People do stuff because it's fun and makes them feel good. Kneeboarding will keep going as long as there are people that want to try and have fun.
http://www.kneeboardsurfaustralia.com/b ... %20set.htm, shows a photo of a young grommet. There are pictures of him in the photolog of the comp, having a great time with his mates.
The biggest issue as I see it and I'll apologise if someone else has already mentioned it, are the shapers. The decline in the number of kneeboarders is being reflected in the number of shapers that are still shaping.
I know that in WA, the number of good shapers is now down to one, Mark Fitzpatrick (Foo) still shapes , but who's going to take his place. I know in the past there where a number - Ross O'Brian, Neil Byrd, Mark Fitz to name a few. In sydney, the situation is similar. I'm now 47 and have a few alternatives on shapers, but what will happen when this generation of shapers decides that they need to concentrate on improving their quality of life - making surfboards is rather toxic. Toxic and health are not compatible.
Enough of my rambling, but maybe we should classify these guys as National Treasures (Like what the Japanese do with their craftsman), gather them all up, put them into self contained, life supporting shaping bays and let them shape 24/7. Creating a huge stockpile of kneeboards for the betterment of mankind or is that kneekind.
Worth a thought, I reckon
See ya in Indo, 11 days to go!!!!
