Author Topic: Annabel Anderson departs Starboard ..seasons-change article..  (Read 25465 times)

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Re: Annabel Anderson departs Starboard ..seasons-change article..
« Reply #15 on: December 19, 2014, 12:24:53 PM »
She said that she painted it...that's some sort of a statement...;-)

Annabel Anderson: You have no idea how much fun I had with sand paper + elbow grease, 2x saw horses, 3x rolls of masking tape, 4x spray cans and a couple of whimsical ideas about a candy can. Dad should really not let me near his studio.

#prettycolorsrule! Glad you like it


She's definitely a competitor...we let her base and change out of our booth a few years ago at BOP...she does not enjoy losing...;-)
Mahalos...{:~)

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pdxmike

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Re: Annabel Anderson departs Starboard ..seasons-change article..
« Reply #16 on: December 19, 2014, 01:24:40 PM »
It certainly is rambling and ambiguous, but I appreciated it and felt a lot of sympathy for her. The two main themes that stood out to me were her sadness, and her praise of Brian Szymanski and his board design.

She seemed sad about the end of an era--the era where she quickly went from starting out to where she was the overall winner (including men) of a major race.  And some of the sadness was that the era ended prematurely, because BOP pulled the rug out of her chance to compete against the men directly.  It reminds me of how an Olympian might feel when their country boycotts the Olympics, and they spend the rest of their lives knowing they never got the chance to show the world what they could do.  The sadness of having an era cut short prematurely by outside forces is deeper than one where you simply get old after your glory years.

She also seemed sad about the end of her period of riding the Szymanski board, and she wrote a lot praising and defending that design.  It was as if the board was a physical equivalent of her own racing--coming out of nowhere, overachieving, then getting flack or at least resistance.   

Didn't Szymanski start designing boards for someone else?  Even if he still designs for Starboard, that at least is a weakening of his relationship with Starboard, and she may have felt the way someone on a team feels when their favorite teammate leaves. 

I of course also see it as an anti-rules piece--she went from a period of riding an unconventional board, and competing directly against men, and both her and the board were greatly successful, to a period where the rules prevented her from competing directly against men not just by banning her from drafting them but by actually putting her in a separate heat.  And in regard to the boards, the Szymanski designs epitomize the type of boards--thick nose, narrow, deep recess--that certain groups are now trying to ban.  And Starboard, instead of strongly defending the Szymanski designs, caved in and at least semi-supported the rules that would make them illegal. 
« Last Edit: December 19, 2014, 01:27:59 PM by pdxmike »

SaMoSUP

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Re: Annabel Anderson departs Starboard ..seasons-change article..
« Reply #17 on: December 19, 2014, 01:32:36 PM »
Szymanski is now with SUP ATX/Lahui Kai which could be who she ends up riding for. Remember they also nabbed John Becker, so the company is making some big moves.

DavidJohn

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Re: Annabel Anderson departs Starboard ..seasons-change article..
« Reply #18 on: December 19, 2014, 01:52:27 PM »
I know Annabel and hope she doesn't mind me posting her latest pic..  :)


red_tx

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Re: Annabel Anderson departs Starboard ..seasons-change article..
« Reply #19 on: December 19, 2014, 03:35:48 PM »
wait.. what thread am I looking at again??

this is becoming very similar to one of my favorite threads not far from here..


PT Woody

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Re: Annabel Anderson departs Starboard ..seasons-change article..
« Reply #20 on: December 19, 2014, 05:23:18 PM »

I of course also see it as an anti-rules piece--she went from a period of riding an unconventional board, and competing directly against men, and both her and the board were greatly successful, to a period where the rules prevented her from competing directly against men not just by banning her from drafting them but by actually putting her in a separate heat.  And in regard to the boards, the Szymanski designs epitomize the type of boards--thick nose, narrow, deep recess--that certain groups are now trying to ban.  And Starboard, instead of strongly defending the Szymanski designs, caved in and at least semi-supported the rules that would make them illegal.

If you are referring to SUPAA, I do not believe there is anything in their rules that would outlaw the Starboard Ace. The width, length, weight and recess on all of the production Aces comes within the guidelines.

pdxmike

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Re: Annabel Anderson departs Starboard ..seasons-change article..
« Reply #21 on: December 19, 2014, 06:32:23 PM »

I of course also see it as an anti-rules piece--she went from a period of riding an unconventional board, and competing directly against men, and both her and the board were greatly successful, to a period where the rules prevented her from competing directly against men not just by banning her from drafting them but by actually putting her in a separate heat.  And in regard to the boards, the Szymanski designs epitomize the type of boards--thick nose, narrow, deep recess--that certain groups are now trying to ban.  And Starboard, instead of strongly defending the Szymanski designs, caved in and at least semi-supported the rules that would make them illegal.

If you are referring to SUPAA, I do not believe there is anything in their rules that would outlaw the Starboard Ace. The width, length, weight and recess on all of the production Aces comes within the guidelines.
PT--you're right.  I believe all the current Starboard models meet those rules.  But a few over recent years (not sure about the Ace specifically) violated the recess limit--some by quite a bit.  I was speaking in general--when most other boards were looking very similar, Brian Szymanski came along with designs that were remarkably different, with huge noses, very tall rails and very deep recesses. The first ultra-narrow board I ever saw was also a Starboard (Dan Gavere's board). Svein from Starboard told me they specifically tweaked their boards to be sure to comply with the new rules.  He also told me he had to lobby SUPAA to avoid even more restrictive rules than what they finally came up with--rules that would have wiped out several Starboard designs. 


