The Shark Island Challenge (SIC) was an International Association of Professional Bodyboarders (APB) invitational specialty event held each year in Cronulla (Sydney, Australia), to the south of Cronulla Bay and Cronulla Point. Here at Shark Island, these right-hand waves roll in out of deep water and break over a sharp, extremely dangerous rock shelf reef making for thick pitching lips and heavy slabbing conditions. Shark Island tends to break best on east-southeast swells. On swells that are more east or more northeast, riders have to contend with what is known as "The Surge" (a secondary peak that forms just to the north of the main peak), which can make riding this wave even more difficult.
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| Shark Island at it's finest...SIC Competition Director Alex Leon pulling into a beast! Photo: Gleeson |
The first Shark Island Challenge was organized by Nathan Purcell and Mark Fordham, and was run in 1997. In 20+ years of the Shark Island Challenge, only two non-Australians have won this event. Here is the list of SIC Champions:
1997 - Matt Percy - Australia
1998 - Steve "Bullet" Mackenzie - Australia
1999 - Christian "Rissole" Riguccini - Australia
2000 - Mike Stewart - Hawaii
2001 - Damian King - Australia
2002 - Guilherme Tamega - Brazil
2003 - Guilherme Tamega - Brazil
2004 - Guilherme Tamega - Brazil
2005 - *NO WINNER DECLARED*- Event was cancelled in the quarterfinals, two days prior to the end of the competition window, due to lack of surf. The 16 quartefinalists shared the $50,000 prize.
2006 - Ryan Hardy - Australia
2007 - Ben Player - Australia
2008 - Ben Player - Australia
2009 - Ewan Donnachie - Australia
2010 - Ryan Hardy - Australia
2011 - Dave Winchester - Australia
2012 - Mitch Rawlins - Australia
2013 - Josh Kaihe - Australia
2014 - Andrew Lester - Australia
2015 - POSTPONED UNTIL 2016
2016 - Mitch Rawlins - Australia
2017 - Jase Finlay - Australia
2018 - NO CONTEST
2019 - *Shark Island and Mystics were alternate locations for the 2019 APB Kiama Bodyboard King Pro (August 2nd-11th).
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