Australian Survivor: Brains V Brawn star and surfer Felicity Palmateer, 29, is lending her star profile to charity event, Boards up for Cancer, on February 19.
The event organisers are hoping more than 800 West Australians will join a line-up with their surfboards, stretching two kilometres from Scarborough to Trigg, in aid of cancer support charity, Solaris Cancer Care.
Felicity told PerthNow on Sunday that it was a ‘no-brainer’ for her to get involved, with her father Warrick having been diagnosed with cancer two years ago.
Worthy cause: Australian Survivor star Felicity Palmateer (pictured), 29, is lending her profile to charity event, Boards up for Cancer on February 19, and revealed why the cause is close to her heart in an interview with PerthNow on Sunday
‘It was a no-brainer for me to want to be a part of it,’ she said.
‘My dad actually taught me to surf. He’ll definitely be down there and hopefully, be a part of the big board line-up.’
Event organisers are hoping to draw a crowd that will beat the Guinness World Record of 1.6 kilometres achieved in New York in 2016.
Event: Organisers are hoping more than 800 West Australians will join a line-up with their surfboards, stretching two kilometres from Scarborough to Trigg. The event is in aid of cancer support charity, Solaris Cancer Care. Felicity is pictured on Australian Survivor: Brains V Brawn
Family: Felicity revealed that it was a ‘no-brainer’ getting involved, with her father Warrick (pictured) having been diagnosed with cancer two years ago. ‘My dad actually taught me to surf. He’ll definitely be down there and hopefully, be a part of the big board line-up,’ she said
Felicity made headlines back in August when she revealed how supported she felt on Australian Survivor: Brains V Brawn after losing her mother while filming the series.
Her mum, Pauline Burggraaf, was 52-years-old and had been suffering from Frontotemporal Dementia (FTD) when she died.
Felicity opted to stay on the show after receiving the news, with the encouragement of her brothers and castmates.
Hard: Back in August, Felicity revealed how supported she felt on Australian Survivor: Brains V Brawn after losing her mother while filming the series. Felicity opted to stay on the show after receiving the news, with the encouragement of her brothers and castmates
‘To get my head back in the game was incredibly difficult. The decision I made was not a decision that I made lightly,’ she said on The Project at the time.
‘I had spoken to all my family and I knew I had their full support, but when I walked back into camp after finding out that news, I have never experienced love like that from people I have known for only 34 days.
‘All the support from the crew and production was amazing,’ she said.
Tears: ‘To get my head back in the game was incredibly difficult. The decision I made was not a decision that I made lightly,’ she said on The Project at the time
Love: ‘When I walked back into camp after finding out that news, I have never experienced love like that from people I have known for only 34 days. All the support from the crew and production was amazing,’ she said
Felicity added that after the episode in which she made her decision aired, it helped her process her grief.
‘I also experienced something so traumatic and not being able to speak freely about that has been difficult and watching last night I feel like I’m starting a different stage of my grieving process and it feels good,’ she said.
Pauline had been struggling with the illness for six years prior to her death and Felicity didn’t think she would succumb while she was away.
‘I honestly thought I had more time,’ Felicity previously told The Daily Telegraph.
Loss: Her mum, Pauline Burggraaf, was 52-years-old and had been suffering from Frontotemporal Dementia (FTD) when she died. Pictured with her mother Pauline
Grief: Felicity added that after the episode in which she made her decision aired, it helped her process her grief. ‘Not being able to speak freely about that has been difficult and watching last night I feel like I’m starting a different stage of my grieving process,’ she said
‘My mum had been living with FTD for years. She had deteriorated so quickly in the last few years – she was in a wheelchair, she couldn’t speak and was living in a high-care facility – but I thought she had at least another year.’
Felicity added that her brothers encouraged her to stay on the show.
‘Luke and Alex were so supportive and really encouraged me to stay. If it wasn’t for them telling me to stay, it would have been incredibly hard. And I just wanted to do her proud,’ she told the paper.
Felicity is a professional surfer from Perth, Western Australia and in 2016 competed in the Pe’ahi Women’s Challenge in Maui.
Athlete: Felicity is a professional surfer from Perth, Western Australia and in 2016 competed in the Pe’ahi Women’s Challenge in Maui
