Junk surf conditions might have forced the organisers to cancel the Guinness World Record attempt for the most surfers on the same wave, but visitors to Kirra were still treated to an array of different beach and surf activities.

The surf forced the Rhythm Junior Kirra Surf Teams Challenge to travel to Letia Spit to find contestable waves where the Snapper Rocks club took the honours.

Travis Grant handled the conditions better than Paul Jackson and Kelly Margetts in the Greenline Paddle Surf SUPS race, with Shakira Wesdorp winning the womens, Nick McDonald the Over 40;s and Jamie Willems the Novice.

In the Sizzler Oceans 38 Young Guns, Tannum Sands won the U23 Men, Picnic Bay the U23 Women and Alexander Headlands the U 19 men.

Up off the sand the crowd were treated to 2 days of music from bands like Issac Paddon & the Tides, Band of Frequencies, Gavin Doniger’s Muscalito Blues and Jack & the Giant Killers. Sophie Harris won the Gold Coast Surf Girl Quest and a trip for two to Bali.

The Kings and Queens of the Beach Volleyball ended up attracting several state ranking players and five international players.

Lachlan Roth won the mens tournament from Adam Blackurn, Sean Thomas and Craig Gillet all from Australia. The international competitors dominated the womens division with Shauna Mullen, Lucy Boulton, Denise Johns all from the UK 1st, 2nd, & 3rd and Justine Mowen (Aust) 4th.

Conditions cleared up with an almost offshore for the early this morning, but by race time (slightly delayed) onshore was up, making a difficult (slightly changed) course.

Couple of hiccups getting the race underway, but I am told these things rarely run smoothly and as the first event I’ve done, learned a lot along the way.

A big thanks to Jamie Mitchell, who just rocked up to have a look in at the race, and ended up going out in the IRB to correctly reposition the marker buoys, and then taking the microphone to give running commentary and interviews throughout the race. No-one could have done it better, and the race would not have been the same without his input.

Huge effort put in by all competitors, with Travis taking out the Pro Mens division after taking the lead from the start. It was far from an easy race for him though, as hot on his heels was Jacko, followed by Kelly, Peasi, and Macca (1st Open), all trading places throughout the race with a lot of offs all round.

Shakira blitzed the Pro Womens coming 10th overall, and Jenny Ryan and Angie had a battle going that saw Jen getting away in the later stage of the race. Alison Fulagar (Ali Cat) put in a never-say-die effort to complete the course and finish fourth, limping over the finish line, after injuring her hip. Fantastic to see the girls giving the blokes a run for their money.

The Amateurs category was also hotly contested, with GSI’s Jamie Willems taking out the class and winning his own prize offering, which was handed on to second placed Ben Cox. Danny Sheard was right behind these two to round off the podium.

Pro Mens
Travis Grant 1st DC
Paul Jackson 2nd Naish Catalina
Kelly Margetts 3rd Lahui Kai
Troy Pease 4th Secret Agent
Andy Davies 5 DC
Peter Dorries 6
Woogie Marsh 7 Coreban Alpha
Dale Chapman 8 DC
Greg Long 9 Lahui Kai
Simon Hunnybun 10 Deep
Gavin Smith 11 DC
Mark Horsfeld 12 DC

Pro Womens
Shakira Wesdorp 1st Lahui Kai
Jenny Ryan 2nd DC
Angela Jackson 3rd SIC
Alison Fulagar 4th Lahui Kai

Open/Over 40′s
Nick McDonald 1st Naish Glide
Mick DiBetta 2nd Lahui Kai
Steve Quiller 3rd Naish Glide
Steve Walker 4th Naish Glide
Alain Teurquetil 5 DC
Noel Graham 6
Brett Williams 7
Scott Shambrook 8
Peter Turner 9
Julian Blanchard 10

