Pittwater Online News

In an exciting final day of competition at the 2017 NSW Surf Life Saving Age Championships Manly streaked ahead to claim their eighth straight title, but they didn’t have it all their own way with a number of memorable performances on display at Blacksmiths Beach on Sunday.

Bate Bay rivals Wanda and Elouera claimed second and third overall with Cooks Hill finishing two points back in fourth. Hosts Swansea Belmont ended the Championship in fifth position which was an excellent result for the home side.

Day 3 more popularly known as “finals day” dawned with the best conditions of the Championships and the eager young Nippers were certainly keen for competition to begin. The last day of the Age Championships commenced with the traditional March Past event and it was Manly LSC which won the first gold medal of the day finishing just ahead of North Bondi and Caves Beach.

Attention then switched to the ClubsNSW Beach Arena for the keenly anticipated Sprint Finals. After battling the climatic conditions and their opponents on Saturday just to qualify there was no one happier than the athletes themselves when the wind dropped by the time the starting pistol fired.

Holly Sheldrick from North Wollongong won the opening final in the U9s earning her first state medal in the process as did Tahj Hamilton from Terrigal in the U9 Male Race.

Gold medals in the U10 Beach Sprint were awarded to Keira Vincent (Wanda SLSC), and Addison Ramirez, while Manly’s Nina van der Reyden picked up her second individual gold medal of the championships taking out the U11 Sprint/Flags double.

Artie Leiper (Queenscliff) narrowly missed a medal on the opening day of competition in the U11 Male Flags but more than made up for it when he sprinted to gold.

In the U12 age group Maroubra’s Giorgi Parkes took out the female sprint while Malikye Kessie (South Maroubra) might need to build a new trophy cabinet after claiming the Sprint/Flag double.

Sawtell’s Hayley Fischer claimed gold in the U13s as did Max Geronimo who stormed his way to his first state title.

Lining up for their final race in their Nipper careers both U14 finals were tipped to be one of the races of the carnival and it didn’t disappoint. April Druery (Elouera) had to wait several minutes but after the judges conferred she was declared the winner by a nose ahead of Nowra’s Holly Abbey.

It was the small club’s chance to the shine in the U14 Male Final with Bellambi’s Brandon Morkos powering home to win ahead of Aiden Helu (Manly) and Bateman Bay’s Geordie Kemp.

“I’m delighted to get that win as it’s a great way to end my time in juniors. Now it’s time to move on and come back next year I can hopefully get that gold again. It was a good race for the smaller clubs (getting 1 and 3) and shows that we can match it with our bigger rivals,” said Brandon Morkos.

“I was actually pretty nervous before that race with the rain starting to come down but it disappeared right before the start so that was good. It was a good track to run on as it’s copped a lot of rain over the last few days.”

It was a busy day in the water too with finals contested across the disciplines of Board, Swim, and Iron.

In the Board Race Lilly Finati (Bronte) defeated Olissa Onley (Cudgen Headland) in the U13s while Sawtell’s Aiden Blaxland enjoyed success in the Male Race. There was plenty to smile about for host’s Swansea Belmont in the U14 Board Race with Nicholas Stoddart claiming the gold medal and Saxon Coates earning bronze on the podium.

In the Swim races Redhead’s Zara Foran won the U11s while Manly Twins Mitchell and Jake Morris claimed gold and silver respectively in the U12s. Piper – Lily Walker from Avoca Beach won her final race as a Nipper in the U14s.

The Iron events were fiercely contested across all age groups with the athletes having to show great skill in order to overcome the inconsistent swell.

After earlier winning gold in the Swim and Board races, Fletcher Warn (Wanda) led from start to finish capping off a dream day in the U11 water events.

“I’m stoked to get the win – I wasn’t happy because I didn’t get a good start so I dived under the waves. I couldn’t see the cans in that first leg but once I got to them it was fine, but was definitely hoping for a wave on the way back in,” he said.

Georgina Prowse (North Curl Curl U11s), Kimberly Doyle (Manly U12s) Jodie Louw (Newport U13s) and Bella Williams (Cooks Hill U14s) were the victorious Ironwomen.

While in the men’s Jake Morris (Manly U12), Joel Piper (Newport U13s), and Riley Dixon (Wanda U14s) joined Warn as Ironman winners.

