Dr. Mark Perissinotto (with microphone) and Steven Perissinotto (with dog bowl trophy) present the award for Best Wave to Hugsley, owner Paul "Jonesy" Jones and his son, six-year-old Huey.

The lack of swell wasn't enough to deter the thousands of eager spectators who travelled from as far away as Switzerland to line Noosa Main Beach on Sunday, 1 March just to catch a glimpse of the real stars of the Noosa Festival of Surfing - the surfing dogs.

The ninth annual Surfing Dog Championships, sponsored by VetShopAustralia and Simparica, saw ten talented dogs and their owners take to the surf to battle it out for the coveted Best Wave Award.

Paddling away with their second ever win was Spanador (Spaniel X Labrador) Hugsley and owner Paul "Jonesy" Jones, who were joined by 12-year-old daughter Opal, and six-year-old son Huey on their paddleboard.

Gold Coast-based Sam and Pork Chops, a British Bulldog, catch a wave at the 2020 VetShopAustralia Surfing Dog Championships

Joining them in the surf were crowd favourites, British Bulldog Pork Chops and owner Sam, Melbourne-based rescue dog Spike with owner Rob, six-month-old newcomer Kai the Border Collie and owner Zanna, and Kelpie-Retriever cross William who joined the field with owner Eliza at the last minute.

Dan and his incredibly talented Border Collie, Sage, entertain the crowd with an array of acrobatic tricks

Entertaining the packed crowd on the beach with her amazing tricks was Sage the Acro dog and owner Dan who took Cavoodle Woody out on his board for the event.

Dog whisperer and former world champion tandem surfer, Chris de Aboitiz, Jacquie and pooch Rama show off their skills

Returning to the surf for another year was fierce competitor Rama with owners Chris de Aboitiz and Jacquie, ball-mad Banjo and owner Chris, and back for their second year was Golden Retriever Cooper who was joined by owner Jay and rescue dog Sabi who did incredibly well given that this was her first time on a surfboard!

2021 will be the 10th anniversary of the VetShopAustralia Surfing Dog Championships and is shaping up to be the biggest year yet!

Any dogs and owners who are interested in competing in the 2021 event are encouraged to start training now and to contact the VetShopAustralia team in November to express their interest in competing.

We'd love to see your photos and videos from the event so be sure to share them on our Facebook page or tag us on Instagram using @VetShopAustralia.

You can see out photos and videos from the event on our Facebook page, the VetShopAustralia Instagram and the Surfing Dog Championships Instagram.