Strong finish for New Zealand surf lifesavers at the Battle of the Tasman 2025

New Zealand and Australia’s top young surf lifesaving sports and pool rescue competitors have concluded two days of races on the Gold Coast.

The 2025 Battle of the Tasman featured pool rescue events at the Southport Aquatic Centre on Friday 29 August, and surf and beach events at Kurrawa Beach on Saturday 30 August.

Day two saw some tough competition with the Australians dominating the morning events. However, the New Zealand athletes regrouped over lunch and finished strongly.

Ultimately, all three New Zealand teams finished behind their counterparts but came away hungry for to bridge the gap in the lead up to Lifesaving world Championships in South Africa in 2026.

The New Zealand coaching team congratulated all competitors on their strong performance across both days.

“We’re proud of our young athletes and would like to thank our Australian hosts for running an outstanding event. The event provided youth and pathway athletes a chance to learning new skills across multiple disciplines in a condensed world championships format.”

Final pointscore:

AUS 891

NZ 715

NZ Youth 150

AUS Youth 197

AUS Green 382

AUS Gold 312

NZ White 298

NZ Grey 267

Full results: Live Heats