Australian surf life saving championships 2022: Stars, standouts of open, U19, U17 racing
A Sydney young gun took out one of the top awards at the Australian surf life saving titles. The stars and standouts of the open, U19 and U17 titles at Aussies 2022 and the champion clubs.
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Georgia Miller and Ali Day claimed a lions share of the limelight with their successful defence of their iron titles at Aussies 2022 but there were numerous others who stood up to be tested - and slayed it.
One was Newport young gun Mitch Morris who was named Champion Male with the Champion Female Claudia Bailey from Northcliffe.
After five extraordinary days of racing, the open and under 19 and under 17 racing came to a conclusion on Sunday after some of the best action the famous annual championships have seen.
U17 CHAMPION CLUBS AT AUSSIES 2022
Northcliffe 112
Newport 75
Wanda 46
Burleigh Heads Mowbray Park 45
Maroochydore 4
U19 CHAMPION CLUBS AT AUSSIES 2022
Northcliffe 145
Maroochydore 98
Currumbin 64
Alexandra Headland 62
Burleigh Heads Mowbray Park 58
OPEN CHAMPION CLUBS AT AUSSIES 2022
Northcliffe 223
Newport 98
Currumbin 73
Alexandra Headland 61
Manly 37
Around 5000 competitors competed over the five days which followed on from the youth and masters championships.
Here are some of the stars and standouts of the event which had plenty of colour, drama and great racing.
JACKSON COLLINS WINS SKI AS HIS COACH JIMMY WALKER TURNS HEADS
Paris Olympic kayak hopeful Jackson Collins successfully defended his open ski men’s title at the Aussies on Sunday but his coach at North Bondi stole a big share of the attention with his “Kelly Slater” like act of mixing it with the young guns while in his 50s.
North Bondi’s Walker, the oldest man in the field at age 50 and 27 years older than the winner, was just piped for a medal in the men’s single ski.
BELLA WILLIAMS ONE TO WATCH
While Georgia Miller showed she is the best at performing under pressure with multiple gold medals, including her ironwoman defence, Newcastle’s Bella Williams has show she is on to watch in coming years.
Williams continued to confirm herself as a rising star of the sport with her successful defence of the year 19 women’s surf race crown.
The Swansea Belmont youngster, who got a start in the Nutri Grain iron series this season, was elated with the victory.
LILY FINATI CONTINUES HER RISE
Teen ironwoman Lilly Finati is another young gun showing she has the potential to be a real star of the future in surf sport.
Finati, who made her debut in the Nutri-Grain series this year, won the U19 Female Board Race after finishing second to Williams in the Surf Race.
A WIN 10 YEARS IN THE MAKING FOR MAX BROOKS, JAYKE REES
A decade after they won their first Australian gold together as teenagers, Max Brooks and Jayke Rees won the open double ski championship of Australia together.
The Newport surf life savers finished second last year but went one better at North Kirra.
They won their first gold medal together on the same beach in U17 racing.
NEWPORT GO BIG IN TAPLIN
There were Newport caps everywhere in the water in the U19 Taplin.
The powerful northern beaches club saw their teams go 1-2 in the race.
But it was Bailey Clues, Conner Maggs and Mitch Morris who took the gold with the team of Jake Morris, Lee Melbourn and Anthony Doyle second.
NSW DOMINATE BOARD RACE
In an all NSW domination, Ryan Green from Terrigal won the U19 board race.
Green bear Swansea Belmont duo Beau McGregor and Kurt Murphy for the victory for NSW surf life saving.
FASTEST MAN AT AUSSIES FROM MOLLYMOOK
Sam Zustovich from Molloymock is one of the fastest men at the Aussies and has a national crown to prove it.
Zustovich won the Open Beach Flags championships from Newport’s Blake Drysdale and Northcliffe’s Jason Gough.
MANLY SECURE GREAT WIN
Manly duo Ella Garrett and Sophie Walters produced a great race to secure the U19 double ski title on Sunday in a race loaded with Queensland talent.
GREAT WIN FOR ELOUERA
A chippie and a high school student have pulled off a remarkable win at the Australian surf life saving titles on the Gold Coast in some of the most testing conditions seen at the event.
While other rivals struggled, the Elouera surf club pair caught a wave to victory and were as surprised as any on the beach they had an Australian title to show for it.
“Crazy. Absolutely speechless. Unbelievable,’’ said Kai Robertson and Charlie Morris.
The conditions proved challenging with the pair admitting they found it both “fun and scary''.
“We were doing roly poly all over the place,’’ they said.
