Media statement from the North West Surfing Alliance
AUSTRALIA, 14 September, 2018 - The position and future of world surfing’s cultural integrity lies in the balance on the wave-lashed shores of Western Australia this year.
The Kalbarri Boardriders (KBR) and the collaborative alliance of the original North West Surfing Alliance (NWSA) are opposing any World Surf League (WSL) competitions being held at Jakes Point in Kalbarri, Gnaraloo, or at Red Bluff now and into the future.
By way of background, the KBR were contacted by Surfing WA in early August 2018 and were informed that they were exploring all options to pick a site - and ‘sacred’ Jakes Point (a National Surfing Reserve) was considered option #1 for a global WSL event; so KBR held an immediate meeting where a unanimous decision was made not to support any WSL competition being held at Jakes Point as per our club Constitution.
The Surfing WA (SWA) representatives met with the CEO and President of the local Shire of Northampton the next day and KBR were asked to attend this meeting. It was agreed at this meeting that all future dealings would be “open and transparent”.
However, this was not to be the case as, of most recent and subsequent meetings, KBR/NWSA were excluded from meetings held with the Northampton Shire, the regional local government body.
On 24 August 2018, the CEO of the Northampton Shire informed a representative advocate on our behalf, by telephone, that the meeting between the Shire and Surfing Western Australia, the WSL, or Tourism WA was (verbatim quote) “private”. As a result, the NSWA is intending to lodge (as of 17 September 2018) a formal Freedom of Information request seeking that the Shire of Northampton deliver within 45 days, the true and accurate record of discussions between these inter-related state and local government funded entities, which are claimed by (NS) to be unavailable and undisclosable to the general public or the surfing community, locally or nationally.
Information from any (secret) meeting between a government-funded body (SWA) and any senior local government officers (Shire of Northampton) under legislative provisions of the Western Australian Local Government Act should be made available to the public.
We feel this is a violation of the trust that was given in our initial dealings with SWA and now, as major stakeholders of our home surfing break, we feel like we have been excluded from all discussions.
This behaviour is not democratic, improper and in our view, entirely ‘un-Australian’.
On the 21st March 2010 a National Surfing Reserve was enshrined in Kalbarri with the imprimatur of the then WA state government with Speaker of the House, the Hon. Grant Woodhams MLA and Mr Brad Farmer, founder and chairman of National Surfing Reserves unveiled the official Declaration plaque at the Reserve. Its zone comprising the beaches from Jakes point to the Murchison river mouth with the full, ‘signed-off’ community involvement and support.
The States and Commonwealth backed Surfing Reserves program exists to recognise iconic sites of intrinsic social, historic, environmental and cultural importance to Australian surfing. All 23 prestigious Surfing Reserves in Australia have had the backing of Governors, Ministers of State, Mayors and Prime Ministers. In fact, the current Australia Prime Minister, Scott Morrison MP is the Patron of the Cronulla National Surfing Reserve.
This particular reserve at Kalbarri was endorsed by the state government, the Northampton Shire, our community and significantly the local Aboriginal Nunda elders.
The Kalbarri Board Riders have a long history and we are now second and third generation surfers, who, like our forefathers, on this limited capacity break (~8) are carrying on family traditions. We spread the ashes of our departed family and loved ones at Jakes Point, for that reason and many intrinsic others, we and National Surfing Reserves consider this iconic spot ‘sacred’.
We have protected and revegetated the area over many years. We have always volunteered our services at all the beaches and across our tight-knit town for various projects that require members of the community to help out and pitch in.
The accusation that we, the surfing community, do not want tourism is false.
We are in favour of ecologically and socially sustainable tourism. We do not wish to hurt the tourism reputation of Kalbarri as most of us make a living from it in some form or another.
The surfers from Kalbarri are active members of the local community and are made up of local business owners, tourism operators, emergency volunteers, nurses, fisherman, holiday accommodation owners, builders, farmers - just to name a few.
If you take a moment and think about why members of the community have found themselves in Kalbarri it’s for two main reasons: the excellent remote surf experience; or lure of work from the cray fishing industry.
Now that the cray fishing industry has gone from 20 boats down to just five, people have had to find other ways to earn a living but have stayed put, because of the surfing lifestyle that we all have grown to love.
There has never been a professional surfing contest at Jakes and through the years this laidback way of life has been passed down from generations and we have come to accept that and embrace it. KBR don’t even have our own boardriders events at Jakes. Once a year KBR holds a Memorial Day at Jakes to remember our friends that have passed and this year we have had to cancel that - because we are dealing with this unwelcome issue.
Having said that, there are a lot of good surfers in town, some have gone onto surfing careers, but most are just happy to surf for fun. For all of us that have got into professional surfing we have always done it elsewhere. There have been events in the past organized by the locals, but basically novelty events for the locals and their travelling friends.
Jakes Point is no secret, neither is Gnaraloo and Red Bluff (Quobba). If genuine surfers want to travel to these remote places, we welcome it. As pioneer travelling surfers, we all know the rules and respect is shown to the locals where ever you may travel to in Australia or the world.
If a place is special to your hearts and you live your life dedicated to this place, then a certain amount of respect has to be shown to the people who do.
To take away the voice and the educated opinions of the main custodians of Jakes is ‘offensive’ and disrespectful to say the least.
If there is a proposal to hold a surfing event in a certain area, first and foremost, ask the local surfers or local boardrider club of the region. National Surfing Reserves provide that ‘surfers will have primacy in any decision that may (adversely) affect the surfing amenity or experience’ and that has been upheld and endorsed across Australia and the world.
If the local surfers or local boardrider club say yes to an event or activity on any scale at the surf break, then it proceeds subject to any required legalities. If they say no, respect their wishes especially if the vote is by majority or unanimous. We wouldn’t hold a massive golf tournament at the local golf club; if the local club said no or did not have the carrying capacity or wish world attention and crowds they could not sustainably service.
We understand some local business owners are in favour of the event and we respect their reasons, however we resolutely believe they should also respect our reasons since this is a surfing event-activity and we are the local surfing community.
