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[84 surfers successfully ride a single wave at the Earthwave Brazil event Photo: Marcio Rodrigues / Fotocom.net]
After a week in which more than a billion people worldwide celebrated Earthday with calls to take action on the climate crisis, Kahuna Promotions is pleased to announce that the second annual Earthwave Global Surf Challenge is scheduled to run on the beaches of the planet on Sunday 7 September 2008.
07/09/2008:// Building on the momentum of the inaugural version of the event staged simultaneously in Australia, Reunion Island, England, Brazil, Argentina, Tahiti and South Africa in 2007, Earthwave leverages the immense interest in attempts on the Guinness World Record (GWR) for the ‘most surfers riding the same wave’ to showcase the surfing lifestyle and issue a ‘call to action’ on living a more sustainable lifestyle.
Earthwave Brazil shattered the record last year, raising the bar from the 48 recorded in Ireland in 2006 to an incredible 84 surfers on one wave at Santos, receiving worldwide news and TV coverage and drawing attention to Global Warming and the climate crisis.
“We were encouraged by the efforts and publicity produced by the seven Earthwave events last year,” said Kahuna Promotions’ Dene Botha, who expanded the event from an attempt to break the Guinness World Record in Cape Town in 2006 to a global initiative in 2007.
Inspired by Nobel Prize winner Al Gore’s film “An Inconvenient Truth” and loosely based on similar initiatives by organisations such as Live Earth, Earthwatch, Earth Day, Earthdance and Earth Hour, the objectives of the Earthwave Global Surf Challenge are to celebrate the surfing lifestyle, raise awareness of Global Warming and to encourage people to start adapting to a more sustainable way of life that reduces their impact on the environment.
“This year will see dozens of countries participating and we intend using the worldwide interest in Earthwave to present practical solutions on how to live a more sustainable lifestyle, cuts down our impact on the environment and, with energy prices rising globally, also saves money,” Botha explained.
Endorsed by organisations such as the International Surfing Association (ISA) and the Surfrider Foundation, whose Argentina chapter ran the event in that country in 2007, Earthwave invites surfing and environmental organisations worldwide to participate in this global initiative that addresses the most important issue facing mankind today.
“The population explosion combined with lack of concern on how our lifestyle effects the natural scheme of things has already damaged the planet, and we all need to start making changes,” commented Botha. “It’s a simple choice – you’re either part of the solution, or you’re part of the problem.”
Earthwave is the first event of its kind to be run worldwide on the same day, providing the opportunity for stand up surfers of every age and ability and on any equipment to celebrate their lifestyle and make a statement about reducing their impact on the environment.
See www.earthwave2007.com for highlights of last year’s Earthwave Global Surf Challenge and watch out for the new website at www.earthwave.info that will be launched in June 2008.
Please contact kahunasurf@mweb.co.za for further information on the Earthwave Global Surf Challenge and how to become part of this global movement.
The 2008 Beachley Classic got underway this morning, completing Rounds 1 and 2 as well as the opening two heats of Round 3 at nearby Freshwater Beach in clean two-to-three foot (1 metre) waves
Layne Beachley (AUS), 36, has officially announced her retirement from full-time competition, effective at the end of the year
Former Exeter University student Josh Lewin first heat at the Ocean and Earth Pro in the Canary Islands has been delayed because the 2ft surf was deemed uncontestable