Reasons for Bboarding not going Big in SA?

Randomjoe
April 2009
Could it be that we as riders don’t take it seriously?
Could it be that we just do the basic minimum to get coverage for the sport?
Could it be that we compromise on our rules, system (drug free sport, penalty's etc)?
Or does no one actually think that you could be a Professional BBoarder in South Africa?

We've got all the talent we've got all the numbers, maybe its time we stand out from the crowd and
Start taking it a bit more seriously...?
What’s your verdict...?
Why don’t we get the exposure and acknowledgment we so desperately long for?

Bodyboarding 959 views

10 Replies

Ricky_Bobby
April 2009
I agree. There are so many guys in the country that are above average in the water, and I honestly think they should consider taking their abilities to the next level.
morrisminor
April 2009
a year on the pro tour is really expensive...SA local industry and contests don't have the capital to support full time riders....full time riders kick ass on those doing a 9-5.......the evil rabbits have been plotting againt us for years,sabotaging equipment, attacking riders,biasing judges.

Destroy the rabbits, and the rest has no choice but to fall into place.
Scarecrow
May 2009
Coverage, coverage, coverage! Sponsors want exposure and coverage. They not gonna spend money on a sport where they are not gonna get good coverage and reach their target markets. The bodyboarding culture in SA is not main-stream enough for the big corporates to take any serious interest. Think about it...you own a company and you sponsor a Saffa bodyboarder. What do you get out of it?? Maybe your brand gets exposure with the local bodyboarder following (not all that large in the bigger picture of South African sports!) in so far as your branding and logos are on the rider's boards, maybe you've even got branded clothing that he wears around in public. That's about it! TV coverage? Non-existent!! Newspaper coverage? Almost never. At best you're getting media coverage (adverts in bodyboarding magazines, etc) and this is very limited. Personally I think that the more we can promote bodyboarding in newspapers and other "lifestyle" magazines, the bigger and better the industry as a whole will become. This does not mean that we must ignore our own industry. It just means that we need to think about promoting our sport in other areas. We need to promote our top performers as much as possible and inform the general public about the rider's successes in overseas contests, etc. The more the public hear about South African bodyboarders ripping it up in the big contests (Pipe contest, etc) and on the world tour, the more they'll take interest and the more people will want to follow the sport.

Certain people will hate this idea because it will invite every "kook" and his dog to get on a bodyboard and hit the surf, and it will invite all sorts of crappy wannabe adverts and the like. But the reality is that unless these people get involved in the sport, bodyboarding will never grow.
craigtrilivas
May 2009
I really dont know why standup surfing has such big exposure and BBing doesnt cos the moves we do on the most critical parts of the wave plus the shear madness and velociti of the moves, to me, and many others are far more amazing to watch than the boring hum drum cutbacks and floaters surfers do.

Its always the same get up, bottom turn, try cut back, fall over...or not but if not thats about when it starts all over again for a replay.

The average bodyboarder is more entertaining to the eye in the way of how many different moves one will see them do in their time in the water vs the 2 moves a surfer will do on every wave in his/her entire session.

Dont get me wrong when its small and kuk i enjoy a bit of a standup, but in my opinion, even tho all the standups will snigger at u for being a booger......little do they know that u could probably rip better than them on the fibreglass

Maybe its bcos their sport has been aroound alot longer and we're just gettin started
iammonster
May 2009
You are right about the coverage!!!
BUT the only way a sponsor is guaranteed he is going to get any coverage is when whoever is approaching him has got some figures! How do we come about these figures..
'Potential sponsor' Yes id love to sponsor the sport and put a double page spread in the mag, but do you have proof that lots of people will see this ad.. let me see your subscription numbers......oh hmmm only 100 subscribers....nah i think il go sonsor something else hey...
It starts with you and me...support the mag and SUBSCRIBE!!!!!

Also keep your money in the sport you love and lets create our own industry!!!!

SUPPORT THE COMPANYS WHO SUPPORT BODYBORDING!!!

