08 September 2023, 1:00 AM
Three teams from Werri Beach Boardriders have entered in the Manly SURFTAG Competition that kicks off on the weekend of 9-10 September. SURFTAG is a tag team surfing series that will crown Australia’s No.1 Boardriding Club. Starting with the Men’s Division in 2001 and adding Women in 2008, the 2022 SURFTAG SERIES saw Grommets (Under 14’s), Juniors (Under 18’s) and Masters (Over 40’s) Divisions added to the Series with the overall SURFTAG SERIES champions being determined by ratings points from each Division.Described as a surfing relay, the SURFTAG Format creates pressure surfing with wave selection and time management paramount, resulting in clutch finishes with surfers sprinting up the beach to beat the countdown clock. SURFTAG is all about teamwork and representing your local community.For the first time Werri Beach Boardriders Club (WBBC) has an Over 40s Men’s team which has become an incredibly strong team of experienced surfers. Ben McCarthy, son of one of the Club’s founding members is part of this team, as is Allan Farrel, a long-term life member of the Club, and local surfboard shaper Tully Robinson from Wave Creations.Team members in the Open Mens are: Matt Gale, Zac Scott, Evan McGarn, Dean Bowen, Hayden WardAnd in the Over 40 Men: Tully Robinson, Alan Farrell, Ben McCarthy, Justin McMahon, Tony SeddonTully Robinson from Wave Creations – photo by Leonie MurphyWBB also has an Open Women’s team consisting of a mix of younger and older women. Lucy Darragh and Holly Wishart, two Kiama High School students, are certainly two young ladies to watch as they are consistently making finals appearances in State and National level competitions for their age groups and are exceptional surfers.Team members in the Womens are: Holly Wishart, Lucy Darragh, Tiana Darragh, Jess McGarn, Andrea Bowen.The Club was founded in 1981 and runs monthly surfing events for its 200-plus members. Their ‘microgroms’ division (for 4 to 13-year-olds) is held at Gerroa and caters for young grommets under 12 who are ready to start learning the basics of competitive surfing in a family friendly, supportive and fun way. The senior half of the club caters to local teen and adult surfers who are looking to get together for a fun day on the beach, challenging themselves as competitive surfers.Jess McGarn is part of the Open Women’s team and a Life Member. She is also the secretary and treasurer of WBBC and runs the microgroms division. She says, “We regularly compete in team events up and down the east coast. The events bring together boardriders clubs from around Australia to battle it out in a tag team format to crown the winning club.” Surfers must run, paddle out, ride their scoring wave and run in to tag the next surfer. It is a fast paced, high-energy style of surfing that brings surfers together as a team in what is usually an individual sport. “What I love most is challenging myself to improve my surfing in a fun, supportive and casual way. I love the way that Werri Beach Boardriders build strong friend, family and community connections for our Werri surfing families,” says Jess.“I’ve been a member myself since I was very young. My parents used to help run the microgroms division, which I now run, and my children are now part of it all too,” Jess adds.Anyone interested in learning more about WBBC can find them on Instagram (#werribeachboardriders) where you will also find some amazing photos of club members in action and their beautiful surroundings.
