City of Newcastle Council has thrown its support behind discussions to transform popular local surf event, ‘Surfest’, into one of the top 16 surfing contests in the world.
The plan would see the well known Newcastle event line up in the Challenger Series, which is the second highest tier on the World Surf League (WSL) calendar, contested by some of the top male and female surfers from across the globe.
A unanimously adopted Lord Mayoral Minute has called on Council to advocate for the event with the NSW Government and the WSL.
The move is supported by Surfest founder Warren Smith, along with the city’s top surfers including Ryan Callinan, Jackson Baker, Julian Wilson, Sarah Baum and Philippa Anderson who joined Lord Mayor, Nutali Nelmes at Merewether Beach today.
Lord Mayor Nelmes said Newcastle has proven it is more than capable of hosting major events.
“Newcastle has become a destination of choice for promoters around the world thanks to the success of major events such as the Supercars Newcastle 500, Paul McCartney, Elton John and Pink concerts, as well as various international rugby union, league, football and netball matches,” she said.
“City of Newcastle also has a proud history of supporting world-class surfing as the founding sponsor of Surfest, which this year celebrated its 38th anniversary as the largest surfing festival in the Southern Hemisphere.
“Newcastle’s reputation as a premier surfing destination was enhanced when we hosted the Rip Curl Newcastle Cup in 2021, marking the first time a combined male-and-female World Championship Tour event was held in NSW since 1999.
“That event showcased Merewether Beach and Newcastle to a global audience of more than 10 million people and injected an estimated $15 million into the local economy.
“Securing Surfest as part of the Challenger Series in 2025 and beyond represents a significant opportunity that would bring substantial economic, cultural, and tourism benefits to Newcastle and the wider Hunter region.”
Surfest founder and Freeman of the City of Newcastle, Warren Smith, will meet with WSL officials in Queensland this week.
Mr Smith said the passion of Lord Mayor Nelmes and the Council’s support has resurrected the dream of adding Surfest to the six-event Challenger Series, which provides a stepping stone to the prestigious 10-event Championship Tour.
“When the World Surf League restructured it competition structure three years ago Surfest became a Qualifying Series event for the Asia-Pacific region, essentially a third-tier event,” Mr Smith said.
“If we’re successful in being added to the Challenger Series we’ll welcome the return of surfers from all over the world, all vying to earn a spot on the Championship Tour.”
Merewether professional surfer, Jackson Baker said he’s extremely excited about the prospect of a Challenger Series event coming to his hometown and being hosted at his local beach.
“Having won Surfest in 2022, it would mean the world to me to have an opportunity to win a Challenger Series event at home,” Mr Baker said.
“I travel the world all year to compete at all the Challenger Series stops so having an event at home would definitely boost my chances at requalifying for the Championship Tour.”
Fellow Merewether surfer, Philippa Anderson said it’s events like Surfest that inspire childhood dreams.
“From the age of 12, I watched Surfest at Newcastle Beach, then when it moved to Merewether where I started to compete a few years later. As an experienced surfer I now look back on how much those events meant to a young girl who had dreams to become a professional,” Ms Anderson said.
“If the Challenger Series comes to town all the young Novocastrians who aspire to follow in the footsteps of Mark Richards, Ryan Callinan, Morgan Cibilic and Jackson Baker will get to watch and maybe even surf with amazing female and male professional surfers.
“There’s just nothing that can compare to that. I hope we can get the event here and the rest is history.”
