Billabong has announced that it is buying DaKine. It’s paying $99.9 million for the bag, gloves and accessories brand.

DaKine’s founder Rob Kaplan launched the company in 1979 in Hawaii and he will be staying on in the DaKine management team.

More info at Boardsportsource.com

Volcom are opening a shop in London this autumn and they’re looking for staff.

The shop, situated near Covent Garden, needs an assistant manager and sales assistants.

The sales jobs are for full-time employees working 39 hours per week, part time employees working 20 hours  a week and weekend staff working eight hours.

They’re looking for people with a knowledge and interest in the boardsports industry and at least one year of retail experience. You must have good customer service skills and be able to work weekends as scheduled.

If you are interested, send your CV and salary requirements to jobs@volcom.fr asap.

I’ve thought about cycling to work before but the London traffic scares the hell out of me. What might make it a bit less scary would be some experienced commuting friends to help me negotiate the daily obstacles.

Burton employees in Burlington, VT are encouraging people to cycle to work with just this kind of group.

They’ve embraced an in-house project called Creative Commute Fridays which encourages people to ditch their cars on Fridays and use alternative methods to get to work instead. More inexperienced cycling commuters get to take advantage of guidance and tips from more experienced riders.

Read this article in the Burlington Free Press to find out how the growing gang of Friday cyclists is encouraging more people out of their cars and onto their bikes.

Danny Kass and Nate Holland were amongst a group of boardsports professionals who visited American troops in Afghanistan late last month.

They visited a field hospital in Bagram and found out more about work carried out there to treat servicemen and women and civilians.

Read the full story at First Tracks Online.

Not one to spread rumours, BUT if we are to believe this blog post on Popmag.com.au then we may or may not have seen the last of Future Snowboard Magazine. Here's hoping...thought they were doing a pretty good job. Their female focused Drift supplement was great.

Howies are holding a four-day series of lectures and workshops near their Welsh HQ in Cardigan in September.

The Do Lectures run from September 4 to 8. As Howies co-founder David Hieatt explains:

“Back in 1995, Clare and I started a company with a couple of aims. To make the highest quality clothing for our sports and our daily lives that we knew how, and to make it in the lowest impact way that we possibly could.

The other aim was to use the company to try and make people think about this amazing planet we all live on. So for me, it follows that we should use some of our Earth Tax money to put on a series of lectures with the aim of inspiring people to go and try to change the things that we all care about. Let the Doers of the world inspire the rest of us."

There are 75 places available at the lectures. To apply for a place, you need to send a handwritten letter to howies explaining why you’d like to attend and what you hope to ‘do’. Send the letter for the attention of Alison to howies, Bath
House Road, Cardigan, West Wales SA43 1JY

You’ll need to pay your own transport costs but accommodation at the fabulous fforest campsite (www.coldatnight.co.uk) is included.

Confirmed speakers include:

• Michael Braungart - Co-author of the ‘Cradle to Cradle’ book; one of the most important books on design for a couple of decades.
• Ken Yeang - An architect and ecologist, he is the author of ‘Eco Skyscrapers’.
• John Grant - Author of ‘The Green Manifesto’ and one of the most forward thinking thinkers of his time.
• Andy Kirkpatrick - Climber. If he doesn't inspire you to climb your own mountain, no one will.
• Russell Davies - Strategist, futurist, blogger, gadget maker and organiser of all things interesting.
• Andrew Whitley - Author of ‘Bread Matters’, one of the most important books on getting bread back to simple.

For more information visit www.dolectures.com

Anne-Flore Marxer is on Fiat's pro team and she's just dropped us a line with some pictures of her latest ride.

This is what she says about her new Fiat 500:

"It's got leather seats, super cool tires, racing pedals, a double “pot d’echapement”, 155 horsepower, an “allume cigare” in the trunk where I can put a cooler for long surfing days.. and it speaks Italian! It’s super comfortable too! The big sticker in the front make people believe that I'm a crazy freestyle driver and they think I'm tough! Haha!"

More news on the Fiat freestyle team available at www.fiatfreestyleteam.ch

Lesley in action at the Brits

Just got a late addition to our pro rider season reviews – Scotland’s Lesley McKenna gives us her season lowdown:

“High point of the season was definitely riding proper powder in Scotland in April.

Low point was definitely putting my knee through my cheek and having to have surgery to put it back together.

My goals for next season are to ride more big mountain lines.”

