Australia’s Para Surfing team, the Irukandjis, hit the water at URBNSURF Sydney on Wednesday October 14 for a dedicated team training session ahead of the 2026 ISA World Para Surfing Championships in California this November.
The session brought the 13-strong Australian squad together as preparations ramp up for the November 19–22 World Championships, where the team will look to build on its success at the 2025 event.
Australia will send one of the world’s leading Para Surfing teams to the 2026 ISA World Para Surfing Championships, after they claimed Team Copper and eight individual medals at the 2025 World Championships.
With four World Champions among the squad, the Irukandjis are now working towards the next challenge: getting the team to California, with Surfing Australia aiming to raise $100,000 to help cover the costs of representing Australia on the world stage.
Each member of Australian's Para Surfing team have already overcome insurmountable challenges to discover or make a return to surfing. For many of the athletes, representing Australia comes at a significant personal cost.
Flights, accommodation, competition expenses and specialised equipment are only part of the equation. Some athletes also need to travel with essential support teams, meaning the cost of representing their country can be double or even triple that of other competitors.
Behind every athlete on the Australian Para Surfing Team is a story of strength, unwavering resilience, and love of the sport.
A Reason to Move Forward
For Emma Dieters, representing Australia means far more than competition.
Dieters was diagnosed as a C4 quadriplegic in February 2021 after spinal fusion surgery went wrong. Dieters couldn't have imagined she would return to surfing, let alone compete for Australia on the world stage. But just a year later, in 2022, she became an ISA World Surfing Champion.
After claiming Bronze in 2025, Emma Dieters (NSW) is eager to continue her remarkable journey on the world stage.
“Representing Australia and the Irukandjis is such a great honour, but it’s about something much deeper than sport. Since acquiring my spinal cord injury in 2021, para surfing has given me focus, purpose and a way to show what is truly possible after life is flipped upside down.
If you told me five years ago I’d be back in the ocean, let alone chasing a 3X World Championship, I wouldn’t have believed you. Every time I wear the iconic Irukandjis green and gold, I’m representing a pathway that saved me and gave me a reason to keep pushing forward. The team camaraderie and support of this incredible community is what makes this journey so special.” — Emma Dieters.
Pittwater's Em Dieters at the training session
Supporting The Para Irukandjis
The team’s $100,000 fundraising campaign will directly support the athletes as they prepare for the World Championships, helping ease the financial burden that comes with competing internationally and allowing them to focus on what they do best — surfing.
"We aren’t just covering flights and specialised equipment; many athletes also need to fund travel and accommodation for their support teams, which can mean doubling or tripling the costs. The support of our community through the ASF fundraising campaign means everything. It gives us the freedom to focus on performing in the waves rather than worrying about the bills." — Emma Dieters.
We are completely self funded. Support from the community and sponsors alleviates financial stress and allows us to perform our best. Without it, we can’t represent Australia on the biggest stage as a team or pursue our own personal dreams. — Joel Taylor.
Support the Irukandjis on their journey by donating to the team's official fundraising campaign:
asf.org.au/campaigns/surfing-australia/2026-isa-irukandjis-para-team
For further updates throughout the event, follow @theirukandjs + @surfingaus on Instagram and Facebook.
Photo: Surfing Australia
Australia has finished third on the medal table at the 2026 Canoe Ocean Racing World Championships in La Vila Joiosa, Spain, highlighted by a historic third world title for Jemma Smith and Australia’s first-ever mixed surfski double (SS2) world championship gold.
The Australian team delivered a strong series of performances across the championships, with Jemma Smith and Cory Hill combining to claim the inaugural mixed SS2 world title, alongside podium finishes across the open, age-category and doubles events, including Masters medallists from local clubs.
Jemma Wins her Third World Championship Single Surfski Medal
Jemma Smith made a memorable return to the world championship stage, winning the women’s surfski single (SS1) title for the third time in her career. Having previously claimed world titles in 2022 and 2023, Smith returned after two years away from the championship to reclaim the crown, defeating South Africa’s Kira Bester and Great Britain’s Rosemary Edwards.
