It’s official, the Shark Island is no longer part of the 2009 IBA World Tour.
Mark Fordham stated that due to the economic climate he would not be able to stage an IBA rated event.
Negotiations with promoter Fordham failed to reach both IBA World Tour and IBA Specialty event sanctioning so sadly the event will be black-listed and off limits to contracted riders.
This includes all the riders that competed in the Turbo Pipe Pro and those who compete in the upcoming Brazialian events.
“The riders board voted against the speciality event status because we need to work with promoters that will follow the minimum requirements” said IBA General Manager Terry McKenna. “Its that simple”.
“ If you surf in this event you will be sitting out of the IBA World Tour for 12 months from the date of the breach”
“ The riders are the product of the IBA and we must protect the exclusivity of the World Tour by enforcing this rule” said Mckenna.
Riders will now look towards Chile’ in late July for the next IBA Grand Slam event.
* exert from section 2-g of the 2009 IBA riders contracts – (g) That a 12 month ban from all IBA sanctioned events ( and associated tours) will be given to a rider that competes’ in any rebel events without written permission from the IBA & that a US$500 fine will apply
What a shame… We dont really know what to say. We all wish we could have a tour that would include Shark Island, Teahupoo, Cloud9, Chili, Puerto, Pipe and more sick waves but our sport is pretty broke and sponsors/money are hard to find these days, specially for bodyboarding, and specially at the moment with the slow economy. With the SIC contest out of the IBA it’s even worse. When reading thru the IBA arguments and the SIC arguments you’ll make up you’re own opinion. We seriously dont know what to say or what to think. Hard time for the tour, the riders, for the sport in general… It’s a shame, the last couple years we felt everything was getting better and felt that we were going in the right direction with the media coverage of the sport. Maybe we were wrong. It seemed more kids were back on the boogie and that maybe boogieboarding was cool again. Fuck, we need to support the industry, the pros, the main contests, the true, genuine and core brands (we insist on the word TRUE, CORE and GENUINE), the people who make it happen, the core of our sport.
If you want to learn more about the SIC // IBA issue, please take 3 minutes of your time and read the Letter that M. Fordham wrote. Click the link below to read on.
My name is Mark Fordham, Cronulla Shark Island Contest Director.
This letter is to address the IBA press release sent out stating “Shark Island is no longer on the World Tour”.
I would like to thank everyone for their phone calls and emails of support. Regarding the IBA’s decision I would like to address the issue in an open manner.
Firstly, it must be clearly stated that the only criteria the Cronulla Shark Island Challenge does not meet in the IBA’s guide lines is financial.
The 2009 IBA event sanctioning requirements state that all international MWT events require minimum prize-money of $20,000 USD
Unfortunately in 2009 due to the current financial climate this criteria cannot be met.
However, what we do have thanks to our sponsors Nomad Bodyboards, Emerald Surf City, Human, Limited Edition Fins, Swellnet, Riptide Bodyboard Magazine and the Sutherland Shire Council, is a prize base of $10,000.00, which I believe is the richest prize purse in Australia for 2009.
During negotiations the IBA agreed that this year’s event did not meet its criteria. I proposed that the event be sanctioned as an IBA Specialty event to allow interested IBA riders to compete and in turn tie this long standing event to the IBA MWT Calendar. It was indicated as per IBA Tour General Manager Terry McKenna’s request and direction, to pay the IBA sanctioning fee of $1,500.00 USD to ensure the event future.
Unfortunately the proposal was rejected by the IBA riders board.
The IBA Riders board terms are as follows:
Any IBA contracted rider who surfed in the 2009 Pipeline event or those who are competing in the coming Brazil events in April/May 2009 can not compete.
Any IBA contracted rider that breaks their IBA contract will serve a 12 month ban from International competition from the date of the breach and be subjected to a $500 USD fine.
Terry McKenna said of the decision “I did send several emails trying to change their mind but they were determined to stand strong with their decision.” I thank Terry for his support on this issue.
This decision affects approximately 400 of the world’s best competitive Bodyboarders.
If you are one of the 400 riders affected with by the decision, and disagree with the IBA’s decision I recommend you email IBA Tour General Manager Terry McKenna at terry@ibaworldtour.com
I have chosen to respect the IBA Riders Board decision. I will not appeal the matter.
Therefore, the current top 50 ranked IBA riders are automatically ineligible for wildcards into this years Cronulla Shark Island Challenge. Should the IBA chose to overturn its decision these riders will be eligible to enter the Brett Young Memorial trials.
However as per the IBA’s statement, this decision only affects IBA riders.
It should not affect the 1000’s of competitors involved in competing on the countless number of regional events, such as the Australian Tour or the USBA. It also does not affect the globes many amazing soul and free surfers who will relish Shark Islands challenging conditions.
The 2009 Cronulla Shark Island Challenge will now be an opportunity for the 100’s of fresh competitive riders to vie for a position in Australia’s most prestigious and lucrative event.
Furthermore, this year the Cronulla Shark Island Challenge is guaranteed of crowning a new champion. This will make for a fantastic event.
If your competitive Bodyboarding is lacking gaping cavernous tube time and you wish to compete in the 2009 Cronulla Shark Island Challenge, please send your expressions of interest to markjfordham@bigpond.com
I hope with your assistance, the event I co-created 12 years ago can continue to be the pinnacle of Bodyboarding.
A full press release detailing this years amazing event will follow in due time.
Once again I would like to thank the events sponsors Nomad Bodyboards, Emerald Surf City, Human, Swellnet, Limited Edition fins, Riptide Bodyboard Magazine and the Sutherland Shire Council.
Regards
Mark Fordham
Cronulla Shark Island Challenge Contest Director
