Junior athletes from across the state have made waves on Day One of the 2026 NSW Surf Life Saving Championships, proudly presented by Your local club, where gold medals and new, great memories were on offer.
The first day of the state’s largest surf sports carnival, this year hosted by Swansea Belmont surf club on Blacksmiths Beach, always unleashes some new superstars, with U9 competitors getting to test their skills for the first time at a major event.
And so it proved when board paddlers from Avoca Beach SLSC, Oliver Thomas, Knox Mumford, Jessica Jones and Adeline Lavers came home quickest in the U9 Mixed Beach Relay, earning themselves the first gold medal of the Championships.
All the U9 beach events ran on day one, with Kai Levitski from Bulli SLSC winning the Male Beach Flags, hours after being edged out in the Sprint by Harry Weir from Mona Vale SLSC.
Mia Apps of Wanda SLSC was the victor in the Female Flags, but the moment of the day was reserved for Chelsea McDonald from Port Macquarie SLSC who was overwhelmed with emotion when she won the U9 Female Sprint.
In the water, Jimmy Coleman was able to become Cooks Hill SLSC’s second consecutive U10 Male Board champion, and while Manly LSC’s Solomon Eames, Dylan Pelly, and Benjamin Byers were too strong in the Relay, Sully Moulton’s impressive sprint up the beach earned his Hunter club, and Jimmy, a silver medal.
Lucia Dillon – one of the stars unearthed on the Northern Beaches at the State Championships last year – backed up her performances there with gold in the U10 Female Swim and Board race, before teaming up with Ivi Ranatawake and Hana Fende to win the Board Relay.
Older ages also competed in the Board Rescue – one of the great team events on the program – where the highlight was surely the last gasp victory for Lennox Head Alstonville SLSC duo, Amy Roberts and Miliani Tighe in the U14 Female event.
Cronulla SLSC’s Luca Greene and Asher Hill were the quickest home in the U11 Male Board Rescue, while an absolute weapon of surf sports in Emerson Hoo, alongside Azzuri Felix, won the U12 Female category.
The U14 Male Board Rescue winners, Dashiell Lonergan and Jordan Prince from Wanda, won their third straight Board Rescue State title.
Competition continues tomorrow with the U9s moving to the water and U10s to the sand, while the older competitors contest more team events.
Thursday 19 February 2026