IMPORTANT
MALFUNCTION UPDATE
- Update # 2 - July 9,2007 - from Sean McKeown
- HYUNDAI CEMENTS ITS RELATIONSHIP WITH
AUSTRALIAN LONGBOARD SURFING
- One of Australia's largest longboard events, the Malfunction
Surf Festival is hitting the road literally.
- Thanks to the support of Hyundai, the annual event has
gained a mobile billboard in the form of a turbo injected diesel Santa Fe
painted in Malfunction colours.
- According to Malfunction spokesperson Sean McKeown, the
support shown by the car company was further recognition of the stature of
the event and its profile on the Australian surfing circuit.
- "This is further acknowledgement of the growth of longboarding
in Australia and the participation in contests such as the Malfunction" McKeown
said.
- "The vehicle will help us promote the Malfunction not
only along the Tweed and Gold Coast but at other longboard events we attend."
- Hyundai Queensland sales manager Noel Symon handed over
the keys to the new vehicle at Duranbah and said it marked a new approach
by the company into more community-minded activities.
- McKeown said the success of this years event - with the
new week-long festival format including activities other than surfing - had
proved to be very popular with competitors and spectators.
- "We are seeing the Malfunction growing again after suffering
a bit of a downturn, though the matter of where it will be staged next year
is still up for discussion" Mckeown said.
- This year the event was held at Rainbow Bay and caused
some problems in the water due to the fact there was no clearly designated
area exclusively for the longboard competitors.
- McKeown said he had met with Gold Coast City lifeguards
to address the problem and would be taking the matter up with local councilor
Chris Robbins.
- "We would dearly love to keep it (the Malfunction) at
its traditional home at Rainbow Bay/Snapper but we also have to realise that
this is growing each year and several other locations have expressed interest
in hosting it if the Gold Coast City Council can't help us", McKeown said.
- Update # 1 - May 31, 2007
- After meeting with Chris Robbins, the Gold Coast City
Councillor for Division 14, the organisers of the Malfunction Surf Festival
have been asked to show that there is sufficient support from the surfing
fraternity and the local community to consider overturning the Gold Coast
City Council’s current directive of forbidding surfing events being contested
at Snapper Rocks apart from the opening rounds of the ASP mens & womens WCT
events and to be given exclusive use of the area in which the surfing competition
is to take place.
- Mindful of the rights of recreational surfers the organisers
of the Malfunction Surf Festival propose that the Malfunction be given approximately
150 metres of surf at the start of the Superbank at Snapper Rocks in which
to hold its surf competition.
- This will allow approximately 1 kilometre of the Super
Bank for recreational surfers to enjoy.
- To ensure the safety of competitors and to allow them
the opportunity to compete without interference and fear of intimidation from
the small minority of unreasonable recreational surfers it is proposed that
the Malfunction competition area be made exclusive during times of competition.
- To support the Gold Coast Malibu Clubs request for exclusive
use of Snapper for the Malfunction or for more information log onto
- UPDATE #2
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