Thousands of athletes from around the country are poised to make a splash at the Australian Surf Life Saving Championships on the Sunshine Coast after enduring a two-year wait for the event.
The carnival was scrapped due to COVID-19 last year, the first time the entire event had been cancelled since World War II in 1945.
So, competitors are itching to hit the sand and surf from Friday for this year’s nine-day festival, which is set to provide a multimillion-dollar boost to the region with more than 15,000 visitors.
Surf events will be held at Maroochydore, beach events and ocean swims at Mooloolaba and surfboats and lifesaver events at Alexandra Headland. Board riding will also be held, likely at Coolum.
Almost 6000 competitors from 190 clubs will be in action in open, masters and youth divisions.
Excitement has been building during the week, as surf athletes roll and fly in.
“There have been pockets of athletes training on the beaches and it gets the blood pumping to see the activity increasing,” Maroochydore Surf Life Saving Club Life Governor Ralph Devlin said.
“This will probably be the biggest event (on the Coast) since the COVID pandemic began in early 2020, so it’s significant for that reason alone.
“But for the Sunshine Coast to host a major national event in the sport that has made its home on the Coast for 105 years, that’s a huge boost to the image of the region.”
“Lifesavers from all over Australia acknowledge the Sunshine Coast as a welcoming community and we’ve previously put on brilliant weather and good surf. Long may that good luck and good management continue.”
Mr Devlin said lifesavers were desperate to compete after missing out on state and Australian championships last year.
“The pent-up demand is being reflected in the number of entries,” he said.
“It’s climbing towards 6000 and that’s a good outcome considering the difficulties some clubbies will have getting here and some uncertainty surrounding COVID. It shows the confidence lifesavers have in the Sunshine Coast.”
He said each visiting competitor generally had two travelling supporters, bringing the total of tourists to up to 18,000.
The Aussies were also held on the Sunshine Coast in 1959, 1980 and 2016.
Local hero Grant Kenny put ironman racing on the map in 1980, when he won as a teenager.
Devlin expected the conditions to be near perfect for the carnival and said the beach had recovered well after severe weather earlier this month.
“The beach between Alex and Maroochydore has stood up really well to the heavy seas of the last month or so.
“Speaking to officials, they say it’s going to be manageable. The width of the beach has diminished a bit but there’s a lot of sand offshore and it will make its way on to the beach hopefully before the starter’s gun (is fired).”
Alex Surf Club general manager Ashley Robinson has watched visiting club-members train on his beach for the past few days.
“Everyone’s excited and a bit nervous,” he said.
“It’s the first major event on the Coast for quite a while, with an influx of people to the region during the next week, which has to be good for the economy.
“Council gets criticised but well done to them. This is something that’s much needed for business operators on the Coast.
“The premier is lifting restrictions a bit more on Thursday too, so hopefully we’re heading in the right direction.”
Robinson expected Sunshine Coast athletes to be in the thick of the action.
“There’s great youth coming out of Sunshine Beach, Noosa and Maroochydore while smaller clubs like Dicky Beach and Met Caloundra punch above their weight.
“In the opens, Maroochydore, Alex and Noosa will lead the way against the big boys coming from down south, like Newport, Burleigh and Northcliffe.”
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Reigning Ironwoman Series champion Lana Rogers, of Alexandra Headland, should be hard to beat and will carry the support of the region on her shoulders.
Her club-mates Emma Woods, Tayla Halliday and Cooper Williams will also be in the mix. Maroochydore’s Tiarnee Massie and the Palmer brothers Matt and Adam should also be ones to watch.
Surfboats racing should be fast and furious, just north of the Alex Surf Club.
Sydney clubs like Cronulla and Curl Curl and Gold Coast clubs, including Currumbin and Northcliffe, will face threats from local crews.
“Dicky Beach has a world-class girls crew, and it will be exciting to see if they can keep winning,” Mr Robinson said.
Other clubs with strong chances in the surfboat divisions include Maroochydore, Mooloolaba and Noosa.
Young Maroochydore ironman Adam Palmer is itching to compete in surf events at his local break.
“I’m looking forward to finishing the season on a good note on my home beach,” he said.
“Knowing everything here is definitely an advantage and being able to sleep in my own bed will be an advantage,” he said.
He’s determined to press his claims in the under-19 ironman and open Taplin relay and will compete in other under-19 events and open teams events.
He opted not to contest the open board race, despite winning the state title at Tugun recently.
“It was a really hard decision but I’m not going to do it. I’ll focus on my age group mostly,” he said.
“I’ve got a lot of races every day so I’m trying to cut down. The open board is important to me, but I’d rather focus on my age group. I’ll have heaps of opportunities to do it in years to come.”
