Close battle for North Island IRB title

It came down to two clubs fighting for top honours at Taranaki's Oakura Beach on Saturday for the annual BP Surf Rescue North Island Championships.

Some of Surf Life Saving's top Inflatable Rescue Boat (IRB) crews raced in great conditions with Port Waikato club Sunset Beach taking the win to retain the championship title.

Papamoa finished in a close second with locals East End finishing in third with some solid performances throughout the day.

The annual event drew in 144 entries (63 crews) from 12 different clubs including locals East End, Fitzroy, New Plymouth Old Boys and Opunake along with Eastern Region Clubs Papamoa and Waikanae, Central Region Clubs Waimarama and Westshore, Northern Region Clubs Sunset Beach and United North Piha and Southern Region clubs North Beach (Christchurch) and St Clair.

Five different events were contested including the Assembly Rescue, Mass Rescue, Tube Rescue, Single Rescue and Teams Race across the Under 21, Senior, Women's and Premier divisions.

Event manager Todd Velvin says the Sunset Beach women's crew of Taylor Shrimpton, Jemima Ferrier and Ethan Graham were the most consistent over the day with three wins from three races.

"They certainly made an impression, staking their claim as the top women's crew to beat heading into the national champs, he says.

"Eyes were also on the experienced Edwards brothers (Sunset Beach) to try and stake their claim for the top Premier crew and they managed to take out the win in the Premier Men's Assembly Rescue ahead of East End's Scott Nelson and Scott Busing."

Crews now have six weeks to build up to the 2017 BP Surf Rescue New Zealand Championships which will be held at Waipu Cove from April 1-2.

"We're sure to see these, and other crews from around the country, battle it out to become New Zealand's top IRB club," he says.

Leading up to the national champs will be the South Island Championships at Warrington Beach on March 11.

Click here to view the photos.

Club points:

Sunset Beach LS 87
Papamoa SLSC 71
East End SLSC 47
Waimarama SLSC 30
New Plymouth Old Boys SLSC 26
United North Piha Lifeguard Service 19
St Clair SLSC 18
Opunake SLSC 14
Fitzroy SLSC 8
Waikanae SLSC 6
Westshore SLSC 4
North Beach SLSC 2

Results:

Assembly Rescue Premier Men's. Sunset Beach (Shane Edwards/Mark Edwards/Samantha-Jane Harding) 1, East End (Scott Nelson/Scott Busing/Sinead Malley) 2, Waimarama (Rhys Harman/Luke Harman/Bella Herbison) 3.
Women's. Sunset Beach (Taylor Shrimpton/Jemima Ferrier/Ethan Graham) 1, St. Clair (Briar Taylor/Maysha Ahrens/Brenna Ahrens) 2, Waimarama (Jaime Cox/Rachel Finlayson/Carolyne Nel) 3.
Senior Men's. Papamoa (Yannis Kokkosis/Mitchel Brady/Lewis Farr) 1, Sunset Beach (Jacob Pullen/Joshua Andrew/Caitlin Walker) 2, United North Piha (David Clarke/Dana Marais/Simone Hollier) 3.
U21 Men's. East End (Jerome McSweeney-Novak/Liam Cole/Flo Cunningham) 1, Sunset Beach (Judd Redmond/Jhett Hunt/Teagan Hansen) 2, Papamoa (Sam Johnston/Rhys Castle/Billy Bury) 3.

Mass Rescue Premier Men's. Papamoa (Kirby Wheeler/Chad Wheeler/Emily Pol/Nicola Elmsly/Lewis Farr) 1, Papamoa (Thomas Berthelsen/Liam Smith/Billy Bury/Hayley Elmsly/Jake Cowdrey) 2, East End (Scott Nelson/Scott Busing/Sinead Malley/Ella Rideout/Reef Robinson) 3.
Women's. Sunset Beach (Taylor Shrimpton/Jemima Ferrier/Ethan Graham/Jack Avery/Carla Janse Van Rensburg) 1, St. Clair (Briar Taylor/Maysha Ahrens/Brenna Ahrens/Matthew Bradley/James Coombes) 2, Waimarama (Jaime Cox/Rachel Finlayson/Carolyne Nel/Logan Sanko/Olivia Ward) 3.
Senior Men's. Papamoa (Yannis Kokkosis/Mitchel Brady/Lewis Farr/Kate Desbonnets/Billy Bury) 1, New Plymouth Old Boys (Rhys Clark/Michael Melody/Jordan Grylls/Bridget Billing/Casey Stevens) 2, Sunset Beach (Jacob Pullen/Joshua Andrew/Ethan Graham/Jack Avery/Caitlin Walker) 3.
U21 Mens. Papamoa (Jake Cowdrey/Cole Forbes/Lewis Farr/Kate Desbonnets/Emily Pol) 1, Sunset Beach (Judd Redmond/Jhett Hunt/Olis Fruh/Samantha-Jane Harding/Carla Janse Van Rensburg) 2, New Plymouth Old Boys (Michael Watts/Lachlan Stevens/Ella Hughes/Casey Stevens/Tessa Lilley) 3.

Tube Rescue Premier Men's. Sunset Beach (Lewis Powell/Hogan Shrimpton/Abigail Chapman) 1, Papamoa (Kirby Wheeler/Chad Wheeler/Kahleia Josephson) 2, Waimarama (Michael Harman/Ben Cross/Tom Charteris) 3.
Women's. Sunset Beach (Taylor Shrimpton/Jemima Ferrier/Shane Edwards) 1, St. Clair (Briar Taylor/Maysha Ahrens/Brenna Ahrens) 2, Papamoa (Hayley Elmsly/Nicola Elmsly/Yannis Kokkosis) 3.
Senior Men's. Sunset Beach (Jacob Pullen/Joshua Andrew/Samantha-Jane Harding) 1, New Plymouth Old Boys (Rhys Clark/Michael Melody/Jordan Grylls) 2, Fitzroy (Steven Rolfe/Poppy Campbell) 3.
U21 Men's. Papamoa (Jake Cowdrey/Sam Johnston/Lewis Farr) 1, Waikanae (Connor Mitchell/Oliver Shivnan/Holly Hope) 2, New Plymouth Old Boys (Michael Watts/Lachlan Stevens/Tessa Lilley) 3.

Open Teams Race East End (Scott Nelson/Scott Busing/Liam Cole/Sinead Malley/Jerome McSweeney-Novak) 1, Sunset Beach (Lewis Powell/Hogan Shrimpton/Mark Edwards/Ethan Graham/Shane Edwards) 2, Papamoa (Nicholas Coulter/Hamish Smith/Mitchel Brady/Kate Desbonnets/Yannis Kokkosis) 3.

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