“We saw the wave form way out and turned around and just said ‘lets go’.
“We didn’t even think we’d get past the first heat. We’re never won anything together before. We’ve never even trained together.
“But going into the finals we said, we may have a shot here.’’
U19 MALE BOARD RESCUE FINAL
Elouera Team A: Kai Robertson, Charlie Morris
Northcliffe Team A: Kai Harland, Auden Parish
Currumbin Team A: Callum Brennan, Hugh Munro
Ironman Hayden Smith said he wasn’t that keen on doing the open board rescue on Saturday but glad he did after he and fellow ironman Jackson Maynard won the Australian crown.
“I’m glad he talked me into it,’’ Smith said of his teammate.
OPEN BOARD RESCUE
Currumbin Team A: Jackson Maynard, Hayden White
Surfers Paradise Team A: Texas Dixon, Max Beattie
Elouera Team A: Christopher King, Harry Came
SCENES OF JUBILATION AS BONDI WIN BIG
There were scenes of delight on the beach when Bondi ended Northcliffe’s winning run in the rescue tube rescue event on Saturday.
It was the first time Northcliffe had been beaten in five years and Bondi’s first open water win in 10 years.
“We gave it the best we had. It was tough conditions,’’ they said.
RESCUE TUBE RESCUE FINAL
Bondi: James Koch, Ryan Wilkes, Christopher Cooper, Rohan Ball
Northcliffe Team A: Daniel Miller, Bailey Armstrong, Chris Evans, Riley Fitzsimmons
Surfers Paradise Team A: Adam Simpson, Nathan Gray, Samuel Roy, Zachary Orchard
OLYMPIC SWIMMER HITS THE WAVES
Tokyo Olympic swimmer Bronte Campbell made a surprise - and somewhat late - appearance at the Australian surf life saving championships, swapping the stillwater for the rough-water for the North Bondi club.
The multiple gold medallist has been training at the famous Sydney club and turned up to race at the Aussies on Saturday in the open belt race.
But it was a rush with Campbell unaware the water events in the open competition had been relocated around a 40 minute drive down the coast at North Kirra beach from its original location at Broadbeach.
The North Bondi team, which also included Jarrod Poort, Ned Wieland, John Clothier and Duke Wieland, failed to advance out of the quarter-finals.
NORTH CRONULLA, COOGEE STAR ON THE SAND - AGAIN
North Cronulla defended their open female beach relay titles from a year ago at the Australian championships with triplets in their team.
But the quartet had a point to prove in the race.
“Last year we actually won open with this exact same team and we wanted to show everyone that we could do it again,” they said. “That it wasn’t a one off.
“We just wanted to stick to our own race, not worry about what anybody else was telling us.’’
OPEN BEACH RELAY
North Cronulla: Alexandra Rampoldi, Emily Rampoldi, Leah Rampoldi, Lucy Flanagan
Kurrawa Team A: Britney Ingr, Grace Hewitt, Kate Lewis, Tahli Devine
City of Perth: Imogen Herrington, Gabrielle Murphy, Jacqueline Lord, Alysse Priddis
Earlier the Coogee U19 Womens Beach Relay team claimed gold in their race with three members of their U17 team stepping up an age.
“We really happy with this actually,” they said. “We are super proud.”
The team said they had worked overtime on changes throughout the season in the hope of winning gold at Aussies and had trained twice a week hoping for success.
U19 BEACH RELAY
Coogee: Ruby Thomasyu, Tamara Abagi, Kate Johnson, Eden Levit
Mollymook Black: Alexa Farland, Amy Joy, Karla Jones, Mischa Boniface
Maroochydore Team A: Kiara Rychvalsky, Matilda Jarrott, Finnlea Barlow, Jazmin-lea Rice
PARIS OLYMPIC HOPE JACKSON COLLINS A MARKED MAN AT SURF LIFE TITLES
He’s on a mission to paddle at the Paris Olympics but first Sydney young gun Jackson Collins has his sights set on defending his single ski crown at the Australian surf life saving championships.
Collins, who is due to travel to Europe for a series of World Cups next month, cruised into the finals of the ski race in tricky conditions at North Kirra.
A number of events were put on hold or postponed due to a strong sweep at the beach where the championships were relocated last Sunday due to an adverse weather forecast for its original home at Broadbeach and Kurrawa.
Kurrawa was closed on Friday while Kirra was still able to host numerous water events, including the ski quarters and semis.
Collins said he was comfortable being a marked man in the pack.
“You know people will come at you with their best,’’ he said.