If you want to own some strictly BODYBOARDING clothing and please visit - http://www.iammonster.co.za

Or otherwise you can go buy billabong, quiksilver and volcom and watch the surf industry get bigger as we get smaller...
DavidC
May 2009
I think it is mainly because surfing has been around for so much longer and was the pioneer wave riding genre. I think one of the biggest issues is also how bodyboarding is perceived. When you talk to most about Bodyboarding it conjours up images of vaalies and lighties riding foamies on Pick n Pay specials. I think that BBoarding is growing, with growing exposure will follow sponsors and then the industry will grow faster. I think what is critical though is for Bodyboarders to sell the sport, spread the stoke and educate people on the sport. People need to start seeing Bboarding as its own entity and not just a sport for lazy surfers and vaalies and then it will start growing more.
Inky
May 2009
Well let's get cracking, mose people I know that dont BB are blown away at what they see when I show them pictures or a DVD. I think people are very dof when it comes to what BB really is about. It might be worth inviting the public to trails and so on, perhaps that will get the ball rolling.

Gooi rooi okes!
iammonster
May 2009
good points guys!
AGAIN though...it starts with you and me!
YOU invite people to trials and DVD viewings...

A HUGE area is the schools!! Start bodyboarding clubs at school level, get together every week and show DVDs go surf together as a group...invite your classmates to come with to these meetings..get together with other schools and have interschool comps...we do them in durban and they are awesome! Also a great way to spot young talents..
If you out of school put back a little and approach the school you were at help get ti going a little, maybe organise the events for them a bit of coaching here and there...
kru
May 2009
hey guys,

the age old debate.
Firstly, your surf brands: quik, bb, etc have experienced the 'cool' factor. Which basically means surfing became cool in places like poffader and they sell tonnes of stuff in far reaching places (They are also stocked in places like edgars, etc) and when they get money from that they pump it back into surfing, hence the sport becomes bigger. We have brands that support us (Bodyboarders) so why don't you buy from them? (If you are stuck on what to buy, pick up the mag).
And how can you blame the surf brands? They laugh when we complain about this stuff, because they know we'll keep buying and they will stick to their roots and keep investing in surfing while we sit and complain.
So when you buy that brand, you are investing in stand up surfing, its a relatively simple equation.
Everyone talks about being an individual, and 'I don't want to wear what the guy next to me is wearing', and then you go and buy a brand that every second donkey is wearing. If you did that in Australia they would take you out back and shoot you.
Next on the list, there are people who benefit from bodyboarding but put nothing back, although, thankfully this trend is starting to cool off now but you must buy from reputable people, you can see through the magazine who supports so support them. There are epic brands out there so you have plenty to choose from.
Lastly, everyone complains that pick n pay cheapies are such a problem but at the end of the day if they had to sponsor a massive event to get bodyboarding on tv so the masses could see how good it is, we'd be styling.

anyway, for the 1000th time, support companies that support bodyboarding.
simple, effective, now if only people would listen

PS: this site recieves almost as many hits as a corporate company and is on par with SA surfing sites, Kelly has done a sterling job. The mags facebook group has more than 3000 fans, which is more than magazines like SL, so believe me, its getting out there. Now its just time for you guys to make a difference...
Chinnychinchin
May 2009
Until we make BBing a spectator sport it won't get much bigger. We need to get ad's in the major/local newspapers and local radio stations on comps, DVD premiers, pro visits ect. If Joe public does not identify with our pro's and our sport, then it will always be a minor player in the greater scheme of things. And sure comps in way off places with good waves is great for us, but we need good comps in urban beaches to increase exposure. School comps are a great way for the masses to get involved. Get the metal-work class to build a podium, the home-ec class to bake cakes, hey maybe the school has stands, chairs or a tent that can be used, get the school punk band to play a concert, I dunno. I just know that people are drawn to an event of some kind if there is hype, but a few oke's huddled together on the beach in the wind squinting into the sunset at a few specs in the water somewhere is not going to draw the public in.

Ask almost anyone from no-where land who Kelly Slater is and they'll tell you. Why? Cause they have seen him.....and they want to be "cool" like him. Our pro's don't get paid the big bucks, yet they ride waves as heavy if not heavier than most stand-up pro's, with a much greater risk of injury due to the moves they have to do to win a sponge comp, yet they'll sleep on cold, hard floors, ride in dodgey buses and eat 2-min noodles just for the hope of tasting some sponging glory. Thats hardcore man, they do it for the love of it. Thats the "under dog" story Joe public wants to hear, the "against all odds" story. Joe Public = BBing future.

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