RIPtIDE GET READY FOR START OF BRANCH CHAMPIONSHIPS WARRINGAH MALL.

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RIPtIDE GET READY FOR START OF BRANCH CHAMPIONSHIPS WARRINGAH MALL It s that time of the year when our nippers get down to serious business.

The junior beach events will be held at North Narrabeen on Sunday, February 11. SLSSNB Surf Sports manager Marcial Nunura was hoping to hold the beach events at Collaroy.

The last thing we want is for the kids to miss out on the championships, he said. The carnival will start at 8am with the All Age Board Relay. Two teams will qualify for the NSW Age Championships.

1 RIPtIDE GET READY FOR START OF BRANCH CHAMPIONSHIPS WARRINGAH MALL It s that time of the year when our nippers get down to serious business. Some 477 water competitors will be at Collaroy Beach on Sunday for the opening day of the Westfield Warringah Mall Junior Branch Championships. The junior beach events will be held at North Narrabeen on Sunday, February 11. SLSSNB Surf Sports manager Marcial Nunura was hoping to hold the beach events at Collaroy. Unfortunately, a lot of the sand at Collaroy had been washed away because of heavy seas and we had no option but to move it to a beach where there is plenty of sand. The last thing we want is for the kids to miss out on the championships, he said. The carnival will start at 8am with the All Age Board Relay. Two teams will qualify for the NSW Age Championships. Many of the kids who will be competing at the Branch Championships had a really good hit out at Manly Nipper Nats last Sunday. The competition at Nippers Nats was very strong with interstate competitors at Manly along with some of the very best from NSW clubs. Newport trio Mitch and Jake Morris and Bailey Clues dominated the under 13 boys. Mitch took out the under 13 ironman, surf and board races, his twin brother Jake was second in the iron and board and third in the surf race, while Bailey split the twins in the surf race and finished third in the iron and board. With the State titles not that far away at Blacksmiths Beach in Newcastle, Newport will be hugely favoured to win the under 13 surf teams as they also have Lee Melbourn as their fourth swimmer. Pictures: Some of the local boys who made the under 12 ironman final at Nipper Nats and Toby Marsters running for Manly in the under 10 boys beach relay. (Photos: KEMBLE COWAN)

More like I was chasing them to keep up, he chuckled. Kevin said he d do a lot more paddling if time permitted. I am semi-retired but still doing some work in the building trade, he said.

2 KEVIN S LOVE OF THE OCEAN Kevin Flood might have pulled back a bit on the amount of time he spends paddling a ski these days. I still love it and it is just so healthy to be out there in the ocean and it keeps me fit, he said. Earlier this week he was taking Newport s younger paddlers for training. More like I was chasing them to keep up, he chuckled. Kevin said he d do a lot more paddling if time permitted. I am semi-retired but still doing some work in the building trade, he said. Kevin will put his competition cap on this Saturday when he competes for Newport in the Bill Buckle Subaru Masters Branch Championships at Collaroy. One of his main rivals in his age division will be Freshwater s Stephen Bennett. He s in my age bracket now and it s usually the two of us fighting it out, Kevin said. Pictures: Masters rivals Kevin Flood (left) and Stephen Bennett; Below: Mona Vale s David Spencer. (Photos: PAUL LEMLIN)

LOUIS SINGS PRAISES OF YOUNG ZACH It is always nice to hear when one of our top athletes praises someone from another club.

Morris was called into the Newport open team as one of their two swimmers after the club was missing several of their stars for the carnival at Manly last Saturday.

It was good to see Zach stepping up into the opens, Louis said. He s kind of leading the way for Newport at the moment.

