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Newsletter 6 - 18 June 1996

AGM
This year’s AGM was held at the Cape Receife Lighthouse, courtesy of Marius Du Plessis and PortNet. Turnout was unexceptional which was understandable considering it was exam time for schools; techs and varsities. Of interest was the attendance of all three MacLeods. There were no surprises at the AGM and the new committee is only slightly different from the previous one. There were no objections raised to the proposed nominations so no voting was held. Craig Seale stood down as Chairman because of work commitments but agreed to stand as a nominal President in order to drive the 1997 SA Waveski Champs project. The rest of the Committee and their phone numbers are listed below. If you have a query, problem or suggestion for the Committee please contact the Committee member whose portfolio it affects. President - Craig Seale (311593) Chairman - Nick Cadle (325593) Treasurer - Naude Kotze (554319) Contest Director - Marius Du Plessis (324771) Assistant Contest Director - Johan Momberg (426040) Development Officer - André Rossi (733458) Public Relations - Gert Roux (514350) Please support your committee in their endeavors to ensure the continued survival and growth of waveskiing. They are sacrificing a lot of after-hours time for you and your continued support is what motivates them, so please give it.

NEW ASSOCIATION ADDRESS
ADDRESS EP Waveski has a new address for all correspondence. Please make use of it when sending mail to the committee. Here goes: EP WAVESKI ASSOCIATION 22 PHEASANT ROAD GREENSHIELDS PARK 6070 If the mail is for any specific member, please indicate this on the envelope. Any mail to the Bay Waveski Club can also be sent to the association address until further notice.

WAVESKI LOSSES
Something that has been troubling me over the last few months has been the gradual but persistant loss of experienced waveskiers from the competitive side of the sport. It worried me that people just stopped waveskiing almost never to be seen again except on occasions. I came to the conclusion that several factors were responsible for this attrition in the sport. They are career commitments, transfers, family commitments and loss of interest. There are others but those mentioned are the primary causes of loss to the sport. Career commitments force waveskiers to abandon their sport to cater to their ambition or sense of responsibility. This is understandable since waveskiing doesn’t pay the bills. Transfers, especially inland, are often linked to career commitments. If a job pays more in Gauteng than it does in PE as it commonly does, then one is sometimes forced to pay the price of ambition and responsibility. Family commitments also put a strain on competitive waveskiing, or vice versa sometimes. Once married, a waveskier finds his loyalties split between wife, waveskiing, and later, children. I cannot pretend to think that all wives are as understanding as mine or some others I know who stand behind their men’s crazy sport. That just isn’t so, and so more losses occur as men pay homage to the Holy Grail of Happy Marriages. As children grow up so are their interests piqued by all that is in the world. In spite of the old man and his crazy sport, not all will gravitate to waveskis. Boogie boards, surfboards, rollerblades, Kiddy-Cross, scouts, etc must have their share of the pie and Dad, unfortunately, unless he is the most selfish git around, has to encourage and applaud his kids in their interests. This was brought home to me one day when I bumped into an old waveskier at a Kiddy-Cross contest. You guessed it - his kid races, and Dad seldom gets chance for a wave now. Scratch Dad as an EP Waveski possible. Loss of interest is a factor which has its own contributing factors like unfitness, waves no longer thrilling, water getting too cold, body getting too old, waveski committee a bunch of idiots, national committee an even bigger bunch of idiots, in fact, any factor which gives a waveskier a negative outlook on his sport. Once this happens, it’s pretty much goodbye, and these people switch their focus to triathlon, stamp-collecting, grass-growing or some other mundane activity. These look like insurmountable problems, and yes, they may soon affect many existing competition waveskiers as they get married, have children (not necessarily in that order) and their kids get to an age where they want to experiment with everything (poor wallets!). I believe, though, that if you genuinely love your sport you will find a way to practice it, even if it means dragging wife and kids with you down to cold winter beaches, strapping your petrified kid into a barge and shoving him/her into a 10 foot beach break or, if you have the necessary clout, buying a shiny ‘4 times 4’ (cooly, Dad!!!), hitching a ten berth caravan and heading for Jeffrey’s Bay with the all important skis. Oops, almost forgot the wife and kids! Waveskiing is, unfortunately, the kind of sport that requires almost fanatical dedication on your part, and long-suffering indulgence on your support personnel’s (i.e. wife, girlfriend, boyfriend, children, etc) part. So bear a thought for those people when you’re driving home one evening, happen to glance at the swell line on the horizon, see the offspray on the harbour wall, dash home, grab your ski and disappear without so much as a greeting to family. You’re one of the lucky few who get away with it! We also have to encourage the growth of the sport at grass-roots level - the youth. This is clichéd, I know. Everybody knows that the young people give the sport its continuity but few people have the time or inclination to do something about it. To this end, the EP Waveski Development Officer, André Rossi, has recruited a couple of students who, when not involved in their own studies and waveskis, have volunteered to do a round of presentations at schools using talks and visual aids to encourage the growth of waveskiing in schools. We wish them well.

FUTURE EVENTS
Well, things look to be continuing apace. Instead of the usual lull in waveski activities we come to expect after the SA Closed Champs, I heard from the EP Committee that they have great plans in store. Here is a sneak peak at their plans and a refresher of those other events which might have seeped out of your salt water soaked brains. Waveski World Titles, Durban - 12 to 20 July 1996 Social Contest - 14 July 1996 (EP riders will be severely handicapped, to give the Social riders a good chance of winning) EP Trial 1 - 11 August 1996 EP / Border Interprovincial 1, Seal Point Beach - 31 August & 1 September 1996 EP Closed Champs, J-Bay - 7 & 8 September 1996 EP / Border Interprovincial 2, 5 & 6 October 1996 Social Contest & Bring & Braai - 10 November 1996 (Handicap system to be used again for EP riders).

(Copyright - Eastern Province Waveski Association, 1998)