Kicking Off 2026 in Style at Diggers
We rolled into Diggers last Sunday for our opening round of 2026, greeted by a light southerly and clean, well-shaped waves that gave competitors plenty to work with. After a solid break, the work crew came in fired up and made light work of the first setup for the year. A big thanks again to our reliable crew. Many hands really do make the job easy.
With so many new families joining us this year, the first comp is always a great chance to build new friendships. We are so stoked to welcome so many fresh faces to the CHBC family and to see everyone enjoying what the club is all about.
Our judging team also rolled out the priority board on the main bank for the first time, with the 45s, Open As and 18s getting valuable practice using the priority system. We will be offering this across different divisions throughout the year to help members competing outside CHBC comps.
The first heats in the water were Open B, with new member Kyle Gilbert taking the win. What a way to start, winning your first ever heat at CHBC.
The 18s were taken out by Carter, who won every heat he surfed in, with little brother Max right on his heels. This division is shaping up to be seriously competitive this year.
Our water safety team also had some fresh faces and plenty of helping hands, which gave our Rippers the confidence to be a little braver than usual. Ruby and Dane even made it out the back with the guidance and support of the safety crew. Huge credit to the team for helping our Rippers feel safe and supported. Congrats to Guy for taking the first win of the year, and welcome to Kai, who joins our legendary division this season.
The 14 Boys is another stacked division, with the boys pushing each other for strong scores all day. Well done to Huwyn for taking first place.
Jye grabbed his first win in the 12 Boys, and this crew is going to show big improvements this year with more time surfing together. Bodhi took out the 10 Boys with a massive 15.15 heat total.
Congratulations also to Ivy, Matilda and Sash for winning the women’s finals, all posting some excellent scores.
Maddo made a quick dash back from the World Club Challenge to take out Open A.
A big thanks to our support crew for helping everything run smoothly all day. Great to hear Stevie, Macho, Simmo and everyone else who jumped on the mic throughout the day. Lexi kept everyone fuelled up with B+E rolls, snags and nachos.
Just a gentle reminder that all competitors are required to judge after their heat. Please dry off and be ready with 5 minutes to spare so the day can run smoothly without delays. Repeatedly missing judging duties will have scoring consequences. If you need help, we are always here to assist.
Catch you all for Round 2 on 29 March.