Novice
Jamie Willems 1st 12′ 7S
Ben Cox 2nd
Danny Sheard 3rd Kalama 11’6
Justin Holland 4th
Chris Chamberlain 5 BiG ReD
Matt Prior 6 12′ 7S
Aaron Prior 7
Wayne Johnstone
Serge Pasquarelli 9
Rod Clark 10
Andrew Edhouse 11 PSH 9’2!
Salatiela Cockburn 12
Jason Voght 13
Kylie Seabrook 14
Cory Godfrey 15
Peter Morley 16

Woodstock was remarkable in that it brought about a change in peoples perception of how to live their lives through music. Some 40 years later Woodstock’s namesake, Kirra Surfstock is doing the same as it helps to raise awareness of coastal management concerns affecting the surf and our beloved beaches. Through two days of music, surfing, sport and environmental activities it is hoped that people’s lives and our beaches will be better.

There is a range of surfing activities from learn to surf and stand up paddle lessons that anyone can try. For future world champion surfers there is the Rhythm Kirra Jnr Team Challenge. Greenline Stand Up Paddle Surf racing has divisions for amateur as well as professional competitors and the Sizzler Young Guns Surfboats will be showcasing their skills.

One surf activity that anyone can get involved with is the ‘Most Surfers on a Wave’. This is an official world record attempt and anyone who can catch a wave and standup on a surfboard can participate.  Presently the record is 110 surfers set at the Earthwave Festival in Cape Town in 2009.

Beach soccer will hold free coaching clinics before the Kirra Surfstock Beach Soccer Challenge and the Kings and Queens of the Beach Volleyball will be opening their season.

A bevy of local beauty will feature in the Gold Coast Surf Girl Quest as the girls present this summers beach fashions.

A variety of foods from Africa, Hungary, the Middle East, Japan & Thailand will be available along with the new taste sensation with fresh squeezed sugar cane drinks. There will be a range of beach wear, art and community initiatives on display both days.

Live music sees some of Australia’s home grown talent along with a smattering of international artists that now call Australia home and several with a definite surf theme perform on the stage over the two days including Band of Frequencies, Isaac Paddon and the Tides, Hayden Hack Infusion, Jack and The Giant Killers and Gavin Doniger’s Mescalito Blues.

The Bobby Brown Photographic Exhibition depicting surfing images from 40 years ago opens Kirra Surfstock at the Surfworld Museum on Thursday night.

Surfrider Foundation will be hosting a Film and Music night at Rainbow Bay SLSC on Friday at which Taylor Steele’s new surf film ‘Castles in the Sky’ will be playing with live music by blues and roots singer/songwriter Adam Scriven.

SurfAid International will present a combination of a picture exhibition, short movie presentation and live acoustic music evening at Kirra SLSC on Saturday night.

Keep Australia Beautiful Queensland’s Clean Beaches competition will be judging our foreshore or beaches very soon. Over 7 billion tons of litter ends up in the worlds’ oceans every year, threatening coastal wildlife, sea life and the environmental health. In saying this we need your support to help keep Gold Coast’s beaches clean, safe and healthy.

Clean Beaches identifies the heroes on our coast taking action and caring for a beach or foreshore, litter prevention initiatives, resource recovery and waste management, environmental innovation and protection, water conservation, sustainable energy management and heritage and culture preservations.

To take out the Clean Beaches title, a beach community must not only be clean, but strongly committed and proactive about the beach environment. Griffith University Centre for Coastal Management’s BeachCare Program won the Individual Outstanding State award last year, while Surfers Paradise was awarded the Friendliest Beach.  As the Gold Coast has the some of the best beaches in the world, let’s get together and show the nation how we sustainably care for our ionic beaches and foreshores!

Gavin Doniger’s Mescalito Blues to Headline at KSS Festival and GC Surf Girl Quest to Showcase Beach Fashions and Beauty

A natural inclusion at this year’s Kirra Surfstock is the unique duo, Gavin Doniger’s Mescalito Blues who are just back from another successful tour to the UK and the USA. Gavin Doniger’s Mescalito Blues combines the gritty vocals, swampy blues guitar, rhythmic stomp box and hypnotic harmonica to create a sound much bigger than its parts. Gavin Doniger’s family involvement with Kirra goes back several generations. His grandfather is a life member of Kirra SLSC and started North Kirra SLSC back in the early 40′s.

