Midway win . . . again
MIDWAY maintained their dominance of the Gisborne Surf Lifesaving Championships as near perfect conditions provided some great competitive racing at the weekend.
Midway finished the two-day carnival with 330 points, followed by Waikanae 177 and Wainui 119.
Individual events were held on Saturday with Midway’s Matt Sutton and Leesa Barton winning the blue riband ironman and ironwoman titles.
Sutton, who has dominated in recent years, was pushed all the way by club-mates Dan Janes and Shaun Pahina.
Midway’s top trio of open women Kendall, Elliott, Monique Francois and Leesa Barton fought it out through all the individual events often changing podium places.
Had it not been for Waikanae’s Aggie Zarbo piping Elliott for second in the ski race they would have claimed the top three spot places across all events.
The under-19 men’s races were interesting with little separating the top contenders from all three clubs — Midways Corey Taylor, Dylan Pahina, Corey Davis and Chris Dawson, Waikanae’s Nick Te Puni, Kamen Geiseler and Wainui’s Ollie Puddick and Pera Gibbs.
On the sand track, Wainui’s Mike King and Toby Harris did the one-two in the open men’s flags and sprints. Club-mate Jamieson Gibson-Park took the honours in the u19 flags and was second in the u19 sprint behind Midway’s Daniel Willock.
With no Wainui women’s boat crews competing, the door was open for some spectacular racing in the canoe arena. As always the canoes provided nail-biting races and entertainment.
The sight of Elliot as the lone paddler three feet out of the water will be remembered for a while especially by her as she sits on the sideline for a few weeks after fracturing her hand in the flags.
With six crew competing in the open men’s races, Wainui finished first and second in both events — in racing so tight most of the places were decided with the run up the beach.
After an exhausting few weeks in the pool at meets and an NZ swim camp Wainui’s Laura Quilter backed up to win the u19 women’s swim and board ahead of Midway sisters Emma and Jessie Bourke.
Team events and the new combined gender and age-groups produced some interesting results in all events on day two.
In the surf teams race, 36 swimmers hit the water together and showed the class of some of the competitors as u16s came in the top 10. Georgia Harris (14)finished in the top half of the pack with a huge smile on her face.
In the mixed rescue relay, Wainui head coach Dion Williams led the board charge, picking up Quilter and heading back to the beach before the rest of the board paddlers had got to their patients.
Unfortunately for Williams he was caught as four other teams pulled a wave from the cans to come through.
Midway took first, second and third in the ski and board relays but had to settle for second and third in the taplin with Waikanae taking the honours.
Midway’s Clare Owen and Annie Butler were the first women to compete in local IRB champs. Although not quite as polished as the guys crews, officals hope they will inspire more women’s crews in the future.
There were some interesting races in the senior division with lead changes in almost every race, missed pick ups, fuel lines coming off, kinks in fuel lines and the odd set coming through making for some oohs and aahs.