NORSK DESIGNRÅD
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Revolutions in skiing on both land and water
STARTED A NEW WATERSKI SPORT: Stereo Skis received the Award for Design Excellence for “Stereo Wakeskis”. Photo: Stereo Skis
Oslo: Swix Sport has developed a ground-breaking new cross-country ski pole, while Stereo Skis has created a completely new water sport. Both companies have now been awarded the prestigious Award for Design Excellence from the Norwegian Design Council.
Swix Sport, together with Hugo Industridesign, has been awarded the Award for Design Excellence for their ”Swix Triac” ski pole. Stereo Skis received the Award for developing a twin-tip ski for freestyle water skiing.
“This is a very important mark of recognition for companies and designers who create great products and services through the methodical application of design,” says Eline Strøm-Gundersen, Project Manager for the Norwegian Design Council’s Award for Design Excellence.
The awards were presented in Oslo on Wednesday 16 March, this year’s “Design Day”, an annual event organised by the Norwegian Design Council. The awards are given to businesses and designers in recognition of successful innovation and original ideas.
A ski pole revolution
Elite cross-country skiers have been demanding stiffer, lighter and stronger ski poles. Swix took up the challenge, but even they were overwhelmed by the success of their product. “Swix Triac”, the result of their labours, became a top seller in record time.
“Our previous top-end pole, the “Star”, was considered to be the best on the market, but we wanted to create a product that took things to a whole new level,” explains Industrial Designer Elise Reiten.
Lars Karlöf is Head of Research at Swix Sport, and Project Manager for Swix Triac. In his opinion, the design process was a textbook example of systematic product development. “By involving external designers from Hugo Industridesign, research groups and elite athletes, we brought in the expertise we needed to achieve a well thought through final result.
Unique triangular shape
An important innovation is the triangular cross-section of the main tube. This is one of the strongest forms you can make from a composite, and has the added advantages of a more aerodynamic shape and more stable movement along the line of travel. The choice of material resulted in a tube that is both lighter and stronger.
The new basket system employs a mechanical connection instead of glue to fasten the basket to the pole. This makes it much easier for the skier to select and use the right basket for the snow conditions. The weight of the basket has also been reduced, improving pendulum effect in the poles.
The aesthetics of the pole are also of importance. “It is important that the poles are clearly identifiable during competitions, both up close and from a distance, when static and in action. Sponsoring competitors forms a major part of our marketing, so it is vital that we are visible on TV and in other media. Design is the key factor in making our products visible and making us stand out from our competitors,” says Reiten.
Took home 70 percent of the golds at Holmenkollen
The Swix Triac was launched during the Tour de Ski 2010, and numerous athletes began using the poles at the very first opportunity. During the Vancouver Winter Olympics, some 55% of cross-country ski gold medallists were using the new Swix poles. During the 2011 FIS World Nordic Ski Championships at Holmenkollen, some 70 percent of all gold medals and 70 percent of silver medals in cross-country skiing were won using Swix Triac.
“We had a pre-launch in stores towards the end of the 2010 season, and before we knew it there were long waiting lists. In the 2010/2011 season we have sold 100% over budget in Norway, and the same applies to many of our export markets too,” explains Reiten.
Water skiing was dead in the water
Very little has happened in the world of water skiing for the last 50 years. Until, that is, Stereo Skis of Skarnes laid the foundations for a completely new sport.
“With more than 10 years’ experience in international competitive water skiing, we could clearly see that water skiing had been stagnant for a long time. During the same period, other extreme sports have developed enormously,” says Jens-Martin Johnsrud, General Manager for Stereo Skis.
Inspired by winter sports
Whilst water ski development has been treading water, great waves have been made within board sports. Snowboarding has become one of today’s biggest winter sports, and this in turn lead to the development of so-called wakeboards. These formed the basis for one of today’s biggest watersports, and Stereo Skis wondered whether the same kind of revolution was possible within water skiing.
Once again, their inspiration came from winter sports. The new millennium saw a rapid increase in the popularity of so-called twin-tip skis – hourglass shaped skis with upturned ends both front and back – especially among younger skiers. Their shape makes the skis perfect for tricks. Could such a success be transferred onto water?
“We started with effectively zero knowledge about ski development, and there was noone who knew how to create the water-ski we desired. We needed to find the right shape and the right qualities, but getting that far meant we had to put a huge amount of time and energy into construction, choice of materials and production methods” says Johsrud.
Light, stiff, strong
In the end, the producer decided to construct the skis from a fibreglass composite featuring a foam core. This provides a light, stiff and strong ski, perfect for use on rails and jumps. The keel technology gives the skis great directional stability, making it possible to stand facing backwards and perform extreme tricks.
Johnsrud explains that the target groups were primarily winter sport skiers using twin-tips and water sport enthusiasts. “Stereo Wakeskis”, as they are known, created a great deal of excitement among both these groups when they were launched. Currently, the two big client bases are in North America and Central Europe, and Stereo Skis is working flat out to broaden their sales network and establish this type of water skiing as a new water sport.
”We ended up creating a whole new watersport, wakeskiing, and many people outside the watersport world don’t really understand just how big this is. So it is just great to be awarded such a widely recognised distinction as the Award for Design Excellence,” he adds.
FACT BOX / Award for Design Excellence:
- The award is a recognition of the successful application of design to create innovative products and solutions, and is a symbol of quality that can be used in the company's marketing.
- All forms of mass-produced items, services and solutions developed with a designer, for either the consumer or business markets and from all sectors of industry, can apply. This includes all types of product, packaging, visual branding, web pages and applications, as well as furniture, textiles, fashion and confectionary.
- All received contributions are evaluated by an objective jury consisting of specialists from the Nordic business world and design sector. The jury process is strictly confidential.
- Companies and designers who do not receive the award receive a detailed response from the jury, in the form of a consultation meeting.
Contacts:
- Swix Sport AS, Industrial Designer Elise Reiten, mobile tel. 922 53 675
- Swix Sport AS, Category Product Manager Svein Pedersen, mobile tel. 905 00 584
- Helsport, Product Developer Ragnhild Nesbakken, mobile tel. 922 56 518
- Stereo Skis, Managing Director Jens-Martin Johnsrud, mobile tel. 951 58 426
- Norwegian Design Council, Project Manager for the Awards for Design Excellence and Young Talent, Eline Strøm-Gundersen, tel. 23 29 25 70, mobile tel. 971 05 580
- Norwegian Design Council, Project Manager Marte Grevsgard, tel. 23 29 25 62, mobile tel 917 74 683
- Norwegian Design Council, Head of Information Grete Kobro, mobile tel. 907 65 971
- More information about Design Day 2011
This article was written by Pressenytt for the Norwegian Design Council. Pressenytt has editorial responsibility for the content of this article.
