Sydney Branch continued its recent dominance of teams format racing with a comprehensive point score victory at the Interbranch Championships at Avoca Beach from 29-30 November – its fourth straight.
Large, dumpy surf made racing tricky on Saturday where Sydney’s strong squad lay the foundations of success with consistency – competitors didn’t let the conditions hamper them, and they placed regularly in the water and on the sand to keep the scoreboard ticking over.
Come Sunday, when the ocean was a little friendlier, their athletes shone again to finish 142 points ahead of Central Coast Branch in second.
It was there, however, in the minor placings, that the real story played out – three Branches finished within two points of each other, with one falling off the podium via a countback.
The home Branch held off fierce rivals, Hunter Branch for the silver medal, but the Hunter – placing for the first time in three years – can be proud of a result that came about courtesy of a countback from the Branch they tied with.
That countback left Sydney Northern Beaches Branch – a powerhouse of the 2010s – on the outside looking in, and with plenty to build on ahead of a push back towards the top of the table next year.
Far North Coast was the best of the Country Branches once again, while below them, bragging rights between Illawarra Branch and South Coast Branch was up for grabs for the entire weekend before results began to fall more regularly to the Illawarra athletes.
Despite no first-place finishes, North Coast Branch benefitted from being there or there abouts all weekend – Woolgoolga SLSC’s Zara Johnson in the U15 Female Swim and Coffs Harbour SLSC’s Violet Webster in the U12 Female Flags among the medallists as the Branch claimed eighth place.
Narooma’s Liam Tague was the constant across all the Far South Coast medals, winning the U14 Sprint and taking silver in the Flags before teaming with clubmate, Noah Field, Pambula SLSC’s Phillipa Shovelton and Batemans Bay SLSC’s Leala Garden to podium in the Mixed Sprint Relay. The Branch eventually finished in ninth.
Only just behind them was Mid North Coast Branch, who found success on the Board with Stella Moore and Layla Imrie, both of Port Macquarie SLSC, taking silver in the U12 Female Board Rescue while Harry Hamblin and Jayden McDonald, from Tacking Point SLSC and Port Macquarie, won the U12 Male Board Rescue.
The U14 Mixed Board Relay team of Ella McDonald and Rylah Hooper-Buckland took gold in their event as well.
The Interbranch Championships will move to the Hunter in 2026, with the beach still to be announced.
OVERALL POINT SCORE
Sydney Branch – 1,176
Central Coast Branch – 1,034
Hunter Branch – 1,032
Sydney Northern Beaches Branch – 1,032
Far North Coast Branch – 844
Illawarra Branch – 710
South Coast Branch – 602
North Coast Branch – 483
Far South Coast Branch – 426
Mid North Coast Branch – 415
Wednesday 3 December 2025