Mt Maunganui takes the win at Whangamata Classic

Mt Maunganui athletes put in some top performances at the weekend's Whangamata Classic to echo last year's result of finishing top of the club points table.

The Bay of Plenty club finished on 52 points, five points ahead of Piha on 47 with Mairangi Bay coming in third equal with Red Beach on 40 points.

Just under 600 athletes took part in the annual event, jointly hosted by Surf Life Saving Northern Region and SLSNZ Eastern Region.

Events included beach flags, sprints, board, ski, iron/diamond, taplin, surf race, surf boats and canoes.

Some of the Mount's top performances that lead to their win came in the Board race, beach sprint and beach flags.

Sam Shergold claimed gold in the open men's board race with Libby Bradley taking the Under 19 Women's title. Bradley also claimed gold in the Under 19 Women's Surf Race.

Olivia Eaton continued to show her dominance in the beach arena taking gold in the Open Women's Beach Sprint and Beach Flags ahead of Mairangi Bay's Chanel Hickman.

Jake Hurley continued a year of top performances on the sand, taking both the Open and Under 19 Men's Beach Sprint titles.

On the water, Midway's Olivia Corrin took both the Open and Under 16 Women's title in the Board Race as well as the Under 16 Women's Surf Race with fellow clubbie Matthew Scott taking the Open and Under 19 Men's Surf Race titles.

Piha's Teneale Hatton and Orewa's Jack Wilson took out the Open Women's and Men's Ski races with James Scott (Orewa) and Hayley Cox (Lyall Bay) taking out the Under 19 division and Jordan McLarin (Karekare) and Emma Walker (Piha) taking the Under 16 titles.

The Taplin relays saw Piha and Mairangi Bay take out the Open Men and Women's respectively with Mairangi Bay and Mt Maunganui claiming the Under 19 division wins and Orewa and Midway claiming the Under 16 honours.

The Red Beach Boomers won the three race series in the Surf Boat arena ahead of hosts Whangamata with Piha in third. Muriwai took the Open Women's titles ahead of Red Beach and Orewa.

The Canoe Race also saw some close racing with Omanu taking the Open Men's competition ahead of Red Beach and Karekare. Red Beach battled it out for first and second in the Women's division with the Rockin Red claiming gold ahead of the Flying Herons. Kariaotahi took bronze.

Surf Life Saving Northern Region Sport Manager Simone Spencer says the Whangamata Classic is always an exciting event on the Surf Life Saving calendar.

"This year didn't disappoint with plenty of close and exciting racing from our athletes who have clearly put in the hard years of training in the off-season, she says.

"If this is a sign of what's to come in the lead-up to the national champs in March, then it's going to be huge," she says.

To view photos from the event, please  click here.

Full results

Ski Race
Open Men: Jack Wilson (Orewa) 1, Taris Harker (Omanu) 2, Sam Shergold (Mt Maunganui) 3
Open Women: Teneale Hatton (Piha) 1, Rachel Clarke (Mairangi Bay) 2, Rachael Dodwell (Mairangi Bay) 3
U19 Men: James Scott (Orewa) 1, Timothy Waller (Omanu) 2, Ben Manners (Lyall Bay) 3
U19 Women: Hayley Cox (Lyall Bay) 1, Stefanie Crncevic (Orewa) 2, Kayla McKenzie (Mairangi Bay) 3
U16 Men: Jordan McLarin (Karekare) 1, Kees Ursem (Orewa) 2, David Long (Lyall Bay) 3
U16 Women: Emma Walker (Piha) 1, Alaynah Bettany (Lyall Bay) 2, Tiana Williamson (Mairangi Bay) 3

Board Race
Open Men: Sam Shergold (Mt Maunganui) 1, Tyler Maxwell (Layll Bay) 2, Scott Cowdrey (Papamoa) 3
Open Women: Olivia Corrin (Midway) 1, Katie Wilson (Mt Maunganui) 2, Ashley Cochrane (Omanu) 3
U19 Men: Mason Bryant (Papamoa) 1, James Scott (Orewa) 2, Daniel Barron (Mt Maunganui) 3
U19 Women: Libby Bradley (Mt Maunganui) 1, Julie Orgeval (Mt Maunganui) 2, Kayla McKenzie (Mairangi Bay) 3
U16 Men: Oscar Williams (Piha) 1, Declan Dempster (Mt Maunganui) 2, Mitch Cowdrey (Papamoa) 3
U16 Women: Olivia Corrin (Midway) 1, Hannah Baker (East End) 2, Sophie Hayden (Papamoa) 3

