Do Surf Competitions Suck?
Despite winning back to back state titles, for the bulk of my surfing life I was never a fan of surf competitions. To me they didn't represent the true spirit of what riding waves actually meant: barrels with mates; dancing with nature; surfing for the soul, not for the trophies.
And for half a century I was convinced I was right.
So how is it, that with this sort of mindset, I find myself the President of an organisation I never believed in?
I entered my first contest in 1965, a year after I started surfing. It was held in perfect head high surf on a late summer day on the point at Seven Mile Beach and I won the novice title. In 1966 I won the open title at the Mecca Bowl in head high lefts and also the following year at Eaglehawk Neck, when I was the only one to get off the beach during a cyclone swell. Swept out in a rip, I caught three waves and won the title by default. I was just trying to get to the safety of the beach!
Mick winning his second state title in 1967, and at right are his trophies, tarnished but still intact after more than fifty years
The first surf competition in Tasmania was a few months before I started and was won by John Pool, who went on to represent Tasmania at the first world titles held in Manly, won by Midget Farrelly. That was the birth of competition surfing in Australia and we soon followed suit with three local boardrider clubs – Kona Moana, Island Surfing Fraternity and Van Demons – a subtle play on the surfer's car of choice, the dreaded panel van.
Along with a few mates, we were the founders of the Island Surf Fraternity and even had an old Fargo van as a flagship. We had a few meetings and maybe two or three contests before we got sick of losing, blaming inept judging. The final straw was when my brother stole the Fargo and seized the engine. Flagship abandoned, the Fraternity fractured, fell apart, and we all went surfing again. For me that entailed a sojourn to Hawaii, California, and Mexico where I caught a serious travel bug that took a couple of decades to purge from my body.
From that point on I seldom crossed paths with the competition side of surfing. After returning from Bali in the mid 1970's, I lived on King Island for a while where there weren't enough surfers to fill a heat. That set the trend for the next twenty years. My focus was the remote parts of Indonesia for the winter and the remote parts of southwest Tasmania for the summer. Due to an accident in time I was lucky enough to indulge in both with just a few mates.
It's easy to share waves when there's hardly anyone to share them with. The lack of competition for waves is why somewhere 'remote' has appeal. It's the reward for putting in the hard yards required to surf anywhere that's over the horizon and off the grid. The road trip, the walk to get there, sharing waves, surfing till you drop and reliving it around the campfire at night, is the sort of bonding that creates mateships that last a life time. Despite the explosion in surfers around the planet, there is still the opportunity on our rock to experience surfing as it once was, before Captain Cook blabbed it to the world.
Jack McCoy is the doyen of surf films who, given half a chance, can wax lyrical about the history of surfing for as long as you've got. He once told me that the origins of surfing are rooted in what he calls, the 'Spirit of Aloha'. 'When you say Aloha in Hawaii, you're actually saying: whatever I have to spare is yours unconditionally. I expect nothing in return.' Even though my personal experience with the 'Spirit of Aloha' was limited to a 125kg North Shore local threatening to punch my lights out if I caught one of his waves, I got what Jack was telling me. After all, it's nice to be nice!
Being a dad is also nice, even if it is a gigantic challenge. Like, how do you keep a one-year old safe on the beach while you go surfing? My answer was to legrope my son to a tree with the dog. Tim howled like a banshee for the first few sessions, after that, he howled if I left him at home. He did his first trip to Lion Rock when he was five where he learnt to ride a boogie board and kill march flies. In the ensuing years we became best mates, we chased waves all over the state and I introduced him to all the surf spots I had come to know. Aloha!
It was not until his early teens that Tim showed an interest in surf competitions. He and Mikey Brennan had struck up a relationship at school which extended to sleep overs and surf trips during the weekends and school holidays. They were both hooked on the search for out of the way spots, but for reasons unbeknown to them, were also drawn to compete. Despite my personal feelings I suddenly found myself as a long haul chauffeur on the competition circuit.
