Snapper Rocks and North Narrabeen head a powerful line-up of Australia’s best boardrider clubs to contest the National Final of the Be the Influence Australian Boardriders Battle at Cronulla on January 25–26.
Both clubs are stacked with some of the country’s best surfers including five-time world champion Stephanie Gilmore, 2012 world champion Joel Parkinson and ASP World Tour competitor Laura Enever.
They are just a selection of the top names who could compete for their clubs including world champion Mick Fanning (Kirra), Tyler Wright (Werri), Adrian Buchan (Avoca), Taj Burrow (Yallingup) and Mark Occhilupo (Cronulla).
The Be the Influence Australian Boardriders Battle national series is the biggest grassroots, boardrider club event in Australian surfing history with the country’s best clubs competing for more than $100,000 in prize money. The series culminates in Cronulla with 16 clubs from each state battling for the top honour.
The final consists of 13 clubs from the seven state qualifying rounds, two wildcard clubs selected by Surfing Australia and host club Cronulla Sharks Boardriders. The two clubs to win the wildcard spots are North Narrabeen Boardriders and Queenscliff Boardriders.
The clubs to contest the final are:
New South Wales: Merewether Surfboard Club, Avoca Boardriders, Werri Beach Boardriders, Elouera Boardriders, North Narrabeen Boardriders, Queenscliff Boardriders, Cronulla Sharks Boardriders.
Queensland: Snapper Surfriders, Kirra Surfriders, D-Bah Boardriders
Victoria: Torquay Boardriders, 13th Beach Boardriders
Western Australia: Yallingup Boardriders, Margaret River Boardriders
South Australia: Seaford Boardriders
Tasmania: South Arm Boardriders
‘The weekend promises to be an amazing showcase of some of country’s best surfers and a celebration of the Australian boardrider community, which is the backbone of surfing in this country,’ said Surfing Australia CEO Andrew Stark.
‘All the clubs around Australia have really got behind the national series and there’ll be plenty of great rivalries on show at Cronulla with our best professionals battling alongside their club mates.’
In total, $105,000 is up for grabs across the entire national series including the national final. There was $30,000 available across the seven state qualifying events, while $75,000 will be split between the 16 clubs that make the National Final. The final includes a $10,000 Skins event with $1,000 winner-take-all up for grabs across 10 heats.
Teams must consist of seven competitors: two juniors (one male and one female), four opens (three males and one female) and one Over-35 (male or female), who will battle it out in a pairs division, five-person teams division and the skins division.
The event will be televised live both days on Fuel TV and will also be streamed at www.australianboardridersbattle.com.
The Be the Influence Australian Boardriders Battle also includes a monster raffle giveaway with one lucky ticket holder to drive away in a new Toyota RAV4. Other prizes include a Billabong pack valued at $1,475 and a Nikon 1 AW1 camera valued at up to $1,100. The monster raffle is open to all Surfing Australia-affiliated boardrider clubs with proceeds returning to the boardrider club community.
In a further incentive to the clubs that make the national final, the four junior female surfers from the four highest placed clubs will be invited to be part of the Surfing Australia documentary Wildcard.
Wildcard is a one-hour documentary following the four female surfers as they are given the chance of a lifetime to win a wildcard spot into the open division at the Australian Open of Surfing at Manly in February, 2014. The four will be invited to the Hurley Surfing Australia High Performance Centre (HPC) for a week-long selection camp to see who will win the wildcard.
This event is supported by the Be the Influence – Tackling Binge Drinking initiative, part of the Australian government’s National Binge Drinking Strategy addressing youth binge drinking and raising awareness of the long- and short-term impacts of harmful drinking among young people through sport sponsorships and other activities.
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