    

There was a team emphasis to round down the competition as thousands of spectators gathered on the sand to cheer home the Cameron Relay competitors.

The 2017 NSW Surf Life Saving Age Championships, proudly supported by Your local club continues at Blacksmiths Beach, Swansea on Wednesday 8 March with the opening day of the Masters Competition

With the focus on the numerous team events to be contested there was plenty of club spirit displayed during a highly entertaining second day of the 2017 NSW Surf Life Saving Age Championships at Blacksmiths Beach.

Manly Life Saving Club surged to an overall lead of 55 points from nearest rivals Elouera with Wanda, Cooks Hill, and North Bondi rounding out the top five.

Hosts Swansea Belmont enjoyed another successful day finishing in 9th position in the overall standings.

The first medal event was the Beach Sprint Relays with many of the athletes using the chance to tune up for tomorrow’s Sprint events while also having fun and competing within the team environment.

Competing in their first State Championships, Manly, took out the U9 Female Relay event with Port Macquarie taking out the male race.

Manly (Female) and North Cronulla (Male) were crowned the U10 Champions respectively. Manly made it a hat-trick of gold medals in the female events when they won the U11s. North Bondi finished first past the post in U11 Male Event.

Coogee took out the U12 Female Relay, while Manly downed a fast-finishing South Maroubra team in the Male Race.

In the U13s Elouera ran away with the competition finishing ahead of Avalon Beach in the women’s race and Wamberal in the men’s.

Success in the U14 Beach Relay was the culmination of some great team work from the fabulous four from Elouera of April Druery, Holly Porter, Bridgitte Salib and Rachel Tougher.

The girls have competed together and in the same run order since Under 8s and capped off their junior careers with another gold medal in the event.

Manly were too strong in their U14 Male Relay with the team of Oskar Enasio, Aiden Enasio, Cooper Robinson, and Miles Weir ending their time in juniors on a high.

In the water there was a number of Swim Team races contested in challenging conditions with the loudest cheer being reserved for the hometown club who held off all comers in the U14 Male Swim Event. Swansea Belmont competitors Ashby Allen, Saxon Coates, Ben Rees, and Nicholas Stoddart were members of team.

Only a few individual events were contested on Day Two as the program for the U9s and 10s wrapped up.

Zara Kasprowicz from North Curl Curl claimed gold in the U9 Board Race with Storm Balmain from Warilla-Barrack Point winning the U9s Male event.

Cheered on by a sizeable crowd the U10 Board Races provided two sensational finishes. Niamh Sharpe from Lennox Head surged on a wave to hold her fast-finishing rivals, while Hamish Taylor battled hard to claim victory in the U10s.

The MacMasters competitor was absolutely thrilled with his maiden state title to go along with the silver he won in 2016.

“I’m really happy it feels so good to be a State Champion, and to it in my favourite event as well is awesome,” said Hamish Taylor.

“The race was really hard as I wasn’t happy with start and I knew when I got to the cans that I was going to have to just go as hard as I can.

“The surf was actually quite small during our race so it meant I had to do heaps of paddling to the finish,” he said.

The 2017 NSW Surf Life Saving Age Championships, proudly supported by Your local club concludes at Blacksmiths Beach, Swansea on Sunday 5 March. Action begins from 8am AEDT

Manly LSC 166

Elouera SLSC 111

Wanda SLSC 83

Cooks Hill SLSC 81

North Bondi SLSC 68

Coogee SLSC 65

Cronulla SLSC 65

South Maroubra SLSC 55

North Curl Curl SLSC 54

Swansea Belmont SLSC 52

North Cronulla SLSC 46

Manly’s quest for their eighth straight Age Championship got off on the right foot with the Sydney Northern Beach based club surging to a narrow lead on the first day of the 2017 NSW Surf Life Saving Championships at Blacksmiths Beach on Friday.

Manly lead Sydney rivals Elouera and North Bondi with Cooks Hill and Wanda rounding off the top five. Hosts Swansea Belmont finished opening day in a highly creditable 8th position and with plenty of points up for grabs as the competition develops over the next few days, it is fair to say that there will be plenty of intrigue in what promises to be a bumper event.

Despite the often challenging conditions a number of medals were decided on the opening day of competition.

Making their debuts at State level Isabella McDonald (Cronulla), and James Jackson (Cooks Hill) claimed gold in the U9 Flag event.

