Allan Hall proves a fierce competitor at the 2017 SurfAid Cup
The sun was shining, the water was crystal clear and the waves were absolutely pumping for the Annual SurfAid Cup held at Queenscliff Beach on 22nd September 2017.
The SurfAid Cup is a surfing competition to raise funds for SurfAid – a non-profit humanitarian organisation whose aim is to improve the health, wellbeing and self-reliance of people living in isolated regions connected to us through surfing.
The SurfAid Cup is a global event and we are lucky enough to have it in our backyard in Manly, so it is always a priority for the Allan Hall calendar and one that we are renowned for, for being a fierce competitor.
As we arrived on the sand, this year was no different. Our team consisted of Kym Moir, Rob Bell, Greg Anderson and Jake Somerville and through our fundraising efforts we selected Rob Bain as our pro-surfer (pretty good addition if you ask us)!
Kym set the scene for the Allan Hall team on the first wave with the 2nd highest score for the day – an 8.3. We cruised through the 1st heat on the back of Kym, Jake and Greg.
It was now time for semis and we had Rob Bain lead the charge. Although we had a few falls on final moves, through count back we managed to scrape our way into the final.
As the pressure mounted our supporters cheered from the sand and the finals began. All our surfers had reasonable solid waves in the final, and managed to spend the last 20 minutes watching the event unfold. We thought we had a chance of a top 3 finish as the waves were deteriorating, but with 15 minutes to go the Aquabumps team needed a 3 to take the crown with their best surfer still in the water. It was all over, but the wave gods gave little, and with 3 minutes to go Aquabumps managed to scratch onto a small one and post a 3.67 pushing Allan Hall into second.
We were proud to come second place out of twenty-five teams and loved seeing the competitive nature come out of the Allan Hall team when it counted, with plenty of banter and laughs along the way!
It was a fantastic atmosphere all day and great to hang out with colleagues/surfers and network with firms across Sydney while raising funds for such a great cause. SurfAid raised a record $250k from the competition, so a huge congratulations to the organisers and volunteers for such a fun and well-organised event.
Most of all, we want to thank those who donated to our team and supported us towards success on the day!
If you would like to find out more information about SurfAid or would like to donate, please visit www.surfaid.org/events
Image credit: Matt Dunbar
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