By RON LANE
BETWEEN THE FLAGS.
OUR Sunshine Coast Senior Branch Championships, hosted by the Alexandra Headlands Surf Life Saving Club were conducted on the weekend in perfect weather, with just enough of a wave to make it interesting.
On Saturday our Golden Oldies, otherwise known as the Masters did their thing. Happy to relate that for Noosa it was a great day of competition with the overall points telling us that Noosa finished in third place behind Alex and Mooloolaba.
Sunday saw the senior section get underway with competition starting at U/17 and going through to the opens. For Sunshine Beach, a standout performance came from Mick Sloman. This young man performs in both the U/17s and open division. A highlight for this clubbie was his double of second place in both the Open and U/17 surf races. Following on to this, the Sunshine team also had outstanding results in the blue ribbon Taplin Relay and the Surf Race Teams event.
Competing for Noosa, the Burrows brothers, Rhys and Conor, performed well as did the women’s OpenTaplin Relay. In the boat section, Noosa had a good day when their U/23 crew, forced to row in the open division because of lack of entries in their division, won the open final. Not to be outdone, the ladies crew finished second in their final.
There were many other successes, but one that really brought a smile to everyone’s face was the win by Mitch Hardy and Luke Marcroft in the men’s U/19 double ski final. This ski team was representing the Mindil Surf Life Saving Club in the Northern Territory. Their win on the ski plus a silver medal won by Chad Blenskiship in a beach sprint final was well received by not only Noosa but all on the beach. On Thursday, the Mindil team under the sponsorship of the Surf Club, arrived to perform in their first major carnival outside the Territory. This is in keeping with the Surf Club policy of assisting small lifesaving clubs from remote areas to not only gain competition experience, but also to see how clubs in other regions are run.
A good healthy competition calendar plays a major role in the future of our clubs as it covers three of the basic essentials of lifesaving. Fitness, team spirit and above all surf skills. By competing at the various beaches along the East Coast, our lifesavers are exposed to all conditions and it is this that builds the self-confidence required in a good clubbie.
When talking to a few coaches and club officials, it was interesting to hear their ideas regarding the future. One point upon which they all agreed was the competition for the 15 year age group. Now competing as the senior age group in the Nippers, it is felt that this group should be moved from the nipper carnivals into the senior competition. At this age, they are starting to form friendships in their senior clubs and by bringing those into this group for competition would be in the words of one coach, “a big step forward in holding on to them as future senior members.”
Last Friday, I had the honour of joining with Australian Surf Life Saving Legend Hayden Kenny to unveil the memorial honouring the naming of Noosa National Park as an Australian National Surfing Reserve. Before a small but esteemed gathering of politicians, councillors, surfing legends, surfers from around the world and local identities, we were able, by courtesy of Phil Jarratt and his team, to acknowledge those who through their surfing exploits and dedication to this great sport, have bought international attention to our little corner of the world. To Phil and company- you made us pro.
