Messy surf for day one of Country surf lifesaving titles
Under cloudy skies, muggy conditions and messy surf the 2008 Stramit NSW Country Surf Life Saving Championships kicked off today at Lighthouse Beach, Port Macquarie.
The morning’s competition was stifled somewhat by the 1.5m swell which was full of rips, sweeps and a deep wave breaking area, causing the postponement of many events with the water areas unable to handle competition. While the beach area continued uninhibited – and with an increased focus from the crowd – water events were later in the day shifted to Wauchope-Bonny Hills SLSC to allow the competition to progress.
Day one featured only junior events, with 35 of the state’s 48 country clubs represented at the Championships. Amazingly, 31 clubs featured in the top six on day one, with 23 winning medals signifying strong depth across the state. Bermagui, one of the smallest clubs in the state, sent only one competitor to the event with Madeline Charlton-Owen winning gold in the U13 Female Sprint.
With some day one events still to carry over to Saturday due to the program changes, Woolgoolga currently lead the Stramit Junior Pointscore on 90 points from Lennox Head-Alstonville (84pts) and defending champions Cudgen Headland (60pts).
A number of athletes stood out on day one by taking out the Sprint-Flags double, kick-starting their clubs’ campaigns at the event:
U14 Male Sprint-Flags Double: Nathan Sharp (Cabarita Beach)
U14 Female Sprint-Flags Double: Abbie Taddeo (Kiama Downs); dead-heat with Savannah Walker (South West Rocks) in the Sprint
U12 Male Sprint-Flags Double: Nathan Somerville (Taree-Old Bar)
U11 Female Sprint-Flags Double: Isabella Underhill (Woolgoolga)
U8 Male Sprint-Flags Double: David Nicol (Coffs Harbour); also placed second in the Wade Race and collected bronze in the Wade Relay.
Scarlett Fahey (Lennox Head-Alstonville) proved she is a true all-rounder and a star of the future, taking out a rare double by hitting the waves to take out the U9 Surf Race, while also scoring gold in the Sprint. She finished ahead of another all-rounder, clubmate Hannah Sculley in both events. The pair were also members of the successful Lennox Head-Alstonville U9 Surf Teams, seeing Fahey take away three golds from as many starts on day one.Lennox Head-Alstonville clubmates Abby Clarke, Alana McGoldrick and Mikayla Gray pulled off the first and only trifecta of day one, going one-two-three in the U13 Ironwoman.
In the feature events of day one, NSW Centenary State Team member Zoe Elkerton (Shellharbour) beat Madison-Blue Beckerleg (Lennox Head-Alstonville) in the U14 Ironwoman, while Michael Barnett (Lennox Head-Alstonville) won the U14 Ironman.
Day two action resumes at Tacking Point SLSC on Lighthouse Beach, Port Macquarie at 8:00am tomorrow, with the Senior and Masters programs getting underway.
2008 STRAMIT NSW COUNTRY CHAMPIONSHIPS at Lighthouse Beach, Port Macquarie – Day 1
MALE: U14: Ironman: M Barnett (Lennox Head-Alstonville) B Harper (Lennox Head-Alstonville) J Carter (Cudgen Headland). Sprint: N Sharp (Cabarita Beach) H Stokes (Wauchope-Bonny Hills) C Dykstra (Tacking Point). Flags: N Sharp (Cabarita Beach) C Dykstra (Tacking Point) C Underhill (Woolgoolga).
U13: Ironman: T Partland (Coffs Harbour) P Harrington (Coffs Harbour) M Holtermann (Wauchope-Bonny Hills). Sprint: J Lawrence (Wauchope-Bonny Hills) J Seymour (Wauchope-Bonny Hills) M Holtermann (Wauchope-Bonny Hills). Flags: J Meaney (Ballina Lighthouse & Lismore) B Andrews (Cabarita Beach) J Seymour (Wauchope-Bonny Hills).
U12: Sprint: N Somerville (Taree-Old Bar) J Stephenson (Ballina Lighthouse & Lismore) L McRae (Nambucca Heads). Flags: N Somerville (Taree-Old Bar) J Harmon (Broulee Surfers) B Cross (Port Macquarie).
U11: Sprint: J Field (Shellharbour) A Wright (Nowra-Culburra) N Meaney (Ballina Lighthouse & Lismore). Flags: M Parker (Woolgoolga) A Wright (Nowra-Culburra) J Field (Shellharbour).
