2024: The Board Riders Club Dedicated to the Surfing Experience

Local surfers, it’s finally happening…”

The black and white sign was just visible from the crooked cobbled path next to the local “drive-thru” bottle shop. It appears to be new for some locals, but the sign and the club it proclaims have been around for seven years. The Black Rocks Board Riders Club was formed by outgoing locals searching for a space to create a “connection between the beach and surfing community,” and encourage everyone to get involved in outdoor activities that will help them make lifelong friendships. Founding member Tristan Wetherelt helped establish the club in late 2016 after a night of passing around ideas with his close friends and neighbours. “I guess that was the spark that it required, and then it just needed people to get sort of the fire going,” he said.

This new board riders club had an appeal to sponsors because their values are centred around the experience and joy of surfing rather than the competitive and technical side. “We’re a newish town… so younger families [were] coming in, and we wanted just to have that place where families felt like they could go… you didn’t have to be a professional,” said Tristan. He described how he thought that “Quicksilver loved that family-oriented ethos, and so they jumped on board.” With their first sponsorship secured, Black Rocks Board Riders were ready to start competing.

“The first-ever surf round held at Black Rocks Beach was on the 12th of March 2017,” said Tyson Cook, club president. This round was filled with anticipation, with surfers waiting along the shoreline, itching to conquer the pounding waves. Not only was it the first time the club was hosting a competition, but this round was named the James Tate Memorial Round in honour of a surfer who had suddenly passed away after a cardiac arrest (Crawley, 2017). The excitement of a new club competing for the first time was darkened after a tragic loss within the Tweed Coast community. However, the devastation that everyone felt did not stop the Black Rocks surfers from showing support by paddling out at Hastings Point Beach in February 2017. Over 500 members of the surfing community participated to mourn the loss of their fallen friend (Crawley, 2017). The way that the surfing community gives their all to everyone in their time of need is astounding, and Black Rocks Board Riders demonstrated this before they even officially became a club.

A men’s club, or the need for one, may seem at odds with the laidback, friendly lifestyle of Pottsville, where locals and visitors wander, limbs sun-kissed and sun-happy, where the background of squelching thongs compete with the relaxing crash of the waves. However, it is not all rosy. Men’s mental health is an ongoing issue in Australia as men struggle to come forward and ask for help regarding their emotional state (Beyond Blue, n.d.). According to Beyond Blue research in 2022, “an average of 6.4 men died by suicide every day across Australia,” and “one in seven men will experience depression in their lifetime” (Beyond Blue, n.d.).

 Being a small town with tight-knit groups, mental health disorders are at a higher risk of developing. But the welcoming and easy-going nature of the people who live in this coastal creek town and the encouragement they put on joining local clubs can prevent the struggles of depression and anxiety. Tristan Wetherelt is a mental health advocate and believes that “community sport or friendship is vital for your mental health because it provides you with that out… We’re all busy people, we’re all working hard… if you don’t have these releases outside or connection outside the community, it can really affect your mental health in a bad way.”

Surfing is a solo sport; the vastness of the open ocean when waiting for the right wave is a thought that would drift into any surfer’s mind. The insignificance of one person against an entire ocean can feel overwhelming when a surfer is out there in the thick of it. Creating this board riders club doesn’t just encourage friendship and companionship; it prevents the small thought of how insignificant surfers are from turning into depression or anxiety.

Now, seven years later, this little community of early risers in search of the perfect wave have created their own family. They catch up at the local tavern for feminine cocktails while wearing their dusty tradesman work shirts, they lend helping hands to their fellow members if they need it in the form of extra surfing gear and training sessions, and they support each other's wins and losses during competitions and in life. Black Rocks Board Riders Club has changed the lives of so many of its members, including Tristan, who transitioned to his lifelong dream of teaching after working as a plumber for years. He says that “weirdly enough, [he] can probably thank clubs like the board riders… because it was [his] involvement in the community that… re-ignited that passion.”

The Black Rocks Board Riders Club doesn’t just allow people to surf the perfect wave or compete against nature with a fibreglass board. They give people in Pottsville the courage to challenge themselves physically and mentally in their everyday lives. If they can go against rips and currents as a community and come out on top, the emotional struggles of grieving, loss, depression, and anxiety will become more bearable with this club by their side.

References

Blanch, R. (2021, Feb 13,). Changing tides: The Exclusive Boardriders Clubs of the Northern Beaches. Central News, https://centralnews.com.au/2021/02/13/changing-tides-the-exclusive-boardriders-clubs-of-the-northern-beaches/

Crawley, M. (2017, Feb 6,). Hundreds Remember the Man with the Infectious Smile. https://www.dailytelegraph.com.au/news/nsw/tweed-heads/hundreds-remember-the-man-with-the-infectious-smile/news-story/39dc4b702e36668fd502f30e6ef9484f

Lieberman, A. (2023, Apr 7,). A Coastal Gem Hidden in Plain Sight. https://www.exploretravel.com.au/story/8144224/a-coastal-gem-hidden-in-plain-sight/

Mental health statistics. Beyond Blue. Retrieved Mar 6, 2024, from https://www.beyondblue.org.au/mental-health/statistics