Despite my reservations, I slowly came to understand that contests had dramatically changed since the sixties. No longer a group of loud lads generally messing up, there were people of all ages, backgrounds, and gender. It was certainly more structured and organised, but apart from the sponsors feathers, judging tents, hooters and megaphone updates, they were having just as much fun as a crew hanging out at Lion Rock or Middle Bay.
Over the next two years I took the kids to contests all over the state, usually slipping off somewhere for a solo surf, otherwise I just watched, but never felt inclined to become involved. The big thing was the social connections that the competitions opened up. The chance to renew old relationships while making new ones was a big takeaway for me. And it wasn't just with the people. It was with the places as well.
Now convinced they were the next super pros, the kids then joined the junior development squad run by Surfing Tasmania and their skills improved dramatically with Tim selected to go to the High Performance Centre in NSW in 2003. My reconnection with competitions came to an end when I not only lost my job as a chauffeur, but lost my car as well. Strangely, it all happened the day Tim got his drivers licence. Aloha!
Despite their talent and ability, neither of the boys continued competing for long. They claimed they didn't enjoy being fully organised, the pressure, surfing in crap waves, and dealing with the emotional rollercoaster of winning and losing. I can't help but think that I had a large part to play in that, perhaps I helped poison their minds by inducting them into my world rather than preparing them for theirs. Interestingly when they walked away from competing, they did what we did when the Island Surfing Fraternity fell apart. They went surfing again.
Two years later, after a great surf at Boneyard, Huey told me that was it, my ride was over. I hung my board up in the shed, where it remains to this day, gathering dust. Never once inclined to get it down from the rafters, I'm more than comfortable with my decision to walk away, totally content that, I'm left with little but a head full of memories and a totally waterlogged body. But that wasn't the end of the road, I remained connected through Tim and his gaggle of mates who quickly adopted me as their go to surf guru and second dad. Even though I'd moved on and taken to exploring the southwest wilderness by kayak, the surf was never far away from my thoughts. In my own way I was giving back through the kids. I still had a role to play.
That all came to an end in October 2017 when Tim was killed after colliding with a navigation beacon on his jet ski in the Narrows at Marion Bay. Bizarrely, less than 200m from where Huey told me my surf life had ended some years before.
Losing your only child is the worst nightmare you can experience and it's impossible to fully articulate what it's like. Let's just say it sucks! The thing that got me through, was the way my surf community reached out. Some I barely knew, others I knew well, shared stories of their experiences with loss, what helped, what didn't. With support like that I slowly learned to cope with the grief, or at least I got a lot better at hiding it.
It took me a while, but I also came to understand that one major hurdle I had to clear, was to find a new sense of purpose. So I joined the local boardrider club SABR, just to help with gear and maybe pass on some tips and encouragement for the kids. That summer I took some of the grommets to Lion Rock for their first trip. The look on their faces confirmed that this was a good path for me to embark upon. So when Shayne Clark approached me to see if I may be interested in joining the Suring Tasmania board, I accepted without hesitation. Not long after, I was elected President. Now into my second term, I've not only outdone the Donald, but could do what no American President has ever done - run for a third term!
The governance of any small, not for profit, sporting organisation with limited income, is not something many people choose to do. Running anything in the current world is a struggle, even if you get handsomely rewarded for it, much less do it for nothing. Be it a boardrider club or the governing state body, they can only operate through the goodwill of their members. Those that have the time and motivation to give back are the lifeblood of our sport.
I'm very lucky. I'm part of a board of diverse, talented, and progressive thinkers dedicated to improving the skill and participation levels of Tasmanian surfing. In order to run events it needs qualified judges, tally clerks, flag marshals, and lots of pack mules. But Surfing Tasmania is not just about contests, it's also about providing access for members needing help on mental health issues, providing a collective voice on fish farms, oil exploration, and access to beaches during lockdowns.
