''Tracks'' is a monthly

Australia Australia, officially the Commonwealth of Australia, is a country comprising mainland Australia, the mainland of the Australia (continent), Australian continent, the island of Tasmania and list of islands of Australia, numerous smaller isl ...

n surf magazine, promoting itself as "the surfers' bible." It is published by Nextmedia. ''Tracks'' was established in October 1970 by Alby Falzon, John Witzig, and David Elfick, starting as a kind of counterculture tabloid, printed on newsprint and produced on Sydney's northern beaches. Since then it has grown to be a major surfing publication.

History

''Tracks'' was originally published by the Tracks Publishing Company. ''Tracks'' published a cartoon series," Captain Goodvibes", by Australian cartoonist Tony Edwards. The Captain Goodvibes cartoons were first published in May 1973 and appeared regularly until July 1981. The character became an icon of Australian surfing culture. "Lash Clone" by Australian Author D. C. Greening appeared in the pages of ''Tracks'' during the 1980s, with Greening's later works, "Cosmic Surf Wars," appearing more recently. Some time after 1987 the magazine was acquired by Next Publishing (now known as Nextmedia). In July 1988 the magazine's title was updated from ''tracks'' to ''tRACKS''. In March 2000 the magazine changed format from the original newsprint size down to a tabloid size.

''Tracks'' editors

* Alby Falzon 1970-1975 * John Witzig 1970-1972 * David Elfick 1970 * Phil Jarratt 1975-1977''The wave game : an inside look at professional surfing'' / by Phil Jarratt. Broadway, N.S.W. : Soundtracks, 1977. * Paul Holmes 1978-1981 * Kirk Wilcox 1981-1984 * Nick Carroll 1984-1986 * Jon Ellis 1986-1988 * Tim Baker 1989-1991 * Gary Dunne 1991-1994 * Neil Ridgeway 1994-1997 * Wayne Dart 1997-2000 * Sean Doherty 2000-2008 * Luke Kennedy 2008-

Controversy

In 2014, 13-year-old reader and surfer Olive Bowers wrote an open letter to the magazine pointing out sexism in the print and digital editions of the magazine. She pointed to the absence of female surfers and the presence of scantily-clad women not involved in surfing in the magazine.Steger, Jason
"Olive Bowers hits out at surfer sexism,"
''Sydney Morning Herald'' (MARCH 30 2014).

References

External links

* Magazines established in 1970 1970 establishments in Australia Monthly magazines published in Australia Surfing magazines Companies based on the Gold Coast, Queensland Sports magazines published in Australia Mass media on the Gold Coast, Queensland {{sport-mag-stub