Action moved from the sand to the surf on a sensational second and final day of the 2017 NSW Surf Life Saving Masters Championships at Blacksmiths Beach on Thursday.

It was tight at the top with three Sydney clubs neck and neck for much of the day. North Bondi just edged out Queenscliff 255 points to 244 with defending champions Bondi Surf Bathers on 241 points.



With the Masters Surf Boats hitting the water tomorrow to round out the competition there is still room for a change in the lead.



Redhead (fourth) was the best of the Hunter clubs with hosts Swansea Belmont also finishing inside the top ten. Toowoon Bay in seventh spot finished top of the Central Coast contingent, while Wanda, Coogee, Manly, and Palm Beach also finishing strongly.



In the 30-34 age group Nadine Canning (Cudgen Headland) continued her successful summer in the winning gold in the Surf, Ironwoman, and Ski races to go with her first place on Day 1 in the Board event.



Cameron Pyett (Wanda) was the winner in the Male 30-34 age group while Queenscliff’s Chris Allum took out a hotly contested Ironman.



The men’s 35-39 Single Ski Race was closely fought and ended in a clean-sweep for Hunter clubs. Jason Upton (Stockton) just edged out Ryan Cook (Swansea Belmont) with another Stockton competitor in Glen Bernard securing bronze.



Lisa Brown (Redhead) took out the Female 40-44 Surf Race while also claiming gold in the Single Ski. Melissa Thurlow (Swansea Belmont) had a successful day taking silver in the 40-44 Ironwoman, gold in the Board Race, and finishing just outside the medals in the Surf.



In the Male 45-49 category Terrigal’s Paul Lemmon finished second behind Glenn Slater (North Curl Curl) in the Board Race before claiming gold in the Ironman – he also joined his teammates for success in the relay events.



In the 55-59 group there were multiple winners in the water disciplines. Lisa Critoph (Mona Vale) won the Surf Race, Joanne Helson (Shellharbour) was too strong in the Ironwoman race, and Annabelle Chapman (Palm Beach) took out the Board Race.



Newport’s Stuart Meares took out the 55-59 Surf Race, Nick Carroll (Newport) won the Ironman, while Alan Boyce (Redhead) and Rod Landy (Thirroul) took out the Ski and Board Race respectively.



In a throwback to the classroom maths was certainly a requirement of the day as the veterans counted up their ages to ensure that they were able to enter the team events. The basic maths secured, great fun was had by all competitors as they negotiated the sometimes tricky conditions to snare points for their clubs and were raucously cheered on by their teammates.



Hosts Swansea enjoyed a memorable win in the Men’s 130 Years Taplin with the team of Mark Masia, Martin Rees, and Joshua Blair using their knowledge of the conditions to lead from start to finish.



“It certainly wasn’t an easy swim – there was a lot of sets coming through,” said Joshua Blair who swum the last leg of the event.


“I actually went further to the south than the others to get to the cans first and it paid off. The swell was the biggest I’ve seen this summer but the other guys did a great job to set me up for the finish,” he said.

NSW Surf Sports Coordinator Luke Stigter said it was an enjoyable competition conducted in the right spirits.



“The Masters competitors certainly relished the chance to showcase their skills and while the conditions weren’t in their favour it was great to see them all rise to the challenge,” he said.



The 2017 NSW Surf Life Saving Championships proudly supported by Your local club continues tomorrow Friday 10 March at Blacksmiths Beach, Swansea with the first day of Open Competition



Overall Provisional Point Score Masters – Day 2



North Bondi SLSC 255

Queenscliff SLSC 244

Bondi Surf Bathers LSC 241

Redhead SLSC 161

Wanda SLSC 129

Coogee SLSC 106

Toowoon Bay SLSC 102

Manly LSC 97

Swansea Belmont SLSC 95

Palm Beach SLSC 87