Under the Australian sun, hundreds of members and friends of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints gathered to surf, play and socialize at the 19th annual Coffs Soul Surfest competition in Coffs Harbour, Australia, Sept. 25-27.
Garth Mackie, one of the original event organizers, described Surfest as a time for members of the Church to fellowship with one another and have fun.
“Once a year we can get together as surfers to not only share our love for the water but to also share our beliefs and strengthen each other,” Mackie said in an article on the Church’s Pacific Area Newsroom.
Monica Perritt, who has been participating in Surfest since its origin, called Surfest a “beautiful community” of families who come together to “learn what true friendship, competition and kindness is like following our Heavenly Father’s example.”
An annual tradition
Surfest started in 2006 when a young man in the Coffs Harbour Branch regularly competed in surfing events on Sundays.
In collaboration with the young man’s parents, Mackie — who has been a surfer “forever” — hosted a surf competition that took place Thursday through Saturday. The hope was to allow this young man to both meet other Latter-day Saint youth and attend church.
Since then, Surfest has evolved into an annual tradition for many.
Participants of all ages travel from all over Australia and even other parts of the world, with attendees from the United States and Brazil this year. Mackie estimated this year’s oldest surfer was 70 years old, while the youngest was 6.
Perritt praised the Mackie family for continuing to host the competition yearly.
“It would be so much work, and they do it never asking for anything in return but just to bring joy and community and a love of the gospel to others.”
Strength in gathering
But Surfest is about more than just surfing.
In fact, out of the estimated 200 attendees, only about 60 individuals actually competed in the surfing events this year. Other attendees watched the surfing, played volleyball and enjoyed good food on the beach.
One family drove 22 hours from Cairns, Australia, to attend Surfest, even though none of them knew how to surf.
Participants also gather to be strengthened spiritually.
For instance, a devotional and testimony meeting is held Friday night. Perritt said the testimony meeting is a highlight, even as all the participants turn up sunburned and exhausted from a day at the beach.
“I’ve never felt the Spirit stronger in a testimony meeting than what I do at Surfest,” she said.
On the Sunday after competition, most participants attend sacrament meeting in the Coffs Harbour Branch.
Mackie said that in the Coffs Harbour Branch, about 25-30 people attend church regularly. The Sunday after this year’s Surfest, 234 people attended their meeting.
“It was massive for our branch to actually see that the chapel is more than full,” said Mackie, “and that there’s that many Latter-day Saints of all different ages for our branch to see as well.”
Seeing God’s hand
For Mackie, God’s love for His children is an outstanding theme of each Surfest.
“I just know that God loves every single person, no matter what,” he said. “Part of what we want is to be able to see every person that arrives at our event, at Surfest, through the eyes of Christ.”
Gabriel Figueiro — who attended Surfest while on vacation from the U.S. — said he recognized God’s love in seemingly ordinary ways, including the ideal weather conditions throughout the weekend.
Figueiro said the weather forecast had predicted grim surfing conditions, but Surfest participants were greeted with favorable wind and waves.
One local surfer said to the Coffs Harbour participants, “Someone really loves you guys,” implying that God was blessing the Surfest with good waves. Figueiro said the Surfest participants unanimously agreed.
In a Facebook post, he wrote, “We that were there strengthened our testimony about God’s genuine interest in being part of His children’s life even in times of leisure and celebration of life and nature.”
Focusing on families
Family is also a main focus at Surfest.
On Saturday evening, event organizers throw a “family dance,” where children’s music is played for the first hour and pop music is played for the rest of the time.
Perritt said yearly participants become like family, and Mackie pointed out that some literally do become family as several marriages have come out of Surfest.
When Mackie’s late father served as the Sydney Australia Temple president, he asked a couple preparing to be sealed how they met. They asked him if he’d ever heard of Surfest.
For Perritt, Surfest has become a way to honor her late father, as she and her family give out the Greg Perritt Memorial Award each year.
Greg Perritt was Mackie’s good friend growing up and attended Surfest with his family until he died when Monica Perritt was 19.
Now, Monica and her sisters give an alaia surfboard — a wooden Hawaiian board — with a portrait of their father to the participant who showed the most love, charity and kindness at Surfest that year. The next year, the winner brings the board back so a new individual or family can be awarded.
Perritt said it’s beautiful to see how much people enjoy bringing their families to such an uplifting, loving event, and she looks forward to Surfest every year.
