Well what a massive year. So much has happened in and around the club. 2014 was milestone year for the clubs as we celebrated our 30th consecutive season. Without doubt 2014 was the biggest season we have ever had. Record membership – 198 surfing members aged 5 through to 65. We also had 100 paid social members who formed part of the Club 100.
We raced daylight in every one of our comps this year due to massive numbers and we actually ran out of daylight in our May comp so the B Graders had to wait until the June comp to run that final. Whilst the waves weren’t exactly memorable the level of surfing was something else. Yes you say the same about every generation that comes through but the current crop are a cut above. When kids in the Micro’s are throwing reverse airs in heats and every cadet and junior is throwing fins out of every hack you have to sit back and marvel at what these guys are doing. These kids really stamped their presence locally and on the Oz scene
Locally Youngster Max McGuigan came of age. Max clean sweeped the awards this year winning won this years A Grade Championship + the Fish Buchan Open Club Champion + the Junior Boys title. All at the tender age of 15!! He now holds the record as the youngest ever A Grade champ. A record which was held by last year’s champ Monty who won the A grade title as a 16 year old in 2012. Max is all class and was one of many great stories this year. Looking at the list on 2014 champions Zoe Cass and Charlotte Wilson went back to back in their respective divisions and we had 5 first time champs. Congratulations to all Divisional champions. It was an amazing effort by you all to keep the focus over the entire season to claim the crown.
2014 Champions
Micro Boys – Grayson Hinrichs
Micro Girls – Zoe Cass
Cadet Girls – Charlotte Wilson
Cadet Boys – Zac Michael
Junior Boys – Max McGuigan
Open Women’s – Emma McGuigan
B Grade – Rich Cass
Grand Masters – Greg Watling
A Grade – Max McGuigan
Perpetual trophy winners
Most Improved – Koda Killorn
Fish Buchan Open Club Champion – Max McGuigan
Junior Club Champion – Zac Michael
Clubman of the Year – Gary O’Rourke / Jamie Killorn
– Gary was the Micros manager this year. With a record number of participants Gary’s focus and attention helped make the day as fun as possible for all competitors and Parents.
– Jamie’s was a huge help in the running of our micros divisions this year. From judging to getting sponsors for the micros to organising prizes this man had it all covered.
On the Australian and international scene our members have also been killing it. This year every Regional champion came from our club. Congrats to the Regional Champs
Boys
U/12 – Koda Killorn
U/14 – Tye Koolis
U/16 – Max McGuigan
U/18 – Monty Tait
Girls
U/14 – Bella Keating Follas
U/18 – Emma McGuigan
Overall 15 of the kids represented the Southside region at the NSW State Titles at Coffs Harbour .
At the State titles Jackson Giles took out the prestigious U/18 Boys title and booked himself a ticket to the Oz Championships in WA. Max McGuigan placed 5th and also earned himself a spot on the NSW team in WA. His sister Emma McGuigan finished 6th in the U/18 Girls.
Other individual highlights in 2014 include
Jackson Giles has had a wow of a year taking out a number of events across the country including
* 1st Rip Curl National Championship – Dec 2013
* 1st Coolum U/16 Gromsearch – Dec 2013
* He represented Australia in the International Gromsearch Championships at the famous Lakey Peak in Indo
* Jackson also tore apart the Pro Junior series this year with 3 x runner-up finishes and placing 6th in the Australian rankings and recently he won the Volcom Pro Am at Avalon and will represent Oz again at the Volcom World Champs in Huntington in 2015 * Rated 12th in ASL’s Hottest 100 Groms poll
Monty Tait has also set his sights on bigger things. Right at the end of last year he finished 2nd in the Australian Titles (U/18 Boys) and at the same time picked up a major sponsor Vissla. He represented Australia at the ISA Junior World Games in Ecuador and finished 9th in the U18 boys. Monty also competed in a number of WQS events this year and made it through to the 4th Round of 5 Star WQS event @ the Sooruz Lacanau Pro in France. Monty also was made the cut in ASL’s Hottest 100 Groms poll coming in at 32.
Max McGuigan has also made a name for himself on the Oz circuit with a number of finals appearances and taking out
* 1st Cronulla U/14 Gromsearch
* 1st Dee Why U/14 Wahu Grom comp
Max also made the Hottest 100 Grom list coming in at #71. An awesome 1st up showing considering most of the guys on the list are 3 to 5 years older. No doubt we will see Max climb the list in coming years
Emma McGuigan also won the U/17 Australian SLSC Surfing Championship in WA
There have also been a number of kids that have had podium finishes in other events all over the country through the year. Here are a couple of articles published a few months back with all the details
http://southendboardriders.com.au/groms-ripping-it-up-all-over-the-place/
http://southendboardriders.com.au/whats-been-going-on/#more-2150
As I said earlier it has been a memorable year with so many highlights
* Record numbers turning up to the 1st sign on night at The Sands Hotel
* The team ripping it up in the massive waves at this year’s Buckler to Bra finishing 3rd
* Rich’s speech at the Buckler to Bra presso. He can’t remember it but boy it was a ripper and one that will go down in local folklore. Seriously the loudest cheer came after DC’s speech. Rich summed up exactly what our club is about “Giving the next generation a go” It’s time for us old guys to step aside and let the young rippers shine.
* The Kirra teams. What do I say? A killer event. A killer weekend. We placed 20th (2nd best NSW team) and we had a ball.
* Big waves and great turnout at the Baxter. Mick Winders band rocked the Sands which was capacity packed.
* Record turnout for Forster comp. The biggest turnout for a Forster event ever left some locals unhappy. Thankfully old Prez Kalvin helped sooth over any issues (with torch light in hand)
* Big turnout to annual presso at Byrne reserve
In the background the team have just kept on doing those little subtle things that keep things ticking over most of us wouldn’t know of but are equally worthy of a shout out.
Our digital platforms continue to keep our members & the community updated and engaged. Our resident IT Pro Richard Cass upgraded and re-designed our website. The upgrade has seen us add a number of user friendly options have really kept our members and the general public engaged and informed of what the club and our surfers are doing. Site traffic has increased by 40% this year and we are closing in on 23,000 hits for 2014. Our other social platforms continue to engage the public. We now have over 1000 Facebook friends and over 550 Instagram followers.
On the Regional scene clubman Matt Lawson took over the running of the Southside Region. He already is working hard with SNSW to ensure that all talented surfers in the region are given the opportunity to reach their potential in our sport.
The club has forged relationships with a number of organisations and have run surfing event on their behalf throughout the year. They include Scots College, SNSW and thanks to club member Martin Fisher we have recently formed a partnership with the Australian Army Reserve and we help them run their annual comp. The club has also worked in with the local Aboriginal community group (lead by club member Mel Leaudais) Weave’s Kool Kids Club. This group provide an educational outreach and prevention program for children aged 7-13 years living in La Perouse and surrounding areas. Thanks to Mel for bringing the kids down to very comp. We love seeing the stoke on the kids faces every time they compete.
Finally the biggest thanks has to go to all our sponsors. Thanks to each and every one of you for your continued support of this club. Without your support we wouldn’t be able to do what we do.
The Sands Hotel
SDS
SurfWorld Surf shop Bondi
NG Mototek
RagDoll Surfboards
Mellick Wealth Management
Walsh’s Pharmacy
Blake Thornton Surf Coaching
Surfing NSW
Randwick Council
So yeah season 30 was massive. Bring on 31. Have a great Christmas and New Year everyone. Enjoy the festive season and hopefully Huey delivers some swell over the summer. See you all in 2015.