A vision continues with the Noosa Twin Fin
After the unprecedented success of this year’s inaugural twin fin division, the event will be returning in 2022, proudly presented by Vissla.
Twin fins are, in some regards, a missing link between traditional longboarding and modern-day short boarding, forming one aspect of the dramatic shortboard revolution of the 1970s. This pivotal era was a time of experimentation and innovation, boards changing literally day by day in the pursuit of higher performance and a more critical style of surfing. While the single-fin shortboard is a little nostalgic today and the thruster and quad fins are now the contemporary standard, twin fins were an all-but-forgotten transitory design that is being rediscovered as an incredibly viable performance surf craft.
Requiring boards pre-dating 1985, the Vissla Twin Fin honours those inspiring designs of yesteryear but also reflects the calibre to which they can perform, placing vintage boards under the feet of some of today’s most progressive Australian short boarders.
Last year’s winner, Byron Bay’s Kyuss King, is an incredibly versatile surfer, riding numerous styles of board, but favouring a modern shortboard pushed to its limits. King displayed these talents with impeccable form to claim the first-ever Noosa Festival of Surfing Twin Fin division crown and will return to defend his title in 2022.
King will be joined by a stellar lineup, including Chris ‘Chippa’ Wilson, former WSL contender, Matt Wilkinson, Northern Beaches surfer/shaper Joel Fitzgerald – notably the son of the ‘Sultan of Speed’, Terry Fitzgerald, one of the pioneers throughout the shortboard revolution – local former WSL surfer Dimity Stoyle and former top-ten WSL athlete Josh Kerr, along with his daughter Sierra.
2021 presented an incredible quiver of original pre-1985 twin fins, many brought along by competitors, though a fine selection also kindly donated for the occasion by Keith Grisman, founder and curator of the Noosa Surf Museum.
Bridging the gap between the longboards more synonymous with the Noosa Festival of Surfing and the sub-seven-foot realms of the shortboard, the Vissla Twin Fin division provides an essential unity between the two disciplines. Vissla is the perfect presenting sponsor and the embodiment of this philosophy. Striving towards a completely inclusive, more tenable future of surfing, Vissla is pioneering the surf industry, with sustainable materials, groundbreaking innovation and a ‘surf everything’ mentality.
This year, Vissla hosted the Shaper Shack, showcasing some of the talented shapers of the region for the general public. The shack will return once more as part of a schedule of activities and events beyond the waves of Noosa’s First Point in 2022.
The Noosa Festival of Surfing is thrilled and honoured to welcome Vissla to an outstanding lineup of sponsors, event sponsors who make the festival possible.
Discover more and keep up to date with further announcements at www.noosafestivalofsurfing.com
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