Jakes Point cannot support a huge crowd and the proposal to hold a WSL event here is just too big and too soon for our little town. KBR feels we should have rights to ‘say no and be heard’ by our local Shire, the State Government and the SWA.
We have engaged the services of Dr Indre Kirsten Asmussen to prepare an Environmental Impact Study (EIS) on the area to compare the social and environmental impacts that this event would have on the town to show how committed we are to our stance. This is her comments on the issue –
“At Margaret River over $6 million has been spent to upgrade Surfers Point to cater for the surf contest, and the Cape to Cape tourism region manages visitor access well. To bring Jakes and the surrounding area to a standard, where it could cater for an international event would require significant investment - to minimise impact of the contest on the site and visitor access to the region. To date, the Shire of Northampton, has invested little on environmental and visitor management outside the National Park. A draft Coastal Management Strategy exists but has still not been implemented. Similarly, visitor access to Pink Lake (our premier international tourism destination) is poorly managed. We cannot proceed with such disregard for the environment. Jakes Point should be designed for the community not a contest, likely to depart for another wave in the near future, leaving the region with the maintenance costs (like Margaret River)”. Dr Indre Asmussen B.Sc. First class honours, PhD (Ecology)
We feel deeply for Margaret River and support them in trying to keep the contest down there. It is a prestigious event and has a lot of history and has been getting better and better since it has added the Box and North Point to the format. The amount of money ($4-6m AUD) in infrastructure to get main break up to the WSL standard to be ripped out from under them and told it might be moving is a devastating blow for them.
It is also why we urge Tourism WA and our Northampton Shire Council and the State ALP McGowan government to proceed with caution in the dealing with this. Who is to say they (WSL, SWA and global media network viewers) won’t get bored with Kalbarri after one year, leaving us with the socially divisive and environmental aftermath to deal with. There are clearly too many unknowns that can’t be answered.
SWA, Tourism WA and the WSL cannot guarantee any detrimental environmental and social impacts on our town.If such a contest changes our surf breaks and beaches for the worst, the damage is most likely irreversible.
The KBR are also members of the North West Surfing Alliance which unites Kalbarri, Carnarvon and Exmouth boardriders to support the preservation and protection of similar beaches and coastline from Kalbarri to the North West Cape (Exmouth). It was formed in 2007 and still stands today.
They have tried this once before in 2007/08 to run the ‘Rip Curl Pro Event’ at Gnaraloo and this is why the NWSA was created. The petition to the Premier at the time received support of over 3,500 signatures, who agreed that the area was too special, and that commercialisation was not welcome. This event did not go ahead due to a variety of reason’s one being, “Rip Curl apparently stated its unwillingness to make the required full financial investment needed to complete the Environmental Impact Assessment study to the standard, scope and detail required.” (Gnaraloo Station Media Release, April 2009)
The KBR united with the NWSA now call on the support of everyone who would like to join our voice to respect, protect and preserve Jakes Point, Gnaraloo and Red Bluff (Quobba) so genuine travelling recreational surfers can enjoy them in their natural ‘spiritual’ state for years to come.
To let the corporatised WSL walk over us and disrespect the wishes of people that have built their lives around these places will set a dangerous precedent that they can do pretty much whatever they want whenever and wherever they want - and that just can’t happen.
Comments
Well done folks continue the fight
A lot of words there but basically they are saying go away we would like to keep these waves to ourselves. The rest of this is just fluff to try and back the main pony up.
Surfing Reserves have always been window dressing - plenty of comps in plenty of surfing reserves around the world.
Custodians of the environment sound nice but plenty of the surfers in these areas work in mining - that great 'at one with nature job'.
We welcome visitors - um like fucking hell you don't, not if they want to surf.
Anyway - good luck boys. You are going to being putting it on the map one way or the other unfortunately.
Yeah it is on the long side. Few acronyms too. But it does provide substance to the argument and not just emotion. I liked translating the environmental impact narrative into real work / cost terms, could provide a future legal leverage point. Probably wouldn't have changed the "private" quotation to 'secret' further down, you've quoted private stick with private (when describing the meeting), becomes more emotive by changing but that's probably just a personal thing.
Good job boys and girls, get the petition going!!
Ummm, Lost......you’re fucking kidding aren’t you ?
If you wanted you could paddle out at any of these breaks and paddle into a set wave if you wanted to and if you were good enough . Sure you might not pull into the car park after flying and driving across the continent on your first visit and score the wave of the day but where would you ?
And because you can’t does this mean that the people that live and surf there don’t get a say in how a foreign billionaire gets to treat the place ? As stated , these are people who place such value and near religious veneration on the place that they actually spread each other’s ashes there and utilise the point as a focal point of the community.
So Lost , because you may not have had your pick of the toys in the crib ( set waves ) , you’re willing to smash all the toys and make sure no one enjoys them ? Because we all know that is how surf spots go when they are overpopulated due To overexposure .
Fact is you can get set waves at all the locations still. Yet it’s not just about the name breaks. There are various spots surrounding each that presently you may get to surf with few crowds and this will also change with the arrival of the circus , so you can’t use the “ dominant locals “ defence with regard to not getting waves at these places.
As for your claim that the locals can’t place extreme importance on the preservation of their local beaches because they may have a job in a mine ....do you know what they mine ? Mostly iron ore which is made into steel which is then made into EVERY steel product you use . So by your reasoning you must also be an uncaring , environmental vandal . Are you saying that because you enable the steel industry you don’t care deeply about the coastal environment particularly at your local beach ?
BUT !!!!
All this debate .....I don’t get it at all.
Why aren’t you immediately siding with your fellow Aussie surfers in maintaining a voice over the treatment of the beaches we spend our lives enjoying ?
What would possibly motivate you to cheer for an American billionaire who will never surf there and who would rather not interact with expletive such as yourself ? And you think the Jakes locals are bad ! See how welcome you are at Ziff’s place or at any beach he’ll go to . No one does exclusivety like the nauseatingly rich.
And why would you choose to side with Surfing WA / Tourism WA over yourself and fellow surfers ? You honestly believe that the bloated bureaucracy of a government department is more your kind of people than surfers who don’t want their backyard whored on the internet thus fucking it completely ?
