I took this shot from the Oceanside Pier during a contest. This is Chris Lafferty. A good friend and one of the most successful competitive bodysurfers I know. This was my favorite shot of all I took during this contest. An underwater takeoff just before he breaks the surface. Humm...this looks like it would be an interesting shot in a surf mag.
Chris wears this red bodysuit when competing. I think it gives him a slight advantage. He likes the fact it protects his very fair skin from the hot summer sun. Either way it works out well for him.
Wednesday, July 15, 2009
Tuesday, July 14, 2009
The big payoff for winning a bodysurfing contest
This is about all you get if you win the Grand Championship. A trophy of some kind. The Grand Championship is a final heat of all the 1st place finishers from all the age groups. Men and women have their own Grand finals respectively. This trophy and maybe a few prizes are about all you get for such a great accomplishment. It's like pulling teeth to get any company in the surf biz to give any goods to be used as prizes. Anything would help. It would also get the product name brands exposure to more people. We all use the same sunscreens, swimsuits, wetsuits, backpacks, fins, hats and clothes. In an economy like we have right now it would seem like a no brainer to me to target as big a market as you can. Why give up business?
Women compete too
Women also bodysurf. It's not just a mans sport. I know I never implied that but wanted to note this. From young girls to mature grown women they enjoy the sport/artform that is bodysurfing.
I took this picture from the Oceanside Pier during the World Bodysurfing Championships. I really think that women are a big part of bodysurfing. I think there is so much room for bodysurfing to grow. The surf industry needs to open there eyes and start promoting it. Why not? I would have to think that the regular surfers out there must be getting tired of the same old thing. Shortboard rippers doing all the same moves on all the same boards. It's getting a little boring if you ask me. It has it's place but so does bodysurfing.
I took this picture from the Oceanside Pier during the World Bodysurfing Championships. I really think that women are a big part of bodysurfing. I think there is so much room for bodysurfing to grow. The surf industry needs to open there eyes and start promoting it. Why not? I would have to think that the regular surfers out there must be getting tired of the same old thing. Shortboard rippers doing all the same moves on all the same boards. It's getting a little boring if you ask me. It has it's place but so does bodysurfing.
Compitition
There has always been a debate wether bodysurfing is a sport or an art form. Depending on who you are it could be either one or both. Most bodysurfing is done for fun, exercise and camaraderie. So a combination of fun and fitness makes it a soulful experience. The kind that takes your mind of all the pressures of life. The kind of activity that will keep you young and fit. There are bodysurfing competitions too. Contests usually have age group divisions since everyone from little kids to grown adults compete. Bodysurfing in this way would make it a sport. Competing against one and other to see who is best, to have a winner. Competition is a stressful environment. The pressure of trying to out do others in the short amount of time in a competitive heat is heavy. Some enjoy this, some don't.
Rod Heburn took this picture of me in the final heat of the 35-44 age group at the World Bodysurfing Championships in Oceanside California. The name "World Championships" is thrown around a bit lightly I think in this case. There are competitors from other parts of the world but the majority are from right here in California. The sport of bodysurfing has very little in the way of sponsorship for the athletes. Therefore not many can afford to take time off from regular jobs to compete in a foreign land. There also is no pro circuit or anything like that. Without the support of the surf industry There is no money. With no money you can't get a legitimate gathering of the worlds best to compete. I really want to change the perception the surf industry has about bodysurfing. Why the surf mags don't or I should say rarely ever promote bodysurfing is a mystery to me. I'd like to change that.
Rod Heburn took this picture of me in the final heat of the 35-44 age group at the World Bodysurfing Championships in Oceanside California. The name "World Championships" is thrown around a bit lightly I think in this case. There are competitors from other parts of the world but the majority are from right here in California. The sport of bodysurfing has very little in the way of sponsorship for the athletes. Therefore not many can afford to take time off from regular jobs to compete in a foreign land. There also is no pro circuit or anything like that. Without the support of the surf industry There is no money. With no money you can't get a legitimate gathering of the worlds best to compete. I really want to change the perception the surf industry has about bodysurfing. Why the surf mags don't or I should say rarely ever promote bodysurfing is a mystery to me. I'd like to change that.
Nick @ the Cove
I took this shot on Big Wednesday. Local Nick Menas caught, without much argument, the biggest wave this day. Here he is sliding down the face of a Cove beast. He's in early and the wave is still growing.
This is the message I'm trying to convey in this blog. There is amazing talent, drama, excitement and true watermanship in this sport/artform that is bodysurfing. It's not just a daredevil thing. True bodysurfing is just that...surfing. It takes skill, commitment and talent. And more than anything it takes time to learn. Conditioning is very important! No board to float on means not much rest out there.
I want to push the documentation of bodysurfing to another level. I want to work in this field and get paid doing it. Be it starting a new bodysurfing magazine, publishing a bodysurfing book, making a bodysurfing movie or documentary, teaching bodysurfing classes or just selling prints, I want to do it!
This is the message I'm trying to convey in this blog. There is amazing talent, drama, excitement and true watermanship in this sport/artform that is bodysurfing. It's not just a daredevil thing. True bodysurfing is just that...surfing. It takes skill, commitment and talent. And more than anything it takes time to learn. Conditioning is very important! No board to float on means not much rest out there.
I want to push the documentation of bodysurfing to another level. I want to work in this field and get paid doing it. Be it starting a new bodysurfing magazine, publishing a bodysurfing book, making a bodysurfing movie or documentary, teaching bodysurfing classes or just selling prints, I want to do it!
Big Wednesday Dec 5 2007
This was a day when the waves were too big to swim out in at Boomer. The wave in the background is the left I like so much. Entering the water at this spot on this day would have been suicide. The Cove was the only place near that was manageable. A few brave and strong swimming bodysurfers swam out to the right of this peak at the Cove. Being a marine reserve surfboards are not allowed in the water here. However when it's big enough for the Cove to break the wave extends out of range of the marine reserve. This allows most of the wave accessible to the board riders. The tight corner on the top of the Cove, which is located in the marine reserve, offered room for a few bodysurfers to get some of the big ones that day.
Jerry freer
I took this shot the same day Jerry took the shot of me jumping in. Jerry gets some pretty big waves out there. This is Jerry's style, riding on both hands in front of him. This was one of the biggest and best days I had ever seen at this spot. And it was good all day. I was there from sunrise to sunset. I sure will never regret calling in sick at work so I could spend the day doing what I love. Bodysurfing and shooting bodysurfing pics. What made it even better is that we all got a few shots of each other. It was pretty cool sharing them and talking story about the day.
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