The Long Reef ‘Reefriders’ Malibu club held their 21^st annual longboard classic at long Reef beach last weekend of the 21st and 22nd of January.

This event is one of the longest running in Australia, and most of the old faces are still competing in the older divisions such as the over 50’s and the old mal division (where boards made before 1967 are surfed).

(Editor's note: If you happen to see MattC, why don't you give him a tangible expression of your appreciation. Not only did he pen this article, and take all the photos - that involves standing around for hours shooting other people, but he also is recovering from a broken back, in two places and still managed an Opens 3rd place!) 

The comp attracted a surfer from as far away as the sunshine coast, with other competitors traveling from the Central Coast and Woolongong for the event, but it was mostly a local affair.

This year the divisions included the competitive Open (under 40’s), over 40s, over 50’s, Old Malibu and a girl and boy Grommets division. The organisers decided to run a new event this year, called the ‘Wood’ division, of which only late 40’s/early 50’s replica ‘toothpicks’ could be ridden. These boards serve minimal performance use by todays standards, but to be able to balance and control these boards on a wave of any size is a feat in itself. 

The surf for the weekend was around 2ft from the North East, accompanied by a fresh Northerly wind, which provided nearly offshore conditions as the sandbank bowled around to face the direction. High Tide proved the best time to compete as the low tide close-outs would turn into long running left handers and bowly yet shorter righthanders.

The Saturday standouts included Manly’s Paul O’grady in the over 40’s, Lyndin Riley in the over 50’s and Mike Pimm in the Old Mal division.

7am Sunday morning saw the Opens surf in their 2^nd round heats. More than a few of the guys felt a bit seedy after their late night rendezvous, but the surfing was still red hot, with a common wave starting off  with a quick noseride and then either ending up in shortboard style 360 re-entry, or a massive tail drop floater!

The Old Mal division followed soon after, with the surfers performing classic maneuvers in the appropriate smooth style, as opposed to the high performance moves executed by most of the open 9/pros in a an ‘arm flapping’ style. Garry Halliday caught some sneaky long left handers and surfed extremely smoothly and controlled on his 11footer to win his semi final.

In the Wood division, Matt Fleming was unbeatable all day with his controlled rides to the sand, in the relatively shallow closeouts. Matt continued his form to take out the first event of its kind at this competition.

In the 0ver 50’s Mike Pimm was no surprise as eventual winner, but he did have some tough competition from Lyndin Riley who came in second place.

Christian Pimm took out the prestigious John Payne memorial Old Mal division, over Lyndin Riley and Matt Chojnacki. John’s brother was over from Western Australia to present the award in memory of his great contribution to the Long Reef Club and to surfing in general.

Jack Haliday surfed beyond his years to take the U14 grommets division and Lauren Mclair was eventual winner of the U14 girls.

Paul O’grady surfed with his usual grace to win the over 40’s division from Long Reef’s Steve Beaumont.

The Open’s division is always a highlight at his competition, with a high level of surfing being displayed each year. After placing 3^rd in the Australian titles, Christian Pimm surfed up to his title by blitzing the opens with a consistent performance with nicely placed noserides in the small waves, making it a double with the Old Mal division. 

Overall the Long Reef club ran a well organised competition with the weather holding up to make it a top weekend.

SDS jumped on board this year as the major sponsor of the event and a big thanks must go to them for supporting Longboarding.

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