Jan Juc pair recognised with global award

A PAIR of Jan Juc residents have been presented with SurfAid’s highest honour at a special ceremony, following months of campaigning and fundraising tens of thousands of dollars to the non-profit’s surfing programs.

James Wilson-Browne and Nathan Rivalland were presented with SurfAid’s prized Humanitarian of the Year Award at URBNSURF last week in Melbourne, following the official announcement that was made in November.

Raising $28,565 across 2021 and 2022 for SurfAid’s 30-day surf Make A Wave challenge, the pair also formed part of the Surfing Victoria team which raised more than $30,000 last year alone.

Left to right: Fundraisers James Wilson-Browne and Nathan Rivalland accompanied by Surfing Victoria staff members Tom Graham, Jarvis Cininas, and Finn Murphy at last week’s presentation.

“It was really good to get the recognition from SurfAid even though that’s not why we took part in the challenge,” Mr Wilson-Browne said.

“None of it could have been made possible without the support from the community, our friends and family, and all of the local businesses that helped us out.

“We’ll be looking to go even bigger and better this year, so keep an eye on this space, for sure.”

The avid surfers took a twist on conventional fundraising methods over the course of last year, accepting unorthodox requests from the community over their 30 days of surfing.

Examples of requests included dressing up as bacon and eggs, dying eyebrows, waxing legs and surfing in Speedos.

Fundraisers Nathan Rivalland (left) and James Wilson-Browne (right) next to SurfAid CEO Doug Lees.

Fundraising reached its peak during the pair’s fundraising night at 4 Pines Torquay in September, raising over $11,000 by way of donations and raffle prizes on the night.

Despite receiving SurfAid’s global accolade, Mr Rivalland reinforced the reasoning behind taking part in the annual fundraiser.

“The more people learn about the cause and the more they learn about what SurfAid does, the more the community will donate to the important work that they do for remote surfing communities,” Mr Rivalland said.

“We were grateful to accept the award, it’s been a massive community effort and we were very honoured to receive it.

“It was quite a shock to hear that we had won the award, but extremely humbling.”

Both Mr Wilson-Browne and Mr Rivalland have confirmed they will participate in the Make A Wave challenge again in 2023, aiming to go “bigger and better” again.