Australian Open of Surfing 2016

By Ben Stephens.

Cross your three middle fingers, leave your pinky and thumb erect and raise and spin your hand as a toast to Huey, the surf god. For it is that sweet time of year. The time of year where you grab your beach bag and make your way to Manly for nine incredible days of surfing, skateboarding and pumping live music. In the warm up event before the World Surf League (WSL) kicks off the year of competition, the Australian Open of Surfing will be pitting some of surfing’s best against each other and we couldn’t be more stoked! #ShakaBra

A part of the WSL Qualifying Series, the event is a place to stamp a solid start on the year of competition. Central coast local, Matty Banting will be looking to nab a win in the men’s competition, after having to take most of 2015 off due to a knee injury. He won’t be the only one hungry for a win, with Narrabeen local Cooper Chapman, Queenslander Mitch Crews and Hawaii’s Noah Beschen all looking to take those points home. Another one to pay close attention to is Soli Bailey, who took out last years Australian Indigenous Championship in fairly impressive style.

Local girl, mad shredder and solid instagrammer, Laura Enever will be back to defend her win from last year, which saw Manly party pretty hard. The competition in the water is going to be highlighted with the presence of the Coffey sisters Holly and Ellie Jean, West Australian favourite Felicity Palmateer and Hawaii’s Alana Blanchard vying to take the title out.

Along with the two main competitions, there are some other contests to keep you frothing during the event. The Sydney Grom Challenge will see the best of the young crew fighting it out in the waves, while the Sydney Champion Expression Session will feature some relics of the surfing world with the likes of Mark ‘Occy’ Occhilupo and Tom Carroll showing off their tried and tested skills.

The Beach Bowl is currently being constructed and will look after all your skating needs. From the highs to the lows, be sure to stop by the spectator’s area and watch the teams charge hard and try to nab the highest air.

The final cherry on top of the nine days of rad fun is the music. This year will see Cloud Control and Mansionair own the beach stage on the last Friday of the event, while Angus and Julia Stone and Kita Alexander will see out the Saturday evening.

All of this surfing, skating and harmonious goodness is totally free and starts on February 27 and runs until March 6. If you can’t get to Manly, you can find the live stream over at the Australian Open of Surfing Website.

Australian Open of Surfing runs from February 27 til March 6 at Manly Beach.

Image: Australian Open of Surfing Facebook