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A sausage sizzle at Brunswick Heads Surf Life Saving Club to thank volunteers for raising money for the first stage of the clubhouse.

The state’s surf clubs are struggling, and sausage sizzles won’t cut it any more

About two-thirds of NSW surf clubs need upgrades, repairs or new buildings as they near the end of their lives. These are the challenges they face.

  • Julie Power

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Steph Gilmore GIF

The little white lies behind eight world titles and surfing’s perpetually happy GOAT

Steph “Happy” Gilmore is as nice as a competitive athlete gets, until she hits the water. So why would she change an incredibly successful strategy?

  • Dan Walsh
North Steyne was among a number of Sydney beaches closed after shark sightings and incidents in January.

If a summer of sharks restores our respect for the ocean, that’s no bad thing

Fatalities on our beaches shouldn’t terrify us; they should make us more humble in our approach to the ocean, more respectful, and more willing to learn.

  • Malcolm Knox
The incident took place near Flat Rock, Ballina. Angels Beach is to the left of the rock, and Sharpes Beach, right.

Beach closed after shark knocks surfer off board

A surfer has been knocked off their board at a beach south of Byron Bay as new details emerge about the death of a boy in Sydney Harbour.

  • Jack Gramenz
Paddle boarders in small surf at Manly on Wednesday.

Big surf to reshape Sydney beaches after ‘wave drought’

A short-lived coastal storm will bring waves as high as four metres to the Sydney, Illawarra and South Coast, prompting a hazardous surf warning.

  • Caitlin Fitzsimmons
No chance: Maya Gabeira from Brazil, rides a wave during the Nazare Big Wave Challenge surfing tournament at Praia do Norte in Nazare, Portugal. Walsh headed further afield to find his wave to surf.

I love the ocean, even as a sinking, ginger front-rower. Even if the ocean hates me

From Colombia to Portugal, Manly to Wanda - all the broken boards, disastrous first dates and near-drownings with an audience won’t keep me out of the water.

  • Dan Walsh
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Mentone Surf Lifesaving Club Nippers Harley, 9, Asher, 12, and Gabriel, 10.

Life’s swell for a growing wave of keen summer swimmers

As drowning rates across Victoria remain above the national average, a record number of Nippers flocking to the state’s beaches is offering hope.

  • Grant McArthur
Australia’s biggest sporting names feature in our quiz.

Test your 2025 sport smarts: From Piastri’s rise to Postecoglou’s demise and Melham’s double delight

How closely were you following Australian sport in 2025? Our Year In Sport quiz will separate the contenders from the pretenders. How many questions can you answer correctly?

  • Greg Dundas
Swimmer and surfers splashing water and cheering in the ocean in the paddle-out.

‘Splash the water and scream’: The Bondi Beach paddle-out ceremony marks healing of community

Surfers’ cheers could be heard from the shore, where Jews prayed on the beach and hundreds of people watched the breathtaking scene.

  • Kayla Olaya

The December 6 edition

Style Edit | Molly Picklum: how our world-champ surfer carved through self-doubt | Architecture’s classic comeback | The ‘can-do’ man bringing back a 1990s icon