LAST weekend the Sunshine under-11 to under-15 Nippers headed south to Dicky Beach for one of the highlights of the season, the 2016 branch carnival.
The branch carnival is a precursor to the state titles in a few weeks at North Burleigh and is the qualifying event for all teams, and for the under-11s all individual events.
Unfortunately the weather gods didn’t receive the email in respect to just how important this event was and turned on a less than desirable day. Let’s just say, wind, rain and dumping 1.5m to 2m waves weren’t on the wishlist, especially for the younger Nippers.
After a few hours the water events for the younger age groups were cancelled along with the carnival for all age groups for the following day.
However with the older age groups still pushing hard through the team events in challenging conditions, the Sunshine Nippers once again showed just how important training in open beach conditions is.
Stand out performances came in the under-15 Boys’ Cameron which saw Sunshine picking up not just the win but second place as well in a dominating performance. They also continued their unbeaten performance in the board relay winning the event ahead of a gutsy Noosa.
The under-14 boys were unlucky, coming second on a countback in the swim teams, with three swimmers in the first six places. The under-14 boys also qualified for board teams after some spirited paddling saw them grab second from a strong Maroochydore before the shore break had the better of them.
The under-14 and under-15 girls qualified for everything as usual and will go into states brimming with confidence.
