BIG3 Board/Sports/Beach Expo hits the Goldie Feb 20,21

The BIG3 Board, Sports and Beach exhibition will provide the perfect atmosphere for manufacturers and distributors to all meet in the one location and present their product range to an exhilarating audience creating a conducive environment and bringing the best quality and quantity buyers in the industry, delivering excellent results..

BIG3 Expo presents a unique blend of surf, skate, swim, sport, youth culture and fashion. The biggest trade show of its kind in Australia covering over 6,000 sqm of exhibition space at the Gold Coast Convention & Exhibition Centre, Broadbeach, Queensland.

Got a hot new surf, skate, beach, sport or style brand to launch in the Australian market? The BIG3 Expo is the place to do it!!

BIG3 is now accepting applications for 'FRESH' , a focussed section within the BIG3 expo allowing you to launch your newest most innovative and fashion forward products to the market. Limited space available!

SOTY 1

January 9th, 2008.
Hi Guys,
First of all Happy New Year!!!!!!! It's 2008 and the season has started, unfortunately due to circumstances which we have no control over the BSA's website is still not operational. We would like to apologize for this inconvenience as we know this is our main means of communication to our members and to the general public. We at the BSA would like to assure you that we are working to resolve this matter and we will do everything in our power to notify everyone of the association's Agenda.

Now onto our schedule for 2008, our first installment for the Surfer of the year series has been scheduled for the 19th & 20th of January respectively at Brandons Beach.
Members please be notified that renewal fees for 2008 will be received at this event and any new persons interested in joining the association can also sign up.
The format for this year will be slightly different as we will now separate the Junior events from the Open events, on Saturday 19th, all Junior classes will be contested right up to the finals and on Sunday 20th, Open events will be conducted. Entries will be taken on both days and the contestants have up to 8:30am to sign up for their respective categories, please note we will not be receiving any phone entries for this first event.

Category list for January 19th,
Boys & Girls under 18.
Boys under 16.
Boys & Girls under 12.
Combined boys & girls under 11.

Category list for January 20th,
Open Men & Women.
Masters 35 years and over.
Open Longboarding.
Open Bodyboarding.

FCS introduces R-2 fin designed by Rusty Preisendorfer

Industry News

FCS introduces the R-2 designed by Rusty Preisendorfer

Surfersvillage Global Surf News, 8 January, 2008 : - - FCS is proud to release the R-2, part of an ongoing collaboration with master shaper/ designer Rusty Preisendorfer. “Rusty has always been one of the shapers most involved in the evolution of fin design. He’s provided great insight to the performance sum of the hull and fin equation. With his vast design knowledge and surfing ability he’s able to take feedback from his team riders and create solutions by thinking outside the box,” said FCS’s Tyler Callaway.

According to Callaway, “The R-2 is a perfect example of Rusty's creative thinking. His idea was to drop the core mat out of the tip of the fin to engineer a stiffer base and more flexible tip that adds forgiveness to critical maneuvers and drive out of turns.”

Rusty says: "I was after a lightweight fin with soft, yet crisp flex to the tip. Fill is the key word: a lot of the lightweight fins out on the market have lightweight filler in them such as core-mat. I was after the flex characteristics of an all glass fin with a thinner, more tapered tip. The presence of the filler limits how thin the fin can be. With an all glass fin, the taper can be controlled. My thoughts were to pull the filler out of the tip of the fin so we could get more taper but keep the fill in the bottom 2/3 of the fin where the biggest weight saving, would be anyway."

Q&A:

FCS: What team rider(s) feedback was most valuable during the development?
Rusty: JOB and Kerrzy

FCS: Who should ride this fin? (Size range)
Rusty: 150 to 190 or 200lbs.

FCS: What kind of performance should they expect?
Rusty: A fin that is solid at rail set and has good rebound on release (unweighting). At the same time the fin tip needs to be soft enough to be forgiving on reconnects (airs, reverses, slides). The molding process provides a consistency and accurateness. Like a composite hull, this type of construction creates the opportunity for a lightweight, durable product where flex characteristics can be modified by what gets put in the mold.

FCS: Care to comment on tail flex patterns?
Rusty: Glass-ons do impact longitudinal flex because the entire base of the fin and then some, if you consider the filler is anchored to the bottom. FCS is the least invasive box system on the market and would have less influence on longitudinal flex in the fin region.