I will always remember my first meeting with K.S.C.
I was 13 years old and Scammell asked my parents if it was OK for me to join.
This gives you an indication of how old Scammell really is.
At first mum and dad were a bit reluctant to let me go as the meeting was at the Patch and the Kirra boys were lets say, not exactly choirboys!
I talked them around and the following Monday Craig Charman was on my front lawn ringing the bell of his Malvern Star and we rode the whole way from Kirra to the Patch, however Craig had just met this chick, he was always pulling chicks and we had to stop off on the way.
Next thing I know he's got this girl pinned against the garage, kissing her like he'd never kissed in his whole life and here I am sitting on the fence freaking that I'd be late for that first meeting.
I started ringing the bell on his pushy but he still wouldn't come............. Little did I know he already had! This made us even later as we had to stop off at the public dunnys so he could clean himself up and finally we arrived five minutes late.
At the meeting there was a crew of hairy men in tight shirts and surf shorts and didn't they think they were 'cool'.
It was the era of the beard and Poe and Scammell were the masters.
Craig and I were the youngest crew there and felt SCARED AND INTIMIDATED - that was a brief introduction of my initiation into Kirra Surfriders Club. Meetings used to be so much fun and because they were at the Patch we thought we freakin' owned the place.
I reckon Scam must have blown up and walked out at least 100 times vowing to never come back. He was so passionate!!,........ until Monday week anyway.
Scammell has been President more times than Tony Ray has been barrelled at Kirra. He has kept the club together through all the many good and also difficult times. He's like an old mongrol dog, he just won't lie down. He still has so much input into the club even these days.
I've had some memorable surfs at Kirra in the years I've been surfing. I've shared barrels with all of the Kirra members. Some of the guys I remember in the early days are, M.P of course . I used to sit at the end of the groin cos' it was too big to go out and I remember watching him sit behind the rock at Big Groin Kirra and get the most epic barrels. Tony Ray also used to get the most unbelievable barrels and Jeff Hallisma on his backhand .
I always loved surfing Big Groin with Poe and Scammell. They used to intimidate everybody because they were so big. With those guys by my side I felt like I could take any wave , .........as long as it wasn't Poe's or Scammell's.
I wish those guys would surf the point again. We used to get some great barrels together These days Bullo, Mick Fanning, Sam Watts, Straddie and myself are out there fighting for our waves to keep the Kirra Flag flying.
Kirra's Preso's are infamous, every Kirra member's first beer happened at a Kirra preso. If you didn't throw up at a Kirra Preso, you didn't go.
We would always looked forward to a Tommy Peterson speech! No one had a clue what he was talking about but boy it was funny....... and who said Kirra boys don't dance -a few beers later and everyone is cutting the rug.
One year all the grommies were going off doing the worm when Poe decided he was keen to pull some moves too, so he comes over and dives on all of us crew and I'm sure one of the grommies came out crying. Poe's dancing scissors were a bit to sharp.
Travelling away for contests was always so much fun. Weekends away with the club were the best, but nothing compared to the fun we had at the Straddie Assaults. We never did any good in the Straddie Assault because we were always having so much fun.
There was always some idiot, funny or stupid enough to drink his own wee or eat COCKROACHES & OTHER VARIOUS BUGS on a dare. If we weren't wrecking houses we were egging weddings or just generally running amuck. Kirra got banned from the Straddie Assault every single year without fail and every year someone somehow would give us that one last chance to prove ourselves and we'd be allowed in the contest and the fun would begin once again!
Our seriousness as a club really showed and came through when the Kirra Teams Challenge began.
I was lucky to be in the team at the Kirra Team Challenge at Greenmount, which we won, and we've won it four times since then.
This contest brings out the best in all of the Kirra members, whether it is helping out on the beach or surfing in their heat.
I'd like to thank all the people that have run this contest over the years.
Myself, I have lived in Kirra all of my surfing life. I played football in Kirra, I went to school up on Kirra Hill. I worked in Honey Surf and Strawberry Fields Surf Shop. I used to hang out in all the surfboard factories. I saw it all. All of this has influenced me and helped me to become the person I am today and it has also helped me to achieve what I have with my business.
Kirra Surfriders Club and Kirra itself is just a normal way of life to me. I wouldn't change it for the world. There have been so many characters that have come through the club in so many years. Guys I met at the beginning, guys I met in the middle and the guys that I'm hanging out with today.
Most of these guys are still involved in Kirra. These are the ones I call the real Kirra members. I'm looking forward to my son getting involved in Kirra where we can both spend the next thirty years having a good time, laughing and enjoying good Kirra barrels together
PS. I'll never forget the song Sticksy made up one day when we won a contest. It went a little something like this:-"WHO ARE, WHO ARE, WHO ARE WE?WE ARE, WE ARE K.S.C.RAH RAH YES WE ARE K.S.C. IS THE BEST BY FAR KIIIIRRRRAAAA RUUUUULES!!!
Darren Handley