Titles were retained and new Champions crowned as a spread of good results for local and regional clubs alike capped an excellent second day of the NSW Age Surf Life Saving Championships, proudly supported by Your local club at Manly.
With the junior March Past event still to come on Sunday morning, Coogee SLSC is looking likely to take the title with their superior total point score currently 18 ahead of South Maroubra SLSC and a further four points ahead of North Bondi SLSC.
The day was once again shaped by wild and often unpredictable spells of heavy rain and winds, conditions which at one point saw some U9 water events moved to Shelly Beach.
It did little to shake a determined pair of teams from Elouera, however, with the U9 Male and Female Board Relay teams winning their respective events, showing the club has plenty to look forward to over the coming years.
Coogee, too, tasted success on two different beaches, with the Junior 5-person and Junior 2-person R&R teams winning gold at Freshwater while Max Nguyen won the U9 Male Beach Flags after looking the strongest runner throughout the event.
Avalon Beach’s Ethan Warner, on the same stretch of beach no more than half an hour later, took out the U10 Beach Flags, while Noah Pearce from Warriewood won gold in the U12s.
Defending Age Champions North Curl Curl SLSC had a pair of familiar names bringing them further success, with Jocelyn Melbourn placing first in the U11 Ironwoman and clubmate Evie Davis, who Jocelyn beat out yesterday on the way to a one-two finish in the Surf Race, finished third. Meanwhile, Reuben Te Pania was the winner of the U11 Ironman.
It wasn’t just Sydney-based clubs getting in on the act on day two, though, with many Branches tasting success across a variety of disciplines.
After a long trip from the South Coast, Warilla-Barrack Point cheered their gun beach competitor, Pixie Hanson home in the U11 1km Beach Run, while Matilda Liberato from Windang was quickest off the mark on her way to U9 Beach Flags gold early in the day.
Ginger Siasat, successful yesterday in her quest to defend her Beach Sprint title in the U11s category, navigated several close calls on the way to gold in the U11 Beach Flags.
Interestingly, in beating Michaela Jenkins of North Cronulla to the flag for a second straight year, Ginger ensured the same one-two finish as 2021 in that event.
Further north, despite excellent performances from the reigning gold and silver medallists, a new winner was crowned in the U12 Female Beach Flags, with Ocean Beach’s Jessica Majsak overcoming nerves and a competent field to claim victory in the final for the Central Coast club.
The Hunter had plenty of success too, both early and late in the day, with Cooks Hill gun Taj Williams taking out the U12 Ironman in the morning before backing up in the afternoon as the final leg of a winning U12 Board Relay team that included Will Munro and Sid Burns.
In the same race, a Swansea Belmont team made up of Levi Gibbs and Mitchell and Thomas Chalmers finished in second place.
In the female events, the Board Relay team from Cudgen Headland – Isabella Arghyros, Charli Mills and Jarrah Onley – won their third straight title, this time in the U12 category.
Friday 25 February 2022