Mick Fanning is the latest Hall of Fame Inductee as announced by the 2021 Australia Surfing Awards.
On the evening of May 4, three-time WSL Men’s World Champion Mick Fanning will be inducted into the Surfing Australia Hall of Fame at the 2021 Australian Surfing Awards Incorporating The Hall of Fame event held at the QT Gold Coast.
Curator of the Australian Surfing Awards incorporating the Hall of Fame, Nick Carroll said, “Public or private, there’s the sense that Mick Fanning, despite his renowned game face and rock-hard attitude in competition, is an open book. What you see is what you get, and that might be a quality Australians love in a person more than anything.”
“But most of all, Mick has defined himself by comebacks. There was injury, like the hamstring avulsion that threatened to stop his title runs before they started. There was the crazily unexpected, like the white shark encounter during the J-Bay CT final in 2015, which remains the most-watched moment in professional surfing history. And more than anything else, there was family tragedy: the deaths of his brothers Sean and Peter. In each case, he was able to draw out the lessons. The hamstring tear led to a strengthening and fitness regime that became a benchmark for elite surfing and contributed mightily to his first world championship.”
“Through all this, Mick grew from an almost inarticulate grommet to one of the great modern spokespeople for the Australian surfing culture. Mick retired from competition in 2018, with three world titles and a wide range of major event wins to his name, including four each at Bells and J-Bay,” said Nick Carroll. The 2021 Australia Surfing Awards will see those within the surfing industry compete for over 14 categories.
The CEO of Surfing Australia, Chris Mater said, “Each year, we look forward to hosting such an esteemed event, where we recognise the outstanding achievements of the Australian surfing community and the creatives behind the lens who capture the action.” The Nikon Surf Photo and Video of The Year Awards saw entrants enter images and videos of the highest quality, with the top 20 images and three videos all vying for the top accolades. The Indigenous Surfing Community Celebration Award and ACCIONA Innovation Award will also make their debuts on stage at the QT Gold Coast on May 4.
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