Saturday’s lineup is headlined by pro surfer Issac Paddon & the Tides who made a strong impression last year with their appearance to close the 2009 Kirra Surfstock. Their songs are sung with passion, and performed bursting with emotion. They perform raw organic folk rock, with a smooth taste of the Caribbean strongly influenced from artists like Neil Young, Bob Marley, the Beatles, Jeff Buckley and Bob Dylan. The diversity in Isaac’s music taste shines through in his own creations.

On the Saturday the main support band will be the Band Of Frequencies who draw their influences from a wide spectrum of styles and sounds; roots laden, heavy grooving rock and soul merges into ambient acoustics and electronic influences that then meets blues at the crossroads. BOF have appeared at many of the major east coast festivals as well as providing soundtracks for several surfing DVD’s.

The festival starts with local acts including last years favorites Tokyo Beef Tokyo Beef, a five piece original Rock ‘n’ Roll band from Burleigh Heads before coming back to a more earthy sound from Broadfoot who aim to satisfy the soul with a heady ever evolving collection of danceable intelligent original material. From there Irishman Alan Boyle will entertain us with his mix of alternate blues/rock/folk songs.

Also on Saturday’s lineup are local crooners GAS. With their Jazz, Blues sound they will bring a more soothing sound to the festival before Cupids Bullet hits the stage. This three piece Gold Coast indie rock/dance sound forces the listener into a state of perpetual motion which only ends with the sound of the last note.

More local bands are up on stage from 10am Sunday morning before local trio the Lamplights whose sound is best described as an organic blend of funk and folk, served with a side of blues, sprinkled liberally with jazz perform.

Adam Scriven is next up with his sweeping lap-slide guitar licks, lively rhythms and upbeat vocal styles, his impressive mix of blues, folk and roots is captivating audiences along Australia’s East Coast.

A different pace will be set when the entrants in the Gold Coast Surf Girl Quest take to the stage. Under the watchful guidance of the Reeder Management Agency the girls will demonstrate to the audience some of this seasons beach fashions.

The underlying dance beats of a combination of Funk, Jazz and Rock will resume the music when the Hayden Hack Infusion resumes the music program followed by Jack and the Giant Killers with their high energy acoustic rock before Gavin Doniger’s Mescalito Blues rounds out the festival.

Saturday 13th November

Kandy McCouat

Tokyo Beef

Nyge Maunder

Kate Leopold and Sarah

Broadfoot

Alan Boyle

Gas

Cupids Bullet

Band of Frequencies

Isaac Paddon and The Tides

Sunday 14th November

Chris Mallory

Karl Williams

Jaya

The Lamplights

Adam Scriven

Gold Coast Surf Girl Quest

The Hayden Hack Infusion

Jack and The Giant Killers

Gavin Doniger’s Mescalito Blues

Kirra Surfstock returns to Kirra Beach and with various forms of surfing including a Guinness World Record attempt on the ‘Most Surfers Riding the Same Wave’, beach games, music, cultural activities and market stalls. Spread over two days and four nights from 11th to 14th November, this year there will be over 10 bands headed by and ‘Issac Paddon & the Tides’ on the Saturday and on the Sunday by ‘Gavin Doniger’s Mescalito Blues’

Surf World Gold Coast will play host to the opening of the ‘Bobby Brown Exhibition/Tribute on Thursday 11th while Rainbow Bay is the scene for the ‘Surfriders Foundation Film & Music evening’ on the Friday evening.

Surfing begins in earnest on the Saturday at Kirra Point as 16 teams from Noosa to Coffs Harbour contest the prestigious ‘Kirra Junior Surf Teams’ title. While up on the sand their will be Beach Soccer, Volley Ball and Rugby activities.

