The three-day Byron Bay Surf Festival ended on Sunday with picture-perfect waves at Wategos and more women participating in events than ever before.
The Freestyle and Stoke Surf sessions included a schedule of various non-competitive events based on artistic interpretation. Surfers were judged by their peers with advantage awarded to those having the most fun in the water.
In the McTavish Trim, surfers competed in a ten-foot longboard race, with the winner determined by whoever goes the longest distance up the beach.
‘What an unbelievable day. Being here together reminds us all just how much fun surfing comps can be. We are all larking about in the waves laughing, sliding, cheering and catching up with friends from far and wide,’ board shaper Bob McTavish said.
‘We are so thrilled to be a part of the Byron Bay Surf Festival. It’s bringing together the surf community, old and new, and it’s just fantastic,’ said McTavish.
Festival organiser James McMillan estimated 2,000 people visited Wategos throughout the day.
‘It was the best day,’ said McMillan. ‘By far the best freestyle and stoke sessions we’ve ever had. The magic of nature was plain to see. The surfers busted some crazy moves and the crowd erupted when the dolphins made a star appearance on the waves with the sliders’.
Results
Torpedoes – Tim Carroll
Mermaids – Maria Nilsson
Fish – Ozzie Wright
Finless – Gus O’Malley
Logs – Jared Mell
Best Pure Stoke Move – A surfer named Brielle for her epic sliding headstand
Party Wave $1,000 Prize Pack Winner – Isaac Fields
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