Surfers ride wave of community spirit

TORQUAY Boardriders Club has rallied around a club legend, celebrated life members and crowned its club champions at a presentation evening this month.

Surfers gathered as a group after months of frustration caused by cancelled events to celebrate the positives of the past year.

The event helped promote TBC’s support for stalwart Damien Wilson, who is fighting cancer and facing further rounds of chemotherapy into next year.

A club fundraiser for the former Torquay open men’s surfing champion ticked over its $25,000 goal last week.

Meanwhile, the club’s cohort of life members were in high spirits during the end-of-year festivities.

TBC managed four senior and three junior events during 2021, including a six-to-eight-foot perfect offshore aggregate at Bells Beach that club president Harry Mann described as the best surf conditions for a club event he had seen during his tenure.

The club awarded its end-of-year club champions, with Lewy Oates winning the men’s division and Mia Huppatz in the women’s.

Majka Brodecky, Delilah Chisolm and Dune Pruvot won junior awards.

The club’s Noah Clifford said the presentation night was a fitting finish to a rollercoaster 2021.

“What a way to bring the community together and remember that whatever comes down the line our community can be there to support each other through thick and thin,” he said.