Noosa Surfing Dog Championship

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2020 VetShopAustralia Surfing Dog Championships for Dogs of All Sizes

The Noosa Surfing Dog Championship, officially called the VetShopAustralia Surfing Dog Championships, is an annual dog surfing contest held in Noosa, Australia as part of the Noosa Festival of Surfing. It was founded in 2012[1][2][3] and is organized by online retailer, VetShopAustralia.[4][1]

Competition[]

The championship comprises a single invitational event in which 8 to 10 teams of dogs and humans on stand up paddle boards compete to win the Best Wave Award. The award is judged on skill, coordination between dog and person, and entertainment value. One of the competing dog owners claims: “Spike turns from casual family dog into hyper hound when he sees a glimpse of the beach and will no doubt want to get his paws submerged and on the trophy one more time."

The 2021 VetShopAustralia Surfing Dog Championship took place on Saturday, 15 May 2021 at 1:30pm after being postponed from its usual date in March due to COVID-19 restrictions.[5]

The 2022 event is slated for Saturday, 5 March at 2:30pm and will take place at First Point, Noosa once more.[6]

The event is not to be confused with the Norcal Dog Surfing event & World Championships held in California, USA.

History[]

The event was first held in 2012[7][8] under the name VetShopAustralia Surfing Dog Spectacular. It has since been held annually as part of the Noosa Festival of Surfing. In 2018, the event was renamed the Surfing Dog Championships in recognition of the increased quality of the competitors and the competitive nature of the event.[9][10][11][12]

2012[]

The inaugural VetShopAustralia.com.au Surfing Dog Spectacular took place on Sunday, 11 March 2012 and proved to be the highlight of the Noosa Festival of Surfing opening ceremony, giving former pros and surf legends a run for their money in the popularity stakes. Crowds swarmed as the surf dogs lined up and prepared to show their doggy surfing skills to the world. The four-legged contestants did not disappoint, with an exciting display of surfing given by each of the furry surfers.[13][14]

The 2012 event was preceded by a Teach Your Dog To Surf Clinic which was hosted by VetShopAustralia.com.au and Chris de Aboitiz of Natural Balance at Noosa, Queensland, Australia.[15]

No winner was announced for the 2012 event.

2013[]

The VetShopAustralia.com.au Surfing Dog Spectacular had even more woofs and waves in March 2013.[16] The 2013 Spectacular marked the second year running the competition was held as the opening event of the Noosa Festival of Surfing.[16] Festival organizers were keen to have the doggie surfing stars back again this year after they drew a crowd large enough to rival the spectators of the professional (people) surfing competition, in 2012.[16]

The Surfing Dog Spectacular was again headlined by Chris De Aboitiz, a former tandem surfing world champion and professional dog trainer. Chris combines his two passions by surfing with his three dogs - known affectionately as The Pack. He has spread the word about dog surfing, which is often found to strengthen the bond between pet and owner.

The winner of the 2013 Best Wave Award was Paul "Jonesy" Jones, Opal Jones with dog Hugsley.

2014[]

The 2014 event was held on Sunday, 9 March to another packed crowd at Noosa Main Beach.[17] Seasoned dog surfer Chris de Aboitz and his talented pack of surfing dogs, Rama a Border Collie cross and Murf, an Australian Shepherd, were joined in the water by a stellar cast of furry competitors.[17] Hugsley, a Spanador (Cocker Spaniel x Labrador) and last year’s winner of the Best Wave award, was joined in the surf by Patches, a Jack Russell x Fox Terrier x Cattle Dog, Indi, a Border Collie and northern New South Wales newbies, Pepper, a Staffie x and Kosta, a Bulldog x Mastiff.[17][18]

The winner of the 2014 Best Wave Award was Morgan and Jesse Dittman with dog Kosta.[17]

2015[]

The 2015 event was held on Sunday, 8 March and saw VetShopAustralia partner with GoPro to kit out the dogs in waterproof cameras that captured their unique view from on the board.[19]

The winner of the 2014 Best Wave Award was Paul "Jonesy" Jones and Opal Jones with dog Hugsley (two-time champion).

2016[]

The winner of the 2016 Best Wave Award was former world champion tandem surfer Chris de Aboitiz with dogs Rama and Millie.[20]

2017[]

The winner of the 2017 Best Wave Award was Caitlin Jones with dog Indi.

2018[]

The winner of the 2018 Best Wave Award was Rob with dog Spike.[21]

2019[]

The winner of the 2019 Best Wave Award was Chris Oakley with dog Banjo.[22]

2020[]

The winner of the 2020 Best Wave Award was Paul "Jonesy" Jones, Opal Jones, and Huey Jones with dog Hugsley (three-time champion).[23]

2021[]

The winner of the 2021 Best Wave Award was Dan Bleicher with dog Pickles.

