Years and years of Open success has continued on Queenscliff beach after Newport SLSC claimed the club’s 11th straight NSW Open and Surf Boat Surf Life Saving Championships title.
The Sydney Northern Beaches club has enjoyed more than a decade of dominance at the top of the sport, and as Sarah Locke crossed the line after her swim leg in the Open Female Taplin Relay – the carnivals last event – some several hundred metres ahead of Swansea Belmont SLSC in second, it was perhaps an appropriate way to finish.
Newport podiumed regularly and often multiple times in the same event, but the story of the day was the destruction caused by Analise Kibble – dubbed affectionately as the AK47.
The 20-year-old ran the slate in the Open category, winning the Female Board, Swim, Ski and Iron and was a member of the Taplin Relay winners as well.
“She’s had an amazing off season and has done a lot of work and I’m so stoked it’s paying dividends for her,” 2024 Coolangatta Gold champion, Jemma Smith said of Analise.
“It’s so great to see your club mates doing so well.”
Wanda SLSC, a club familiar with wonderful State Champs Open weekends, finished second once again and Swansea Belmont climbed into the top three after finishing agonisingly short – just four points behind neighbours to the north, Redhead SLSC – in 2024.
The Hunter club loved the results recorded by U17 superstar, Kaitlin Rees, herself almost clean sweeping the category if not for Pipi Te Pania who grabbed a gold ahead of Kaitlin in the U17 Female Board.
Manly LSC’s Henry Whitehead continued his excellent weekend with a win in the U15 Male Swim, Board and Iron – one of only two Iron events not to be taken out by a Newport cap. Of note, though, was Jackson Borg’s impressive win in the Open Male Iron ahead of a fast-finishing Charlie Verco and Redhead’s Dan Collins.
Earlier in the day, Brayden Woodford of Newport won the Saxon Bird Memorial Trophy by taking out the U19 Male Surf Race, and Terrigal SLSC’s Jett Green won the U19 Male Board, earning him the Jacob Lollback Memorial Trophy.
Jackson McCleery from Maroubra SLSC improved on his U19 Swim win in 2024 with an Open Swim win this year, while Lani Waller, now of Newport, won the U19 Female Swim.
Redhead’s Alannah Dimmock topped a beautiful podium of more regional clubs – ahead of Marli Hoyland from Umina SLSC and Izzy Arghyros from Cudgen Headland SLSC – in the U15 Female Board.
For the Surf Boats program, Bulli SLSC bagged a memorable gold medal in the Open Male with Shane Geloven, Dean Roberts, Fraser Worthington, and Heath and Kyle Mercer downing reigning champions, Queencliff SLSC, among others, in the final.
Wins for South Curl Curl SLSC, Batemans Bay SLSC, and Avalon Beach SLSC in the Open Female, Reserve Female and Reserve Male categories were huge for their respective clubs. In fact, South Curl Curl was the only club to have multiple winners on open finals day, with the U23 Male crew of Mark Spiteri, Jack Rivett, Alan Perry, and Angus and David Campbell too strong there.
Sunday 16 March 2025