RIPtIDE IT S GOLD, GOLD, GOLD FOR THE DE KORT FAMILY JAKE S BIG DAY IN CHAMPION LIFESAVER The NSW Open Surf Life Saving Championships at Blacksmiths Beach proved very special for the de Kort family, members of Collaroy SLSC. Mum Jacqueline, dad Paul and son Jake all won gold medals. But for Jake it meant so much to him to be competing again after his younger sister Alana died from bone cancer in August last year at just 14. It was very tough but Alana would have wanted me to compete again, said Jake. Just a week out from the championships, the 21-year-old university student decided he would have a crack at Champion Lifesaver in opens. Resuscitation and theory wasn t the worry for him but Jake had not done any of the physical work. But he still managed to score 107 points from a possible 120 and that was enough for him to be crowned the Open Champion Lifesaver of NSW. Jake dedicated that precious gold medal to his late sister. He also made a return to R and R competition and won a silver medal with Collaroy s Open 5 Person team and a bronze medal with Collaroy s Open 6 Person team. Jake also coached Collaroy s under 15 R and R team (Black) and they took the bronze medal. Jake said Collaroy athletes, also the boaties, had pineapples tattooed on their shoulders at the championships. This was Alana s thing (pineapples), he said. On Sunday at Blacksmiths Beach, it was all about his mum and dad. Dad Paul coaches the Collaroy Ladies march past team and Jacqui is the standard bearer. They have a great rivalry with the Collaroy men s team (Bears) but it was the Ladies day on a countback for the gold medal. As coach, Paul also receives a gold medal. The team is off to Aussies on the Gold Coast to defend their national title. Jake has also decided he will go and compete in Champion Lifesaver. Queensland have dominated this event for ages and I have no great expectations, he said. I know it s not that far away and I ll have to step up and do some board paddling. Whatever happens it will be a great experience. Jake hasn t competed at Aussies since 2014. He won the gold in the under 17s in Perth. It was an all Sydney Northern Beaches show in the Open Champion Lifesaver event at Blacksmiths. Freshwater s Lucas Phillips took silver and North Steyne s Shannon Job the bronze. Newport s Phoebe Savage couldn t have come up against a tougher competitor in Nutri Grain ironwoman and Umina s Jemma Smith in the open female event. Smith scored 114 points, while Savage scored 109. SNB also had Manly s Chris Curulli and Freshwater s Andrea Malm (under 19s) and North Steyne s Joe Jenkins (under 17s) as other gold medal winners in Champion Lifesaver at the State Open Championships. Pictures: Top: Jake de Kort at his beloved Collaroy Beach; mum Jacqui de Kort (standard bearer) leads the Collaroy Ladies in the march past at the State Open Championships.
THAT S FOUR IN A ROW FOR MANLY IN TAPLIN RELAY LOUIS SAYS BOARD PADDLERS WERE GOLD The rivalry between Manly and Newport in the men s open Taplin Relay has become even fiercer. The battle resumed at the NSW Championships at Blacksmiths Beach last Sunday and, for a short while, it looked like Newport might finally stop Manly from winning a fourth successive title. But Manly struck the psychological blow as the two teams head to Aussies to take on the might of the Queensland clubs. The two great Sydney rivals can say they were understrength at Blacksmiths. Newport didn t have their Nutri Grain ironman Max Brooks (hip injury) and it s unclear whether he will be fit for the Aussies. They certainly need his experience on the board at Aussies. His replacement was Hugh McAlpine. Newport led after the two ski legs (Mitchell Trim and Jakye Rees) and maintained their advantage through swimmers Ollie Signorini and Jackson Borg. When Borg changed over to McAlpine the Newport boys were in the lead. But McAlpine had to try and shake off Manly s first board paddler Stewart McLachlan, a near impossible task. McLachlan stayed on the youngster s wash on the way out and his experience told. Manly took the lead and it was left to Harrison Stone to finish the job. But that little wave Manly s second swimmer Kendrick Louis surfed to the beach (fourth leg) made the difference. Sam Speer and Oscar Jones paddled the ski for Manly and Jay Furniss was their first swimmer. Louis said his wave to bridge the gap helped but he paid tribute to the two board paddlers. The conditions suited the two lay-down paddlers, Louis said. Earlier Stone and McLachlan had finished second and third in the board final, won by North Cronulla s William Budd. McLachlan said he was unsure whether he would defend his Aussie open board title. I ll wait and see what conditions are like first at Broadbeach, he said. McLachlan said he would dearly love to win an Aussie Taplin Relay with Manly. As if the Taplin at Blacksmiths wasn t exciting. The board relay was an absolute thriller with Louis, McLachlan and Stone taking out the event from the Newport trio of Zach Morris, Charlie Brooks and Jackson Borg. It came down to a sprint finish with Stone edging out Borg. On the sand in opens, Aussie champion Blake Drysdale won the flags, his Newport clubmate Jake Lynch was second in the sprint and the pair combined with Laura Shorter and Bethany Pate to win the Mixed Beach Relay. Pictures: Top: Manly s Oscar Jones, Kendrick Louis, Harrison Stone, Stewart McLachlan, Jay Furniss and Sam Speer; Right: Stewart McLachlan with son Harvey.
