Ask Carroll

[Nick Carroll]

Oh yeah the squad did pretty good, won the open mens, second in the U19 mens, first and second in the U19 mens teams, sixth in the open womens, fifth in the U19 womens teams.

[daryl]

Congratulations, to you and squad!

[Yuke Hunt]

Hey Nick ... what in the frock has happened to the once legendary Newport Plus Boardriders ... used to be pretty competitive back in the day. Last I heard young Tommy was going to help rekindle the fire. That was probably some time back though. Pretty sure they entered but were a no show at last years Kirra Teams Challenge. Whats the gossip old son.

[Nick Carroll]

Well it's a really different club to the original version which sorta self-destructed back at the start of the 90s.

TC and Evan Jeffrey rekindled it in 1996/97 and it slowly became a more family oriented club, like a lot of boardriders clubs.

It's got a spread of membership, there's quite a few mini grommets emerging and some active older guys, but the best kids between 18-25 would rather do a trade or uni and go to Indo in winter and chase girls than bust a gut trying to win heats.

Seems to me that Sydney kids have a lot on their plate, a lot of options, they don't dive 100% into surfing the way they did in the 70s and 80s. So you don't have the same level of commitment, surfing's more just part of life, not their whole life. So they never develop the skill levels associated with top end competition. This is true at Newport as it is at most beaches in Sydney, maybe all actually...like there's always a rising generation at Northy but it's been a while since any Sydney surfer fully realised his or her potential.

Hasten to add this is not a put-down, just my observation.

On a broader level I wonder if this is the start of a decline period in Australian surfers' international dominance, like Parko Fanning etc are 30 plus, the next layer are 25, the kids who were the gun juniors two years ago are underachieving now competitively, and the young guns are OK but not in the freak range. There's waaaay more hot Brazilian kids and those kids are hungry.

[Animal_Chin]

Nick, do you think that new boards come with really crap fins to force people into automatically upgrading them?

The futures I just got with my new Hayden board are absolutely shite. It can't be cost either because you could easily manufacturer (semi) decent fins for the same price.

[Nick Carroll]

Nick, do you think that new boards come with really crap fins to force people into automatically upgrading them?

The futures I just got with my new Hayden board are absolutely shite. It can't be cost either because you could easily manufacturer (semi) decent fins for the same price.

I don't think it is a forcing issue, it's just how things have evolved.

The boardmakers don't make those fin sets -- the fin sets are made by the system suppliers. They're provided at a price point to the boardmakers. For the boardmakers to provide you with the highest quality fins would cost considerably more. Look at the fin set retail prices involved next time you go into a surf shop -- or just dial 'em up online.

From a few conversations I've had with boardmakers, I think they don't want to raise the price of their board more in order to accommodate a high end fin set. And they prefer to leave any upgrading in the hands of the customer.

I guess maybe over time they might build the whole thing into a customising exercise: if you want to add some top line fin set to your new board, it'll cost $60 extra, that sorta thing. Would you like Jordys with that, sir? etc But they haven't gone that far yet.

[tootr]

Speaking of fins, any opinions on those Ebay sellers that claim their (much cheaper) RTM fins are made in the same factory as the big names?

I have some and cannot tell any difference, to be frank

[Yuke Hunt]

to be frank

Frank who ... ?

[Nick Carroll]

Speaking of fins, any opinions on those Ebay sellers that claim their (much cheaper) RTM fins are made in the same factory as the big names?

I have some and cannot tell any difference, to be frank

Use what you want I say.

There's quite a few factories in China that make fins so yeah, some probably make cheaper and slightly shittier product for whomever.

The best fins you'll get will still be fine-layered hand foil finished by an expert finmaker, followed closely by the top end moulded product, usually 'cause of the carbon fibre layers.

[Davros]

If the Brazzers start dominating the ASP it would do my head in, come on Julian, come on John John stick with it. Kids aren't as mouthy as they used to be, generally kids seem a lot more respectful to their peers and others...thats a good thing.

