THE Laguna Real Estate Noosa Festival of Surfing is stoked to be hosting the first ever Gordon and Smith ‘Switch’ event as part of its 8 Days of Pure Stoke.
Founded way back in 1959 by Larry Gordon and Floyd Smith in San Diego, California, Gordon and Smith soon became an iconic brand, reflecting design and material innovation, craftsmanship, and inspirational surfing under the feet of such icons as Skip Frye, Mike Hynson and Midget Farrelly.
In 1966, G&S found a home in Australia, always pioneering and remaining at the forefront of surfboard design, more recently represented by leading contemporary longboarders Jye Byrnes and former Australian champion, Dane Wilson.
Pioneering still, Gordon and Smith Australia will present the inaugural G&S ‘Switch’, an invitational event with a difference. Swathed in secrecy, the mysterious G&S ‘Switch’ will bring 12 invitees and four carefully selected wildcards together for a brand new experience.
Each 20-minute heat will cast four competitors into the waves of Noosa’s famed First Point on identical Gordon and Smith model boards. But, unlike other similar events, surfers won’t have just one model to ride, but two; one long and one short.
With one board of 9-foot or over, and one of 7-foot or under, surfers will have to bring a diversity of skills to the division, proving their consummate surfing abilities.
Each surfer may ride their pair of boards in whichever order they choose and for however much of the 20-minute heat they wish to devote to each model, but their final score will be the tally of their best single ride on each board.
To add to the trickiness of their task, their fellow competitors will not be announced until only a few weeks before the event, the boards to be ridden remaining a secret until mere days before they paddle out, leaving no time to familiarise themselves with their craft.
Surfers today are blurring the lines between the boards they choose to ride, selecting boards appropriate to conditions, regardless of dimension and design.
These skills will be perfectly showcased by the G&S ‘Switch’, competitors required to ride the same two boards as their peers, offering no advantage in equipment choice, and in the same conditions for both designs.
The G&S ‘Switch’ will be a true showdown of waterman (or woman) talents and a spectacular display of the abilities of some of the world’s leading proponents of surf.
Who will be chosen and what will they ride? All will be revealed, 4-11 March during our 8 Days of Pure Stoke.
Follow the Noosa Festival of Surfing and Gordon and Smith Australia on Facebook and Instagram to find out more about the G&S ‘Switch’.
For more information on the Laguna Real Estate Noosa Festival of Surfing, please visit: www.noosafestivalofsurfing.com