Sunday sees 20 surf boat crews line up in the ‘Sizzler Ocean’s 38 Young Guns’ to battle both the waves and each other in this inaugural series. Along the beach the ‘Greenline Stand Up Battle of the Paddle’ will take place before the Guinness World Record attempt on the ‘Most Surfers Riding the Same Wave’ takes place.

Roughton Park on Marine Pde will see a line up of local bands as well as some of surfings finest talent with Gas, Issac Paddon & the Tides, Band of Frequencies, Cupids Bullet, Adam Scriven, Hayden Hack & the Infusion, Jack & the Giant Killers, the Lamp Lights, ‘Gavin Doniger’s Mescalito Blues’ all playing. Gold Coast Surf Magazine’s Surf Girl Quest will also be on the same stage.

Connecting Southern Gold Coast General Manager Jim Wilson said “We are pleased to be the major sponsor of Kirra SurfStock, again this year. The Festival celebrates the true history of the Southern Gold Coast and its famous Kirra precinct, which is World renowned in the annals of surfing history. Most importantly, it is a family friendly Festival.  I congratulate Queensland Events for recognizing this and supporting the Festival for the first time in 2010.”

President of Kirra Surfstock Inc. Sean McKeown said “What started out as part of the ‘Bring Back Kirra’ campaign has evolved into a celebration of what Kirra means to the surfing fraternity everywhere. The highlight of this year’s activities will be the attempt on the Guinness World Record for the most Surfers on the Same Wave. We need everyone turning up with their surfboards to be a part of this” McKeown added.

About Kirra Surfstock Inc
Kirra Surfstock originated to raise awareness of coastal management concerns affecting the Southern Gold Coast and in particular restoring Kirra Beach and Reef as a world class surfing amenity.
Kirra Surfstock Festival is an alcohol free event that celebrates Kirra and the Southern Gold Coast not only within the surfing culture but also as a family destination through multi sport and various cultural activities.

About Connecting Southern Gold Coast
Connecting Southern Gold Coast was created by the Gold Coast City Council to foster economic growth and development in the Southern Gold Coast region.
Its objective is to promote business, lifestyle, tourism, creative arts and events within the eight distinctive ‘Pure Gold’ villages – Currumbin, Currumbin Valley, Currumbin Waters, Tugun, Bilinga, Kirra, Coolangatta, Rainbow Bay

About QERDP
The QERDP is an investment program designed to extend the flow of economic and social benefits of events to regional Queensland.
A state-wide initiative, the program is committed to enhancing existing events in regional Queensland, as well as assisting in the establishment of new events.

Six different sports will be on display during the Kirra Surfstock Festival weekend this November 12-14.

Leading off the sports action will be the Rhythm Junior Kirra Surf Teams Challenge. Organisers are hoping that the conditions are right to stage the contest on Kirra Point which has been the focus of the ‘Bring Back Kirra’ campaign. Clubs from Kawana to Ballina have nominated teams including defending champions Cabarita who are keen to make it two in a row.

John Robin from Kirra Surfriders said “This is an excellent way to get the younger surfers familiar with what to expect in competition when they get older. We use the same computer scoring system as the pros. This event gives the best young surfers a really good understanding of what they will encounter in the future.”

For those wishing to learn to surf the Gold Coast Learn to Surf will be conducting entry level lessons beginning Saturday under the guidance of former professional surfer and Australian Surfing Team Coach, Dave Davidson.

Further up the sand the inaugural Kirra Surfstock Beach Soccer Challenge will be taking place beginning with a free Beach Soccer Skills clinic before two days of fun competition. Styled on the Brazilian beach soccer competitions you can expect to see goals being scored from anywhere on the pitch.

Jeff Kemp from Gold Coast Beach Soccer said “anyone can play this exciting game. Be at Kirra beach at 8.00am on 13th for a free skill clinic then join a team for a great weekend of sport on the beach.”

