Over the two weekends of the Allphones NSW Surf Life Saving Championships, 6000 competitors and thousands more spectators congregated at Kingscliff on the NSW Far North Coast.
“They are huge numbers for an event in the Tweed. We haven’t seen an event of this size ever,” acknowledged Phil Villiers, CEO of Destination Tweed, the industry body funded by the Tweed Shire Council tasked with promoting tourism and business investment in the area.
Hosted by Cudgen Headland Surf Life Saving Club, the championship has been a boon for many local businesses including the recently opened 7 Eleven. Manager Arsh Mohammed is delighted with the 2600 slurpees he sold in three days during last weekend’s junior competition; this is compared to a normal week’s trade of 1000. Energy drinks were also big sellers, as were ice-creams. It was also hard to find energy drinks left on the shelf at the local supermarket during the two weekends.
For the four-day Open com-petition, trading was strong, with the weekend crowds making their way to Kingscliff to see the State’s finest surf life saving talent on show.
“The feedback we have received is that the competitors love the beach and how close it is to all the facilities. They are blown away by what’s available in the region. It’s a fantastic opportunity to showcase the area,” said Villiers.
Tourism Australia has calculated the surf life saving event is worth around $18 million to the local economy, a boost Kingscliff can look forward to again next year, thanks to the two-year contract, with an extension option.
Then there are those competitors, in particular the parents who will return for holidays and organise conferences outside the surf life saving carnival dates. “The hotels and resorts are getting a lot of positive feedback from those interested in coming back for holidays and conferences,” Villiers added.
President of Surf Life Saving NSW, Tony Haven, says the event is good news for both the local Tweed economy, and Surf Life Saving. “The State Championships help promote the great work our surf lifesavers do in keeping the public safe on our beaches, as well as promotes economic activity in the region,” said Haven. “It’s a win-win for everyone.”
Kingscliff is staging three major events this month: the Kingscliff Triathlon, Allphones NSW Surf Life Saving Championship
and, to cap off the busy month,
the Malfunction Longboarding event.
“Those three major events bring great media opportunities, it’s publicity you can’t buy,” Villiers added.
