Curac, you obviously haven't been to N.S.W, there are some really good wave spots, yer W.A gets alot of wind and there are a some good wave spots, but W.A is a massive coastline and takes alot of driving in between each one, in N.S.W you can get a wave sail in pretty much any wind direction within a 4 hour drive, cant do that in W.A.

And bagging MA, well you obviously havn't seen him wavesail, i'm pretty sure no one would be watching you on a wave if you where both on the water..

Guys,

Believe it or not, the figure needed for a PWA event (be it slalom/wave/freestyle/whatever) is closer to 200,000 euros. For that money, the PWA bring the party themselves; all the tents, equipment, race crews and boats are supplied - you pay the cash, they do everything else. That being said, that's quite a bit of cash for a sponsor to cough up, which is why most of the events are funded by local government and tourism boards.

This year, the big events in Portugal (Guincho PWA wave, 2x GP World Tour Formula events) were all cancelled because the "Tourismo de Portugal" pulled all the funding.

A similar thing happened in Brazil cancelling the PWA wave event and 2 of the 3 GP World Tour FW events.

They also cancelled PWA Slalom on Lanzarote and Fuerteventura because the Spanish Tourism board pulled the plug on prize money funding. This is really NOT the year for anyone to have 200,000 euros lying around ...

Sylt really does attract 140,000 people to the beach over the 6 day event. It's cold, raining and pretty miserable onshore breezes but the winds are often +30 knots and the surf does get to 2-3m however it can be VERY munchy because its a beach break. Sure, the wavesailing there isn't as radical as Ho'okipa or Cabo Verde however the income they can generate from 140,000 people buying food, drinks, memorabilia from the on site stalls, the payment for parking as well as the daily media coverage and the chance for all Germans to meet their legend 'Bernd Flessner' certainly turns a profit for the organisers. The prizemoney alone for the Sylt event back in the early 90's was US$200,000. That's A LOT of money back then!

I can't ever see 200,000 euros being coughed up in Australia for an event anytime soon; however cool that would be! Getting AUD$50,000 together to run the Formula Worlds in 2005 was an insanely impressive effort by Victoria.

I'm sure there'll be more events on the table next year when the world economies picks up again 'slightly'.

P.C_simpson said...
And bagging MA, well you obviously havn't seen him wavesail, i'm pretty sure no one would be watching you on a wave if you where both on the water..

well said

Some random thoughts on Brands, be they sports or sportsmen.

Although occasionally entertained by the World Tour Circus as a showcase of wavesailing it’s never going to compete with the ASP for budget and competition dollars and to me even the ASP is an anachronism of a Kelly Slater era of surfers who transcended the sport to be truly famous.

This is the challenge for any sportsman, to break away from the restrictions of place getting in competition and to be famous for being famous. To become Ken Bradshaw or Robby Naish . Sure most of the financial benefits flow to the individual but the increased media profile for the sport makes it far easier for events to hold on to their sponsors.

In the past “Brand” meant company, product or label but increasingly ‘Brand” is being eroded to mean many different things and peoples willingness to pay that premium is being eroded. Blame the digital age or the Chinese, its just that much harder to hold the attention of enough people, to tell a story, to focus attention.

This is the complex challenge for anyone who wants companies to pitch in money for an event or an individual sponsorship.

Regardless, to me wavesailing is more akin to Heli-skiing. A unique opportunity to head out into conditions that are rarely crowded, often challenging and more fun than any other sport. The fact that I usually have it all to myself or with one or two other mates is just part of the deal.

what we need is an australian tour like what WA had in the early 90's.

each club, and there has been a boom in the last 2 years could put up 1 event for the calender to be a "major event".

prize money is available via local council grants. and it would need to be prize money so the pro guys can actually pay for their travel.

there is a mag in australia that could provide coaverage. it just needs each event organiser to work together. each event takes on ownership of their own event which could form part of the overall tour.

the regiona areas work best as regional councils support alternate sports more and regional tv networks will cover regional events.

the list of major events (below) in australia is pretty good and they don't clash too badly. the list doesn't even come close to mentioning all of the events that occur like the state and national titles for each discipline

slalom / wave LOC - jan - wa
wave /smackfest - feb - tas
wave / tabou wave classic - march -qld
speed / KA sail speed comp burrum - march - qld
speed / green island speed - june - qld
speed / al's speed week - sept - Vic
wave / mambo - November - nsw
course / 7th World Masters Games -nov - nsw

any other events that should be in there?