About Us

In 1980 some young groms, who were still at school and buoyed with enthusiasm bought on by two of their teachers getting a surfing program up and running, talked about starting a boardriders club.

Two years later in 1982 that seed of thought was well watered by the discovery of a new world of hotels and all that goes with it. On a night at one of these places with more than a couple of drinks under the belt the Apollo Bay Boardriders Club was formed by a couple of very enthusiastic lads.

They were indeed some very hardcore years back then where every outing usually ended in the pub or at someones house with a barrel of a beer. On particular night comes to mind in the middle of winter, up in the hills with a band, a barrel, a fire in a 44 gallon drum, pouring rain and packed to the rafters.

It wasn’t all like that though, the club did have the environment at heart with some good tree planting days to help local farmers with soil erosion problems and voicing their opinion on issues that weren’t conducive to the local landscape.

Twenty five years later the club is still going as strong as ever thanks to, believe it or not, most of the same lads that were there at the start.( It hasn’t always been the case though with the club nearly folding a couple of times, but somehow it was held together by a core of believers ). There is a notable difference though. These lads now have wives and kids who are all part of the Club and this is what is making it successful and looking strong for the future.

We now have over 100 members and on comp days there have been as many as 40 competitors. There seems to be an enthusiasm about the club again, not unlike those early days. The will to party is still there, unfortunately the body has become weak for most of the older ones.

The standard of surfing is still good across all ages, considering the time between really good sessions and the water temperature in winter. The kids coming on are showing some talent helped by a dedicated group of adults. This should ensure we remain a club people want to be a part of well into the future.