Surf Life Saving Australia (SLSA) President Graham Ford said the Aussies were the “Commonwealth Games” of the SLS world.
“The purpose of the Aussies is to bring our national movement and the community together in a celebration of SLS tradition, culture and sport,” he said.
“As surf lifesavers we train and compete to save lives and it’s through competitions that we hone our skills to be rescue ready.”
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READ NOWScarborough MLA Liza Harvey said the last time Scarborough hosted the 8000 competitor event in 2014 it brought in about $12.4 million to the WA economy.
“It’s such good news for my local patch, I love this event and I volunteered for this event in 2014,” she said.
“This will give the opportunity to all the WA athletes and clubs to complete in the high levels, as it’s obviously difficult for Western Australian’s get to the east coast to compete.
“The WA athletes love having the Aussies here in Scarborough because they get an opportunity to compete on their home turf and on Australia’s best beach.”
Stirling Mayor Giovanni Italiano said he was “delighted” Tourism WA and SLSA were bringing the championships back to WA.
“The announcement will be a boost for local businesses and community groups who have gotten behind this event in the past and will no doubt get behind it again in 2018 to ensure all competitors and visitors have a memorable stay during the event,” he said.