Fresh off her first NutriGrain Iron Series, Newport SLSC’s Analise Kibble is hungry to build on her incredible summer at the 2024 NSW Surf Life Saving Championships, proudly presented by Your local club.
Since December, she’s been brushing shoulders with the countries elite Iron competitors across six action-packed rounds at Maroubra, Manly and Kurrawa on the Gold Coast – including earning an amazing second-place finish in the Round 3 Super Sprint – so to say she’s barely stopped this season would be an understatement.
Training has been “particularly gruelling” leading into this year’s Championships – largely due to the sheer number of events she has competed in, but two weeks off racing from her most recent event to her first start on the Open weekend will do much to help the body rest and recover.
She plans to push herself to the limit, but maybe this year prove a touch less tiresome on the body than the last – Analise competed in 19 races across the Open weekend in 2023, the most by any competitor by three.
“Being an U19 competitor last season gave me the opportunity to race in the Open events as well as my own age group which I think has really served me this season as a first-year Open competitor,” she said.
“This is something that all age group athletes should try their hand at. That taste of Open competition really taught me how to be competitive with the older girls. I love being able to do heaps of races across all the events, especially when it comes to teams.”
She admits that in the time since last year, she’s taken a lot of time to learn and develop, and getting a sense of where mistakes can be minimised.
Her own toughest critic, she confesses to making similar errors twice and costing herself two wins. But with a fantastic “family” at Newport to lean on, she’s confident she’ll continue to grow and improve.
“It really is true that you spend more time with your training partners than you do your actual family,” she said.
“We go through every bump in the road together, and it’s an environment conducive to success.
“With athletes like Lizzie Welborn, Jackson Borg, Piper Harrison, Charlie Brooks and Conner Maggs, as well as coaches like Trent Herring, Luke Morrison and Ross Chaffer, and also people like Nick Carroll and James Brooks, you can’t help but feel inspired to work harder than you ever have before.”
While Analise will play her part, the teenager says there’s a lot to be excited about with the Newport team as they chase their tenth straight Open overall point score title.
“It will be testament to all the hard work and dedication from athletes, coaches and support staff alike who continue to help our dreams come true,” she said.
“As always, our ski paddling ranks will hopefully display their calibre in addition to the young proteges in the U17 and U15 categories who soar above expectations every week.
Last year at State our Newport girls dominated their divisions and really brought it home for the club. We hope to do the same again.”
Tuesday 5 March 2024