4 Thursday <strong>March</strong> <strong>30</strong> <strong>2023</strong> If you had one chance to start again, what would you keep? What would you lose? We’re keeping 021, keeping the Warriors, keeping global roaming, keeping the music, keeping more dollars here in NZ, losing UK ownership and control, gaining the freedom to do more for you.
Thursday <strong>March</strong> <strong>30</strong> <strong>2023</strong> 5 Surf festival with films, music, art – and chance to mingle The Single Fin Mingle rolls into Sumner today. Heidi Slade reports THE SINGLE Fin Mingle surf competition and festival’s international reputation is growing, as is its field of overseas competitors. Forty of the event’s 88 long-boarders will travel to Sumner for the festival – which starts today – from overseas destinations including Finland, the United States, Japan and Brazil. Festival founder and director Ambrose McNeill is excited by Ambrose McNeill the growing international presence. “It’s our biggest international draw yet, which is really exciting,” McNeill said. “It’s a new buzz.” The competition will be held on Friday and Saturday, with 52 men and 36 women competing for championship titles and a share of the $7000 prize pool. Sumner surfer Luke O’Neill is back to defend the title he won for the first time last PHOTO: ADAM MCKELVEY ICON: Luke O’Neill will defend his Single Fin Mingle men’s title against Australian Kai Ellice-Flint (inset). year. In the women’s category, Hawaiian Mason Schremmer will return after winning the event last year. Schremmer went on to place fifth in the world and won her first event on the world qualifying circuit. The four-day Single Fin Mingle festival aims to showcase long-boarding culture and skill. “The event is a multi-faceted surfing festival that celebrates traditional longboarding and the joyous culture of art, music and film that surrounds it,” McNeill said. The festival will open with a ceremony at 5.<strong>30</strong>pm at the Sumner Surf Life Saving Club. It will be followed by The Single Fin Mingle film festival tomorrow night, putting the spotlight on local and international surf flicks. Jazz on the esplanade and the mingle in the village will be held on Friday. REIGNING Single Fin Mingle men’s champion Luke O’Neill will defend his title at the festival. The 27-year-old Sumner surfer has competed at the event since it was first held in 2015. But this year he will be up against the biggest field of international surfers ever seen at the festival. O’Neill learned to surf in Sumner when he was about six He has competed at events in Portugal and Noosa Head, Queensland, over the past year. In September, O’Neill was a finalist at the Gliding Barnacles in Portugal. But nothing beats competing against international surfers on his home break. PARTY: Crowds flock to Sumner for a previous Single Fin Mingle. PHOTO: CAM HAY “Minglers” are encouraged to hop between Sumner’s night venues, using one ticket to gain entry to The Village Inn, Clink Sumner and Sumner Social. The Single Fin Mingle art show at LEstrange Gallery will also showcase Canterbury artists. The Sumner street party on Saturday night, featuring bands Yurt Party and Daily J, as well songwriter Mim Jensen, also promises to be the festival’s biggest yet, McNeill said. O’Neill to defend title against his Aussie icon “To host something like this in Sumner is really cool,” he said. O’Neill is excited to see the festival attract some big surfing names for another year. “It’s showcasing what New Zealand has to offer and comparing that against the international field.” O’Neill said The Single Fin Mingle is a way for New Zealand surfers to prove they can compete at an international level in their own backyard. “It’s kind of a good testing ground,” he said. He will compete against one of his surfing icons, Australian Kai Ellice-Flint. “I really look up to his surfing,” O’Neill said. CHALLENGER: Brittany Andrews with her dad Mark. From hanging with dad to taking on top surfers BRITTANY ANDREWS grew up surfing with her dad in Sumner – but she will be compete against some of the world’s best at her eighth Single Fin Mingle. “It’s so awesome to think that people come from all over the world to little old Sumner,” Andrews said. “The level of surfing is amazing.” The 26-year-old has made friends with surfers from around the world at The Single Fin Mingle. “The vibes are always very good. It’s sort of the one event we all look forward to every year.” Her dad Mark, 64, surfs competitively in events such as The Duke Festival of Surfing in New Brighton at the weekend with his twin brother Steve. Andrews started entering competitions when she finished high school. She made it through to the quarter-finals at last year’s Single Fin Mingle. One of her favourite aspects of the event is its inclusivity. “It’s awesome, like they’ve got equal prize money for women and men,” she said. The Single Fin Mingle has a $7000 prize pool, spread across the men’s and women’s finalists. Andrews works in a marketing and social media role at Redcliffs-based real estate company, Home Christchurch. She also teaches people how to surf at Learn to Surf in Sumner, where she has worked with the founder and director of The Single Fin Mingle, Ambrose McNeill. “I remember him saying that he wanted to start a competition,” Andrews said. “It’s amazing that (McNeill) made it happen,” she said.
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