The 18-year-old is coming off the back of strong state championships campaign last month, when he was also fourth in the under-19 ironman and was part of Maroochydore’s victorious Taplin relay team.
Competition referee Wayne Druery also said there was plenty of enthusiasm ahead of the event.
He said the Sunshine Coast had a history and culture of surf sports and it was a perfect place to hold the carnival.
“You’ve got some major clubs here which have positioned themselves well in the surf sports arena,” he said.
“A bit goes into selecting and honing down a host location, but we (organisers) have the support of the local area, the local council and the local clubs and we’re lucky that’s in abundance. We’re excited to be back here.”
He said the weather pattern is “looking pretty settled” for the next five days, with up to 1m of surf during the weekend.
“We can look forward to great racing from 6000 trained lifesavers from around the country, in ages 14 to 75-plus, who will showcase their skills across many disciplines.”
Sunshine Coast Mayor Mark Jamieson was delighted to welcome back the championships, after a successful edition five years ago.
“Planning and hosting this great event requires an enormous effort by many people and we are all really encouraged to see more than 5,700 competitors registered,” he said.
“This reinforces our reputation as a safe and popular destination for delivering quality events and demonstrates that athletes enjoy training and competing on our Sunshine Coast.
“Hosting the event in 2016 was a great success and we look forward to a similar outcome from this year’s event.”
The Aussies have been held annually since 1914, with the exception of 1915-1919 (World War I) 1941-1945 (World War II) and 2020 (COVID-19 pandemic).
There are some suggestions the 1919 version was also not held because of a pandemic, the Spanish Flu.
The 2017 edition was abandoned midway through, due to concerns about water quality following heavy rain on the Gold Coast.
Australian Youth Surf Life Saving Championships (April 16-17)
Friday, April 16
Mooloolaba: Beach sprint from 2pm
Maroochydore: Iron, surf, board from 8am
Saturday, April 17
Mooloolaba: Beach run from 7am, flags from 4.30pm
Maroochydore: Board relay, surf teams, board rescue, cameron relay
Australian Masters Surf Life Saving Championships (April 18-19)
Sunday, April 18
Mooloolaba: Beach sprint from 4pm, relays from 6.15pm
Maroochydore: Board, ski, iron, board rescue from 8am
Monday, April 19
Mooloolaba: Beach run from 7.30am, flags from 3.30pm
Maroochydore: Ski relay, Taplin relay, double ski, surf teams, board relay from 8am
Australian Open Surf Life Saving Championships (April 20-24)
Tuesday, April 20
Maroochydore: Iron, surf, ski relay, board relay, Taplin relay, surf teams from 8am
Wednesday, April 21
Maroochydore: Iron, lifesaver relay, Taplin relay, board, single ski, surf, surf team, board relay, tube rescue from 7.30am
Mooloolaba: Beach run from 7.30am, sprint from 3pm
Thursday, April 22
Maroochydore: Iron, ski, lifesaver relay, Taplin relay, board, board rescue, tube rescue, double ski, belt from 7.30am
Mooloolaba: Beach run from 7.30am, relay from 3pm
Friday, April 23
Maroochydore: Double ski, lifesaver relay, Taplin relay, board, ski, board rescue from 7.30am, belt from 1pm
Mooloolaba: Beach flags from 1pm, R&R
Saturday, April 24
Maroochydore: Iron, surf, board, ski, Taplin relay
Mooloolaba: March past from 8am, R&R from 9am
Ocean Swim Championships at Mooloolaba
Saturday, April 17
Masters ocean swim from 8am
Monday, April 19
Open and age ocean swim from 8am
Surfboat Championships at Alexandra Headland
Monday, April 19
Masters and open from 8am
Tuesday, April 20
Open short course, lifesaver relay from 8am
Wednesday, April 21
Reserves, U23, lifesaver relay from 8am
Thursday, April 22
Open, U19 from 8am
Friday, April 23
Lifesaver relay, board relay, reserves, U23 from 8am
Saturday, April 24
Open, U19, reserves from 8am
Board Riding Championships at Beach TBC (Coolum first choice)
Monday, April 19
Open and age board, open Malibu longboard from 8am
Tuesday, April 20
Open, masters and age board, open Malibu longboard from 8am
Wednesday, April 29
Make-up day if necessary
Lifesaving Championships at Alexandra Headland
Sunday, April 18
Open, masters and age champion lifesaver from 7.30am
Monday, April 19
Open, U17 patrol from 7.30am
Tuesday, April 20
U15 first aid from 7.30am
Wednesday, April 21
Open first aid from 7.30am
Thursday, April 22
U19 first aid
Friday, April 23
U17 first aid
