COFFS HARBOUR, Australia — The sun was shining and the ocean swells were rolling as crowds of enthusiastic Latter-day Saint surfers from far and wide gathered at Gallows Beach, Coffs Harbour, Australia, Sept. 21-23 in anticipation of the inaugural LDS surf competition in the Coffs Harbour District.
The event was inspired by former Coffs Harbour Branch president Garth Mackie, a keen surfer, who wanted to unite other interested LDS surfers from around Australia.
With only three months of formal planning and Web design, a lot of phone calls, a mass of e-mails, and unrivalled word of mouth, the crowds arrived in numbers on the first morning of the three-day event.
More than 50 LDS surfers — mostly from between Brisbane and Sydney — were greeted with pleasing conditions of mild on-shore winds, warm daily temperatures over 30?C (86 degrees Fahrenheit), a water temperature of about 26?C, and plenty of sand.
The early mornings kicked off with heats consisting of body boarders, regular surfers, longboarders, and even a wave ski thrown into the mix. The ages varied with the youngest surfer being 7 and the eldest at almost 70.
Each contestant also had a chance to judge in the meet as many were taught the ins and outs of judging and running a surf competition. There was a lot of noise coming from the judging table during the heats as the competitors showed off their skills and made friends with new and old like-minded Latter-day Saints.
A friendly pod of dolphins trailed and entertained the surfers for most of the competition, but they were upstaged by a not-so-friendly 2.5-meter Grey Nurse shark that made an eventful episode during the early-morning of one of the competition days that resulted in a front page article of the local paper the following day.
The best action was on Saturday with most of the finals being held that day. Surfers lined the rocks and families watched from the beach and from the backs of reversed cars while children built castles in the sand and played in the ocean. An estimated more than 120 Church members lined the shores of the beach for the finals and cheered on the winners and the adventurers.
The awards ceremony was held the final day on the beach, with many faces glowing red from three days of warm sun as they came to collect their generous prizes donated by several sponsors.