This is a call for anyone with an interest in surfing who wants to give something back, to contact their local boardrider club to see how you can help. Every little bit helps. Like me, you may discover that surf contests don't suck at all. They're just another way of having fun and forging relationships.
Aloha!
Mick Lawrence
President
Surfing Tasmania Inc.
Comments
What an incredible read. Thanks, Mick.
Agreed, that is a great article about what is important in life and surfing and the relationship between both. Nice one Mick.
They kind of suck when the best bank on your local beach is taken up by the local board riders comp.
Did you read the article? Or are you just responding to the headline?
*facepalm*
I read it
Yep. Competitions still suck.
Sitting on the beach for hours and waiting for a twenty minute surf irrespective of tide or conditions….wow.
The beach I became a surfer at had no boardriders and it was glorious. One of our mates was a high level surf administrator who tried repeatedly to get a club started only for it to flop every time. Competition added nothing to our surfing experience beyond unnecessary rules and unwanted schedules. It wasn’t like our relatively small crew of surfers weren’t committed or competitive in surfing talent, they just didn’t see anything positive in the structured competition system.
It certainly wasn’t the case that we were all gronks in the crew and when our mob of surfers went their own ways as you do , a couple did go down the comp path later in life there was a National and a state champ amongst them. Another surfer in our mob got invited to a big league club and went once, won the comp and never returned. He went on to dominate a few of the world’s best waves and had more double page spreads than most pros. Comps just weren’t a desired part of our surfing lives. They added nothing and subtracted a whole lot.
I appreciate the article, Mick. It’s well written and gives a good insight into your motivations and the reason you find organised events so compelling. I’m afraid I’ve got to disagree with you though. The years you spent chasing waves and making friends weren’t lacking because there wasn’t an air horn blaring every twenty minutes and a PA yelling out who’s turn it was to surf.
Don’t even get me started on Boardriders clubs who decide to try and inflict their amateur theatrics on other beaches. FMD.
Well that was an unexpectedly great piece of writing! Mick, I also have a love/hate relationship with contests having grown up doing them, then turning my back swearing never again, only to come back in the Masters because I realised how much fun it is to sit on the hill and chat one sunday a month.
Besides immediate surf mates, surfing doesn't lend itself to groups so the comp is the only place we've got to get together and talk.
I've never surfed a comp in my life, and though you make a great case I reckon I never will.
After spending my life avoiding boardrider clubs and comps, I signed up with the local club this year and have to say it's been a great experience. As Mick mentions - it's a healthy environment for the kids and adults, brings everybody together, and without the restrictions or commitments of a regular sports club. Not sure if the club here is a bit more relaxed than some others but it's all about the fun and hanging out, not much focus on winning or losing. I think it's important for kids to have positive adult role models who aren't their parents, and they learn a lot of important social behaviours watching adults interacting in a fun and positive way. Compared to some stand-offish parent/kid combos I see around here that are grooming the next Baz Cornell 2.0.
Doesn’t your local have a beach culture and particular zonewhere the oldies and the youngsters interact anyway? Not just carpark shit talk but a part of the beach where everyone congregates, spectates and commentates between sessions?
The local here has a grassy hill where everyone hangs and gets changed plus a sort of designated bit of sand where fires get lit in winter. Dad surfs whilst mum minds the kids before they swap around and mum gets her slash on.
Nah, not where everybody hangs out for a few hours with a big BBQ, esky, shade, and with nowhere else to be. Sure on a regular day there's a bit of congregating here and there but it's usually pretty brief as people come and go, or everybody is surfing at different beaches around the area.
Wonderful read Mick.....gotta say the part where you explained the loss of Tim choked me up....
I was a member of a high energy boardriders club on the southern end of the Gold during the seventies that had some of worlds best surfers of the day as junior and senior members, which inspired my surfing and solidified my respect for my elders.
I later became a founding member of a Club in Western Australia.....Not so high energy competitive wise, but we guided the young guys and represented surfers in town in a positive light.....
Both great experiences...
