PTWoody said..

There is an issue with running a National Title on the Gold Coast between January and March, and that is the states would have their state titles schedules completely screwed up. Someone mentioned earlier the success of the Surfing NSW event, the Southern Cross Festival of SUP, which traditionally happens in May at Port Stephens. I don't know if a November or December date would allow for good surf at Port Stephens, but one thing is clear: the event is currently a winner in May. It's the best run event in the country and it is working on all levels. Why risk moving it? Surfing Australia won't disenfranchise state events, they have made that clear.

As for moving venues, there is a contract in place to hold the nationals on the Gold Coast, and from what I understand, it must be the southern Gold Coast. That contract lasts another year. So there is no point to anyone suggesting alternate locations for 2014 as the contract exists, and the southern Gold Coast is effectively underwriting the event. Beyond 2014, the best way to convince Surfing Australia to move to another location would be to turn up with a dirty great cheque. Someone has to pay for this event.

As Goatie suggested earlier, it may be possible to take the surfing discipline back to the Festival of Surfing as that would involve minimal cost, or possibly a turnaround from a loss making position to a break even or profit. However, I imagine the Gold Coast backers would have to agree to split racing and surfing, as they signed on for a combined event.

The bottom line is, there are often reasons why things are the way they are, and they are not always sinister or conspiratorial. As Ockanui says, the best way to achieve positive outcomes is to work constructively, to ask questions, make suggestions, and be open to the fact that the ingenious idea you are presenting may well not be feasible for reasons you are unaware of.