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A record number of competitors took to the beach at Orewa on November 19 for the first Surf Life Saving Northern Region inter-club competition this summer.
Morning events concentrated on IRB racing, with other beach events including board races, surf skis, iron man, beach flags and beach sprints.
Northern Region membership services manager Zac Franich says the carnival is the first get-together for the new season and is more about bragging rights than competition.
“It’s just a bit of a hit out after winter,” he says. “The turnout was outstanding.
“Normally, we’d expect 10 or 12 clubs to be represented, but there were 263 competitors in Orewa, representing 14 clubs including Omaha and Waipu.”
Franich says surf clubs across the region are showing very positive participation rates.
“We were curious to see what the impact Covid would have on numbers, as this was the first competition where there were no mass restrictions of any kind. Numbers were even better than pre-Covid.”
Franich says all roads now lead to the regional championships in Whangamata in January/February. He said Red Beach and Orewa would send strong squads, with teams of up to 60 and 70 respectively. The season will culminate with the national championships in Christchurch in March/April.
Omaha hosts juniors
Omaha Beach Surf Lifesaving Club hosted more than 400 competitors in the Auckland Junior All In carnival on November 26.
The teams ranged in age from six to 14 and most of the events were relays.
The carnival had a participation focus, with the aim of encouraging the competitors to enjoy the day in a non-competitive environment.
In keeping with the participation spirit, many of the clubs formed relay teams of mixed ability by putting a strong competitor with a newbie.
Omaha fielded the largest team, with 42 competitors.
