SLSA Director Candidates Interviews Part 4

SurfWatch conducts these in-depth interviews to help voters get a clear picture of the candidates that are running for the Board and gives candidates an opportunity to introduce themselves to the voters. All five candidates were sent the same interview, SurfWatch received four interviews back. See their interviews below. All interviews are posted in the order received. Voting opens on December 1st. Stay tuned for more details!

Candidate Name: Yari Ziplon

SW:  You are currently ranked  #240 or some such for last season's SLSA surf rankings and you've been SL surfing for LESS than 2 years.  We understand you have announced your intent to run for SLSA Director this term.  What qualifications, skills, competencies, traits, etc. would you bring as a director and why are you running?  

YZ:  Um skills? I am pretty good at engine repair. I have no people skills so I dont listen to bullshit lol other then that I have no clue... I was asked to run so I figured what the hell

SW:  What areas of improvement do you currently see for the SLSA as an organization?

YZ:  The organisation needs a whole new outlook on PR and marketing. Both where venues are concerned and where people and the sport is concerned. I think we as an organisation could benefit from being more
active in our marketing. plus plus plus lol

SW:  What do you see as the top issues facing SL surfing in general, and what would be your first priority as an SLSA director? 

YZ:   My first priority would be to make SLSA fun for everyone. The greatest challenge is getting people who want to make a difference. You see it everywhere. Everyone wants to have fun, not everyone are willing to do the work. I think the people who have held this position in the past and who run for it in the future are worthy of our respect and our admiration. but people rarely appreciate it. RL I volunteered to help build an indoor arena for the local sports team so that kids can have fun. the cost of that arena was less then 10% of the value of the product because everyone pitched in and worked for their children, their siblings etc. Why do you not see much of that anymore?

SW:  Why are you the best candidate for this job?

YZ:  Honestly, I'm not and here is why: I travel up to 200 days a year and am incommunicado (thats down the road and to the right of incognito) a lot of the time

SW:  What were you most satisfied with as an SLSA member last season?  What were you most dissatisfied with?

YZ: I was very sattisfied with the competitions not so satisfied with the turnout lately

SW:  Anything else you would like voters to know about you?


YZ: I'm a panda, I like bamboo and I surf and I love my wifey... um other then that not much

Give us a brief statement or opinion on some of the major issues the SLSA faced in 2011 and possible issues moving into Season 2 (listed below):


1.  Were you concerned with  the low number of competitors signed up for the recent Open comps and what do you foresee for the future of the two-round, two-weekend SLSA competition format?  If you are in favor of keeping the two round format, what are your thoughts on how to get more riders to participate in compititions? 

YZ;  The low signup concerns me, yes. However changing the setup can be a double edged enema. You can end up losing the people who want to compete for fear of the PROs skill level  at the same time I think it a prudent idea to look at the current realities.

2.  With the continuing decline of full surf sims with supporting neighbor sims for specators, and with more and more surf sims set up on Homesteads, what can be done to support the sim owners and ensure smooth running competitions?

YZ:  Good question Alex 0_o to be honest my view on this is very simple. We can support each other up and down but at the end of the day asking people to pay a signup fee would make us loose competitors but that might be an alternative to some. I hope that never happens and I will do my best to find better solutions to that

3.  The SLSA put into place a stipulation that a rider could miss one comp each season and not have it count against their rank in order to allow more people to volunteer to work comps. Most riders who use it are not using it to voluneteer but to do things in rl.  Should this stipulation go back to being for volunteers only or should all riders be able to use this?

YZ:  Volunteers should have some privelages I think this should be one privelage for volunteers. At the same time, RL must come first. And if you have things come up RL I think that could be worked out in a way that is to everyones benefit

4. With all the recent tier shortage notices, do you feel it is necessary for the SLSA to keep a home sim. Why or why not?

YZ: Yes, but I think it important to be sure where and how. A home sim is vital to SLSA due to the fact that it is an assembly point for people who are curious for SLSA to train volunteers and a place where we can arrange events to attract more people.

5. There has been some discussion on allowing other board types and wave types other than SSi.  What are your thoughts on allowing other scripts into the competition season?

YZ:  I think the competitions should be about who is better not who has the best scripts. That should be a good answer.

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