Xavier Stewart (Fingal Beach) won the U10 Male Flags and was certainly delighted with his efforts despite the limitations of not regularly training for the event.

“It’s the best feeling being a state champion and I didn’t try to think too much I just ran as fast as I could,” he said.

The older competitors too showed nerves of steel having to overcome the pressure of straight elimination and unpredictable winds as they battled their way to finals.

Manly’s Nina van der Reyden and Naor Ross (North Bondi) were the male and female champions of the U11 age group respectively. South Maroubra’s Malikye Kessie picked up from where he left in 2016 winning gold in the U12 Male Flags, with Lola Sossai (Towradgi) the top U12 girl.

Lucy Flanagan (North Cronulla) and Sasha Popovic (Cronulla) ensured that there was plenty to celebrate for the Bate based clubs in the U13s.

In their final year as Nipper athletes Geordie Kemp (Batemans Bay) continued the form he showed at the Country Champs taking gold in a highly competitive U14 Male Flag Final his second major title in succession, while Olivia Alvarez (North Bondi) claimed her third successive State title in the Female race as she defeated clubmate and friend Capri Felix in an entertaining final.

“When we realised that we had got one/two that it felt like a normal training session,” said Olivia Alvarez.

“It feels great to be champion for a third time in the row, but it was really special to do it with my teammate,” she said.

Geordie Kemp said getting his first ever state medal is a fantastic feeling made even more special by the fact the represents such a small club.

“It was really tough competition that anybody could have won, but it was definitely challenging conditions with the wind and rain picking up towards the end, but I just had to push through.”

With the bulk of the water events taking place later in the championships only a few medals were decided on opening day.

Hunter athletes announced their arrival on the State Stage sweeping the U9 Female Surf Race with Daisy Breasley, Bronte Bowker (both Cooks Hill) being joined on the podium by Kaitlin Rees from Swansea Belmont.

The hosts also won a medal through Xavier Coates (silver) in the U10 Male Surf Race and Tye Worrel (bronze) U11 1km Beach Run.

Other winners in the Surf Races were James Jackson (U9s) and Alexander Walker (U10s) both from Cooks Hill and Emma Duggan from North Avoca who took out the U10 Female race.

The final medal event of the day was the Beach Race events.

Day 2 of the 2017 NSW Surf Life Saving Age Championships, proudly supported by Your local club takes place at Blacksmiths Beach, Swansea on Saturday 4 March. Action begins from 8am AEDT.

     

Manly LSC 45

Elouera SLSC 42

North Bondi SLSC 36

Cooks Hill SLSC 35

Wanda SLSC 34

Cronulla SLSC 31

Coogee SLSC 29

Swansea Belmont SLSC 21

South Maroubra SLSC 18

North Cronulla SLSC 17

Results: http://sportnsw.carnival.sls.com.au/eventmgr/results/report/public/66/0 

Over 2,500 youngsters will be hoping to make their mark at the NSW Surf Life Saving Age Championships, which gets underway from Friday at Swansea Belmont SLSC, Lake Macquarie.

 

The three-day event proudly supported by Your local club is one of the highlights of a Nipper’s career, with many of surf’s most successful athletes including Olympians starting their journeys here.

The NSW Championships are the key event on a season’s calendar for the overwhelming majority of the athletes particularly since the Under 14s are the only age group old enough to enter the Australian titles.

Manly LSC will once again be the club to beat after finishing first overall at the last seven NSW Age Championships. The first of those wins was in fact at Swansea Belmont when they hosted the state titles in 2010.

Despite Manly’s long-term dominance, the gap is closing at the top with clubs from across the Hunter, Sydney, and Central Coast keen to build on their success in recent seasons.

Clubs from Sydney Branch have entered almost 40% of the total number of athletes with Wanda, Elouera and Bronte expected to finish near the top of the table. Wanda claimed second spot last year and will be keen to go one better in 2017.

Hosts Swansea Belmont has entered their strongest team in a number of years and is boosted by the inclusion of talented U14s athlete Saxon Coates who previously competed at Cooks Hills SLSC. Coates, Ashby Allen, and Eliza Johnson are looking to push their claims as the best in NSW with the added incentive of doing on their hometown beach.

