TONIC | WELCOME
CEO’S WELCOME
HI AND WELCOME TO THE FINAL EDITION OF TONIC FOR
2013.
With Christmas upon us, the surfing world is focused on the Triple Crown of Surfing taking place on the North Shore of Oahu,
Hawaii. The final World Tour event of the year combined with
high-level World Qualifying Series events will ultimately dictate
who will compete on the elite male World Tour of surfing in 2014.
As I pen this introduction, Queensland athlete Mick Fanning is
fighting for his third World Title against 11-times World Champion, Kelly Slater. As was the case in 2012, it looks like the World
Title race will go down to the wire. Coinciding with this race is the
battle for surfers to qualify for the World Tour.
Mitch Crews from Currumbin is one surfer who is set to throw
his rash vest on at Snapper Rocks in March as he embarks on his
maiden year of competing on the Association of Surfing Professionals Men’s World Tour. I have personally watched Mitch progress through the junior ranks and into the professional side of the
sport. After many years of hard work and determination, Mitch
will now have his chance to perform on the world stage and I’m
sure that the Snapper Rocks Surfriders Club will be cheering loudest as he paddles out through the Snapper keyhole. Mitch, on
behalf of Surfing Queensland, I would like to wish you all the best
for 2014.
At a domestic level, the focus throughout the final stages of 2013
has been on Australian Title events for all disciplines of the sport
including paddleboarding, stand up paddle, bodyboarding and
of course the Australian Junior Surfing Titles. Well done to all of
Queensland’s finest athletes who have qualified to represent Australia at their respective World Titles.
As we round out the year that was 2013, I would like to take this
opportunity to thank all of our members, boardriders clubs, surf
schools, corporate partners and of course the Queensland Government for their ongoing support of Surfing Queensland.
I would also like to thank the Surfing Queensland board of directors for their assistance throughout the year and last, but by no
means least, thank you to all of the staff at Surfing Queensland your contribution to the sport of surfing is greatly appreciated.
I wish you all a safe and Merry Christmas.
Scott Gillies
Chief Executive Officer, Surfing Queensland
CHAIRMAN’S WELCOME
WHAT A YEAR IT HAS BEEN. SURFING QUEENSLAND HAS
SPENT THE YEAR DELIVERING EVENTS AND PROGRAMS TO
SURFERS’ OF ALL AGES ACROSS A PLETHORA OF DISCIPLINES
THAT FALL WITHIN THE SURFING QUEENSLAND FRAMEWORK.
In 2013, Queensland’s premier Open Men’s state qualification
series, the Queensland Championship Circuit (QCC) was the most
successful yet with record event numbers and a pool of talent on
offer. Nick Vasicek and Mitch Parkinson finished first and second
respectively and will soon have their chance to perform on the
world stage at the Quiksilver Pro Trials along with current Under
18 State Junior Champion, Luke Hynd, who qualified by winning the Queensland State Junior Surfing Series. Queensland’s
best female surfing talent will also be surfing at the Roxy Pro Trials with Queensland Open Women’s Champion Keely Andrew and
current U/18 Girls Australian Junior Champion Isabella Nichols
set to light up Snapper Rocks in their bid to secure a chance to surf
against the world’s best female surfing talent.
I would like to officially welcome Health Insurance Fund of Australia as a new corporate partner to Surfing Queensland. This
partnership, along with other recent additions to the Surfing
Queensland family such as Australian Skin Cancer Clinics have
been designed to deliver real benefits to members and affiliate
members of Surfing Queensland. Stay tuned as Surfing Queensland releases more details surrounding the HIF partnership which
begins in early 2014.
I would like to take this opportunity to acknowledge and thank the
Queensland Government for their ongoing commitment to the
development of grass roots sport within Queensland and as Surfing Queensland enters a new strategic period, many of the programs and initiatives on offer would not be possible without the
support of the Queensland Government.
In closing, I would like to extend my sincere thanks very much to
Scott and the team at Surfing Queensland and also the board of
directors for all of their efforts throughout 2013. As we prepare to
celebrate Surfing Queensland reaching its 50th anniversary, being
involved in such a vibrant organisation with a rich and diverse
history gives me great pleasure. The dedicated staff work tirelessly to continually develop the sport of surfing in all its forms and a
special thanks must be extended to all of the past volunteers and
administrators who worked so hard over the past 50 years to grow
the organisation and support surfing