FORSTER brothers Lakey and Aloha Haddon are preparing to compete against each other for the best waves at the Reflections Cadet Cup at Tuncurry, both hoping their local knowledge of Nine Mile Beach might play into their hands.
The inaugural Reflections Cadet Cup was held in February 2024 at Rainbow Beach, Bonny Hills, before expanding to include the Tuncurry competition on December 7-8.
Both competitions offer valuable points for surfers battling it out as part of the Surfing Australia Junior Surfing Series, with competitors earning points to progress into the national junior rankings.
Lakey Haddon, 9, is a local wild seed entry in the Under 12s boys category and Aloha, 8, is hoping to join him if another competitor fails to show or cancels at the last minute.
The Haddon siblings come from strong pedigree: their father Joe, a proud Worimi man and Forster Boardriders member, is a four-time winner of Surfest's Indigenous Classic.
"Lakey is very smooth in the water and lets his surfing do the talking whereas Aloha is the more radical one," says Mr Haddon, who started surfing at the age of seven and spent his childhood watching his own father compete in long board events.
"The boys are super excited about being able to surf at their local break – it doesn't get much better having a competition like this in our hometown - and while there's a lot of rivalry between them, they'll be cheering each other on at the same time."
Minister for Sport, Lands and Property, Steve Kamper, said it was great to see Crown land holiday parks hosting the Cadet Cup to support junior sport and regional businesses through tourism.
"Reflections Holidays manages coastal holiday parks on Crown land in some of NSW's best surf locations so its match-up with Surfest to host the Cup is a win-win for both sport and tourism," Mr Kamper said.
Surfest director Warren Smith said Nine Mile Beach at Tuncurry would provide challenging and rewarding conditions for the event's 75 entrants in boys and girls Under 12s, 14s and 16s categories.
"The debut Reflections Cadet Cup at Bonny Hills was such a fantastic event and we're really excited to be expanding the cup into this second competition at Nine Mile at Tuncurry," Mr Smith said.
"These regional events are really the breeding ground for the development of youth surfing to build national champions and we're thrilled to be partnering with Reflections again on this second event in the Cadet Cup calendar."
Reflections CMO Pete Chapman said the Reflections Cadet Cup offered competitors and tourists the chance to enjoy the action beachside and connect outdoors with the community.
"We believe that life's better outside and we exist to connect our guests with nature and create experiences for them, and the Cadet Cup really meets all of our goals in that sense," Mr Chapman said.