TRIMMY GETS MONKEY OFF BACK AT BLACKSMITHS FIVE GOLD MEDALS I really wanted that one, Newport s Mitchell Trim said after he took out the NSW open single ski final in very convincing fashion at Blacksmiths Beach. I haven t had much luck throughout the season. Knowing a wave would come from behind me, I was happy to get the little bump by myself. It was good. Trim finished ahead of his great mate Kendrick Louis (Manly) and North Bondi s Noah Havard, who earlier won the under 19 final. While Trim has won State titles at Umina, this was his breakthrough win at Blacksmiths Beach. After winning the ski final, it took his gold medal tally to five at the championships. He was a member of the winning Lifesaver Relay, won the mixed double ski with Hannah Minogue, the double ski with Luke Jones and the open ski relay with Luke Morrison and Jayke Rees. He would have had the perfect record if Newport had taken out the men s open Taplin Relay but they finished second to Manly. Trimmy certainly gave the Newport team the start they wanted in the Taplin and he was back to the beach first after the first leg of the race. He was pretty excited down on the water s edge when Newport still led after the first four legs. But excitement soon turned to disappointment. But he can now concentrate on the Aussies at Boadbeach early next month. There s still one to come (single ski) that I d love to snag but there s some great paddlers up there. It will be hard to win, he said. You always need a little bit of luck at Broadbeach and someone looking over you. You never know, anyone can get up there and have a great day. If it happens, it happens. If it doesn t, it doesn t. What an amazing championships Zach Morris had at Blacksmiths. The rising Newport star won four individual gold medals in the under 17s surf race, ironman, single ski and he dead heated with Swansea Belmont s Nicholas Stoddart in the board final. He was also a member of Newport s winning Lifesaver Relay and was promoted to the open board relay team with Jackson Borg and Charlie Brooks. They were pipped in a thriller by Manly. The championships will return to Swansea Belmont for a fourth consecutive year in 2020. Pictures: Newport s Mitchell Trim leads the Taplin Relay; Below: Young Newport star Zach Morris. TOP TEN Newport 525 Wanda 359 Elouera 245 Manly 245 North Bondi 240 North Cronulla 171 Umina 168 Cronulla 146 Coogee 112 Swansea Belmont 100
WHAT A FINISH IN BOARD RELAY The picture above shows Newport s Jackson Borg (left) and Manly s Harrison Stone about to engage in a foot race. It was the final of the men s open board relay at the State Open Championships at Blacksmiths Beach and Stone got to the line first to give Manly the chocolates. Kendrick Louis and Stewart McLachlan were Manly s other paddlers. Borg was involved in another sprint finish on the final day of the championships, this time in the open ironman. Borg, Manly s Jay Furniss and his clubmate Louis all came in on the board together in the final leg of the iron but Borg was lucky enough to have the inside running when he jumped off his board. Furniss and Louis didn t have the legs to catch the younger Newport athlete. Last year Borg took out the open surf at the same