December 13th 2022: Surf comp math

If you live in St Clair then you would have heard Saturday's surf contest that sprawled out across the esplanade. It was the opening round of the South Island Grom Series. Kids from 10 to 17 years of age go nuts trying to out surf each other in a series of 15-minute heats. We had three New Zealand champions in the water: Poppy Entwisle, Alexis Owen and triple-title winner Jack Tyro.

In my mind these events are what make St Clair such a cool place to live and visit. They create a buzz. So I was quite surprised to learn that DCC was placing heavy restrictions on these events ... and some doubt they will be able to continue. That seems like madness to me.

An event like the South Island Surfing Championships, held at Easter each year, brings in around 120 competitors. Most of them travel with family or at least one mate. Let's make that 2.5 people per competitor ... on the conservative side. That's 300 people spending an average of five days in St Clair. They sleep in accommodation – let's make that an average of $100/person a night. That's $150,000 straight into the pockets of our hotels, apartments and holiday homes. If they all ate breakfast out (as most do) then we're looking, at an average of $25, at another $37,500. Lunch? Let's make that $45,000. Dinner $60,000. Straight into the coffers of our restaurants, cafes and bars. Wax? Two blocks per competitor at $5 a block. That's $1200 in wax alone.

We're not even counting flights, hire cars, ferry crossings, snacks, drinks, parties or fuel, but we're already at a grand total of $293,700 ... for a miserably cold and wet week at Easter time. Surely that's worth having in our little beach suburb? Maybe even worth enhancing? Surely.

See you at the beach ... Derek

PS We're in the gallery from now until Xmas and happy to help you decide on the perfect print for your loved ones. And we have a range of new stock just going up on the walls. You can check out our limited edition series right here. We also have gift vouchers ... just in case your loved one loathes surprises.