Surf’s Up in Sydney 2016

Australia’s largest grassroots surfing year long event kicks off 23 January at Cronulla NSW. With $110,000 AUD in prize money, the Boardriders Battle will feature more than 100 of the country’s best boardrider clubs in eight State qualifying rounds. Then follows a national final for 20 clubs on Australia Day where the nation celebrates with a long weekend, boogie boards, kegs and BBQ’s galore. 

 

This competition’s website is slightly convoluted and not the easiest to understand of dates & details but here’s the overview of how the competition will progress.  Three teams enter: Skins, Women’s and Teams. For Skins entering, the club nominates their top tier surfer who will compete in a 20 minute heat. The highest scorer remains in the water while the next surfers enter until there is a winner. For the Women’s competition, there are five x 20 minute heats and each will be scored on their best two waves. For the Teams entering, each heat includes four different club representatives with relay style changeovers and also nominating a Power Surfer. Their individual contributions will tally towards their final team’s total. Yes, it’s messy and not so clear but that’s the best we could do in simplifying. 

Then comes the Grand Final. After two days of Skins, Women’s and Teams competing, the top four clubs on the leaderboard at the National Final will go head to head in a 60 minute format following the same rules as the Teams competition in the final pressure cooker event. One club will win the 2016 Original Source Australian Boardriders Battle Champion trophy and toddle off with the cash prize.  

It’s the most confusing set up we’ve ever seen but there is still time to enter and the entry details are a LOT easier to understand. The entry fee is $350 and the website clearly states the entry rules of age restrictions, deadlines to enter and a simple rundown of eligibility. Remember, competing clubs must be a member of Surfing Australia Member State branch and only one team per club can be nominated. 

Boardriders Battle is also running a Monster Raffle where all ticket revenues are injected back into the surfing community, benefiting hundreds of boardrider clubs. You can click the Monster Raffle link on the web page and dish out $5 in the hope of winning a brand new Toyota RAV4 Cruiser or other surf gear as runner up prizes. If you want to be socially involved and supportive, tweet #OASBB and #BackYourBoardriders leading up to and on the day of the events.

Just under an hour drive or 90 minutes by bus, you can be back up north at Cremorne Point. Overlooking the Harbour from Cremorne Point Manor, the surf most certainly won’t be up but the stunning views will be hitting in you in waves. No wonder Tripadvisor awarded the Manor a Certificate of Excellence voted by hotel guests, for the fifth consecutive year, based on our service, gorgeous décor and absolutely not because of our boogie boarding skills.