Every year, the best clubs in the country come together to compete in Surfing Australia’s ‘Australian Boardrider’s Battle’ – the ABB.
Event first rounds are competed within your state or region, with the top 4 teams fro each region moving on to the Grand Finals event in February. It’s probably the jewel of the interclub contests, and QBC have surfed in it for years.
To compete is to surf against the best in the region, and the level of surfing is out-of-this-world with CT and QS surfers in most teams
ABB is a teams event, with a slightly different format to what we’re used to at QBC. In 50 min, a team of 5 surfers can each have as many waves as they like until they’re happy with their single wave score. When all 5 have competed, if there is time, you can send your Power Surfer out for 1 more wave to add to your total. The total of the 6 waves gives your teams score to progress.
It’s a pretty cool format.
QBC surf in the NSW Central division, with some of the countries top competitive forces. The comp is held at North Narrabeen, and this year it was pretty pumping but very challenging. Our team of Winter V, Samson C, Pagey, Liliy M and Benny H have been training together for a few weeks, with coach Gez and Captain Ox shaping the performances and strategy.
With about 4-6ft on a shifty and shallow bank with a very difficult paddle, the team held well in the first round heat, with good scores from all the team. Pagey put up a 7.5 with some solid backhand rail surfing and Lily nailed a critical pocket turn on a solid wave. The 5-team heat was close, but right at the end we were pipped into 3rd position, relegating us to the must-win repechage round.
As the banks got shallower, the paddle got heavier, Samson opened with a well-surfed 6.2 within 5min putting us in the lead. Winter immediately headed out to absolutely destroy with 5 clutch turns for an 8.83 – performed with an ankle injury. With only about 4min to spare in the heat, Winter paddled out for the power wave, and took off on a solid right hander without a second to spare. He scored a 6, and sprinted up up the beach and into the box with less than 10sec to go.
The crew went wild and we’d stomped the heat with a convincing win. Through to the Quarter.
The Quarter was was wild. The banks were so shallow, and the surf was heaving with the funky offshore right and left runners. It was good, but it was difficult to find good one. Darcy Crump in the Bungan team scored a 10 in the first 5min, and though we lead through the heat with fast scoring waves, when it came down to the last surfers we were pushed into 3rd.
And that was our day.
Thanks to the massive crew who came down and cheered the team on. Also to our legend of the lens MickVW who took photos out in the sun all day.
Vibes were good, jokes were on, froth ran through the veins. Gumby was proud.
Yeuw – next year we take it.
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