Are you really that guy ?
You may want to cruise the coast Kalbarri to Exmouth one day . You’ll find that it’s the kind of place that you’ll be grateful it hasn’t been ruined by development and crowds. A place whose beauty and charisma goes way further than just a lack of buildings . The true spirit of surfing still exists there and ain’t too many places like that left .
Fuck’s sake , mate . This isnt about you against Kalbarri locals .
This is US as surfers vs THEM as the bastards that don’t give a fuck about us and want to shove us aside to sell what we’ve got.
Jesus blowing just join the liberal party if you want to bully people to take your side.
Yeah , apologies Wharfjunkie . It’s a very emotion charged issue for me and I assumed that we would all unite to stop it.then when I realise that crew use it as an opportunity to talk dribble it gets to me. And really mate despite the wishes of everyone that’s ever visited the Northwest a billionaire is forcing his private enterprise upon them and you think I’m the bully ?
I may come over as a bit tense but I can’t handle the bullshit that a small minority of haters spout. If someone had a bad surf at Jakes once then that’s a shame but it’s not a reason to get on the internet and try to prejudice everyone against a campaign to save the entire Northwest surfing experience.
Can perfectly understand that people would want to unite to stop this and some would be emotional like yourself but slamming someone for speaking of bad experiences along this coast etc to sway their opinion isn't on the same level of your billionaire nemesis but none the less bully boy tactics. Let's move on
The over exposure and media attention is changing the surfing experience across many coastlines forecasting and surfcam's don't help. I am all for those telling the contest organisers and media to piss off but let's not pretend that this is an issue for all surfers to unite. The media whores, competition surfers and hanger ons as well as the dog eat dog surfers on a lot of coastlines couldn't be too concerned about the surfing experience of those who put in the time along these areas remote from major cities. Surf media blackout would be a start even if it meant a few of the local sponsored surfers had to film elsewhere or relocate.
Fair enough and don’t think that opinion isn’t felt by others.
For every person that posts up shots of themselves on social media etc there’s someone that gets just as barreled and you’d never know unless you shared the line up with them .
Do u really mean good luck? Or are u just a clown juggling for the circus
Has anyone been to cocos island to surf their left? (hint it's not that great)...the locals there are extremely hostile to anyone who dares to paddle out or take photos. Cocos is even further west than Kalbarri (by perhaps a thousand kms). Seems like the further west one goes in this country the worse the localism and reluctance to share waves seems to be.
You’re kidding aren’t you ?
Cocos crew are stoked to see a new , respectful face.
In the last year I’ve surfed points all over from Frazer island to the North West and the gronkiest locals - worse than saltbush - were some weirdos around Crescent . But then other crew I met in that area were legends.....Hi Pagey and his mates.
I’ve shared epic lefts with Kalbarri crew on more than a few occasions and they are friendly , polite , respectful and patient. They also tear the fucking bag.
To the KBR and NWSA: it looks like you need to start a new online petition, as well as a highly publicized campaign of emailing and calling the relevant people in Northampton Shire, Tourism WA and WA govt, as well as tweeting and other social media.
It's worked many times for organisations such as Getup, Wilderness Aust, etc. Politicians are especially vulnerable to public opinion and can change their minds even when personal financial gain is involved.
yep crip, with ya all the way. the petition should get the contest to move to Lennox Head in NSW. More hospitable than NW-WA, creature comforts for the pros and their entourages, get GetUp and the Wilderness folk onto it ASAP.
Perhaps a Swellnet camera can capture all the footage at Lennox as well. Heard Lennox is a friendly place, inhabited primarily by happy-go-lucky throw-back amco surfmat riders who give you a smile and the old ''peace'' sign as they drift pass. Beautiful. Utopia.
I say it's a win-win situation all round. For everyone.
Spent a week or so in the area earlier this year, found the local surfers friendly. As always, if you go in with a respectful attitude. Having seen the place on the ground I can understand their concerns. It's not like Bells or Margaret River in terms of infrastructure. I noticed they are big on looking after the dunes and surrounding area of Jakes. I think they have the right to have a big say. I know from casual conversations I had (having come up the coast from Margaret River just after the pro was cancelled) they know this is a possibility and have thought about the issue.
Ry Craike will be spewing he won't be getting a wildcard into the event. All good, his Go Pro could do with a rest
So, basically, the WSL are not welcome in WA. The local Margarets crew do not want them there either -and that is the reason for the attempted re-location.
Now, if we can just get the circus to leave the Gold Coast, stick to wave pools and high five each others' testicles in the pokie room (instead of these meat-head packs in surf breaks) we might actually have a chance at surfing returning to it's roots as a rebel's exercise and not a goddamn corporate puppet show.
"I am not an animal"
What baffles me is why they are even considering moving from Margaret River based upon "shark attack fears". I mean FFS, it comes with the territory, and the WSL should wake up and put Margs back into the picture, because if you live in fear of a shark attack, it's time to give up surfing and go back to your skatey.
To appease some of those fears the WSL could offer full time drone surveillance for the duration of the comp. Get a drone manufacturer to sponsor their part and get on with being a professional surf competition operating in the ocean, which whether we like it or not, is the home of sharks.
Ive personally seen a white pointer jump through the air like a trained dolphin just off the point as I was sitting in the line up at the Bluff. My mates have had them eyeball their tinnies with their black eyes higher than the gunnels . Whites known to travel to beyond Exmouth . People eaten at the Abrolhos islands . People attacked at the Bluff. I couldnt tell you how many sharks I’ve seen along that coast cause it’s a fucking lot of sharks. Tigers , Bulls , massive bronzies , oceanic white tips .....you name it .
The claim that the event is relocating due to reduced threat of shark attack is absolute garbage.
Case in point - they still go to JBay.
True that what do they think those massive sub whites n tigers just stop at margs n think ah nah can't be bothered following the whales n salmon up I'll just chill a lil in the south n wait for some panicky pro brazzos to fall in the water. Whites are everywhere n WA they are roaming with all the other migrating food chains from early autumn to late winter.