Smith backed up her individual gold with another standout performance alongside Hill in the mixed SS2, with the pair navigating a highly competitive field to secure Australia’s first world title in the event.
Despite racing together for the first time, the experienced duo combined effectively to hold off South African pairings, with Smith and Hill crossing the line in 1:07:15, four seconds ahead of silver medallists Jade Wilson and Hank McGregor.
“It was a really, really hard race out there, and it was fantastic to partner with Cory,” Smith said.
“I was very glad that he said yes to lining up. It was just great to be able to be out there again and racing at the World Championships.
“The atmosphere has been great, so to take it in today has been incredible.”
Jemma - loving her time in Spain 2026 Paddling Worlds
NASA's Maverick Macgugan and Locana Cullen with their little penguin (Phillip Island) trophies. Photo: NSA/Surfing Victoria
Profile of the Week Friends of Bongin Bongin Bay- Website: bonginbonginbay.org
Friends of Bongin Bongin Bay (FoBBB) are excited to invite you to a special community event on Saturday, October 24th, from 2:00 PM to 3:00 PM.
They'll be hosting a free community meeting and panel discussion titled "Cabbage Tree Bay Success; What Have We Learned Almost 25 Years On?."
''We're looking ahead to the next chapter for Bongin Bongin Bay, taking inspiration from the incredible success story of Cabbage Tree Bay – a testament to what a community can achieve when working together to protect our marine environments.'' FoBBB says
The afternoon will be led by FoBBB President Greg Pride, featuring a fantastic panel of voices spanning community action, policy, business, science, and the next generation of ocean conservation:
- Judy Lambert, Pioneer and former politician: Judy will share the history of the community action that helped secure the reserve, together with insights from her experience in policy and environmental advocacy.
- Richard Nicholls, Pioneer and businessman: Richard will explore local stewardship, the blue economy, dive safety and the role local businesses and communities can play in everyday marine protection.
- John Sear, Scientist and photographer: John will share his observations of the marine environment and use science and photography to help illustrate the changes seen within Cabbage Tree Bay over almost 25 years.
- Lara Gribbin, Student andfilmmaker: Representing the next generation of ocean conservationists, Lara will explore how film and visual storytelling can educate, build awareness and inspire young people to use their voices for our oceans.
This is a community conversation, and FoBBB want you there to reflect on past successes and help shape the future of Bongin Bongin Bay!
You can register for your free ticket via Humanitix here: events.humanitix.com/fobbb-cabbage-tree-bay-panel
(Please note: Following this event, from 3:00 PM to 4:00 PM, FoBBB will be holding its Annual General Meeting for current members).
FoBBB would love it if you could forward this invitation to your networks! The more voices we have in this conversation, the better our community will be.
FoBBB look forward to seeing you there and continuing our work together!
But what is Friends of Bongin Bongin Bay - what are the aims of this local organisation?
The 'Friends of Bongin Bongin Bay’ evolved in February 2023 from a group of swimmers who traverse the bay each morning taking in the wonders of nature. The group is seeking to mobilise the community, seeking its support in having the area declared by the NSW Government as a ‘no take’ aquatic reserve. The primary objective of aquatic reserves in NSW is to conserve the biodiversity of fish and marine vegetation.
The FoBBB state they are not anti-fishing, explaining;
''Marine sanctuaries provide a refuge for fish from being caught, allowing them to aggregate freely, grow large, and reproduce. Sanctuaries are an important tool not just to halt biodiversity loss and to create climate resilience, but to ensure food security. As fish and invertebrates grow larger they produce exponentially more eggs; the bigger the fish, the more babies they produce.
We believe that establishing areas where larger fish can proliferate free from extractive pressures is of great value to areas adjacent that are open to fishing.''
Greg Pride, President, kindly provides more detailed insights in this Issue's Profile of the Week.
History Marie Beuzeville Byles of Pittwater: Defender of Pittwater's EnvironmentAs New South Wales’ first female solicitor Marie employed mostly women at a time when women working was considered unacceptable, even if they toiled all day and half the night as housewives, unpaid.
