Let's Rethink the PWA Wave Tour??

[xander.arch]

Arghh - just saw that another wave comp had the best windsurfers in the world sitting around on a beach for a week. It was frustrating to follow as a spectator. It must be even more frustrating as a competitor. With the number of PWA (and AWT) wavesailing comps that end up without results and/or pushing a result through in totally craptastic conditions it seems to me that the current competition format needs a rethink.

I have no idea how venues get chosen, permits get approved, and budgets get set, but there must be a better way to schedule and run the PWA wave events!? I know we are budget limited and weather dependent and that many folks are working hard to keep the current format going, but it all seems like a total crap shoot right now - and totally not sustainable.

Is a solution to have longer competition windows or even an on-call approach to forecasts like they do with Mavericks?

Is there a way to coordinate the competition with how and where the riders train?

Maybe the PWA tour should be limited to a much smaller pool of top riders fed by regional tours such as the AWT. In this way the PWA could be a much leaner event to run and maybe afford staying longer in the better locations?

Of course any solutions are budget and permit dependent, but I just can't imagine that the current format is exactly cost effective for the riders and brands. It does appear that the PWA has figured out a way to make ends meet by selling the events to municipalities looking for a little publicity, but I don't think this is good for the image of the sport.

On a separate but related note: I'd also love to see a world tour with DTL ride biased events in both Starboard and Port tacks and onshore jump biased events in both Starboard and Port tacks. This way they would actually crown a true overall wave world champion.

[dllee]

We can't presume to predict and control Ma Na, so no matter how you try to figure the schedule, she wins in the end, she decides yes or no.
Try surfsailing a dozen years, and you'll agree.

[isobars]

On a much smaller scale, that's 99% of why I consider local, world champ, or both organized WSing events of no interest to me. It's too much like the all-too-common question, "Are ya goin' WSing next weekend?"

HTH should I know? Ask me again after dark Sunday night and I'll know whether I did.

Now compound that by the cost in dollars, logistics, hassle, equipment, personnel, PR, communications, hopes ... hell, one boat horn ... for a significant event, and you have a recipe for a bust that makes the sport look silly. Can you imagine a Superbowl -- or just a B-grade JV Tuesday afternoon basketball game -- being totally dependent on a weather aberration and based on wishful thinking?

I understand that (but not, "why") Europeans go nuts over spectator events. But do North Americans, at least in events dependent on weather aberrations, have the patience and spend the bucks to gamble on that aberration? As Bush the Younger so eloquently stated, "Fool me once, and I'm fooled. Fool me again, and ... uh ... whatever."

Bottom line: Isn't the problem weather statistics rather than rules?

[bred2shred]

Out of curiosity, are they using long boards/wind-SUPs in light conditions? I suspect not, but this would certainly be a way to extend the sailable range and of course promote the versatility of these types of boards.

Otherwise, I don't see much they can do. Every weather-dependent sport is at the mercy of mother nature.

sm

[isobars]

Yes.
But they can usually make snow.
And how many people would cross the street or pick up their remote to watch a "race" in 3 kts of wind or surfing competition in chop?

A national event was scheduled at an inland lake in the hopes of putting it on the WSing destination map. Oops; it didn't blow, sponsors vowed "never again", and now how many of you even know what state Deer Creek Reservoir is in?

[U2U2U2]

You can rethink all you want, the PWA is going to carry on.With one event on American soil, it would be extremely difficult to NOT include Hawaii.

The AWT in Hatteras completed a day or 2 early, with some stellar wind.


I tend to line up behind things I have a possibility to change or alter.

Write AWT, SURE THAT SAM would like to hear your suggestions
And opinion.

If the PWA EVER has an event in Monaco I be booking a flight

[rexi]

[isobars]

From videos and reports, Europeans by the thousands or tens of thousands will show up to watch any significant competition, including WSing. That's very rare in the U.S. except for big league ball games. I don't even know anyone who would go out of their way to watch a WSing race, and very few who would watch a world wave or freestyle event at their local beach. I used to love the days when the Hatchery was closed for world champion freestyle events; I'd drive in before dawn and have the lower Hatch to myself all day. I'd infinitely rather have my own fun than SOMA watching someone else have fun.

[dllee]

I compete a few races, including 3 Strohl's World Cups in San Francisco.
Haven't been to a windsurfing competition since '88 now, preferring to instead actually windsurf as opposed to watching.
Have gone to a Jalama wave event, but as a sponsor, not as a spectator. Yes, I spectated, but would have preferred to go wave sailing if the conditions were a bit windier.
I can't play football anymore, can't play basketball, so watching is the best I can do in those sports.

[cgoudie1]

;*)

-Craig