Joe Surf: Costco’s Wavestorm board here to stay
A few brands are recognized and respected in the surfing world — Hurley, Billabong, Quiksilver, Rip Curl, O’Neill, Vans and Costco, to name some.
Wait, what? … Costco?
Yes, Costco. The wholesale warehouse giant has been selling its brand of surfboard for several years and has taken the surfing world by storm. Or Wavestorm, to be precise.
The soft-top surfboard is 8 feet long and typically sells for a mere $99. It was meant for beginners but has found a new type of buyer — some of the world’s best surfers.
A big reason some of the best rippers are buying the Wavestorm has to do with Costco’s return policy. You break the board, you can return it for a new one.
Top-level surfers obviously won’t use it in competition, but when faced with gnarly conditions that not only put your physical well-being in jeopardy but also your board, the Wavestorm is a low-risk option.
Break your “real” epoxy or polyurethane board and it’s done and you’re out hundreds of dollars. Even a ding in a real board will cost $50 to $60 to fix. Take the Wavestorm out, no worries.
The phenomenon really took off when pro surfer Jamie O’Brien surfed a Wavestorm at Pipeline off Oahu’s North Shore a couple of years ago. There’s a YouTube video of his session, in which he took on big waves with no fear — at least no fear of breaking his board. You can watch it at youtube.com/watch?v=2D5ugxEVBXA.
Even with surfers like O’Brien using the Wavestorm, it seems there will always be a beginner’s stigma attached to it when you’re out in the lineup. Hence, the board’s nickname, the “kook stick.”
Not to mention the angst that surfboard shapers must feel — artists at heart losing business to a mass-produced product.
The board’s manufacturer, AGIT Global of Taiwan, says the Wavestorm is helping surfing grow, not hurting it.
“Some manufacturers were upset with us because they were losing sales,” Matt Zilinskas, AGIT’s vice president of North American sales, told the San Diego Union-Tribune. “But this is putting more people in the water. We’re getting people hooked on surfing using this board, and maybe they’ll buy a different board. It’s actually grown the sport significantly.”
Like it or not, the Wavestorm is here to stay.
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Waiting for a world champ
I can’t imagine how difficult it must be for the women waiting … and waiting … and waiting to get going in the Target Maui Pro, the final contest on the World Surf League’s World Championship Tour.
Through Tuesday, the women had surfed only one day — last Saturday — since the scheduled start back on Nov. 21. Contest organizers are waiting for a nice big swell, and nothing short of that will do.
Santa Ana’s Courtney Conlogue, ranked No. 2 in the world, is trying to become the first Orange County surfer to win a women’s world title since Dana Point’s Joyce Hoffman in 1966.
On the one day the contest was on, Conlogue was up and down. It started great when in her Round 1 heat, on her first wave, she dropped into a barrel and came out with a score of 8.93. She finished the heat with a two-wave total of 16.50 to win against Australia’s Keely Andrew and Hawaii’s Coco Ho.
Winning the Round 1 heat advanced her to Round 3, in which she finished second to Australia’s Nikki Van Dijk. Not winning the heat meant that instead of advancing directly to the quarterfinals, she must surf in Round 4, an elimination heat, against Ho. If she doesn’t win that heat, her world title hopes will be dashed.
Meanwhile, No. 1 Carissa Moore of Hawaii has advanced to the quarterfinal round. Conlogue must finish higher than Moore in order to win the world title.
JOE HAAKENSON is a Huntington Beach-based sports writer and editor. He may be reached at joe@juvecreative.com.