Marie encouraged and helped single mothers, when these were pariahs in our society, to find their own financial independence. To many she was refuge of common sense and decency. Her own refuge was the Bush and views of trees, miles and miles of trees. Her gift to subsequent generations is spoken quietest by her battles for our environment.
Her connection with Pittwater commences before November 26 1914, when her father, Cyril Beuzeville Byles officially purchased Lot 153 at 44 Sunrise road Palm Beach.
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Food A Sugar-Free Halloween Halloween falls on Saturday, October 31st this year
You know our youngsters love dressing up and they love lollies - Halloween for them has the bonus of combining both of these and includes a late afternoon-early evening romp around their streets as well. This triple 'treat' may mean tears before bedtime for those who have too many sugar filled sweets given to them, so a few ideas to not have them bouncing off the walls and talking really really fast may be welcome before this year's escapade commences.
Of course, you don't have to go the lollies route for any little monsters that visit you - a coloured pencil, a glow stick, a small Halloween themed toy, stickers, stick on moustaches, even a small blowing bubbles pack are alternatives.
Events Scotland Island Cafe and SIRA AGM, Friends of Bongin Bongin Bay Free Community Meeting, Pittwater Dragonboats: try it out!, Manly Warringah District Junior Rugby League Girls Tackle 2027 EOI, The Waiting Room: New Comedy by Mike Bullen runs in Mona Vale Performance Space this October, Author Talks, Art Shows, PNHA Walks, Music at all compass points, Markets, Social Groups + more on!
Community News Vale Jim Smith, Small Business Month 2026, 2026 Australian Couta Boat Championships on Pittwater, SOS Save our Suburb Mona Vale Parliamentary Delegation: Oct. 21, Avalon Beach SLSC: Bronze - SRC Courses: Info Session at Clubhouse today Oct. 18, Pittwater Natural Heritage Association AGM 2026: at Newport today Oct 18, Appeal for Information: Narrabeen Assaults on Women + Teenager charged over alleged sexual offences - Narrabeen, Congratulations Azure Ryder!, First batch of illegal e-bikes crushed into scrap metal, Lighthouse Leadership: The Adults Young People Remember - at Bilgola SLSC this coming Wednesday, Coalition Pledges Payroll Tax Relief to Back Local Businesses, Flying Fox Emergency, Australia’s first Women Veterans’ Strategy launched, Friends of Bongin Bongin Bay Community Meeting - this coming Saturday at Warriewood, Germany, Belgium, France named as destinations for the 2027 Premier’s Anzac Memorial Scholarship tour: Teacher Applications Call Out, SIRA AGM & Island Café: Catherine Park, Scotland Island - Next Sunday Oct.25., Dunbar Park changes: Picnic shelter and seating, Police-Firies Coffee with Warriewood: November 27, Celebrate the Diversity of Pollinators: Art + Photography Comp. for Students, NSW coastal management manual: Have Your Say, Local Government Regulation Review: Have Your Say, Conversation Cards Celebrates One Year, NSW Government's lobbying reforms to boost transparency, Local's Award-finalist novel supports Lifeline, Domestic Gas Reservation Bill 2026: update, Delivering certainty for New South Wales businesses, Targeted illicit tobacco -vaping operations close a further ten retailers, NSW Government introduces Bill to establish NSW’s first independent Office of Animal Welfare, State Significant Developments; for Dee Why and Manly, Fairer pay for council labour hire workers a step closer, Bit of bling and a Chanel to win!, Narrabeen Girls High School and Narrabeen Boys High School 50 Years Reunion, Residents Toast New-Look Community Centre at Aveo's Bayview Gardens, 2026 Bondi to Manly Ultra, Have your say on the independent evaluation of Australia’s Disability Strategy, Call-Out for Iconic Trees, Veterans’ Community Grants NSW, Monika's Doggie Rescue Pets of the Week: Sophie + Chloe, Marine Rescue Broken Bay Christmas Raffle, SLS SNB Surf Sports Calendar for 2026-2027, Calling All Stallholders: Elanora Heights Village Christmas Market, Stop Misleading Ads Petition: Update, Avalon Preservation Association AGM 2026: Nov. 12, Better Together Grants: Council, Manly Warringah District Junior Rugby League Girls Tackle 2027 EOI, Discover Sailing Day Resources Now Available, Pittwater Residents Associations, Sports, Environment and Social Groups, Pittwater Offshore Newsletter, Local JP's, +