3 LOUIS SINGS PRAISES OF YOUNG ZACH It is always nice to hear when one of our top athletes praises someone from another club. Manly s Nutri Grain ironman Kendrick Louis spoke glowingly of a young Newport competitor Zach Morris after the Taplin relay at the Manly carnival. Morris was called into the Newport open team as one of their two swimmers after the club was missing several of their stars for the carnival at Manly last Saturday. Manly had to pull out all stops to nudge out the Newport team which fielded a female board paddler Maddie Spencer. Newport was disqualified, however, as it is a six-man team event. It was good to see Zach stepping up into the opens, Louis said. He s kind of leading the way for Newport at the moment. He s setting a good example for young kids in his age group and even for the older boys. I know when you are that age (15) you can back up and do a lot of races but for him to race all the events in the opens and in his age group at Freshwater and also at Manly is just outstanding. He got a top five or six in the ironman here (Manly). Louis completed the ironman double at Freshwater and Manly. I was trying to get a bunch of racing done over the two days, Louis said. I was trying to execute a race plan under fatigue and it is a hard thing. At Freshie the pace wasn t really on that much and it was the same at Manly. I tried to set it up early as there was a lot of running involved. Louis also won the surf race at Manly. Sean Davis took the pace out early and the old bones settled in, Louis said. OFF TO SURFERS Louis will now head to Surfers Paradise for the fifth round of the Nutri Grain series this weekend. These last two rounds I really want to solidify my spot as one of the top ironmen, he said. At the moment there s Shannon Eckstein, Matt Poole, Matt Bevilacqua, Ali Day and myself. There s probably five of us pushing for the front every race. There s been a few exceptions like Max Brooks putting his foot on the line and bringing out a good race. So it s just a matter of trying to be consistent and turn up to race and execute well. The Manly Taplin boys certainly had a close shave against Newport s makeshift team at Manly. It was just unfortunate Newport had to field a female to get a six-member team together. But we wanted a hit out, ski paddler Mitchell Trim said. Apart from Morris, James Finn was one of the board paddlers and Jayke Rees also swam. Ski paddlers Luke Jones and Trim set a cracking pace, while Morris and Rees maintained the lead. It was always going to come down to their board paddlers Stewie (McLachlan) and Harry (Stone). They are two of the best, Trim said. We knew we d probably be disqualified but it was unreal to get so close to Manly. Pictures: Top: Kendrick Louis takes iron double; Below left: Zach Morris; and right Jayke Rees.

PATRIOTS MAKE STATE TEAM THIRD YEAR IN A ROW NOW IT S THUNDER The Palm Beach Patriots open female surf boat crew have ticked one box in 2018 NSW honours.

Ironically, it was McManus and his North Narrabeen crew who took out the women s open final at the Manly carnival last Saturday.

4 PATRIOTS MAKE STATE TEAM THIRD YEAR IN A ROW NOW IT S THUNDER The Palm Beach Patriots open female surf boat crew have ticked one box in 2018 NSW honours. Now to complete a second box at Dee Why on Saturday. They go into the last round of the Ocean Thunder series holding a five point lead and should wrap up the Don McManus Trophy in the final round. Ironically, it was McManus and his North Narrabeen crew who took out the women s open final at the Manly carnival last Saturday. It was certainly a tough one for the judges to split between North Narrabeen and Palmy. The fact that Palmy finished ahead of third placed Elouera meant they clinched State selection. We re happy with that. We just had to get a first or second to make the State team, Palmy sweep Peter Spence said. That was the goal of the girls. It s the third year in a row now that they ll represent NSW. Yeah, we re pretty stoked with that. We were pretty consistent throughout the day. It was a huge goal and now Ocean Thunder is looking good and bigger goals in April. Spence also praised the North Narrabeen girls. Don has a great crew and they are very competitive. We know they always come good about this time of year, Spence said. They had a good race and just pipped us. We weren t sure who won it. I think their bow was just slightly in front. Very happy for Don and his girls. They are a lovely bunch of girls. When I saw Don s crew at the cans and us, I was pretty happy. I saw Elouera back a bit. Elouera literally had to win it and I thought if we can t win it then North Narrabeen will win it and I was happy with that result. Pictures: Top: Palmy girls to represent NSW again; the North Narrabeen crew won at Manly.

DOYLE SISTERS MOVE BUT NOT BIG BROTHER The three Doyle sisters have switched clubs but their older brother has stayed put.

Thomas Doyle still wears the sky blue cap of Manly and had some good results in his races at both carnivals.

It was really fun and a good change. It was so good to be with all the girls, Emily said. It was nice and I liked it. I was glad I went with my decision (to move clubs). Of course it was a hard call.

