The Day I Signed: Ali Day was disqualified from his first Nutri-Grain series trial before

Swapping the books for the breaks delivered Ali Day to surf lifesaving’s pinnacle.

SWAPPING the books for the breaks delivered Ali Day to surf lifesaving’s pinnacle.

A teenage Day had always wanted to be an ironman but fell short via disqualification in his first Nutri-Grain series trial attempt in 2008.

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“I missed a can coming in but I honestly don’t think I would have been ready,” Day, now 29, said.

“I hadn’t done the work and I probably didn’t deserve it.”

Having just graduated high school, Day spent the next year training his “backside off” in pursuit of surf lifesaving’s holy grail.

A young Ali day preparing for the Australian Surf Lifesaving Championships at Kurrawa.

Lifeguarding, labouring and fitting in some personal training in between, Day had just turned 19 and was living at home with his parents when he first qualified at Tugun in 2009.

“I had just finished high school and my whole goal was trying to qualify,” he said.

In his first series race, Day quickly established himself as one to watch with a fourth-place finish behind surf lifesaving legends Shannon Eckstein and Ky Hurst.

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“That was the first day I signed an autograph,” Day said.

“It was the first time I warmed up as a Kellogg’s ironman, the first time I heard the gun.

“For my family, both mum and dad to come up and my brother handled for me and my sister, who probably didn’t even fully know what it meant, they’re the most important things for me at the end of the day, the stories and who you share them with.”

Ali Day winning his Ironman heat at the Australian titles Credit: HarvPix

Back in those days when the series was run by former ironman Guy Leech, athletes could net $5000 just for signing on to the series and around $8000 for a round win in addition to flights, hotels and a travel allowance for competitors.

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But for Day, it never was and never will be about the money.

“After I made the series, all I wanted to do was get on the podium and do something I’m passionate about,” he said.

“I just wanted to get a pair of togs with my name on the back of them.

“I was racing against all these guys I utterly idolised and then became mates with them.”