Marie France pic: Chanelle Sladics

Quebec native Marie-France Roy is the latest rider to send us her thoughts on her 2007/8 season. Here she goes…

Highlight of the season: "Getting snowmobile (thanks to Red Bull!) and getting in the backcountry a bit more."

Low point of the season: "I went through pretty rough times this season. I felt like I was a bit burnt out. I think I just missed riding for myself."

Goals for next season: "I want to spend more time in the backcountry, less contests, more time in whistler which is the best place to snowboard."

The Snowboard Test. from LOCKDOWN projects on Vimeo.

Lisa picture by Carlos Blanchard

Continuing our series of interviews with riders talking about their 2007/8 season, Lisa Filzmoser spills the beans on her winter…

Highlight of the season: "My highlight was a catboarding trip to Selkirk, interior BC. It was a one week photoshoot with the Helly Hansen team. It was late March but the powder was amazing and the sun came out everyday. We rode all day long, got some fun free runs and were also productive."

Low point of the season: "Actually I didn’t really have a bad low point. But I had a not fun riding day. I qualified for the Burton European Open finals and felt really good but I had a bad crash and didn’t really realise that I had a concussion. So I rode the finals and my eyes couldn’t focus on the obstacles, I had to do it by feeling. It was awful. "

Goals for next season: "I wanna get a really good movie part, so also a movie to film with and I wanna get some new tricks done. And enjoying my life."

Laura (left) with her fellow Red Bull Home Run winners

As the season draws to a close, it’s time to look back at the highs and lows of the season. We’ve asked some female pro riders around the world for their thoughts on the season. First up is Britain’s Laura Berry.

Highlight of the season: “Winning the first ever Red Bull Home Run the Brits. I was especially stoked to do it with a broken collarbone! I have not had an adrenaline rush like that for a very long time, if ever. I most definitely have never been anywhere near that fast on my snowboard either!”

Low point of the season: “Breaking my collarbone and being told it requires surgery and 4-6 months off. It was rubbish.”

Goals for next season: “Not to break my new collarbone. Also would like to land all four 5's off a good size jump.”

Remember Duffs skate shoes? They’ve been pretty quiet for the last few years but expect to see them back in the shops soon.

Duffs 93 Ltd have bought the brand from Duffs International Inc and say they’re planning to develop a new range of footwear and clothing products to make it a major player once again.

Several experienced footwear designers have already been hired to work on new products.

“Duffs is an authentic skate brand with a strong and rich heritage,” said Alex Hall, senior principal of Duffs 93 Ltd. 

“The product needed attention so we have staffed that area up to meet the demands of the retailers and the market.

“We will be working very closely with our skate and BMX team to ensure the products are technically correct, in particular our designers are looking forward to working alongside the team riders including Duffs icon Skate Pro Louie Barletta on the development of his signature models, and building other pro models.”

Dane Williams. a surfer and intern at Hurley International was found dead in an alleyway in the early hours of January 29 in San Diego, during the action sports tradeshow ASR.

The reward for information leading to an arrest over his death has been raised to $10,000 after Jack's Surfboards in Huntington Beach added $9,000 to the total.

For more details on the story visit CBS News.

The annual UK snowsports tradeshow Slide (formerly Soltex) kicks off at Manchester Central (formerly G-Mex) tomorrow (formerly Sunday). Representives of shops all over the UK are currently en route to the city ready to check out next season's goods and get their orders in. The shopping has already started for some. Gordon from Aberdeen surf, skate and snowboard store Granite Reef headed straight to DC's showroom in the Northern Quarter to check out their 08/9 goods when he arrived on Saturday.

He told us that Granite Reef has had a great season so far because of the great snow in Scotland this winter and they've also recently extended the shop - creating masses more space for snow and surf goods. Go check out the new store at 45 The green, Aberdeen if you're in the area.

DC's north and Scotland rep Fran Lavelle showed Gordon the range, including DC's first line of snowboards. There's one women's board in the range - the BFF (Best Freestyle Friend) which is a twin tip board with some simple styling, available in 144 to 152 lengths.

Gordon also told us about some dryslope events in Aberdeen - including a monthly freestyle evening for women -  so we'll give you the lowdown on those when we find out more.

While they got on with the serious business of sorting out orders, I amused myself for several hours trying on some uber-bright women's outerwear and lusting after the amazing array of hi-top trainers - look out for the ones with the giraffe and zebra prints, they're gorgeous!