Good, solid statement, lets get the petition happening.
Again...... Leave the contest in Margaret River. It is the commercial hub of surfing in Western Australia.
You had a bit of bad luck with sharks last year. Move on.
It's also worth keeping in mind that the attacks at Cobbles and Lefties were very avoidable. As I understand it, old mate paddled back out at Cobbles after a white cleared the line up, then that second muppet went out at Lefties later in the day and stayed in the water after the overhead helicopter said to leave. If they'd paid attention to the obvious warning signs, there would have been no attack, no hysteria, and the event would have been completed without issue (other than the shitty conditions on offer)
I agree, blame the victims. I hate dead muppets and their muppet-loving grieving friends and families. Sharks don't kill people, people who surf around sharks kill themselves. If we just did more research about how to avoid sharks, we would know the 3 minutes a day and correct swimming pool that it is safe for our kids to swim in. More half-baked science please!
That's not what I said, Tunafish. I'm talking about the 2 attacks that particular day which could have been avoided if the two individuals that were bitten took a more precautionary approach after knowing they were in the water with a white shark
No sweat Clivus. I felt like having a rant at the world. Truthfully, you are probably right. It just hit a nerve for me. The assumptions for a lot of the shark discussion seems to be:
- the amount of mature GWS in WA is the same as when I was a kid, before they were protected and the seal colonies and whale populations recovered. Increased encounters are a result of more water users
- we just need more research to understand shark behaviour then we can reliably avoid them
- any research is good research
- choppers make a lick of difference (Burning 264L/h of gas)
I'm not saying that any/all of these assumptions are wrong, but it makes me hulk out when many vocal people refuse to debate the possibility that they might not be gospel.
“We feel deeply for Margaret River and support them in trying to keep the contest down there. It is a prestigious event and has a lot of history and has been getting better and better since it has added the Box and North Point to the format.”
So the Kalbarri crew are enjoying the WSL spreading it’s wings down south. Interesting.....
I hope the WSL don’t go up north but I certainly hope it doesn’t continue to expand down south either....
Spreading wings! Ha ha I don't think so it's already happened in margs, it's better there than anywhere it's a case of " the devil u know" sort of thing o don't think anyone in WA is happy about the circus in fact I dare say that no locals would like the circus coming to any break in the world! I have felt sorry for the Hawaiians for there sacred north shore is forever under political arguments non stop. Leave it at the goldy the whole world is there anyway and all the Aussie world champs who want it!
My point being that the WSL “Spreading it wings” down south means them continuing to add more breaks to the contest. You may think that’s a good thing or that it doesn’t matter due to past exposure. I disagree that’s all.
Sorry, yes I read that a lil wrong.
How can we help? Is there a petition yet?
Kalbarri to Exmouth, that's a lot of coast!
Makes Kalbarri feel like an outer northern suburb of Perth.
Agree with you 100% APE ANONYMONS
WAY TOO MANY CONTESTS !!!
HERE ON GOLD COAST TOO.
U are right I retract my last comment about having it on the goldy I think most genuine surfers don't want any comps. Well maybe the over pushy soccer dads that think there kid is the next parko.
There is a simple solution to the problem,next Surfing Western Australia A.G.M hire a bus in the N.W. load it with as many members of S.W.A as you can and head down to the A.G.M meeting and vote the current committee members out and replace them with people who will represent the surfers of W.A. The committee that is in place now are the ones who would bend over gladly to secure a V.I.P pass.and hence do anything they are directed to do. The people who run S.W.A earn obscene amounts ( govt grants) of money so would do anything to secure there future. At best they represent 200 comp surfers. A.G.M. 'S rarely have more then 40 in attendance .
I like it! Branch Stacking via bus.
I stopped reading after the KBR/NWSA were barred from the meeting. Good luck people but without being pessimistic here, money speaks so much louder than a fucken name on a online petition. The government gets what it is wants, not us.
I'm with you there NB. Like pushing shit up a hill
They'll have to shit can it up there. Wouldn't be a good look for WSL to have the whole town protesting against them.
I'll sign a petition now to keep it out. More sharks, less infrastructure, higher chance of injury as they are more dangerous waves and more sharks. Bad idea.
Surfing Reserves has now issued a statement against it.
Available on Tracks, maybe Stu can reprint it here?
As I said before , Tracks refuses to side with the surfers of Australia on this issue . Rather than attempt to portray themselves as impartial observers , which is obviously treasonous to the surfing community they’ve long been a part of , why isn’t Tracks doing everything within its power to prevent the Australian community from being kicked to the kerb by an American investor?
The Tracks magazine I grew up reading would’ve gone apeshit if a commercial interest had tried to overrun a local surfing community and a few of Australia’s iconic breaks.
Shame.
The NSR statement was released at the same time, in the same email, as the NWSA statement, and as its contents aren't dissimilar I didn't bother running it.
Here it is for those keen to read it (very last line is interesting):
OFFICIAL POSITION STATEMENT by the NATIONAL BOARD OF DIRECTORS 14 September 2018
National Surfing Reserves (NSR) and Surfing Contests in Regional and Remote Locations
The World Surf League (WSL), Surfing Australia (SA) and other organisations regularly hold surfing contests at a number of recognised sites around Australia, including World Surfing Reserves (Snapper Rocks, Manly) and National Surfing Reserves (Noosa, Merewether, North Narrabeen, Margaret River, Yallingup). These sites often have a long tradition of contests and are suitable locations for such events and are generally accepted by the local surfing community. Bells Beach was in fact formally gazetted in 1973 by the Victorian government to provide for a surfing contest at a ‘Surfing Recreation Reserve’ – the World’s first.
There are however, a number of sites around Australia which are considered sacred and 'no- go zones' for surfing contests, both by the local surfing community and the wider recreational surfing public. These include the NSR’s Point Sinclair (Cactus, South Australia) and Kalbarri (Western Australia), as well as places like Red Bluff and Gnarloo, both located in remote parts of Western Australia.
