International Association of Skateboard Companies

The International Association of Skateboard Companies (IASC) is a non-profit organization that was established in 1995. Its "goals are to promote skateboarding, increase participation, save its members money, and educate". Its members include skateboard manufacturers, distributors, skatepark designers and contest organisers. [ [http://www.skateboardiasc.org/about.asp About IASC] ]

The IASC created the annual Go Skateboarding Day. [http://skateboardiasc.org/ Official site of IASC] ] which encourages skateboarders around the world to go skateboarding, hold competitions, and generally promote skateboarding.

Its board of directors consists of Tod Swank, Bod Boyle, Jim Gray, Don Brown, Per Welinder, Steven Van Doren and Johnny Schillereff.

Anti-blank skateboard deck campaign

A few months before the establishment of the association, a meeting took place in Poway, California on January 29 1994. It was attended by a small group of industry individuals, because of the fear, that a larger group could not discuss the topics seriously. One of the main factors discussed was the perceived problem of increasing blank skateboard decks sales. [ [http://www.dansworld.com/meeting.html Transcript of the 1994 meeting] ]

In November 2006, the IASC held its annual meeting, where the association addressed the issue of blank skateboard decks and talked about it publicly for the first time. In the meeting, which was lead by Bod Boyle, the IASC members discussed the large sales of blank skateboard decks and how it affects the skateboard industry. They concluded that, in order for the industry to survive, they must convince skateboarders to buy branded products. Shop branded skateboard decks were also deemed harmful to the industry, both, because they divert the influx of money to skateboard companies which sponsor teams and organize tours and demos. [Transworld Business, [http://www.twsbiz.com/twbiz/features/article/0,21214,1562505,00.html All Together Now] , 22. November 2006]

As a result, two large mail-order retailers have discontinued blank skateboard deck sales. [Transworld Business, [http://www.twsbiz.com/twbiz/industrynews/article/0,21214,1572575,00.html Active Drops Blanks] , 22. December 2006] [Transworld Business, [http://www.twsbiz.com/twbiz/features/article/0,21214,1583673,00.html South Shore Distribution To Cease Blank Sales] , 30. January 2007] In addition, a website called [http://aworldwithoutpros.com/ A World Without PROs] has been started by some of IASC member companies, trying to persuade skaters to buy branded products.About:Skateboarding, [http://skateboard.about.com/b/a/254557.htm A World Without Pros & CEOs] , 16. February 2007]

The February issue of Transworld Business Magazine, came with a supplement from the IASC called "Under Fire: A special report on the skate hard-goods market". ["Under Fire: A special report on the skate hard-goods market", [http://www.theskateboardindustry.com/tsi/article.aspx?ID=263 from www.theskateboardindustry.com] and [http://www.twsbiz.com/twbiz/features/article/0,21214,1589602,00.html from Trans World Business] ] Following the release of the publication, there was an another meeting in the ASR. [Transworld Business, [http://www.twsbiz.com/twbiz/industrynews/article/0,21214,1586512,00.html IASC Takes Action To Bolster Skateboarding's Health] , 6. February 2007]

Response

In response to the "A World Without PROs" website, the [http://www.aworldwithoutceos.com/ A World Without CEOs] was created, which displays contrasting views on the subject and also has an unofficial list of companies and skateboarders that support it. One of the skateboarders that support the website is Jim Gray, who is in the IASC board of directors.

The following are its main charges: [ [http://www.aworldwithoutceos.com/hypocrites.html Hypocrites] from A World Without Ceos]

*Many members buy their skateboard decks from the same source as blank decks,

*The IASC asks skateboarders to support pros, but doesn't care about American workers

*The fight against blanks is in reality a fight against profit margins and this ignores the negative affects that the IASC members have on small skateshops when they sell boards to chainstores that undercut the profits of skateshops

The only skateboard hard-goods company outside IASC that has publicly stated its opinion is Consolidated Skateboards. They released an advertisement through their "Don't Do it Army", that suggests that big skateboard hard-goods companies should stop selling their products to large shopping malls and chain stores, that are a big competition for the smaller 'core' skateshops. [ [http://www.dontdoitarmy.com/images/letsmakeadeal.consolidated.gifDon't Do it Army's advertisement] ]

In March 2007, "Transworld Business" posted an article [http://www.twsbiz.com/twbiz/features/article/0,21214,1599891,00.html] that analyzed the their publication "Under Fire" and made suggestions on what to be done next, and the "A World Without PROs" website has been sized down to only one page that reads:

References

External links

* [http://skateboardiasc.org/ Official site of IASC]
* [http://skateboardiasc.org/membership.asp Member companies of IASC]