A near flawless season has ended in triumph once again for Caves Beach SLSC, with the club picking up yet another Sharkskin NSW IRB Championships title to go with the Premiership victory its teams tasted just a fortnight ago.
Hot off the back of the four-round Premiership Series that took Inflatable Rescue Boat drivers across NSW to race, Cape Hawke on the state’s Lower North Coast played host to the State Championships from 27-29 June.
The Hunter club entered the weekend with a special sporting trifecta of the favourites tag, the reigning champions crown, and the confidence built from an overall point score victory during the Premiership Series, and they didn’t disappoint in Sunday’s finals package, picking up an incredible 157 points to blow apart the competition.
Caves was the only club to achieve triple digits, with the competition’s southernmost clubs, Thirroul SLSC and Kiama Downs SLSC rounding out the podium on 99 and 79 points, respectively.
“The competition keeps growing so much so to see the team feed off that and continue to train hard and work to stay on top is pretty good to see,” Caves Beach Open Male competitor, Oliver Kleyn said.
“We’ve got an amazing team and Scotty (Bryant – Team Coach) holds us all together and everyone has that hunger which makes it really easy to come back each year and contribute.”
Oliver joined Luke Warzecha, Victoria Coppen and Samantha Bryant in taking out the Open Male Mass final – one of several big wins for Caves on the day that contributed to the comprehensive victory they achieved on the point score.
Notable results for the overall point score podium included Thirroul’s KNOT SHORE team of Max and Layla Montgomery, and Samara and Jaryd Turner who picked up gold in the U23 Male Mass Rescue, while the Illawarra club’s DUCK DUCK GOOSE team of Alison Montgomery and Anne Walton, supported by Max and Layla, took out the 35+ Female Mass.
Kiama Downs’ U23 Male Rescue team of Elijah Foster-Percy, Copper Walsh and Maria Flor Santana De Castro were also excellent in winning their final.
Elsewhere, Bondi SBLSC’s Aqua Ambush won the U23 Female Tube, North Cronulla SLSC’s Emotional Beached Whales won the U23 Female Rescue, Nobbys SLSC’s Should Have Gone to Specsavers were too strong in the Open Male Tube, and Queenscliff SLSC’s Old Mate won the 45+ Open Tube.
SLSNSW Chair of Surf Sports, Don van Keimpema said the carnival was a fantastic showcase of lifesaving skills.
“IRB racing is a great part of surf sports, it enhances our lifesaving and what we do each weekend but it’s a fantastic community as well,” he said.
Naming Rights Partner, Sharkskin’s Business Development Manager, Mick Robertson echoed this feeling.
“We love the IRB community, it’s a great partnership and we’re very proud to be associated with such a tight knit community event,” he said.
Caves Beach would leave the Lower North Coast with not only the Overall Point Score title, but each category title as well. Those included the Alistair ‘Slim’ Peebles Memorial Trophy for the U23 Champions, the Rodney ‘Rocket’ Williams Memorial Trophy for the Masters Champions, and the John Wake Memorial Trophy for the Opens Champions.
Thanks goes to MidCoast Council for its support of the event for another year.
Tuesday 1 July 2025