The reasons these sites are off-limits to contests and commercial surfing is for a number of reasons:
• to preserve the natural, undeveloped appeal of the site
• to minimise unwarranted publicity which will cause increased visitation and further stress upon an already fragile environment
• to keep the site sacred and untainted by commercial interests
• to allow the local surfing community to maintain stewardship at their Break
• to ensure Australia does in fact honour such sacred sites of intrinsic environmental, social and spiritual value to local and international interests
• to enshrine such places for the enjoyment of future generations
• to protect the community of local surfers from an unworkable increase in carrying- capacity of local breaks and infrastructure.
Surfing at any Australian beach is both free and open to all, and it is the mandate of local surfers and their community to see these areas preserved.
The Board of National Surfing Reserves object to minority 'out of area' commercial interests opposing the majority a local surfing community in order to close down the surf to the locals and general public to further their commercial interests for short term gain but long-term pain, particularly as such events place these remote uncrowded sites on the international surfing bucket list.
National Surfing Reserves Board (Australia)
14/9/18 Further: +61 (0) 413 031870
Founding Chairs: Brad Farmer and Emeritus Prof. Andrew D. Short OAM. Current Co- Chairs: Naomi Edwards, BEnvSc, BComms (Hons) PhD Candidate and Chris Tola JP
Ambassadors: Kelly Slater, Mick Fanning and Joel Parkinson
So WSL want it but Kelly remains an ambassador for NSR who's opposing it?
Yep. I've gotta give it to Brad Farmer, Prof. Andy Short and co, they could've continued using old Baldy as the face of NSR, wheeled him out whenever they needed some media attention, but instead they're wedging him here, forcing him to take a stand one way or another.
Surfing Reserves has no official power , just a feel good organization , that names breaks where they can and claim a beach as a Reserve..only in name and nothing more !
The contest will be held at Margs , as may is a good mth and a bit marginal for up north!
how can you have a event at a spot if you dont feel welcome .surfing wa and the wsl needs to listen to people that really care for these spots. and not just think about the $$$$$$$$
Anyone else noticing the change that is occurring as our surf spots are openly described as 'sacred'. This is a big shift, and very welcome. Like shifting up a gear in consciousness.
Good luck KBR
Personally I think it's a tiny shift, we are still light years away from surfing in 'Glowing wave temples', Timothy Leary saw surfers as 'aesthletes', in other words he understood the zenness of surfing.
Surfing like everything else is a corrupted wave greed, competitive system , the only question surfers should be asking is HOW do we unhypernormalise ourselves and evolve surfing as a high art form.
First step, form a recreational surfers organization that exists in cyberspace.
Interesting perspective. For my 2c the most flowing beautiful fast aesthetically pleasing ballsy surfing was on 70's single fins, that was closest to art - but certain surfers have that flow on any equipment. We are essentially riding waves of energy, sine waves so there's that.
Maybe like Gods from Sumer to Greece we are competitive while doing this high art form. I'm sure MP would be as ruthless in the water as Zeus could be when annoyed. And we all compete/fight for a wave while the Vikings would dream of fighting/feasting in Valhalla as their most desired afterlife.
East Coast WSR is at the heart of World Surf Culture.
*1st Wave (spirited by Bundjalung Siren)
*1st Surfcraft riders (3 brothers)
*1st Wipe out (3 brothers)
*1st Body Surfing also Dolphin pod surfing
*1st Surfing headlands created by a Surf God
WSR is home to Jabreen World's most ancient Surf God
Gold Coast Modern Surf Reserve
*1st Oz(most expensive+ export) surfcrafts (1829)
*1st Oz Surfers of longest ever rides (1829)
*1st Oz Body Surfing (1864) Very much proud as OZ longest remaining sports amateurs.
* Burley Barrelometer (1906)
* 1st Nightlight Surfing (1936)
Sad fact that local surfers ignored Oz ancient surfing God & pioneers when vying for WSR.
Ask! What WSR could possibly represent to the world if not the Heart Of World Surfing?
Ocean Culture Relative to Kalibarri
1st Oceans on Earth(Acidic)
1st Ocean Life on Earth(Stromatolites)
1st Ocean Headlands(Oldest Rocks)
1st Ocean Shells
1st Ocean Craft (Tidal Rafts)
1st Ocean Crossings(Tide Rafters)
Oldest beach Goers (Dinosaur toes in sand)
Largest fringe Reef/Shell Beach/Hamelin Pool
All world beating attributes for Kalbarri NSR
WSL walked out on W.A. with no WSL Shark competing.
W
in hour of need Drug Aware rebranded Corona Waterfall
ASP Triple Crown est 1985 alongside equally prestigious Oz leg of Bells- Margs
ASP Oz milestones can't be Wiped Out by apprentice WSL 2015!
Where in WSL charter to take down World #1 Pro Surf Safari.
I rally with KBR+NWSA & hopefully Surfing WA against WSL destruction of Oz surfing .
My point here is simple! Are surfers really looking at the bigger picture or own backyard.
These issues are
WSL is welcome at Middleton.
Let’s lighten the tension -
So Dirk Ziff is cruising the Oz coast in his Rolls Royce looking for locations on which to exert his financial power on the hapless locals when he pulls up at a very pretty beach. In the car park next to him is a surfer living out of his old Hiace van. Ziff is immediately struck with envy at the surfer’s simple lifestyle . Living at the beach getting barreled instead of wasting his life in boardrooms. He figures that crushing the surfer’s spirit with envy will regain some of his mojo. He eyes off the surfer’s car for a minute then asks him - “ You there ! Does your car have a phone in it ? “
The surfer replies nonchalantly . “ Of course I’ve got a phone .”
Ziff sneers then asks “ What about a sink ? “
The surfer can see where this is going “ Of course it’s got a sink “ he replies.
“ Haha ! “ says Ziff “ But it’s just a regular sink ! Mines got gold plated tap handles and an ivory plug .”
The surfer nods approval then asks “ So I bet your car’s got a bed in it too ?”
Ziff is aghast. His Rolls doesn’t have a bed ! Mortified, he tells his driver to floor it out of there before the surfer thinks he’s won. He drives home where he tosses and turns all night thinking about that stinking surfer besting him . First thing in the morning he gets the Rolls taken back to the dealership where they install a four poster king sized bed with ostrich feather pillows and tiger skin sheets.