Factory Media - which owns Onboard, Whitelines and Cooler, amongst other action sports magazines, has bought two websites. One is Adrenalintrip.net - which many UK snowboarders know from its longstanding forums. They've also bought surfcore.co.uk

It's said the two websites were bought for around £300,000 in total.

The guys behind Adrenalintrip.net say the site will be moving to a faster server as a result of the buyout but say there'll be no more changes to the site made that aren't community led.

Roberta Rodger has aquired sole ownership of Infamous Management Inc, a sports management agency she helped start in 2004. They represent athletes like Spencer O'brien and Stevie Bell.

Read more about Infamous Management and Roberta's new direction for the company at EXPN.
http://expn.go.com/expn/story?id=3197243

It’s nearly that time of year where the snowboard industry starts thinking about next winter. For the next couple of months the brands will be waxing lyrical about the merits of their 2008/9 ranges and persuading shops to place orders and journalists to give their goods plenty of column inches.

In the UK we’ve got a new event – the Snowbaw tour - which is visiting Edinburgh, Leicester, Bristol and Ascot. Brands including Protest, Nixon, Westbeach, Salomon, Bonfire, Ride, Billabong, Dakine, Rip Curl and Hurley will be showing off their latest wares on this new mini tour. Then the gang – plus a range of other brands – head to Manchester for bigger Slide event in mid-February – I’ll be there as usual.

The massive European shindig is called ISPO and it takes place in Munich at the end of January. At the same time in the US, Lorene will be heading to Las Vegas where the snowsports industry takes over for SIA.

So not long after, expect the first sneak previews of what winter 2008/9 has in store.

caption

etnies have been getting into the Christmas spirit lately. This week they donated more than 1,200 pairs of shoes to needy kids at events throughout California, Arazona and Oregon.

Pierre André Senizergues, owner and CEO of etnies, hosted etnies’ Fourth Annual Holiday Festival at the etnies Skatepark of Lake Forest, and 641 needy Orange County kids came out to enjoy it. Santa, Mrs. Claus, Ryan Sheckler, Kyle Leeper and Lauren Perkins were there to kick off the holiday season and celebrate.

“It is really important to me to give those in need throughout the year,” said Pierre André Senizergues, CEO and owner of etnies. “I will never forget what it was like to be without, and so it will always be a priority to me to help in a meaningful way.”

etnies also hosted events at its etnies:EXS outlet stores in the following locations: Carlsbad, Commerce, Gilroy and Vacaville, California; Woodburn, Oregon; Phoenix, Arizona. At each of these events the local Boys & Girls Club brought children to the store, where each child was given a gift certificate for a free pair of etnies, éS or Emerica footwear.

In addition to these holiday events, etnies recently donated 1,624 pairs of shoes, and 525 pieces of apparel/accessories to the New Orleans Mission. The brand also donated 1,858 pairs of shoes to the Miracle On 1st Street Christmas Toy Giveaway in Los Angeles.

Burton Snowboards founder Jake Burton has reacted to criticism of the newly launched Burton competition encouraging people to ride the US resorts which currently ban snowboarding (which Lorene mentioned in this blog a couple of days ago).

In an email to the Burton mailing list he said:

“Since the release of our Poachers web story on burton.com, several people have contacted Burton complaining of our actions. While I fully respect their prerogative to voice their opinion, they should in return grant us the same courtesy.

We have been snowboarding at major resorts for well over 20 years now and in the process, we have demonstrated our sport to be for real, and of no threat to society. The fact is that two of the four resorts operate on federal forest land, which makes this issue even more frustrating since the taxes of many snowboarders help finance these resorts.

I'm confident that if these four resorts outlawed skiing tomorrow, there would be a protest long before 20 years passed, and rightfully so. I want to add that we have been careful not to break any laws, nor to encourage anyone to break any laws (see the Poaching 10 Commandments on burton.com/poachers) in our efforts to liberate these mountains.

If you have spent as much time in the mountains as I have, you would know that every mountain has a personality, and while they can be brutally cruel at times, discrimination is not in their DNA.

Here are the contest’s 10 commandments:

1. Whatever you do, don't break the law
2. Always buy a lift ticket
3. Hit 'em where and when they least expect it; but make sure to keep it safe, stay inbounds, and always wear safety equipment
4. Bro down with the enemy
5. Keep it peaceful, maaaaaan
6. Always respect Ski Patrol; even if they tackle you
7. Scout the forbidden fruits, study trail maps and satellite images online
8. Remember: Ass out, knees bent in the moguls
9. Splitboarding is your friend
10. Last but not least, keep it brofessional

The UK’s annual snowsports tradeshow Slide returns to Manchester Central (formerly known as G-Mex) from February 17 to 19 2008.