The Aussies racing is the first time Collin has been on his ski since January and he admitted he was a tad “wobbly’’.
Collins, 23, is part of a new pack of paddling young guns out to make their Olympic debuts in Paris in 2024 which also includes fellow North Bondi paddler Noah Havard and Fletcher Armstrong.
Also making it through to the final is North Bondi coach Jimmy Walker, an Atlanta Olympian, Manly ironman Kendrick Louis, Newport’s Mitchell Trim and Avoca’s Peter Mitchell
MEN’S OPEN SKI FINAL START LIST AT AUSSIES 2022
Tom Norton, Northcliffe, Cory Taylor Northcliffe, Mitchell Trim Newport, Kendrick Louis Manly, Peter Mitchell Avoca Beach, Jim Walker North Bondi, Jett Kenny Alexandra Headland, Simon Murfett Mermaid Beach, Eli Newton Manly, Patrick Eley Trigg Island, Dylan Magee Tallebudgera, Max Brooks Newport, Greg Tobin Newport, Ben Carberry
Currumbin, Samuel Roy Surfers Paradise, Jackson Collins North Bondi
TOP IRONWOMAN STAR
Great mates Georgia Miller and Harriet Brown dominated the female board rescue with a thrilling win over two teams form NSW.
The pair beat Manly and Newport for the win ahead of the ironwoman final on Sunday where they will turn into fierce rivals.
Miller is the defending Australian champion and Brown the Nutri-Grain series winner this season.
FEMALE BOARD RESCUE
Northcliffe: Georgia Miller, Harriet Brown
Manly: Ella Garrett, Naomi Scott
Newport Team A: Lizzie Welborn Alex Lefevre
SYDNEY CLUBS SMASH IT ON THE SAND
Elouera’s Michael Hanna has had an entire year to think about winning a title he wanted in 2021 but couldn’t contest after tearing his hamstring in his semi final.
Now the Sydney speedster has an Australian title in the open men’s beach sprint as Sydney speedsters stole the show on the sand.
“It feels awesome,’’ said Hanna. “It’s my first gold and I'm just happy to get it.
“I haven’t won any junior Aussie champs, that’s why this is my best race ever.
“It’s my third time trying after I tore my hamstring in the semi-final last year.’’
OPEN BEACH SPRINT
Michael Hanna, Elouera
Conor Loughnan, Kurrawa
Jackson Symonds, Northcliffe
Other NSW athletes to star on the sand included under 19 athletes Lucy Flanagan from North Cronulla and Ace Haslam who both won gold.
“I still can’t believe it. I was so nervous on the line but it all just came together,’’ Flanagan said.
Haslam admitted he was also nervous at the start.
“This is my second now. I also won in the under 17s,’’ said Haslam who is an athlete track and field athlete with a world under 20 200m qualifier under his belt this season.
“I like the sand. It’s a great atmosphere and this feels great.
U19 FEMALE BEACH SPRINT
Lucy Flanagan North Cronulla
Briana Irving Currumbin
Imogen Herrington City of Perth SLSC
U19 BEACH SPRINT
Ace Haslam Cronulla
Harrison Bond Currumbin
Joseph Mckinnon Seacliff
Coogee also had plenty to celebrate with Luke Avati winning gold in the under 17 at the Australian championships.
“It means a lot to me and all my family. I am so happy,’’ said Avati who has previously won a gold in the U15 racing.
U17 BEACH SPRINT
Luke Avati Coogee
Oska Smith Currumbin
Arno D’Andrea Fairhaven
NEWPORT ADDS TO ITS MEDAL HAUL
Newport twins Jake and Mitch Morris were back in the winners circle on Friday after combing with Connor Maggs and Lee Melbourn for victory in the U17 surf teams race.
male Team A
U17 MALE SURF TEAMS
Newport: Jake Morris, Conner Maggs, Mitchell Morris, Lee Melbourn
Northcliffe Team A: Ryley Harland, Matthew Lowe, Jeremy Kneen, Jacob McAnulty
Currumbin Team A: Herb Winter, Riley Brennan, Jay Hyland, Maverick Artz
NORTH BONDI TEEN DREAM TEAM WIN SPECIAL GOLD
A group of teenagers who had never paddled together competitively – and their training mates from the North Bondi surf club – produced one of the most rousing wins of the Australian surf life saving championships on Thursday.
Teens Lexi Tait, Lily Finati and Bernadette Hughes paddled to gold in the board relay in challenging conditions on the Gold Coast and then watched their teammates race home for a bronze medal.
The beach erupted as the six girls hugged and shouted in delight with a pair of sisters among the victors.
