The end of the Erin Brooks-sparked Canadian surfing dynasty?
Days ago, we all shared the joy felt by our maple leaf’d brothers and sisters after Erin Brooks became the first Canadian to win the World Surf League’s coveted Rookie of the Year honors. Today, we share the hopelessness as she might be the last great white northerner to ever do it.
Those who want to practice the Sport of Kings along the same shores that birthed the greatest professional surfer to ever live, one Kelly Slater, are now avoiding, taking their talents and loonies to places where Slater did not sprout.
Yes, Florida is in a massive slump with beach business, including surf shops, down a whopping 30% this summer.
Kirsten Smail, a marine educator for Dolphin Quest, told the local ABC affiliate, “Spring Break, really never happened for us, and then the summer swing, never happened for us. It’s a ghost town.”
Angela Wilson from Mad Beach Watersports confirmed the almost unbelievable 30% number.
Amber Simmons, General Manager at Pirates Pub & Grub, added, “It’s the slowest year we’ve had since 2020.”
While economists debate certain points, all agree that the shrinking Canadian is mostly to blame.
Yahoo Finance reports, “The number of Canadians taking road trips across the U.S. border dropped 37% year-over-year in July, according to Statistics Canada. Air travel was down 26% over the same period. This was the seventh consecutive month of declining tourism from Canada.”
The end of the Erin Brooks-sparked Canadian surfing dynasty?
Let’s hope not.