5 DOYLE SISTERS MOVE BUT NOT BIG BROTHER The three Doyle sisters have switched clubs but their older brother has stayed put. Emily Doyle is now wearing the Newport cap and raced for her new club at the Freshwater and Manly carnivals over the long weekend. Thomas Doyle still wears the sky blue cap of Manly and had some good results in his races at both carnivals. Younger sisters, twins Kimberley and Katelynn, raced for Newport at the Manly Nipper Nats on Sunday. Emily, though, had her first hit out for Newport at Ocean6 in Torquay and Fairhaven two weeks ago. It was really fun and a good change. It was so good to be with all the girls, Emily said. It was nice and I liked it. I was glad I went with my decision (to move clubs). Of course it was a hard call. You don t want to leave somewhere you ve been so comfortable for so long. It was hard but everyone understood. I needed a change and everyone was there to support me. It did take a while but it s all good now. CLOSE TO HIS MATES Emily did a morning of open races at Freshie and then competed in under 17 events. She was back at her former beach at Manly competing the next day. I didn t get to see Thomas race. I heard he did well which is good, Emily said. Thomas had no plans of leaving Manly, according to Emily. I think he just likes where he is and he s so close to his mates. He s got jobs coaching at Manly and doing work in a bar, she said. Kimberley Doyle said it was a little bit sad to leave Manly. We re onto better things now at Newport, she said. Katelynn said: It was definitely a big change moving clubs and I do miss most of my friends down at Manly but I know we will all stay friends and racing them at big carnivals will be fun. I knew a few people at Newport. I swam with a few of them at Warringah Swimming Club but I have made a bunch of new friends at Newport. Pictures: Top: Older sister Emily Doyle races at Freshwater carnival; the twins Katelynn (left) and Kimberley at Nipper Nats at Manly; and Thomas in action at Freshwater. OCEAN6 RESUMES Ocean6 returns to Surfers Paradise this weekend and Ali Day and Harriet Brown will be looking to consolidate their positions at the top of the Nutri Grain ironman and ironwoman leaderboard. But there s a real ding-dong battle going on in the female board between Newport s Georgia Miller and North Bondi s Lizzie Welborn. Both Miller and Welborn have won two rounds each. Miller has been a real surprise packet in this event.

NEW RECRUIT MAKES BIG IMPACT FOR SKY BLUES TOP PADDLE BY MADDIE Alexandra Fleming was starting to feel pretty lonely training by herself at Cronulla.

But Alex is still coaching the nippers at Cronulla. She had been competing in the Ocean6 board series and showing consistency.

6 NEW RECRUIT MAKES BIG IMPACT FOR SKY BLUES TOP PADDLE BY MADDIE Alexandra Fleming was starting to feel pretty lonely training by herself at Cronulla. She was still very much committed to board paddling and wanted to compete in team events. As it turned out Alyce Bennett recently enticed her to paddle for Manly. But Alex is still coaching the nippers at Cronulla. She had been competing in the Ocean6 board series and showing consistency. She had a third placing in the opening event at Queenscliff and two top six performances at North Wollongong and Fairhaven. Alex is currently fourth on the leaderboard behind Newport s Georgia Miller (288), North Bondi s Lizzie Welborn (278) and Northcliffe s Harriet Brown (240). Alex is on 202 points from three events. The high school teacher was in hot form at the Manly carnival last Saturday. She won her heat in style and then the lay down paddler showed her fighting qualities to win a sprint finish in the final against Newport s Maddie Spencer. Even before the final, Spencer felt Fleming would be hard to beat. She is just so consistent and is always up there, Spencer said. Fleming said she was excited with her first win of the season. Commenting on the sprint finish, she said: My legs just got me there. I was dying. I was in deeper water and pushed the girls onto the bank. I got onto it (the bank) and decided to just run across it. You have to give it a chance. I was happy as I had two very good paddles but the final was harder. Spencer herself was very happy with her form. It has been good since the New Year and I am a lot happier, she said. She also paddled last for the men s Taplin relay team as they were short on numbers. While Newport were disqualified, ski paddler Mitchell Trim said: It didn t really matter. It was a bit of fun and Maddie allowed a few of us to have another race. It was pretty awesome that we got so close to Manly with the team we had. I thought Maddie s paddle was unreal and she wasn t far behind Harrison Stone. It was a massive effort. Pictures: Top Alex lines up for start of board final; Below: Maddie Spencer in good form.

JOEL IS VERSATILE Newport s Joel Piper certainly proved his versatility when he represented NSW in the inaugural Youth Pathway Cup at Freshwater on Australia Day.

Following the success of the NSW senior team winning the Interstate Challenge in Adelaide the week before, NSW took out the Youth Pathway Cup on 170 points, from Queensland 150, WA 98, Victoria 87

It s good they now have it for under 14 s and 15 s so they get a taste for Aussies and to get to compete against the other states and put the NSW cap on is a privilege, he said.

