Australia’s biggest grassroots boardrider event, the Hyundai Australian Boardriders Battle (ABB) presented by Zambrero, will touch down in Western Australia this weekend with the second stop of the nation-wide series set to run at Scarborough Beach this Saturday.
After kicking off on the Gold Coast last weekend, local rivalries will intensify with WA pride on the line, as six West Australian boardrider clubs prepare to duel it out along Perth’s metropolitan beaches.
Now in its tenth season, the Hyundai Australian Boardriders Battle is the country’s biggest grassroots boardriders event, involving more than 60 of Australia’s best clubs, boasting over $120,00 in prize money up for grabs.
Six WA clubs are preparing to do battle for $3,000 in prize money and a guaranteed spot into the ABB National Final, scheduled to take place in New South Wales in 2023.
Clubs will nominate a squad of five of their best surfers – 2x Open Males, 1x Open Female, 1x Over-35 Master (male or female) and 1x Under-18 junior (male or female), who will compete in an exciting and dynamic ‘tag team format. Each surfer will be scored on their best two waves and must return to the beach after completing their waves, before ‘releasing’ the next team member into the waves. The ABB is definitely not your average surfing competition, with each and every surfer and wave ridden crucial to each club’s success.
The defending event champions Margaret River, will have spearhead an impressive field competing, with an exciting mix of regional and metropolitan clubs set to participate.
“We’re definitely feeling good coming into the event, we’re sending a young team given the forecast for small swell,” said Margaret River Club President Jerome Forrest. “The young whipper snappers in the club are frothing and are they’re perfectly suited to rip it up in small beach break conditions. We’d love to get over to the national final and I think if we had our A-Team there with the likes of Jacob Willcox and Bronte Macaulay we could definitely do some damage.”
Margaret River will be challenged by clubs from Yallingup, Trigg Point, Scarborough, Cottesloe, as well as Trigg Junior Boardriders’, when competition gets underway on Saturday morning.
“Surfing is typically an individual sport so when you get the chance to compete as part of a team it creates this wave of support and camaraderie that is hard to replicate,” said Surfing WA Events Manager Justin Majeks. “I’m sure there will be some fireworks in the water and the format provides for a truly exciting event, every wave is important and each surfer has the chance to make a difference for their club.”
This weekend’s event will also see the Hyundai and Surfing Australia ‘She’s Electric’ national women’s leaderboard come into play. She’s Electric recognises and amplifies female grassroots athletes on a national scale by leveraging LiveHeats data from the Australian Boardriders Battles. This leaderboard aims to give female boardriders a profile, unearthing breakout talent and creating a pathway to the top – inspiring the next generation of surfers.
The Hyundai Australian Boardriders Battle will kick off on Sunday morning from approximately 8am with finals concluding by the early afternoon. A small swell and light winds will provide the perfect setting for some epic surfing and enthralling battles for everyone that hits that water.
The Hyundai Australian Boardriders Battle is an unprecedented event series involving over 60 of Australia’s Boardriders Clubs in eight State qualifying events and culminating in a National Final for 24 clubs at the Grand Final in February, 2023. The Hyundai Australian Boardriders Battle will comprise of a multifaceted format at the National Final; Open Men, Open Women, Master, Junior, Aerial and Teams disciplines.
You can follow all the results from the Australian Boardriders Battle via www.liveheats.com
For previous results, images and video highlights head over to www.australianboardridersbattle.com
ABB EVENT SERIES # 10 SCHEDULE:
Event 1 – Gold Coast, QLD – September 3, 2022
Event 2 – Scarborough, WA – September 10, 2022
Event 3 – Fleurieu Peninsula, SA – September 24, 2022
Event 4 – Clifton Beach, TAS – October 22, 2022
Event 5 – NSW Nth, Coffs Harbour, NSW – October 29, 2022
Event 6 – Phillip Island, VIC – November 6, 2022
Event 7 – NSW Central, North Narrabeen, NSW – November 19, 2022
Event 8 – NSW South, Kiama, NSW – November 26, 2022
Grand Final – TBC – February 4 – 5, 2023
The 2022/23 Hyundai Australian Boardriders Battle presented by Zambrero is proudly supported by Harvey Norman, Oakley, Acciona, 2XP, Reeftip Drinks Co, Surfing WA & Surfing Australia.
