Now in its third year, the Coolum Wedge is making waves after being selected as the first World Qualifying event for the IBSA Bodysurfing World Tour Championship in Hawaii.
Australia’s premier Body Surfing Festival will be held from the 24-26 March, and registrations are now open for the competition, sponsored by the Marcoola Community Bank Branch of Bendigo Bank.
Competition organiser Darren Verrenkemp said the Wedge was not merely about qualifying the sport’s best athletes for the World Titles.
“The overriding goal of The Wedge was always to act as the annual gathering for all the bodysurfing tribes around Australia and indeed the world – a gathering of the fraternity, a sharing of stories and a weekend filled as much with friends as with friendly competition,” Darren said.
“The Wedge is open to five divisions, so anyone can come and they’ll be guaranteed two swims for the weekend. I encourage anyone to get involved, you don’t have to be a great bodysurfer.”
Darren said it’s a culture that really values inclusiveness.
“The first wave that anyone in Australia usually catches is a bodysurfing wave, and the last wave they will take in their life is probably a bodysurfing wave. For some people it becomes a massive part of their life. Case in point is the Coolum 79ers, who are the body surfing club or community in Coolum, which has been going for 40 years, and there’s people in the club who are the original members. We just want to celebrate the diversity and bring other bodysurfers together, from ages 10 to 83, and that’s how we started that festival.”
With six internationals attending the event, including New York Times bestselling author Christopher McDougall, there’s plenty of reasons to be spectating from the sand.
Two local event champions to keep your eye out for are Jack Lewis and Lyla Crouch, who can’t wait to hit the waves again this year.
Peregian Beach local Lyla, 17, has won three titles at the competition, and will be competing this year alongside her dad and sister.
“They’re like the royal bodysurfing family here on the Sunshine Coast,” Darren said of the Crouchs.
Lyla said she’s been bodysurfing since starting out in surf lifesaving as a young girl.
“I had never tried a bodysurfing competition before the Coolum Wedge and I was a little bit nervous on the day, but as soon as I got to the beach those nerves had just completely disappeared because everyone was there to have a great time,” Lyla said.
“It’s such an amazing sport. Especially because it is quite new to competition here on the Sunny Coast. It has amazing people in it and great opportunities, especially with this new international competition as well. It really is a massive community. It’s the most uncompetitive competition.”
Open champion Jack, who last year scored the only perfect 10 in the history of the event, said he was honoured and proud to have won the competition.
“It doesn’t matter if you’re coming first or last and that’s the beauty of this competition,” Jack said.
“My involvement with bodysurfing has been since I was two-years-old through surf lifesaving. I’m more of a surfer these days, but nothing beats the smile on your face after catching a wave with nothing else but your body.”
He’s heavily involved with Noosa Surf Lifesaving Club and Noosa Boardriders Club, and also won the Twin Fin division of Noosa Festival of Surfing last year.
“We’ve got these beautiful waves in Noosa which are perfect for longboarding, whereas Coolum is more of a bodysurfing mecca and community,” Jack said.
“When my cousin from Sydney told me she was visiting for this Coolum bodysurfing competition, I wanted to check it out. I missed the first round because I was taking my kids to sports, but I got in there for the second round and I didn’t know what to do.
“I found out there was this whole subculture and whole tribe of people who love bodysurfing. It’s not the same energy as surfing, it’s a more pure form of the sport. It’s just you and the ocean. There’s big tribes all over the world who share this same stoke.”
The Marcoola Community Bank Branch of Bendigo Bank is proud to be the major sponsor for The Coolum Wedge festival.
“It is a privilege and an honour to be able to contribute and be part of an event and organisation that brings the community together,” Community Banks (Marcoola, Cooroy and Tewantin-Noosa Branches) senior manager Melanie Jackson said.
“When you bank with your local Community Bank, up to 80 percent of profits go back into your community.
“It’s a win-win situation – customers choose to bank with Bendigo Bank and the profits are returned to the community; the bigger the customer base, the bigger the opportunity for community contribution.”
Darren said Bendigo and the Coolum Wedge both share similar aspirations.
“It was a very natural fit for the two organisations,” he said.
“Bendigo goes above and beyond what you would expect from a traditional bank. That community support is culturally embedded in them. We’re really honoured to have them as the major sponsor for us.”
For more information on The Coolum Wedge and to register, visit coolumwedge.com
