As competitors from Newport SLSC gathered to celebrate their fifth consecutive open title at the 2018 NSW Surf Life Saving Championships last weekend, it was the performance of some of the smaller clubs that reinforced the depth of surf sports across Sydney’s Northern Beaches.


Eleven clubs from across the branch medalled at Lake Macquarie’s stunning Blacksmiths Beach with competitors returning with an impressive haul of 145 medals.



Georgia Miller (Newport) was the favourite going into the Open Female water events and she did not disappoint, taking out the Board, Ski, Surf and Ironwoman events. 



After being beaten in the Beach Sprint, Newport’s Jake Lynch bounced back in the best possible fashion to take gold in the Open Beach Flags.



Other individual winners for the powerhouse club included Emily Doyle in (U17 Surf Belt), Jackson Borg (Open Surf Race), Isaac Smith (U19 Ironman) and two golds to Zach Morris in the U17 Ironman and Board Race.



Manly’s Stewart McLachlan, Jay Furniss, Kendrick Louis, Sam Speer, Nick Dawe and Harrison Stone did enough to hold off fierce rivals Newport in the Open Male Taplin Relay and their efforts helped the club to second place in the overall standings.



Other standout performances included Sam Speer who took out the Open Ski, Ryan Singleton who won the U17 Surf Race, Aiden Helu who won the U15 Male Beach Sprint and Naomi Scott who streaked ahead of the field in the U17 Surf Race.



Freshwater SLSC picked up 11 medals during the championship thanks to their dominance in the Lifesaving competition and rescue and resuscitation events.



Collaroy picked up five medals including gold in the 5 person Open Female Rescue and Resuscitation competition. The Collaroy Ladies earned silver in the Open Mixed March Past, beating the Bears who picked up bronze in a healthy example of inter-club rivalry.



Joe Jenkins (silver) and Ewan Cooper-Frater (bronze) both earned medals for North Steyne in the Champion Lifesaver event while Dee Why’s Allen Lakemen (Open Male Champion Lifesaver and Mixed First Aid) and Emily Buckle (Mixed First Aid) earned silver medals for their club.



There was plenty of joy for Avalon Beach SLSC in the surf boats with the club picking up gold in the Female Reserve Grade Division and silver in the U19 Female Race.



Queenscliff also enjoyed success in the boats with the U19 Men earning the gold, and the Male Reserve crew silver, helping propel the club to five medals throughout the competition.



Rounding off the weekend’s performances were gold medals to the Palm Beach U23 Male Surf Boat crew with the club also picking up silver in the Open Female division, and South Curl Curl’s U23 Men who finished with bronze behind eventual winners Palm Beach.



NSW Surf Sports Manager Rob Pidgeon said it was a highly successful competition contested at Swansea Belmont for 2018.



“I would like to congratulate everyone for their efforts over the last three weekends of competition. We’ve seen some extremely close and exciting finishes and the weather and conditions have allowed us to showcase the very best of surf sports in NSW,” said Mr Pidgeon.



“The volunteer team from Swansea Belmont have hosted another fantastic event, with great support from Lake Macquarie City Council,” said Rob Pidgeon.



2018 Open Championship Club Point Score




  • Newport SLSC (553)

  • Manly LSC (247)

  • Wanda SLSC (221)

  • North Bondi SLSC (204)

  • North Cronulla SLSC (198)

  • Cronulla SLSC (196)

  • Umina SLSC (144)

  • Redhead SLSC (144)

  • Elouera SLSC (134)

  • Coogee SLSC (118)



    The NSW Surf Life Saving Championships, proudly supported by Your local club will return to Blacksmiths Beach in 2019 for another exciting edition of the state’s largest surf sport event.



 



Thursday 15 March 2018


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