Dalmeny Boardriders are located on the South Coast of NSW. They were the first of only two other main board rider clubs in this region, but they’re beginning to make a big impact.
We had a chat with club president, former World Qualifying Tour (WQS) surfer, Matt Hoar about the history of the club and where they’re headed into the future.
Dalmeny is situated in a tiny coastal town between Tuross Head in the north and Narooma in the south. In the beginning, the ‘70s, the club was known as the Montague Surf Riders. The original club folded due to lack of interest at the time. It was resurrected as the Montague Boardriders through the ‘90s and then Dalmeny BRC it’s known today was formed in 2017 by Matt and his best mate Brent Gresty.
When asking Matt what their initial prompt was to form the club, he told us after competing on the WQS through the early 2000’s, it was his years competing at boardriders that is what attributed to his competition experience.
“I wanted to get back into competitions in my mid 30’s, 10 years after retiring from professional surfing. So I decided to restart the club and then hopefully build the future of competitive surfing on the far south coast. A club gives local surfers such a huge sense of community, and more opportunity to compete with a group, travel as a group and build camaraderie,” he said.
As far as club highlights go, Matt shared it’s the micro groms coming up through the club that rule the world!
“With the lack of swell we have had this year, a highlight has been for our micro groms who have the best conditions to compete in. They often complain when the surf is big because they can’t be out the back and riding green waves. But when it’s small, they get center stage and are able to showcase their abilities in front of the rest of the club,” he said.
They are the biggest division in terms of numbers so it shows a great potential for surfing in this region.”
In 2023 Dalmeny had 25 of their junior surfers compete in the South Coast Regional Titles and 10 compete in the State Titles, huge numbers from the southern club.
In terms of athletes in Dalmeny BRC to keep an eye out for, Matt said there are a few who are showing good potential.
“We have a relatively small catchment of numbers in terms of competitive surfers, but young Audrey Knobel who just turned 10 came third at Grommet State Titles in the U12 girls.”
We can’t wait to see what the future holds for Dalmeny Boardriders Club and their members!
