The third annual edition of Earthwave, the global environmental initiative that harnesses the huge interest surrounding attempts to break Guinness World Records (GWR) for surfing to promote sustainable lifestyle choices, is scheduled to take place on the beaches of the world on Sunday 4 October 2009.

Each event will stage an attempt on the GWR for the ‘most surfers riding one wave simultaneously’ and use the publicity to highlight the effects of climate change and showcase the products and services that are becoming available to reduce our impact on the environment.

“We are really looking forward to Earthwave 2009 and will be going all-out at Surfers Corner in Muizenberg to re-capture the Guinness World Record currently held by Earthwave Brazil,” says Paul Botha from Kahuna Promotions, who co-founded the event in 2006 with his son Dene at the iconic Cape Town surfbreak.

“Earthwave has evolved from our original attempt in 2006 when we successfully set a new record of 73 surfers on one wave while staging a debate on sharks and raising over R10 000 for the then fledgling Shark Spotters program. We will be collaborating with environmental organisations to try and run a ‘Green’ event that provides everyone with a couple of fun days at the beach while promoting lifestyle choices that will benefit the planet.”

Acknowledging the immense popularity of the original event, which attracted 349 participants and thousands of spectators, and its potential as a forum for change, Earthwave went global in 2007 when similar events were staged on the same day in Australia, Reunion Island, England, Brazil, Argentina, Tahiti and South Africa.

Inspired by Nobel Laureate Al Gore’s film “An Inconvenient Truth”, each event promoted awareness of Global Warming and climate change. Earthwave Brazil broke the GWR that year, upping the ante to 84 before shattering it again in 2008, raising the bar to an incredible 100 surfers on one wave which received worldwide news and TV coverage.

This year Earthwave South Africa will be expanded to a two-day event on Saturday and Sunday, 3 & 4 October, with a marquee tent on Muizenberg beach housing exhibits, demonstrations and promotions of environmentally friendly products and services. The program will include Longboard and Stand Up Paddleboarding (SUP) contests with the Guinness World Record attempt set for Sunday afternoon alongside plenty of spectator friendly events like Dig For Gold, sandcastle building and raffles to raise funds for worthy causes.

Earthwave Brazil have confirmed they will be going even bigger, running a three-day event with longboarding and SUP at Quebra Mar in Santos, while details of other events around the globe are still coming in. Interest in running Earthwave events has been received from as far afield as New Zealand, Fiji, Japan, Portugal, Holland, the USA and more.

Previously endorsed by organisations such as the International Surfing Association (ISA) and the Surfrider Foundation, whose Argentina chapter ran the event there in 2007, Earthwave invites surfing and environmental organisations worldwide to participate in this global initiative that addresses the most important issue facing mankind today.

Earthwave is the first event of its kind to be run worldwide on the same day, providing the opportunity for stand up surfers of every age and ability and on any equipment to celebrate their lifestyle and make a statement about reducing their impact on the environment.

The event provides unlimited sponsorship opportunities for companies and organisations keen on promoting their environmental credentials or simply wanting to showcase their products and services to a receptive audience and through the saturation media coverage.

See the Earthwave group on Facebook for more information or www.earthwave2007.com for highlights of previous year’s events, where you can sign up for future newsletters. A new website at www.earthwave.info is under construction.

Contact This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it for further information on the Earthwave global surfing and sustainable lifestyles event and how to become part of this global movement.

SOURCE: Surfing South Africa