A great result: long-time Lorne visitor stays and wins

St Kilda beach volleyballer Allister Lyne notched up an unexpected victory in Lorne recently – and you could do the same.

Allister entered the Surf Coast Shire council’s Lorne Stay & Win competition, which draws 10 people each week to win local spend cards valued up to $500.

People who spend at least $150 on accommodation up until 26 June can upload their receipt before or during the stay for a chance to win.

Allister ventured down the Great Ocean Road for the annual Lorne Classic beach volleyball tournament in April.

“We’ve been running the event in Lorne for the past 13 years,” he said. “We went down there one year and had such a good time, that we kept coming back.

“It’s such a beautiful place, the people are super friendly and the beach is lovely.

“We have around 70 people per day competing and they come from all over.”

The Vic Beach Volleyball director learnt about the Lorne Stay & Win competition from a local business owner.

“One of the players is friends with David, who runs Lorne Crêpes,” Allister said.

“He gave us crêpe vouchers for the winners and said ‘By the way, did you know the competition is running?’.

“I posted to our socials and was so excited to be one of the winners.

“We won $300 which we spent on a couple of pairs of pants from The Lorne Corner Store.”

Allister highlighted the warmth of the Lorne community.

“We set up at the beach and the people at the Surf Life Saving Club are wonderful,” he said.

“We all enjoy supporting the Lorne economy each year, booking accommodation and spending at local businesses such as Pizza Pizza. This year we ordered 45 pizzas for everyone on the Saturday.”

Lorne Stay & Win is courtesy of the 2026 Mapei Cadel Evans Great Ocean Road Race professional teams, which kindly donated all prize money from the Surf Coast Classic.

The men’s and women’s classic races, which start in Lorne, were cancelled in January due to bushfire risk.

It was a tough summer for Lorne businesses, which were impacted by both flooding and high fire risk on what would usually be their busiest weekends of the year.

Councillor Leon Walker said it was pleasing to see the weekly list of Lorne Stay & Win winners.

“The competition is helping drive bookings for accommodation providers and more customers for shops, cafes and attractions,” he said.

“If you’re considering a getaway, I encourage you to come to Lorne, the Great Ocean Road region and hinterland.

“It’s a wonderful place to visit, all year-round, including when the weather gets a bit cooler because there’s still so much to do and see.

“It’s also not too far to travel for people in the greater Geelong region and Melbourne.”

For competition details and to enter, visit iamlorne.com.au

//SPONSORED CONTENT