Surfest is an annual surfing competition held in Newcastle, New South Wales, Australia. Surfest began in 1985 as an initiative of Newcastle City Council, and at the time, was the world's richest surfing competition. The event runs for thirteen days, and from the 2007 event, has been held at Merewether Beach, having been held between Newcastle Beach and South Newcastle Beach in the past.
Surfest adopted a festival-style approach in 2015, with smaller, more official events held on surrounding beaches in the lead-up to the main event.
Event champions Year Men's division Women's division Location 1985 Tom Curren Wendy Botha Newcastle Beach 1986 Mark Occhilupo Frieda Zamba 1987 Tom Carroll Jodie Cooper 1988 Damien Hardman Pam Burridge 1989 Tom Carroll Pauline Menzcer 1990 Mike Parsons Michelle Donoghue 1991 event not held 1992 Damien Hardman Vanessa Ousbourne 1993 Barton Lynch Pam Burridge 1994 Shane Powell Pam Burridge 1995 Michael Rommelse Neridah Falconer 1996 Guilherme Herdy Neridah Falconer 1997 Shane Bevan Kylie Webb 1998 Mark Occhilupo Hayley Tasker 1999 Taylor Knox not held 2000 Mick Fanning 2001 Mick Campbell 2002 Mick Fanning 2003 Dayyan Neve Rebecca Woods 2004 Kelly Slater Rebecca Woods 2005 Mick Fanning Lynette McKenzie 2006 Neco Padaratz Rebecca Woods 2007 Jay Thomson Silvana Lima Merewether Beach 2008 Adriano De Souza Stephanie Gilmore 2009 Travis Logie Phillipa Anderson 2010 Glenn Hall Kirby Wright 2011 Dion Atkinson Coco Ho 2012 Willian Cardosa Sally Fitzgibbons 2013 Joel Parkinson Dimity Stoyle 2014 Matt Banting Malia Manuel 2015 Alejo Muniz Ellie Brooks 2016 Matt Wilkinson Sally Fitzgibbons 2017 Yago Dora Johanne Defay 2018 Mikey Wright Coco Ho 2019 Alex Ribeiro Sally Fitzgibbons 2020 Julian Wilson Bronte Macaulay 2021 Cancelled due to COVID-19 2022 Jackson Baker Macy Callaghan Merewether Beach 2023 Joel Vaughan Bronte Macaulay Source
References
External links Association of Surfing Professionals Surfest Energy Australia