Also in the same area will be Beach Volley Ball which signifies the commencement of the 2010/11 season of beach volleyball in Queensland with a special launch event coordinated by Bond Beach Volleyball.

Shanon Zunker from Bond Beach Volley Ball said  “The invitational event will feature 24 of the country’s best male and female players competing in the King and Queen of the Beach format where an individual winner is establish over a series of elimination rounds. It’s an exciting twist to the game which usually is played in set teams however in this instance you get a different partner every time you play and every point counts!”

Sunday sees the activities continue including the Greenline Stand Up Paddle Race. With Stand Up Paddle competitors racing from off the beach around a set of bouys and in and out of the waves, there will be plenty of excitement for spectators and competitors alike.

Greenline Kirra Challenge organiser, Scott Penwarn from Greenline Paddle Surf, said “The ‘Kirra Challenge’ race course is set up so that the whole race will be visible from the beach as well as the surf club, and some of the biggest names in SUP will be there to show their stuff!”
Penwarn added “On the beach there will be the latest SUP boards and equipment on display and to demo, so it will be a great opportunity for people to have a go at paddling one of these standup boards.”

Along the beach round 1 of the Sizzler Ocean’s 38 “Young Guns” surf boat crews for U23 & U19 men & women will be racing. With over 20 crews expected racing is sure to be fast and furious.

Queensland Surf Rowers spokesperson, Peter Hickey said “this is the first time here in Queensland that we have focused on delivering a stand alone division for our young rowers, we see mixing our youth with the surfing culture at Kirra Surfstock will deliver a valued bonding amongst all the other surfing codes on the beach and in the surf, also it will showcase our surf rowing sport to those attending.”

Jim Wilson, General Manager of Connecting Southern Gold Coast said, “Connecting Southern Gold Coast is proud to sponsor this Festival for the second year, under our promotional banner of Southern Gold Coast-Pure Gold. Kirra Surf Stock represents all that is good at the historic Kirra Beach, for families and those of all ages, who like to participate in a variety of waterman and beach activities.”

Surfrider Foundation Gold Coast Tweed Branch presents:
Environmentally Conscious Surfboard Showcase

WHEN:     Friday 12 November 2010

TIME:       7pm
WHERE:  Rainbow Bay SLSC
COST:       $10

Surfrider Foundation will be hosting the opening night of Kirra Surf Stock featuring a showcase of environmentally conscious surfboards as part of their film and music night, at which Taylor Steele’s new surf film ‘Castles in the Sky’ will be playing.

Local surfboard shapers will have the chance to showcase their latest environmentally conscious shapes and designs. Big names such as Firewire, D’Arcy, Daniel MacDonald, Chris Garrett, and Patagonia plus many more have already committed to attend the night. There with an arrangement of boards made from recycled materials, wood, bamboo, carbon fiber, and other alternative materials other than the standard polyurethane foam and fiberglass. Guests of the event will be welcome to touch and interact with the boards and shapers.

Surfrider Foundation Gold Coast Tweed desires to inform surfers that there are surfboards being made that can last longer than 3 months and can be made with materials that are more environmentally conscious.

“It is NOT possible to make a truly “green” surfboard, but it is possible to use different materials than the standard PU foam and fiberglass. It is also possible to make a surfboard that lasts 5 times as long as the normal board, which cuts down on the rate of consumption of surfboards and the amount of surfboards that are tossed into our local landfills.” – Adam Feichtmann, President of Surfrider Foundation Gold Coast Tweed.

The event will also feature environmentally conscious surfboard gear and clothing.
Further Information can be found at: http://surfridergct.org

Surfrider Foundation is a not for profit organisation dedicated to the protection and enjoyment of the world’s oceans, waves, and beaches for all people, through C.A.R.E: Conservation, Activism, Research and Education.

For questions or more information, please contact:
Adam Feichtmann -President
Surfrider Foundation Gold Coast Tweed Branch

M/ 0430710041
E/ adam@surfridergct.org