venue. I was a bit disappointed I didn t get that this year, Borg said. He finished sixth. All six of us were up there. I missed the wave. It s a rookie mistake, Borg said. Furniss came through to take out the surf race from Redhead s Dan Collins. It was my first ever open surf title. I m pretty happy about that, Furniss said. Borg described the ironman as a race of cat and mouse with Louis and Furniss. We race each other so much that we know what each other s strengths and weaknesses are, Borg said. Sometimes I feel it is better to go easy because you then have more left in the tank. I managed to get the inside on them and got lucky with that wave. If had been a paddle to the beach he (Louis) would have had it. The results weren t coming for me after worlds but credit to my Newport teammates keeping me going and having my mind on it and making sure I rocked up for every session. It is definitely a good confidence booster for Aussies. While Manly s Nutri Grain ironman Louis didn t win an individual event, but filled minor placings in the iron and on the ski, he said he was happy with the workout. It wasn t really about the results for me. I came here to do as many races as I could in preparation for Aussies, he said. I must say I was very happy that we (Manly) won the Taplin Relay. That s the one we wanted. Pictures: Top: Photographer Kemble Cowan captures the finish of the open board relay; Middle: Jackson Borg (left) and Kendrick Louis in the closes stages of the ironman; and Manly s Jay Furniss (right) after the surf race.
AT LEAST NAOMI TAKES SURF RACE Manly s Naomi Scott took out the open female surf race at the State Open Championships but there were no more gold medals for SNB competitors in either the ironwoman, board or single ski events. Umina s Jemma Smith powered to victories in the iron and ski, while Redhead s Nicola Owen was too good in the board final. Newport s Emily Doyle, who was runner up to Scott in the open surf race, also finished second in the ironwoman, while Doyle s clubmate Maddie Spencer came third in the board final. Spencer also helped Newport finish second to Umina in the female open Taplin Relay. Apart from Scott s success in the surf race, Manly also won the surf teams, board relay and the board rescue. The Manly surf teams comprised Taylar Puskaric, Georgia Singleton, Madison Ward and Scott, the board relay team was Rachel Crerar, Tess Dubberley and Scott, while Crerar and Puskaric was the winning combination in the board rescue. In R and R competition, Freshwater took the double in the Open 5 Person event from Collaroy Red and Wanda. The winning Freshwater team was Sebastian Di Sano, Rebeca, Patrick and Gracie Kiely and Hugo Weston. Freshwater also won the Open 6 Person R and R from Wanda and Collaroy Red. Ian Donald, Jarrad and Clare Freakley, Patrick Kiely, Christopher Tyrrell and Hugo Weston were members of the Freshwater team. Freshwater won the Open Mixed First Aid with Julia Baker and Tahlia Dearden and the Open Mixed Patrol with Julia Baker, James Crittenden, Tahlia Dearden, Jordan Dobson, Paul Milinkovic and Lucas Phillips. Pictures: Top: Emily Doyle (left) with Jemma Smith; Middle: Maddie Spencer (left) and Below: Naomi Scott.