Ziff’s eyes swell with pride and revenge when he spots his new bed . Breathless with glee , he instructs his driver to take him back to the pretty beach where the surfer lives in his van.
Upon arriving Ziff gets his driver to pull up next to the van and blare his horn . The horn of the Rolls is louder than the fog horn of the Manly ferry but still the surfer fails to appear. Enraged , Ziff leaps from his car and starts beating on the door of the surfer’s van.
The door opens and the surfer sticks his head out. “ What the fuck is going on ?“ he asks .
Ziff points to his Rolls Royce and says “ I just thought you’d want to see the bed in my car ? “
The surfer rolls his eyes , feigns drying his hair and says “ You got me out of the shower for that ? “
Haha I guess Ziff's next move would be to get himself a 'golden shower'.
Classic!
Actually blowin, I was expecting Ziff to return kicking the surfer as well as everyone else off site so they could build their lounge and have the contest
I agree with the statement of the NWSA and i will be signing any petition organised.
It is absolutely correct that the north west surfing region is a "sacred" and "spiritual" area for surfers and indeed is one of the last such areas where a true surfing cultural experience can be enjoyed. Obviously concerned surfers are not trying to prevent true surfers/watermen/waterwomen from visiting and enjoying this pristine piece of Australia's coastiline. The path has been well trodden before us and we want these areas to remain special and sacred to us all for future generations of surfers.
I believe this is indeed a turning point in the Aussie surf community and will show us to be reasoned, mature and conscious of the infinitely valuable resource we all share. We will be a force to be reckoned with and not ignored.
Indeed, indeed!
The boys in the West need to band together, it's been awhile since I lived there but there seems to be a lot at stake, not just now but in the future.
Good Luck.
Margaret River is a "surfing reserve"too and that certainly doesn't exclude it from the annual 5 week fuckover that goes on with the pro .Judging by some of the comments from Kalbarri locals above happy to throw the SW under the contest bus with its ever expanding contest (like its something the local surfers here want) and at the same time making it look so good up there with the local pros consistently putting out footage everywhere so now the threat is headed north.
Surfing WA is a profit driven but somehow "not for profit" at the same time business run by guys who dont live in a community where they run their events so don't give a fuck about how the community are effected by their event and that has the full support of the WA Gov because of the misconception that surfing contests provide "good exposure " for the second biggest industry in WA - tourism.
How many pretentious pro surfer wine stomping/sniffing , big tree "margies moments ' have there been to made me sick over the years? and now its heading north like it or not, the new tourism WA CEO is a fucking ex WSL head honcho, just imagine the long lunches going on, "private meetings" is how it works , get the shire bean counters on board,grease up a few locals with businesses or maybe the footy club with a donation and obviously suck the local board riders club in cause they have to be a active member of Surfing WA to actually exist, dirty dirty politics and tourism dollars in their eyes. By the time it comes to "driving crayboats through the lineup" it will be way too late.A few will make heaps of money and the majority will just deal with being excluded /locked out of their surf spots/ beaches and then pick up rubbish left from the multitudes that will arrive forever after. Get active with the petitions ,rallies and everything possible but sadly the writing is on the wall.
Mike - If only everyone thought the same as us regarding turning WA’s spectacular coastline into a commercial !
But unfortunately they don’t. It’s a shame about what’s happened down South but that doesn’t mean up North should fall foul of the same rough treatment purely out of resentment. And we certainly shouldn’t be rolling over as it occurs nor allowing other issues to act as digressions from the main game here - Saving Jakes , Gnaraloo and Quobba from being pimped to the world.
Don’t forget it’s not just about Kalbarri. That’s just a starting point. Thin edge of the wedge . Sooner rather than later they’ll want want the lot . The salesmen always need a new item to sell and more people to sell it to.
And I’m assuming you’ve been these to spots and would probably intend to do so again in the future. Turning on those trying to save the joint is cutting off your nose to spite your face if you ask me.
And don’t freak out about stopping this bullshit . It can be done . The powers that be hinge their decisions based on politics. The way they’re viewed and the way they’re decisions are viewed is very import and it’s their weakness.
Just got to find the avenues to leverage that weakness.
It’s been done before.
Stopping a surf comp is great, however, this is the least of WA’s concerns.
Shortsighted planning once again will rape our great state.....think bigger picture. A simple surf comp will seem inconsequential in the future.
Short sighted planning is all too familiar indeed in WA. 50000 people moving to wa a year for over a decade the roads are just a fucking joke in the metro area.
Narrow minded self serving short sighted greedy planning. We are going to have to repair the damage we have done to our world.
Thanx for the NSR rundown Stu.
"Time honoured #1 ancient irreplaceable Surf Culture"....Sadly not in NSR sacred Top 10
By denying the reverence of your surf reserve surfers will think less of it.
Those unique ancient attributes of surfing reserves I saluted are now being destroyed.
Gold Coast Surfing Reserve has less surfable beaches than ever.
Southern bypass sand is choking more surfing beaches each year.
Points are now wide close-out backbreak Capes
Cooly Creek entry is closed while PHAS is pumped into Kirra Line up.
Now with artificial WSR reefs underway to suffocate nearby real live healthy reefs...Insane!
WSL contestants defy laws by unleashing yuppie Jet Ski Jumperz into WSR
WSL defy Beach Closed messages by sending photographers into Cyclonic seas.
WSL Timeshare Resort detours beachgoers onto either razor rocks or cement path...
Ok! Let's say it's only for a few weeks! ...WSL contests set precedent for life.
Gccc use WSL contests to promote further commercial development upon beaches.
Surfers can chug on beach then so can we all.Even plaster School bus stop with brew ads.
Surf Contests need beach concerts & beach bars that defy safe beach SLSC/ Govt regulation.
So now we see Beaches shaped more as private arenas demanding 1-2 weeks shutdown.
Local Burleigh Heads Kiosk expansion blocks access from The beach to The Point
Forever a sacred & celebrated meeting point on East Coast...Now blocked for eternity!
