Pushing 30 & Still Single! Burleigh Heads Weekend Of Pandemonium Is Rigged To Explode
A collision of heritage craft, World Champs, CT stars, Stab High winners, booze, live bands, DJs + more.
“Typically you’ll hear the first tin crack around 10AM. But who knows? Could be earlier this year. The forecast and weather is shaping up nicely.”
Now in its 29th edition, the Burleigh Single Fin Classic presented by the good folk at Billabong, is a hand grenade with the pin already missing, cartwheeling across the Gold Coast firmament.
Two days. Four divisions. And industrial quantities of carrying on, in what might be surfing’s greatest crossover event: heritage craft, piss-fitness, and wobbly rock hops.
As Vaughan Blakey wrote after the conclusion of the last event, “it’s a time capsule of Australian surf culture… A mardi gras of pee-yewer Aussie character and tradition. The best of who we are as a surfing nation.”
Competition kicks off both days at 7am, because Burleigh doesn’t believe in sleep-ins. Saturday is a numbers game: four junior heats, one of four women’s heats, then sixteen men’s heats, cycling through 24 women, 24 junior boys, and roughly 90 fully grown supermen in six-man scraps on antique foam. Sunday tightens the screws: round twos, semis, finals, plus a Masters division, six old boys wedged in before the final purely on vibes, mileage, and seniority.
“You know what’s so special, it’s the boards. You come down on Saturday and Sunday and you see all these beautiful antique surfboards from 1981 and earlier. They’re just pieces of art that hark back to the good times of the past,” explained local emcee and stalwart Terry ‘Tappa’ Teece.
He adds, “You know I’ve seen a bunch of blokes posting ‘Oh I love you Honey’ on Instagram, and that’s because they’re going to be playing up this weekend and they’re trying to bank some brownie points.”
“It gets fun, but it gets serious too,” says Burleigh Heads Boardriders president Jesse Outram. “Particularly on the Sunday when you’re whittling down to the finalists.”
Around the contest: tents stacked along the point, a barrier keeping things barely civil, and the rest of the Gold Coast free to post up wherever they can to watch the circus unfold. “You just grab a spot and enjoy it,” Outram says. Which is generous phrasing for what usually follows.
Boards? Ideally pre-’81. Preferably yours. “People leave boards around and fins mysteriously disappear,” Outram laughs. “People get protective over their favorite old relics.”
Hold on tight.
Liam O’Brien, a local CT veteran and a previous Single Fin Classic winner, pegged last year’s champ Alistair Reginato to go back-to-back. “He’s got all bases covered. Single fin surfing. Nightlife. Stamina.” That last one is a non-negotiable, or so I am told.
Wearing a bullseye the size of Burleigh Hill: Occy, Luke Egan, Creed McTaggart, Eithan Osborne, Loci Cullen, Soli Bailey and LOB himself, all lining up to try and smuggle the most ill-advised trophy in surfing onto the top deck of the Burleigh Pav and beyond.
LiveHeats will trial a prototype stream on Saturday. Sunday gets the full broadcast treatment of bells, whistles, and just enough commentary chaos to make you feel like you’re there… without the cortisol spike.
See you on the hill.
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