The whole wave pools used as an alternative is really just
dumb. I was watching a documentary about the Disneyworld Resort and learning
how to surf is one of their many attractions available. However they teach you
how to surf in a wave pool, one of the manager guys happily said: “The great
thing about the wave pool is that every time you get the perfect wave.” Pretty
sure anyone who relies on Disney to learn how to surf is setting themselves up
to get rocked when they’re out in the ocean. The perfect wave rarely happens
unless you’re in a Hollywood movie Part of the surf experience is going out and
finding where the right spot to surf is. When you’re going out to surf you have
to work with what’s given to you and not with what some generator is making the
waves. For people not located on the coast there are clearly other ways to fill
your need to surf. Tarp surfing seems pretty rad to do and it calls for the
community vibe you would get when going surfing with a few friends. My coworker
went back to Paris and he is able to continue surfing on the lake and another
coworker surfs Lake Michigan Another alternative method is river surfing, that
looks pretty crazy.
While watching the video about wave pools being used to get
surfing recognized as a sport and possibly made an Olympic sport, I think
that’s just a little unnecessary. Surfing is clearly a worldwide sport and it
doesn’t need to be recognized by the Olympics in order to be considered
legitimate.
Maya -
ReplyDeleteI don't think legitimation is so much what surfing (or SIMA) is after in terms of the Olympics, as it is a big money sponsorships for events. The corporate heads that run SIMA have hired on people that used to work for the NFL to come led the rebranding of surfing so that it can reach the masses beyond the coast. They also believe surfers are dedicated and gifted athletes that deserve the same financial awards as professional golfers or tennis players, who can earn around $2 million in a single event, while the biggest payout in surfing is $500,000. SIMA is out to upgrade their event sponsors from themselves (Quiksilver, Rip Curl, Billabong, Volcom) to companies such as American Express, Visa, Verizon, Samsung, et al. The big money.
How do you anticipate this will change surf culture, if at all?
- Trey