Black Fins five days out from competition

The New Zealand Black Fins have now been on the ground in The Netherlands for a full three days as they set their sights on the Lifesaving World title for the third consecutive time.

The team travelled well, departing on Saturday after a special farewell dinner in Auckland on Friday night, before arriving on Monday for their first taste of Noordwijk.

Team manager Mark Weatherall says the weather continues to be better than expected with daily temperatures of around 20-25 degrees outside and siting on 20 in the water.

"We're enjoying the location and most of the athletes have had a chance to check out some of the local sites in between training sessions," he says.

The Black Fins are training at the local pool each morning, followed by a sprinting session and then further training sessions in the afternoon, either back at the pool or down on the beach.

With only five days to go until the national teams competition begins, Mr Weatherall along with assistant team coach Steve Ferguson, will take the swimmers to the pool venue at Eindhoven; a two and a half hour drive away.

Coach Jason Pocock will then travel with the remainder of the team on Saturday where they will be based for the duration of the pool events. The Simulated Emergency Response Competition (SERC) will mark the first day of competition on Tuesday September 6, followed by two days of racing in the pool.

The team then has a rest day on Friday September 9, preparing for a further two days of competition on the beach back at Noordwijk from September 10-11.

The New Zealand Youth team, the Junior Black Fins, will start competing on Wednesday September 7 with two days on the beach, followed by two days in the pool.

Keep up to date with our teams via the High Performance Facebook page or on Instagram @slsnzhp

Black Fins competition timetable:

Tuesday 6 September:  SERC 2.30pm local time- 12.30am Wednesday 7 Sept NZ time.
Wednesday 7 September: Pool Day 1 9.00am local time- 7.00pm NZ time
Thursday 8 September: Pool Day 2 9.00am local time-  7.00pm NZ time
Friday 9 September: Rest Day
Saturday 10 September: Ocean Day 1 9.00am local time- 7.00pm NZ time 
Sunday 11 September: Ocean Day 2 9.00am local time- 7.00pm NZ time

 The Black Fins and Junior Black Fins together in The Netherlands ahead of Rescue 2016. 

For more information, please contact:

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