You won’t find many surf competitions described as heartwarming, but the exception in Canggu is definitely the annual Earth Island Surf Fest. More a community gathering than a competition, this festival, held on the seafront promenade of the famed Pererenan Beach, features not only a beach festival atmosphere, complete with enthusiastic vendors of all stripes, but a wide-ranging two-day surfing championship that has become the darling of the Canggu Beach Season.

A gleeful destination event, under the colorful banners and expansive tents, the competition runs from dawn to dusk on both days. This year, the format introduced a two-day surfing challenge for all competitors, including the Longboard division, where surfers battled through the leaderboard rounds with the top four advancing to the finals. Meanwhile, the Team Challenge brought an added layer of excitement — the top two teams from the leaderboard advanced straight to the finals, while the 3rd to 6th placed teams fought it out in the semifinals for the remaining two final spots.

Adding to the uniqueness of the competition, all teams surfed using a single board designed to reminisce the golden era of Bali surfing from the 1970s to the 1990s, reminding everyone of the roots and timeless beauty of the island’s surf heritage.

This event features men’s and women’s traditional longboard events, hosted by local longboard legend Jared Mell, as well as a team event that brings together the island’s best surfers for two days of high-spirited surfing and community bonding. One of the great traditions of the event is the audience participation. From their bean bag thrones under the shade of the lofty beachside tents, roars of laughter and applause can be heard as fans of the event, freshly made food and drinks in hand, encourage their teams of choice. Teams made up of not only the island-wide surf clubs, but of such luminary brands as Rip Curl and Quiksilver. One of the highlights of the team competition is that each team must include at least one female team member. Inevitably, these women raise the most enthusiastic applause as they so often out-perform the men.

This year, the event saw incredible support from both the surf industry and Bali’s creative community. Potato Head helped bring the setup to life with a sustainable approach, while BGS kept everyone fueled with great coffee. Local beer brand Kura Kura served as the official beer of the festival, keeping the vibes flowing all weekend long. Familiar faces from the island’s surf and lifestyle scene came down to show their support — from community and industry leaders like Drew Down, Kai and Kyle from Indosole, and Ronald Akili from the Potato Head Group, to surfers such as Rolo Montes, Harrison Mann, Made Dera, and Dhanny Widianto. Other well-known figures like Thai Buddha also came to join and celebrate what has become one of Bali’s most beloved surf gatherings.

With a pervading spirit of one big surfing family, the Earth Island Surf Fest, at its best, is an annual event to really be a part of and to remind us all of our appreciation for our commitment to community, the betterment of our environment, and our undying love for the traditional surf culture of Canggu.

Earth Island Surf Fest — keeping legacy, tradition, and the joyful gatherings of the surfing tribe alive and well as our favorite sport marches into the future.

(RESULTS HERE)

Team Challenge

1st Place : F1 TEAM

2nd Place : QUIKSILVER TEAM

3rd Place : BGS TEAM

4th Place : BILLABONG TEAM

Longboard Men’s

1st Place : Dhany Widianto

2nd Place : Gilang Batu Karas

3rd Place : Ayok

4th Place : Dhimas Shabil

Longboard Women’s

1st Place : Dhea Natasya

2nd Place : Leanne MacDonald

3rd Place : Katya Shaka

4th Place : Jude Felicilda

Thanks To

@potatohead @kurakurbir @BGS  

@kimasurf @noemaresort @palmbaybali @feelgoodinc

@channel island surfboard @christenson surfboard @flanagen surfboard @eight’oo surfboard @stoody surfboard  

@smoke @alchemy @santai @the racks bali