On Sunday the 12th of June Lennox All Girls Surfriders Club hosted our annual Ma Bendall/Phyllis O’Donnell Memorial Inter Club Tag Team event.
The event was held at Lennox beach and is an all girls event that celebrates women’s surfing and promotes friendship and comradery.
This year the Lennox All Girls Surfriders competed against the Mid North Coast All Girls Surfriders.
The memorial shield was created to honour two Pioneers of women’s surfing in Australia, Ma Bendall and Phyllis O’Donnell.
Tag team events have a different format to other surf competitions, you surf in a team of 5, each team member has to surf one ‘good’ wave, then must exit the water and tag the next team member, the last member of the team must finish within the allocated time limit.
Both Lennox All Girls and the Mid North Coast Surfriders had three teams competing for the shield this year, so we ran three rounds of 55 minutes each.
The waves were in the 3ft range, with the odd slightly bigger set coming through as the day progressed.
We were lucky to have favourable winds for most of the morning, however we were not so lucky with the rain!!
I am pleased to say that whilst most of us were very damp, to say the least, the rain did nothing to dampen the spirit of the day with everyone having an absolute ball throughout the morning, cheering each surfer in the water on no matter what team you were supporting.
There was some great surfing showcased by both teams, throughout all of the divisions, it was great to see everyone pushing the boundaries, supporting each other and it was also a great opportunity for the more experienced girls to pass on knowledge to the less experienced.
It was awesome to surf in a team situation for a change with other girls in the club of varying degrees of ability.
I am stoked to announce that the Lennox All Girls Surfriders won the memorial shield again this year and it will be back on display at Club Lennox for another year.
The vibe of the morning was enhanced by the Ballina Jet Boat Rescue crew of Eve Clare, Joe O’Connor, Duncan Hope, Mark Puglisi and Garry Meredith.
This amazing volunteer community group was on hand for the entire event providing us with skilled and trained jet ski operators in the lineup and paramedics on the beach.
It was truly reassuring to have the jet ski in the water whilst out surfing, especially with all the men in the grey suit sightings of late.
Your community support and your support at the Lennox All Girls club rounds and other local board riders clubs is invaluable and it was great to be able to do a little well deserved fundraising for such an awesome team of people.
A massive thank you from both the Lennox All Girls and the Mid North Coast clubs for your support throughout the Inter club event.
Thanks also to our event organisers, judges, beach marshals, club captains and of course to the ladies who did a fabulous job serving up the food to many hungry surfers after the event.
Lastly we must thank the Mid North Coast All GIrls Surfriders for their team spirit and commitment in making it up the coast to compete, without you this day could not happen!
We look forward to next years challenge already!!
allgirls.surf 