Competition is underway and a few medals have been won as the 2025 NSW Open Surf Life Saving Championships, proudly presented by Your local club, began with a bang at Queenscliff beach.
Athletes contested a large portion of the final program, running cornerstone surf sports events such as the Irons, Boards, Skis, and Swims through to semi-finals ahead of a finals package on Sunday.
Other races crowned new champions, headlined by a heartwarming win for a northern club that had been unable to train in the leadup to the event due to conditions brought about by Tropical Cyclone Alfred.
Cudgen Headland SLSC’s Izzy Arghyros and Charli Mills were thrilled to take out the U15 Female Board Rescue final, embracing on the finish line after what has been a crazy two weeks.
Jacob Chalmers and Henry Whitehead from Manly LSC were the winners of the U15 Male Board Rescue – just moments before teaming up with Dylan Seymour and Thomas McMurtry to win the U15 Male Cameron Relay.
Earlier, it had been the Newport SLSC show in the female swim teams events, where all four categories were won by the Sydney Northern Beaches club.
Remarkably, in the U15, U17 and Open races, Newport finished with the first four competitors across the line to register the smallest score possible in the countback event.
Things were a lot tougher in the mens division, where the Newport Open Male swim team of Brayden Woodford, Conner Maggs, Lachlan Warrener and Jackson Borg finished just a single point better than Wanda SLSC to win the gold.
Wanda teams would win both the U19 and U17 categories, while Avoca Beach SLSC’s team of Ashton Bone, Billy McCarthy, Levi Sinclair and Tor Manser had excellent swims to claim the U15 race.
The Mixed Double Ski finals were also contested, with Swansea Belmont SLSC’s Kaitlin Rees and Thomas Hall too strong in the U19s and Newport’s Jasmin Locke and Jayke Rees won the Open race.
Riley Wait won gold in the U19 Male 2km Beach Run as the shadows began to descend over the beach, while Kyah Wallen from Wanda beat clubmate Layla White to the U15 2km gold.
The Championships continues tomorrow with more Open and Surf Boat racing.
Friday 14 March 2025