Shellharbour SUP Festival 30 October to 1 November 2026: Surf Heats at Warilla Beach Fri-Sat, 9km Race 8am Sunday at Reddall Reserve, Lake Illawarra (Shellharbour, NSW)

The Shellharbour SUP Festival runs from Friday 30 October to Sunday 1 November 2026, with the surf heats at Warilla Beach on Friday and Saturday and the main festival day at Reddall Reserve on Lake Illawarra on Sunday. The organiser says Sunday “welcomes everyone, athletes, spectators, locals & visitors”, so you do not need to be a paddler to go.

This guide is built from the organiser’s festival page, the festival listing on Destination Wollongong and Shellharbour City Council’s beach pages, checked on 26 October 2026. Times are New South Wales daylight time (AEDT), one hour ahead of Queensland.

What is on each day, and where?

The organiser, SUP Shellharbour, describes a three-day event. Its page lists the program like this:

Day	What is on	Where
Friday 30 October	SUP surfing	Warilla Beach
Saturday 31 October	SUP surfing (finals, per the Destination Wollongong listing) and the SUP BOP technical race	Warilla Beach
Sunday 1 November	Sunrise SUP yoga; 9km distance race at 8am; 2km dress-up novelty course on inflatable boards; Pups on SUPs and Goats Afloat; sprint racing; sponsor marquees and food trucks; presentation with lunch, drinks, live band and giveaways	Reddall Reserve, Lake Illawarra

The only start time the organiser gives is 8am on Sunday for the 9km race, for SUP and prone paddlers, at Reddall Reserve. It does not publish times for the Friday and Saturday heats, the yoga session, the sprints or the presentation. The festival page also lists a SUP sound bath and the “SUP BOP” race among the events, without times.

Can I watch the SUP surfing at Warilla Beach?

Destination Wollongong says the surfing heats “kick off at Warilla Beach”, with finals the next day, crowning the men’s and women’s divisions in all age categories, followed by the Battle of the Paddle race. The organiser adds that this year’s surf format includes a repechage, so every surfer surfs at least twice, and that divisions follow Surfing Australia’s 10-year age groups, with a Women’s Open division and a Women’s Stoked division.

Shellharbour City Council describes Warilla Central Beach, on Osborne Parade, as a surfing beach with public toilets, an outdoor shower and a beach wheelchair. Warilla North Beach, also on Osborne Parade, has public toilets, a picnic table and an outdoor shower, and is sheltered by Windang Island from some north-east wind and swell. Which stretch of sand the heats use is not stated on the festival pages, so look for the competition area when you arrive.

Is Warilla Beach patrolled during the festival?

Yes. Council’s patrol times for Warilla Central Beach show lifeguards from 10am to 5pm, seven days a week, from 26 September to 18 December 2026. Warilla North Beach has no patrol until the Christmas school holidays, which begin on 19 December 2026 on council’s page. If you swim or paddle for fun while the heats run, stay at the patrolled Central Beach, and check BeachSafe for conditions on the day; council links to it from each beach page.

The council’s beach wheelchair is available at Warilla Beach when lifeguards are on patrol. You do not need to book, but you need a combination code from an on-duty lifeguard or from council’s customer service on 4221 6111.

What happens on Sunday at Reddall Reserve?

Sunday is the day for spectators. Destination Wollongong places the festival at Mia Beach, Reddall Parade, Lake Illawarra, and lists a bar, cafe, carpark, coach parking, public toilet, kiosk and a pop-up wine bar among the facilities. It says the event is family friendly, and pet friendly if you enquire first; the organiser’s own program has dogs on the water as “Pups on SUPs” and goats as “Goats Afloat”.

The organiser lists live music, a beach bar, market stalls and food trucks, plus sponsor marquees and activities. The Destination Wollongong listing says the main stage has local musicians and a headline rock band, and that winners receive trophies and prize money, with a new paddle board among the prizes for competitors.

Where do I park?

Council says parking at Warilla Beach is on Osborne Parade. For Sunday, the Destination Wollongong listing shows a carpark and coach parking at the venue, but neither the organiser nor council has published a festival parking plan, road closures or a shuttle, so do not count on a spot near the water. The organiser’s accessibility page describes the Reddall Reserve and Lake Illawarra area as having ramps to the sand and newly built amenities, including wheelchair-accessible and ambulant toilets, change rooms and outdoor showers.

If you would rather leave the car at home, the organiser’s accessibility page lists these accessible transport contacts, written as printed there:

Service	Number on the organiser’s page
Illawarra Taxi Network	4254 2111
Premier Illawarra bus service	4271 1322
Shellharbour Airport	1300 851 269
NSW Trains (South Coast Line)	13 15 00

For bus times to Warilla and Windang on the day, use the Transport for NSW trip planner at transportnsw.info. We did not find a current timetable that names a stop at Reddall Reserve, so we are not giving route numbers here.

Do I need to register or pay to watch?

Paddlers register through the organiser; its page showed “Register now” with early-bird registrations that closed on 30 June, and we could not confirm whether entries are still open. The pages we read do not mention a spectator charge, but they also do not say entry is free, so treat that as unconfirmed. The organiser’s contact page and Facebook page are the places to ask; the Destination Wollongong listing gives an email address of supshellharbour@bigpond.com for the event.

Anything else nearby that is closed?

Warilla Pool is closed for winter and, on council’s page, reopens on 28 November 2026, with hours of 9am to 5pm daily. Council points swimmers to Oak Flats Pool, which it says is open year-round. The organiser also lists nearby places to stay, including Shellharbour Beachside Holiday Park, Barrack Point Holidays, Windang Beach Tourist Park and Shellharbour Village Motel, if you are coming from out of town for the weekend.

What is new in the surf format this year?

The organiser’s page flags three changes for SUP surfing. A repechage means every surfer gets at least two surfs. The age divisions are in 10-year bands, lined up with Surfing Australia. And there are two women’s divisions: the Women’s Open, which the organiser calls the “Chargers”, and the Women’s Stoked, called the “Cruisers”. It adds that any size of board is allowed, judged on short-board criteria. The organiser’s page also shows separate entry categories for men’s surf, women’s surf and flat water events.

Sources

• SUP Shellharbour — Shellharbour SUP Festival (organiser; program, 8am Sunday race, surf format)
• SUP Shellharbour — Accessibility (amenities at Reddall Reserve, accessible transport numbers)
• Destination Wollongong — Shellharbour SUP Festival (location, facilities, finals, prizes)
• Shellharbour City Council — Warilla Central Beach (patrol times, parking, beach wheelchair)
• Shellharbour City Council — Warilla North Beach
• Shellharbour City Council — Warilla Pool (closure and reopening)

Featured image: Warilla Beach, NSW (photo: Maurice van Creij / CC BY 3.0) (text added)

OZ Local Updates is an independent local guide and is not affiliated with SUP Shellharbour, Shellharbour City Council or Destination Wollongong. Event details can change; check the organiser’s page before you go.