Event History

The West Coast Classic started out in 1975 as a northern surfing contest at Marrawah, followed by a Tasmanian State championship event before morphing into today’s West Coast Classic by Shayne Clark.

 

Shayne was a surfer, shaper and operated a minor surf shop in the early days. Surf shops were basic, only stocking boards, wax, short john wetsuits and surf mats.

 

After Shayne, John Van Der Woude a fellow Penguin surf club member, surfer and also a tiny surf shop owner took on organising the early West Coast Classic grew larger under John. But at this stage there were only opens, juniors and knee board heats.

 

Surfing Australia was in its infancy and handed Surfing Tasmania a plan and challenge to establish local board rider clubs and develop surfing contests across the State.

 

With the West Coast Classic now well established, Surfing Tasmania had an event up and running, and Hobart based Scott Leitch from Surfing Tasmania took over and steered the event into a new age,

 

The Northwest coast back in the seventies and eighties was an industrial centre with big polluting industries that used Bass Strait as a sewer for industrial pollution, the water quality at times was either black or red, foamy and tasted like alkaline and not salt water.

 

At that stage Michael Schmidt and Glenn Saltmarsh were competing in the southern State events and Michael won a state title, Glenn was starting to rattle the cage on water quality and big industry and started being vocal in the media, about the poor water quality of the ocean and he represented the concerns of northwest surfers.

 

Scott Leitch handed the West Coast Classic to Glenn and to also establish a Northwest board rider club and backed Glenn who had new ideas and wanted to make some changes.

 

Glenn moved the West Coast Classic from the January long weekend to the March long weekend being the prime time of year for surfing at Marrawah and organised new sponsors.

 

In his first event as contest director, the contest was held at Nettley Bay and could have been wrapped up by Sunday,

The southern surfers wanted to wrap up at Nettley Bay and move on. The classic quote from the southern surfers at the event was “you are mad, jeez this is better than the surf at Clifton, hold the finals now”!

 

Against all advice Glenn delayed the finals until the Monday which had forecasted more favourable winds for Lighthouse. Most surfers enjoyed another night in the Marrawah pub much to the publican’s glee. The turning point was the next morning. Lighthouse was huge, solid 6 to 8ft plus waves with offshore winds taking the classic from fun to serious and heavy, breaking in the carpark and not contestable according to the many of the surfers.

 

Glenn and another surfer jumped off the rocks near the northern end of the carpark paddled out and caught waves breaking from outside carpark right through to the kelp bed,

 

If he could do it everyone else could do it and the West Coast Classic finals were on!

 

The kneeboard finals were first to surf, often very good shortboard surfers doubled up into this event but today they were horrified at the prospect of competing – this was not how it was done. But Phil Kelly a dedicated kneeboarder loved the conditions, dominated and supported Glenn’s decision with victory.

 

The open final was classic 6 to 8 ft lighthouse, Dave Cover lost his board, swam a mile climbed up onto the rocks at the back of the rip, heaving for air after a marathon swim needing a breather while someone rescued his board.

 

Entertainment plus on finals day with James Dayton winning this event and every surfer present was so stoked they took part in real west coast heavy surf. The publicity in the newspapers was groundbreaking, a big commitment by competing surfers in classic west coast surf!

 

The West Coast Classic had found its brand.

 

Meanwhile Scott Lietch was aware of Glenn’s commitment and public outcry on Northwest coast ocean pollution and told him to use the entry fee money to form a Northwest board rider club. Getting all the Northwest surfers together in those days was unheard of, although they all supported the anti-pollution commitment and were stoked on the result of that years West Coast Classic.

 

Northwest boardriders started with a committee of Glenn, Barry Paine a former state champ, Andrew and Tony Schmidt.

A first meeting was called at the Beach hotel opposite Burnie’s West beach which suffered pollution issues from the pulp and paper factory at south Burnie, where Glenn Grew up and learnt to surf.

 

Challenged by how to bring surfers to the meeting the entry fee money for the West Coast Classic was still in Glenn’s pocket so the meeting was advertised as free beer for all surfers who attended. A huge turn up followed, a very successful meeting and Glenn was quickly nominated as its first president and spokesperson.

 

The West Coast Classic now had a reputation unsurpassed, and the Northwest boardriders was established on an environmental backdrop and to run some surf contests including the West Coast Classic.

Ironically in that period the southern water ways were quite pristine with the Northwest coast having a terrible pollution reputation of filthy water. A generation later that has reversed with Northwest water ways being pristine, clear and popular and the south now dealing with water quality pollution.

 

The Northwest board riders live on and the West Coast Classic has become a very popular, family orientated contest with the surfing social fabric on clear display.

 

“A gathering of the TRIBE” as quoted by a beaming Mick Lawrence.

 

When the ABC backroads film crew did a story on families and West Coast Classic the sound guy made a comment regards the surfers, that I will never forget!

 

I have never ever witnessed a happier, polite, gathering or group, there is no trouble, we film events all around Australia and there is always a little trouble or issues, but here at Marrawah, West Point everyone is relaxed and happy. I wished I had got my family and kids into this sport, this is just an awesome environment of happy, healthy people.

 

Written By: Glenn Saltmarsh – West Coast Classic Contest Director