Some of the nation's toughest athletes will head to Bulli Beach this summer as it hosts the "new look" IronMan and IronWoman series for the first time.
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A development application (DA) has been lodged by event organiser Surf Life Saving Australia, for Round 3 of the "new look Elite Series" scheduled for Sunday December 1.
Kiama athlete Ali Day has been invited back for the series to defend two titles - both the IronMan and the Coolangatta Gold. The Gold will kick off the overall competition as Round 1 on October 13.
According to the DA, athletes will hit the sand just north of Bulli SLSC. While a "festival zone" with activities and food stalls will be set up on the grass reserve south of Bulli Beach Cafe.
"The new-look Iron Series will maintain ... Australia's fittest athletes and take advantage of current trends in the fitness sports genre to re-capture the imagination of sports broadcasters, sports media and the general sporting public," the document stated.
It's also been placed to coincide with the local surf carnival on Saturday November 30 which will help boost tourism, according to Destination Wollongong's Major Events and Special Projects manager.
"Hosting the Sydney Water series alongside this ensures strong competitor numbers, which will inject about $800,000 into the local economy and see many families experiencing the region for the first time," Jeremy Wilshire said.
Elite racing returned to the Illawarra in 2017 after a lengthy drought since its glory days, when Ocean6 brought round three of the IronMan series to Wollongong.
The upcoming competition, north of Sandon Point, will be beamed throughout Australia on Foxtel as well as being broadcast throughout Asia, New Zealand, the United States and parts of Europe.
A qualification event for the IronMan and IronWoman series will be held on September 7 and 8 at Coolum, on the Sunshine Coast - of which Bulli's Beau Wheeler will be competing at.
Bulli surf club president Keith Caldwell said it was great the series chose his local instead of Bondi or Manly, especially as they have had a "proud history" in surf sports.
"We've had members like Nicole Sheedy, Lilli Miller, Greg Miller, Drew Cairncross, Wes Berg - we've had all those guys at our club that have actually been in the Nutrigrain series it's a great story for us to host," Mr Caldwell said.
Competitors will take part in traditional racing formats like ski, board and swim.
Other rounds will be held at Coolangatta, Burleigh Heads, Surfers Paradise, North Cronulla, plus the "Iron-X" at Mooloolaba on January 27.
The latter is an invitation only "made for TV" event which will involved a range of activities based around the disciplines of an iron racing event, but also include elements of obstacle course racing, stand up paddle boarding and other activities.
The DA for the Bulli round is currently on exhibition until September 25, through the Wollongong City Council website.
