Noosa Festival of Surfing Has Gone to the Dogs
- Written by Lani Pauli
Perhaps one of the most popular competitions, the Dog Spectacular, is what the punters love most. Festival Co-Founder Paul Jarratt said they're the only festival or surfing event in the world where the dogs surf on a stand up with their masters.
“It's a wonderful experience for dog and human,” he said. “It's not really about winning or losing; it's a celebration of all the good things we love about surfing, the ocean and environment that we are privileged to have in Noosa.”
“I think that's why we attract surfers and their families from all over the world, we've got 20 countries represented this year.”
Kerry Pittman, first time dog surfer, was bursting with pride for her four-legged sidekick, Kelvin.
“I went pretty well and I'm pretty proud of him for staying on the board for the whole time,” she said. “I was thinking at some point that he was going to jump off but he trusted me enough to stay. We're going to do it again for sure.”
It's not just man's best friend catered for in the 25th year of the festival. Surfers from all walks including, including longboard, shortboard, finless, tandem, stand up paddle boards, and body surfing, and ages from under 15 to over 70 are looked after making the festival one of the most popular events on the global surfing calendar
The festival kicks on until March 12th with more than 30 competitions catering for a variety of surfers including longboard, short board, finless, stand up paddle board and more. Visit www.noosafestivalofsurfing.com for the full program.