Usher Cup | 18th January To 21st January 2024 Snapper Rocks

Snapper Rocks, Gold Coast

mens • womens • clubs

Best surfers from local & international boardriders clubs (+WILDCARDS) battle it out

combined 2 highestscoring waves = total

HIGHEST total advances to next round

individual performance determines points total for their club

EQUAL PRIZE MONEY

MENS, WOMENS & CLUB winners receive $7k

$100k event prize pool

EXPRESSION SESSIONS

Best Aerial; Most Creative; Best Spirit of Usher Cup; Highest Scoring Ride

Usher Cup 2024

We’re back for the fourth exciting year of the Usher Cup, and this time, we’re making a splash with some significant changes to this unique grass-roots surfing event. From the 18th to the 21st of January, we’ll be back at iconic Snapper Rocks with Club President Jay Phillips and the Snapper Rocks Surf Riders Club once again hosting the Usher Cup and World Club Challenge.

This year, we are getting started a day earlier with a special Usher Cup qualifier being contested at Duranbah beach on Wednesday the 17^th of January. As a contest, our journey began with a vision to create a one-of-a-kind surf contest! We wanted to shine a spotlight on grassroots boardriders clubs while giving young talent from around the world a chance to shine. It’s safe to say that we’ve not only achieved those goals but exceeded them, with past Usher Cup champions now making their mark on the QS tour and in the WSL.

In 2024, we’re again going global with teams from Bali, New Zealand, Hawaii, Japan and the United States set to battle Australia’s leading Boardriders clubs for Usher Cup and World Club Challenge honours, whilst the world’s most exciting emerging surf stars will also battle for individual honours.

Equality is a key pillar for event co-founders Theodore Vairaktaris Wayne “Rabbit” Bartholomew and once again, male and female surfers will compete for equal prizemoney, but it’s not just the winners who walk off the beach with cash in their pockets at the Usher Cup with prizemoney down to last place.

We can’t wait to see you on the Gold Coast for Usher Cup 2024, but in the meantime, stay updated with our event format and all the latest news here on the official website and on our social media channels.

We’ve increased the prize pool for Usher Cup 2024 with a whopping $100,000 up for grabs over the four days of Usher Cup and World Club Challenge competition. This year’s Usher Cup Champions will receive $7,000 while our Open male and female players will also receive $7,000 for their efforts.

Our co-founder’s commitment to equal prizemoney continues right down the list to last place with every contestant sharing in a slice of the $100K on offer.

Top 5 Prize Money:

1^st $7,000
2^nd $4,000
3^rd $3,000
4^th $2,000
5^th $1,000

The total men’s prize-pool in 2024 is $38,800 with equal 81^st receiving $100 while the women’s pool is $29,200 with equal 25^th receiving $250 for their efforts. It’s a similar story in the Usher Cup Club’s contest with a prize pool of $32,000 being shared right down to 25^th position.

Once again, the response from the world’s boardriders clubs has been epic and we have secured record international entries and secured the biggest boardriders clubs from around Australia. It’s fair to say the eyes of the worlds surfing community will once again be firmly set on Snapper Rocks and the Gold Coast in 2024 as the Usher Cup and World Club Challenge lifts to a whole new level.

The scene is set for four days of epic action in and out of the water and we look forward to seeing the world’s most exciting emerging surf stars battling for club, international and individual honours on the Gold Coast.

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.

10forTEN

In addition to the incredible boost the annual Usher Cup surf contest provides to the Australian and International boardriders clubs and our emerging surf stars, perhaps the events biggest achievement is the difference it makes to the communities and charities it supports across the Gold Coast.

Each year, the “$10k for TEN” charities initiative results in $100,000 being donated to ten local charities at the Usher Cup presentation ceremony. The ongoing success of the Usher Cup’s charity drive is due to the outstanding support the contest continues to receive from the Paint, Trade and Construction industries who year-on-year, throw their support and finances behind Usher Cup and what it stands for.

In 2024, the Usher Cup has identified ten amazing charities and organisations doing amazing work across our community. They 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, The Good Human Factory

It’s fair to say, the inclusion of seven international teams and the running of the inaugural World Club Challenge played a huge role in the Usher Cup 2023 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 2024, the Usher Cup 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.