Elouera and Cronulla clubs ready for Australian Boardriders Battle Challenge

/0 Comments/in , /by

Story by: John Veage.

Sutherland Shire Surfing Clubs Elouera and Cronulla are preparing for the 2025 Hyundai Australian Boardriders Battle.

The 12th edition of the Boardriders Battle will be held in March 2025 at the Gold Coast’s Burleigh Heads. The event was held at North Cronulla beach for its inaugural three seasons with the Elouera Club famously finishing in second place in Connor O’Leary’s break out year.

The Hyundai Australian Boardriders Battle is Australia’s largest grassroots boardriders event, involving more than 70 of Australia’s best boardrider clubs. The event takes place across eight state qualifying rounds, with only 42 clubs advancing to the grand final to compete for the Series 12 Australian Championship.

Scarborough Boardriders Club took out the Hyundai Australian Boardriders Battle Southern NSW qualifier for a second year straight after a great day at Corrimal Beach, in Wollongong, late last year.

Elouera, Scarborough, Maroubra United, Cronulla Sharks, Sandon Point, Ulladulla, Werri and Culburra all qualified for the national final, which will be held from March 8-9, 2025 at Burleigh Heads.

Photo: Shane Campbell in action. Picture Ian McDonald

Elouera did it the smart way winning their first heat and progressing straight to the semi finals whilst Cronulla had to work super hard after an interference on the very first surfer in their first heat saw them just miss the safety zone and they really had to battle to get through two more tough elimination rounds to make the qualifying semis.
Cronulla club champion Hayden Blair said he was proud of the team’s effort.

“After our first heat set back the whole team kept their heads up and we got the job done the hard way,” he said. “I’m not going to say it was ideal but we made the semis and qualified for Burleigh.”

Elouera after their first win had their chance to experiment with their team, changing some surfers and their surfing order with the experienced Shane Campbell making it count every time he got in the water.

Elouera life member Glenn Pringle said their fourth place in the final was a good way to qualify which gave them a better seeding for the upcoming grand final.

In 2024 the two teams also qualified for the grand final but big swells and an extremely challenging run leg on the Burleigh Headland saw the teams with local knowledge and one or two established pro surfers take the wins in almost all the heats.

Cronulla Sharks finishing in 25th position in front of their Elouera competitors in 39th.

There are more than 230 boardrider clubs across the country, where members gather regularly, often monthly, to organise grassroots competitions at world-class waves such as Burleigh Heads on the Gold Coast. The boardrider club phenomenon in Australia has made a significant contribution to the nation’s competitive success on the global stage, fostering close-knit communities that support young surfers on their journeys to becoming the next world champions.

Blatchford claims Australian Title

/0 Comments/in /by

The Australian Open Waveski Surfing Championships is the biggest contest for Waveski Surfing Australia. Held at Turners Beach, Yamba, New South Wales over an exciting week of competition between Australia’s best waveski surfers.

The event saw 80 entrants contest 10 divisions covering multiple Age and Qualifications categories. Waveski Surfing Australia receives great support from the Clarence Valley Council in order to hold the event over 6 days window.

Cronulla’s Stephen Blatchford strung together some impressive heat totals to move into the Grand Masters final where he eclipsed the field to bring home a National Title.

The Australian Open is recognised by the World Waveski Surfing Association as one of only 5 sanctioned international events each year. Professional judges, priority surfing, with man-on-man rounds ultimately determining the Open Men and Open Women winners.

Results in both Open divisions contribute towards rankings for the next World Waveski Championships in Peru, South America.

Full Results:

Open
1st – Brett Cronin
2nd – Michael Feenan
3rd – Tony Cherry
4th – Darren McIntrye
5th – Darren Bason
6th – Darren Kearns
7th – Tim Keirle
8th – Cisco Nascimento

Open Women’s
1st – Jackie Dillon
2nd – Milly Heycott
3rd – Heather Seaton

Champions
1st – Graham Roberts
2nd – Garry Ross
3rd – Andrew Daff
4th – Bill Gray

Grand Legends
1st – Jeff Gray
2nd – Chris Cook
3rd – Jackie Dillon

Legends
1st – Cisco Nascimento
2nd – Steve Sargent
3rd – Brian Spicer
4th – Russell Hudson
5th – Milly Heycott

Grand Masters
1st – Steve Blatchford
2nd – Brett Cronin
3rd – Tony Cherry
4th – Darren Bason

Mental health support: Retro surf contest on boards shaped before 1985

/0 Comments/in /by

It was back to the future as Surfing Sutherland Shire boardriders held their second annual Retro Surf contest at the North Cronulla Alley in support of mental health support on Saturday.

This year’s event raised almost $5000 for mental health training initiatives for the local surfing community-in 2023 20 surfers were put through this training because of the Retro Contest funds raised.

Hosted by the Cronulla Boardriders club, the event organised and started by Dan Larter with help from friends, family and his club saw 72 surfers battle it out on surfboards shaped before 1985.

There were plenty of old surfboards on offer to ride with favourites being closely followed and hidden as each heat progressed.

The three finned Thruster surfboard that is ridden today came into being in 1981, before that the twin fin held dominance after Mark Richards three world titles which preceded the single fin shortboard era that had evolved after the longboard era.

At the end of 23 long heats it was a battle between three goofy footers with the 2023 inaugural champion Jay Brown going back to back to lift the silver fin trophy over young gun Soren Smith and Matt Gall – Cronulla Sharks Boardriders champion Hayden Blair, team mate Rhys Young and Kurnell’s Ben Morgan also made the final. Smith looked a favourite from heat one but Brown shrugged of a recent injury to keep the diminutive Smith riding one of his father’s surfboards chasing him for the whole final.

