Surfers could be banned from Sydney’s Bondi Beach, prompting immediate backlash
The council says the change would reduce the risk of people swimming between the flags being hit by a surf craft with fins
A proposal to ban surfing on most of Australia’s iconic Bondi Beach has triggered anger among the local boardriding community.
Current restrictions confine fibreglass boards to the southern end of the Sydney beach. Softer foam boards popular among novice surfers and children are allowed anywhere, other than inside the flags – a lifesaver-supervised area designated for swimmers.
But Waverley Council, the local government with authority over the beach, is canvassing feedback from residents on a plan to abolish the distinction between hard and soft boards, and instead categorise them as “simply fin or no fin”.
If they agree with the proposal, there will be nowhere for our kids to learn about the ocean
This would force all surfers to the southern end of the 900-metre-long beach, where waves are usually bigger and dangerous rip tides more frequent.
Between 50 and 300 people surf Bondi each day, according to the council, with 84 per cent of people in the ocean using the beach outside the flagged area.
In the warmer months the shoreline draws thousands of people.
The council says the change would reduce the risk of people swimming between the flags being hit by a surf craft with fins. But it notes the change would increase surfer congestion and heighten the risk of injury outside the flags.