More than 80 exhibitors have already signed up to show off their autumn/winter 2008/8 collections. Head, Salomon, Vans, Bonfire, K2, Dakine, Dynastar, Lange and Spy Optics are amongst the brands involved.

The Fresh! area will also return where new brands and companies can meet buyers and media directly.

More details on exhibiting and visiting at www.slideuk.co.uk

Boardsportsource are reporting that Canadian outerwear firm Westbeach has been bought by an un-named UK private investor. It’s not yet known now much the brand changed hands for. Click here for more details.

Looking for that ultimate coffee table book to make you look adventurous and interesting, then look no further!!

28 Day Winter - A Snowboarding Narrative, features the fantastic photography of Dean 'Blotto' Gray, Jeff Curtes and Adam Moran. They document the travels of the Burton team during the month of August 2006, capturing riding in New Zealand and Chile, as well as some stolen shots of the riders in their down time.

Buy it on Amazon.com where it is currently discounted, on sale for $26.37 including postage.

My copy is in the mail as I type!

British snowboarder Jo Chastney has been nominated for Sportsperson of the Year in the 2007 Stonewall awards.

The awards are celebrate the positive contributions being made by individuals and organisations to the lives of gay people in Britain.

The winners will be announced at a posh ceremony at the V&A Museum on Thursday November 1.

“What does a pikey wear to such an event?” said Jo on the Blueskin blog when she announced her nomination.

Good luck Jo and apologies for the ropey photo from a drunk night out at the Brits!

See the press release below...sounds like a great opportunity!

TTR IS LOOKING FOR NEW INTERNS AT HEADQUARTERS IN AUSTRIA
----------------------------------------------------------------------------

We are offering talented and motivated individuals a 6 month internship a tour operational headquarters in the heart of Tirol/Austria intended toprovide you with a true learning experience.

As an intern at TTR, you’ll have real responsibility, real work, and real opportunities. (You’ll get paid, too!) It’s an experience you’ll
never find in a classroom. You’ll be given manageable assignments and your efforts will likely influence the shape of the Swatch TTR World Snowboard Tour. You could help develop and create the homepage, a marketing plan, videos, write and distribute press releases and assist in ranking, tour management or sponsorship coordination. You'll communicate in an international environment producing new ideas and realizing them within a wicked team.

To apply for any of our internships, check out the categories below:

WEB CONTENT COORDINATOR  http://www.ttrworldtour.com/index.php?RDCT=dea4350155cab2cafa91

PUBLIC RELATIONS COORDINATOR http://www.ttrworldtour.com/index.php?RDCT=dda9d2e75e98f84287c3

ONLINE MARKETING / PR COORDINATOR http://www.ttrworldtour.com/index.php?RDCT=ac761cb392cf035f299a

PR / JOURNALISM  http://www.ttrworldtour.com/index.php?RDCT=23f84deea7ba66043c5d

ASSISTANT TOUR MANAGER / SPONSORSHIP COORDINATOR http://www.ttrworldtour.com/index.php?RDCT=6cd21c4187dafe78a4bd

The internship  starts as soon as possible and lasts for the whole winter season – so good powder runs and the attendance of TTR events are assured.

Please email your resume with a cover letter describing your work experience, education and interests and why you would like to intern with us to reini@ttrworldtour.com (Link: reini@ttrworldtour.com ).

The Fresh Tracks website says that some US resorts could face staff shortages this season.

Visas for resort workers are usually exempt from a quota which limits the number of non-agricultural temporary workers in the US. However their exemption was not renewed this year and any visa applications submitted from the start of October will automatically be rejected.

Could be a difficult time for the results who rely on overseas workers in the winter.

Click here to read the full article.

It will soon become easier for non-Canadians to get a temporary work visa to be a snowboard instructor in BC or Alberta.

The Canadian government is introducing a pilot program to reduce the time it takes for employers to recruit non-Canadians if they know there is no Canadian resident suitable for the position. The program applies to 12 occupations only, but one of those occupations is 'ski/snowboard instructor'.

You'll still need an offer of employment before you're granted the work visa, but you're much more likely to get that offer now.