Must say though, I could hold my own in the waves day to day, but throw a coloured singlet on me and my kook qualities shone brightly...
My heart goes out to you losing your son, cannot imagine the pain and anguish doesn't get any worse than that.
Great piece, Mick.
I've been similarly conflicted about comps for a long time, having seen both sides of the equation. I like the old-school concept of a "surf meet" much more than the almost-oxymoronic "surf comp". I appreciate the displeasure people feel when a club sets up in the prime spot, and the social benefits of the mob coming together.
I first went in the local comp held once a year which brought the whole surfing community together for a great weekend of hanging out, music and partying. It was quite an event on the local calendar. The one weekend where everyone hung out at the one spot for at least one full day, depending on who got through, and the old blokes talked with the grommets without being compelled to drop in on them. Things were a bit looser in the early 80s, and a lot of fun was had, especially as grommets getting in to the presso night. Winning it was definitely what a few of the good surfers were aiming for, but they were in the minority.
In this part of the world, the comp scene has many different guises and a very different history from the full-blown Easter comp through to the mob who have an annual straight out the front regardless of conditions so they have an excuse to hang out together. It can be frustrating when certain breaks get taken over for "exclusive use" and you're not in the tent. On the other hand it's pretty nice surfing right hand points with 3 or 4 others, especially if you draw back-to-back heats in different divisions. The camaraderie of the club we're in is unreal, and provides a great opportunity to say gday to all sorts of crew, and helps ease a lot of potential pressure in the lineup, particularly on the crowded days.
I'm particularly interested in how Huey told you your days were up - I've had a lot of messages from the old body about taking a break to heal up, but never really felt the message from on high. Buggered if I know how I'll face up to that one.
That was a great read, thanks Mick. Dovetails nicely with Freeride’s epic the other day, and I am interested to know what it was that made you decide to quit?
I was in my early 60’s and still holding my own in the lineup, so no physical reasons.
I’ve had mates who succumbed to ageing and failing bodies and they usually left the thing they loved tinged with bitterness. I didn’t want to go out that way.
I’d had more than my share of rides on the Big Dipper and felt it was much better to go out ripping rather than rippling.
Thanks Mick, fair play to you. Again, beautifully written and poignant. You encapsulate the joys of surfing for its own sake. Love the lines ..”and we/they went surfing again”, sums up the sirens call. Glad you are still involved, best of luck to you.
Great read! "Due to an accident in time...", not heard that expression before, love it.
A really enjoyable read and my heart goes out to you Mick regarding your boy. I would imagine you wrote that paragraph in tears because it was hard for me to read it through mine.
I did a few comps in my younger years, I was in GUGC boardriders 'Juicy Lucy' at Griffith Uni Gold Coast. I think our mate CRG might have been a member too. I also went in a couple of MNM comps too. But, when I pulled on a coloured rashie, it always seemed to be the ultimate wave repellent- I don't think I ever got out of the second round.
Who knows what the future holds, there's a local comp here and I usually go down to catch up with the lads, just never been inclined to enter it though. Maybe the next one, I'll have a go.
I remember those comps. Got roped in to surf for Griffith uni one year for a university challenge comp at Main Beach. Didn't go to Uni, I'm a tradie.
I also remember Freeride's name being on the board.
Best thing about comps is being able to take over the best peak on the beach and surf it with four other guys.
a very short, unillustrious career.
although I think I took out one of the young bucks in a man on man heat at .......after a few rum and cokes.
I think you might have.
And yep there was some heavy drinking done that weekend
Zen, did those comps ever venture to the Spit? I can vaguely recall a uni comp there one year, maybe a state or national comp... the whole tents on the beach with commentary etc.
Not sure mate, I went to Griffith 92-95 and the comps clashed a lot with my work as I was a bartender working in a nightclub, so knockrng off around 5am was pretty killer as the comps would kick off at 7:00. Having said that, I remember comps at Main Beach near the Sheraton or down at Nobbys and we even went down over the border a couple of times.
