The reality of Bodyboarding in South Africa
posted by Wesley Fischer on 10th November 2011
I sit here in a little Italian town on the coast of Tuscany writing this article thinking about how much bodyboarding has done for me. Its amazing to think that I have travelled the world doing what I love...
I am by no means well educated (only got a Std 8) and don't profess to be. I speak and write from the heart and try to be as clear and concise as I possibly can. I am writing about this new SABTRG group which has recently been formed on Facebook. This group has given every upset and stoked bodyboarder a platform to express their views and outlook about a sport they clearly love. They wouldn't take the time to write such deep and expressive posts (whether positive or negative) and not care. They care!
I don't know who Deon Cilliers is, but frankly I don't care... If I meet him or don't, it won't really matter because I have realised that 'Deon' is in the heart of every SA bodyboarder! Why I say this is because this guy has given us a platform through social media to have our views heard. You might think that all this is just useless energy on being upset at something which is never gonna change. I really do beg to differ. The reason why is because if we do rally enough people to join in and for lack of a better word 'boycott' labels which are not feeding and growing our sport, the label owners are gonna start questioning why their brands are not selling and secondly, why does an entire country of bodyboarders hate our label?
Those label owners are already asking these questions...
I am all for bodyboarding, its the only thing I know and has been for close to 20 years of my young life. I am not against any label! Let me make that clear. What I am against is the people behind ANY label which refuse to support the sport which paves their houses and helps them feed their family. I am also against US bodyboarders supporting any 'surf' labels which also have been making money from us. But that is our fault, not the surf industry and a total different topic.
There are also companies which profess to do heaps for our sport and it may even look like it, but as for me, I would love to see the figures... How much they make, and how much they put back in! That's just me I guess, and I by no means am asking for that! Or am I?
There are definitely going to be people that ask me what I do for Bodyboarding? And that's a good question... What do I do? What do any of the top riders in SA do for bodyboarding? I think I might have the answer...
They give every SA grom something to aim for! Jerry has his grom bash which was amazing. Boetie has had several clinics which he has hosted and been part of in KZN. I have put several contests and clinics together in the Durban area. All of this is done on top of doing the world tour, training, and giving Bodyboarding the right healthy outlook. I really do believe that us as, SA riders are doing what we can with the resources that we have... Not to say we can't do more, but I think that we, as riders, are pulling our weight as far as putting SA Bodyboarding on the map and making the world notice us!
We are always gonna have problems and I think as long as we continue to resolve them, problem by problem, we always gonna be moving forward! One step at a time. I ask you, what is the number one problem which we face as SA bodyboarders at this stage? According to many, it is a lack of support from the very companies that we buy our products from. That may be false but if it is true, let's resolve our problem together! Remember there is power in numbers and if we all decide to do something, best we do it together!
Within the next year, change is definitely coming to SA Bodyboarding. Its been boiling up in us for years and with the advantages of social media and the internet, we can all be educated firstly and kept up to date all the time. At the touch of a button, we all can be updated as to what exactly is happening in our sport.
Its funny that this group is called the South African Bodyboarding Truth and Reconciliation Group, everyone is just being honest and speaking from experience. They want others to be aware of what has actually happened to them. Facebook has really helped us beyond words. People have complained that this group is just useless and all has 'been said' before. They are right in saying that, but now, our resources are just so much better now!!! There are so many old school Boogers actively involved in this group because they understand how much of an impact we can cause through such a platform, something they never had when they chose to resist companies that didn't support Bodyboarding. I want to give you an example of how we can really make a difference in SA Bodyboarding.
Firstly, we all need to be involved in social media, Facebook, Twitter etc or some sort of online platform that we check daily and can all view regardless of where we live. Let's say, maybe I or a friend of mine want to buy a new board. I tell my friend to visit this group and ask what people think about this board he wants to buy. Us knowing the industry, give him advice as too what exactly happens with XYZ Board Co. We let him know whether or not the company supports the boog or not, the quality of board etc. And because we are ALL involved, we have representatives from all areas of SA letting this guy know everything. And there are plenty labels to choose from, we can inform and educate him about the other labels. This is just one idea where we can try rally together to come against the sharks which are among us.
I never want to tell people what to do or where and what to buy, but if we are educating others, we are doing the best we can.
Nobody has all the answers and I most certainly don't. I just got a heart for the boog!
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