PALMY CREWS STEAL THE LIMELIGHT AT STATE TITLES Palm Beach were the toast of Sydney Northern Beaches Branch in the surfboat arena at the State Open Championships at Blacksmiths Beach. Of the nine finals, SNB won six and Palmy four of those. They also won two silver medals. An excited Palmy sweep Peter Spence said: It was our best ever results at the State titles. Just brilliant. We had 11 crews race and nine made finals. Five crews got medals. Palmy s first gold came in the boat relay. Not surprisingly, Spence s open female crew (Patriots) were too hot for the opposition in the small surf, his reserve male crew (Projects) won, while Stephen Cox and his under 19 male crew (Plumbers) also took gold on the final day of the championships. I am stoked that the Patriots and Projects finally got those State golds that they have been after for years, Spence said. A massive congratulations to Coxy. He had four events and got two golds and two silvers. The Patriots, Plumbers and Pigeons raced in the boat relay. Both the Palmy under 23 male (Peppers) and under 23 female (Peaches) finished second. The two other winners from SNB were South Curl Curl Lamp (under 23 male) and Queenscliff Rockets (under 19 female). RESULTS Open Male: Bulli, North Cronulla Funkys, Elouera Wilko, Batemans Bay, Collaroy Garricks, Dee Why Gorgonites. Open Female: Palm Beach Patriots, Elouera Wilko, Mona Vale Snow Whites, Coogee 0011 s, South Curl Curl Straw Hats, Collaroy Giant. Reserve Male: Palm Beach Project, Gerringong, South Curl Curl Sneans, Ocean Beach Sailfish, North Bondi Knock Abouts, Mona Vale Chocolate. Reserve Female: South Maroubra, Batemans Bay, Umina Stringers, Ocean Beach WhoHaa, Broulee Surfers, North Narrabeen Lean Beans. Under 23 Male: South Curl Curl Lamp, Palm Beach Peppers, North Cronulla Purds Colts, Stockton Yote Boat, Wanda Weapons, Palm Beach Pty Ltd. Under 23 Female: North Cronulla Funkys,, Palm Beach Peaches, Newport Thunder, Bilgola Rippers, North Narrabeen Chickpeas, Avoca Beach JOTOs Under 19 Male: Palm Beach Plumbers, Avoca Beach Wolfpack, North Cronulla Guns, South Curl Curl Underdogs, South Curl Curl Sneaky Nuts, North Cronulla Yaps. Under 19 Female: Queenscliff Rockets, Avoca Beach Vagabonds, Avalon Beach Chanels, Mona Vale Assisted Drifters, South Curl Curl Bumps and Humps, MacMasters! Beach. Pictures: Top: The Palmy Patriots celebrate; Middle: The Palmy Projects; Bottom: The Palmy Plumbers. (Photos: courtesy SLSNSW).
ROCKETS ARE ON TRACK FOR NATIONALS Queenscliff surfboat sweep Damien Daley says his Rockets (under 19 female crew) haven t tapered yet. The Rockets have had a phenomenal season and added another victory to their list of honours at the State Championships at Blacksmiths Beach last Sunday when they won a thrilling final from Avoca Beach Vagabonds. Daley was always confident the Rockets would come home strongly in the final. I think we turned second and we hit the front coming home just by a little bit and us and Avoca sort of took it away from there, Daley said. I thought we d catch them. We stuck to our race plan. We knew for under 19 girls it was going to be a four minute, 20 sec race, which is a long race. That s what our training has been all about. We didn t taper at all coming into here. We came in flat just as part of our program for nationals. The girls did five sessions in the boat, plus three gym and weights last week and seven boat sessions the week before. We ve won every major thing this year Manly, Branch, ASRL and now State. Hopefully we ll do what the boys did last year. GARRICKS HAVE WORK TO DO The Collaroy Garricks haven t been back in the boat long but they still made the open male final at the State Championships at Blacksmiths. The Collaroy boys decided to have a break from racing and did not defend their Ocean Thunder title this season. But after a few meetings, they decided to give it another crack. Sweep Mark Anderson said after the final: The guys have only been together a short time so it has been a nice, short season. It was good today. We were up there on the pace. We still have a few things to work on. We ll go away for a couple of weeks, work on that and see how we go up in Queensland at the nationals. It was a good carnival and conditions were good. You really got to know where you were fitness wise. We had seven races in total. The Garricks drew the far southern alley next to Bulli in the final. It s a good angle to watch (them) from. They are very impressive. They are a step above at the moment. All crews have a bit of work to do to catch them, Anderson said. Pictures: Top: Damien Daley and his Queenscliff Rockets; Middle: The Collaroy Garricks get ready for the final; Bottom: Bulli are a class act.