“To have my sister win bronze is pretty special,’’ said gold medallist Bernadette Hughes of younger sister Genevieve and her teammates Anna Wilkinson and Zara Hamilton finishing third behind the Northcliffe team.
Finati, who made her debut in this year’s Nutri-Grain ironwoman series, sealed the deal for North Bondi with a memorable final leg.
“It was so inspiring to see these two paddlers just got for it before me so I just absolutely went for it,’’ Finati said.
“I got into the wash, tried to chase the runners, this is just so exciting.’’
U19 BOARD RELAY FINAL
North Bondi Team A: Alexandra Tait, Lily Finati, Bernadette Hughes
Northcliffe Team A: Lucy Derbyshire, Olissa Onley, Ruby Meehan
North Bondi Team B: Anna Wilkinson, Genevieve Hughes, Zara Hamilton
NEWPORT’S SILVER LINING
In a battle of Australia’s top ironwomen, the star-studded Northcliffe team, bought home by Georgia Miller, claimed gold in the open board relay on Wednesday from the star-studded Newport team.
Newport were still happy with their silver in what Jemma Smith said were “challenging’’ conditions.
“There was a lot of water moving everywhere,’’ she said.
Smith is the only athlete in the two top teams not be racing Sunday’s ironwoman final.
The Newport surf life saver is now turning her attention to kayaking and is bidding for a spot on assorted Australian teams preparing to race overseas this year.
OPEN BOARD RELAY
Northcliffe: Georgia Miller, Hannah Sculley, Harriet Brown
Newport Team A: Lizzie Welborn, Madison Spencer, Jemma Smith
Alexandra Headland: Grace Harris, Lana Rogers, Olivia Heaton
WANDA BRONZE IN U19 SURF RACE
Nicholas Middleton picked up a bronze in the surf race despite it “not being my day’’.
Middleton was on a wave with the gold and silver medallists heading to the beach.
“I fell off, but what can you do,’’ he said.”
U19 SURF RACE
Zachary Tabuai, Alexandra Headland
Callum Brennan, Currumbin
Nicholas Middleton, Wanda
TWIN SUCCESS FOR NEWPORT
It was a NSW cleansweep of the podium in the U17 single ski with first and second place collected by inform twins Jake and Mitchell Morris.
U17 SINGLE SKI
Jake Morris, Newport
Mitchell Morris, Newport
Charlie Walker, Cooks Hill
ALI DAY’S CLOSE CALL IN IRONMAN SEMI
Ironman star Ali Day gave himself and his supporters a fright with a close call in the ironman semi-final on the second day of open racing at the Australian surf life saving championships.
Day, who is bidding to end the season with the Coolangatta Gold, Nutri-Grain ironman and Australian crown, had to fight his way back from second last to qualify for Sunday’s final.
But while he was able to celebrate thanks to a sensational board paddle which moved him from 14th to eight and in the qualifying mix, Day was disappointed two particular rivals failed to advance into Sunday’s final in the retiring Matt Poole and Manly’s Kendrick Louis.
“We have been racing each other for a long time,’’ said Day, who grew up on the NSW south coast but is now based on the Gold Coast with the Surfers Paradise club.
Looking for a big finish to his season on Sunday is Newport ironman Jackson Borg who dropped from fourth to eighth overall in the Nutri-Grain series after a disastrous finish to the event.
Borg and Newport teammate Zach Morris after the only two NSW ironmen in the 18-strong finals field for Sunday’s finale at North Kirra.
“It’s really exciting to be in it,’’ Borg said.
“It’s been a rollercoaster season and it would be good to finish it strongly.’’
IRONMAN FINALS FIELD AT 2022 AUSSIES
Max Beattie, Surfers Paradise
Joe Collins, Northcliffe
Bailey Johns, Burleigh Heads Mowbray Park
Ben Carberry, Currumbin
Jackson Borg, Newport
Ky Kinsela, Burleigh Heads Mowbray Park
Cooper Williams, Alexandra Headland
Archie Vernon, Surfers Paradise
Thomas Scott, Northcliffe
Zach Morris, Newport
Matt Bevilacqua, Northcliffe
Alastair Day, Surfers Paradise
Jarryd McDonnell, Burleigh Heads Mowbray Park
Texas Dixon, Surfers Paradise
Cory Taylor, Northcliffe
Corey Fletcher, Burleigh Heads Mowbray Park
DAD’S ARMY WINS BIG IN SKI RELAY
They have six kids between them and drove from Sydney to the Gold Coast in a mini-van to fit everyone in to be one of the most unlikely winners of an Australian ski relay title ever.