2022[]

The winner of the 2022 Best Wave Award will be judged on several criteria including length of time on wave, entertainment factor and skill set.


The VetShopAustralia Surfing Dog Championship is understood to be the oldest surfing dog championship event in the world. The event was first held in Noosa in 2012 [7] whereas a similar event in the USA first started in 2015[24] and another similar event in the UK started in 2018.[25]


Media[]

The VetShopAustralia Surfing Dog Championships has received extensive television coverage within Australia including being subject of stories on Harry's Practice,[26] Totally Wild and The Today Show[27] and receiving coverage on Channel 7 News,[28] Channel Nine News[29] and ABC Regional News.[30]

Celebrity judges[]

Judges of the event over the years have included TV Personality Dr Harry Cooper, Pro Surfer Layne Beachley,[26] and Bondi Vet Dr. Alex Hynes.

References[]

  1. ^ a b "Surfing Dog Pictures. Because You Deserve It". HuffPost.com. 8 March 2016. Retrieved 22 November 2021.
  2. ^ "Surfing Dog Championships | VetShopAustralia". Vetshopaustralia.com.au.
  3. ^ "VetShopAustralia Dog Surfing Championships". Noosa Festival of Surfing 2020. January 15, 2019.
  4. ^ "VetShopAustralia Surfing Dog Championships - March 2 & 3". Australiandoglover.com. Retrieved 22 November 2021.
  5. ^ "2021 Surfing Dog Championships". www.vetshopaustralia.com.au. Retrieved 2021-12-15.
  6. ^ "2022 VetShopAustralia Surfing Dog Championships". www.vetshopaustralia.com.au. Retrieved 2021-12-15.
  7. ^ a b "Vetshop". Noosa Festival of Surfing 2020.
  8. ^ "New breed of surfer hits the waves". The Courier Mail. March 9, 2012.
  9. ^ Holdsworth, Matty. "Surf's up, dogs out: Noosa ready for wave chasers". Sunshine Coast Daily.
  10. ^ "Surfing Dog Days are bark at the Noosa Festival of Surfing". Pacificlongboarder.com.
  11. ^ "VetShopAustralia Surfing Dog Championships - March 1". Australiangoglover.com. Retrieved 22 November 2021.
  12. ^ "There's A Crazy Cool Puppy Surfing Comp Happening This Weekend!". Theurbanlist.com.
  13. ^ "The Lab AU | VetShopAustralia.com.au Official Blog: Surf Dogs Steal the Show". The Lab AU | VetShopAustralia.com.au Official Blog. Retrieved 2021-12-15.
  14. ^ VetShopAustralia.com.au Surfing Dog Spectacular 2013, retrieved 2021-12-15
  15. ^ "2012 Event Highlights". VetShopAustralia Surfing Dog Championships - 2012 Event Highlights. 15 December 2021. Retrieved 15 December 2021.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: url-status (link)
  16. ^ a b c "The Lab AU | VetShopAustralia.com.au Official Blog: VetShopAustralia.com.au Surfing Dog Spectacular 2013". The Lab AU | VetShopAustralia.com.au Official Blog. Retrieved 2021-12-15.
  17. ^ a b c d "The Lab AU | VetShopAustralia.com.au Official Blog: The 2014 VetShopAustralia Surfing Dog Spectacular; A Barking Mad Success". The Lab AU | VetShopAustralia.com.au Official Blog. Retrieved 2021-12-15.
  18. ^ Surfing Dog Spectacular 2014 Noosa Australia, retrieved 2021-12-15
  19. ^ GoPro: 2015 Surfing Dog Spectacular, Noosa, Australia., retrieved 2021-12-15
  20. ^ "2016 Event Highlights". Vetshopaustralia.com.au.
  21. ^ "2018 Event Highlights". Vetshopaustralia.com.au.
  22. ^ "2019 Event Highlights". Vetshopaustralia.com.au.
  23. ^ "HUGE GALLERY: Surfing Dog Championship". Sunshine Coast Daily.
  24. ^ "World Dog Surfing Championships Return on August 28th". surfdogchampionships.com. 25 July 2021. Retrieved 22 November 2021.
  25. ^ "2021 UK Dog Surfing Championships Announced!". Surfingengland.org. 23 January 2021. Retrieved 22 November 2021.
  26. ^ a b "Teach your dog to surf!". Dogslife.com.au. June 27, 2014.
  27. ^ "Surfing goes to the dogs: TODAY 2016, Short Video". 9now.com.au. Retrieved 22 November 2021.
  28. ^ "Dogs steal the show at Noosa Festival of Surfing". Facebook.com.
  29. ^ "Log in or sign up to view". Facebook.com. Retrieved 22 November 2021.
  30. ^ "ABC Sunshine Coast". Facebook.com.
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