Director Candidate: Wilfrid DeCuir

SurfWatch is conducting interviews with the September 1, 2009, Director nominees to provide voters with an in-depth look at their candidates. Following is SurfWatch's interview with prospective director, Wilfrid DeCuir.

SW: Wil, you are currently ranked 2nd for last season's SLSA surf rankings. You've been surfing since October 2007 and became 2008 Season 2 Champion. We interviewed you in December (editors note: see SW December 10 Wilfrid DeCuir Interview). We understand you have announced your intent to run for SLSA Director this term. What would you bring as a director and why are you running?
WD: I've had a lot of friends telling me that I should run for the Board for quite some time, and my answer was always "probably 2009 season 2." Well here we are now, and it's my time to give back to this Association that has done so much for the surf community. I want to bring an open mind for SLSA surfers and make this association grow on a positive note.

SW: What areas of improvement do you currently see?
WD: I would like to see if we can do something else regarding the amount of surfers we have registering for competitions aside from the qualifying day. I have a few ideas that I can bring to the Board.

SW: What do you see as the top issues and what would be your first priority?
WD: I feel that the qualifying round is a top issue. Two weekends can be quite demanding for some, so we can try and bring in something else to satisfy more then 40 surfers per comp, one day, without taking too much time for the comp itself. Another issue is the forum. It was intended to be a place where we can post ideas about surfing, a place that, as a surf family, we can have positive interactions. These past few months, it looked a lot more like a place where people bitched about everything, and it became a clash of personalities. I want the community to be the family it was intended to be. A lot of feathers got ruffled and for some, they felt that the forum was the place to vent, and this created some negative vibes. This is not what it was intended to be.

SW: Why should you be elected over any other candidates?
WD: mmm, tuff question. I guess I'm known in the community, and my reputation follows me. I'm just a happy guy, the "Crazy Canuck Hippie Surfer" and get along with everyone. I try to avoid drama as much as I can and remain level-headed. Hopefully this I can bring into the SLSA as a director.

SW: What were you most dissatisfied with as an SLSA member in the past season?
WD: The qualifying rounds where for some, they have to sacrifice 2 weekends. Also with some of the drama that happened at the end of the season, I feel might of caused a rift in the community and broke some surf mojo.

SW: Give us a brief statement or opinion on some of the major issues the SLSA faced in 2009 Season 1 and possible issues moving into Season 2:
WD: I think as surfers, we all need to re-group and be the family we aimed to be, putting the drama behind us and take it all as a learning experience. The spirit of competing in SL surfing is to have fun. I always stress this, "Surf to have fun, not to compete, and use the competition as part of your overall SL surfing experience".

International Surfing Challenge:
WD: With the International Surfing Challenge, this has to be done cooperatively, not against each other, and I feel that some groups were trying to break us apart that could affect other groups negatively about participating in such a challenge. We have to bring this positiveness back and make the SLSA attractive to everyone.

Pulling of the Thor Bishop Award:

WD: I afraid I wasn't present when this happened because of RL. It's sad that it's gone, but I have to respect the decision that was made. Maybe we can come up with a new award to satisfy everyone.

The issue of "realistic" surfing vs. "gaming":
WD: For the majority of SL surfers, this is not a game. "Gamers" that see SL surfing as just another video game just don't get it. Eventually their true colours will come out. I do believe that you need to make SL surfing as realistic as possible but with the understanding that this is also done with technology, and we need to take that into account, hence why I call this SL surfing, not RL surfing. If you can combine the tricks that are possible in SL along with style to make it realistic, then hats off to you. It's about the spirit, the feeling of the wave and the water, be it real or virtual, not about trophies and rankings. Personally, I surf to have fun. The competition is just a bonus and another means for me to be out there with my friends whichever team they're on and have fun.

The DQ decision:
WD: So sad. This hit close to home, affected someone I love negatively and also made me advance in a manner that I did not want to. Like I mentioned earlier, lets take this as a learning experience for everyone. Let's check our emotions at the door and have fun.

The new organizations, competitions, boards and waves:
WD: All I need to say about this is that we all need to educate ourselves with history from day one when the first surfable wave and boards came out, and when and how the SLSA was born, then make our own decisions. I may still have a bit to learn myself, but I do know enough to say that I will support anything that is out there that will make us as a community and an organization grow, not split us apart.

Editor's note: All candidates are invited to complete this director candidate questionnaire and provide this information and a photo for publication in SurfWatch prior to the election on September 1, 2009. Contact Tauri Tigerpaw for a list of questions if you did not receive one.

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