Torquay Boardriders annual presentation night

The 41st year of the Torquay Boardriders Club (TBC) was an excellent 12 months for our club community.

As our membership numbers continue to climb, 2019 saw us implement measures to assist us in managing our growth, whilst also being conscious of retaining and reinforcing what makes the core values and history of our great club.

Competitive success in both team and individual areas is a high focus of our club, and 2019 saw many awesome performances.

In March a squad of our Angels finished third in the 35th annual Kirra Teams Challenge. This result was the highest national placing in our club’s history. It was a great show of our depth and positive outcomes from our reinvigorated Teams Training plan.

We also secured a club best result at the Australian Boardriders Battle, held at Newcastle in February. Torquay finished sixth overall after two days of intense competition against the top 24 clubs in the country.

In a quest for 10 consecutive Victoria Teams Titles wins, we finished a close second to Phillip Island Boardriders Club, whilst our Junior Team won our fourth consecutive Victorian Junior Teams Title.

2019 was a bumper year for the club, running a total of 6 Senior Aggregate events, 6 Junior Aggregate events, Hells Bells and the annual Single Fin Challenge. None of this would have been possible without the tireless work from the committee and the greater club community.

The sixth annual Hells Bells invitational went off in great waves at Bells Beach. Adam Robertson topped the pack, raising the Bunjil high.

Our junior Bells Angels brigade continue to fly the #gohardorgohome flag, with TBC members claiming countless victories at some of the biggest junior events in the country.

This week, 19 of our junior members are travelling to Western Australia to represent Victoria at the Australian Junior Titles. Our Juniors are the future of the club, and we are incredibly proud of their efforts and their positive contribution and representation of their beloved club, in and out of the water.

On Saturday night we crowned divisional champions for divisions ranging from Under 8’s through to Over 55’s. While at its essence surfing is an individual sport, I continue to be blown away at by the special way TBC serves as a gathering of such an incredible group of people, enriching our community in immeasurable ways.

The premiere Open Divisions saw some incredibly tight title races. Harry Mann and Adam Robertson tied for the Open Men’s Title on their best four results, incredibly they were separated on their 5th result, with Mann winning his maiden Open Title. The Open Women’s division was also a close battle, Bella Wilson’s three event wins saw her claim the overall crown.

Special thanks to all our ONGOING SPONSORS: Rip Curl, Quiksilver/Roxy, Strapper, Mann Legal, Furphy, XTM, Modom, Dragon, Globe, Billabong, Reef, Peaches, Dough Bros, Surf Coast Times and Southwest Automotive Services.

Many thanks to our aggregate partners throughout the year: DBS Homes, Torquay Dental, Quay Osteo and Hayden Real Estate.

We would also like to extend our gratitude to our additional supporters of the end of year presentation: Volcom, Heros Vineyard, 3rd Reef Coffee, Torquay Massage Room, Mercure Portsea – Portsea Golf Club, Rojo, SouthCoast Surf Boards, the SurfTree House, Col Edgar and Paul Creevey.

On behalf of the club and committee I would like to thank everyone who has contributed to TBC in 2019 and I am really looking forward to watching our club continue to go from strength to strength in 2020 and beyond.

Key upcoming dates:

November 27, 2019 – Annual General Meeting. 7.30pm at the Surfing Victoria offices.

January 18, 2020 – Juniors Aggregate 1

January 26, 2020 – Single Fin Event

February 8, 2020 – Seniors Aggregate 1

February 15, 2020 – Australian Boardriders Battle National Final, Newcastle.

Cahill Bell-Warren

President

#GOHARDORGOHOME