Sydney Branch has won the Interbranch Championships from their fierce rivals Sydney Northern Beaches after a very tense final day of competition at The Lakes SLSC.

Heading into the final day, Sydney held a lead of just 31 points over their northern neighbours and held on despite a disqualification in the Junior Female Board Rescue Relay to win by 16 points.



Close in third position was Central Coast who couldn’t have asked for a better start, taking out both Open Female and Male Rescue Tube Rescue events thanks to Jemma Smith and Brad Woodward.



Hunter once again claimed fourth spot for the 12th consecutive time while Far North Coast held strong to finish fifth and be crowned Country Champions for four straight years.



Sydney Northern Beaches chased heavily on the final day and showed their class in the U12-U14 Female and Male Rescue Board Relays crossing the line first on both occasions.



However, Sydney hit straight back cruising to victory in the U15-Open Female and Male events.



Surprisingly, across the 24 events held on the final day, Central Coast won 10 while Hunter was next best with six victories.



Sydney Branch Team Manager, John de Cean is thrilled to have the Interbranch trophy back after two years.



“The team was psyched this morning to get the win and despite a hiccup with the disqualification, the athletes showed their strength to hold the lead and they did an outstanding job,” John de Dean said.



Championship Referee, Wayne Druery couldn’t have been happier with how the carnival ran.



“It’s been a great couple of days of competition. The format has worked well and I’m really happy with the starts and the dry finishes under the arch,” Mr Druery said.



“The competition has been a lot closer this year which is nice to see and it has given the smaller Branches confidence heading into other NSW carnivals and also future Interbranch Championships.”



The Lakes SLSC President, Sean Leicester says the club and members thoroughly enjoyed having the event on their home beach.



“It was amazing to have Interbranch at our club and it’s been good to see competitors from across NSW on our beach,” Sean Leicester said.



“Our members are a good bunch of people and they all helped out whilst still having fun.”



The 2017 NSW Interbranch Championships will be held at Stockton SLSC on 9 and 10 December which was announced at the presentation ceremony on Sunday afternoon.



Overall Pointscore




  1. Sydney - 1162

  2. Sydney Northern Beaches - 1146

  3. Central Coast - 1044

  4. Hunter - 1035

  5. Far North Coast - 928

  6. Illawarra - 823

  7. South Coast - 598

  8. Mid North Coast - 518

  9. North Coast - 513

  10. Far South Coast - 357

  11. Lower North Coast - 174





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Sunday 11 December 2016