Celebrate Past, Present and Future of Surf Culture at The Boardroom International Surfboard Show

A huge celebration of the past, present and future of surf culture will happen Oct. 6 and 7 at The Boardroom International Surfboard Show at the Del Mar Fairgrounds. The show will honor four-time World Champion Mark Richards with the Icons of Foam Tribute presented by US Blanks and will mark the 30 year anniversary of his last world title.

Richards, also known as the legendary MR, made his mark on surfing history by winning four consecutive ASP world titles from 1979 to 1982 and by becoming one of only two world champions to shape and compete on his own handcrafted surfboard. MR began shaping his own boards at the age of 15 and redesigned the twin fin, which later led to his success and numerous surf championship titles. 

A craftsman competition honoring MR, The Icons of Foam Tribute, will feature a long list of shapers including past shape-off winners Ricky Carroll, Wayne Rich and Pat Rawson, 15-year-old Taz Yassine from the Canary Islands and John Pyzel, who has been shaping boards for the well-known ASP rookie John John Florence. MR will judge the boards on Sunday and select the $1,000 first prize winner.

“I’m stoked and excited to be honored at The Boardroom International Surfboard Show during the Icons of Foam Tribute in October,” said Richards on The Boardroom website. “It’s going to be great watching shapers I respect and admire attempt to replicate one of my classic boards.”

The show will be packed with an array of surfing events including nine question and answer discussion seminars, a paddle race, live art and music, the SurfAid auction, tons of surf craft, short films screenings, board and equipment deals and demos, autograph and book signings and surf celebrity appearances.

Wristbands to enter the show cost $10 and kids 12 years and younger enter free.

Saturday’s events begin at 10 a.m. with the first live shaping tribute to MR by Taz Yassin. Throughout the day there will be more live shaping seminars by Robert August, Tim Stamps, Greg Long and more, book signings by Christain Beamish and Mickey Munoz and the Cinema Grotto short films fest. The day’s events will close at 6 p.m., followed by an after party at 8 p.m. at Koniakowsky Ocean Art Gallery.

The Del Mar Shark Ranch longboard skate zone will have tarp surfing and longboard skates to try out on the infamous Shark Ramp. Be ready to put your skating skills to test because Aura Skateboarding is hosting a skate competition with a $500 purse. The competition is open to the public and space is limited.

Saturday from 3 to 5 p.m. the live auction SurfAid Board Art Benefit, presented by Sun Diego Boardshops, will be auctioning off one-of-a-kind surfboards produced by surf and art legends. The auction will benefit SurfAid, a non-profit humanitarian organization founded by surfers with the mission of improving living conditions for people of the Indonesian islands off of Sumatra. 

The Boardroom Sunday fun-day starts back up again with an early morning surfboard demo presented by Hansen’s Surf Shop at the Del Mar Powerhouse Park - where you can ride the boards, try the wetsuits and test the gear all on display at the show. The 15th Street demo provides a combo reef and beach break ideal for testing all types of boards and will go from 7 to 11 a.m.

Also Sunday morning, Boardworks Surf will be hosting a paddle race with the chance to win a brand new SHUBU inflatable standup paddleboard for the first person that can “Catch Baldy!” Former pro surfer and Del Mar local, Jeff Baldwin, will be the one to catch in the land and sea obstacle course. The race will begin around 8 a.m. and your wristband will be required to participate in both the demo and paddle race.

The venue doors open to the public at 10 a.m. for the second day of the show at the fairgrounds. The day’s program includes more live shaping seminars by Joe Virgilio and Ian Zamora, to name a few, as well as more live music and art performances, short films, book signings and the Icons of Foam awards ceremony which bring the show to a close at 3:30 p.m.

If you can’t make the weekend events SolSpot.com, SurferMag.com and SurfersVillage.com will be streaming a live webcast covering all the fun. For a complete list of all of the events and show info visit The Boardroom website.

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