| vagabondsurf.com It's about life - not "lifestyle" |
| PSTA Ventura: U.S. Championships 11-06-01 |
| Writing this column is taking me what seems like forever. I can't seem to get any energy going for it. This contest was the biggest thing to hit Ventura in a couple of years, but outside the surf media world the whole event rated less coverage than a recent Breast Cancer walk-a-thon. I know Swell/Surfline/Surfingthemag .com ran a big piece by Evan Slater extolling the importance of the event and the whole PSTA circuit, and I agree with what he had to say. It is important to Continental U.S. surfing to have a circuit like this for those who want to compete or pursue a professional career for a few years. It is important to have organized and controlled venues for top-flight surfers to appear in if overall performance levels are to be raised. For vagabondsurf.com it is important to start filling the photo archives after the absolute worst summer in what some are saying has been 14 years. Unfortunately for the first weekend in November 2001 the weather sucked badly once again, finally to the tune of having raindrops splattering around several times on Sunday, the day of the contest finals. No point in loading up the camera gear and sitting in the gloom. While it is important for a contest and circuit to exist within the surf community, it also is important and probably necessary for the circuits to have a place outside in the Real World, and I guess this is the area I want to address. This truly was the biggest surf event to hit Ventura in a few years, yet the general outside media barely covered it. KEYT-TV news out of nearby Santa Barbara carried some raw footage at the end of their Sunday telecast without any rider identification or contest results. The local Ventura County McNews, The Star, did run a photo and some results compiled from staff reports. However, the whole thing could and should have been better. Since I didn't bother going - I had to walk the dog or something - I can't say for sure why, but if it's a case of "same old same old" then the organizers probably don't have an effective press plan...at the very least one could expect a simple on-site press release with the results and competitor information within moments of the announcements. The PSTA seems to have a good thing going, and now has a few months to prep for 2002. Here's hoping they invest some energy into media relations. Everyone will benefit if they do. |
 |
| Copyright (C) 2001. All rights reserved. |
| ***** |