The Sunshine Coast is set to put competitive bodysurfing on the map.
The region will play host to the International Bodysurfing Association (IBSA) World Tour Finals from April 28 to May 7.
Ninety-six elite bodysurfers from 15 countries, including Australia, will descend on Coolum and four regional surf beaches to vie for the (male and female) world champion crown over four days of thrilling competition.
The five official locations are Coolum Beach and Point Perry, Point Cartwright, Wurtulla Beach, Kings Beach Groyne and Mooloolaba Spit.
The event, itself, stretches across 10 days, giving organisers the opportunity to pick and choose when and where the competition will take place, depending on the most favourable surf conditions.
Competitors will be given 24 hours’ notice of where they’re next competing.
Australasian team member and Coolum local Glen Murphy said this flexibility would make the competition more “exciting”.
“Usually competitions are on a set day and you have to go in whatever the conditions – whether it’s really windy, big or small waves,” he said.
“Whereas with this event window, it means we can pick where to go to get the best conditions. So, that’s exciting.”
“It’ll probably raise the standard of competition, too, which makes it harder, but that’s good.”
It’s only in the past 10 years that he has put fins on and adopted bodysurfing as a sport.
The Coolum Wedge festival three years ago marked his entrée into competitive bodysurfing.
“It was a lot more fun the first time around than I expected it to be,” he said.
“I’d done boardriders (competitive club surfing) and a few other surfing competitions, but this bodysurfing one’s good.
“It’s a bit different in the heat because you can’t really move around as fast as you can on a surfboard.
“With bodysurfing, it’s more about just getting the right waves and what you can do on it.
“I guess it’s a bit more critical where you take off in bodysurfing.”
The 39-year-old veteran surfer is part of a growing legion of Australians diving headlong into competition bodysurfing.
This year, Australasian teammates include former multi-Olympic gold medallist and retired Australian swimmer Susie O’Neill.
And at just 15 years’ old, Pipi Cathcart, from Buderim, is the team’s youngest competitor to secure a direct spot in the finals.
In fact, 40 per cent of the Australasian team hail from the Sunshine Coast.
Coolum Wedge co-founder Lynda Franklin is among them.
She first embraced bodysurfing as rehabilitation after she sustained a sports injury.
She ventures out with the 79ers: a disparate group which has been bodysurfing at Coolum for 40 years. The participants range in age from teens to octogenarians and they go out every day, rain, hail or shine.
The 62-year-old Coolum local has organised what she describes as “a couple of fun bodysurfing competitions” in Noosa and the Gold Coast.
But it was with Darren Verrenkamp that she co-founded the Coolum Wedge Bodysurf Festival in 2021.
That was during COVID-19 and they thought they’d attract 40 competitors. But 80 registered, from around Australia. Last year, they had 115 people register, including competitors from overseas.
“If you said to us in our first year, ‘Hey, look, you’ll be running a world title in four years’ time’ … What? I don’t think so. But yeah, it’s just kind of turned out that way because of the success of the Coolum Wedge, which is sponsored by Bendigo Bank Sunshine Coast,” she said.
Sunshine Coast Council has helped fund the world titles
Given its Major Events status, Ms Franklin said one of council’s sponsorship requirements is to livestream the event around the world via Coolum Wedge’s YouTube channel.
“Wherever people are in the world, they’ll see what’s happening over the four competition days, subject to a 20-second streaming delay, so that’s pretty amazing,” she said.
IBSA secretary-general Darren Verrenkamp said that while the Sunshine Coast is famous for its beautiful beaches and great surf, the event was also an opportunity to experience more of what the region has to offer.
The event organisers will send a 4WD bus to Double Island Point via the beach and have arranged an excursion to Australia Zoo.
Plus, a raft of cafes and restaurants in Coolum will be offering discounts to competitors.
“It’s going to be amazing to see what these competitors can do on a wave and it doesn’t have to be massive conditions to really be awed by some of the talent that will be on display there,” he said.
Sunshine Coast Mayor Rosanna Natoli said that securing the titles was a fantastic coup for the region.
“We are thrilled to welcome the World Bodysurfing Titles to the Sunshine Coast, bringing together the best bodysurfers from 15 countries,” she said.
“The titles will showcase the Sunshine Coast as a premier destination for international sporting events and help drive sustainable economic growth for our community.”
Leading into the world titles, the Coolum Wedge Bodysurfing Festival will take place from April 25-27.
The all-ages and all-abilities event on the Sunshine Coast is known for its fun and camaraderie.
Ms Franklin said the focus is on “having a go” and the collaborations that occur between competitors.