ECKSTEIN DELIVERS SHOW FOR TOP IRON ATHLETES Who has been Australia s greatest ever ironman in surf life saving? That debate will rage in surf clubs and pubs forever. It was the late Barry Rodgers and Hayden Kenny who helped introduce ironman racing to surf sports in Australia after coming across the event in the US when they toured there with an Australian SLS team in 1964-65. Kenny won the demonstration event at the 1966 national titles. While Maroubra s Rodgers liked his pies and a drink, he was the man in those early years, winning three consecutive Aussie iron titles in 1967, 68 and 69. Then along came WA s Ken Vidler (three titles), Grant Kenny (four titles), DwayneThuys (two), and the great Trevor Hendy (six titles). There were the Mercer brothers Dean and Darren and, of course, Ky Hurst. Dean Mercer died in August, 2017. But records speak volumes and Northcliffe s Shannon Eckstein has certainly been the man of the modern era. Nine Nutri Grain titles, seven world titles and eight Aussies. He could well add to that before he retires but that is not very far away for the 35-year-old superstar. His magnificent career will come to an end after the Aussies at Broadbeach, which conclude on April 7. This season he has been plagued by a calf injury although he did manage to come back late in the Nutri Grain series and showed he has still got it. But before the Aussies, the cream of Australia s ironmen and ironwomen will pay tribute to the great man in the rich Shannon Eckstein Classic at Northcliffe on March 22 and 23. Shaw and Partners have put up $90,000 in prizemoney. The ironman and ironwoman winners will each receive $20,000. I really wanted to see what I could give back to the sport that has given me so much over my career and when I started talking to Shaw and Partners CEO Earl Evans he loved the idea and I can t thank Earl enough for his generous sponsorship, said Eckstein. We will also have under 15 and under 17 iron events to showcase the enormous up and coming talent in our sport. Eckstein says he has never really taken time to reflect on his career. When I look back, I know I have raced the best at my best, he said. I guess the hardest part was coming into the sport off the back of Ky Hurst s domination after he had won four Aussies in a row. Ky changed ironman racing forever with his swimming leg and then there was Zane Holmes who was the most consistent through all disciplines. Then came the next generation with the likes of Caine (Eckstein), Ali Day and Matt Poole, who have really pushed me along. Day (Surfers Paradise) just won the 2018-19 Nutri Grain series from Manly s Kendrick Louis and Poole (Kurrawa). Pictures: Top: The great Shannon Eckstein, right: Ky
THREE AMIGOS RACE AGAIN AT BLACKSMITHS BEACH These three boys just don t get enough of surf sports. After their very successful NSW Age Championships, the Morris twins Mitch and Jake and their good mate Bailey Clues were back at Blacksmiths Beach last weekend for the State Open Championships. This time they were competing in the under 15 events. Along with Joel Piper, Mitch, his brother Jake and Bailey took the gold medal for Newport in the under 15 surf teams. The Morris twins also won the board relay with Piper. Mitch took out the iron from Jake and he also won the surf race. For the Morris twins, Clues and Lee Melbourn, it was their last year as under 14 competitors. Lee was the fourth member of the under 14 winning surf teams at the State Age Championships. Newport finished just three points behind winners Cooks Hill (173) in the point score at the NSW Age Championships. We were thinking if we made the top five that would be very good, Newport coach Aaron Morris said. We are absolutely delighted as we only went to Newcastle with 38 athletes and other clubs had much bigger representation. If there was one kid Aaron felt for it was Conner Maggs. Conner did win gold medals in the under 13 surf Pictures: Top: Jake and Mitch Morris and Bailey Clues; Below: The under 13 surf race finalists (Photos: KEMBLE COWAN) teams with Levi Smith, Josh Kerr and Oscar Blackley and with Kerr in the board rescue, but the surfing gods didn t smile on him in the individual events. He finished second in the surf, iron and board. He raced really well and was in a position to win all three. I just liked the way he copped it on the chin, Aaron Morris said. Newport s Kimberley Doyle took out the under 14 female surf and finished second in both the iron and board. But she certainly had a big win in the under 15 ironwoman last Sunday at Blacksmiths. It brought a huge smile to her face.. STATE AGE TOP TEN Cooks Hill 173 Newport 170 Coogee 168 Swansea Belmont 159 South Maroubra 153 North Curl Curl 148 Wanda 139 Elouera 124 North Bondi 116 Cronulla 103
