“Life is Better When you Surf”.
Noosa name goes Global.
It was in August this year when USM Events announced a collaborative pact with the Noosa Malibu Club that saw the company assume management responsibilities for the Noosa Festival of Surfing 2008, since then Garth Prowd and the merry band of staff at USM Events have run the most successful Noosa Jazz Festival in years, managed to relocate the company to accommodate expansion needs, set the platform for the running of the Noosa Triathlon Multi Sports Festival (31st Oct – 4th Nov) and built a framework for the Noosa Festival of Surfing 2008 that will ensure its continued growth for years to come, “We are on track and achieving the initial targets we set out after coming on board a few months back. With a dedicated team assigned to handle the specific requirements of the Festival and its new additions in 2008, there’s a very exciting buzz around the new workplace”, said Mr Prowd.
This week Global Surf Industries (GSI) who stepped in at the eleventh hour in 2007 to secure naming rights, finalised negotiations with USM Events and will herald in the new era of the Noosa Festival of Surfing as naming rights partner for 2008.
GSI Managing Director Mark Kelly happy with back to back support of the event and looking forward to feeling the sand between his toes on Noosa Main Beach come March next year. “After experiencing the amazing atmosphere and fantastic waves on offer last year, we were very interested in seeing where Garth and the Club wanted to go in the future. In the end it was a simple decision for us at GSI, as the entire Festival of Surfing truly seems to fit the mix and mantra of our company statement “Life is Better when you Surf”. Once we had a clear picture of its direction, being a part of the best celebration of the joy of surfing in Australia was a must”, said Mark Kelly.
Global Surf Industries certainly enjoy celebrating the lifestyle as well as business success. Earlier this year saw them climb into the top 20 companies in BRW magazine’s Fast Starters list in Australia.
In 2007 GSI relocated their entire Australian operation to Noosa for the week long celebration of surfing, music, culture, fashion and lifestyle booking out the entire Emerald Apartments in Hastings St, Noosa and filling it with a high profile team of chargers including Hawaiians Bonga Perkins, Dave Kalama and Keone Downing as well as selected retailers and international media. After running an international internet competition for members of the public to win a VIP week in Noosa which saw a lucky family from the NSW Central Coast reside beachside, one wonders what GSI have in store for 2008. “Last year really didn’t allow us too much time for planning, so with plenty of breathing space between now and March we already have few special projects put on the development table that will really allow people to feel the ‘Aloha’ spirit associated with Noosa and the Festival of Surfing in particular”, said Mark.
USM Events guru and number one surfer Garth Prowd agrees it’s a good match, “There is a great deal that Global Surf Industries bring to the event, for a start because they are so passionate, they tend to drive the underside of the Festival very hard and this provides a stealthy platform that benefits the bigger picture which is what we look at carefully”, said Prowd.
After seventeen years, the event that begun as an excuse for a few mates to surf the ideal line-up of First Point Noosa on their own, has come of age!
“Surfing in general delivers such a wide range of benefits to those who choose to participate, and this is really what we are about – encouraging participation, every surfer can relate to our mantra – Life is better when you surf. The Noosa Festival celebrates this and has numerous disciplines which allow people to experience what those surfers did seventeen years ago”, said Kelly.
In 2008 there will be an ardent focus on addressing environmental issues and raising funds for specific charities. “It’s about being responsible too, climate change is a reality and we want to discuss new eco-friendly technologies as well as endeavouring to raise as much money as possible for our nominated charities during the week”, said Garth.
With this in mind USM events are lobbying SIMA (Surf Industry Manufacturers Assoc) in a bid to have the CEO Summit officially sanctioned. “Through its membership of industry leaders SIMA has raised millions for charitable causes while lifting the profile of surfing in the broader community, we are negotiating the SIMA board in the hope it will endorse our Noosa CEO Surf Summit in 2008 as a strong platform in the Asia Pacific region”, said Prowd.
This was another reason that prompted GSI to sign on the dotted line too, “As part of our sense of community we support a range of charities globally and the fact that USM and the Noosa Malibu Club had parallel feelings showed the very character that has help make the Noosa Festival the successful, fun environment it is. We are looking forward to next march, it will be a blast”, said Kelly.
For further information visit: www.noosafestivalofsurfing.com