Longboarders Still Getting the Short End of the Stick

I post on Surfermag's message board as Shredthegnar.

This was an article posted the other day.

Longboarders Still Getting the Short End of the Stick

By Brad Melekian
SPECIAL TO THE UNION-TRIBUNE

November 17, 2008

A forgotten surfing title was handed out on San Onofre State Beach last weekend, as Bonga Perkins of Hawaii won the final Oxbow World Longboard Tour event of the season, in the process winning the Association of Surfing Professionals (ASP) World Longboard Championship.
But he did so to little fanfare. While the ASP's World Tour (for shortboard competition) retools itself, enjoys its richest paydays in history, and broadcasts each of its events live over the Internet, the World Longboard Tour only just returned to ASP-sanctioned status this year. And even as its World Championship was decided on U.S. soil, the world of competitive longboarding – long flailing, particularly on an international level – is struggling to maintain its relevance.

The event at San Onofre was the culmination of a three-stop season with a total prize purse of $135,000, wherein the accumulated points leader would be crowned world champion. It is essentially the same system under which the shortboard side of ASP competition works, except the shortboard tour has 11 events, each one carrying a prize purse of at least $320,000, for an annual prize purse just north of 3.5 million.
Still, regardless of the money or length of tour, to longboard competitors the title still matters, a fact that was reflected in the wealth of international surfers, each of whom paid their way to be present at San Onofre – 48 surfers from seven countries competed in the four-day event. And while the longboard tour may exist in the shadow of the shortboard tour, competitors didn't seem to mind much, as reflected in Perkins' thrill in victory.

After defeating the French surfer Antoine Delpero in the final, Perkins was overjoyed. “I've been bridesmaids and thirds and fourths so many times now and I was hoping that my second title would come soon before I bow out,” the 36-year-old said.

Still, Perkins, a well-respected and well-liked surfer who now has two world titles to his credit, is in many ways representative of the carelessness with which longboarding has been treated in the surfing world. Despite the fact that he is regarded by many to be one of the most complete and well-rounded surfers on the planet, he is relatively unknown on the international stage, particularly when compared to shortboarding's biggest stars.

For years, in a rift misrepresentative of surfing's current “ride anything” epoch, professional surfing's image makers have relegated longboard surfing to castoff status. Nowhere is this more evident than in its flailing world tour. This despite the fact that longboards share a prominent place in any lineup, and despite the fact that today's longboard surfers are undertaking some of the more artful, elegant wave-riding being done anywhere.

Not surprisingly, this is a fact driven by commerce. The World Tour, and shortboard surfing in general, not only have a much larger fan base, but their events are money-makers, as the surfers who compete on that tour are international stars in the world of surfing, paid handsomely by large conglomerates to endorse their products.

Longboard surfing, meanwhile, exists as a niche market.

Even its greatest proponents concede that the future of longboard competition is spotty at best, and that it will never be as popular or as much of a money-maker as shortboard surfing.

But for a few days last week, that didn't matter. Just listen to Perkins: “I can't even speak,” he said, after winning. “I'm blown away right now.”

This was my response.

I probably longboard more than anyone on this forum and I don't give a rat's ass about who won the championship. Yeah Bonga shreds, and he is one of a handful that can blend modern and traditional longboarding.

How can they reasonably expect more people to care about it when people who do ride longboards don't give a shiit?

9 out of 10 guys who are competing in longboard competitions are riding it like a shortboard with a nose job. It is absolutely hideous to watch Taylor Jenson boost 1 foot airs on a wrong board and think it's rad.

It looks like really shitty shortboarding...in slow motion...

Yeah, don't get me wrong. There are guys who do longboard well. But those who can shred with an ounce of style and finesse, are few and far between.

All the dudes competing never made it to the finals in an NSSA and figured that they could do things half as well on a longboard and win.

When it comes to longboards. Fvck leashes, fvck contests, and fvck anything other than a single fin.

I always end up entering myself in another contest or riding a tri-fin...and always return to the same conclusion. Save it for the sub 9' set.

Nothing would piss me off more to go to a contest to see sh!t like spinners and hand stands scoring points. Fvck that. It's lame.

Excuse me while I go find another parade to rain on.

The tri-fin ruined longboarding...the leash too.

Congrats to Bonga. But please... enough of this. Ride a shortboard. Seriously.















Do you agree, disagree, agree to disagree? Don't give a rat's ass?