Bells Beach in Victoria will once again host the Australian Indigenous Surfing Titles this month, showcasing our top surfing talents from across the nation. Thirty two Aboriginal Torres Strait Islander surfers will compete for the first prize of $1000 from 26-31 May. “It’s a good one to get all the Indigenous surfers together,” Steve Parker of Surfing Victoria says. “Compared to other contests, there are no egos or anything; it’s just to catch up with each other and have a surf – but everyone wants to win it of course.”
The iconic location played host to some amazing surfers last year who are back for the 2013 titles – surfers like Russ Molony, Joey Hadden and Soli Bailey. “Russ was last year’s winner. He received a wildcard for the Australian Open and ended up taking that one out as well,” Steve says. “He was up for selection for the Australian team to Compete in Panama which he’s just come back from with a 4th place in the World Opens.” The winner will receive a wildcard entry into the Australian Open Surf Masters. “It will create a pathway for them into major events and otherwise they probably wouldn’t get that opportunity,” Steve says.
The event has not been held since the mid 1990’s but was revived last year. After a hugely successful event, Surfing Victoria decided to hold the titles again this year. “The event has stopped running for about 16 years and we got it up and running for the first time in 2012 since then,” Steve says. To see what the event is all about you can watch the video from last year’s titles: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6YjPbltwaZw
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