Local Crew Defends Surfing Championship Title

Local crew defends Under 14 Surf Life Saving Championship title

Omanu Surf Life Saving Club (Omanu SLSC) from the Bay of Plenty, have successfully defended their Under 14 New Zealand Surf Life Saving Championship title after fighting off stiff competition from around the country.

The championship fight stayed close all weekend with mere points separating the top five, until today when the Omanu team pulled away from their competition to win with a comfortable margin of 14 points.

Omanu SLSC head coach, Simon Wills said: “We actually didn’t focus too much on the overall club championship because all of our kids have their own goals and we help them to achieve those. They’re all stoked with how they went across the weekend but to walk away with the overall win is pretty awesome.

“Although this weekend there was some seriously tough competition out there. All of the clubs stepped it up and we had to work really hard. Our kids said every race was a real challenge, though they’ve all made some new friends and had a great time.”

Waikanae Surf Life Saving Club (Waikanae SLSC), of Gisborne, finished in second ahead of Red Beach Surf Life Saving Club (Red Beach SLSC) who rounded out the podium in third.

Almost 900 athletes from around the country descended on Mt Maunganui for the annual event, held across four days from March 3-6. The biggest team, Red Beach SLSC, had 76 athletes registered for the four-day competition, while Omaha Beach SLSC and
Whiritoa Lifeguard Service had the smallest teams with only one athlete registered to each.

Event referee, Simone Spencer, said: “It was a fabulous event and we saw so many outstanding performances from our athletes this weekend. They all showed great sportsmanship and always looked out for each other which is just awesome.

“Other than that, everything went smoothly. We were very lucky with the weather and fortunate to have such an incredible team of volunteers and race officials who kept everyone safe and happy. We’re already talking about next year… we can’t wait!”

Wills echoed Spencer’s sentiments and added: “Our kids also wanted to say thank you to all of the event volunteers, race officials, and all their fellow competitors for making the event so much fun. They really loved it, so thank you.”

The next event in Surf Life Saving’s calendar is the 2016 Eastern Bay Energy Trust New Zealand Surf Life Saving Championships, which takes place in Whakatane and sees over 1,400 athletes compete over four days.

ENDS

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