Drones now dust white folk's ashes over sacred Monumental Surf God Jabreen
Message to WA Surfers & Beach lovers this here sample is but the last 2 years on GC...Yep!
Do not sign away your NSR...hold out as long as can. You're up against pure evil.
They'll take your beach- Reshape it then desecrate it worse still they'll Rebrand it!
They're even above your laws and will poison your kidz minds.
Before you know it your banned from walking your own beach forever...This is real!
Like I said we paraded our WSR as a 1970's surf label... Now we get that back in spades.
Demonstrate how NSR is ancient heart of WA & how WSL will set wrecking ball in motion.
WSL are destroying oldest WA/Oz surf comp culture as I write. You all know this to be true!
This is a joke this is this WSL at its finest! People in W.A barely tolerate the Comp at margies the only driver is money n money alone. Surfing is surfing competition is competition.
If you want to see WA then come, if u want to WA on a fukn screen then you tube it's not hard to see surfers surf in WA on ur screen then YouTube it's all there without adverts n suspect calls n all the whinging of paid pro surfers! Leave it in peace. The locals deal with already many many surfers coming to there towns, they are tolerant for now. They do not keep all the waves for themselves they have enough to deal with the surfers migrating every year up that way let alone the circus. Margies is the home of WA comps big, raw n sorts the men from the Heroes.
If you’ll allow Gary a moment of clarity...
People writing letters to local politicians would do well to point out how the WSL are not playing a straight bat with WA taxpayers money:
- They demanded a huge investment in main break car park to bring it up to spec and are now trying to extricate themselves from the event there, leaving the maintenance and upkeep costs with the local authorities.
- they threw WA tourism’s imvestment under a bus when they moved to Ulus due to shark activity yet are happy to film sharks cruising the lineup mid heat in J Bay
- the government is effectively underwriting their contest, and now the WSL are trying to play tough and say they’ll take their bat and ball elsewhere unless they get what they want.
These are not the characteristics of an organisation that is grateful for the WA taxpayers’ money that goes into supporting their events and business.
Well said Uncle Garry
Lots of people would have preferred the cost spent at main break to have been spent on maintaining other things around town and upkeep of roads other than ‘caves road’ or roads to tourist spots and winery’s. For example, the only boat ramp has been closed for “maintenance” for the past 6 months, only now after 6 months have they said the jetty pylons have been sand blasted and worn away. Why not just say that 6 months ago, don’t argue over cost, just fix the f@cking thing!!!!
Gary G, spot on. I'd normally phrase that differently but you were uncharacteristically light on for double entendre
This is all really good stuff. Thanks. I am going to stop just being enraged by this and actually do something about it - in the form of written submissions to MPs, local members, and various groups. One letter which is changed only marginally should do this. Will do it tonight and also join any other group petitions going around. This kind of suggestion really adds some weight to the argument. For all of the nay-sayers our there, written submissions do actually influence (or can actually influence) policy and process, so I suggest that rather than just being enraged in front of the keyboard, that we all follow suit. At the very least it will not do any harm to our cause, and it could well be the deciding factor. I see this as a pivot point in surfing history for NWWA, so lets at least fight together to make sure we do what we can to see that this is steered in a sensible direction.
As a resident of MR i actually support the WSL at Main Break / Box (not NP or Boatramps) - there is fantastic infrastructure at the point - the events are reasonably well run there, the beach commentary is good, and you can make a good day of it for the community. Also a lot of people come down from Perth to spend $$$ at the event and at Margies and as mentioned earlier, the high earning pros and sycophants inject some good cash into the community. The QS events we used to have give very little back, and instead of 36 great surfers in the region there are one hundred and something very good surfers - which I reckon makes it more difficult for me to get waves over that period.
Main Break is pretty massive a lot of the time, so big that it is a challenge for surfers to ride well (and as JJF showed a couple of years back, a site where real big-wave progression can be showcased). There are few other places on the tour that do this. Also the Box, a ledging righthander, really shows which surfers can take a ridiculous imperfect right-hand slab-drop and who cannot, also a part of the surfing repertoire that is not really showcased at other stops. Tombies and Jakes are sick waves, but the tour already has perfect heavy lefts (Cloudbreak, Pipe and Chopes). Apart from the obvious reasons for not wanting to go up there (and i agree very strongly with the general sentiments on this site), there is a good argument that these locations would not really add to the variety of waves or surfing ability on the tour.
People put up with contests as an act of goodwill, or at least they did. But the glamour of the beast has grown so disproportionatly compared to the actual spectacle it is all out of whack. Be it a hangover from the glory days, or a pet spectacle propped up by a billionaire, it's a sham that your average surfer has to just suck this shit up as they plunder the culture flogging a lame horse.
As GaryG points out in his moment of clarity. There's a lot of government money flowing from various departments to support 'surfing'. When in reality these investments are counterproductive or benign at best for your average surfer. With contests and the high performance centre being prime examples.
Surfers desperately need a recreational surfers body to get a say how all this cash is rolling because the sums are getting ridiculous, and the train is running away with practically no people on it..except for a coupla morons in hurley hats...
https://m.
Good sentiment in everyone's work, but it is a little long
WDSL = world domination surf league
This'll be a tough fight against the Australian powers that be that want the exposure as much as the WDSL, but it's a fight that's worth having there's surfing's soul at stake here. Not everything is up for grabs, media rights etc.
And Gaz, I agree about J Bay, I think the last 3 comps had pointers cruising through the line up with Potts covering every move, not like Margies where the action was miles down the beach.
Support the idea of a petition - who would be running that? Presumably "the Kalbarri Boardriders (KBR) and the collaborative alliance of the original North West Surfing Alliance (NWSA)".
Hope everyone's aware of https://www.protectningaloo.org.au/ - this campaign is in the early days of activation, patron is Tim Winton. It will be huge. Very professional and experienced people running the campaign.
It makes sense to me to connect this surfer campaign - anti-WSL with the protect ningaloo campaign. As it's the same geographical region, the unifying theme is disregard for the environment and in both cases its the People vs Multi-national business interests.
