Surfing Australia has announced the return of Seas The Day for its second year running. The world’s largest female participation surf event will take place over 22-23 June at Kingscliff Beach.
In its inaugural year, Seas The Day attracted a record crowd of more than 12,000 people with free activities, talks and workshops hosted by females of the surfing industry. Another 200 women and young girls hit the waves to compete in a fun tag team contest.
Surfing Australia CEO, Chris Mater, said today, ‘After such a successful event last year, we’re excited to host Seas The Day for a second year running in what will be even bigger and better.
‘Current and former Championship Tour surfers are set to join professional longboarders, free surfers, icons of the sport, and female athletes from across the country, at the festival. Many will be speaking in the festival hubs as well as competing in the celebrity surf challenge and fun tag team competition,’ he said.
‘We hope that this event will inspire more girls and women to get involved in surfing in a pressure free-environment and encourage all females to come together to share their passion for the ocean and the surfing industry.
‘This is an event for everyone to enjoy, so bring your family and friends along to the shores of Kingscliff Beach for a fun weekend of activities,’ said Mr Mater.
Government support
Labor spokesperson for Tweed, Emily Suvaal MLC, said, ‘This is a massive win for female surfers across the state and the NSW government is proud to be supporting the Seas the Day competition for another year.’
Ms Suvaal added that her government was providing a grant of $100,000 from the Premier’s Discretionary Fund to support Surfing Australia to hold the event.
‘The Tweed community will be able to enjoy the world’s largest female surf event come June, in a massive win for the local community,’ she said.
The two-day event on the Tweed Coast will also include live music, yoga, ice baths, breath work, food trucks, and more to be announced.
There will be three festival hubs with guest speakers covering the topics of Women of Surf, Wellness, and Film & Photography. Seven-time World Champion Layne Beachley will also return to host her popular Awake Academy – Know Yourself, Grow Yourself session and Tracy Gilmore, 8x World Champion Steph Gilmore’s mum will be a guest speaker.
Festival additions
2024 additions to the festival include the Film & Photography hub, highlighting the female producers and creators working behind the scenes in the entertainment industry.
1993 World Champion, Pauline Menzcer, will release a new autobiography. Professional longboarder and co-founder of Surfers for Climate, Belinda Baggs, will premiere her new film Belinda and performance dietitian for the Matildas, Alicia Edge, will host a session on women’s health and nutrition.
World record holder and big wave surfer Laura Enever and Andy Kovszun – from the popular women’s lifestyle blog ‘No Shoes No Worries’ – are also speaking at the event.
Surfing Australia says it has women working in leadership roles across the organisation, with many of them also participating in the hub panel discussions, including former CT athlete Kate Wilcomes and 2005 World Champion and Australian Surfing Hall of Fame inductee Chelsea Hedges.
Competitors
Seas The Day aims to encourage women of all skill levels to compete in a pressure-free environment alongside a festival featuring guest speakers, workshops, movie screenings, food trucks, live music, entertainment and more.
The contest is open to female surfers in Open Women’s Shortboard, Open Women’s Longboard, Under 18 Shortboard and Under 12 Mini Shredders divisions. Last year, the Mini Shredders was the most popular, with the highest number of entries.
For more information, visit seasthedaysurffestival.com.
For four decades The Echo has printed the stories some people loved, some people hated, and some pretended not to read. If you want us to keep telling the truth, the real truth, not the sugar-coated version. We’ll need your support to keep the presses rolling. 
