Australian surf life saving championships and Volleyslam beach volleyball contest to go ahead after Cyclone Alfred

Two of the Gold Coast’s biggest sporting events of 2025 have been given a major update in their race against the clock following cyclone carnage.

Federal Opposition Leader Peter Dutton (right) at the Gold Coast Local Disaster Co-ordination Centre with Mayor Tom Tate. Picture: Adam Head

Organisers of two of the Gold Coast’s biggest sporting events are in a frantic race against the clock to the starting line after the destruction wrought by Cyclone Alfred.

Preparations for the Australian Surf Life Saving Championships – a huge money spinner worth up to $20m to the Queensland economy – and the Volleyslam beach volleyball tournament were thrown into chaos as Alfred laid waste to Gold Coast beaches last week.

Organisers of both events have confirmed they will go ahead, but they face a host of logistic challenges to have key facilities and infrastructure up and running before show time.

Gold Coast Mayor Tom Tate on Thursday declared the city’s beaches were well on the way to recovery, with flags going in the sand at Coolangatta, Greenmount and Burleigh Heads.

“Gold Coasters can get back to enjoying their beaches,” he said.

“We will improve access to our southern beaches from tomorrow.”

That news came as a huge relief for organisers of the surf titles (North Kirra) and beach volleyball championships (Coolangatta) which are both set to be held on beaches at the southern end of the coast.

Volleyslam is just 10 days away and organisers will pull out all the stops to ensure the tournament – which has attracted a record field of more than 700 competitors across four separate events, runs smoothly.

In a statement, a spokesperson for Volleyball Australia said they were grateful the show would go on.

Action at a previous Australian Surf Life Saving State Championships on the Gold Coast

“We thank the volleyball community for their patience and express our gratitude to our friends at Events Gold Coast, who have committed significant resources, time and effort to get Volleyslam underway on time next week,” the statement said.

“VA also extends its best wishes to the communities in South East Queensland and northern NSW who remain impacted in the aftermath of Tropical Cyclone Alfred.”

The Aussie surf titles are scheduled to take place at North Kirra from March 29-April 6, giving more than two weeks for the sand dunes to be pumped up and the murky brown floodwaters to be flushed out to sea.

The entry cut-off has been extended to March 17.

Traditionally “the Aussies” attract about 7000 competitors each year and last year’s event on the Sunshine Coast injected about $15m into the state economy.

In a statement, a spokesperson for the Aussies said Alfred had also impacted Surf Life Saving Australia’s ability to put in place the infrastructure that would normally be in place this close to the event,” but there were “no plans to change the dates or primary location of the event”.

“Once the assessments have been carried out, SLSA will review its risk assessment and contingency plans to determine whether there needs to be modifications to timetabling and locations of different arenas and infrastructure,” the statement said.

The cyclone came at an inopportune time for the Gold Coast, with Alfred leading to the cancellation of a Green Day concert, surf life saving junior and senior Queensland titles, an Australian Boardriders Battle surfing contest and the Australian WPGA Championship golf tournament.