lindholm charging Pipe contests on the knee then you have to think there is still place for a bit of DK up against the prone boys because that was legendary. And recently we had Spex owning the Kalk Bay Shoot Out on the knee. To me, you need to understand the judging system and then take each wave on its merit and if you can ride both DK and prone then you need to go with what can score you more.

...

Elands/J-bay on the knee - definitely. Never ridden Elands but would love to. J-bay is my backhand which is quite challenging as some sections are quite fast but with a bit of familiarity you should get it sussed better. For regular footers - sick. If anyone has seen the footage of Phil Harnsberger at Supers then there is a little bit of inspiration for you.
December 2008
Ahh yes i remember the Dairy Maid contests!! Entered the one in Umchlanaga one year and got beat by Gordon Cockwell, i was busting out prone and he did the whole heat DK style and beat the other rider also...couldnt make sense to myself as had some solid waves under my belt also...

I reckon JBay is too fast for DK as prone you will get heaps more speed and a lot of the sections are hard to race through if you get through them at all...i used to go for 14days every year to JBAY just after the contest, used to get cooking waves but ja not really a bodyboarding / DK wave i rate. Breaks too fast when its on and cooking...

funny i remember at Pipeline prelims, Brandon Foster knocking out Daniel Worsley on prone

viva le freesurf
dsc
December 2008

Kelly wrote:
In the final Kyle's air made a double spread in the US Bodyboarding magazine.

... and if anyone can remember Kainoa McGee or Jack Lindholm charging Pipe contests on the knee then you have to think there is still place for a bit of DK

Kelly I remember that spread so clearly - was almost like history in the making! I know those Pipe contests with Kainoa and Jack definitley inspired a couple of my mates from the Umzumbe area where we grew up boogeying to only ride on their knees! Beachie closeouts or anything - it was on your knee or nothing. It is clear when you say long board vs short - two completely different techniques and anyone who has watched the Endless Summer series has definitely considered how much fun a long board sesh could be. Same then has to go for DK vs Prone, but I like the mix up. Specker definitely owned it on the knee at the Shootout and that just shows that sick DK riding at a spot like that in decent sized surf, has the power to influence the judges as to just how much more concentration is needed, especially in a contest situation.

My point is that how much more respect/hooting would a rider get if he/she needed an 8 in a final and a solid 8 footer came through and they got up on the knee, got pitted, came out and layed a fat carve with some sick spray off the back and finished with a snap or a floater. Almost a "there you are, can I have a 10 and crush him please?" type vibe. Dunno but for me that would be way sicker than a prone pit to flip to ars combo. A lot of riders these days can pull that out but most certainly not as many can pull the 8FT DK pit combo, after having chucked out some flips etc during the same heat.

Mark that is pretty crazy what you say about Quik and the gang.. especially when you see a pair of boardies retailing for R400.. you even have a brand trying to sell its boardies at R800 now!
Chinnychinchin
December 2008
It would be totally sick to see solid DK skills in solid waves......BUT generally contests are held in rubbish waves and it's bad enough watching freakin "spin-to-win" in crappy waves let alone an awesome DK grovel-duel. Also, generally, a rider riding back-side DK is at a distinct disadvange compared to front-side, unless your'e a freak like Kieth Sasaki or Jacky Buder or Jack Da Ripper Lindholm.

How about a tow-in DK expression session? That would be off the chain!!!!

And more DK riding would push the level of board design/constrution to a new level.
craigtrilivas
December 2008
Yeah bro Big wave Dk is sick!
I used to love Dking Glen & Camps bay shorey when it maxed
But that was when I was younger and fitter and had good knees & a strong back.
Injuries can do alot to ones confidence and mindset & I know exactly where Rob is coming from with the back vibes having broken his or his cocyx or something to that effect.
U dont realise just what ur body goes thru when u tweak it & if u twaek a previouse injury a lil too far it could be over forever man

I cant float big or even at all anymore and land in the flats and try to make it layback - drag back up styles at all cos my knee will kiesh out HARD!
I think Roach also messed up his leg and started to chillax a bit a while back too

Still getting up and charging a wopper on the knee and getting owned in the belly of the beast is freekin awesome.
Fak I cant wait for some swell

I think we should get a DK road trip goin!

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