Uluwatu Challenge: Bali's Big Eco Weekend

Nearly every surfer who visits Bali falls in love with the place – the waves, the culture, the food, the people, the sunsets, the good times. What’s not to love?

But over the years Bali has started to deal with a trash problem – and it’s not going away. For four months of every year during the wet season Bali’s beaches are full of rubbish. It sucks. So Quiksilver partnered with Coca-Cola Amatil and Garuda Indonesia and decided to do something about it. Since 2008, 75 local workers have been cleaning six miles of beach from Kuta to Jimbaran every single day – that’s 13,000 dump trucks of rubbish and counting.

Each year to raise awareness – and surf – we host Bali’s Big Eco Weekend. Last Saturday, our legends and team riders headed to Legian for a beach clean-up, release 1,000 freshly hatched sea turtles back into the ocean and to share the stoke with the local groms and tourists. To wrap up the day – and prepare for the Uluwatu Challenge – a Balinese Hindu priest welcomed the good spirits with a blessing on the beach of the team riders and legends at sunset.

Photos: Jason Childs.
The gods were smiling on Sunday as glassy sets rolled into Uluwatu. Surfing six person heats, our team riders sat in the line-up with frothing surfers whose entry fee pays to keep the clean-up project going. Everyone was stoked. Among the crew was a 16 year old from Barbados, expats, Uluwatu locals, and the Quiksilver work experience kid from the Bali office. They took turns to get barreled (or go over the falls trying) with team riders and legends. Freddy P, Matt Hoy, Craig Anderson, Jake Paterson, Mark Richards, Rosy Hodge, Bruna Schmitz and Kelia Moniz were in the water. Plus the local crew Dede Suryana, Tipi Jabrik, Rio Waida. Not a bad line-up.

Balinese Hindu offerings / Photo: Tim Hain

As the clean five foot sets rolled in, Kelia Moniz nose rode on one wave as Jake Paterson threw buckets on the wave behind. The guys hooted the girls, the girls hooted the guys. Everyone was super stoked. Freddy P scored a perfect 10, winning the comp.

At sunset, Bintangs were clinked, the music was cranked and Hoyo jumped up on stage to bang out some AC/DC at Single Fin. Epic. Make sure you’re there next year.