The tyranny of distance didn’t prove a problem for the most talented surf athletes from across the South Coast as they enjoyed a successful outing against the best the state has to offer at the 2018 NSW Surf Life Saving Open Championships last weekend.


Throughout the three competition days at Blacksmiths Beach, athletes from the South Coast and Far South branches returned with a respectable haul of 15 medals.



Mollymook’s reputation as the powerhouse of the south continues to grow with the club backing up last year’s breakthrough season with another 12 medals on their way to an impressive 13th on the overall point score.



Sam Zustovich continued on his winning ways to claim gold in both the U17 Beach Sprint and Beach Flag events before adding to his personal tally as a member of both the U17 and U19 gold medal winning Beach Sprint Relay teams, and rounding out his work with bronze in the Open Flags in what was a very strong field.



Other Mollymook athletes who performed strongly on the weekend included Brock Scrivener who picked up gold in the U19 Beach Flags and finished second in the U19 Beach Sprint.



Other silver medallists were Noah Hill (U17 Beach Flags), and Jarryd Murphy (U17 Beach Sprint), while Murphy picked up bronze in the U17 Beach Flags as did Jack Williams in the U19 division.



Rounding off the medals for the Shoalhaven based club was the Female Reserve Grade Surf Boat Crew of Tessa Harris, Ebony Murray, Amy Pollard, Gemma Smith and sweep Martin Drysdale who took bronze in their race.



Warilla Barrack-Point earned two medals during the competition with Jordan White powering home to take gold in the Over 24 Female Restricted Surf Race, and Madeleine Bakker securing bronze in the Open Female Surf Race.



Batemans Bay was also among the medals and in the process earned the distinction of being the most southern club to produce a medallist at Swansea Belmont in 2018.



The Open Male Surf Boat crew of Wayne Coppin, Aaron Jackson, Corey Jackson, Luke Price and Neil Innes finished with bronze in their race, while Geordie Kemp (U15 Beach Flags and Sprint), and the Female Reserve Surf Boat Crew finished their competition as finalists.



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