Image: Adam Leslie helping Alley Boardriders to their second consecutive victory at the Sarcoma Teams Event.        Darren Simondson/Surfin Snapps

After creating two wonderful and successful events for Team Sarcoma Awareness Week we were all ready for the weekend, sleep in a little, relax a little and enjoy reading the paper on Sunday morning …but wait… this was no ordinary Sunday morning, it was the much anticipated TAG surf event raising funds and awareness for Sarcoma. 

The team was up and moving at 6am with volunteers hurriedly unpacking cars, erecting tents, hanging posters and banners for all to see at the beach entrance via the Palm Beach Surf Club.  It was get up and go, go, go, there was kids races and treasure hunts to be sorted, prizes to be selected for the best sand castle makers and of course the exciting raffle items to be displayed.  There were Wahu packs, t-shirts, balls, caps, frisbees and the list goes on.  Unit donated t-shirts, caps, posters and vouchers, as described to me by a teenage member of the surf crew the posters were of an artistic nature and he could appreciate nature when displayed in this manner, I think the nature of his appreciation was called Kim and she was very beautiful. 

The event was due to start at 8am with most competitors there by 7.30.  You were greeted at the entrance with a visual display of color, merchandise, banners and posters where everywhere and you had to walk past the ever aromatic smell of sizzling sausages, onions and bacon and eggs for breakfast on the BBQ.  When you needed something sweet there were cupcakes especially made for the event.  Lunch was sausage sandwiches and delicious nachos made by Stag Chili with sour cream, all donated for the event.

The surfers in the competition arrived with boards underarms, wetsuits over shoulders and most with the infectious feeling of anticipation, they are smiling and saying hi to everyone as they enter but really they are saying “Just let me get to the water, I want to check out the surf, I can hear the ocean calling me”.

Ritchie Lovett, Hannahs Chance Ambassador and surfing legend, flew from Sydney to be a compare at the event.  In 2006 Ritchie was diagnosed with bone cancer, he spoke of his journey and gives inspiration to those who listen.  Ritchie has retired from surfing but his story continues to inspire people from all walks of life, he praised the efforts of all the participants, judges and surfers for creating awareness of sarcoma.

The Palm Beach Surf Club offered the use of its facilities for the day and accommodated all our needs.  Terry “Tappa” Teece was the compare for the events, he introduced the judges and the teams and kept us all on focus with scores and who was running for their teams.  There were 90 competitors in all and five teams, Alley Boardriders, Burleigh Boardriders,  Kirra Boardriders, MNM Boardriders and Palm Beach Boardriders. Once the introductions were made they were off and surfing.

Clean, two-foot waves washed up to the sand, set after set.  The waves were of grommet size so it meant everyone in the team could have a go, perfect.  Some of the bigger surfers had to show off their skill on the smaller waves to earn their points but in true surfer style all surfed with their passion for the sport spurring them on. 

The Wolfe Family donated the ornate carved wooden trophy for the winning team.  The Alley Boardriders won this event for the second year in a row, there was some friendly jostling amongst the surfers after the awards were handed out with comments of “Yeah yeah we will win next year, it was just a fluke and the gimp suit has to make an appearance every week”.  The scores were very close with The Alley 1st, Burleigh 2nd, MNM 3rd, Palm Beach 4th and Kirra 5th. 

The weather was changeable throughout the day, when the sun shone it was hot, then a cool wind would blow to cool you down, perfect for spectating at the beach.

Towards the end of the day all participants were asked to go down to the beach and stand in a certain area, after everyone was in place a helicopter flew over to take an aerial photo of the beach.  A human Sarcoma sign was made on the beach with all hands raised in the air with sarcoma bands on show, absolutely awesome.

The surfers surfed, the kids played, the spectators were entertained, glancing around the surf club you could feel real community spirit with both the sarcoma and the surf teams vowing that next year will be bigger and better. 

What a great day for Team Sarcoma.

Carmen Thompson