NSW Country surf life saving: Surfer Owen Wright’s special Ali Day memory, history, Cape Hawke SLSC

He’s the world-famous surfer who has revealed the sport wasn’t his one and only love and some of his childhood heroes paddled rather than rode boards.

Owen Wright, left, learned many of his ocean skills as a young country surf life saver against Ali Day, right.

Not many people get to claim they’ve beaten surf life saving legend Ali Day more than a few times. But Olympic surfer Owen Wright can.

And he still very proud of the feat almost two decades after his NSW Country Championship surf life saving victory.

Wright, a world renown surfer who has conquered Pipeline, the treacherous Teahupo’o, beaten the likes of Kelly Slater, Mick Fanning and Filipe Toledo and won a historic Olympic bronze medal, still rates winning country surf life saving medals as some of the proudest - and most fun - moments of his life.

“Hayden Smith (ironman) and Ali Day were at Warilla Barracks and Ty Watson (surfer) and I were from Culburra surf life saving club,’’ Wright said ahead of the 2023 NSW Country titles at Forster from Friday.

“We had a really good rivalry going. Hayden was really good, I was pretty good and I won an ironman title at some stage and I remind Ali of that when I see him.

Australia's Owen Wright celebrates after winning his bronze medal at the Tokyo 2020 Olympic Games.

“But as we got older Ali just outworked everyone. Now he’s the best. It was great times.’’

Day, the reigning Nutri-Grain ironman who has won numerous world, Australian, state and Coolangatta Gold titles, said he remembers Wright well.

Owen Wright at Bells Beach when competing on the world surf league.

“He was way better than me. I was a bit of a late bloomer,’’ Day said.

“He was bloody good in the water. When we went to country championships all our families would hang out and stay together.’’

Ahead of around 1500 competitors competing for 2023 medals in Forster this weekend, Wright revealed he had loved the sport as a kid, and if he had not pursued surfing could have chosen it instead to do at an elite level

“When you are eight to fourteen it’s like the pinnacle of the world,’’ Wright said.

“Winning a country championship is massive as a kid.’’

Darren Mercer (left) and his late brother Dean.

Wright, from Byron Bay, said his heroes growing up were ironman brothers Darren and Dean Mercer and professional ironman star Wes Berg who hailed form nearby Shoalhaven.

“It was so cool seeing guys from the country doing well,’’ he said.

Wright said being part of the Culburra and Nowra surf lifesaving clubs near his family home was both fun and important.

“It was where we learned the ocean skills, how to navigate the ocean. It was my platform to learn form and launch into competitive surfing,’’ he said.

Owen Wright, Kita Alexander and son Vali and daughter Rumi. Pic: Supplied

“It makes me proud to be an Allianz ambassador because they are supporting surf life saving.

“It’s a great community, and I’m super proud to be part of it.

“Vali (his son) is in his first year of Nippers. He’s six, and he’s super excited and I’m

equally as excited.

“As a dad I take him surfing but he doesn’t have the same ocean skills and I’m excited that he will be more safe.’’

The country championships are open to clubs outside the Newcastle to Illawarra corridor with an expected 1500 competitors, 200 officials and 4000 plus spectators

Allianz is the official partner of the 2023 NSW surf life saving championships at Freshwater/Queenscliff from February 17 to March 5 2023 and supporting partner of the Country championships from January 27-29.

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