It wouldn't surprise me if they went to the spit cause It's probs the closest break to our campus but I never went there. Also, I wasn't a full frothing Juicy Lucy menber, more of a rock up when I could.
Yep Zen I was around at that time...wasn’t much of a contributor but I got wrangled into the big events somehow. We hosted the Aussie titles at Main Beach one year. Ado Gods was the organiser, I think we had Mick Ray that year and we both got knocked in the quarters I think. Maybe the next year or later there was a crazy van trip down to Newy when they hosted the Aussies organised by Thrushy. I think Damo Healy won that year after Will Lewis got hassled in the final by some local who wouldn’t get out of the contest area. There were some serious stories out of that trip I can’t repeat...haha!
Good times!
Glad to hear things have tidied up in the board riders clubs over the years. I wouldn't let my boys anywhere near the drug ridden sleazy hedonistic club leaders in the late 80's and early 90's.
Christian surfers was good for them though, with the camps and day trip getaways with other little shredders. They had fun and was all low key and not serious. Its nice though whatever club or local group you hang in, to be a part of other kids lives as well as your own and has it's own rewards with years later seeing them as great young grown up friends now teaching their own kids to surf and Mike will get that a lot.. Personally... I have never been able to put the words "competition" and "surfing" together. The only comp I see, is myself verses the wave or ..don't stuff up your turn in a lineup.
Hanging around trying to say your the "winner" and better than the other guy who just happened to miss out on a decent wave in some comp I find odd. ..But...to each their own.
Awesome stuff Mick thank you and my condolences on the loss of your boy. As a parent it's the one thing we all dread and congratulations finding some solace in helping the local club out.
I never found a use for competing. I don't think the freedom of spirit generated in the ocean is capable of being judged fairly. For example, I had a mate that surfed in boardies from Vinnies, on boards scavenged from the local tip and to see him trimming in a 6 foot swell at Kirra, on a piece of shit, hooting his face off, was worth a fucking 10 every day of the week in my book. Some of the "colour" wearing crew used to laugh at him, but he got plenty of waves and had a tattooed on smile. Comps definitely suck, but as Optimist says - each to their own I guess....
Too long to read. Sorry.
Great read , thx
Haven't been in a club for about ten years now. I used to enjoy it before they became too sanitised and 'family friendly'. Winning heats wasn't really taken seriously by the majority of participants ...
Yeah yeah ,,there was a fair bit of a rat bag culture , and it did put a few parents off from letting them join ,and I see Optimists point but overall I think it was exaggerated. I guess some clubs were more party orientated than others.
Bless you Mick, and my condolences, and I wish you well.
As for comps, at times I surfed longboard comps, did OK, made state semis, um, then dropped out and raised kids and just surfed both long and shortboards. I enjoyed the comp lineup with 4 out but I was more interested in the early camaraderie as there were far fewer people riding the old boards then and every meeting was a new rediscovery of lost designs and ideas; it was formative. This was replaced with sharing surfing with young relatives, friends and my children in the water, and their tastes (nature, power, shortboards, new and challenging spots) got indulged and this time was fantastic. Maybe could go back now as the phases change again?
I happened to surf next to a local board riders contest a while ago - close enough to see the expressions on the kids faces.
Even though the waves were good if you picked them, virtually no one in the heats i saw really got good ones to perform on. Lots of forced moves and grumpy tense faces filled with frustration. A half hour heat just was not enough.
Sort of like trying to strut your stuff by facing only 5 balls in a cricket match. Or getting 2 minutes on court at the end of a basketball match and managing two passes and one shot.
Meanwhile the free surfers nearby were having a ball patiently waiting for the right waves and picking lines that suited the waves.
Good social event i guess.
