The 2013 Baxter Shield is fast approaching (Saturday July 20) and we have been very busy planning the event to make it bigger and better than ever before. As always the day is focused on getting many of the older surfers back into the water on old twin fin and single fin boards, remembering their hey-day and chalking up one of the funnest days of the year at Maroubra.
The annual tag team surfing competition is in honour of colourful Maroubra local Paul ‘The Animal’ Baxter who died in 1984 in the seas off Ballina. This special surfing event has been growing in stature every year and the focus is really on just having as much fun as possible to honour the late Paul Baxter and other local surfers no longer with us. Although the day is run by Southend Boardriders it is really an event for the whole local community to get into and be a part of.
Competing surfers are allocated into predetermined teams with surfing being held on ‘retro’ twin-fin and single-fin surfboards in an effort to claim the coveted Paul Baxter Shield. Apart from the surfing there are also a few other ‘skills’ and novelty events that contribute to getting points for your team.
All members of the winning team then have their names etched into local surfing history, placed on the perpetual trophy (a surfboard) on permanent display at the Sands Hotel Maroubra. Normal contest surfing is very much an individually focused discipline whereas surfing for a team involves different strategies and skills but more importantly it is just a heap of fun!
This contest is open to all local surfers (and inter-state ex-pats) and is a pre-paid surfing event with only a limited amount of surfing spots available and will be on a ‘first in, first served’ basis. Keep in mind that there is only a maximum of 64 competing surfers on the day and we currently have over three times that amount of members in Southend alone – so get in early to guarantee your spot!
Entry is now open to anyone aged 15 and over and is a bargain at only $20 (if you register prior to June 30), which includes surfer entry, a 1-of-a-kind KILLER T-shirt, breakfast, lunch, drinks, plenty of live entertainment, great prizes, special guests and the chance to have your name forever etched in surfing history!
To register and guarantee you spot in the event simply go to http://southendboardriders.com.au/purchase/paul-baxter-shield/paul-baxter-sheild-entry/ where you can securely pay your $20 entry fee (credit card or paypal) or come down to the Sands Hotel tomorrow from 5pm to pay one of the committee in cash.
Have fun, get some waves and start practicing your soul arches for July 20!