BOARDSPORTS HISTORY

BOARDSPORTS (formally known as WindPromotions) was founded in a Toronto garage in 1972.  Our company was the first to bring windsurfing boards to Canada and is proud to be the oldest windsurfing shop in North America.  

As the sport and the company grew, we found a new location in the Beach area on Queen Street East.  This store played a significant role in growing windsurfing in Canada, helping to bring the World Windsurfing Championships to Toronto in the 1980s and operating a windsurfing school at Woodbine Beach that taught thousands of people to windsurf.

In 1996, we moved to 2010 Yonge Street.  We renamed the store BOARDSPORTS to reflect the broadening focus on all board sports: snowboarding, skateboarding, wakeboarding, and surfing.  

Also in 1996, Gander Tawaststjerna joined the team. Gander is one of the original pioneers in Ontario for both snowboarding and windsurfing and has brought a wealth of snowboard, windsurf and retail management experience to our shop.

In December 2002 a new store was opened in the Village at Blue Mountain – just a few steps from the SilverBullet Chairlift.  Mark Everitt manages the Blue Mountain store.

Steve Martin joined BOARDSPORTS in 2003. Steve had worked as an engineer with an MBA from the Richard Ivey School of Business and is an avid windsurfer, kiteboarder, and snowboarder.

In November 2003 the Toronto location opened an additional South Store across the street from our main store. This extra space now houses BOARDSPORTS’ clothing, outerwear, swimwear, footwear, and accessories.

In 2008, we opened DOWNSTAIRS @ BOARDSPORTS. We added 2000sqft of retail space in the downstairs of our main store at 2010 Yonge Street. DOWNSTAIRS @ BOARDSPORTS features great deals on out-of-season items.

Today, we are proud of our strong presence in the action sports industry in Ontario. Each year we hold loads of competitions, demo days, charity and special events to help promote the sports we love.

Thank you for supporting our shop! Now get out and ride!

- Steve, Gander, Mark, Chris, Mike, Ann, Bev and the rest of the BOARDSPORTS crew