The self dubbed ‘Dad’s Army’ of Newport’s Greg Tobin, Luke Jones and Luke Morrison pulled off a dramatic upset with their win over a field bursting with Olympic kayakers, ocean paddlers and big name surf stars at North Kirra on Wednesday.
“To do this with the Dad’s Army is pretty cool,’’ Jones said.
“This is one of the special races to win.’’
Tobin and Jones have been competing against and with each other since they were Nippers with all three now 37-years-old.
But that didn’t stop this B team from Newport beating some of the biggest names in Australian paddling for their sensational win.
The three formed their team at Newport surf club in the 2018/2019 season with Jones and Morrison both originally from South Australia and Tobin form Swansea Belmont.
“We are the 5am dads. We get it on and get it done while the kids are asleep,'' Tobin said.
On Tuesday Tobin and Jones also won the Masters double ski crown in a dead-heat with North Bondi.
OPEN SKI RELAY
1 Newport Team B Luke Morrison, Luke Jones, Greg Tobin
2 Northcliffe A: Riley Fitzsimmons Sam Norton. Matt Bevilacqua
3 Redhead A Samuel Djodan, Justin McMorland, Isak Costello
DOUBLE TROUBLE AT AUSSIE CHAMPS IN UNDER 17S RACING
It was a family affair in the under 17 racing with two sets of twins incredibly winning identical races for their clubs
Sydney twins Jake and Mitch Morris and teammate Bailey Cluew won bot the U17 ski relay and the U17 board relay for the Newport club.
Northhcliffe twins Claudia and Alyssa Bailey and teammate Jamie Perkins then won the exact same event in the women’s racing.
BOARD RELAY
1 Newport: Jake Morris, Mitchell Morris, Bailey Clues
2 Swansea Belmont: Ethan Hamilton, Jack Johns, Blake Cook
3 Burleigh Heads Mowbray Park; Taj Andrews, Darby Meyer, Coeby Frigo
SKI RELAY
1 Newport: Jake Morris, Mitchell Morris, Bailey Clues
2 Bulli Gold: Brock Neall, Jack Wilson, Jake Potter
3 Alexandra Headland Team A: Jody Burns. Jacob Dickey, James Mellington
SKI REPLAY
1 Northcliffe Team A: Claudia Bailey, Alyssa Bailey and Jamie Perkins.
2 Metropolitan Caloundra A: Eva Ashworth, Jade Gardiner, Maggie Princehorn
3 Seacliff Team A: Katie Natt, Chelsea Jentz, Georgia Warriner
BOARD RELAY
1 Northcliffe Team A: Jamie Perkins, Claudia Bailey, Alyssa Bailey
2 Maroochydore Team A: Zoe Longhurst, Isabelle Stark, Yve Warren
3 Burleigh Heads Mowbray Park Team A: Jayda Kempton, Charlotte Hart, Chelsea Wood
WANDA CONTINUE WINNING STREAK
It was a triple treat for the Wanda U19 surf team with their third consecutive Australian crown.
The team of Riley Dixon: Nicholas Middleton, Noah Steiner and Fletcher Warn held off two Queensland teams for the victory.
“Every year this is the event we live for,’’ said Steiner, who finished second on a countback in the Gen Next series this season and whose goal is to make the Nutri-Grain series next season.
“It gives us a bit of extra ticker.’’
WANDA U19 SURF TEAM
1 Wanda: Riley Dixon: Nicholas Middleton, Noah Steiner, Fletcher Warn.
2 Marochydore Team A: Mitchell Stitt, Samuel Short, Joel Piper, Sam Harris
3 Northcliffe Team A: Kai Harland, Auden Parish, Ruben Rees
MANLY WIN BRONZE IN WOMEN’S SKI RELAY
Manly fielded one of the most unusual teams in the women’s ski relay with an ironwoman joined by a hardworking U19 athlete and a 30-something mum who also competed in the Masters racing on Monday and Tuesday.
Ironwoman Naomi Scott, U19 athlete Ella Garrett and 32-year-old Rachel Crerar combined for a surprise bronze medal in the race won by Burleigh Heads Mowbray Park Team.
“We are just stoked,’’ Crerar said.
WOMEN’S SKI RELAY
1 Burleigh Heads Mowbray Park: Jenaya Massie, Kirstie Hardstaff, Jayde Hardstaff
2 Georgia Miller, Harriet Brown, Lucy Derbyshire,
Manly Team A: Rachel Crerar, Naomi Scott, Ella Garrett.
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