I know those running the PN campaign well enough and would be happy to connect reps from KBR and NWSA to them for the purpose of finding a way to 1 + 1 = more than 2.
Stu has my email if that's better done that way.
I was actually going to ask does anyone know where i can buy a copy of "To the Four Corners of the World: The Lost Journals of the Original Surf Explorer" about Peter Troy by Sean Doherty - i cant find a place to buy online?
I surfed Jakes Point with my brother and a mate for the first time back in August 1972 - we were the only surfers around that week. Kalbarri has changed since then, but it’s not crazy like East Coast breaks such as Snapper. In an increasingly crowded world, it still has a laid back charm which is worth preserving from the commercialisation of surfing.
I am a Margaret River resident and am aware that the local surfing community here has become increasingly annoyed with attempts by WSL to extend the competiton window and lock out breaks such Boatramps - which was defeated after intense community anger.
Surfers Point has the infrastructure to handle a crowd of 5000 - but Jakes doesn’t have this.
If anyone in the WSL thinks there are less sharks up North, just send them the link to this YouTube video:
https://m.
Lots of sharks up North!
Time for the locals to start reporting ALL shark sightings to the Sharksmart website https://www.sharksmart.com.au/shark-activity
and get those statistics cranked up.
I have no doubt that (edit: the apparent lack of shark activity) is one of the metrics being used to build the case 'for' an event at Jakes Point. I hate to say it but the local crew have been too complacent on this detail and will need to learn from this experience and be proactive and use the system to their advantage from now on.
And meanwhile, a new trough has been created for the consultants to get their snouts into. Tourism and events promotion consultants and environmental consultants will no doubt already have been recruited to justify this initiative, and paid for out of an already tight budget at the Shire of Northampton. On the assumption the Shire is seeking to build the 'for' case and doesn't have the internal resources they have no option but to outsource the report. Anyway, its the classic local Govt strategy, outsource to a consultant so when it all goes pear shaped the Council and Staff can claim the 'Fifth'.
Some might disagree but I think the breaks Up North( particularly Jakes) are the type of waves that pros could surf with their eyes closed; hardly a challenge to the worlds best surfers,compared to Main break. Winning would be more a matter of luck& wave selection in the mechanical,predictable walls of the NW,compared to the heaving,changeable lineup of A-frame-ing Margs at 3-15 feet. It should be run there and there only.
.
Hold it at trigg point.
Locals would know better but these Deep long Left Points aren't natural crowd arenas.
Waves break away from Point sight-line & are too distant from shoreline.(Judging Tower?)
Bali left points or Bells distant overview lean into the wave somewhat better than here.
Crowds flock to inshore breaks with open face view where groms flock idols...Not Here?
WSL gotta be banking on Postcard flymo skipping the Lillypad couch jumperz.
[ PAY ATTENTION.....PETITIONS] Gold Coast (Case Study of exactly what not to do!)
Qld Govt + GCCC + GC Bulletin spent 3 years/$millions to drum up 4,000 Light Rail votes
One Lady got 1,500 votes against Light Rail in no time.
Mayor laughed at Lady...Come back with 3,000 votes and we'll listen...She did - he didn't !
In no time! Lady rocks up to parliament with 10,000 strong petition against Light Rail.
This petition cost the community nothing but proved absolutely worthless. (Shattered!)
Mayor/Premier/Ministers laughed in her face...You got no addresses Miss! See'ya...Bye Bye!
This was an online petition very familiar to ones Swellnetonians have supported in the past.
The fact that it's the leading on-line Petition site is somewhat ironic!...a Govt front?
More important is that Petition requirements vary but email address aint one of them.
Real address and or Town Name & Postcode still means everything on a petition.Sorry Guys!
Anon www fires up petitions where as old school address detail buries petitions.
Computer age empowers pollies more so... Online Petitions play into Govt hands...
Play by their dumb rules and we can still beat them at their own game...You just watch Us!
Ok! Yes you're all right ! Surely the Govt must play by the same rules and they do.
Govts/GCCC/Newspapers will have you sign into a Forum as here (Address included)
Then they go to work...
Let's say they have 10,000 members in their forum.
Do you support light rail over Golf Buggies?.. Almost 100 take part & click [YES]
{Front Page} A 10,000 strong Gold Coast forum voted 100% for Light Rail..
Forum gives them open licence to petition any whiteshoe deal by levering a dead rubber.
Simply by joining is a vote for them...Try voting against them...Impossible!
The dumb option vs even dumber option are the only options you can never win.
Fair enough! I can always make my point in the feedback box.
[Feedback box is this small with no backspace option.. ] I'll just reword that...[You have already submitted!] No i...[You have already submitted!]
As you can see every detail is calculated to vote against you & starve your feedback.
Wonder if Kalbarri would like a surfcam?
The old whale watching tower at the bird park would be a perfect spot.....
That american commentator,s voice kind of reeks of explortation. And some of the competitors seem like spoilt little egos. Governed by greed and fame is ghastly stuff. Have a few expression sessions and a few air shows and dismantle the tour.
As mentioned in Coke/Kalbarri story by Campbell concerning our new boss of tourism WA the soon to be most hated surfer in WA.Spin doctors a "spouting" shit about this guy making WSL a financial juggernaut,isn't WSL losing $30 000 000 per year?
Get rid of leg-ropes that'll do it . . . only jokin'!
I'm with the Kalbarri mob in spirit and the desire to maintain a gentle, low-key lifestyle. Blowin articulated very much my thoughts as well. Save the last vestiges from the corporate mongrels. Respect is vital; so is building trust, rapport and learning from them. I would never prance in assuming it was all good to go. I'd ask around to connect and be happy to watch the locals rip and maybe look for times when it wasn't overly kicking and locals were okay with me dipping a foot in.
No way. Keep away from these places.
This is pristine coastline that should be saved from the masses.
I`m with you guys all the way. STAY AWAY PRO COMPS. You've fucked enough surf breaks as it is.
Bali was once a pristine environment until Greedy Surf Companies got in there now look at it its a freakn TOILET!!!!!!!