Great read mick - thankyou for sharing
Seems the thread responses focus on ‘ ‘competition’... whereas, when I was reading your piece it seemed the important threads to you were camaraderie and giving back - as an older surfer now I regret not getting involved with the local board riders as a kid coz it seems like it would have been a great way to get to know more people who lived what I did
I s’pose people might say it’s not too late to get involved and as u say there’s plenty of ways u can lend a hand even if u don’t want to pull on a singlet ... u got me thinking, thanks mate
I started competing in bodyboarding a year after getting my first board. It was boring as batshit and usually cold and held in average conditions when reefs nearby were pumping. Soon noticed all the star bodyboarders who were in the comps quit competing to surf all the reefs in the area. Cronulla has a lot of slabs good for bodyboarding and i asked one pro why he left the contests and he said "Arnold just wants everyone to buy merchandise at his shop".
Cronulla produced some of the worlds best bodyboarders and competing seemed to produce good beachy surfers not reef surfers.
Good to hear from you GS, I was wondering if you are ok.
Yeah im good thanks just been working a lot. Hope you scored in Exmouth.
Sorry to hear about your son. I wish you well.
Personally I struggle with competitive behaviour, the energy around competition and its focus on winning at all costs often results in arrogant behaviour.
Having fun and forging relationships is amazing though. And it's great you are finding community with what you are involved in. I've been impressed seeing my local Boardriders club move away from competitions that exclude most from the lineup and only reward one winner shift to a group of grommets that just go surfing then have breakfast together. More of a hang out than a competition.
As a kid I went surfing to avoid competitive behaviour and sports. In a world that puts a high emphasis on winning it took along time for me to be content with being mediocre. "I find comparison is the killer of fun and creativity!"
I've always approached surfing as an art and not a sport. I look at where competition has lead elite surfing and really find it harder to relate to it. To me it's more like wake boarding these days. Pump, Pump Pump flick, Pump pump pump flick repeat.
Anyway theres my rant for the day.
There have been some excellent reads this week, loving the reflections. More into team sports for a competition fix myself (go Dees) but have dabbled. Anyone out there remember the inter-varsity comp at Boomerang Beach in the 70’s? Not sure the judges had performance in mind when they shared a box full of magic with the whole campground but the contribution sure got the the BBQs going,
Our uni club was more about encouraging its members to skip lectures - there was an awesome scheme to reimburse your petrol money for midweek trips during term. And then there were the Balls - we never could use the same venue twice for some reason?
Later I was in a club that really only got off the ground to protect our local and it did that effectively for a few years, only remember the parties now. Then that model sort of got copied by others without a local beach who would ‘claim’ a break on a Saturday and the saddest part of trying to make the wonderful personal activity of surfing a competition was crudely exposed - to me anyway.
Whatever, doesn’t matter at all. But memories shared add some life to conversations for sure as do the stories on these enjoyable blogs. It’s the wave I haven’t ridden yet that really matters (I’m fighting the ageing, not quitting, for sure). See you out the back or on the hill.
If you read this article and your only thoughts and comments are about competition surfing then you either have no kids or no heart!
Beautiful piece of writing about humanity and survival! If I lost one of my boys im not sure how I could go on, you are a absolute inspiration
Yeah blah blah I once blah blah did this sick turn and all the boys did this reach around things blah blah I think its called soggy sayos or something blah blah at winki or something!
Fuck just go surfing for yourself to be a better human and connect with nature imo fuck the rest of the bullshit.
Buuuut if it gives u some purpose and strength to get through something traumatic or the strength and purpose to be a better human then hey go for it who am I to judge!
sympathy and best wishes.
my long-standing reference point for humans competitive nature in general is Wayne Lynch. (disclaimer, the closest I have been to him is my favourite board ever, a 7" single fin gun). (seemed) the definition of a "soul-surfer", who also happened to be the best surfer in the world, and thus wanted to, and did, prove it. any field of human endeavour from surfing to doing a Rubik's cube ends up being a competition somewhere to prove who is the best. and to all the current "soul-surfers" blah, blah, blah, who deride competition, we all know if you were good enough you would be doing 3 to the beach
Hahaha if your good enough 3 to the beach Hahaha thanks for the laugh mate! Not sure how not agreeing with ' competition' makes you a "soul surfer" but u run with that if it makes u feel good
Thanks Mick,
Great read, beautifully articulated and I appreciate your thoughts on the camaraderie and support of organised surfing.