Organiser Dan Larter thanked surfers, sponsors and everyone who helped support the event.

“The waves weren’t great, but the vibe was and the local surfing community turned up in force and really got behind the contest making it a fantastic day for all”

He thanked the hand on sponsors who all also put on a competition rash shirt RB99, Hairyman Brewery, Hydro Logic Solutions, Mountain Assets and Cronulla Surf Design for their help in making the event viable.

“Who knows next year we might even have a fin-less division, and get right back to surfing’s roots” he said

Words/Images: John Veage

Cronulla institution: Southside Malibu Club’s 40 years of longboard surfing

/0 Comments/in /by

The Southside Malibu Club is celebrating its 40th anniversary. The club, which was established in 1984 at the rebirth of the longboard surfing era, has become a Cronulla institution.

It is the second longest running longboard club in the country, surpassed only by the legendary Byron Bay club. It is southern Sydney’s leading longboard club and holds monthly club rounds at Wanda. The club is affiliated with Surfing Sutherland Shire, and it provides its members with a social yet still competitive surfing environment and the club’s major sponsors are two local businesses, Cronulla RSL Club and VMD Packaging.

The club was formed after local surfer Dave Ryan competed in the Byron Bay Malibu Classic in 1982 and 1984, which was the largest longboard competition in Australia at the time. It was at the 1984 Byron Bay presentation at The Railway Hotel Byron Bay that Dave announced that he would start a similar club on the southside of Sydney based at Cronulla.

The club was formed 1984 and their first presentation Night was held at the Hotel Cecil. Local surf board makers Jackson’s and Gordon Smith helped out with board prizes. The club sponsors in 1985 were Malibu Rum and Okanui clothing with Malibu Rum donated a large canvas competition tent with their branding and the club name prominently displayed. Club member numbers continued to grow rapidly as longboarding grew in popularity.

Founding 40 year member Rod Menzies said the club has been a big part of his life.

“Over this time I have found the friendship and camaraderie to be excellent,” he said.

“There has always been a strong club ethic, and competitive drive.

“These later years we have seen more women and girls join which is great to see and the young members are the heart and soul of the club and because of them I can see a great future for the club.

“Upwards and onwards Southside, nothing but blue sky ahead!”

The club has produced quite a few NSW and Australian Champions over the years whilst still maintaining its friendly family oriented vibe and strong membership numbers.
Multiple Club longboard Champion Brad Whittaker was unbeaten for six years, before taking a hiatus then returning to win his seventh crown- he then backed up to win the inaugural Loggers division.

The Southside Loggers division, requires surfers to use traditional 1960s style boards over 9ft in length and with a single fin only. They also have a Southside Lady Longboarders division, and welcome more to join. Visit: southsidemalibuclub.com or Instagram and Facebook.

Story by : John Veage / Images: Provided

Hall of Fame Announced

/0 Comments/in /by

Words/Images: John Veage

Surfing Sutherland Shire officially unveiled the Cronulla Surfing Walk of Fame in 2015 at North Cronulla Beach to recognise local surfers who made the Professional World Surfing Tour, we have now have formally announced a ‘Surfing Hall of Fame‘.

The Hall of Fame presents the most significant figures and greatest champions of the surfing lifestyle in Sutherland Shire Surfing’s past, they do not have to be surfing champions , though one of the inaugural inductee’s is.

There will be several inaugural inductees including the late Brian Jackson and Jack Eden but the most controversial will be a surfer with a name made up of two initials- PT.

The Hall of Fame will grow over the coming years to further recognise those who have made an outstanding contribution to our surfing community. Surfing Sutherland Shire will consider nominations annually.

Although 1976 World Surfing champion Peter Townend is a Queenslander, and one of the original ‘Cooly Kids’ a group of super competitive surfing talent that emerged at the birth of the shortboard, he also called Cronulla home in the 1970’s.

PT, moved to Cronulla in 1971 after negotiating to make surfboards at Caringbah’s Gordon and Smith Surfboards-and he lived at Mick and Sue Anasta’s house in Franklin road, surfing at Sandshoes with his mates and honing his big wave skills at Cronulla Point and at age 22, he was competing in 20-foot surf at Waimea Bay on the North Shore of Hawaii, on the way to a World Title.

1971-1976 were his ‘Cronulla years’ and Townend who won the Inuagural ASP World title never forgot his time in the Sutherland Shire visiting old friends every time he returns.

Townend retired soon after his World Title and has lived in the USA at Huntington Beach ever since, and is now the Chairman at the Huntington Beach International Surf Museum and the Surfing Walk of Fame.

PT along with Ian Cairns formed the “Bronzed Aussies” he was executive director and coach for the USA surf team and for 10 years he led the advertising department at Surfing magazine before running marketing at Rusty-Townend also famously was the surfing double for actor William Katt in ‘Big Wednesday’.

PT was guest of honour at the Surfing Sutherland Shire 100 years of Surfing celebration dinner, and spoke about his years living at Cronulla and making history when he became the first professional world surfing champion .

Townend who is also a Hall of Fame member of Surfing Australia said he was honoured to be remembered in Cronulla and the original World Tour was concocted here.
“The entire structure for the birth of the IPS the professional birth of modern competition surfing was written down on G&S letterhead ” he said

“While I was working at Caringbah and living at Cronulla I became a professional surfer, up to then it didnt really exist as a career.

“Ive always talked about my Cronulla years, it was a perfect place to base myself and I always try and come back to visit my old mates.”

Townend who was in Cronulla celebrating his 70th birthday recently was welcomed to the Surfing Sutherland Shire Hall of Fame by Mayor Carmelo Pesce who said surfing is one of the Shires greatest assets.

The Hall of Fame will be located in the Cronulla Surfing Gallery in the walkway to Cronulla Central Library .