Swansea Belmont won’t have it all their own way in the battle for Hunter supremacy as rivals Cooks Hill are full of confidence after finishing third overall in 2016. A number of athletes performed strongly at February’s Hunter Branch Championships including U14s competitor Bella Williams who blitzed the field at Fingal Beach.

The Central Coast clubs are on the rise with a number of outstanding performances in recent events suggesting that they will be in the mix as the competition progresses. Despite Avoca Beach SLSC recording the best finish of any Central Coast club last year (finishing sixth overall) Umina SLSC will be fielding the largest team and are confident that they can usurp their long-time local rivals.

A strong representation from the North Coast clubs will make the trip down to Lake Macquarie after excelling at last month’s NSW Stramit Country Championships at South West Rocks. Cudgen Headland and Sawtell are out to ensure that their Southern rivals won’t have it all their own way.

The finest athletes from South Coast clubs will be giving it their all for a chance to be crowned the best in the state during The Championships with Warilla-Barrack Point and Kiama Downs bringing the biggest teams.

Surf Life Saving NSW Sports Manager Rob Pidgeon is confident of a successful event.

“We are delighted to be back at Blacksmiths Beach for what promises to be a highly entertaining three-days of racing. Swansea Belmont put on an outstanding carnival the last time they hosted in 2010 so we are expecting similar,” Rob Pidgeon said.

“The State Championships are always eagerly anticipated by our young members who will be looking forward to testing themselves against the best competitors from around the state in a diverse range of events.”

The 2017 NSW Surf Life Saving Age Championships, proudly supported by Your local club takes place over three exciting days at Swansea Belmont from this Friday 3 March.

For all information regarding the Age Championships visit www.surflifesaving.com.au/statechamps17.

The first medals for the 2017 NSW Surf Life Championships have been awarded after a highly competitive Champion Lifesaver Event at Blacksmiths Beach on Saturday.

The first medals for the 2017 NSW Surf Life Championships have been awarded after a highly competitive Champion Lifesaver Event at Blacksmiths Beach on Saturday.

With only the first two finishers earning a starting position at The Aussies in April there was a lot at stake for the competitors in the decidedly overcast conditions that greeted them on the competition’s opening day.

The Champion Lifesaver event is for individuals (both male and female) in the U15, 17, 19, Open, 30-39 and 40+ Age groups. It consists of three parts; a multiple choice exam, CPR scenarios, and a skills competition in a Beach Sprint, Surf Race, Board Race, and Tube Race.

To be crowned champion, a lifesaver must perform at a highly competent level throughout the entirety of the event.

William McCance – Bronte SLSC

Leigh Ryan – Bronte SLSC

Peter Euers – Newport SLSC

Phoebe Savage – Newport SLSC

Clare Freakley – Freshwater SLSC

Alanna Street – Cronulla SLSC

Jackson Borg – Newport SLSC

Harry Hickey – North Steyne SLSC

Alex Malm – Freshwater SLSC

Mollie Murphy – Umina Beach SLSC

Tahlia Dearden – Freshwatrer SLSC

Sophia Tonoli – Newport SLSC

William Davison – Coogee SLSC

Christopher Curulli – Manly LSC

Max Moon – Manly LSC

Vicki Cuthbert – Manly LSC

Andrea Malm – Freshwater SLSC

Samantha Goldrick – Maroubra SLSC

Joe Jenkins – North Steyne SLSC

Lachlan Braddish – Umina Beach SLSC 

Jethro Mulder – South Curl Curl SLSC

Kirsten Miller – Umina Beach SLSC

Emily Thornton – Queenscliff SLSC

Sarah Murdoch – Manly LSC

Michail Papadopoulous – Coogee SLSC

Stephen Iannazzo – Bronte SLSC

Maxwell Gonzalez – Bronte SLSC

Amy Teale – Coogee SLSC

Shelley Smith – Umina Beach SLSC

Emma Larssen – Cronulla SLSC

Anthony Shubitz – Coogee SLSC

Robert Illidge - Coogee SLSC

Guyren Smith – Newport SLSC

Christine Bishop – Umina Beach SLSC

Deborah Foote - North Steyne SLSC

Jan Proudfoot – Newport SLSC

A full list of results is also available here

The 2017 NSW Surf Life Saving Championships proudly supported by your Local Club continue at Blacksmiths Beach, Swansea tomorrow Sunday 26 February with the Patrol Teams Competition