Bond University have claimed the UniSport Surfing national title, but they had to do it without 2024 Australian Junior Champion Sammy Lowe.
Three torn ligaments forced Lowe out of the action, but nothing could stop him from supporting the Bull Sharks to an inaugural title.
The 2026 Bond University ADCO Sport Excellence Scholar was set to launch an assault on the men’s national shortboard title when an injury weeks prior ended his chances.
“I was surfing before my heat at the Lennox Head Pro Junior and when I did a turn, my board bounced up a bit and I heard the loudest pop,” Lowe said.
“I knew something was wrong straight away.
“I’d torn my syndesmosis which is the three ligaments which connect your shin to your ankle…it takes a long time for these tears to heal with how much you use your ankles, particularly in surfing.
“I was devastated that I wasn't able to compete for Bond, but still wanted to go up and use some of my expertise to support the team.”
Buoyed by Lowe’s support, the Bull Sharks lifted at Ann street reef on the Sunshine Coast, with their men’s and women’s teams each finishing second overall.
It was enough to edge out University of Sydney and University of Technology Sydney to secure the overall victory.
The highlight for the Bull Sharks came in the women’s longboard, with Bachelor of Communications (Business) student Eva Sandvold claiming gold with teammate and Bachelor of Business student Lyla Wilson completing a 1,2 finish. Mehana Kukea collected points in fifth.
On the men’s side, Sam Pockley and Josh Thomas advanced to semi-finals in the shortboard competition.
Lowe was particularly impressed with the Bull Sharks’ efforts given several in the team had limited competitive experience.
“Competitive surfing is a whole different beast to just going out for a surf, you’re under time conditions, wave conditions - there's a lot of different factors at play,” Lowe said.
“The waves were nice and small, but still had really good shape so staying busy was definitely a good tactic.
“I just tried to give advice about how to surf the heat, where to sit and the different strategies to get the best out of everyone in the team.
“It was so cool to see how well the girls did in the longboard and how they brought their Hawaiian take on surfing over here to the Australian competition.”
Lowe made the move to the warmer waters of the Gold Coast from Thirroul in January to study a Bachelor of Business at Bond.
Currently sitting fifth in the Junior Pro rankings, he’s eyeing off the final two events of the season.
“There are two comps at the back end of August and I’m doing everything in my power to be back in time,” Lowe said.
“I’ve been in a moon boot, but I’ve been able to wear it in the water which has allowed me to keep paddling and belly boarding waves for fitness.
“One of the events is at Duranbah, which is my favourite break on the Gold Coast.
“It would be so nice to compete at home.”