“It’s put on by the community. Everyone brings stuff and does the organisation. There are just a couple of us who do the admin behind the scenes.”
The event is a celebration of surfing, and feels more like an “old-school” surf competition than a modern one, he says.
“Surfing’s an artform. It’s your artistic expression, and we’re celebrating the art.”
The judging criteria are based on the style and grace with which the surfer rides the wave.
This year the competition has been expanded to allow for more entries, but the open division is already filled.
Six-man heats with three surfers progressing means more people can get in the water to surf, Gibson says.
Wildcards are drawn out of a hat and will automatically advance.
A randomised seeding structure also means good surfers can clash in the early rounds and knock each other out, Gibson said.
Registrations remain open for the over-40, over-50 and over-60 men’s division, over-40 and open women’s divisions and the junior divisions.
People can enter until 5.30pm tonight outside Miharo Gallery on Gladstone Road before an art show kicks off festivities.
Surfers will enter the water at 7am, having met at Northerns to decide where the contest will be held.
Conditions look promising, with a south swell, offshore winds and warm weather forecast.
