Crushed.
Residents of New South Wales’ second largest city Newcastle are reeling this morning as it was revealed in stunning announcement that Victoria’s Bells Beach has stolen the iconic easter weekend surf contest from its shore.
The Rip Curl Pro, which will kick off its inaugural running at Merewether, just three kilometers east of Newcastle’s town center, in mere weeks has been the pride and joy of the town for hours. Residents were looking forward to watching their waves in the World Surf League broadcast spotlight, sharing their charms with visiting surfers and spending the expected $15m the contest will inject into the local economy.
“Newcastle has a long history when it comes to surfing – some of the greats and champions,” Deputy Premier John Barilaro told the local newspaper. “The opportunity here is to showcase Newcastle to about 10 million viewers globally. And Newcastle is a global city. It was the perfect fit for this.”
Lord Mayor Nuatali Nelmes called the event was “a massive coup for Newcastle.”
That coup, however, was quickly squashed as the contest will move south for 2022 – 2006 as Torquay, home of Bells Beach, inked a just-announced four-year deal with the World Surf League.
Surf Coast Mayor Libby Stapleton said the surf competition will be “an integral part of our identity and economy” and estimates an $8m cash infusion.”
“I think that the World Surf League, Rip Curl and the Victorian Government recognise that this event is really unique and we appreciate their efforts in having helped ensure future events will occur at Bells Beach,” she said.
It is uncertain how Newcastle’s population will cope or if professional surfing’s governing body will move the inaugural Billabong Pipeline Masters to Merewether for the upcoming season.
More as the story develops.
These Typos (2022-2006) are really confusing everyone!!!
ever thought that being in the middle is the best place to be…..I sound like a leftie when it comes to social issues .
when it comes to the rights of us humans, which you call freedom , well I am right wing, and I don’t believe in abortion…..so that’s why I see no difference in our political parties…and support neither..
we all know but don’t care…as we all know HK was part of China for 5 000years….they leased it for 99 years , and the pommy colonialists fucked up the local people there with notions of democracy….now China has it’s HK back….it’s now again part of China…so lets strop pretending there is some moral issue here…..as no one cars or should care!
yeah right Nik….and your facts are the real ones right>
here’s some facts Nik…..on the 12/02/21 USA death rate USA 1.8% 5691 people dead in one day…..UK death rate 2.9%, Brazil death rate 2.4 %….
So my ignorance LOL…..USA has added over $20 trillion , and Australia $400 B …and I never intended to be a politician , but did kick out a couple of old councilors so someone fresh like Paul Barker could get a start , actually 7 new councilors , we”see how good they are!
Just for the record Nik , politicians are the least respected professions in Western Society…..polls show this!
so you are saying Governments murdered old people , moving them from hospitals to aged care homes?
So were there any old people already in the aged care homes have you worked out Niks percentages on how many old people were murdered???
yeah we know the vaccines don’t stop transmissions, more worrying is the effect the first wave of vaccines on the new mutant Covids……
Just so you know aged care homes in Victoria are a Federal responsibilty….and the UK is just a basket case…
You are right it costs a lot of money to store them away in homes instead of having them live with their relatives were they would be much happier.
I don’t really care if they hold Bells in Easter or in Winter, or even in Summer. Sometimes Easter’s in March and we haven’t started to get the decent weather patterns yet. It only makes a difference for the traders if there happens to be competition on the long weekend anyway.
I wouldn’t have cared if this year they moved it to September. I would have rathered there was a winner crowned for 2021. They moved the French Open and they moved some of the big marathon races from their normal dates. The very first bells comp wasn’t even in Easter anyway.
Lol look at the high roller paying under 5 grand in tax for the year!
I wish they’d cancel this year too!
I don’t want the city to be ‘showcased’.
Too many people in the water as it is, undoubtedly including me!
Paul and I have a great relationship…..and will work together in the future, as he actually listens and learns….
As long it goes both ways
What do they say about old dogs and new tricks?
shit thank you , I must not be old because I am constantly learning new tricks every day!!!!!
yeah there’s no such thing as Covid…fuck you should be our National Health officer , so we can emulate that amazing country who really dealt with Covid well so much so that , they even got their own model….how is the UK doing?
Biden killed 30,000 last week.
5691 americans died on the 02/12…Trumps legacy….good news since Biden made mask wearing mandatory….the infection rate has dropped by 40%
You don’t get to blame Trump anymore. Biden murdered those people.
The infection rate would naturally decline after the holidays. The Biden “mask mandate” is of no cause and effect.
PS: BIG Democrat failure in the Senate…HA! Acquitted!
yeah I do, because Trump did not give a fuck about anyone but himself and he didn’t even bother to come up with a plan for the pandemic, so for the next couple of mths Trumps legacy of death and destruction of the USA economy lives on in every days statistic….but fuck ….it’s only 5691 americans that died….more than double that died in the Twin Towers …..
Failure for democracy in the USA , yeah but that’s been the MO for the USA under Trump , he could rape and kill your wife and still go free…the rest of the World looks on and all we see are hypocritical lifestyles/politics of the confused angry mob you call the republican party!
