BILLABONG SGX WETSUIT SHORTLISTED FOR 2010 AUSTRALIAN INTERNATIONAL DESIGN AWARDS 09.02.10
Billabong’s lightweight SGX wetsuit along with a reusable coffee cup, portable ultrasound device, playground swing equipment, luxury vehicle trailer, roof guttering system and a pair of new-age skates are amongst more than 170 professionally-designed products chosen to progress to the next judging round of the 2010 Australian International Design Awards. Presented by Standards Australia, the Australian International Design Awards is Australia’s premier design assessment program, recognising Australian and international design and innovation excellence. From a record entry field of 202, 177 products have made the First Round Shortlist and will progress to the Final Round Assessment stage of the prestigious awards program.
“Products from the likes of Samsung, Whirlpool, Siemens, Nissan, Land Rover, LG Electronics, Billabong, Sunbeam and Breville are going head-to-head against ground-breaking world-first innovations including a portable ultrasound device, futuristic gaming headset that reads brain signals and a new generation cochlear implant for international design recognition,” said Stephanie Pemberton, Program Director of the Australian International Design Awards.
According to Billabong the objective was to build a wetsuit that was not only light when dry but light when used in its intended environment – the water. “Unnecessary weight in a wetsuit can add to fatigue and shorten the time spent surfing. By developing a material with a high grade, yarn-coated water repellency, along with a specially-knitted carbon-infused jersey, the SGX soaks 52% less water than conventional wetsuit materials. By design, is much faster drying, more important, the SGX is 25% lighter than current wetsuits.”
Three surf products are amongst a myriad of finalists in the 2010 Awards. They are the Billabong SGX wetsuit, a solid surfboard rack – to store surfboards and the Thomas Meyerhoffer longboard by GSI. Past winners include FCS H2 fin (2005) and the Rip Curl H-bomb (2009) All shortlisted products now face scrutiny from a multidisciplinary panel of Australian and international judges who will gather in Sydney to give each entry a thorough assessment as they inspect, test, interact and pull apart each of the entries. During the two-week assessment period, judges will assess each product against a common set of criteria including innovation, visual and emotional appeal, functionality, quality of manufacturing, human factors (ergonomics, semantics and safety) and environmental sustainability.
The winners of the 2010 Australian International Design Awards, including the 2010 Australian International Design Award of the Year, will be announced on Friday 4 June in Sydney. www.designawards.com.au,
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OCTAGON ACQUIRES REVOLVER ATHLETE MANAGEMENT 08.02.10
Global sports and entertainment marketing leader Octagon today announced the acquisition of leading Australian surf management company Revolver Athlete Management. Matt Syms, Founder of Revolver, joins the agency effective immediately, bringing with him leading Australian surfers including 2009 ASP World #3 Bede Durbidge, world renowned free-surfer Ry Craike, and 2007 Australasian Pro Junior Series Champion Mitch Coleborn among others.
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AUSSIE FILM WINS OFFICIAL BEST OF FEST AWARD 08.02.10
Tony Mason’s feature film ‘Kookman’ has been selected out of thousands of independent films across the globe. Mason’s debut short film ‘131.9 cents per litre’ won numerous awards including ‘The Billabong Panasonic Surfshorts’ and now his first feature film ‘Kookman’ has been awarded top honors from the judging panel which including; Ted Hope (Producer of The savages, 21 grams, American Splendour, In the bedroom) Academy Award Winner, Geralyn Dreyfous (Producer of Born into Brothels) Paula Silver( Oscar selection commitee) and Award Winning Filmmaker Rick Stevenson (Producer of Privileged (1983) starring Hugh Grant, Promised land (1987) starring Meg Ryan and Kiefer Sutherland, Crooked Hearts starring Jennifer Jason-Leigh, Noah Wylie, Juliette Lewis and Peter Coyote).
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ASP INTERNATIONAL ANNOUNCE INAUGURAL ASP WORLD JUNIOR TOUR 08.02.10
Echoing the sentiment of competitors at this years Billabong ASP World Junior Championships that a true world champion needed to be crowned over a series of events, not just one World Championship event, ASP International has responded with the activation of the ASP World Junior Tour (WJT). Previously it was reasoned that the formation of a junior championship circate would distract aspiring professional surfers from completing school and higher education. However, with lucrative prize money at stake and a career path for juniors aged 20 and under, the ASP and principal stakeholders have introduced a mini World Champonship circate, initially comprising just three flagship events.
“The WJT is a natural development for the ASP and serves as recognition for Billabong’s vision and long-standing support for world junior surfing and for the sheer and immense surfing talent we now have coming through the ranks,” Brodie Carr, ASP International CEO, said. “The WJT provides additional opportunity for junior surfers to establish a career as a professional surfer and to really make a name for themselves as ASP World Junior Champion.”
The Oakley ASP World Junior event will be the first stop on the 2010 ASP World Junior Tour, running at the high-performance wave of Keramas in Bali from October 2 – 13, 2010.
"As junior surfing expands globally, surfers are qualifying for the ASP Dream Tour while still competing in junior events,” Ronny Nelson, Oakley Sports Marketing Manager said. “Pro junior surfing is bridging the gap for American surfers who have grown up competing in six-man and four-man heats. This new format creates an even playing field for the world's juniors as they start their careers at a young age. It all keeps the sport youthful and dynamic and everyone is excited to watch the action."
