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Selectors from Surf Lifesaving Northern Region will keep a keen eye on this summer’s Owen Chapman Cup surf carnival at Red Beach.
Red Beach Surf Club will host many of New Zealand’s top surf lifeguards at the event, on January 6.
The Owen Chapman Cup has always been contested at Red Beach; it was first held there in 1957 as a picnic carnival for Auckland’s east coast surf clubs. Now in its 62nd year, it’s the longest running surf lifesaving club day in Australasia.
Over the years it has become a mecca for the region’s lifeguards and big fields have become the norm. Around 400 are expected to take part in this summer’s event. Red Beach is the defending champion.
An added incentive will be the presence of the selectors who want to name Open and Youth teams for the NZ Representative Challenge at Mt Maunganui on January 29.
The Owen Chapman carnival ushers in the business end of the surf competition season as athletes begin the countdown to the Eastern Region, Northern Region and NZ Championships.
This year’s event will be impacted by a king tide just before midday. The carnival organisers have set an earlier starting time of 8am to take advantage of the available beach area.
Entries close on December 18. Info: www.redbeachslsc.com
Red Beach lifeguards will be back at Pakiri to continue their volunteer surf patrols this weekend, from Saturday December 16. The Red Beach club is now entering its ninth summer of patrolling at the popular northern beach. The decision to patrol there stemmed from the club’s fast-growing membership. Last summer, from December 17 to February 12, the volunteer lifeguards completed 839 patrol hours and carried out 118 preventive actions at Pakiri. Photos, Ross Malyon