My experience is different, always preferred to surf rather than watch. For me surfing is a very individual experience, half art/half sport, total hedonism (according to Mrs Guine!)
thanks for that mick - heartbreaking as it was - I'm just coming into the loving "mates" relationship with my 21 year old son..its glorious..to have that suddenly taken away from me after all the hard work of the kiddies years? My heart goes out to you.
I've never been in a board club; been in enough footy clubs to know there's good'n'bad in all of them - processes & people. But making connections with humans is important, the virus has made that clear , its goona be the BIG story for 2022 and beyond IMO - "giving back" is underrated in terms of its healing powers for both parties IMO.
go in peace today mick - good man
I was there mtp as pres of Melb Uni. We couldn't surf but geez we could drink! The balls were awesome - 1st one we had Oz Crawl and Cold Chisel, 2nd INXS and 3rd Oils - a fair line-up! Those petrol vouchers were a great lark as was the free park at the uni for being pres. PS Go Dees too!
Inspiring read, and some great accolades to boot. However, I agree with your sentiment around competition surfing. I feel that at its core surfing is a lifestyle more than a sport and therefore it should never be thrust into a competition arena.
To compete within yourself ,excellent.Travel further,take on bigger and heavier waves ,grow.
Organised surf contests ? Shit.Pointless .
I view surfing as an individual pursuit and see no reason to subject oneself to the wankfest that surf contests are.
Not a fan of the circus.
what a great read, I laughed and cried through the whole article.. wish I had thought of tying the kids to a tree with a leg rope...what a great idea..
Do competitions suck?
Yes. Yes they do.
Not so sure working to increase "participation levels" in surfing is a goal in tune with most surfer's interests if you pay any attention to comments on recent covid surf crowds.
Not a worry if you don't surf anymore i guess.
"Increasing participation levels" (ie creating an even more crowded surfing environment) is the work of a group "of diverse, talented, and progressive thinkers " is it???....oxymoronic? or just moronic?
A clever play on words Goofy4, but rather myopic.
I also said participation is only part of what we do. Eg: During Tassie's lockdown last year, beaches under state control were closed, effectively banning surfing at all but a few locations. That same group of morons successfully lobbied the government on behalf of all surfers, STAS members or not.
Under future lockdowns, beaches are open for all. Aloha!
Spot on observation - really ought have read, "straight out of the corporate jargon manual"......
Great article Mick! We’ve just tapped back into that community/family vibe through the awesome boardriders club that is “Sandon Point Boardriders” having moved to the gong, and my 11 yo son is frothing on getting out in the water with his mates. Looking forward to teach him how to swat March flies on one of our yearly summer trips soon! Aloha Mick.
Thanks Mick for the insight. Yeah, competition, neither here nor there, mainly there but I was involved in a boardriders that really bought together the local community and didn't really get too competition focused. Probably more to do with our general lack of quality surf. It's disbanded now but the same faces are still there, still surfing and especially on those days the local gets good.
On a sidenote, am I right in remembering there was a documentary about Mick a few years ago? If so, is it available anywhere?
It's called Rogue Waves by Mick Lawrence and is available on Vimeo on Demand or Amazon Prime.
Cheers Mick, much appreciated. I will check it out.
Great article Mick - do you know the Norwegian golfer, Viktor Hovland? You're the spitting image of him in your youth.
Great read Mick! Just watched your Doco it's well worth look, never been to Tassie but it looks absolutely amazing and to see how getting out among nature has kept you going awesome.
Cheers Mate
Any takers yet to be one of them pack mule slave thingos to carry bags for the talented, progressive thinking brainiacs?