News archive
Surf Nationals, Ohope Beach, 12-14th March.
Our team of 19 dedicated lifeguards brought home 5 medals and a raft of experience from the National Championships in Whakatane. The setting was perfect, with brilliant sunny days and warm water, however the waves were a little small for our liking.
We picked up our first gold of the champs in the Open mens long course canoe, where special mention must be given to Jimmy Rattray and Fraser Bickley who paddled in all the heats and semi finals in different combinations with two others (James, Fred, Liam or Peter), while only James, Fred, Liam and Peter raced in the final. Utilising this six-man team was integral to our winning performance, and certainly gave us an edge over other teams, hence, all six will receive gold medals. A similar pattern was followed in the short course canoe the following day, with Jimmy and Jacob putting in the hard yards in the early rounds. The finals team of James, Fraser, Fred and Peter then brought home silver after just being caught on the finsh line by Mairangi Bay.
Four of our team members (Ricci, Callum, Harrison and Daniel) experienced their first Nationals and performed extremely well. Daniel particularly stood out by placing seventh in the U19 Mens surf race final and also being up with the front group in the run swim run final. Ricci, Callum and Harrison raced well, but just missed out on qualifying for further rounds by 1-2 positions. I'm sure being so close will spur them on at training next summer!
On the last day of the champs, the highlight for our team was watching Fred and Liam completely smash the field in the double ski final, clearly winning the gold medal over chasing teams Midway and Ocean Beach Kiwi. It was also great to see Megan Brooker race really well, finishing sixth in the Open Womens ski race final!
Overall, it was our best Nationals in quite a few years, in terms of not just the medal count but also the individual performances and the team morale. Thanks must go to the team managers, Mike, Ken, Isaac and Denise who did such a great job on the beach and special thanks to Denise and Isaac who also helped cook every night too!
Results:
Gold - Long course canoe (James Feathery, Liam O'Loughlin, Fred Teear, Peter Rattray, Jimmy Rattray, Fraser Bickley)
Gold - Open mens double ski (Liam O'Loughlin and Fred Teear)
Silver - Short course canoe (James Feathery, Fraser Bickley, Fred Teear, Peter Rattray, Jimmy Rattray, Jacob Davies)
Silver - Open womens tube rescue (Viv Bickley and Megan Brooker)
Bronze - Open Mens ski relay (Peter Ratrray, Liam O'Loughlin, Fred Teear)
Masters results
Gold - Mens run swim run 70+ Paul Garratt
Gold - Mens surf race 70 + Paul Garratt