The Billabong ASP World Junior Championships has run for more than a decade and remains unchallenged as the benchmark for high-performance junior surfing and an accurate gauge on the future stars of the sport. The transition to a three-event ASP World Junior only heightens the importance of the Billabong ASP World Junior Championships, with momentum building throughout the season for the crowning of the undisputed ASP World Junior Champion.
"Billabong is excited that the ASP is expanding the World Junior Championship to three events,” Andrew Flitton, from Billabong, said. “The opportunity for young aspiring male and female surfers to gain experience at different locations and extend their repertoire in varying conditions is critical to their development and future careers in professional surfing. We welcome the commitment of other brands in supporting the long term vision of the sport and look forward to a strong investment and promotion around junior surfing and the part it plays in the ongoing success of the sport."
Similar to years past, athletes will compete on their respective regional ASP Pro Junior Series throughout the season to qualify for the ASP World Junior Tour. Qualification for the ASP WJT will be based off of regional results from January 1 through August 31, 2010.
The inaugural ASP World Junior Tour will see six representatives from ASP Australasia, ASP South America, ASP North America and ASP Europe, five representatives from ASP Africa, ASP Hawaii and ASP Japan, and additional wildcards to make up the 48-man field (based off the recently completed Billabong ASP World Junior Championship finishes). The ASP World Junior Tour events will also feature an 18-woman field, which will crown the undisputed ASP Women’s World Junior Champion.
The undisputed ASP World Junior Champions will be the No. 1 ranked male and female surfer after the completion of the ASP World Junior Tour.
Joel Parkinson (AUS), 28, former ASP World Junior Champion (2001) and 2009 ASP World Runner-Up, knows all to well the benefits of the ASP Pro Junior Series.
“The ASP Pro Junior Series and Billabong ASP World Juniors have been the indicator for future stars since their inception,” Parkinson said. “It’s the stepping stone onto the ‘QS and gives surfers the experience they need to make it in this sport.”
While the ASP World Junior Tour is presently at two events, organizers are looking to add one event in 2010 for a three-event tour.
“Having a multi-event tour for our junior surfers has been a long-standing goal for the ASP and we are pleased to broaden and support our existing tours for men, women and longboards, by adding this tour for our junior surfers,” Carr said. “ ASP will continue to explore every avenue to develop all our tours in the crowning of undisputed World Champions.”
A full schedule and more information can be found on www.aspworldtour.com
ASP WORLD JUNIOR TOUR SCHEDULE
Oakley ASP World Junior Event, Bali/Indonesia – October 2 – 13, 2010
Billabong ASP World Junior Championships, Australia – January 8 – 16, 2011
PAST ASP WORLD JUNIOR CHAMPIONS:
2009: Maxime Huscenot (REU), Laura Enever (AUS)
2008: Kai Barger (HAW), Pauline Ado (FRA)
2007: Pablo Paulino (BRA), Sally Fitzgibbons (AUS)
2006: Jordy Smith (ZAF), Nicola Atherton (AUS)
2005: Kekoa Bacalso (HAW), Jessi Miley-Dyer (AUS)
2004: Pablo Paulino (BRA)
2003: Adriano de Souza (BRA)
2002: N/A
2001: Joel Parkinson (AUS)
2000: Pedro Henrique (BRA)
1999: Joel Parkinson (AUS)
1998: Andy Irons (HAW)
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AND THE ISPO ECO RESPONSIBILITY AWARD GOES TO … 07.02.10
For the first time, ISPO offered eco-friendly and sustainable brands a designated platform. Quiksilver, Roxy, Völkl, Burton and Billabong introduced their exclusive eco-lines along with highlights from their latest collections by brands like Patagonia and Teko Socks. Eco-conscious newcomers included: Bleed, Imagine Surfbrands and Oh! Beenie. The 7sky girls, Cira Riedel and Coco Tâche from 7sky Magazine, launched 7skygreenroom.com an Eco Surf, Skate and Snow eCommerce platform to promote green products. 5% of the turn over will be allocated to various foundations. The idea is to inform and inspire visitors to lead more
environmentally friendly lives. Their new e-commerce website 7skygreenroom.com. Sustainable production and operation has become an important issue throughout the sporting goods industry. The presentation of the second ISPO Eco Responsibility Awards not only focused on the ecological aspects of the products, the jury also examined the sustainability of the overall manufacturing concept. The entries were evaluated according to key ESPA criteria set by TU Munich in cooperation with internationally accredited experts. They include the following areas: logistics, production, eco-compatibility, application, company culture, and CSR. From each of the categories Hardware Ski, Hardware Snowboard, Accessories and Fabrics and Fibers the jury selected one extraordinary product innovation, and due to the overwhelming variety and quality of the entries two winners in the category Textile. The Footwear category did not yield a product satisfying the high ecological standards of the award, thus this year no prize will be awarded in this category. Highlights include;
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THE WINNERS OF THE ISPO BOARDSPORTS AWARDS 2010 07.02.10
The snowboard industry has a lot of new products to offer for next season. Following in-depth evaluation the ISPO international jury selected those products, which showed the highest degree of sustainable, user-friendly, and technical details.
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