Whakatane to welcome 400 junior surf athletes

Close to 400 enthusiastic Junior Surf athletes will hit Ohope Beach this weekend for the 2016 Bay of Plenty Junior Championships.

Whakatane Surf Life Saving Club is hosting the annual event which will take place from 9am on Sunday.

Surf Life Saving New Zealand Eastern Region Sport Manager Mark Inglis says it's fantastic to see a solid number of entries for the event, year on year. 

"It's a great sign for our young athletes coming through the Junior Surf ranks and it's also a really good opportunity for them to test their ability at the start of the season, building up to the Eastern Region Junior Champs and the Under 14 New Zealand Surf Life Saving Championships in the new year," he says. 

The largest number of entries this year comes from Papamoa Surf Life Saving Club with 69 entries, followed closely by hosts Whakatane with 65 and Mount Maunganui with 59. 

Other large groups representing their club include defending champions Omanu Beach Surf Life Saving Club (55) along with last year's hosts Waihi Beach (37) and Midway (33). 

Events to be contested will include beach sprint, beach flags, beach relays, run swim run, surf race, board races, diamond Ironman/woman and six person Cameron relays.

The Bay of Plenty Top Club Trophy will also be awarded to the top club from Bay of Plenty and Coromandel at the conclusion of the event.

For more information about the Bay of Plenty Junior Champs, click here.

For Live Results go to http://liveresults.co.nz/sls and for photos and live streaming from the event, keep an eye on the SLSNZ Eastern Region Facebook page.

Entries:

Papamoa SLSC, 69
Whakatane SLSC, 65
Mt Maunganui Lifeguard Service, 59
Omanu SLSC, 55
Waihi Beach, 37
Midway SLSC, 33
Waikanae SLSC, 21
Westshore SLSC, 13
Whangamata SLSC, 11
Pukehina, 8
Fitzroy SLSC, 3

For more information, please contact:

Mark Inglis, Eastern Region Sport Manager
Phone 0274 571 021
Email mark.inglis@surflifesaving.org.nz