By RON LANE
THEY came from as far away as Townsville, Arcadian and Mackay in the north and Point Lookout in the south; and they assemble on Noosa’s Main Beach for what was to be Noosa’s first major IRB carnival in several years.
To say it was a success would be an understatement, with 18 clubs and 250 competitors in attendance. And with good weather the stage was set for two days of top racing.
To ensure they reached Noosa on time, the Mackay team had their craft and trailer leave at 3am on Friday morning for the drive to Noosa and it was a tired but happy crew that arrived that afternoon. This re-enforced the support and determination of not only this crew, but all others involved. While a number of clubs used removalists to transport their crafts, tents and other necessary gear.
“The response and support from the clubs has been great and clubs have travelled a long way to get here,” Stuart Hogben Sports Manager for Queensland Surf Lifesaving said on Saturday morning.
“The weather is perfect… unfortunately there is no surf but there is a sand bank out there so it could make things interesting.
“Regarding the teams a lot of people flew in last night so their endeavor shows the future of IRB racing definitely looks good.”
For Noosa we were represented by a team of 18 members – male and female.
“We have teams competing in the opens, masters and female events… unfortunately we have no Under-23 mens but all else is covered,” said Noosa IRB Racing Captain Chris Vaughan.
Despite not competing Sunshine Beach club captain Scott Summers was in attendance as an observer.
“We are not competing today, but at present all indications are that next season we certainly will be,” he said.
Early last season on several occasions, Sunshine members attended training sessions at Noosa and this has been a major step forward.
For Noosa the men’s team made the final of the Open Male Tube Rescue Race, the final of the girls’ Under-23s, and the semi-final in the Masters’ Mass Rescue. Despite finishing out of the medals all crews performed well and considering this is a relative new team their overall performance has been very encouraging.
Racing over the two days was very close and just before midday Saturday, lack of water on the sand bank caused three lanes on the eastern end of the bank to be closed and heat contestants were changed accordingly. With 89 races Saturday and 42 Sunday it was a full program.
At the completion of the weekend, the overall winning club was North Burleigh on 84 points with Point Lookout and Kawana tying for second place on 61 points each.
“When you consider that a short time ago we just had three or four clubs interested in our sport and here this weekend we have 18, the growth has been outstanding,” Hogben said summarising the carnival.
“In fact we now have the biggest growth factor in all surf sports.”
It is now becoming apparent that good IRB crews are fast becoming one of the most important factors in surf club structure. All summer they patrol our beaches and in many cases are called on to work in isolated areas in big surf where back-up teams are often kilometres away.
Then in winter they compete at different beaches all along the coast, thus improving their skills and adding to their experience. So in summer its beach patrols; winter its competition and advanced training. Essential requirement for team membership; complete dedication.
Another major performance came from Noosa’s carnival support team.
Often overlooked, without a good team doing all the background work, such as looking after officials, catering and serving the public, a state of turmoil would appear. At the close of the carnival a state official approached the Noosa club to congratulate the work force.
When surf lifesaving runs events such as this, it is always good for the Noosa community.
When 250 competitors plus club officials, families, judges and support groups hit town it’s good for business.
So for both lifesaving and local business a carnival such as this is definitely a win win situation.