Environment Spring's Winged Thing Continues: Bogong Weather Anomaly + Butterflies, Yamit Mamo, From bogong moths to Christmas beetles – how to slow down and spot more insects, Celebrate the Diversity of Pollinators: Art + Photography Comp. for Students, Draft NSW coastal management manual: Have your say, Draft Koala Conservation Strategy: Have Your Say, Namoi long-term water plan review: Have Your Say, Be plover lovers: RSPCA NSW calls for kindness during nesting season, Federal Coalition plan to scrap Scope 3 emissions reporting + Federal Coalition Pledges to stop Australians Challenging Projects that increase Climate Change Impacts in Australian Courts + Australia’s top court puts fossil fuel developers on notice + High Court ruling puts fossil fuel giants on notice: Greens + NSW Government re-commits to expanding climate wrecking gas projects: NSW Greens + High Court upholds IPC Refusal of Mount Pleasant Coal Mine + + The High Court looked at coal climate emissions overseas. But what about emissions at home? + Largest coal mine ever in NSW Approved, Call-Out for Iconic Trees, Pittwater Natural Heritage Association AGM 2026, Antarctica’s ice loss is locked in, and extra snowfall won’t save it – that’s bad news for low‑lying coastal areas elsewhere, NSW Threatened Species Scientific Committee provisional listing on an emergency basis: Hibbertia sulcinervis Toelken in Sydney Basin area, Land purchase brings pink lakes into the NSW national parks estate, From rescue to recovery: 250 turtle eggs offer hope for Gwydir wetlands, Legislation introduced to create Great Koala National Park, West Gables biodiversity certification application: Have Your Say, NSW Snapper Harvest Strategy: Have Your Say, NSW Yellowtail Kingfish Harvest Strategy: Have Your Say, NSW consulting on Australia's first mandatory solar panel recycling scheme: Have your say, Garigal + Ku-ring Gai National Park: 1080 Operation, Public comment opens on industrial port and dredging proposal threatening Exmouth Gulf-Ningaloo, Katandra Bushland Sanctuary Season 2026, PNHA Activities 2026, Coming up at Kimbriki's Eco House, Extreme El Niños are coming. Reaching net zero sooner means facing fewer of them, Australia urgently needs a national bushfire database. Here’s what it could look like, Wildlife populations have declined 73% since 1970 – but many of the world’s animals still aren’t being counted, 3 things we need to get right ahead of extreme bushfire risk this Summer, How electric vehicles could help pollinators find flowers again, Are Australia’s native bees thriving or declining? We don’t know but can find out, The joy of song: where songbirds came from and why we should listen to them, Colonisation, not climate change, first primed these forests to burn, One giant clam contains a month‑by‑month diary of the Great Barrier Reef’s climate 200 years ago, Over 40 years ago, a mystery vigilante released a fungus to control blackberry in Australia. But why?, Cities across the world are sinking because of groundwater depletion. But the process can be reversed, ‘We will not be sacrificed’: Pacific climate voices were clear and strong this week – and we’re listening + ‘1.5°C to stay alive’: Pacific countries demand the world makes good on climate promises + In a year of record‑breaking heat, Australia and Pacific leaders meet to sharpen climate goals, Electric long‑haul trucks could become a reality sooner – if there’s no driver, Conservation parks don’t have to be vast – as one tiny grasshopper reminds us, Invasive species do much more damage in Australia and NZ than elsewhere. But why?, Hoping for a ‘new normal’ climate is pointless. We must learn to adapt, Africa’s rhinos often get the spotlight – but Indonesia’s two rhino species are far closer to extinction, Mona Vale Dunes bushcare group: 2026, Bangalley Headland WPA 2026, Sydney Wildlife Needs People for the Rescue