Voting opens for 50 Year Storm field

The community has been invited to cast their vote for who should take a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity at Bells Beach later this year to take on the biggest swell of the winter to honour one of their own and raise awareness for mental health.

The Bells Beach 50 Year Storm Invitational will see local legend Shaun Brooks honoured as a field of family, friends, local surfing royalty and big-wave chargers paddle out for a one-day invitational contest of 100 per cent pure adrenaline at Bells.

Brooks, a former World Junior and Victorian Open champion, took his own life in 2012 after a long battle with mental illness.

“Shaun was always at home in big waves and especially loved Bells Beach, so it’s great to have an event where he’d be in his element at big Bells,” said Shaun’s younger brother, Troy Brooks, who himself surfed on the World Championship Tour for four years and is the number one invitee for the 50 Year Storm.

Last year was the inaugural year for the 50 Year Storm, and although the winter delivered swells at Bells Beach at about the minimum 12 feet mark, conditions weren’t perfect, so the event did not run.

The waiting period for this year’s event begins on June 2 – which will be marked with an opening ceremony – and closes on August 31.

The big change from last year’s event is that the field has grown from 18 surfers to 30, with 25 of these places in the field voted on by the public. The other five wildcards will be decided by the Brooks family and the 50 Year Storm committee.

The tight-knit Torquay surfing community and surf industry has swung behind the event. Last year $10,000 was donated to charities One in Five and Headspace, which will benefit the local community.

The event channels the history of Bells Beach, with its title a reference to 1991 cult movie Point Break where lead character Bodhi paddles out at Bells in the “50-year storm” never to return.

To vote before April 26, head to coastalwatch.com or surveymonkey.com/r/HNGWVJ6.