[Nick Carroll]

davros try to ask yourself a few questions about this.

don't just be another cliched Western Surf Fan, vaguely horrified at the advent of another nation's talent.

40 years ago the same shit was being levelled by California's Old Guard at the Australians. We were "aggro", we had no respect, we were crass and unobservant of the deeper traditions of the sport.

It was utter horseshit at the time, even more so today, yet amazingly there are still older Californian surfers who cling to this vision of Australian surfers.

I would suggest, be stoked at the Brazilian rise, they're a great people, a nation of amazing mixtures, indigenous tribes. Africans dropped off the US slave trade route, European colonists, numerous others, and they are a coastal people like us who love their beaches and surf with a lot of stoke and passion.

They are the Australians of the 21st century.

[Nick Carroll]

I managed to get home ahead of most of 'em except the two gun 19s and one of the teams. (Teams started 15mins back, 19s a half hour)

Got back ahead of Kendrick by like five minutes, he started an hour behind me any looked like he'd just gone for a walk.

There's such a massive gap between 18 and 54 years of age, you can't kid yourself about it! You just gotta work with what is available to you and enjoy it.

[steve shearer]

now there's a topic waiting to be fleshed out.

[Nick Carroll]

Tom and Nick Book goes into it a bit.

[Davros]

davros try to ask yourself a few questions about this.

don't just be another cliched Western Surf Fan, vaguely horrified at the advent of another nation's talent.

40 years ago the same shit was being levelled by California's Old Guard at the Australians. We were "aggro", we had no respect, we were crass and unobservant of the deeper traditions of the sport.

It was utter horseshit at the time, even more so today, yet amazingly there are still older Californian surfers who cling to this vision of Australian surfers.

I would suggest, be stoked at the Brazilian rise, they're a great people, a nation of amazing mixtures, indigenous tribes. Africans dropped off the US slave trade route, European colonists, numerous others, and they are a coastal people like us who love their beaches and surf with a lot of stoke and passion.

They are the Australians of the 21st century.

I never really thought about the Brazzers as the "new Australians" on the circuit, while it doesn't change my mind about their surfing styles, a challenger to the status quo can never go a stray. It does kinda work both ways, I had a Brazilian guy complain to me about Parko hitting up the judges after he was eliminated from Bells, the guy in question said if that was a Brazilian complaining to the judges all hell would have broken loose in and out of the tour ranks. Actually do you think thats a fair statement knowing what you know about the ASP and is there a degree of nepotism and an "us vs. them" mentality on tour? I cant help think the Brazzers are self claiming (no pun) victims.

[Nick Carroll]

Well yeah of course there is.

Push one way and you'll get a push back the other. There's a history within the Brazilian surf culture, not just among the pros, of feeling slighted by other surf nations; the pros tend to live it out in colour thanks to their travel and their place in the spotlight. Not every Brazilian surfer has it in the top of their mind but quite a few have.

Matching that is an almost universal bias among much of the Aust and US surf media, where most editors and reporters are heavily affected by the attitudes of their surf star heroes, like if groovy surf star x laughs at Brazilians then the reporters are emboldened to tilt against them. Watch next time it appears a Brazilian surfer has made some sort of social mistake on tour; watch how much more it is leaped upon. The Ricardo Dos Santos/Jamie O'Brien thing at Chopes trials this year was a classic example.

Me, I would suggest that if you read some bitchy remark about a Brazilian surfer from an Australian or American surf journalist, take it with a grain of something. Especially if it had something to do with an Australian or American surfer coming off worse against one.

I don't think there's any nationalistic bias on the judging panel, the panel is drawn from everywhere, Brazil, the US, Hawaii, Oz, Europe, and they are specifically trained to counter any hints of such an obvious bias.

[Nick Carroll]

I'm in "Serendipity"?

how about that.
I guess the danger with doco makers is that sometimes they get so passionate about a subject, they lose sight of the possibility that there isn't actually a story.

[alakaboo]

Wasn't that Jeremy Piven?