Is it just me or does anyone else find irritating, the brand promotion, in the form of (board, sail, fin) manufacturer immediately behind the name of the rider in windsurfing news stories? Is this convention obligatory or voluntary? It does not seem to be as prevalent in SUP, Kiting and Longboard news stories.
As in "Robby Naish, Naish Hawaii"?
If its the case it doesn't really worry me. I have more important things to worry about.
I think you'll find kiters and SUPers do have this too.
I'd sign my name with a brand if i was getting free gear. Who wouldn't
No more like "Jason Polakow (JP / NeilPryde) and Robby Swift (JP / NeilPryde / Mystic / Maui Ultra Fins)".
I agree its not a big issue, however I feel it's a unwanted / unsolicited intrusion to the narative of the story.
Perhaps it's a convention for sports journalism. I see no problem with it. The athlete would probably be doing some boring job 40 hours a week if they were not sponsored. There would be no story as the sailor would be working in a supermarket in Leeds or something like that instead of sailing the secret break in the Indian ocean. The sponsor pays good money one way or another. The sponsor should get something in return.
If its an issue there are plenty of other things to read.
Depends on the news outlet ...
The PWA news, and anyone who scrapes their stories or uses their press releases in their news, put the board/sail brands behind each riders name as those brands have paid a fee to be mentioned there.
Sometimes it's nice to know what people are using ...
Don't really have an issue with it. They are paid to ride for certain brands and you do see it elsewhere - like you will see Webber (Redbull7) or Skaife (Holden) etc etc in other areas.
So I guess I agree with Sean (Starboard, www.GetWindsurfFit.com, www.FollowTheWinds.com, www.CarbonSugar.com)
I (RRD, NP, Ansell condoms, Jim Beam) would be more concerned about lack of unbiased testing - all the magazine reviews tell us everything they test is good. (Not just windsurfing gear)
I think Laurie should allow for signatures to our posts so we can all do this.
K Dog (fookashima Adult Dollz Department)
From a journalistic perspective I think they do it so that you, the reader, realise that the rider is sponsored by said brands and you need to consider this when weighing up their input to a story.
Grumplestiltskin (Bentley Continental driver)