For more details see http://www.relocation2bc.com/newsletters/2007Oct05.htm

According to a study released by the National Ski Areas Association in the US this month, the average age of a rider was 36.6 last season, up from 33.2 in the 1997-98 season.

The survey also says that skiers and riders 45 years and older grew, while the population of younger ages dropped.

The survey showed that skiers and snowboarders between 45 and 54 rose 5.5 per cent over the last decade, while the number aged 55 and over nearly doubled.

For the full article visit the Seattle Times.

In a bid to satisfy my magazine addiction I popped in to Borders just to have a quick look and left 5 snowboard mags heavier! Anyway...after sitting for over an hour scanning the glossy pages for my monthly snow news fix, it dawned on me that there was a big female presence in ALL of the 5 mags I bought! Maybe it was a good month or the cries of "less yo bro", and more female content is finally getting through.

My magazine summary for Oct

Snowboarder (US) - Annie Boulanger Feature

Future Snowboarding (US) - Free women's snowboard magazine The Drift, featuring film review, Jamie Anderson interview, contest scene, fashion spread and nice photo section. A second edition of the drift will be free with the mag again in Dec! This is actually Sept issue, Oct issue is now out!

Transworld Snowboarding (US) - Q&A with Erin Comstock, Amber Stackhouse, and Alexis Waite. Womens pro models page, What the pros are rockin - Jamie Anderson, and 3 days with Gretchen Bleiler.

Onboard (Europe) - Q&A with Jenny Jones, Torah Bright feature (along with Shaun White) and an environmental feature with Silvia Mittermuller

Document Snowboard (UK) - Only a small piece here but Snap Shot with Zoe Gillings.

I think you will all agree this is a good thing...lets see if this is maintained for the rest of the season?

Pro rider Joni Makinen has a new job as the European marketing coordinator for Capita Snowboards and Union Bindings.

Joni retired from professional snowboarding in December 2006 after a career which saw him have his own pro model for eleven years in a row.

“I’ve known Joni for a long time. I have full confidence he’ll make a great transition from contributing as a rider to contributing on the industry side. I’m proud to have him as a representative for CAPiTA in Europe,” said Blue Montgomery, Brand Manager for CAPiTA Snowboarding.

Joni added, “I've seen snowboarding go through many phases, some good, some bad. I'm very happy to work for the companies that are keeping it real and doing good things for snowboarding.”

I was just browing through my stupidly long list of bookmarks and came across Sacklunch.com. I then discovered it's now a mere domain registration holding page.

Sacklunch was a fantastic site for industry news and gossip - a real insider's guide to the boardsports industry. It was one of the sites I visited every day when I first launched powderroom.net nearly five years ago (yikes!).

No idea when it closed but it's a sad loss.

We heard whispers a few months ago of a new rail park that was in the works, but like all snow rumours in Oz, it was a case of believe it when you see it! Fast forward a few months and the rumour had become reality. The smallest ski ‘resort’in Victoria (and I use the term resort loosely) Mt.Baw Baw  has put together their first rail park in association with Cactus Black clothing.                             

We made the 2.5hr trip to heady peaks of Mt Baw Baw, known as the family hill its not really where we go to get the pow turns in. It’s a fun spot nonetheless to go with people who are learning or just have a mess about. The biggest downside being the leg burning T-bars.  

The park is set just to the side of the main lift, a selection of 8 features have been set up amongst the trees. 4 Boxes, 2 wide rails and one metal rail oh and a cheeky rubbish bin lid sunken in the ground..for those Robotfood wannabe moments.

With park only passes costing $39AU, and close proximity to Melbourne it seems to have been well received. It is in its early stages and there will be some improvements and changes over time, its no Snowpark but hey it’s a good start!

The other half showing me how its done! Apparently not his best effort the camera puts him off!!              

http://www.mountbawbaw.com.au/

Whilst surfing around the internet looking for photographic inspiration I found the websites of two of the best aussie snowboard photographers around. Jess Mooney and Jake McBride...! Check out their websites at the links below.

www.jakemcbride.com

www.jessmooney.com (although it seems her site is now under construction - add it to your faves and check back soon)

According to the Burlington Free Press, Burton expects to double in size and add an extra 270 employees over the next five years.

It’s in the process of buying building next door to its current Vermont HQ and expects the new jobs to come in areas including research and development, marketing and sales, finance, human resources, legal and IT.

Click here for the full story.

• Will Olympic judges reward style of unstylish technical moves?
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• Can Shaun White win halfpipe gold medals in snowboarding and skateboarding?