Line, 622kg of Rubbish Collected from Beaches: Adopt your local beach program, This Tick Season: Freeze it - don't squeeze it, Protect wildlife: dispose of fishing gear responsibly, Volunteers for Barrenjoey Lighthouse Tours needed, Johnson Brothers Mitre 10 Recycling Batteries: at Mona Vale + Avalon Beach, Reporting Dogs Offleash - Dog Attacks to Council, Plastic Bread Ties For Wheelchairs, Stay Safe From Mosquitoes, Mountain Bike Incidents On Public Land, Report fox sightings, marine wildlife rescue group on the Central Coast, Possums In Your Roof?: do the right thing, Aviaries + Possum Release Sites Needed, Bushcare in Pittwater: where + when, Friends Of Narrabeen Lagoon Catchment Activities, Pittwater Gardens, Environment Groups and Organisations in Pittwater, Ringtail Posses, Pittwater Environment History insights + Walks, Birds +
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Youth Australia finishes third on medal table at Ocean Racing World Championships, Congratulations Azure Ryder!, NASA Surfers Win GromSearch Phillip Island: Congratulations Maverick + Locana, RPAYC Youth Sailors Shine at Zhik Youth Sail NSW, First batch of illegal e-bikes crushed into scrap metal, Wildlife Photographer of the Year 2026: Winners Announced - 'Highly Commended' image of Koala Mum chased by Dog for Australian photographer, Spring's Winged Thing Continues: Bogong Weather Anomaly + Butterfly, Yamit Mamo, From bogong moths to Christmas beetles – how to slow down and spot more insects, Worried about your Year 12 exams? 3 ways to help anxiety + 8 Student-Backed Study Tips To Help You Tackle The HSC + Links To ReachOut Support Content, The Meeting Place: How One Australian Town Built Its Future Together (1947), Opportunities: Avalon Beach SLSC: Bronze - SRC Courses + Celebrate the Diversity of Pollinators: Art + Photography Comp. for Students+ Germany, Belgium, France named as destinations for the 2027 Premier’s Anzac Memorial Scholarship tour + Manly Warringah District Junior Rugby League Girls Tackle 2027 EOI + Pittwater Dragonboats try-out, Financial help for young people, School Leavers Support, Word Of The Week: Decorum, How young people do democracy: pausing, questioning, creating and bringing others along with them, What happens in your brain when you can’t stop laughing?, Meet ‘platypus man’ Harry Burrell. He transformed Australian science – and put on quite a show, Spider‑Man’s 1,000th issue: the enduring appeal of the tortured Hamlet of superheroes, How does a honeybee stinger actually pump venom? First‑ever video shows it in action, Reading alone, together is all the rage at book doofs and reading parties. What makes it social?, Anne Carson has won the Nobel Prize for Literature for her bold, inventive, breath-taking work, Spawning coral release quintillions of eggs each year: new research, The joy of song: where songbirds came from and why we should listen to them, What makes an Olympic emblem memorable – and does Brisbane’s new design fit the bill?, Groups and Activities and Supports for you ++
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DIY Ideas DIY End-of Year Thank You + Christmas Gift Ideas (already!): Cutting Boards
With the end of October in sight, and November's rounds of pre-Summer lunches, dinners and catch-ups already starting to fill calendars, the first day of Summer and December's rush to Christmas and New Years will soon make busy lives even busier.
Many of us are thinking about end-of-year and Christmas gifts around now. A cutting board is a relatively easy gift that will always be useful in most homes and appreciated by those you make one for, personally, a lot longer.
This week a 'how to', before the rush begins.
Pictures Turimetta Moods: October 2026 by Joe Mills
Aquatics Marine Rescue NSW completes 298 missions in September as demand across Greater Sydney hits new high
Narrabeen Lagoon rockshelf at ocean end - starfish at low tide, Monday October 12, 2026
Narrabeen Lagoon rockpool - very dense fog in the morning, Monday October 12, 2026
Warriewood Wetlands - Spoonbill with breeding plumage foraging. Photos by Joe Mills.
More in this week's Pictorial: Turimetta Moods: October 2026 by Joe Mills