7 JOEL IS VERSATILE Newport s Joel Piper certainly proved his versatility when he represented NSW in the inaugural Youth Pathway Cup at Freshwater on Australia Day. Better known for his skills in the water, Joel also showed what he could do on the sand when he finished second in the beach flags and third in the under 14 beach sprint. Following the success of the NSW senior team winning the Interstate Challenge in Adelaide the week before, NSW took out the Youth Pathway Cup on 170 points, from Queensland 150, WA 98, Victoria 87 and SA 65. Joel said he loved the concept of the cup. It s good they now have it for under 14 s and 15 s so they get a taste for Aussies and to get to compete against the other states and put the NSW cap on is a privilege, he said. Joel took out the ironman and surf race and came second in the board I wasn t winning in the iron but I chose the right line and didn t look back, Joel said. Joel will be heading to Scarborough in April for the Aussies. I can t wait for it. It will be red hot competition, he said. Piper Harrison (Manly), Jodie Louw (Newport) and Madeleine Wallace (Collaroy) also represented NSW. Yeah, I was thrilled to be in the NSW team, Piper said. It was a great opportunity for girls our age and the guys as well. We don t get to race for NSW without a carnival like this. It s a good taste for what is to come and keeps people excited for future years. Piper will also be travelling to Perth. Last year I competed in the Youth Aussies but I am looking to improve my results this year and hopefully get a podium finish in the iron, she said. Jodie Louw said she thoroughly enjoyed the competition and the team events. Maddie Wallace got two seconds in the under 15 sprint and flags. Pictures: Top left Piper Harrison with Maddie Wallace (blue shirt) behind her. Right: Maddie Louw and Below: Star of the future Joel Piper.

POWER PLAY WORKS TREAT FOR NSW The power play was used to great effect by NSW at the Interstate Championships as the Sky Blues brought Queensland back to earth at Moana Beach in South Australia.

The sprint and flags were up first and it was very hot. Jake was second in the sprint and won the flags. The power play (double points) certainly helped us, Trim said.

8 POWER PLAY WORKS TREAT FOR NSW The power play was used to great effect by NSW at the Interstate Championships as the Sky Blues brought Queensland back to earth at Moana Beach in South Australia. Just unreal, was how captain Mitchell Trim described the NSW victory. NSW used the power play with Newport s Jake Lynch (open flags) and Sam Zustovich (youth flags) at the event on January 19. The sprint and flags were up first and it was very hot. Jake was second in the sprint and won the flags. The power play (double points) certainly helped us, Trim said. It was neck and neck all day but we knew we had the win leading into the Taplin relays, which was nice. It was just a great team effort by the youth and opens. There was no surf and very little assistance. It was very close (point score) in the end. The youth girls were great and Naomi Scott (Manly) led from the front against the star studded Queensland girls youth team and we held our own. The boys youth team were impressive, too. The opens had to try and just hold on for whatever we could get our hands on. Newport s Max Brooks was one of the real stars. Max absolutely nailed the ironman, Trim said. He was way too classy for them in the ironman and backed up very nicely for each team event. He is on fire and will only get better leading into the Aussies. Trim put together one of his best ski races and won the individual event. But it was a tough day out in flat conditions and Jett Kenny is flying, Trim said. Final point score (includes youth and opens) NSW (280), Queensland (271) Western Australia (192), South Australia 154, Victoria 139, Tasmania 69. NSW Country competed and earned 88 points. Pictures Top The victorious NSW team; Jake Lynch takes out the open flags. (Photos: HARVIE ALLISON) STATE CHAMPIONSHIPS The NSW Championships will again be held at Blacksmiths Beach in Newcastle this season. More than 7000 competitors are expected to invade Blacksmiths Beach, home of Swansea Belmont SLSC Here are the important dates: February Lifesaving Championships March 2-4 Age Championships March 7-8 Masters Championships March 9-11 Open Championships

RIPtIDE. Newport s Max Brooks was hellbent on a big MAX SHOWS PLENTY OF FIGHT ON SUNSHINE COAST FINALLY ON THE PODIUM

RIPtIDE. Newport s Max Brooks was hellbent on a big MAX SHOWS PLENTY OF FIGHT ON SUNSHINE COAST FINALLY ON THE PODIUM RIPtIDE MAX SHOWS PLENTY OF FIGHT ON SUNSHINE COAST FINALLY ON THE PODIUM Newport s Max Brooks was hellbent on a big improvement when he travelled to Coolum on the Sunshine Coast for the second round of