DEL MAR — A moment of crisis in the surfing industry led Encinitas surfing figure Scott Bass to organize the first Boardroom show nearly two decades ago.
Clark Foam, which had grown into a near-monopoly supplier of foam blanks to surfboard shapers and shops since its founding in 1961, abruptly closed on Dec. 5, 2005, without warning.
“It threw the surfboard industry into a maelstrom,” Bass recalled. “What followed was a couple years of chaos, then a bunch of foam tried to fill the void. Then a bunch of boards started coming in from overseas. All the people I knew who were surfboard builders were losing work.”
Bass said he realized they needed an event to celebrate San Diego-based surfboard makers and shapers. When he began sharing plans with people he knew in the surfboard-making community, he received an overwhelmingly positive response.
“Everybody wanted a chance to offer their wares, to show that this subculture is alive and well and we’re not going anywhere.”
The Encinitas resident organized the first show in 2007 at the Del Mar Fairgrounds, where it has been held ever since. Originally called “The Sacred Craft,” the show’s name reflected the mystery surrounding surfboard shapers’ work.
Since then, the show has grown beyond the San Diego community, as reflected in the participants at recent events.
“We’ve honored people from Australia, from Hawai’i, from the East Coast, the West Coast. And we’ve had shapers compete from all over the world,” Bass said, citing previous participants from Peru, Brazil, New Zealand, El Salvador, Mexico, Portugal and Spain. “It truly is an international event.”
That reach is now reflected in the event’s name: The Boardroom International Surfboard Show. This year’s edition is set for Oct. 10 and 11.
A recurring feature at The Boardroom is an eight-person elimination tournament honoring an accomplished board shaper. The honoree chooses six participants, while the previous year’s winner and the winner of a similar East Coast event receive automatic entries.
This year’s honoree is Maurice Cole, a board shaper from Australia.
“Maurice has been a legendary surfboard shaper – and surfer – in the surfing culture for 60 years. He’s extremely well regarded as a surfboard designer. He was sort of an easy pick. He’s built one of the most famous surfboards in the world that was caught on film.”
In 1991, world champion surfer Tom Curren was surfing in Hawaii at Backdoor Pipeline when surf photographer Tom Servais captured him riding an unmarked Cole-designed board in a flawless run. The photo is now considered an iconic symbol of surf culture.
That same winter, Curren rode a Cole design to his first — and only — professional win in Hawaii at the Wyland Gallery Pro.
In addition to the tournament-style, on-site shaping competition, which Cole will judge as honoree, a second contest centers on the predicted “Super” El Niño that forecasters believe will affect the region this winter, potentially bringing large waves to the Pacific.
Builders will bring their best big-wave boards to exhibit, and attendees will vote on the winner, who will take home a $5,000 prize.
More than 90 exhibitors will offer surfboards, wetsuits, fins, other gear, clothing and memorabilia during the two-day show. The event will also feature food vendors, a beer garden, live music and a “Grom Surfboard Swap,” where young surfers can bring their old boards to sell or trade.
Tickets and more information are available at boardroomshow.com.
