Surfest Newcastle Australia 2019

Member Jungle is proud to be one of the many Newcastle 2019 Surfest participants sponsoring the event to help ensure that Newcastle’s iconic Surfest provides a world-class opportunity for women in the sport. This will be our third year in a row. Being completely Australian owned and located right here in Newcastle, we love nothing more than to be able to help local events and local people.


On Tuesday 23rd October, two participants from each company supporting the event gathered for a lunch where one company was drawn out of a hat to be named the 2019 Women's Pro naming right sponsor. We want to say a big congratulations to Holmes Civil Developments for that win. 

Our two representing team members were able to meet with Pam Burridge, the 1990 World Champion Surfer and a 3x Surfest Winner in March 2019 at a social event due to Member Jungle’s sponsorship.

Surfest has been running since 1985, when it was the richest professional surfing event on the planet. It is now named the largest surfing festival in the southern hemisphere, with thousands of people swarming the Newcastle, Port Stephens and Lake Macquarie beaches to watch the hundreds of surfers compete on the glorious waves. Surfers from all over the world travel to the region to compete in experienced and beginner competitions. 

After the 2015 event, Surfest began to struggle due to lack of funds, leading to cancelling a few events. This would have been devastating for the sporting community and this region if it limited the events. With the idea of starting a crowdfunding campaign to encourage the businesses of Newcastle and the Hunter to support the festival, the events were brought back to life. This crowdfunding campaign raised enough money to help continue the Surfest Women's Pro event.

In a world first in 2016, 85 shares at $1650 + GST by businesses in the Newcastle region saw the 2016 Surfest crowd-surf its way to securing many of the best female surfers on the planet. The prize on offer to the winning sponsor was naming rights to the event. In 2017, the crowdfunding continued with yet another event being re-established; the WSL Women's 6000 event - the Anditi Women's Pro. 

Surfest Newcastle Australia 2019 commences on 2 February 2019 with the Port Stephens Toyota QS6000 wildcard trials at Birubi beach and concludes at Merewether beach on 17 March 2019, where the male and female champions of the QS events add their names to an enviable list of past champions.

"Surfest organisers think that the event is more than a great surf competition – it is a celebration of a city and its people and their special relationship with Australian beach culture. Most of all Surfest organisers are thrilled that they can provide the people of Newcastle and the rest of the world – through an event webcast – with the opportunity to see how this former engine room for steel production has reinvented itself to host surfers to non-stop surfing action in one of Australia’s most beautiful cities." - Surfest Website

The 2019 Surfest will be a fantastic local event so be sure to get along to it to show your support!