Kiwis make their mark at the BeNe Cup

The Kiwis put on a top display at the BeNe Cup over the weekend with Steve Kent and Samantha Lee taking out top male and female for the cup.

The team consisting of Steve Kent (Titahi Bay) and Samantha Lee (Lyall Bay) along with Laura Quilter (Wainui) and Chris Dawson (Midway) arrived in Amsterdam on Friday for the first ever BeNe Cup (Belgium/The Netherlands) which was held in Antwerp, Belgium on November 16 and in Eindhoven, The Netherlands on November 17.

The competition comes ahead of the 2013 International German Cup which kicks off in Warendorf on Friday and runs through until Sunday.

Highlights from Day One on Saturday included Steve and Samantha both taking out gold in the Men's and Women's 200m Obstacle Race.

In the 50m Manikin Carry, Steve continued his winning streak by taking out first in the men's event with Chris closely behind in fourth. Samantha took out fourth in the women's event with Laura taking out sixth place.

Laura just missed out on breaking the New Zealand record in the Women's 100m Manikin Tow With Fins and came in third place. Steve took out fifth place in the men's event.

Team Coach and Manager Scott Bartlett says it was a solid start to the event considering the athletes had only been on the ground less than 24 hours after a very long trip.

Day Two of the competition saw Steve set a new New Zealand record as he took out second place in the Men's 100m Manikin Carry.

Steve and Samantha both took out gold in the Men's and Women's 100m Rescue Medley before Samantha stole another gold in the Women's 200m Super Lifesaver, while in the men's event Steve came in second followed by Chris in fifth place.

To top off a great day in the pool, Steve and Samantha were then crowned overall top male and female for the BeNe Cup.

Mr Bartlett says he was very happy with the team's performance. "It was a good opportunity to track our progress against the Europeans and Australians ahead of the next weekend's German Cup and there's still plenty of work to do before then," he says.

The team now has a few days of training ahead of them before moving on to Germany. The German Cup kicks off at 9pm on Friday night New Zealand time.

View www.surflifesaving.org.nz/germancup for the latest updates and full results with times.

Day One Results

200m Obstacle Race

Women: Samantha Lee 1st, Laura Quilter 2nd
Men:  Steve Kent 1st, Chris Dawson 5th

50m Manikin Carry

Women: Samantha Lee 4th, Laura Quilter 6th
Men:  Steve Kent 1st, Chris Dawson 4th

100m Manikin Tow with Fins

Women: Laura Quilter 3rd, Samantha Lee 12th
Men: Steve Kent 5th

Day Two Results

100m Manikin Carry

Woman: - Sam Lee 8th, Laura Quilter 14th
Men: Steve Kent 2nd (new NZ record), Chris Dawson 5th

100m Rescue Medley

Women: Samantha Lee 1st, Laura Quilter 4th
Men: Steve Kent 1st, Chris Dawson 6th

200m Super Lifesaver

Women: Samantha Lee 1st
Men: Steve Kent 2th, Chris Dawson 5th

The German Cup New Zealand team: Chris Dawson, Samantha Lee, Steven Kent and Laura Quilter. Photo thanks to Scott Bartlett

For more information, please contact:

Lisa Honeybone, Media & Communications Specialist, SLSNZ
Phone 09 303 9335 or 0276 488 823
Email lisa.honeybone@surflifesaving.org.nz