U10: Surf: L Chaffer (Cabarita Beach) E Barr (Cudgen Headland) C Smith (Cudgen Headland). Sprint: J Mitchell (Bellinger Valley-North Beach) T Clarke (South West Rocks) J Conomos (Kempsey-Crescent Head).
U9: Surf: B Dawson (Warilla-Barrack Point) S Moore (Lennox Head-Alstonville) I Barker (Hat Head). Sprint: J Gusman (Woolgoolga) D Wicken (Woolgoolga) L Hawkins (Tacking Point).
U8: Wade: D Nicol (Coffs Harbour) J Dowrick (Tacking Point) T Bell (Shellharbour). Sprint: D Greenup (Cudgen Headland) D Nicol (Coffs Harbour) J Sheaves (Port Macquarie). Flags: D Nicol (Coffs Harbour) J Dowrick (Tacking Point) C Swift (Cudgen Headland).
FEMALE: U14: Ironwoman: Z Elkerton (Shellharbour) M-B Beckerleg (Lennox Head-Alstonville) C Flood (Shellharbour). Sprint: A Taddeo (Kiama Downs) S Walker (South West Rocks) equal 1st, B McCredie (Pacific Palms). Flags: A Taddeo (Kiama Downs) E Leaver (Lennox Head-Alstonville) M Rees (Woolgoolga).
U13: Ironwoman: A Clarke (Lennox Head-Alstonville) A McGoldrick (Lennox Head-Alstonville) M Gray (Lennox Head-Alstonville) Sprint: M Charlton-Owen (Bermagui) K Mayes (Woolgoolga) H Hollins (Wauchope-Bonny Hills). Flags: N Gusman (Woolgoolga) T Clements (Warilla-Barrack Point) A Clarke (Lennox Head-Alstonville).
U12: Sprint: L Abberton (Forster) J Sheaves (Port Macquarie) L Andrews (Cabarita Beach). Flags: J Sheaves (Port Macquarie) L Andrews (Cabarita Beach) O Hadfield (Tacking Point).
U11: Sprint: I Underhill (Woolgoolga) L Dam (Sawtell) K McCauley (Kiama Downs). Flags: I Underhill (Woolgoolga) K McCauley (Kiama Downs) L Dam (Sawtell).
U10: Surf: B Ingram (Sawtell) E Rosskelly (Warilla-Barrack Point) A Phillips (Broulee Surfers)
Sprint: E Wright (Port Macquarie) A Punch (Warilla-Barrack Point) J Bagnall (Warilla-Barrack Point).
U9: Surf: S Fahey (Lennox Head-Alstonville) H Sculley (Lennox Head-Alstonville) C New (Port Macquarie). Sprint: S Fahey (Lennox Head-Alstonville) H Sculley (Lennox Head-Alstonville) A Neate (Pacific Palms).
U8: Wade: L Steele (Forster) E Hurt (Cudgen Headland) G Sellings (Woolgoolga). Sprint: E Hurt (Cudgen Headland) K White (Shellharbour) C Abbott (Woolgoolga). Flags: K White (Shellharbour) J McAvoy (Port Macquarie) G Sellings (Woolgoolga).
MIXED: U14: Board Relay: Lennox Head-Alstonville X, Cudgen Headland A, Shellharbour Red. U9: Surf Teams: Lennox Head-Alstonville, Port Macquarie, Coffs Harbour. U8: Wade Relay: Woolgoolga Red, Warilla-Barrack Point Orange, Coffs Harbour Blue.
Junior Pointscore (after day one): Woolgoolga 90, Lennox Head-Alstonville 84, Cudgen Headland 60, Coffs Harbour 51.5, Warilla-Barrack Point 50, Port Macquarie 49, Shellharbour 47, Cabarita Beach, Tacking Point, Wauchope-Bonny Hills 43, Ballina Lighthouse & Lismore, Sawtell 29, Kiama Downs 23.5, South West Rocks 15.5, Nowra-Culburra 15, Broulee Surfers, Forster, Taree-Old Bar 12, Black Head 11.5, Byron Bay 10, Pacific Palms 8, Nambucca Heads 7, Bellinger Valley-North Beach, Bermagui 6, Mollymook 4.5, Brunswick, Hat Head, Kempsey-Crescent Head 4, Cape Hawke, Urunga 3, Gerringong 2.5, Salt 1.
