Competition update Nov2020

On the morning of the 28th of November at Dee Why, five competitors from South Maroubra ushered in the dawn of a new era.
For the first time in a number of years, the South Maroubra cap was seen on the start line at an Opens Carnival. It was an impressive sight. Even more impressive were the results that followed. The Sydney Northern Beaches Branch is an extremely competitive environment. Throw in some competition from Cooks Hill and others from the Hunter Branch and you have yourself a red hot field. That was the case today, both metaphorically and literally.

The age groups were split into two, Opens and U15.
We only had competitors for the U15 age group, most from our u14s group, Kane in the u15s.
​We’ll fill the older age groups as the seasons progress.
Representing you today were Lillie & Sienna in the girls; Kane, Luini and Charlie in the boys.
In all, there were 7 races available to each of them. The racing was intense. Over and done within a couple of hours. With the training our team have been doing, this sort of racing suited them down to a T.
There were even a few decent sets rolling in to make things interesting.

In the girls there was a field of 37 competitors requiring a couple of heats for the board, but straight out finals for the surf race.
Sienna posted results of 2nd, 7th, 8th, 6th & 7th in the board races, and 13th & 19th in surf races. Lillie was similarly consistent with her performances today finishing 3rd, 4th, 5th, 5th & 4th in the board, 16th & 13th in the surf races. What must be remembered here, and for the boys also, is our team may be giving away up to 18 months in age to those they were racing against. To record these results, our team should be really proud of themselves.

The boys posted results that were just as impressive. Kane only participated in the board races today. Considering it was his first carnival since last season's State Championships,  I think he surprised himself with his results, recording finishes of 10th, 6th, 13th, 8th & 10th. With a few more sessions & carnivals under his belt, expect to see a lot more top 6 finishes from Kane.
Luini, still waiting on the arrival of his new board, recorded finishes of 13th, 16th, 16th , 10th & 16th. It was however in the swim where he excelled with finishes of 11th and 18th out of a field 47 starters.
Finally to Charlie. I don’t think there are too many competitors who can read the surf as well as Charlie. Whether it be finding an easy way out to the cans or jagging a wave from nowhere, you can be pretty sure Charlie will be amongst it. He recorded outstanding results of 2nd, 4th, 7th, 7th & 4th in the board race, 8th & 6th in the surf race and 3rd in the dash for cash surf race. He was unlucky not to grab the win in this race. Maybe next time Charlie.

In all races today, there was no competitor from any club who won races by any significant distance. Each race was up for grabs right to the end and our competitors were right in the mix for all events.

All in all, it was an impressive first up effort from these five competitors at an Opens carnival. I look forward to future events when we need more than one tent on the beach to shade our team.

Thanks to Shane and Darren for managing the group.

Go South Maroubra!!

Marty Kiernan
Coaching Coordinator