World Club Challenge - World Team Surfing Competition

Snapper Rocks, Gold Coast

Club Surfing

Best surfers from local & international boardriders clubs battle it out

combined 2 highestscoring waves = total

HIGHEST total advances to next round

$60k event prize pool

EXPRESSION SESSIONS

Best Aerial; Most Creative; Best Spirit of WCC ; Highest Scoring Ride

World Club Challenge 2025

As we charge toward 2025, the 5th annual World Club Challenge is back, more pumped than ever! This year, we’re dropping a new team-only format designed to bring serious energy to Snapper Rocks. From Friday January 17th to Sunday January 19th, 2025, 48 boardrider clubs from Australia and across the globe will compete in a club-first, team-focused showdown unlike any before.

For the first time in World Club Challenge history, there won’t be any individual category. This year, it’s all about repping your club with pride, as clubs battle it out head-to-head for team and international bragging rights.

Here’s the breakdown:

Snapper Section: The top two teams in each heat advance directly to the WCC Grand Final, holding tight in the Snapper section as they push through to the ultimate showdown.

Froggies Section: Not hitting top two? No worries! Teams outside the top finishers have a shot at redemption in the Froggies section—a lifeline where they’ll fight for a place in the Grand Final. The top two Froggies teams earn their spot alongside Snapper’s best, giving every club a second chance to stake their claim.

With this revamped format, every club has a shot at the final, meaning more heats, more waves, and more chances for every surfer to prove their place.

The 2025 World Club Challenge is set to offer not only top-tier surfing action but also a substantial $60,100 prize pool, shared among the 48 competing clubs. Taking place from 17-19 January 2025 at Snapper Rocks, the event will feature Boardriders Clubs from around the world, competing for both prestige and financial rewards.

The breakdown of the prize money is as follows:

1st Place: $10,000
2nd Place: $7,000
3rd Place: $6,000
4th Place: $5,000
5th Place: $4,000
6th Place: $3,000
7th & 8th Places: $2,000 each
9th & 10th Places: $1,500 each
11th & 12th Places: $1,250 each
13th-16th Places: $1,000 each
17th-20th Places: $750 each
21st-26th Places: $500 each
27th-32nd Places: $400 each
33rd-48th Places: $200 each

The world’s boardriders clubs have responded with remarkable enthusiasm, leading to unprecedented international entries and participation from Australia’s premier clubs. The 2025 World Club Challenge at Snapper Rocks and the Gold Coast promises to captivate the global surfing community.

SNAPPER ROCKS:

Located at the southern end of the Gold Coast, Snapper Rocks is an iconic surf destination, known the world over for its flawless waves, vibrant atmosphere, and the surfing lifestyle it embodies. Famous for its consistently perfect waves and peeling right-handers, to paddle in from the behind rocks at snapper is the stuff bucket lists are made of.

But it’s not just the surf that sets this unique location apart, the area exudes an electric, yet laid back vibe with those watching from the beach and foreshore as much a part of the energy as those paddling into the crystal-clear waves.

Join the global surf community and experience the magic of Snapper Rocks at Usher Cup 2024 where every ride embodies the very essence of surfing.

SNAPPER ROCKS SURFRIDERS CLUB:

Snapper Rocks Surfriders club boasts a rich heritage of nurturing world-class talent. With an impressive roster of established champions who’ve risen through the clubs’ ranks, it’s fair to say Snapper Rocks has created an enduring global surf legacy.

Our established junior programs are the backbone of our success, assisting to mould young surfers into future champions. As a result, Snapper Rocks proudly celebrates eleven world champions.

5forTEN Initiative

The annual World Club Challenge (WCC) surf contest does more than boost Australian and international boardriders clubs and showcase emerging surf talent—it has a profound impact on communities and charities across the Gold Coast.

Each year, through the “$5k for TEN” initiative, WCC donates $50,000 to ten local charities during the event’s presentation ceremony. This achievement is made possible by the outstanding support from sponsors.

WCC has selected ten exceptional charities and organisations committed to making a difference. These include Serving Our People (SOP), Arcadia College, Currumbin Wildlife Hospital, Friends with Dignity, Gold Coast Hospital Foundation, The Village School Gold Coast, Volunteering Gold Coast, PCYC Tweed Heads, The Healthy Minds Club, and The Good Human Factory.

It’s fair to say, the inclusion of more international teams and the running of the inaugural World Club Challenge played a huge role in the Usher Cup 2024 Live Stream far exceeded expectations as record numbers of viewers from around the globe tuned in to watch every wave of the contest.

Once again, Snapper Rocks with the Gold Coast skyline provided the perfect backdrop as web surfers from around the globe feasted on near perfect conditions on all four days of the contest. The events beachside studio and production team ensured the action was non-stop, capturing the contest whilst also interviewing surf champions, celebrities and showcasing the Gold Coast with unique content highlighting the region, the break, participating clubs, and associated charities.

The event once again proved popular with local businesses who streamed the contest from office monitors, while media outlets, boardriders clubs and surf fans from Australia, the USA, Japan, UK, South Africa, Brazil, Portugal, and France feasted on the world class coverage.

In 2025, the World Club Challenge Live Stream will once again be back with a high-definition broadcast being broadcast globally over four action packed days, providing up to the second scores and results as they happen. In studio, a host of celebrities, former and current professional surfers, VIP’s and our expert commentary team will again entertaining crowds on the beach and on the web with wave-by-wave insight, interviews and endless surf tales and tall stories.

Theodore Vairaktaris
Event Co-Founder

As a successful business owner and entrepreneur, Theodore is an un-stoppable force of nature. His passion and never-say-die attitude separates him from people with ideas that never come to fruition. Theodore built the Usher Group from the ground up, creating a culture across the organisation which not only embodies his mindset but also inspires the employees, customers and stakeholders to realise the ambition inherent in that mindset. As a Gold Coast local, Theo has always had a close attachment to surfing and love of the ocean. For him surfing and being in the ocean is the personification of life. Some waves are worth chasing and riding, some are worth passing.

Some waves provide you with an amazing ride, while others leave you wondering. But some days they may not come at all. Most importantly, surfing and the ocean makes you feel alive and part of an amazing journey.

Wayne ‘Rabbit’ Bartholomew
Event Director Wayne “Rabbit”

Bartholomew is the Godfather of Australian Surfing. His contribution to the sport unsurpassed by any other. His epic 1978 World Title just the tip of the iceberg representing his near half century career in com- petition, coaching and administration from grassroots to elite level.

He has been involved in a multitude of governing bodies and a successful lobbyist, advocating the importance of surfing and protecting our waves. As Surfing Australia’s National Coaching Director from 1993 to 1998, Rabbit played a big part in the careers of many of the country’s best surfers.

In a testament to his dedication, Rabbit was deservingly appointed a member of the Order of Australia AM in 2009 and Gold Coast Sportsman of the Year in 1977, 1978 and 1984. Rabbit is a life member and former president (1987 to 2002) of his beloved Snapper Rocks Surfriders Club.

Jay Phillips
Snapper Rocks Surfriders Club President (Host)

Jay Phillips is one of the most naturally talented surfers to emerge from the surf-crazed town of Coolangatta. From his stellar career as an all-conquering junior to his current role as respected Snapper Rocks Surfriders club elder and free-surfing standout, Jay has inspired generations of surfers with his talent and charisma. Jay emerged from the quiet backwater of Fingal just down the coast, with a long family history in the region. He soon migrated north to the famed point breaks of the southern Gold Coast, where he honed his flamboyant style on those long groomed walls.