Uncle Tobys Super Series
It was considered by many to be the pinnacle of Surf Lifesaving[citation needed] and inspired many young kids to become involved in the sport.
[citation needed] Televised on Network 10, The Uncle Tobys Super Series became a major event on the Australian Sporting Calendar each summer.
The series was designed to attract more public interest and higher television ratings for what was a relatively new sport at the time.
Both sports were facing a breakaway series which was designed for television and to attract advertising while the formal competition was to continue despite losing its main drawcards.
Almost every Nutri-Grain race was won by Darren Mercer and the majority of competitors were aspiring to join the more elite and more lucrative Uncle Tobys series.
The 1990/91 season was also won by Hendy with young competitors Guy Andrews and Jon Robinson finishing in second and third place respectively.
The season saw the Uncle Tobys series hold a prime-time race televised live at 6pm on a Friday night from Manly.
In the Australian Championships both the Uncle Tobys and Nutri-Grain competitors would compete together and the fact that Hendy had beaten all-commers left no doubt in the public's mind that he was clearly the best Iron Man in Australia.
Hendy had a disappointing race and was not in contention however Andrews and Kenny staged one of the most memorable battles in Iron Man history.
The season also saw the return of crowd favourite Craig Riddington who had missed the previous year with a blood clot in his arm.
It was around this time that Trevor Hendy would begin to turn his attention to kayak paddling in hope of making Australia's Olympic Team.
In the fictional race Trevor Hendy narrowly beat Mitch Buchannon who was played by David Hasselhoff.
Jonathan Crowe, Guy Andrews and Trevor Hendy all had speaking roles in the episode as did series promoter Michael Porra.
On the board leg, he went better, catching a twelve-foot, and survived being swallowed by the white water, doing a few barrel rolls, before coming out the front of the wave.
[3] Unlike many other sports, IronMan racing, and especially the Super Series, relied on many different formats, to appeal to both viewers and different types of athletes.
The Triple Sprint was the domain of Trevor Hendy, who dominated it in its first two years at North Bondi, and also at Portsea in 1993/94, in massive swell, despite coming to grief in one of the ski legs.
The first of the 'individual legs' format, and the forerunner to the Pursuit, the Quadrathon involved individual Ski, Swim, Board and Running Races, each lasting about twenty to thirty minutes.
Because The Pursuit required consistency over all three water legs, but also some luck in coming into the surf, it did throw up some upsets, such as Craig Hackett at Portsea in 1996/97, and Dwayne Thuys in 1997/98.
Survivor started the day with 20 competitors, with the last four to be eliminated each time, until a fifth race consisting of a final four to decide the winner.
The event was conducted with a knockout draw, and was eventually won by Trevor Hendy, his last ever Super Series race win.
Typified by its lack of surf, and either very hot and flat, or very cold and windy conditions, Glenelg held a marathon event in the first few years Perhaps the most well-known location in the Super Series, and even Ironman racing in general, Portsea lay claim to the most difficult conditions faced in the series.
With massive surf, big winds, cold water and rocks all round the norm, Portsea was a viewer and athlete favourite.
Alternatively Guy Leech tried doing triathlons, but struggled with road running and technical bike skills, was never competitive and retired not long after.
Andrews was an Australian age-group champion in triathlon/duathlon, and also completed an Ironman triathlon in a respectable time despite losing a pedal.
Went on to be a world ranked Adventure racer and Stunt Driver with credits on Mad Max 4 Fury Road, Top Gear Australia and the live-action Warner Brother show Hollywood Stunt Driver Guy races today as an off-road triathlete, coach and has his own business.
Despite being Australia's best Iron Man in the early 1980s, was never competitive in Uncle Tobys races as his attention by then had shifted to other areas.
After competing for 10 seasons, Thuys finally won his first Uncle Tobys race at the age of 34 in front of a home crowd in South Australia.
Consistent competitor who retired in 1994 Sean Kenny - Talented Iron Man who won 2 races and in his career and missed out on claiming series victory by the narrowest of margins.
Phil Clayton Joined the series as a 16 year old in 1994/95, and led just his second race at Newcastle, before winning for the first time in that season at Portsea.
The Uncle Tobys Super Series if often referred to as the halcyon days of Surf Iron Man racing.