$30m…….FFS Nik get a grip….so yeah because you think there ‘s a small group of old and sick people and costs too much to keep em …kill the old fuckers LOL…
For whatever reason it’s the right side of the political spectrum that says ” their fucking old anyways let them die”
Cuomo isn’t on the right.
so how old would you say?….I mean lets get you to decide who is old!
We as a society in America don’t have much respect for the elderly. They are put in homes and forgotten about. I don’t care if somebody is one hundred years old their life is as valuable as anybody else. I wish I could spend more time talking to people that have seen a lot of things over the last century.
All the people that went though World War Two are disappearing. What a century it was, and all the changes they have seen in one lifetime. From Model T’s to Teslas and cell phones.
only a few decades ago before google , these elderly have been societies elders and you seek advice and wisdom first hand from them….that’s why when you see in Australian Indigenous culture, the respect for elders has not changed!
It’s how the culture gets passed down to the younger generations. Seperating the elderly who have the most knowledge, from everybody else by putting them in homes doesn’t make sense.
then you look at some of those retirement cities in Florida …damn those rich people know how retire, meanwhile for those of the lower income , some pretty suspect aged care facilities!
The narrow white hot spotlight shines on one spot for a brief amount of time, then moves on to the next crisis de jour, and then nobody cares anymore.
the last time a new license was done for Bells was in 2019…where mysteriously Surfing Vic gave up their license to the WSL for nothing, as they’re really really good guys especially Dirk Ziff!
there was a bit of work done the previous years in making sure a request from the WSL that they had to provide a Winki-pop viewing platform , or no more CT status for Easter Bells…confirmed by the CEO of Surfing Vic/Adam Robbo….18 mths we have ben fighting the WSL proposal, which when we dug deep found that Starky/WSL bullied the Vicco’s and being the spineless wonders called Politicians, $500K has been spent with surveys and seminars and jobs for mates….
Starky has done a brilliant job bullying the community here , now has Bells locked in.
The poor dumb fuck NSW Pollies are now all disappointed they got a one year deal, but NSW can now have a CT event , damn with 10 million viewers , and millions of people will be frothing to get to Newcastle and now have their annual holidays…that’s a given?
SO back to Bells……..WSL signned an agreement in 2019…never used it, and have renegotiated a new deal….so when the fuck do we find out the details ???????
They were going to a warm and better version of Bells but people starting doing poo on the hoods of cars in protest. So now they’re going to where they are into that kind of thing.
Newcastle is most definitely the usual place for awesomeness. Main point to take away.. the WSL has no faith in us working class Novocastrians. They cooked themselves up the coast, brought it to a town that was gonna embrace the wozz, then within a week sent it home to bells. Now even I’m confused.
So it looks like the will run in Newy this April, then get shafted for future years. Lets call this year the Rebound Event for the WSL and Bells. Go slam a rando hot mess and realize, that for all her faults, Bells isn’t so bad.
As long as they let Hoyo on the mike I’m happy.
We had just started work on a 400 foot tall VIP viewing platform at Mez that could spot an incoming WSL executive from 10km out. The supporting economic boom was expected to lift Newcastle out of its post-Silverchair break up 15 year recession.
Jobs and growth, they told us. Now it’s all going to those dirty Mexicans south of the border. Putas!
Isn’t Antarctica south of your border? Undocumented penguins. Will work for fish.
The city will never be the same again. Wonder if Nuatali has a crack team of lawyers assembled to sick on E-Dawg.
ah but what you didn’t know was ol mate Starky was playing old NSW/Vic off against each other, he had a deal signed in 2019 for 5 years with the Vicco’s and in the detail was a lovely viewing platform at Wink but only 10’tall 60m long….so now we have new 3 year deal with a 100m platform that stretches from lower Winki to Centerside , of course with a new grandstand at Bells that will now have a permanent WSL merchandise retail outlet , and a contest every weekend a year…so we now have massive jobs potential……..which now will keep those nasty Northern Newy nimby’s at bay…..that’s if we survive the WSL/USA induced pandemic that is being let loose on us!
we will survive and are the chosen Easter race!
Gang war, you can dress in rabbit costumes for easter with chainsaws and machine guns like the Purge.
Great! That’s all we need. Maurice Cole in a bunny-suit LARPing the Purge at Bells.
I’m picturing a new Hollywood blockbuster. It’s been a while since we’ve had any Australian post apocalypse movies
That “a while” spells cameo all day long.
I am actually going to wear an orange fat man suit , put on an Orange wig….and write loser on my forehead….or should it be…fired Peachyness?
I would pay good money to see you in a rabbit suit with a chainsaw, yelling”fuck you surf ads”
that’s old news now , I was once a super hero called Bugsaw…..but kept getting body parts in my Chocky eggs!
You’ll be surrounded by fans.
I think it’s singular down here , will try and see if he;s still alive as he is an avid fan..
I have actually a plan with a submarine , a 25′ White pointer that’s a local……and some serious Drone action…….competition criteria could be ” If you make it out the back , catch a wave , without being eaten/blown up , and make it back to the beach alive….you are a winner!
Whatcha been smoking this morning Brutus?
been on the WSL pipe!
I was thinking when they start mining that PEP-11 site it may release a huge flood of WSL executives from the Depths!
Jen – i think the only source for the details and his take is SURFLINE Man. Where has be been?