I believe the Szymanski boards (along with the 23", very light Naish Javelins) were the boards that caught the attention of pro-board-restriction people, and Szymanski's in particular were the ones those people had in their heads when they talked about the "danger" of boards becoming canoe-like.  I do think some of the mediocre board companies saw an opportunity to "level the playing field" not among racers, as SUPAA always talks about, but among board companies, by legislating away the top boards of the top companies like Naish and Starboard, who were pushing the extremes of weight and shape. 


It would be interesting to know more what Annabel thinks about all this.  She didn't write about board rules, but she did talk about other companies copying the Szymanski boards' design features, and companies gunning specifically for the Starboard boards with "Starboard destroyer" designs.  And she did talk about racing rules impacting her--not being able to race directly against men.  It seems to me like the rules about deck recesses were also "Starboard destroyers".  Mostly I really appreciated her showing so much admiration for Szymanski, and also giving credit to Starboard for championing innovative designs.




PonoBill

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Re: Annabel Anderson departs Starboard ..seasons-change article..
« Reply #22 on: December 19, 2014, 07:35:47 PM »
The notion that manufacturers are having board design dictated by SUPAA is a horrific.
Foote 10'4X34", SIC 17.5 V1 hollow and an EPS one in Hood River. Foote 9'0" x 31", L41 8'8", 18' Speedboard, etc. etc.

PonoBill

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Re: Annabel Anderson departs Starboard ..seasons-change article..
« Reply #23 on: December 19, 2014, 07:37:28 PM »
I know Annabel and hope she doesn't mind me posting her latest pic..  :)



Is that the famous "I fart in your general direction" pose. I had no idea she was french.
Foote 10'4X34", SIC 17.5 V1 hollow and an EPS one in Hood River. Foote 9'0" x 31", L41 8'8", 18' Speedboard, etc. etc.

yugi

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Re: Annabel Anderson departs Starboard ..seasons-change article..
« Reply #24 on: December 19, 2014, 09:50:41 PM »
Nice shape. Fast and smart.

Focus Bluefin?

 

gjbstandup

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Re: Annabel Anderson departs Starboard ..seasons-change article..
« Reply #25 on: December 19, 2014, 09:53:39 PM »
http://www.supracer.com/annabel-anderson-leaves-starboard/

Becoming SUP news now as other sites reporting similar info on the annabel situation..
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PT Woody

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Re: Annabel Anderson departs Starboard ..seasons-change article..
« Reply #26 on: December 20, 2014, 12:10:18 AM »

It would be interesting to know more what Annabel thinks about all this.  She didn't write about board rules, but she did talk about other companies copying the Szymanski boards' design features, and companies gunning specifically for the Starboard boards with "Starboard destroyer" designs.  And she did talk about racing rules impacting her--not being able to race directly against men.  It seems to me like the rules about deck recesses were also "Starboard destroyers".  Mostly I really appreciated her showing so much admiration for Szymanski, and also giving credit to Starboard for championing innovative designs.

I'm reading something else between the lines in Annabel's cryptic message. Annabel has always been a strong advocate of the Ace whereas Connor and Zane have been very reluctant to race with dug outs. Meanwhile, the All Star shape has evolved over the years to suit Connor and Zane's style of paddling. Now that Brian Szymanski has left Starboard, and race board design is being overseen by Matthew Rauzier, it's interesting to note that Starboard has introduced two new race board shapes (Sprint and Race) alongside the updated Szymanski shapes (Ace and All Star). That means the Starboard race board range is considerably broader than competing brands and could therefore afford a trim. What I'm suspecting is that Annabel is aware of the new direction for 2016 and quite possibly her beloved Ace is being phased out. After all, it was Szymanski's baby, and Connor, Zane, and Matthew Rauzier probably won't lose sleep if it is pulled from the line up.

The other interesting aspect of her message is the inference that she was in some sense gagged during the fall out from the 2014 Battle of the Paddle storm-in-a-teacup. I wonder what it is she wanted to say.

juandoe

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Re: Annabel Anderson departs Starboard ..seasons-change article..
« Reply #27 on: December 20, 2014, 04:21:05 AM »
The Waterman's Paddle for Humanity is sponsored by SUP ATX.  Annabel was here for the event along with Szymanski, Johnny Puakea, John Becker.  They really put on a great clinic.   

There were some rumblings at the time that Annabel was moving to Lahui Kai.

coldsup

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Re: Annabel Anderson departs Starboard ..seasons-change article..
« Reply #28 on: December 20, 2014, 07:16:55 AM »
Hmmmm...that article is full of pretentious bo@@cks. I can't read that sort of rubbish. Sorry but just say what you want to say Miss!

However....if folks say she is a lovely person then happy to go with that ...witha smile like that I tend on think she must be and so I wish her luck....just hope she lets the paddling do the talking....rather than the pen :)




SeaMe

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Re: Annabel Anderson departs Starboard ..seasons-change article..
« Reply #29 on: December 20, 2014, 08:17:17 AM »
Hmmmm...that article is full of pretentious bo@@cks. I can't read that sort of rubbish. Sorry but just say what you want to say Miss!

However....if folks say she is a lovely person then happy to go with that ...witha smile like that I tend on think she must be and so I wish her luck....just hope she lets the paddling do the talking....rather than the pen :)

I wouldn't use the term "article" to describe that post. It seemed like a rambling ego piece, which is perhaps forgivable given her standing in the community, but all the hyperlinking at the end of the article rubbed me the wrong way. FFS, she doesn't think people understand the word "orbit" and that we need a wikipedia definition?  >:( Besides, does it really matter to anyone other than her and Starboard if she's no longer a rider for them? I don't think anyone is going to shuffle their quiver and sell off boards because she's moved to another sponsor.
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