News
Local crew defends Under 14 Surf Life Saving Championship title
Sunday, 6 March 2016Omanu Surf Life Saving Club (Omanu SLSC) from the Bay of Plenty,
have successfully defended their Under 14 New Zealand Surf Life
Saving Championship title after fighting off stiff competition from
around the country.
The championship fight stayed close all weekend with mere points
separating the top five, until today when the Omanu team pulled
away from their competition to win with a comfortable margin of 14
points.
Omanu SLSC head coach, Simon Wills said: "We actually didn't focus
too much on the overall club championship because all of our kids
have their own goals and we help them to achieve those. They're all
stoked with how they went across the weekend but to walk away with
the overall win is pretty awesome.
"Although this weekend there was some seriously tough competition
out there. All of the clubs stepped it up and we had to work really
hard. Our kids said every race was a real challenge, though they've
all made some new friends and had a great time."
Waikanae Surf Life Saving Club (Waikanae SLSC), of Gisborne,
finished in second ahead of Red Beach Surf Life Saving Club (Red
Beach SLSC) who rounded out the podium in third.
Almost 900 athletes from around the country descended on Mt
Maunganui for the annual event, held across four days from March
3-6. The biggest team, Red Beach SLSC, had 76 athletes registered
for the four-day competition, while Omaha Beach SLSC
and Whiritoa Lifeguard Service had the smallest teams with
only one athlete registered to each.
Event referee, Simone Spencer, said: "It was a fabulous event and
we saw so many outstanding performances from our athletes this
weekend. They all showed great sportsmanship and always looked out
for each other which is just awesome.
"Other than that, everything went smoothly. We were very lucky
with the weather and fortunate to have such an incredible team of
volunteers and race officials who kept everyone safe and happy.
We're already talking about next year… we can't wait!"
Wills echoed Spencer's sentiments and added: "Our kids also wanted
to say thank you to all of the event volunteers, race officials,
and all their fellow competitors for making the event so much fun.
They really loved it, so thank you."
The next event in Surf Life Saving's calendar is the 2016 Eastern
Bay Energy Trust New Zealand Surf Life Saving Championships, which
takes place in Whakatane and sees over 1,400 athletes compete over
four days.
Full race-by-race results are available here
on our website.
Overall Club Results:
Club Total
1st Omanu Beach SLSC 56
2nd Waikanae SLSC 42
3rd Red Beach SLSC 41
4th Papamoa SR 40
5th Mt Maunganui LS 39
6th Maranui SLSC 29
7th Mairangi Bay SLSC 27
8th= Wainui SLSC 20
8th= Whangamata SLSC 20
10th Westshore SLSC 17
11th= East End SLSC 15
11th= Fitzroy SLSC 15
11th= St Clair SLSC 15
14th Orewa SLSC 10
15th Waimairi SLSC 9
16th= Taylors Mistake SLSC 8
16th= Waihi Beach SLSC 8
18th Piha SC 6
19th= Foxton 3
19th= Lyall Bay SLSC 3
19th= Midway SLSC 3
19th= Omaha 3
23rd= Ocean Beach Kiwi SP 2
23rd= Otaki SLSC 2
23rd= Waipu Cove SLSC 2
23rd= Whakatane SLSC 2
23rd= Worser Bay LSC 2
28th= Muriway LS 1
28th= Waikuku Beach SLSC 1