FRESHIE BREAKS BEACH RELAY DROUGHT You could imagine how nervous young Harvey Glanville must have been running for the first time at the NSW Age Championships at Blacksmiths Beach. Harvey made the under 9 beach sprint final but was unplaced. He saved his very special run, however, for the Freshwater All Age beach relay team. Harvey led the team off and when he changed the baton to Kayvon Scott, Freshie were in third place. Just the start Freshie needed. Oliver McDonald and Kayvon s sister Leela kept their team in medal contention and then Artie Leiper picked up ground before he made the last change to Josh Gedz. With a Freshie cheer squad urging the team on, there was no stopping Gedz when he took the baton from Artie Leiper and he ran down North Bondi and Coogee. Artie had a very successful championships. He was third in both the under 13 sprint final and beach flags. Freshie also won silver in the under 14 Mixed beach relay, with Gedz, Mila McGettigan, Evan Neal and Faith Thompson. It was a huge effort from Faith as she was competing up an age. In the end, the Freshie team was just pipped by Terrigal. Gedz won a second gold at the championships, taking out the under 14 sprint final. He s now going to have a crack at the Aussie youth championships on the Gold Coast at the end of the month. Apart from Josh, three other Sydney Northern Beaches runners made the under 14 final Will Collinson (Mona Vale), Freshie s Evan Neal and Sam Ferguson (Dee Why). Will proved he is more than just a sprinter. He took out the gold medal in the under 14 2km run. Manly s Montana Laime showed her class on the sand by winning the under 11 female beach sprint. And Nina van der Reyden (Manly) took the silver medal in the under 13 beach flags. Pictures: The winning Freshie team: From left; Artie Leiper, Oliver McDonald, Leela Scott, Kayvon Scott, Evan Neal (ran in heat), Harvey Glanville, Josh Gedz (Photo: courtesy SLSNSW) and Josh Gedz powering home in the final leg of the All Age relay. -.
ANOTHER SPECIAL MOMENT FOR NORTH CURLY GIRLS THAT MAKES FOUR TITLES IN ROW Hardly surprising that these four young girls are jumping for joy. They are the North Curl Curl under 12 surf teams members and they celebrated their fourth consecutive title at the NSW Age Championships at Blacksmiths Beach in Newcastle. Photographer Kemble Cowan catches this special moment of Dom Melbourn, Olivia Clues, Ashton Reimer and Ruby Lovell after their victory. It was a great carnival for the North Curl Curl SLSC, finishing in the top six in the State. They could have been even higher on the point score ladder had some of the board relays not been cancelled. The North Curly under 12 girls were favourites to win their final. Yes, it cost us a few points but that s surf, said North Curl Curl coach Michael Clues. I think the carnival organisers made the mistake by not taking advantage of the conditions on the Friday, he said. Kids train for this event for six months. The beach was open with the flags up 50m south. The hardest part in this sport is to be consistent in all conditions. Clues said he was over the moon with the club s results. Most pleasing was the results in the team events. You can build a great club around that aspect alone, he said. All our Cameron Relays excelled. It started out with our younger kids smashing it on the Friday. Of the four medal events up for grabs, we gained three, second in the under 9 boys board relay, gold in the under 10 boys relay and silver in the under 10 girls relay. I thought Sam Davis was terribly unlucky in his events. He had four fourth placings but got a few medals in teams events. Zara Kasprowicz put her disappointing board rescue behind her and won the under 11 iron and finished second in the surf race. Dom (Melbourn) won her iron, Olivia (Clues) won the board and was second in the surf and the pair won the board rescue. It was great to see Kai Lilienthal take out the under 13 surf race. Our R and R teams did so well for their first State, finishing fifth and sixth. It all contributes points to the club outcome. Picture: Right: Kai Lilienthal with his gold medal (Photo: KEMBLE COWAN) Opposite Page: Kemble Cowan captures some of the special moments at the NSW Age Championships.
Photographer STEPHEN CHU captures some of the Sydney Northern Beaches competitors at the State Age Championships at Blacksmiths Beach.