Surf Race
Open Men: Matthew Scott (Midway) 1, Perry Farrell (Mt Maunganui) 2, Ben Gillies (Piha) 3
Open Women: Rachel Clarke (Mairangi Bay ) 1, Kirsty Wannan (Piha) 2, Kelsi Boocock (Red Beach) 3
U19 Men: Matthew Scott (Midway) 1, Daniel Barron (Mt Maunganui) 2, Cole Drinnan (Orewa) 3
U19 Women: Libby Bradley (Mt Maunganui) 1, Jenna Barrett (New Plymouth Old Boys) 2, Ariana Moffatt (Papamoa) 3
U16 Men: Oscar Williams (Piha) 1, Atakura Julian (Lyall Bay) 2, Levi Ata (Orewa) 3
U16 Women: Olivia Corrin (Midway) 1, Sophie Hayden (Papamoa) 2, Tessa Bradley (Mt Maunganui) 3

Beach Sprint
Open Men: Jake Hurley (Mairangi Bay) 1, Scott Murfitt (Fitzroy) 2, Connor O'Loughlin (Midway) 3
Open Women: Olivia Eaton (Mt Maunganui) 1, Chanel Hickman (Mairangi Bay) 2, Georgia Newman (Mairangi Bay) 3
U19 Men: Jake Hurley (Mairangi Bay) 1, Ryan Gilmour (Piha) 2, Campbell Busby (Red Beach) 3
U19 Women: Sinead Malley (East End) 1, Sophie Twigley (Midway) 2, Alicia Wilson (Mt Maunganui) 3
U16 Men: Ishmael Perkins-Banse (Maranui) 1, Aidan Smith (Papamoa) 2, Bevan Spragg (Fitzroy) 3
U16 Women: Alicia Wilson (Mt Maunganui) 1, Nore De Ridder (Paekakariki) 2, Maisie Lundon Moore (Fitzroy) 3

Beach Flags
Open Men: Daniel Rippon (Piha) 1, Daniel Peacocke (Mairangi Bay) 2, Connor O'Loughlin (Midway) 3
Open Women: Olivia Eaton (Mt Maunganui) 1, Chanel Hickman (Mairangi Bay) 2, Shamay King (Mt Maunganui) 3
U19 Men: Javon McCallum (Fitzroy) 1, Liam Stephenson (Papamoa) 2, Stefan Powney (Orewa) 3
U19 Women: Chelsea Grant (Red Beach) 1, Maisie Lundon Moore (Fitzroy) 2, Sinead Malley (East End ) 3
U16 Men: Ishmael Perkins-Banse (Maranui) 1, Costa Owens (Orewa) 2, Rowan Gjaltema (Red Beach) 3
U16 Women: Alicia Wilson (Mt Maunganui) 1, Denali Amerson (Omanu) 2, Nore De Ridder (Paekakariki) 3

Taplin Relay
Open Men: Piha 1, Mt Maunganui 2, Papamoa 3
Open Women: Mairangi Bay 1, Piha 2, Mt Maunganui 3
U19 Men: Mairangi Bay 1, Mt Maunganui 2, Omanu 3
U19 Women: Mt Maunganui 1, Red Beach 2, Papamoa 3
U16 Men: Orewa 1, Piha 2, Papamoa 3
U16 Women: Midway 1, Mairangi Bay 2, Mt Maunganui 3

Surf Boat (3 race series)
Open Men: Red Beach Boomers 1, Whangamata 2, Piha Postal Service 3
Open Women: Muriwai Mac'n Cheese 1, Red Beach Bangers 2, Orewa Aces 3
U23 Men: Red Beach Pirates 1, Orewa Chargers 2, Red Beach Doom Squad 3
U23 Women: Orewa Stars 1, Muriwai Munchkins 2, Bethells Beach Birds 3
U19 Men: Sunset Beach Young Guns 1, Bethells Beach BLTs 2, Piha Ponies 3
U19 Women: Piha Pingers 1, Red Beach Angels 2, Orewa Baby Blues 3

Canoe Race (3 race series)
Open Men: Omanu 1, Red Beach Lion Red 2, Karekare X Men 3
Open Women: Red Beach Rockin Reds 1, Red Beach Flying Herons 2, Kariaotahi Blazen Babes 3
U19 Men: Kariaotahi Muffin Stuffers 1
U19 Female: Fitzroy Blue 1, Red Beach Screaming Reds 2, Waihi 3

Overall Club Points:

Mt. Maunganui- 52
Piha SLSC- 47
Mairangi Bay SLSC- 40
Red Beach SLSC- 40
Orewa SLSC- 32
Midway SLSC- 29
Papamoa SLSC- 24
Lyall Bay SLSC- 15
Omanu SLSC- 15
Fitzroy SLSC- 14
Muriwai- 8
East End SLSC- 6
Kariaotahi SLSC- 6
Maranui SLSC- 6
Sunset Beach LS- 5
Bethells Beach SLSC- 4
Kare Kare SLSC- 4
Paekakariki- 3
Whangamata SLSC- 3
New Plymouth Old Boys- 2
Waihi- 1

For more information, please contact:

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